Essential elements and heavy metal concentrations in a small area of the Castlecomer Plateau, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland: Implications for animal performance.

peer-reviewedMany ruminants are solely or mostly dependant for their nutrients, including essential elements, on the forage available to them, either in its natural state or conserved as hay or silage. A soil and herbage survey was carried out in April and September 2007, in a 3.1 km × 3.0 km grid, incorporating 106 and 46 sampling points, respectively, on the Castlecomer Plateau, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. The aim was to determine the nutrient and heavy metal status of soil and herbage in the sampling area, and to examine the concentrations observed for their potential to impact on animal performance. Low soil pH and high soil lime requirements were identified within the sampling area. The concentrations of Ca, Cu, Se and Zn were low in both soil and herbage. These conditions are similar to those found on other farms in Ireland. Fluoride was detected in 61 of the 97 herbage samples in April 2007, but only four exceeded 40 mg/kg dry matter, the maximum tolerable level for cattle. Mineral imbalances (Ca, Cu, Se and Zn) observed in pastures caused by low soil mineral status, exacerbated by low soil pH, could impair animal performance in the area studied

Deterrence, Technology, and the Sensible Distribution of Arms Control Verification Resources

For routine inspections in the frame of arms control, we address the determination of a rational basis for the distribution of available verification resources among controlled States. The analysis is performed primarily in the context of the nonproliferation treaty. In the spirit of this treaty, which in its original conception stressed objectivity, we adopt a formal, quantified point of view applying the theory of n-person noncooperative games. Emphasis is placed on the conditions necessary for fulfillment of the fundamental verification objective of deterring illegal behavior, and reasonable and intuitively understandable conclusions are derived. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 58: 296-304, 201

Aenderungsdetektion mit Satelliten- und Luftbildern von 1m Ortsaufloesung zur Unterstuetzung von Verifikation und Krisenpraevention (Nukleare Anwendungen) Abschlussbericht

Panchromatische und multispektrale Satellitenaufnahmen mit raeumlichen Aufloesungen von 1 m bis 30 m wurden mit Hilfe statischer Aenderungsdetektionsmethoden analysiert, um das Potential der Satellitenbildanalyse zur Unterstuetzung der nuklearen Verifikation zu untersuchen und weiterzuentwickeln. Fallstudien im Bereich der nuklearen Verifikation (Non-Proliferation Treaty, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Fissile Materials Cutoff Treaty) wurden durchgefuehrt. Als wesentliches Ergebnis des Projektes haben die Fallstudien gezeigt, dass sich das statistische Aenderungsdetektionsverfahren mit kommerziellen Satellitenbildern sehr effektiv einsetzen laesst, um verifikationsrelevante Informationen zu gewinnen. Durch Anwendung des Verfahrens koennte beispielsweise die Lage des herdes einer unterirdischen Kernexplosion auf wenige hundert Meter genau bestimmt werden. Der auf diese Weise entdeckte Einbruchskrater lag etwa 4 km von jenem Punkt entfernt, der mit seismischen Verfahren als Zentrum der Explosion berechnet worden war, und innerhalb des angegebenen seismischen Fehlerbereiches. (orig.)Statistical change detection methods for nuclear verification with commercial, multispectral satellite imagery were investigated and extended. Case studies relating to international treaties on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Bab Treaty, Fissile Material Cutoff treaty) were carried out using imagery with from 1 m to 30 ground resolution. It was concluded that statistical change detection can be applied successfully to obtain complementary information relevant to nuclear verification. For example, the exact location of the Indian underground nuclear test of May, 1998 could be determined and compared to seismic measurements. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F02B1439 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung, Berlin (Germany)DEGerman

Improving Change Detection Results of IR-MAD by Eliminating Strong Changes

This letter examines the effect of the prior elimination of strong changes on the results of change detection in bitemporal multispectral images using the previously published iteratively reweighted multivariate alteration detection (IR-MAD) method. An initial change mask is calculated by identifying strong changes between two images. By using the mask and hence eliminating the strong changes from the analysis, the IR-MAD method is able to identify a better no-change background. This effect is demonstrated on a multitemporal Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus data set from an agricultural region in Germany with substantial improvement in the results even for the scenes which have a large number of changes