Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Living at the margin of the retreating Fennoscandian Ice Sheet: The early Mesolithic sites at Aareavaara, northernmost Sweden

During an archaeological survey in Pajala parish, northernmost Sweden, clusters of quartz waste from knapping and burnt bone were discovered on a glaciofluvial gravel plateau close to Aareavaara village in the Muonio River valley. Sampled materials from a larger area and small-scale excavations (in total 6 m2) are interpreted as resulting from short-stay hunter-gatherer camps. Radiocarbon dating on burnt bones suggest an age of occupancy at ~10,700 cal. yr BP, which is more or less contemporary with ‘Komsa Phase’ sites on the north coast of Norway (~300–360 km northwards). The Aareavaara site should thus be the oldest known archaeological site to date in northern Sweden. A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, based on pollen analysis of sediment cores from two nearby lakes and radiocarbon dating of macrofossils for construction of time/depth sedimentation curves, suggests a deglaciation age of the area corresponding to occupation by early man (~10,700 cal. yr BP). Aareavaara was at the time of deglaciation situated in a transitional zone between subaqueous and subaerial ice-margin retreat from the northeast towards the southwest, with higher hills and plateaux forming an archipelago in the Ancylus Lake with highest shorelines formed at ~170 m a.s. l. The hunter-gatherer camp sites at Aareavaara were thus, both in time and space, located in close proximity to the retreating ice sheet margin, but also in a waterfront location, in fact on an island in the Ancylus Lake. Our pollen data suggest a subarctic birch woodland tundra landscape characterized by open vegetation, including occasional birch trees and an abundance of willow and dwarf birch.
How Differential Capillary Stresses Promote Particle Mobilization in Macroporous Soils: A Novel Conceptual Model

Soil particles of colloidal size have been known for more than two decades to facilitate the transport of adsorbed contaminants through the vadose zone. Understanding the mobilization mechanisms of these particles is thus essential for environment and water resource protection. It was recently shown that when the dry period before a rainfall event varies from 1 h to a few days, the mass of mobilized particles increases by more than an order of magnitude. This mobilization increase was indirectly linked to water content variations in preferential flow pathways. In this study, we developed a novel conceptual model of autochthonous particle mobilization in macroporous soils that explains this observation. We assumed that during a rain interruption, water loss from the macropore walls induces differential capillary stresses that weaken the structure of the walls. This weakening promotes mobilization during the passage of the infiltration front at the beginning of a subsequent rainfall event. The model computes the number of mobilized particles as a function of the rain interruption duration. We compared the computed mobilization with data obtained from a series of successive rainfall events performed at the column scale on a calcareous soil. Our simple model reproduced qualitatively well the observed variations of mobilization with rain interruption duration. This agreement strengthens the hypothesis of a mobilization process linked to capillary stresses occurring in the macropore walls. The model also provides insight into how the chronology of rainfall events undergone by the soil influences mobilization during successive events. Finally, it provides a novel link between colloid mobilization and pore structure evolution.
Surface deformation during the Mw 6.4 (8 June 2008) Movri Mountain earthquake in the Peloponnese, and its implications for the seismotectonics of western Greece

The Movri Mountain earthquake (Mw 6.4), western Greece, was likely caused by dextral‐slip along a blind high‐angle fault, and generated a complex pattern of co‐seismic surface ruptures southwest of the Gulf of Corinth. The mapped Nisi, Michoi, and Vithoulkas rupture segments have similar lengths (5–6 km) and vertical offset on the order of 25, 10, and 5 cm, respectively. They are commonly expressed as straight or jagged linear traces with secondary cracks radiating from the main segments. Horizontal slip vector analysis indicates extensional faulting processes for all rupture segments. Although these faults exert some control on the fluvial drainage pattern and at least one of them was ruptured during past events, their escarpments are poorly preserved. The indistinct topographic expression of the studied faults and their complex rupture patterns can be attributed to the distribution of the deformation over a blind fault.
Antarctic macro-zoobenthic communities: a review and an ecological classification

Abstract A partly new classification of shelf inhabiting Antarctic macro-zoobenthic communities is proposed in this review. The main components are two core communities. One is dominated by sessile suspension feeders supported by food entrained in strong near-bottom currents. Variants of this community include assemblages without sponges, those that prefer sponge spicule mats as substratum and predator-driven systems. The second core community is dominated by the infauna and mobile epifauna and controlled by vertical phytodetritus flux and soft sediments. This community is obviously restricted to areas with low current velocity, particularly in areas that are sheltered due to a heterogeneous coastal and sea floor topography. In addition, in physically controlled shallow water a small number of representatives of all these ecological guilds can become very abundant. Between both core communities a broad range of mixed assemblages exists that can be explained by a gradient in environmental conditions and trophic amensalism. A concept is also proposed for the ecological functioning of systems with extremely low abundances within ecological guilds, such as those that occur under and close to ice shelves, which cannot satisfactorily be explained by trophic limitation. These extremely low abundances may result from a shift during ontogenesis from a state with predominantly mismatched environmental conditions and ecological demands of young recruits, to a state where a match occurs.
LAI estimation by means of the WDVI: A sensitivity analysis with a combined PROSPECT‐SAIL model

Abstract The PROSPECT leaf reflectance model and the SAIL canopy reflectance model were combined for quantifying the accuracy of LAI estimation from the Weighted Difference Vegetation Index (WDVI). The WDVI was developed as part of the CLAIR model for correcting the near‐infrared reflectance for soil background. From the PROSPECT‐SAIL simulations, it is concluded that the influence of external factors, such as soil reflectance, ratio diffuse/total irradiation and solar‐view geometry, will not pose a large problem for the relationship between LAI and WDVI. Moreover, leaf variables such as leaf chlorophyll content, leaf mesophyll structure and hot spot size‐parameter have quite a small influence for green leaves at near‐nadir observations (e.g. Landsat and SPOT‐nadir). The main variable influencing the relationship between WDVI and LAI is the leaf inclination angle distribution.
Land cover in the Horqin Grasslands, North China. Detecting changes between 1975 and 1990 by means of remote sensing

This paper aims to identify land cover changes of the western part of the Horqin steppe by means of Landsat MSS satellite data. The Horqin steppe is located in the temperate semi-arid zone of North China, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The steppe is considered to be one of the most drastic examples of land degradation in China's semi-arid region. Two Landsat MSS scenes, one for the year 1975, the other for 1989, with an overlapping area of around 20000 km2 were used for the land cover change detection. After performing geometric and radiometric corrections, an unsupervised cluster classification revealed six major land cover classes including water. Then a supervised Maximum Likelihood classification was applied to both scenes using the results from the unsupervised classification as well as the Horqin desertification/land use map (Lanzhou Institute of Desert Research, 1991) and filed data, which have been collected in September 1996. 5-10 training areas for each class where identified for the five land cover classes: (1) Moving sand with less than 10% vegetation cover, (2) farmland, (3) grassland with a vegetation cover of 10-60%, (4) grassland with a vegetation cover of 60-100% and (5) scrub forest. Further a post classification filtering process was applied to produce more homogenous areas. Finally by means of visual interpretation and a digital elevation model obvious misclassifications, such as overrepresentation of cropland at the expense of scrub forest or grassland with vegetation cover >60%, were changed. A comparison of the 1989 image classification with the collected field data gave poor results. Most likely this is due to the time difference between image acquisition and field data but also the result of low precision when georeferencing the image. Another source of error could be the actual sampling method, which has occurred close to river systems, where land use and land cover may undergo rapid changes. Comparing the 1975 and 1989 final classifications three main types of changes may be observed. First, larger areas of farmland are found in the 1989 image compared to 1975, mainly distributed around the Xiliao River system. Second a significant area of the class `grassland with 10-60% vegetation cover' in 1975 has become converted to the class `grassland 60-100% vegetation cover' by 1989. Third, sandy surfaces with the lowest vegetation cover,
Plant‐soil interactions in salt marsh environments: Experimental evidence from electrical resistivity tomography in the Venice Lagoon

The role of root water uptake in regulating soil water saturation in salt marshes is controversial. Modeling studies suggest that soil aeration is improved by transpiration, with implications for the distribution of vegetation species and of the associated topographic features controlling the hydraulic regime of the marshland and eventually its survival. Marsh vegetation plays a key role in the preservation of such critical environment, which represents unique marker for climatic change and impact studies. However, the direct quantification of space‐time aeration patterns has remained elusive, in part, because of the limitations posed by high salinity to conventional observation techniques such as time or frequency domain reflectometry. Here we show that time‐lapse microscale electrical resistivity tomography, coupled with tensiometric observations, allows the identification of variably saturated zones and the characterization of space‐time soil moisture dynamics in a salt marsh in the Venice Lagoon (Italy). This is the first quantitative observational experiment which confirms that periodically flooded plants are capable of producing a persistently aerated layer below the flooded surface when transpiration proceeds at a sufficiently high rate. The experimental results are compared against previously published model predictions.
Relation of vertical flux of particles smaller than 10 μm to total aeolian horizontal mass flux at Owens Lake

The vertical flux of particles smaller than 10 μm for a saline playa surface, the particle size composition of which was classified as loam-textured, was estimated for a highly wind-erodible site on the playa of Owens (dry) Lake in California. The ratio of this vertical flux to the horizontal flux of total airborne material through a surface perpendicular to the soil and to the wind, Fa/qtot, is 2.75×10−4 m−1. This is consistent with that ratio for sand-textured soils and suggests that the binding energy and size of saltating particles for the tested surface material at Owens Lake is of the same order as that for sandier soils. The horizontal mass flux of saltating grains, q, in the reported wind erosion event is 51.3% of the total horizontal mass flux qtot. Therefore the ratio of Fa/q is 5.4×10−4 m−1.
FECAL COLIFORM SOURCE ASSESSMENT IN A SMALL, MIXED LAND USE WATERSHED 1

ABSTRACT: This study presents the results of fecal coliform (FC) sampling in the Rawls Creek, South Carolina, watershed during 1999 and 2000. The work was undertaken because the watershed is listed on the 303(d) list for South Carolina due to FC excursions. The watershed is 43.8 percent residential, 35 percent forest, 5.7 percent mixed urban, 4.9 percent commercial, and 4.8 percent agriculture. Samples were taken at 15 stations during eight field trips divided into two phases to characterize FC inputs from subbasins and to integrate results from upstream sampling. FC concentrations ranged from 135 to 730 colonies/100 ml. Results suggest that retention ponds in the area are a significant factor in attenuation of FC concentrations. Catchments with the largest contiguous impervious areas are the greatest source of FC. The highest concentrations of FC were observed at stations just downstream from a large detention basin that intercepts storm runoff from a large commercial area. Further analysis of the design and performance of that structure is suggested. The Koon Branch tributary is less than 20 percent of the land area in the watershed but may contribute 40 percent of the fecal loading. The results of this study confirm the importance of site assessments to aid understanding of nonpoint source pollution in complex watersheds.
Assessment of surface water quality of Songkhram River (Thailand) using environmetric techniques

ABSTRACT Environmetric techniques such as cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA) and discriminant analysis were applied for the assessment of spatial and temporal variations of a large complex water-quality data set of the Songkhram River Basin, generated during 15 years (1995–2009) by monitoring of 17 parameters at 5 different sites. Hierarchical CA grouped five sampling sites into three clusters, i.e. upper stream (US), middle stream (MS) and lower stream (LS) sites, based on water-quality characteristics. FA/PCA applied to the data sets thus obtained resulted in six latent factors explaining 80.80, 73.95 and 73.78% of the total variance in water-quality data sets of LS, MS and US areas, respectively. This study highlights the usefulness of multivariate statistical assessment of complex databases in the identification of pollution sources and to better comprehend the spatial and temporal variations for effective river water-quality management.
Environmental determinants of physical activity in children: a systematic review

Introduction: The lack of physical activity (PA) in children is an important health risk factor. Previous studies have shown that some environmental features may be associated with PA levels.Objectives: Find and comprehend which environmental features were mostly positively associated with children’s physical activity.Methods: Twenty-eight studies that assessed association between the environmental features and physical activity among children (ages 3 to 12-years) and fulfilled selection criteria were systematically reviewed.Results: Results across the various studies showed that facilities and parks/playgrounds are mostly positively associated with children’s PA. Sidewalks and bike lanes were positively associated to PA in all studies. Safety, traffic and weather showed inconsistent associations with children’s PA.Conclusions: Beginning to understand which environmental features contribute more to PA in children can lead to increased levels of PA. Keywords: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, ENVIRONMENT, CHILDREN
Support vector machines for classification in remote sensing

Support vector machines (SVM) represent a promising development in machine learning research that is not widely used within the remote sensing community. This paper reports the results of two experiments in which multi‐class SVMs are compared with maximum likelihood (ML) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods in terms of classification accuracy. The two land cover classification experiments use multispectral (Landsat‐7 ETM+) and hyperspectral (DAIS) data, respectively, for test areas in eastern England and central Spain. Our results show that the SVM achieves a higher level of classification accuracy than either the ML or the ANN classifier, and that the SVM can be used with small training datasets and high‐dimensional data.
Stabilization of a dispersive soil by blending with fly ash

Abstract This paper is concerned with the influence of fly ash (pozzolanic) on the stabilization of a dispersive soil commonly found in northeast Thailand. The effect of various proportions of fly ash on the rate of erosion, dispersiveness, strength and frictional properties and the compaction and consolidation characteristics, are discussed. It is noted that in general the addition of fly ash not only inhibits erosion and dispersiveness but also contributes to a significant improvement in strength and deformation characteristics. Nevertheless, excessive quantities of fly ash (>8%) generate diminishing returns and in fact promote segregation (erosion) of the stabilized soil again due to insufficient cohesion. Mineralogical studies based on X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that the reduction in the rate of erosion of the blended soil is associated with fine particle flocculation. The long term properties, however, are directly linked with the self-hardening nature of fly ash which contributes to time-dependent strengthening of the stabilized soil.
Design of a wrist rotation rehabilitation robot

This paper describes the design of a wrist rotation rehabilitation robot based on force measurements for severe stroke patients lying in bed wards or at home which allows them to receive wrist rehabilitation exercise. The manufactured six-axis force/torque sensor which can detect three directional force Fx, Fy, Fz and three directional torque Tx, Ty, Tz, was attached to the developed rehabilitation robot and allows the rehabilitation robot to measure a rotational force (Tz) exerted on a wrist, the signal force Fx, Fy, Fz and torque Tx, Ty which in turn allows the device to be used safely. The robot was designed and manufactured for severe stroke patients lying in bed, and a robot program was manufactured to perform a wrist rotation flexibility rehabilitation exercise. The results of a characteristics test for the developed rehabilitation robot showed that it was safely operated while the wrist rotation flexibility rehabilitation exercise was performed. Therefore, it is thought that the developed rehabilitation robot can be safely used with severe stroke patients.
Budgeting soil erosion from floodplain sediments of the central Rhenish Slate Mountains (Westerwald), Germany

The distribution, thickness and composition of the floodplain sediments in the valleys of the Gelbach (Lower Westerwald) and Große Nister (Upper Westerwald) depend on the occurrence of loessic periglacial cover beds in their catchments as well as on historical land use. The budget of floodplain sedimentation was derived from a study of the floodloams underlying the monastery garden of Marienstatt, a village in the Große Nister valley. From the study of two occupation levels, pottery shards and radiocarbon dating, 55% of the floodloam can be attributed to the Modern period (younger than c. AD 1450). From the radiocarbon age of a charcoal fragment extracted from the base of the floodloam at another site in the Nister valley, it can be concluded that the floodloams were almost exclusively deposited by human impact since the time of High Medieval expansion of settlement into the Uplands. The fine-grained loamy sediments blanket a rather irregular floodplain of channels and gravel bars. Similar results as to the age of the floodplain sediments were obtained from radiocarbon datings obtained for the Gelbach valley. Floodloam sediment budgets of the rivers and their tributaries have been calculated for the Große Nister and the Gelbach valleys of the Westerwald and, for including a catchment of higher sedimentation, the Aar River of the Taunus Mountains, followed by a comparative analysis of the results in relation to potential erosion areas in the catchment. The amount of areal soil erosion in upland areas in historical times has been found to be considerably higher than generally assumed. Average amounts of anthropogenic soil erosion could thus be calculated from the floodloam deposition: 1677.4 t/ha for the Aar catchment, 1084.5 t/ha for the Gelbach catchment, and 841.8 t/ha for that of the Nister. The calculated total amount of soil erosion is then subdivided by periods.
Sub-Daily Earth Rotation during the Epoch '92 Campaign

Earth rotation measurements were obtained using Global Positioning System (GPS) data for 11 days during the Epoch '92 campaign in the Summer of 1992. Earth orientation was measured simultaneously with several very long baseline interferornetry (VLBI) networks. These data were processed to yield both GPS and VLBI estimates of UT1 with 3-hour time resolution, which were then compared and analyzed. The high frequency behavior of both data sets is similar, although drifts between the two series of approx.0,1 ms over 2-5 days are evident, Models for tidally induced UT1 variations and estimates of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) at 6-hour intervals were also compared with the geodetic data, These studies indicate that most of the geodetic signal in the diurnal and semidiurnal frequency bands can be attributed to tidal processes, and that UT1 variations over a few days are mostly atmospheric in origin.
On the Physical Properties of Apparent Two‐Phase Fractal Porous Media

In this study, we summarized some basic characters of fractal porous media, including the fractal pore or particle size distribution, pore or particle density function, the fractal dimensions for the pore and solid phases, and their relations. The geometric porosities vs. the fractal dimensions and microstructures of porous media were reviewed and discussed in two and three dimensions. The specific surface areas of fractal porous media in two and three dimensions were derived and were expressed as a function of the fractal dimensions and microstructural parameters. The fluid velocities in fractal porous media were also derived and found to be a function of the fractal dimensions and microstructural parameters of the medium. The parameters presented are the fundamental ones and may have potential in analysis of transport properties in fractal porous media.