Using continuous GPS and absolute gravity to separate vertical land movements and changes in sea-level at tide-gauges in the UK.

Researchers investigating climate change have used historical tide-gauge measurements from all over the world to investigate the changes in sea-level that have occurred over the last century or so. However, such estimates are a combination of any true sea-level variations and any vertical movements of the land at the specific tide-gauge. For a tide- gauge record to be used to determine the climate related component of changes in sea-level, it is therefore necessary to correct for the vertical land movement component of the observed change in sea-level.In 1990, the Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy and Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory started developing techniques based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) for measuring vertical land movements (VLM) at tide-gauges in the UK. This paper provides brief details of these early developments and shows how they led to the establishment of continuous GPS (CGPS) stations at a number of tide-gauges. The paper then goes on to discuss the use of absolute gravity (AG), as an independent technique for measuring VLM at tide-gauges. The most recent results, from CGPS time-series dating back to 1997 and AG time-series dating back to 1995/1996, are then used to demonstrate the complementarity of these two techniques and their potential for providing site-specific estimates of VLM at tide-gauges in the UK.

Modelling the glacial isostatic adjustment of the UK region.

The glacial isostatic adjustment of the UK region has been considered in a number of recent studies. We have revisited this problem in order to: (i) highlight some key issues with regard to limitations in the ice modelling approach adopted in these studies and (ii) consider the constraints provided from observations of crustal motion available via continuous global positioning system monitoring. With regard to the first aim, we have found that: (i) previous studies have significantly overestimated ice thicknesses in regions where trim line field constraints were adopted and (ii) the duration of the glaciation phase of the UK ice sheet is a critical aspect of the model and that discrepancies in this model component have led to inconsistent inferences of Earth model parameters. With regard to the second aim, we have found that predictions of horizontal velocities (relative to a chosen site) based on a UK ice model calibrated to fit the regional sea-level database capture the geometry of the signal well but only account for 10% of the magnitude (for a range of Earth models).

Levels of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazobenzene in diuron and linuron herbicide formulations.

Levels of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachloroazobenzene (TCAB) were determined by capillary gas chromatography (GC) with electron-capture detection (ECD) in 25 samples of diuron and linuron formulations obtained from the Canadian market. Acidic aqueous methanol was used to retain urea herbicide and the neutral TCAB was allowed to partition into hexane. Silica gel was used for cleanup of the hexane extract, followed by GC/ECD determination. Recovery data obtained at 4 different spiking levels (i.e., 0.3, 0.1, 1.0, and 5.0 ppm) in linuron averaged 93, 86, 85, and 97%, respectively. For diuron, spiking was done at 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 ppm levels and the corresponding average percent recoveries were 95, 101, and 104. The TCAB contamination level observed in diuron on a 100% active ingredient basis ranged from 0.15 to 3.38 ppm, whereas in linuron, it varied from 0.91 to 10.28 ppm.