Characterisation of thermo-hygrometric conditions of an archaeological site affected by unlike boundary weather conditions

This paper applies statistical techniques to analyse microclimatic data (temperature and relative humidity) recorded at the archaeological site of Plaza de l'Almoina (Valencia, Spain). This study has allowed us to quantify the effect of certain measures that were adopted for preventive conservation. The first monitoring campaign took place in 2010 at this archaeological site, showing harmful effects on the conservation state of the remains due to the presence of a skylight that partly covers the remains and causes a greenhouse effect. This skylight was covered with a water layer to prevent overheating of this archaeological site. However, this layer was removed in 2013 due to water leaks, and the indoor conditions changed. Over the summer, a temporary canvas was installed over the skylight to avoid heating of the archaeological site below by preventing the incidence of direct sunlight. The main importance of this work was to characterise the effect of unlike boundary weather conditions of different years in the indoor microclimate of the archaeological site, and to study the effect of the new boundary situation. This paper shows that the removal of water from the skylight caused a temperature increase inside the museum; meanwhile, the subsequent installation of the canvas cover allows appropriate daily cycles of temperature and relative humidity, especially in areas under the skylight. This work also shows that the replacement of a water ditch near the archaeological site by a PVC pipe was also detected by the sensors due to the difference in water vapour pressure.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) with grants numbers HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02. The authors thank the personal collaboration of the archaeologist Albert Ribera and Carmen Perez.Merello Gimenez, P.; Fernández Navajas, A.; Curiel Esparza, J.; Zarzo Castelló, M.; García Diego, FJ. (2014). Characterisation of thermo-hygrometric conditions of an archaeological site affected by unlike boundary weather conditions. Building and Environment. 76:125-133. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.03.009S1251337

Statistical tools applied in the characterisation and evaluation of a thermo-hygrometric corrective action carried out at the noheda archaeological site (Noheda, Spain)

The Noheda archaeological site is unique and exceptional for its size, and the quality and conservation condition of the Roman mosaic pavement covering its urban pars. In 2008 a tent was installed as protection from rain and sun. Being of interest to characterise the microclimate of the remains, six probes with relative humidity and temperature sensors were installed in 2013 for this purpose. Microclimate monitoring allowed us to check relative humidity differences resulting from the groundwater level, as well as inner sensors reaching maximum temperatures higher than the outdoors ones as a consequence of the non-ventilated tent covering the archaeological site. Microclimatic conditions in the archaeological site were deemed detrimental for the conservation of the mosaics. Thus, in summer 2013, expanded clay and geotextile were installed over the mosaics as a corrective action. The outcomes of this study have proven the effectiveness of this solution to control temperature and relative humidity, helping to configure a more stable microclimate suitable for preservation of the mosaic.Our thanks to the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage of the Council of Education, Culture and Sport in the Community Council of Castilla-La Mancha, and to the Provincial Deputation of Cuenca for the institutional and economical support that they have been giving us throughout these years, which has been vital for the maintenance and adequate progress of the research project that offers relevant scientific results. This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) under projects HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02.Valero, MÁ.; Merello Gimenez, P.; Fernández Navajas, A.; García Diego, FJ. (2014). Statistical tools applied in the characterisation and evaluation of a thermo-hygrometric corrective action carried out at the noheda archaeological site (Noheda, Spain). Sensors. 14(1):1665-1679. doi:10.3390/s140101665S16651679141Valero Tévar, M. Á. (2013). The late-antique villa at Noheda (Villar de Domingo García) near Cuenca and its mosaics. Journal of Roman Archaeology, 26, 307-330. doi:10.1017/s1047759413000172Nava, S., Becherini, F., Bernardi, A., Bonazza, A., Chiari, M., García-Orellana, I., … Vecchi, R. (2010). An integrated approach to assess air pollution threats to cultural heritage in a semi-confined environment: The case study of Michelozzo’s Courtyard in Florence (Italy). Science of The Total Environment, 408(6), 1403-1413. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.07.030Kisternaya, M., & Kozlov, V. (2012). Preservation of historic monuments in the «Kizhi» Open-Air Museum (Russian Federation). Journal of Cultural Heritage, 13(3), S74-S78. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2012.03.013Calia, A., Lettieri, M., Leucci, G., Matera, L., Persico, R., & Sileo, M. (2013). The mosaic of the crypt of St. Nicholas in Bari (Italy): integrated GPR and laboratory diagnostic study. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(12), 4162-4169. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.005Moropoulou, A., Bakolas, A., Karoglou, M., Delegou, E. T., Labropoulos, K. C., & Katsiotis, N. S. (2013). Diagnostics and protection of Hagia Sophia mosaics. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 14(3), e133-e139. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2013.01.006Alberghina, M. F., Barraco, R., Basile, S., Brai, M., Pellegrino, L., Prestileo, F., … Tranchina, L. (2014). Mosaic floors of roman Villa del Casale: Principal component analysis on spectrophotometric and colorimetric data. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 15(1), 92-97. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2012.12.004Faella, G., Frunzio, G., Guadagnuolo, M., Donadio, A., & Ferri, L. (2012). The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: Non-destructive tests for the structural knowledge. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 13(4), e27-e41. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2012.10.014La Gennusa, M., Rizzo, G., Scaccianoce, G., & Nicoletti, F. (2005). Control of indoor environments in heritage buildings: experimental measurements in an old Italian museum and proposal of a methodology. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 6(2), 147-155. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2005.03.001Hygrochron Temperature/Humidity Logger iButton with 8KB Data-Log Memoryhttp://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS1923.pdfTemperature Logger iButton with 8KB Data-Log Memoryhttp://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS1922L-DS1922T.pdfIBM Software. SPSS 16http://www-01.ibm.com/software/es/analytics/spss/García-Diego, F.-J., Fernández-Navajas, Á., Beltrán, P., & Merello, P. (2013). Study of the Effect of the Strategy of Heating on the Mudejar Church of Santa Maria in Ateca (Spain) for Preventive Conservation of the Altarpiece Surroundings. Sensors, 13(9), 11407-11423. doi:10.3390/s13091140

The management and conservation of rock art sites and paintings in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park (UDP) is a World Heritage Site known for its cultural San heritage and its natural beauty, which is advertised as a world tourist attraction. Tourism is a debatable issue with regards to its negative and/or positive impacts on rock art along with commodification aspects. Negatively, visitation of sites increased natural deterioration of the site, the art and challenges for cultural resource management. While increased awareness of rock art conservation is a positive aspect through tourism and developments, contributes optimistically. San heritage is unique, defining our cultural identity and has the power to encourage national unification. The aim of this project is to assess the complexities of tourism developments and its immediate impacts at different rock art sites in the UDP through an analysis of management and conservation methods. The monitoring of these mentioned methods applied is important as it evaluates the effectiveness of past techniques and provides suggestions for other rock art sites. The current conditions at nine study sites in the UDP were investigated under three main criteria; deterioration of the sites and paintings through natural and human impacts, tourism developments and management. Data collection followed principles such as; site mapping, narrative recording, graphic documentation, and is represented in evaluation tables. Results concluded that common management methods were implemented at sites to provide standard conservation practices, but every site had room for improvement. The results have led to the formulation of recommendations that can be applied at other rock art sites and can contribute to future management and conservation protocols. The study highlights the unique demands made on rock art sites by tourism and concludes with final comments and recommendations.Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Geography, Geoinformatics and MeteorologyMAUnrestricte

Multisensoral remote sensing for the microclimatic characterisation and classification of urban structures

Multisensoral remote sensing for the microclimatic characterisation and classification of urban structures. Remote sensing can play an important role for the microclimatic characterisation of urban structures. Against the background of relevant climatic properties of urban surfaces (i.e. thermal and aerodynamic) new surface parameters from different datasets for the comprehensive urban climatologic characterisation are developed for the case of Hamburg. The annual cycle of surface temperatures in multitemporal Landsat data is approximated by a sine function. The extracted parameters "Mean Annual Surface Temperature" (MAST) and "Yearly Amplitude of Surface Temperature" (YAST) show substantial distinctions between urban structures and are strongly correlated with a long-term urban heat island (UHI) pattern derived from floristic proxy data. The frequency distribution of heights from an interferometric SAR digital height model (IFSAR-DHM) from Intermap Technologies shows a clear correspondence with the surface roughness. Eventually, it is shown, that the new parameters are suitable for the classification of urban micro-climatic structures