Search results for "soil"
showing 10 items of 3493 documents
Validation of temperature-emissivity separation and split-window methods from TIMS data and ground measurements
2003
Abstract Land surface temperature retrieved with temperature-emissivity separation (TES) and split-window (SW) algorithms from six-channel Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data in the HAPEX-Sahel experiment agreed with contemporaneous ground temperature measurements to within ±1 °C (TES and SW with channels at 10.8 and 11.7 μm, or SW-56). The SW algorithm used with TIMS channels at 8.4 and 8.7 μm (SW-12) underestimated ground temperatures by 2–5 °C. The TES method required atmospheric correction of at-sensor radiances, which was done with local radiosonde data and MODTRAN 4, and an empirical relationship between the spectral range of emissivity and its minimum value. Emissivity…
The influence of ants on soil and water losses from an orange orchard in eastern Spain
2008
Herbicide applications have greatly reduced plant cover, and increased soil erosion on a new orange orchard planted on valley slopes in eastern Spain. This has increased the importance of soil fauna, such as ants, in regulating soil erosion processes. Ants increase water infiltration rates by forming soil macropores during nest construction, but new soil brought to the surface by ant activity could increase the sediments available for erosion. Simulated rainfall experiments were conducted on 20 paired plots (20 with ant activity and 20 controls) to study the impact of ants on surface water flow and sediment movement in an intensively managed orange orchard near Valencia, Spain. Simulated ra…
Field and Numerical Tests of the Two-Ponding Depth Procedure for Analysis of Single-Ring Pressure Infiltrometer Data
2013
Abstract The two-ponding depth (TPD) analysis procedure of single-ring infiltrometer data can yield invalid results, i.e., negative values of the field-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity or the matric flux potential, denoting failure of the two-level run. The objective of this study was to test the performance of the TPD procedure in analyzing the single-ring infiltrometer data of different types of soils. A field investigation carried out in western Sicily, Italy, yielded higher failure rates (40%) in two clay loam soils than in a sandy loam soil (25%). A similar result, i.e., fine-textured soils yielding higher failure rates than the coarse-textured one, was obtained using numerically …
Water dynamics in different biochar fractions.
2014
Biochar is a carbonaceous porous material deliberately applied to soil to improve its fertility. The mechanisms through which biochar acts on fertility are still poorly understood. The effect of biochar texture size on water dynamics was investigated here in order to provide information to address future research on nutrient mobility towards plant roots as biochar is applied as soil amendment. A poplar biochar has been stainless steel fractionated in three different textured fractions (1.0-2.0 mm, 0.3-1.0 mm and0.3 mm, respectively). Water-saturated fractions were analyzed by fast field cycling (FFC) NMR relaxometry. Results proved that 3D exchange between bound and bulk water predominantly…
Water dynamics and its role in structural hysteresis of dissolved organic matter
2016
Knowledge of structural dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is of paramount importance for understanding DOM stability and role in the fate of solubilized organic and inorganic compounds (e.g., nutrients and pollutants), either in soils or aquatic systems. In this study, fast field cycling (FFC) (1)H NMR relaxometry was applied to elucidate structural dynamics of terrestrial DOM, represented by two structurally contrasting DOM models such as Suwanee River (SRFA) and Pahokee peat (PPFA) fulvic acids purchased by the International Humic Substance Society. Measurement of NMR relaxation rate of water protons in heating-cooling cycles revealed structural hysteresis in both fulvic acids. I…
Geostatistical 3-dimensional integration of measurements of soil magnetic susceptibility.
2010
In soil magnetometry, two types of measurements are usually performed. The first type is measurements performed on the soil surface, frequently using an MS2D sensor. The second type includes measurements of magnetic susceptibility carried out in the soil profile, usually to a depth of about 30 cm. Up to now, such measurement results were analyzed separately. However, it is possible and advantageous to integrate these two types of measurements. The goal of the study was to integrate measurements of magnetic susceptibility performed on the soil surface and in the soil profile. More specifically, the goal was to obtain 3-dimensional spatial distributions of magnetic susceptibility of the topso…
Risk of classic Kaposi sarcoma with residential exposure to volcanic and related soils in Sicily
2009
Purpose Before AIDS, endemic (African) Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was noted to occur in volcanic areas and was postulated to result from dirt chronically embedded in the skin of the lower extremities. The primary cause of all KS types is KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection, but cofactors contribute to the neoplasia. We investigated whether residential exposure to volcanic or related soils was associated with the risk of classic Kaposi sarcoma (cKS) in Sicily. Methods Risk of incident cKS ( N = 141) compared with population-based KSHV seropositive controls ( N = 123) was estimated for residential exposure to four types of soil, categorized with maps from the European Soil Database and dire…
Influence of landscape composition and diversity on contaminant flux in terrestrial food webs: a case study of trace metal transfer to European black…
2012
13 pages; International audience; Although understanding the influence of the spatial arrangement of habitats and interacting communities on the processes of pollutant flux and impacts is critical for exposure and risk assessment, to date few studies have been devoted to this emergent topic. We tested the hypothesis that landscape composition and diversity affect the transfer of trace metals to vertebrates. Bioaccumulation of Cd and Pb in blood and feathers of European blackbirds Turdus merula (n=138) was studied over a smelter-impacted area (Northern France). Landscape composition (type and occurrence of the different habitats) and diversity (number of different habitat types and the propo…
Ultrastructural alterations and environmental exposure influence the opiate concentrations in hair of drug addicts
1995
Hair samples were taken at autopsy from the head of 1 male and 1 female subject both known as drug abusers. Some of the strands were bleached by in-vitro cosmetic treatment. The bleached hair as well as the original hair samples were partly exposed to water or soil prior to further investigations and drug monitoring. The exposure times were 4 weeks or 6 months for water and 6 months for soil. The hair fibers were examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and by scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations. The electron microscope studies confirmed that all experimental conditions had produced morphological alterations in the hair fibers. After exposure to water or to soil for …
The effect of chronic low-dose environmental radiation on organ mass of bank voles in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
2020
Purpose: Animals are exposed to environmental ionizing radiation (IR) externally through proximity to contaminated soil and internally through ingestion and inhalation of radionuclides. Internal organs can respond to radioactive contamination through physiological stress. Chronic stress can compromise the size of physiologically active organs, but studies on wild mammal populations are scarce. The effects of environmental IR contamination on organ masses was studied by using a wild rodent inhabiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). Material and Methods: The masses of brain, heart, kidney, spleen, liver and lung were assessed from bank voles (Myodes glareolus) captured from areas across r…