The field of nanotechnology has seen much growth in recent years as nanoparticles have found usage in many applications. This has led to increases in nanoparticle production and as such it is ever more likely that these nanoparticles will find their way into the aquatic environment. In this work, sterically stabilised polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) 7 nm gold nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesised and characterised as prepared by their surface plasmon resonance (SPR), size, aggregation, morphology and surface charge. They were then exposed to changes in environmentally relevant conditions (pH, ionic strength, Ca concentration and fulvic acid presence) and the results quantified. These sterically stabilised NPs showed no aggregation with changes in pH or inorganic ions, even under high (0.1 M) Ca concentrations. In addition, the presence of fulvic acid resulted in no observable and significant changes in SPR, size, aggregation or surface chemistry, suggesting limited interaction between the PVP stabilised nanoparticles and fulvic acid. Due to the lack of aggregation and interaction, these NPs are expected to be highly mobile and potentially bioavailable in the environment. The second half of this investigation focused upon how these NPs were transported within a recirculating flume with both a plane bed structure and with a bedform present. This showed that the nanoparticles moved freely between the stream and the bed and appear to be under the influence of water flow rather than simply diffusion.

Mixed beaches, with sediment sizes ranging over three orders of magnitude, are an increasingly important coastal defence on the heavily populated coasts of SE England and N France. Yet longshore transport rates and volumes, important in understanding beach sustainability, remain understudied for such beaches. This thesis addresses the knowledge gap via field investigations of beach profile evolution, active layer measurements and tracer pebble scattering patterns on two macrotidal mixed beaches at Cayeux-sur-Mer (France) and Birling Gap (UK), eastern English Channel. The beach topography data at both sites enabled observation of how reactive the beach profile is to hydrodynamic conditions. Each beach, in different environmental conditions, was found to have a profile that responded extremely quickly to changing hydrodynamics as a result of the combined effects of the High Water Level (HWL) and wave height. The most significant topographical changes are associated primarily with variations in the across-shore position and height of the berm. The research contributes new baseline data to help refine the currently limited understanding of the relationship between depth of disturbance and wave height, wave period, wave direction and the degree of mixture on mixed beaches. Consistent patterns of pebble behaviour were identified during each tidal cycle at different locations on the beach profile. The distance travelled varied with location on the beach profile, with pebbles from the upper beach tending to travel further than pebbles placed on lower parts of the beach. Upper beach pebbles generally showed a clear displacement seaward across-shore whereas lower and middle beach pebbles were affected by shorter across-shore displacements. These displacements are explained by variations in the hydrodynamic conditions, swash flows, groundwater flow, beach slope and grain size. Finally, wave conditions and water level directly influenced the Longshore Sediment Transport (LST) rates. From these results, applying the energy flux approach, a drift coefficient (K) of 0.04 was derived for both sites.

Results from the palaeoenvironmental investigations into the Holocene vegetation history of three sites in eastern lowland Scotland are presented. Two of the sites, Cruvie and Pitbladdo, are located in north Fife; the third site, Methvern is situated in south Perthshire. Cruvie is located in a kettle-hole and provides data extending from the Late-glacial to ea. 3900 BP. Pitbladdo is a former bog and cores from this site provide data on the period from ca. 8000 to 3900 BP. Methvern is a well-maintained raised bog and provides data that spans the entire Holocene. Relative, concentration and pollen preservation data are supplemented by loss-on-ignition, pH and magnetic susceptibility analyses. Microscopic charcoal data are also recorded. Radiocarbon dates allow comparisons to be made between similar events at different sites, resulting in a detailed picture of temporal and spatial patterns of palaeoecological change within a small geographical area. Attention is focused upon the identification of human impact on the environment during the early to mid Holocene. The influences of succession and climate change in determining patterns of vegetation change are also considered. The data obtained indicate that human activity may have had a limited impact on the environment in this area during the Mesolithic, but no unequivocal evidence is recorded. Anthropogenic impacts are more clearly identified during the Neolithic period and from the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age, human activity is considerable and includes pastoral and mixed farming. The value of tephra as a dating tool in this area of eastern Scotland is considered. The absence of tephra at the three sites investigated has led to the formulation of a hypothesis linking patterns of orographic rainfall and tephra deposition within Scotland. The study highlights the difficulties of determining the causal factors of vegetation change and the limitations of palaeoecological data in the identification of anthropogenic activity during the early Holocene. The recognition of climate signals is discussed and the routine counting of microscopic charcoal at all sites is proposed. It is suggested that further research is required to clarify the boundaries of tephra deposition in Britain. Finally the diverse patterns of change recorded within the study area emphasise the need for a network of closely spaced and well dated palaeoenvironmental sites covering the regions of Scotland, leading to the recognition of local patterns of environmental change.

The first chapter is a brief review of the geology, geography and the soils in Iceland, with particular reference to peat soils. The field work (Chapter 2) included measuring the thickness of organic layers between dated tephra layers and it was found that the mean rate of thickening of the peat was slowest 0.1 mm/year in the period 4500 to 2900 B. P., but fastest 0.26 mm/year in the period since 1104 A. D. Two profiles were selected for detailed study, one in north Iceland, and the other in west Iceland. Micromorphology, physical, and chemical properties were investigated, see-Chapters 3,4 and 5 respectively; and a review of peat soil classification and the application to the soils studied is given in Chapter 6. The main constituents observed in the thin sections were underground plant organs, fine organic material, and mineral material. Woody, cork, epidermal and lign ifi ed tissues were best preserved, parenchymatous tissue had predominantly disappeared, but was present in some leaf and herbaceous root residues. Conspicuous secondary mineral phenomena included bog iron, pyrite and siderite; and in Chapter 7a hypothesis is proposed for the formation of s ider it e. The range of hydraulic conductivies was from about 9.10-3 to 1_ 10-4 cm sec-1 . The moisture content at saturation was mainly > 90 , and 10 to 20; 4 at pr 4.2. Bulk density was mainly 0.1 to 0.2 g cm-1 in organic layers and up to 0.5 g cm-1 in those rich in mineral material. Most samples shrunk to less than half the original volume upon oven drying and it was concluded that it is important to consider shrinkage when moisture retention is determined. The pH in water was highest at 6.8 in the top layer of the profile in north Iceland, but was mainly 4.4 to 5.0 in the organic layers. The loss on ignition of the organic layers varied mainly from 40; ') to 90 The C/N range was normally 17 to 30, but lowest at 15 in the top layer of the profile from North Iceland

Approximately 6,200 square miles (16,000 square kilometers) of Sarawak, Malaysia, were mapped at 1:125,000 scale, the Area including portions of the coastal swamp plain, the interior highlands, and the intervening lower upland zone in which population and development are largely concentrated. Red-Yellow Podzolic Soils (mainly Dystropepts or Cambisols, and their shallow associateB) are dominant in the uplands and are mainly derived from sedimentary rocks. Terrace Podzols (Humods; Podzols) are important in many swamp fringe tracts. Deep Organic Soils (Fibrists; Dystric Histosols) mantle much of the coastal swamp zone with Gley Soils (Aquents; Fluviso1s) in estuarine and delta tracts. Silication and loss of clay from the upper subsoil are among the processes evident in upland soils but clay il1uviation is slight in most profiles examined. Other soil processes involved in upland areas include layering of subsoil materials' through slope creep and homogenisation through faunal disturbance. The difficulties of applying quantitative classifications to such soils is discussed and the continued use of traditional genetic groupings is supported. Correlations are made with the USDA and FAO classifications and with others regional systems. A proposed classification is developed for the Area's soils, using Groups based on the Thorp and Smith divisions (with some redefinition) and employing Families and Series defined with the requirements of a practical operational classification in mind. These requirements in a Sarawak context are discussed. The study is supported by soil and other maps, by data on sample profiles representing the main Soil Series of the Area, and by discussions of the soil pattern in relation to landform history in the Area and to the agricultural landscape now developed on it

Investigation has been made into the properties of Red Soils in West Java, Indonesia, selected from two different parent materials. Profiles P. Tb and P. Rb are derived from dacitic tuff and P. Js from pumice volcanic ash, both of which are acid in character. Profiles L. Km, L. Dr and L. Pk are derived from andesitic to basaltic volcanic ash, intermediate to basic in character. For comparison, soils from each group of parent materials were selected to be representative of areas of different climate, ranging from two annual dry months, to no dry month in the year. This study area is reviewed in chapter one. Chapter two discusses the factors and processes of soil formation in the tropics relevant to the soils studied. Chapter three discusses some characteristics of Latosolic and Podzolic soils, criteria for distinguishing them and their position in the Indonesian National Classification system (INCS). Soil clay fractions were extracted by several different selective dissolution methods: Na2CO3 (cold), 0.5 M NaOH (2.5 min boil), IM potassium pyrophosphate and dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate. Extraction enhanced the intensity of X-ray diffraction peaks and clarified identification of some minerals that were difficult to distinguish in the untreated clay. The effect was much more pronounced in the Latosolic than inthe Podzolic soils, mainly as a result of the different characteristics of the weathering products of these two groups of soil. Chapter four discusses some previous work that has been carried out in connection with selective dissolution analysis and includes some important new thoughts about microcrystalline minerals. Chapter five describes the methods that have been used in this study. They include particle size analysis, soil reaction (pHH20 and pHKCI), cation exchange properties, total nitrogen and carbon, selective dissolution analysis of clays by several different treatments, X-ray and thermal analyses and micromorphological observations. The principal results of this study are as follows: (i) The physical characteristics of the soils are mostly determined by the parent materials. Micromorphological examination substantiates this by showing the difference in the properties of the clay in these two groups of soils: Latosolic soils contain clay with the properties of flocculated paste; in Podzolic soils the clay is similar in nature to a deflocculated paste(ii) Climate in the study area exerts considerable control over weathering and leaching and determines the chemical properties of the soils. t. iii) In the study area climate and parent material seem to play the most important role in determining the properties of the soils studied. Civ) Microcrystalline and poorly ordered material in the clay fraction are more abundant in Latosolic than in Podzolic soils. Kaolinite is the most abundant clay mineral in profiles P. Tb, P. Rb, L. Km; its degree of crystallinity is greater in Podzolic soils. Other common minerals are (meta) halloysite in profiles P. Dr and P. Js and smectite in profile P. Js. Minor amounts of 2: I and interstratified minerals occur in most soils. Proposals for the improvement of soil classification are suggested: (i) The soils should be classified on the basis of the parent material. (ii) Since CEC is one of the best parameters to illustrate the stage of weathering of these soils it should be used to differentiate perhaps at the group level. Thus, the position of this factor is one level below the position of parent material. (iii) Soil chemical characteristics relate well to the climatic variation in the area. It is suggested that these characteristics should be considered at a lower level than CEC. This lower level should have a close relationship with soil fertility and so, with agricultural practice. The results of this study suggest that further detailed investigation on "Red Soils" in Indonesia, should be carried out on the same lines as here. The aim should be to establish one "Indonesian National Classification System" that is relevant to the conditions, economics and purposes of the country

The area studied is part of Wester Ross, north-west Scotland, and includes the Applecross Peninsula and the land to the east between Strathcarron and Glen Torridon. Mapping of glacial landforms involved study of aerial photographs and subsequent field work. Evidence was found for the existence of two ice caps and five separate coire glaciers during the Loch Lomond Readvance, their various termini being represented today by clear lateral and end moraines at fourteen out of twenty-five locations. In nine cases, multiple lateral and/or end moraines suggest fluctuation of these ice margins during the Stadial maximum. An earlier stage of glaciation not related to the Late-Devensian ice-sheet maximum is represented by a single moraine and glacial striae. It is believed that this substage probably occurred between 18,000 and 14,000 years ago. Former sea-level changes were investigated by accurate mapping and instrumental levelling of raised coastal features. Three major periods of formation were identified :- 1. A pre-glacial or interglacial stage, evidenced by a highlevel rock platform at 32 to 37 m O.D.; 2. Raised beaches and deltas lying between 21 and 28 m O.D. relating to a period of very early Lateglacial deglaciation; 3. Postglacial features lying below about 10 m O.D. Pollen analysis of core sequences from two sites helped confirm the Loch Lomond Readvance age of the end moraines in Strath a' Bhathaich and to elucidate the history of vegetational development in the area between ca. 13,000 and 9,000 B.P. The Lateglacial pollen diagram indicates early development of a treeless Empetrum- dominated landscape that reverted during the Stadial to tundra-like conditions with a floristically-poor, open vegetation. Both Postglacial diagrams indicate a rapid recovery in early Postglacial times, with the return of pioneer species shortly superceded by a closed vegetation, and then by immigration of birch trees, and the establishment of a mixed birch-hazel woodland.

When sketching terrain, a view-dependent framework of silhouette-related cues is required. This framework is prominent in manual sketches and is especially important in small-scale depictions viewed obliquely from above. Occluding contours, namely the lines delineating depth discontinuities in the projected surface, are insufficient for forming this framework. The role which the occluding contour, or Factual Silhouette, plays in structuring the sketch becomes increasingly minimal as more of the terrain becomes visible, as the viewpoint is raised. The aim of this research is to extend the set of occluding contours to encompass situations that are perceived as causing an occlusion and would therefore be sketched in a similar manner. These locations, termed Formulated Silhouettes supplement the set of occluding contours and provide a successful structuring framework. The proposed method processes visible areas of terrain, which are turning away from view, to extract a classified, vector-based description for a given view of a Digital Elevation Model. Background approaches to silhouette rendering are reviewed and the specific contributions of this thesis are discussed. The method is tested using case studies composed of terrain of varying scale and character and two application studies demonstrate how silhouettes can be used to enhance existing terrain visualization techniques, both abstract and realistic. In addition, consultation with cartographic designers provides external verification of the research. The thesis concludes by noting how silhouette contours relate to perceived entities rather than actual occlusions.

Edward D. Goldberg, editor. / Includes bibliographies.

[by] J. N. Jennings. / Bibliography: p. 229-241.