The influence of industrial immissions on the magnetic susceptibility of soils in upper Silesia

Summary Samples of metallurgical dusts and fly ashes from coal power plants and iron works in Upper Silesia as well as soil profiles in the close vicinity of these plants and in Ojcow National Park (ca. 25 km east of the industrial area) have been studied magnetically and mineralogically. The metallurgical dusts and fly ashes are highly enriched in ferromagnetic minerals. The topsoils from profiles collected near the plants have very high values of magnetic susceptibility while susceptibility in the fermentation and humic subhorizons in soil profiles from Ojcow National Park is considerably increased. The magnetic properties of the metallurgical dusts and fly ashes such as frequency dependence of susceptibility, saturation remanence or coercivity are similar to those observed in the top horizons of the soils. They are mostly related to the occurrence of large (multidomain) grains of non-stoichiometric magnetite ranging from 1 to 20 μm. The similarity of the magnetic particles in the soils is taken as evidence of an anthropogenic origin. They are responsible for the high soil susceptibilities in Upper Silesia and in adjacent areas. Some of the magnetic particles carry substantial quantitities of trace elements such as Pb, Ni, Zn and Cu. Field and laboratory susceptibility measurements can therefore be used as a simple and costeffective method of detecting the presence of heavy metals in the soils of this area.     

Patterns of cornulitid encrustation on the Late Devonian brachiopod shells from Russia

Upper Devonian brachiopods from the Central Devonian Field, Russia have been investigated with respect to encrustation patterns of cornulitids. These Palaeozoic encrusters were very characteristic component of shelly substrates during the Devonian and may serve as valuable objects for palaeoecological studies, especially those concerning the encrusters-host relationships. On the basis of rich material, it has been shown that cornulitid abundance significantly increased in the lower Famennian. Their disparity also increased from one morphotype (robust) present in the upper Frasnian to two distinct morphotypes (robust and slender, presumably representing two different species) in the lower Famennian. The analysis of the spatial occurrence of cornulitids on two dominant lower Famennian brachiopod species (Cyrtospirifer zadonicus and Ripidiorhynchus huotinus) showed, that these encrusters preferred the marginal parts of the shells. This, together with a dominant directional growth of cornulitids toward the commissure, indicates that cornulitids benefited from food brought by feeding currents produced by the brachiopod’s lophophore. The unequivocal evidence for syn vivo association of the cornulitids and their brachiopod hosts is the presence of distinct shell malformations caused by cornulitid growth affecting the host’s shell-secreting epithelium, preserved on some lower Famennian specimens. Interestingly, these malformations were caused by a slender cornulitid morphotype only. Thus, it is evident that during food gathering from the inhalant currents, this cornulitid species exerted a distinct, negative effect on the brachiopod – a deviation of its shell growth. In this case, we may consider this particular cornulitid species as ectoparasite rather than commensal with respect to its host.     

Minimum relative entropy and probabilistic inversion in groundwater hydrology

The similarity between maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and minimum relative entropy (MRE) allows recent advances in probabilistic inversion to obviate some of the shortcomings in the former method. The purpose of this paper is to review and extend the theory and practice of minimum relative entropy. In this regard, we illustrate important philosophies on inversion and the similarly and differences between maximum entropy, minimum relative entropy, classical smallest model (SVD) and Bayesian solutions for inverse problems. MaxEnt is applicable when we are determining a function that can be regarded as a probability distribution. The approach can be extended to the case of the general linear problem and is interpreted as the model which fits all the constraints and is the one model which has the greatest multiplicity or “spreadout” that can be realized in the greatest number of ways. The MRE solution to the inverse problem differs from the maximum entropy viewpoint as noted above. The relative entropy formulation provides the advantage of allowing for non-positive models, a prior bias in the estimated pdf and `hard' bounds if desired. We outline how MRE can be used as a measure of resolution in linear inversion and show that MRE provides us with a method to explore the limits of model space. The Bayesian methodology readily lends itself to the problem of updating prior probabilities based on uncertain field measurements, and whose truth follows from the theorems of total and compound probabilities. In the Bayesian approach information is complete and Bayes' theorem gives a unique posterior pdf. In comparing the results of the classical, MaxEnt, MRE and Bayesian approaches we notice that the approaches produce different results. In␣comparing MaxEnt with MRE for Jayne's die problem we see excellent comparisons between the results. We compare MaxEnt, smallest model and MRE approaches for the density distribution of an equivalent spherically-symmetric earth and for the contaminant plume-source problem. Theoretical comparisons between MRE and Bayesian solutions for the case of the linear model and Gaussian priors may show different results. The Bayesian expected-value solution approaches that of MRE and that of the smallest model as the prior distribution becomes uniform, but the Bayesian maximum aposteriori (MAP) solution may not exist for an underdetermined case with a uniform prior.     

Gas Chromatographic Determination of Extractable Compounds Composition and Emission Rate of Volatile Terpenes from Larch Needle Litter

A combination of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography can be successfully used both for establishing the qualitative composition of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted by leaf litter and for determining their emission rates. Taking as an example European larch litter, it is shown that dead plant material contains considerable amounts of volatile components as well as non-volatile compounds that can be VOC precursors formed as a result of enzymatic reactions. It is proposed to include the determination of extractable compounds into the methodology of studying litter as a source of atmospheric VOC. Some data on litter mass are reported and it is concluded that this data may be included into special models for emission evaluation. In this work the distribution coefficients of monoterpene hydrocarbons between the gas phase and polydimethylsiloxane fiber coating necessary for quantitative determinations in SPME were estimated.     

Floods at the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains — A Polish-Swiss research project

The present paper introduces the topical area of the Polish-Swiss research project FLORIST (Flood risk on the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains), informs on its objectives, and reports on initial results. The Tatra Mountains are the area of the highest precipitation in Poland and largely contribute to flood generation. The project is focused around four competence clusters: observation-based climatology, model-based climate change projections and impact assessment, dendrogeomorphology, and impact of large wood debris on fluvial processes. The knowledge generated in the FLORIST project is likely to have impact on understanding and interpretation of flood risk on the northern foothills of the Tatra Mountains, in the past, present, and future. It can help solving important practical problems related to flood risk reduction strategies and flood preparedness.     

Precise estimation of covariance parameters in least-squares collocation by restricted maximum likelihood

Precise estimates of the covariance parameters are essential in least-squares collocation (LSC) in the case of increased accuracy requirements. This paper implements restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method for the estimation of three covariance parameters in LSC with the Gauss-Markov second-order function (GM2), which is often used in interpolation of gravity anomalies. The estimates are then validated with the use of an independent technique, which has been often omitted in the previous works that are confined to covariance parameters errors based on the information matrix. The crossvalidation of REML estimates with the use of hold-out method (HO) helps in understanding of REML estimation errors. We analyzed in detail the global minimum of negative log-likelihood function (NLLF) in the estimation of covariance parameters, as well, as the accuracy of the estimates. We found that the correlation between covariance parameters may critically contribute to the errors of their estimation. It was also found that knowing some intrinsic properties of the covariance function may help in the scoring process.     

New investigations or recent vertical movements in the Carpatho-Balkan region

Recent work concerning the investigation of vertical movements in the Carpatho-Balkan Region is reported, based on the “Explanatory Text to the Map of Recent Vertical Movements in the Carpatho-Balkan Region”.For this investigation, the following countries supplied information: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, GDR, Hungary, Poland, Romania, USSR, Austria, and Italy. The activities were coordinated by the Hungarian Geodetic Service. Hungary undertook the task of collecting the data, their preparation for adjustment, and the adjustment of the investigation network, as well as the compilation and publication of the map of vertical movement. The authors present the algorithm of the rigorous adjustment: the height differences of the second leveling have been adjusted jointly with the velocities derived from the first and second levelings.In this paper the applied geodetic and oceanographic data, as well as the main character of the investigation network are presented. The interpretation of the adjustment is outlined.The map of Recent Vertical Movements in the Carpatho-Balkan Region (CBR) is printed at the scale of 1:1,000,000.In general, it is claimed that due to the new methods of investigation, the new CBR map of vertical movements provides a better tool to help with further investigations.     

Formaldehyde in Various Forms of Atmospheric Precipitation and Deposition from Highly Urbanized Regions

Formaldehyde levels were determined in various forms of atmospheric precipitation (rain, snow, road and roof runoff, throughfall) and deposition (rime, hoarfrost, dew) collected over twelve months at various locations in two large urban agglomerations and along two highways. HCHO was found in 303 of 500 samples analyzed, with concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 10.7 mg/dm³. The results confirmed the significant effect of vehicular traffic on formaldehyde levels in various forms of wet deposition. Correlations of formaldehyde levels with other parameters commonly monitored in precipitation and/or deposition were also examined. No correlation was found between HCHO levels and rain volume. On the other hand, positive correlations were found for hydrogen peroxide, non-sea-salt sulphate, nitrate, ammonia, and total organic carbon (TOC). In addition, the effect of selected meteorological parameters (temperature, wind speed, wind direction, rainfall) on the concentration of formaldehyde in various forms of precipitation and runoff (road runoff, roof runoff, throughfall) was studied. The only correlation found was that between HCHO concentration and daily rainfall.