Enviromentální aplikace obrazové spektroskopie

The main purpose of this thesis is to use Image Spectroscopy as a tool to monitor the environmental conditions in a region affected by anthropogenic activities via estimating both geochemical and biochemical parameters on a regional scale. The research has been carried on the Sokolov lignite mine, NW Bohemia, a region affected by long-term extensive mining. The thesis is divided into two thematic parts. First part is devoted to applications of Image Spectroscopy into Acid Mine Drainage mapping and its related issues (chapters 2 and 3). In chapter 2 the equivalent mineral end-members were successfully derived from the ASTER image data (Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer satellite data). In the chapter 3 the pH was estimated on the basis of mineral and image spectroscopy. The Multi Range Spectral Feature Fitting (MRSFF) technique was utilized for mineral mapping and the multiple regression model using the fit images, the results of MRSFF, as inputs was constructed to estimate the surface pH and statistical significant accuracy was attained. In the second thematic part (chapters 4-6) Image Spectroscopy is applied into monitoring of vegetation stress. A new statistical method was developed to assess the physiological status of macroscopically undamaged foliage of Norway...Předložená disertační práce se věnuje aplikaci metod obrazové spektroskopie jako moderního nástroje pro environmentální monitoring, přičemž se zaměřuje na modelování vybraných geochemických a biochemických parametrů Disertační práce je členěna do dvou tematických celků. První z nich (kapitoly 2 a 3) je věnován aplikaci minerální a obrazové spektroskopie pro vymezení plošného výskytu povrchové acidifikace (anglický termín: AMD - Acid Mine Drainage) a modelování povrchového pH. Druhá tematická část (kapitoly 4, 5 a 6) se věnuje zhodnocení fyziologického stavu smrkových porostů. V kapitole 2 jsou s využitím satelitních dat ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer satellite data) plošně vymezeny kyselé zvětralinové povrchy (pH<4), jež charakterizuje výskyt jarositu a lignitu (hnědé uhlí). Kapitola 3 se věnuje vytvoření modelu pro odhad povrchového pH odkrytých substrátů s využitím leteckých hyperspektrálních dat HyMap (07/2009). Tato studie je jednou z prvních, jež aplikuje metody obrazové spektroskopie pro kvantitativní modelování pH v prostředí povrchových dolů vyznačující se vysokou heterogenitou. V druhé tematické části je obrazová spektroskopie aplikována do oblasti monitoringu zdravotního stavu lesních smrkových porostů, které se vyskytují v bezprostředním okolí...Department of Applied Geoinformatics and CartographyKatedra aplikované geoinformatiky a kartografieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

Processes controlling the sources and transport dynamics of suspended sediment in rivers

Human activity has disturbed the natural suspended sediment (SS) balance and the associated geomorphological and ecological functioning of many rivers. Yet, predicting and managing SS is challenging because the processes controlling SS transport over multiple timescales are not well understood. The aim of this research is to improve the prediction and management of SS by investigating the hydro-meteorological and catchment processes driving temporal variation in SS transport. The objectives are (i) to assess SS transport over multiple timescales to uncover the scale-specific processes and process interactions that determine temporal variation in SS transport; (ii) to apply and test a sediment fingerprinting approach based on infrared spectrometry to identify dominant SS sources; and (iii) to evaluate the role of variations in sediment sources in controlling SS concentrations in response to hydro-meteorological variables. The research was carried out in the River Aire, UK. The findings show that SS transport in the River Aire is highly event-driven and supply-limited, while also being influenced by long-term changes in land use. Over the studied period, the dominant SS source was grassland, and its contribution was mainly controlled by antecedent moisture conditions. On the contrary, urban street dust, which was also a dominant sediment source, was less hydrologically driven. The research also demonstrated that while infrared-based fingerprinting can be used to estimate SS source contributions with acceptable model errors, sediment apportionment is strongly influenced by the degree of discrimination between source classes. In order to improve methods to quantify SS transport and sources, and to identify sediment management needs, this research underscores the need to (i) recognise different timescales of SS transport to identify the underlying processes; (ii) develop better approaches for source classification and discrimination to accurately represent the sediment in rivers; and (iii) establish further knowledge on sediment sources variations in different contexts and over multiple spatial and temporal scales

Proceedings of 2011 Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

This conference was planned and conducted as part of the state water resources research annual program with the support and collaboration of the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Kentucky Research Foundation, under Grant Agreement Number 06HQGR0087. The views and conclusions contained in this document and presented at the symposium are those of the abstract authors and presenters and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government or other symposium organizers and sponsors

Agroforestry as a post-mining land-use approach for waste deposits in alluvial gold mining areas of Colombia

Alluvial gold mining generates a vast amount of extractive waste that completely covers the natural soil, destroys riparian ecosystems, and negatively impacts river beds and valleys. Since 2002, a gold mining company has striven to create agroforestry plots in the waste deposits as a post-mining management approach, where agricultural crops and livestock are combined to complement reforestation in the area. This research aims at supporting reclamation of waste deposits by providing a comprehensive understanding of processes to manage the transition of nutrient-poor and acidic deposition sites towards productive agroforestry-based systems. Major components of this research comprise (i) an analysis of environmental and social challenges of the gold mining sector in Colombia, and its potential opportunities to add value to affected communities, (ii) an assessment of management practices and decision-making processes of the farmers working on reclamation areas, (iii) an analysis of the sources of variability of waste deposits from the perspective of soil development and vegetation succession, (iv) an analysis of spatial variability of the physicochemical properties of waste deposits with a spatially explicit management scheme, and (v) an assessment of vegetation recovery in terms of biomass and plant community composition. Farmers who are currently working on areas undergoing reclamation rely mostly on their own local knowledge to respond to the challenges that the heavily disturbed conditions of the area pose to crop establishment. Therefore, increasing their awareness of the inherent heterogeneity of their fields, as well as the interdependencies between management practices and improvement of soil fertility, may increase the productivity of their farms. The analysis of sources of variability of the waste deposits generated by alluvial gold mining revealed that these deposits are primarily influenced by the parent material of the alluvial gold deposits and by the technology used for gold mining (bucket or suction dredges), which define the type of deposit formed (gravel or sand). Waste deposits can provide essential functions for rural areas such as woody biomass production and crop establishment if deposits are managed according to a specific purpose, and crop selection for each deposit is done based on physicochemical and structural soil properties. This finding is echoed by the spatial assessment of vegetation reestablishment through the combination of remote sensing with machine-learning techniques that show a high spatial variability of textural properties and nutrient contents of the deposits. A management approach is proposed with the use of delineated management zones, which can lead to an overall increased productivity by developing strategies suitable to the characteristics of each field and its potential uses.Agroforstwirtschaft als Landnutzungsansatz auf Abraumdeponien in alluvialen Goldabbaugebieten Kolumbiens Der Abbau von alluvialem Gold erzeugt eine große Menge mineralischen Abfalls, der den natürlichen Boden vollständig bedeckt, Uferökosysteme zerstört, und Flussbetten und -täler negativ beeinflusst. Von einem Goldminenbetreiber werden seit 2002, als ein Ansatz einer Postbergbaustrategie, Agroforstparzellen in Abraumdeponien angelegt. In diesen werden landwirtschaftliche Nutzpflanzen und Viehhaltung zur Aufforstung der Parzelle kombiniert eingesetzt. Diese Forschungsarbeit beabsichtigt die Rekultivierungsmaßnahmen in Agroforstparzellen durch ein umfassendes Verständnis der beteiligten Prozesse zu unterstützen und den Übergang von nährstoffarmen und sauren Abraumdeponien hin zu produktiven agroforstbasierten Systemen zu steuern. Die Hauptbestandteile dieser Arbeit umfassen (i) eine Analyse der ökologischen und sozialen Herausforderungen des Goldminensektors in Kolumbien und potenzielle Möglichkeiten einen Mehrwert für die betroffenen Gemeinden zu schaffen, (ii) eine Bewertung der Managementpraktiken und Entscheidungsprozesse der Landwirte im Rahmen der Rückgewinnung von Landnutzungsflächen, (iii) eine Analyse der Ursachen von Varianz zwischen Abfalldeponien aus der Perspektive der Boden- und Vegetationsentwicklung, (iv) eine Analyse der räumlichen Variabilität der physikochemischen Eigenschaften von mineralischen Abraumdeponien mit einem räumlich expliziten Managementschema und (v) eine Bewertung der Vegetationserholung im Sinne der Zusammensetzung von Biomasse und Pflanzengemeinschaften. Landwirte die in Gebieten arbeiten die gegenwärtig einer Rekultivierung unterzogen werden, verlassen sich größtenteils auf ihre lokalen Erfahrungswerte, um mit den Herausforderungen für die Nutzpflanzenproduktion umzugehen, die durch die stark gestörten Bodenbedingungen verursacht werden. Eine Steigerung des Bewusstseins der lokalen Farmer für die inhärente Heterogenität ihrer Felder, sowie der Interdependenzen zwischen Managementpraktiken und der Verbesserung der Bodenfruchtbarkeit, kann die Produktivität der Farmbetriebe erhöhen. Die Analyse der Variabilitätsquellen der durch den alluvialen Goldabbau entstandenen mineralischen Abfalllager ergab, dass diese Lagerstätten in erster Linie vom Grundgestein der alluvialen Goldlagerstätten und der verwendeten Abbautechnik (Schaufel- oder Saugbagger) beeinflusst werden. Diese Faktoren bestimmen die Art der gebildeten Ablagerung (Kies oder Sand). Abfalldeponien können wesentliche Funktionen für ländliche Gebiete wie die Produktion von Holzbiomasse und den Anbau von Nutzpflanzen ermöglichen, wenn die Lagerstätten einem bestimmten Zweck entsprechend bewirtschaftet werden und die Auswahl der Kulturen für jede Lagerstätte auf Grundlage der spezifischen physikochemischen und strukturellen Bodeneigenschaften erfolgt. Dieser Befund wird durch die räumliche Bewertung der Vegetationsneubildung durch die Kombination von Fernerkundung mit maschinellen Lerntechniken bestätigt, die eine hohe räumliche Variabilität der Textureigenschaften und Nährstoffgehalte der Deponien zeigt. Es wird ein Managementansatz vorgeschlagen, bei dem abgegrenzte Bewirtschaftungszonen unterteilt werden. Dies kann zu einer insgesamt höheren Produktivität führen, indem Strategien entwickelt werden, die den Eigenschaften jedes einzelnen Feldes und seiner potenziellen Nutzungsmöglichkeiten entsprechen

Environmental Emissions

Today, the issue of environmental emissions is more important than ever before. Air pollution with particulates, soot, carbon, aerosols, heavy metals, and so on is causing adverse effects on human health as well as the environment. This book presents new research and findings related to environmental emissions, pollution, and future sustainability. Written by experts in the field, chapters cover such topics as health effects, emission monitoring and mitigation, and emission composition and measurement

Technological Eco-Innovations for the Quality Control and the Decontamination of Polluted Waters and Soils

The Special Issue “Technological Eco-Innovations for the Quality Control and the Decontamination of Polluted Waters and Soils” deals with the most recent research activities carried out at lab and field scale on eco-sustainable tools for the remediation of contaminated environmental substrates. It is particularly devoted to highlight the relevance of biological organisms (plants, microbes, algae) to assess the chemical contamination in water and soil and to remediate such matrices from the pollution caused by the human activities. Therefore, bioremediation is a primary focus of most of the articles published within the present Special Issue. Bioremediation is a promising environmentally friendly technology to deal with the chemical pollution in different ecosystem compartments and its integration with the traditional approaches might represent

Proceedings of 2017 Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

This symposium was planned and conducted as a part of the state water resources research institute annual program that is supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number G16AP00055 from the United States Geological Survey. The contents of this proceedings document and the views and conclusions presented at the symposium are solely the responsibility of the individual authors and presenters and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USGS or of the symposium organizers and sponsors. This publication is produced with the understanding that the United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for government purposes. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey

Air Quality Monitoring, Assessment and Management

Human beings need to breathe oxygen diluted in certain quantity of inert gas for living. In the atmosphere, there is a gas mixture of, mainly, oxygen and nitrogen, in appropriate proportions. However, the air also contains other gases, vapours and aerosols that humans incorporate when breathing and whose composition and concentration vary spatially. Some of these are physiologically inert. Air pollution has become a problem of major concern in the last few decades as it has caused negative effects on human health, nature and properties. This book presents the results of research studies carried out by international researchers in seventeen chapters which can be grouped into two main sections: a) air quality monitoring and b) air quality assessment and management, and serves as a source of material for all those involved in the field, whether as a student, scientific researcher, industrialist, consultant, or government agency with responsibility in this area

Proceedings of 2013 Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

This symposium was planned and conducted as a part of the state water resources research institute annual program that is supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number G11AP20081 from the United States Geological Survey. The contents of this proceedings document and the views and conclusions presented at the symposium are solely the responsibility of the individual authors and presenters and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USGS or of the symposium organizers and sponsors. This publication is produced with the understanding that the United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for government purposes