This research focuses on the development of new techniques to explore terrestrial-ocean climate linkages along the Pacific Northwest-northeast Pacific Ocean margin. This is done by investigating river response to climate change and by unraveling this history preserved in continental margin sediments. A significant component of this work centers on developing...
Many sediments, including the fine-grained pelagic deposits,
possess polymodal grain size distributions. Resolution of individual
modes show them to be related either to compositional fractions or to
depositional processes or both, and sometimes permits the tracing
of dispersal patterns. The Cahn sedimentation balance provides a
means of obtaining continuous cumulative...
Northeast Pacific Ocean sediments were analyzed to determine the past
relationship between northeast Pacific sea surface conditions and the climate on the
adjacent continent, the Pacific Northwest of North America. Studies of modern
ocean-atmosphere interactions demonstrate the significant effect sea surface conditions
and atmospheric circulation in the Northeast Pacific Ocean...
Recent concerns about surface water quality near agricultural production areas have stimulated interest in “best management practices” to reduce the risk of off-site sediment, pesticide, and nutrient movement. Vegetative filter
strips can be one component of an integrated management system to reduce these risks.
The trans-Pacific atmospheric transport of particulate matter (PM)-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to remote sites in western North America has been well documented and has triggered research questions regarding to atmospheric transformation of PM-bound PAHs and the potential impacts on human health from their inhalation exposure. In this dissertation, field...