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Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	75%

Selected Abstracts

Magnetic investigation of heavy metals contamination in urban topsoils around the East Lake, Wuhan, China

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2007
Tao Yang
SUMMARY Magnetic measurements and heavy metal analyses were performed on 133 samples from the urban soils around the East Lake in Wuhan, China. Samples were collected from four areas with different environmental settings: a heavy industrial area well known for thermal power generation and steel works; villages located in the downwind area of the industrial area; a main road with heavy traffic and roads around the East Lake. Results show that concentrations of magnetic particle and heavy metals in urban topsoils are significantly elevated due to the input of coarser-grained magnetite from industrial (e.g. power generation and steel production) and other anthropogenic activities (e.g. vehicle emissions). Concentration-related magnetic parameters, for example, magnetic susceptibility, saturation isothermal remanent magnetization and anhysteretic remanent magnetization, significantly correlate with the concentration of heavy metals. Moreover, in terms of grain sizes, the magnetic particles of different origins can be efficiently discriminated at the studied region. Therefore, magnetic measurements provide a basis for discrimination and identification of different contamination sources, and can be used as an economic alternative to chemical analysis when mapping heavy metal contamination in urban soil around the East Lake region, Wuhan, China. [source]

Tracing a major Roman road in the area of ancient Helike by resistivity tomography

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 4 2009
G. N. Tsokas
Abstract In his journey through Achaea in the second century AD, Pausanias mentioned the destroyed Classical site of Helike on the sea and noted that its ruins were still visible underwater near the southwest shore of the Corinthian Gulf. In 2001, the Helike Project excavators discovered on the coastal plain of Helike southeast of Aigion the first ruins of Classical buildings, buried under lagoon sediments 3,m deep. They also found segments of a major Roman road oriented NW,SE and buried 1,1.50,m deep under the contemporary surface. Pausanias referred to the main road through the Helike plain, which he followed during his visit. According to his description, he saw the submerged ruins of Helike toward the sea north of the Roman road. Tracing the exact location of the road would, therefore, help to locate the lost city. We employed resistivity tomography to explore the areas between trenches where the road had been unearthed and also to investigate its possible extension beyond those locations. Since 2004, resistivity studies performed by grids or single profiles have been carried out at 11 locations. As a result, the ancient road was detected for a length of about 2,km. It was also imaged either in two-dimensional or three-dimensional contexts at all the locations where it was detected. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Ground-penetrating radar and magnetic survey to the west of Al-Zayyan Temple, Kharga Oasis, Al-Wadi Al-Jadeed (New Valley), Egypt

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 2 2002
Dr. Hiroyuki Kamei
Abstract Al-Zayyan Temple or Qasr Al-Zayyan might be regarded as one in a chain of several fortresses that the Romans built to secure the salver's trade caravan route between Asyut and Sudan, known as Darb Al-Arbain. Al-Zayyan temple lies about 25 km south of Al-Kharga city, the capital of the New Valley, and deviates to the east of Al-Kharga-Paris main road some 2 km along the Al-Zayyan-Aarif minor road. The background information about the temple is very scarce, and even what is known is neither clear nor accurate. Some indications have ascribed it to Amenebis and that it was restored during the reign of Emperor Antoninus (AD 138,161). An integrated ground-penetrating radar (GPR)survey using the SIR 2000 Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI) together with magnetic survey using FM36 (GeoScan) and the three component fluxgate gradiometer TRM-70D (Tokin) have been applied to the western side of the temple. The results show relatively large-scale buried structures in a direction intersecting that of the present temple at about 45°. Some particular features within the structure have been speculatively ascribed on the basis of comprehending their signatures in the GPR sections. The magnetic results have improved the identification of some objects revealed by the GPR and provided ideas about some of the other features. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Landscape features and crustacean prey as predictors of the Southern river otter distribution in Chile.

ANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 6 2009
M. A. Sepúlveda
Abstract Understanding the processes that affect freshwater ecosystems at the watershed level is fundamental for the conservation and management of river otters. During 2 consecutive years, we surveyed the occurrence of the Southern river otter Lontra provocax and its main prey (crustaceans) in a watershed of 9900 km2 in the Chilean temperate forest. We modeled predator and prey distributions with a variety of statistical techniques by relating a set of environmental predictors to species occurrence records. Otter and crustaceans were associated with areas of intermediate to low human disturbance with a mosaic of riparian vegetation densities, mainly at low altitudes. The singularity of the Andean Range, with a very marked elevation gradient and oligotrophic watercourses in the higher areas, created more vulnerable conditions for otter presence because prey abundances were limited in those areas. Human impacts affected otter populations at a landscape scale through the presence of main roads, as these were mostly located in lower parts of the watershed where otters have their primary habitat. These results point to the importance of land management and protection of low-elevation areas where otters still occur to ensure the long-term viability of its freshwater populations. [source]