Lakes in the semiarid Southern Interior Plateau of British Columbia, Canada are vulnerable to future climate-driven changes in water quantity and quality. However, few long-term monitoring records exist to assess the effects of varying hydroclimate conditions on lake function. We present a high-resolution multiproxy paleolimnological record containing subfossil diatoms, μXRF via ITRAX, and chlorophyll-a that spans the past 1800 years from Roche Lake in south-central British Columbia. Generalized additive models indicate that the diatom assemblages were associated with changes in lake level and the accompanying effects of atmospheric forcing on lake thermal structure, and that these forcing mechanisms had a weak relationship with primary production. We infer two pronounced arid periods between ca. AD 600–950 and ca. AD 1730–1950 that correspond to evidence of reduced lake mixing and enhanced anoxia, but variable patterns in primary production. Synthesis of regional proxy records suggests that inferences of moist but possibly warm conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly may have occurred because of a complex interaction between prolonged La Niña-like conditions and higher radiative forcing. Overall, lakes in this region are sensitive to changes in hydroclimate generated by interactions between external forcing and Pacific Ocean–atmosphere processes, and the resulting changes in aridity may have potentially negative consequences on salmonid habitat.

Although we have learned much about the geological characteristics and history of Mars, the gaps in our knowledge certainly exceed what we understand. Martian meteorites, such as Northwest Africa (NWA) 6963, can be excellent materials for understanding the present and past of Mars, as part of the records of the planet's evolution is preserved in these extraterrestrial rocks. Micro X-ray fluorescence provided data, in which it was possible to verify the presence of Ca, P and Y elements, which are call attention because they were detected superimposed in certain regions. The way these elements were detected indicates the formation of minerals composed by the combination of these elements, such as, for example, Calcite (CaCO3), Apatite [Ca5(PO4)3(OH, F, Cl)], Merrilite [Ca9NaMg (PO4)7] and Xenotime (YPO4). These minerals are great indicators of aqueous environments. In general, the formation of these minerals is due to processes involving hydrothermal fluids or sources (>100 °C). Some geological indications suggest that in the past there might have been a large amount of liquid water, which could have accumulated large reservoirs below the Martian surface. Thus, the laboratory study of Martian meteorites and interpretations of minerals present in these samples can contribute in a complementary way to the existing results of telescopic observations and/or missions of space probes as a strategy to indicate reservoirs of liquid water.

Martian meteorites have valuable information about past geological processes on Mars. In this particular case, the sample used was the Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7397. The main objective was to conduct preliminary analyses of the sample that was able to provide mineralogical characteristics in a non-destructive way. These meteorite NWA 7397 analyses were performed using two analytical techniques, μRaman and μXRF. Through the techniques used it was possible to suggest the presence of chromite, ilmenite, magnetite and forsterite minerals. These minerals seem to have a correspondence to one another in relation to the process that formed them. Thus, the information generated by these analytical techniques can contribute significantly by providing information on the history of Mars in order to have relevance to the areas of Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences.