GIS-based land suitability analysis integrating multi-criteria evaluation for the allocation of potential pollution sources

The geological environment has been heavily polluted by chemical substances over the past few decades. Pollution sources located on the earth’s surface or underground have affected the quality of the environment. A significant amount of impact could be reduced if the allocation of potential pollution sources was based on an evaluation of environmental conditions. The main objective of this study was to develop a methodology for the allocation of potential pollution sources by employing GIS and multi-criteria evaluation techniques. This methodology was applied to a study area located in the eastern part of Lithuania. A GIS-based land suitability analysis was performed after identifying 16 factors concerning the geological and socio-economic environment, which were important for environmental protection, land use and spatial planning. The environmental and socio-economic factors were divided into eliminating and limiting criteria. Criteria maps based on the selected factors were compiled. Areas delineated by eliminating criteria were identified as unsuitable for development (according to national legislation). Limiting criteria were evaluated according to the suitability level, which were determined in this study considering the principles of sustainable development. The relative importance of each criterion was assessed utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). A land suitability index (LSI) was calculated and the final result of the land suitability analysis was summarized in three suitability maps (environmental, socio-economic and composite). Four suitability classes (unsuitable, least, moderately and most suitable) for the allocation of potential pollution sources in the study area were used, and the nine most suitable candidate sites were selected according to the proposed methodology.     

L’analyse des surfaces enveloppes appliquée à l’étude morpho-structurale de l’est de la France

Résumén

Dans certaines régions où les sédiments récents (plio-quaternaires) sont rares ou inutilisables comme enregistreurs de déformations, seule l’analyse morpho-strcturale peut mettre en évidence des indices de néotectonique. Deux types d’objets morphologiques se révèlent particulièrement utiles : les surfaces (d’érosion et de comblement) et le réseau hydrographique. Leur prise en compte et leur analyse s’effectuent essentiellement à partir des cartes topographiques à différentes échelles (de 1/50 000 à 1/500 000).

* La démarche est la suivante: 1 – Des traitements appropriés sont développés, mettant en évidence des discontinuités et des anomalies au sein des surfaces enveloppes et du réseau hydrographiques;

2 – Ces discontinuités sont analysées puis interprétées afin de déterminer les causes de leur existence dans le cadre d’un modèle d’évolution du relief qui tient compte de facteurs internes (la lithologie, la structure), et de facteurs externes (le climat, la végétation et les actions humaines);

3 – Des travaux de terrain confirment et précisent les caractéristiques de ces facteurs (nature et quantification de la déformation : âge. amplitude, sens des mouvements).

* Les principaux résultats de cette démarche appliquée à l’Kst du Bassin parisien sont les suivants: 1 – Les cuestas orientales du Bassin parisien apparaissent structurées par des accidents NK-SW (prolongement du fossé de Sarre Nahe) et NNW-SSK ( Argonne-Bar-le-Due);

2 – Les discontinuités morpho-structurales sont localisées et caractérisées par des mouvements récents.

     

The impact of Earth’s shadow on the long-term evolution of space debris

Direct solar radiation pressure and Earth’s shadow crossings are known to be responsible for short-term variations of space debris orbital elements, the higher the area-to-mass ratio the larger the perturbation. Nevertheless, existing studies have always been performed on periods of time shorter than 150 years. Considering longer time scales of the order of a 1000 years, this paper focuses on the long-term periodic evolution of space debris trajectories caused by successive Earth’s shadow crossings. Other perturbations as the geopotential and third-body gravitational attractions obviously play a role and compete with the one which is described in this paper. Symplectic numerical propagations and new (semi-)analytical models are developed to identify a frequency associated to shadow entry and exit eccentric anomalies. It is shown that Earth’s shadow is responsible for large deviations from the initial orbital elements, even on shorter period of times, and that this effect increases along with the area-to-mass ratio.     

A new scenario for the last magmatic eruption of La Soufrière of Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles) in 1530 A.D. Evidence from stratigraphy radiocarbon dating and magmatic evolution of erupted products

La Soufrière of Guadeloupe is a dangerous volcano characterized over the last decade by moderate seismic and fumarolic unrest. In the last 15,000 years it has experienced phreatic and magmatic eruptions and unusually numerous flank collapse events sometimes associated with a magmatic eruption. We propose a new age of 1530 A.D. and a new eruptive scenario for the last magmatic eruption on the basis of a novel statistical analysis of radiocarbon age dates, and new field and geochemical data. This eruption is the only magmatic eruption likely to have occurred in Guadeloupe during the last 1400 years. The eruption mainly involved an andesitic magma which, in the first phase of the eruption, partially mixed with a slightly more differentiated magma stored in a small and shallow magma chamber. Ascent of magma to the surface generated a partial collapse of the hydrothermally altered edifice that increased the magma discharge and led to a sub-plinian phase with scoria fallout and column-collapse pyroclastic flows followed by near-vent pyroclastic scoria fountains. The eruption ended with growth of a lava dome. Our revised interpretation of the last magmatic eruption of La Soufrière constitutes the most likely key to a future magmatic eruption scenario for this volcano which displays strong evidence of unrest since 1992.     

Volcanic tsunamis and prehistoric cultural transitions in Cook Inlet,Alaska

The 1883 eruption of Augustine Volcano produced a tsunami when a debris avalanche traveled into the waters of Cook Inlet. Older debris avalanches and coeval paleotsunami deposits from sites around Cook Inlet record several older volcanic tsunamis. A debris avalanche into the sea on the west side of Augustine Island ca. 450 years ago produced a wave that affected areas 17 m above high tide on Augustine Island. A large volcanic tsunami was generated by a debris avalanche on the east side of Augustine Island ca. 1600 yr BP, and affected areas more than 7 m above high tide at distances of 80 km from the volcano on the Kenai Peninsula. A tsunami deposit dated to ca. 3600 yr BP is tentatively correlated with a southward directed collapse of the summit of Redoubt Volcano, although little is known about the magnitude of the tsunami. The 1600 yr BP tsunami from Augustine Volcano occurred about the same time as the collapse of the well-developed Kachemak culture in the southern Cook Inlet area, suggesting a link between volcanic tsunamis and prehistoric cultural changes in this region of Alaska.     

Gyldén Model: The Slowly Changing Equivalent Gravitational Parameter

In the Gyldén problem, the case of slowly changing equivalent gravitational parameter (e.g.p.) is studied. Assuming the following law for the variation of the e.g.p.: μ (t) = μ₀+ εμ (εt), ε< μ₀, we obtained a) a O(ε⁴ T⁴)-approximation of the solution, on a shortened time scale (0,T), with T of order o(ε^-1),for the general case (i.e. the support function μ is O(1)-valued and admits an expansion in power series of its argument), and b) a O(ε²)-approximation of the solution, on a natural timescale of order O(1/ε), for the case of a bounded variation rate (i.e. the support function μ and its derivative are both O(1)-valued). For the study of the first problem we introduced a type of Lissajous variables and used the Lie-Hori normalization scheme; for the second problem we used the Delaunay variables and applied the von Zeipel method for approximate integration. The physical interpretation of the results is in both cases the same: within the corresponding limits of approximation, the variation of e.g.p. (i) has no effect on the size of the osculating ellipse, (ii) it sets the pericenter in slow rotation and (iii) it introduces a secular variation in the longitudes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Biogeographical drivers of ragweed pollen concentrations in Europe

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The drivers of spatial variation in ragweed pollen concentrations, contributing to severe allergic rhinitis and asthma, are poorly quantified. We analysed the...