![Around the Bloc: Cleaning Up Eastern Europe’s Radioactive Legacy](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2016_21984.jpg)
Around the Bloc: Cleaning Up Eastern Europe’s Radioactive Legacy
Romanian and Czech authorities are failing to ensure the safety of former uranium miners and other people exposed to contamination, an investigation claims.
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Romanian and Czech authorities are failing to ensure the safety of former uranium miners and other people exposed to contamination, an investigation claims.
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Drainage of groundwater by surface water, i.e. groundwater inflow into a stream or lake, is an essential component of the water balance. Moreover, the drainage and its spatial distribution determine geomorphological processes taking place in the riverbed. In order to identify the spatial distribution of groundwater inflow into the river, prototypes of two new meters filtrometer and gradientmeter ) were designed and developed. The filtrometer allows to directly measure the groundwater-surface water seepage through bottom sediments at the place where the meter is embedded into the riverbed. The gradientmeter allows to measure hydraulic gradient within bottom sediments between groundwater and the river. Both parameters measured directly in the riverbed allow to specify the conditions of groundwater flow through bottom sediments. The field research studies conducted by means of the specified meters ( filtrometer and gradientmeter ) within the Parsęta River valley at Storkowo were aimed to investigate the drainage of groundwater and its conditions. A section of the Parsęta River with a length of 1600 meters and having no tributaries was selected. Three series of field measurements: spring, summer and autumn ones were conducted. During each series approximately 30 measurements were made by means of the filtrometer and the gradientmeter. The conducted measurements made it possible to calculate flow rates of the drainage of groundwater within the examined section of the Parsęta. The obtained results were verified on the basis of control measurements with the application of the differential river flow method. Moreover, it was possible to assess the spatial distribution of specific discharge, hydraulic gradient and hydraulic conductivity in bottom sediments of the Parsęta. On an annual basis, the largest drainage of groundwater was found within meander erosive areas where it reached nearly 150 % of the average value for the examined section within the Parsęta valley. Within meander accumulative areas, the drainage level was at approximately 110 % of the average value. At straight sections the drainage of groundwater was the lowest and amounted about 66 % of the average value. The research studies conducted in the Parsęta valley confirmed the usefulness of the new method to assess the drainage of groundwater and its conditions within the river.
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Research of amphibians and reptiles of Imotsko polje (Imotski field) and its surroundings, including aquatic habitats of Vrljika River and Prološko blato Lake, was carried out on several occasions in the period from 2009 to 2014, and the presence of 20 species was recorded. Of this number, there were 7 species of amphibians – (Proteus anguinus Laurenti, 1768, Lissotriton vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758), Salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758), Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758), Hyla arborea (Linnaeus, 1758), Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771), Rana dalmatina Fitzinger in Bonaparte, 1838) – and 13 species of reptiles – (Pseudopus apodus (Pallas, 1775), Lacerta trilineata Bedriaga, 1866, Podarcis melisellensis (Braun, 1877), Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque, 1810), Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768, Hierophis gemonensis (Laurenti, 1768), Platyceps najadum (Eichwald, 1831), Telescopus fallax (Fleischmann, 1831), Zamenis longissimus (Laurenti, 1768), Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758), Natrix tessellata (Laurenti, 1768), Malpolon insignitus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827), Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758). Of the 20 species recorded, three (3) of them are located in the Red Book of amphibians and reptiles of Croatia: Proteus anguinus in the category critically endangered species (CR), while Podarcis melisellensis and Podarcis siculus in the category least concern species (LC).
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Forest coverage is important geographical factor for every country, so it is very important to regulate, control and supervise it. The purpose of this paper – to analyze forest changes in Aukštadvaris Regional Park in the period from 1893 to 2015. In order to reach the goal, certain tasks were accomplished. Firstly, with the use of GIS and cartographic sources of different periods (1:21 000 – 1:25 000 scale topographic maps of the Republic of Lithuania forest cadastral digital data) to identify forest areas of Aukštadvaris Regional Park in 1893, 1934, 1949, 1984, 2000, 2015, changes were identified and their spatial distribution were examined. During the study maps were made to reflect the mentioned years, changes that had occurred during period between the years, all of this information were analyzed, evaluated and described. Second, causes and factors of forest changes in Aukštadvaris Regional Park area were examined. It showed that the main reason for this was government policies, wars, lack of natural-growth control. Finally, the results, information and trends were compared with the Lithuanian forest situation and trends. In this way, problems, regional park is facing, were highlighted – too many fastgrowing forest coverage, because in Lithuania forest coverage were both increasing and decreasing over the period of time, and right now it stands at 33,4 %, but in the regional park of Aukštadvaris, during analysed period has only been rising and right now stands at 54,8 %. If the situation will not change and appropriate measures will not be taken, forest coverage can reach 60 %.
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Odorous substances emitted to ambient air from wastewater treatment plants cause a serious nuisance to inhabitants in the direct vicinity of such emitters. The solutions currently used to remove malodorous gasesin the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Belchatow do not fulfill their function properly. This article presentsthe test results of the composition and concentrations of odorous compounds emitted from the above-mentioned plant. In addition, the paper introduces the concept of eliminating substances by the biofiltration process. Due to the applied method, one can expect to reduce the odor by at least 90%.
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The paper discusses the background for the emergence of such ‘mountain resorts’, their types and changes in their mode of operation. Some theoretical and practical issues will be illustrated with examples derived from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
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Comparative analyses of data in the observing period from 1970 until 2003 has shown that there has been decrease of the erosive processes on the territory of Temstica river basin. It has been established that character and the intensity of the erosion depends not only on physical factors but on demographic and socio-economical changes in the investigated space.
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This article treats the environmental issues and their intimate relationship with social and economic reality in the zone of Pan-European multimodal transport Corridor X in Serbia. On the basis of data of environmental elements quality (water, air and land) carried out assessment of environmental status.
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Hunedoara County 7016 km2 (3% of the total area of the country) lies in the central-western part of the country, between the Central and the Western Carpathians, in a mountainous area with a lot of valleys. From a historical point of view, it is situated between Transylvania and Banat. The variety of the natural environment and the richness of the cultural elements (artistic, ethnographic, historical) offers ethnographic complexity to the county which has six distinct parts: Momârlan Land, Haţeg Land, Strei Valley, Pădureni Land, Orăştie Land, Mureş Valley and Zarand Land
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The study captures the spatial-temporal evolution of the Someș river bed and the anthropic interference over it in the metropolitan area of Satu Mare. Over time the inhabitants of these lands led a permanent struggle with Someș waters, which flooded frequently. Due to the low drainage slope and the intense meandering in the urban sector, over time a series of hydro-technical works for rectifying the river bed and embankments to reduce the effects of the floods were needed. Before 1777 there were 39 meanders on the territory of the urban area, which through extensive works have now been suppressed. The works performed took place in three main stages. Through these works were converted into agricultural land and later in built surfaces about 800 ha of swamps and arms. Due to the hydro technical works the length of the course in the urban area decreased from 36.5 km to 13 km. The cross-sections made at the Satu Mare hydrometric station revealed a deepening of the river valley in its own alluviums due to the influence of several factors.
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In recent years, a considerable development of the network of hiking trails has taken place in selected parts of the Sudetes. This has occurred both in areas of hitherto poorly developed tourist infrastructure (for example the Orlickie Foothills) as well as in traditional tourist regions with a quite good base (for example the Sowie Mountains). It was decided to analyse more precisely the changes which occurred in 2005–2017 in selected parts of the Middle Sudetes. For this purpose, changes in the density and connectivity of the networks of hiking trails were assessed using elements of the graph theory and, drawn from it, indices used in the topological analysis of spatial structure. A comparative analysis of maps was the basis for these works. Important factors deciding about the validity of marking new hiking trails are: their role in the network of trails and their tourist attractiveness.
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Romania has a long and well documented history of flooding, resulting in numerous material as well as human loses. In order to monitor and estimate flood damages in near-real time, numerous techniques can be used, from a simply digitizing on maps, to using detailed surveys or remote sensing techniques. However, when using the last mentioned technique, the results are conditioned by the time of data acquisition (day or night) as well as by weather conditions. Although, these impediments can be surpassed by using RADAR satellite imagery.The aim of this study is to delineate the land surface of Galati County that was affected by floods in October 2016. For this case study, Sentinel-1C-Band SAR data provided by ESA (European Space Agency) were used. The data sets were taken before and after the flood took place, all within 6 days and were processed using Sentinel Toolbox.
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This paper aims to present the usefulness of cadastral data integration in analyzing the effects of climate change. Based on the experience of developed countries in the EU and on the necessity of stopping, if possible, the effects of climate change, is necessary also in our country to take urgent action of public and authorities awareness campaigns in this direction. We will try to demonstrate that cadastral data can provide support policies to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially in urban areas.
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The digital terrain model is a real relief representation in three-dimensional space, taking into account the planimetric coordinates N, E and the H elevation. The studied terrain topography is approximated through a mathematical surface achieved by interpolating the measured elevation in the terrain and with the help of the contour. This article approaches the creation of the digital model of the the terrain in several ways and solving specifical mining topographycal problems based on this.
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Water quality modelling with “WaQ” wants to improve current systems for monitoring, the model allows establishing the source of pollutants and limits for discharges that lead to poor quality water, as well as the basic or additional measures necessary to achieve environmental objectives under Framework Directive 2000/60. Analysing the data output of the model “WaQ” for the Bahlui catchment it has been found that impairment of good water, especially regarding nutrients as required by the directive is given by agricultural work practices, this fact indicating agriculture as one of the main sources of diffuse pollution of surface water, including barrier lakes. As a result of modelling with “WaQ” for Bahlui catchment, the forecast made in the perspective of 2021, was found an increase in total nitrogen and total phosphorus imissions compared to 2012, fact caused by increasing agricultural areas. On the other hand, only for the sub-basin Razboieni-upstream Podu Iloaiei was determined a decrease in load with total nitrogen and total phosphorus in 2021, which resulted an improvement of the ecological potential for the barrier lake Podu Iloaiei.
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Presence in waters of large amounts of nutrients, determine their contamination and the occurrence of eutrophication manifested through an accelerated growth of algae and other higher plant forms. In order to assess the risk of eutrophication of the two barrier lakes studied Cucuteni and Tansa-Belcesti from Bahlui catchment, it was used a model namely BATHUB. Modelling of potential eutrophication, it is expressed through items like total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll “a”, transparency, organic nitrogen and organic phosphorus. For the two barrier lakes Cucuteni and Tansa-Belcesti was achieved high levels of total nitrogen and total phosphorus caused by diffuse pollution supported mainly by agricultural work practices. The nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients get into the lakes via the river system, and phytoplankton fails to fully assimilate them, which causes maintenance the eutrophic condition for these barrier lakes.
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The paper deals with the optimization of the aerial triangulation based on UAS images. The images were taken with a DJI Phantom 3 quadrocopter and they were measured in Photomod Lite ver. 4.4. The bundle adjustment was carried out twice; first in Photomod Solver and later in BINGO ver. 6.8. During the adjustment 14 ground control points were used and 31 points were calculated as new points. Using these new points we could compare the coordinates to the coordinates received from the high-precision field surveying measurements. From the coordinate differences the calculated RMS errors of horizontal coordinates are around one pixel size on the ground and to 2.5 pixels vertically. The final results showed us that a non-metric camera at low flight height with a quadrocopter can be used effectively and accurately at aerial surveys of relatively small areas.
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Land management is representing an inter- and transdisciplinary activity, which is using knowledge from several disciplines. In this paper some principles and criteria for Sustainable Land Management will be emphasized in the context of the concerns for assuring the sustainability on a regional level. Sustainability can be achieved only by considering a proper management and administration of resources. This means that actually farmers and local decision makers have to be encouraged in recognizing the advantages of good land use planning and decisions, but also to be held responsible for inappropriate land uses, that can compromise the sustainable development of our human society. Conclusions will be drawn regarding the existing possibilities of assuring a sustainable land management related to land use planning and administration on a regional level.
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Considering the increasing number of planet inhabitants, the increasing life expectancy and climate changes that we face, achieving stable production by practicing sustainable agriculture is a major goal. Moreover, the improvement of technology for viewing, querying and analyzing data about soil, is leading to the easy use of such software in the agricultural land management. In this work are processed soils data, in order to obtain information about these lands arable classes suitability. This information leads to the establishment of limitations and flaws regarding these lands. The limitations or restrictions regarding the terrains lead to improvement requirements by land improvement works or agricultural-pedology-improvement works.
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Underground excavations of thick multi-layered deposits, frequently lead to the displacement of rocks, damaging the terrestrial civilian and industrial targets. In order to avoid catastrophic situations, through specific methods and ways, specialists should first identify and track the phenomena peculiar to the areas affected by groundwater exploitation. This paper presents one of the methods mostly used in forecasting the phenomenon of subsidence due to exploitation of multi-layered deposits, method belonging to the profile functions methods.
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