Search results for "Soil"
showing 10 items of 3493 documents
Consolidation of earthen building materials: a comparative study
2019
The consolidation and protection of mud bricks are a challenge in the field of conservation of archeological sites. One of the solutions is represented by the coverage of the entire excavation that assures a protection against mud dissolution. Unfortunately, this is not always feasible, both for economical and practical issues. For these reasons, alternative solutions are needed. In this work, laboratory experimentation has been carried out in order to test the efficacy of some products to slow down the dissolution process and increase the brick toughness. Three typologies of raw materials taken from different outcrops (one from the Republic of Azerbaijan and two from Calabria region, Italy…
Combined Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Direct-Push Electrical Conductivity (DP-EC) Logging and Coring - A New Methodological Approach in G…
2016
Non-invasive geophysical methods have been increasingly applied in geoarchaeological research commonly showing the need of data calibration based on stratigraphical information deduced from outcrops or sediment cores. In this contribution, a methodological approach combining two-dimensional (2D) electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and stratigraphical data based on coring and, for the first time in geoarchaeological research, direct-push electrical conductivity (DP-EC) logging is presented and discussed. The approach yields high resolution data based on studies of two different types of archives, the Holsterburg site in central Germany located in a fluvio-terrestrial zone and the Corfu C…
Steroids aid in human decomposition fluid identification in soils of temporary mass graves from World War II
2020
Abstract Steroids are widely used for the detection of faecal matter and also – in recent years – for characterising human decomposition in the terrestrial environment. Until now it was not clear whether all commonly used faecal (i.e. 5β-stanols, 5β-stanones and bile acids) and tissue derived steroids (i.e. cholesterol, 5α-cholestanol and 5α-cholestanone) could reveal the presence of human decomposition products in temporary graves. In this study, soil was sampled from three putative mass graves where concentration camp prisoners were temporarily buried for 10 months at the end of World War II (1944 – 45). We hypothesised that soil from the putative temporary mass graves exhibits elevated c…
A tale of two gorges: Late Quaternary site formation and surface dynamics in the Mula basin (Murcia, Spain)
2018
Abstract We present a case-study in Palaeolithic archaeology focusing on formation processes at cave- and rock-shelter-sites in a Mediterranean context and on the correlation between site deposits, Quaternary surface sediments and the morphology of the surrounding land. We study three sites located in the basin of River Mula (Murcia, Spain): the cave-site of Cueva Anton and the rock-shelters of Finca Dona Martina and Abrigo de la Boja, in the Rambla Perea valley. They are examined through an integrated geoarchaeological approach that takes into account geomorphological, stratigraphic and soil micromorphological data. The three sites are found within a short distance and cover similar time s…
Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration s…
2012
(87)Sr/(86)Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries ("Thuringians", 5-6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize (87)Sr/(86)Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context t…
Seasonal and habitat effects on the nutritional properties of savanna vegetation: Potential implications for early hominin dietary ecology.
2019
The African savannas that many early hominins occupied likely experienced stark seasonality and contained mosaic habitats (i.e., combinations of woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, etc.). Most would agree that the bulk of dietary calories obtained by taxa such as Australopithecus and Paranthropus came from the consumption of vegetation growing across these landscapes. It is also likely that many early hominins were selective feeders that consumed particular plants/plant parts (e.g., leaves, fruit, storage organs) depending on the habitat and season within which they were foraging. Thus, improving our understanding of how the nutritional properties of potential hominin plant foods growing in mo…
Soil physicochemical and microbial drivers of temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition under boreal forests
2020
Abstract Soil organic matter (SOM) in boreal forests is an important carbon sink. The aim of this study was to assess and to detect factors controlling the temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition. Soils were collected from Scots pine, Norway spruce, silver birch, and mixed forests (O horizon) in northern Finland, and their basal respiration rates at five different temperatures (from 4 to 28 °C) were measured. The Q10 values, showing the respiration rate changes with a 10 °C increase, were calculated using a Gaussian function and were based on temperature-dependent changes. Several soil physicochemical parameters were measured, and the functional diversity of the soil microbial communit…
Modelling forest decline using SMOS soil moisture and vegetation optical depth
2018
Global change is increasing the risk of forest decline worldwide, impacting carbon and water cycles. Hence, there is an urgent need for predicting forest decline occurrence. To that purpose, this study links forest decline events in Catalonia, detected by the DEBOSCAT forest monitoring program, with information from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite. Firstly, this study reviews the role of the SMOS soil moisture in a previous forest decline episode occurred in 2012, where the authors concluded that dry soils increased the probability of observing decline in broadleaved forests. Secondly, the present study detects that forest decline in 2012 and 2016 was linked to very dr…
Temporal variations in microclimate cooling induced by urban trees in Mainz, Germany
2016
Abstract Global warming is likely to increase the frequency and magnitude of heat waves. As the urban geometry and material amplifies warming, city dwellers will face an intensification of heat-induced health problems and mortality. Although increased vegetation cover is frequently used in urban planning to mitigate excessive heat, temporal variations, as well as the influence of synoptic weather conditions and surrounding urban geometry on the vegetation cooling effect, are still unclear. In this study, we monitored the transpiration-induced cooling from trees over two summers in five urban settings characterized by varying levels of greenness and urban geometry in the city of Mainz (Germa…
Understanding the uncertainty in global forest carbon turnover
2020
Abstract. The length of time that carbon remains in forest biomass is one of the largest uncertainties in the global carbon cycle, with both recent historical baselines and future responses to environmental change poorly constrained by available observations. In the absence of large-scale observations, models used for global assessments tend to fall back on simplified assumptions of the turnover rates of biomass and soil carbon pools. In this study, the biomass carbon turnover times calculated by an ensemble of contemporary terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) are analysed to assess their current capability to accurately estimate biomass carbon turnover times in forests and how these times a…