Distribution of uranium in German bottled and tap water

The results presented in this paper on uranium in bottled and tap water were determined within the scope of the project “European Groundwater Geochemistry: Bottled Water” of the Geochemistry Expert Group of EuroGeoSurveys. The analyses of bottled water provide an inexpensive approach to obtain information about European groundwater geochemistry. For this study, the uranium concentrations in 1785 European mineral water samples were analyzed by ICP–QMS in the BGR laboratories. The dataset is used to obtain a first impression about natural concentration levels and variation of uranium in groundwater (and bottled water) at the German and European scale.     

Neural Networks: A General Framework for Non-Linear Function Approximation

The focus of this paper is on the neural network modelling approach that has gained increasing recognition in GIScience in recent years. The novelty about neural networks lies in their ability to model non‐linear processes with few, if any, a priori assumptions about the nature of the data‐generating process. The paper discusses some important issues that are central for successful application development. The scope is limited to feedforward neural networks, the leading example of neural networks. It is argued that failures in applications can usually be attributed to inadequate learning and/or inadequate complexity of the network model. Parameter estimation and a suitably chosen number of hidden units are, thus, of crucial importance for the success of real world neural network applications. The paper views network learning as an optimization problem, reviews two alternative approaches to network learning, and provides insights into current best practice to optimize complexity so to perform well on generalization tasks.     

FFT-enhanced IHS transform method for fusing high-resolution satellite images

Existing image fusion techniques such as the intensity–hue–saturation (IHS) transform and principal components analysis (PCA) methods may not be optimal for fusing the new generation commercial high-resolution satellite images such as Ikonos and QuickBird. One problem is color distortion in the fused image, which causes visual changes as well as spectral differences between the original and fused images. In this paper, a fast Fourier transform (FFT)-enhanced IHS method is developed for fusing new generation high-resolution satellite images. This method combines a standard IHS transform with FFT filtering of both the panchromatic image and the intensity component of the original multispectral image. Ikonos and QuickBird data are used to assess the FFT-enhanced IHS transform method. Experimental results indicate that the FFT-enhanced IHS transform method may improve upon the standard IHS transform and the PCA methods in preserving spectral and spatial information.     

Analysis of processes leading to localized electron enhancements in the outer radiation belt

New information obtained about >500 keV electron intensity enhancements, which have been observed intermittently close to the outer edge of the electron radiation belt, is used in conjunction with an earlier statistical study by Brown and Stone (1972) to investigate processes which could lead to such structures. The enhancements are typically of ～20 sec duration and occur in a very narrow invariant latitude band, maximally 2° wide. The intensity increase relative to the “normal” background level is up to a factor 10, and the “spike” frequency of occurrence is strongly local time dependent, with more spikes observed in the night and dusk-noon sectors than in the noon-dawn sector. The processes investigated quantitatively are distortions of the magnetospheric topology in the equatorial region, wave-particle interactions and the effects of ionospheric currents. It is shown that the various processes which contribute to equatorial field disturbances can explain the observations.     

Soil frost effects on soil water and runoff dynamics along a boreal forest transect: 1. Field investigations

To determine how soil frost changes flowpaths of runoff water along a hillslope, a transect consisting of four soil profiles directed towards a small stream in a mature forest stand was investigated at Svartberget, near Vindeln in northern Sweden. Soil temperature, unfrozen water content, groundwater level and snow depth were investigated along the transect, which started at the riparian peat, and extended 30 m upslope into mineral soils. The two, more organic‐rich profiles closest to the stream had higher water retention and wetter autumn conditions than the sandy mineral soils further upslope. The organic content of the soil influenced the variation in frost along the transect. The first winter (1995–96) had abnormally low snow precipitation, which gave a deep frost down to 40–80 cm, whereas the two following winters had frost depths of 5–20 cm. During winter 1995–96, the two organic profiles close to the stream had a shallower frost depth than the mineral soil profile higher upslope, but a considerably larger amount of frozen water. The fraction of water that did not freeze despite several minus degrees in the soil was 5–7 vol.% in the mineral soil and 10–15 vol.% in the organic soil. From the measurements there were no signs of perched water tables during any of the three snowmelt periods, which would have been strong evidence for changed water flowpaths due to soil frost. When shallow soil layers became saturated during snowmelt, especially in 1997 and 1998, it was because of rising groundwater levels. Several rain on frozen ground events during spring 1996 resulted in little runoff, since most of the rain either froze in the soil or filled up the soil water storage. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Schwammbänke,Riffe und submarines Relief im oberen weissen Jura der Schwäbischen Alb (Württemberg)

Zusammenfassung Im Weißen Jura der Schwäbisch-fränkischen Alb treten Schwammriffe auf. Diese Erscheinung wurde bisher nur in diesem Gebiet und nur in dieser Formation beobachtet. Im oberen Weißjura schließen sich diese Riffe zu mächtigen Massenkalkkomplexen zusammen. Das submarine Relief, wie es bei Ende der Massenkalkbildung bestand, wird für Teilgebiete der Schwäbischen Alb rekonstruiert. Auffällige Eigenschaft dieses Reliefs ist ein einheitliches höchstes Niveau der Rifferhebungen, das sich regional verfolgen läßt. Lagerungsbeziehungen des Massenkalks zur gleichzeitig abgelagerten und später an das Relief angelagerten geschichteten Fazies werden beschrieben und benannt.     

On the sensitized photo-oxidation of alkylbenzenes in seawater

Several homologous monoalkylated benzenes were photo-oxidized as surface films on and dissolved in pure water and purified natural seawater by solar and equivalent artificial UV irradiation in the presence of anthraquinone as photo-sensitizer. The main reaction products were the 1-phenylalkanones, the corresponding secondary alcohols, benzaldehyde and, when the side chain contained four or more carbon atoms, the products of what appears to be a Norrish type II photo-degradation. The detection among the reaction products of an aldehyde with one carbon atom less than the olefin produced by the Norrish type II photo-degradation suggests a photolytic decomposition of 1-alkenes, resulting in the formation of highly reactive compounds capable of abiotic reactions in the electronic ground state with a variety of organic compounds occurring in seawater.