<p>This thesis focuses on dwelling sites with hearths dating from the period 600-1900 AD, located in the coniferous forest areas of Northern Sweden. The term dwelling sites with hearths refers to sites where stone-lined hearths occur. These hearths are of a type that became very common in Northern Sweden during the first millennium after the birth of Christ.</p><p>The main aim of this study is to apply environmental archaeological methods to the investigation of dwelling sites with hearths in order to attain new information on the organisation and use of these sites, as well as to discuss and evaluate earlier strategies of settlement and subsistence. For this study, soil chemical survey and pollen analysis methods are used. Soil chemical surveys have been conducted at a total of 13 sites from the period 1000/1100-1900 AD at locations in the inland areas of the counties of Norrbotten, Västerbotten and Jämtland, while pollen analyses have been conducted at 4 sites located in the county of Norrbotten.</p><p>Interpretations of the results are related to previous archaeological research, surveys and excavations. In addition, historical and ethnographical documentation as well as historical research concerning the conditions in the area during later periods are considered.</p><p>The results show that environmental archaeological methods can provide information about settlements with hearths that is not normally possible to discern through archaeological surveys or excavations. Regarding the environmental impact at the settlement areas, there are clear differences between different dwelling sites with hearths. These differences seem to be independent of the number of hearths at the sites. Thus, it is not possible to make interpretations regarding these dwelling sites based purely on the number of hearths at the sites. The results also imply that these sites have been part of a settlement system where different types of dwelling sites were in use for shorter periods of time, for different purposes, and by a limited number of people. With the exception of the 17th century church and market place in Arvidsjaur, none of the examined dwelling sites could be interpreted as being a gathering site for a large number of people. Compared to descriptions of the conditions in the Sami area (Sa. Sápmi) during historical periods, this type of settlement pattern is comparable to the Forest Sami settlement pattern of late historical times. Moreover, soil chemical surveys conducted in areas adjacent to a number of hearths show similarities to the Sami hut (Sw. kåta). </p><p>To sum up, the use of dwelling sites with hearths shows continuity from the 7th century settlements to Sami settlements of the 20th century, with respect to the environmental impact at the dwelling sites. On the basis of these results, it is suggested that a settlement pattern and subsistence similar to that of the Forest Sami economy and settlement of late historical times are characteristic for settlements with hearths and may have occurred as early as 600 AD.</p>

This thesis focuses on dwelling sites with hearths dating from the period 600-1900 AD, located in the coniferous forest areas of Northern Sweden. The term dwelling sites with hearths refers to sites where stone-lined hearths occur. These hearths are of a type that became very common in Northern Sweden during the first millennium after the birth of Christ. The main aim of this study is to apply environmental archaeological methods to the investigation of dwelling sites with hearths in order to attain new information on the organisation and use of these sites, as well as to discuss and evaluate earlier strategies of settlement and subsistence. For this study, soil chemical survey and pollen analysis methods are used. Soil chemical surveys have been conducted at a total of 13 sites from the period 1000/1100-1900 AD at locations in the inland areas of the counties of Norrbotten, Västerbotten and Jämtland, while pollen analyses have been conducted at 4 sites located in the county of Norrbotten. Interpretations of the results are related to previous archaeological research, surveys and excavations. In addition, historical and ethnographical documentation as well as historical research concerning the conditions in the area during later periods are considered. The results show that environmental archaeological methods can provide information about settlements with hearths that is not normally possible to discern through archaeological surveys or excavations. Regarding the environmental impact at the settlement areas, there are clear differences between different dwelling sites with hearths. These differences seem to be independent of the number of hearths at the sites. Thus, it is not possible to make interpretations regarding these dwelling sites based purely on the number of hearths at the sites. The results also imply that these sites have been part of a settlement system where different types of dwelling sites were in use for shorter periods of time, for different purposes, and by a limited number of people. With the exception of the 17th century church and market place in Arvidsjaur, none of the examined dwelling sites could be interpreted as being a gathering site for a large number of people. Compared to descriptions of the conditions in the Sami area (Sa. Sápmi) during historical periods, this type of settlement pattern is comparable to the Forest Sami settlement pattern of late historical times. Moreover, soil chemical surveys conducted in areas adjacent to a number of hearths show similarities to the Sami hut (Sw. kåta). To sum up, the use of dwelling sites with hearths shows continuity from the 7th century settlements to Sami settlements of the 20th century, with respect to the environmental impact at the dwelling sites. On the basis of these results, it is suggested that a settlement pattern and subsistence similar to that of the Forest Sami economy and settlement of late historical times are characteristic for settlements with hearths and may have occurred as early as 600 AD.

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In a semi-arid country like South Africa, the availability and quality of water has always played an important part in determining not only where people can live, but also their quality of life. The supply of water is also becoming a restriction to the socio-economic development of the country, in terms of both the quality and quantity of what is available. Thus different monitoring techniques should be put in place to help inform the process of conserving this precious commodity and to improve the quality of what is already available. Water quality monitoring has traditionally been by the means of physico-chemical analysis; this has more recently been augmented with the use of biomonitoring techniques. However, since the biota commonly used to indicate aquatic conditions are not always present in wetlands; this study tested the use of diatoms as bio-indicators in wetlands. Diatom samples were collected from thirteen wetlands in the Western Cape Province, and cells from these communities were enumerated and diatom ?based indices were calculated using version 3.1 of OMNIDIA. These indices were useful for indicating water quality conditions when compared to the measured physico-chemical parameters. In addition, most diatom species found were common to those found in riverine environments, making the transfer of ecological optima possible. The objective of the study was to provide a preliminary diatom-based index for wetlands, however, given the relatively small study area and the strong bias towards coastal wetlands it was deemed inadvisable to construct such an index, instead several indices are recommended for interim use until further research that more comprehensively covers wetlands in South Africa has been conducted. It is thus the recommendation of this study that more data is collected for comparison to other wetlands and that in the interim, indices such as SPI be applied for routine biomonitoring of these environments. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Botany))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

In a semi-arid country like South Africa, the availability and quality of water has always played an important part in determining not only where people can live, but also their quality of life. The supply of water is also becoming a restriction to the socio-economic development of the country, in terms of both the quality and quantity of what is available. Thus different monitoring techniques should be put in place to help inform the process of conserving this precious commodity and to improve the quality of what is already available. Water quality monitoring has traditionally been by the means of physico-chemical analysis; this has more recently been augmented with the use of biomonitoring techniques. However, since the biota commonly used to indicate aquatic conditions are not always present in wetlands; this study tested the use of diatoms as bio-indicators in wetlands. Diatom samples were collected from thirteen wetlands in the Western Cape Province, and cells from these communities were enumerated and diatom ?based indices were calculated using version 3.1 of OMNIDIA. These indices were useful for indicating water quality conditions when compared to the measured physico-chemical parameters. In addition, most diatom species found were common to those found in riverine environments, making the transfer of ecological optima possible. The objective of the study was to provide a preliminary diatom-based index for wetlands, however, given the relatively small study area and the strong bias towards coastal wetlands it was deemed inadvisable to construct such an index, instead several indices are recommended for interim use until further research that more comprehensively covers wetlands in South Africa has been conducted. It is thus the recommendation of this study that more data is collected for comparison to other wetlands and that in the interim, indices such as SPI be applied for routine biomonitoring of these environments. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Botany))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The object of this thesis is the study of nanostructured thin films using inelastic fight scattering and elastic x-ray scattering techniques. Their use in combination with other techniques is a powerful tool for the investigation of nanostructured materials. X-ray, Raman and Brillouin characterisation of cluster-assembled carbon films, promising for applications in the field of catalysis, hydrogen storage and field emission, is here presented. X-ray reflectivity (XRR) provided a measure of the density. Raman spectroscopy showed that the local bonding in these amorphous films depends on the size distribution of the clusters and that it is possible to select the cluster size in order to grow films with tailored properties. Brillouin scattering provided a characterisation at the mesoscopic scale and an estimate of the elastic constants, revealing a very soft material. XRR was employed to study density, layering and roughness of a wide range of amorphous carbon films grown with different techniques. Some films possess an internal layering due to plasma instabilities in the deposition apparatus. By comparing XRR with Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, a unique value for the electron "effective mass" was deduced and a general relationship between sp(^3)-content and density was found. XRR and H effusion were used to determine the hydrogen content. A study of the size-dependent melting temperature in tin nanoparticle thin films was undertaken with a combined use of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and light scattering. A redshift in the position of a Rayleigh peak in the temperature-dependent Brillouin measurements was shown to be related to the melting of the nanoparticles and explained by an effective medium model. XRD also provided information on the low-level of stress in the particles. Low-frequency Raman scattering was used to study the behaviour of the acoustic modes of a single particle as a function of temperature.

Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is a powerful analytical technique for the direct elemental analysis of solid samples, with spatial resolution down to a few microns However, calibration remains the limiting factor in obtaining quantitative analysis by LA-ICP-MS for a wide range of sample types. No universal method exists as yet and the ones that are currently used tend to employ matrix-matched solid standards Matrix-matched solid standards are not available for many types of sample, such as polymers, biological materials, fluid inclusions, etc The need for a universal method of calibration that involves standards that are easy to prepare and suitable for any type of sample is required. Additional to matrix-matching, internal standards are widely used in LA-ICP-MS for quantitative analyses The internal standard compensates for the different ablation yields from the sample and the standard and for the laser shot to shot variation. Given that the use of an internal standard is required to obtain reliable results, the need for matrix-matching might be regarded as questionable This project has focused on the development and application of a new method of calibration for LA-ICP-MS. It involves the use of aqueous standards whose absorption characteristics are modified by the addition of a chromophore to the solution. Additives were selected for ablation with KrF excimer, and Nd.YAG lasers The influence of the additive concentration on the ablation yield was investigated for different laser energies. Response curves were obtained showing that as the additive concentration was increased, less energy was required to ablate the modified standard solutions efficiently. A general procedure was then defined for the preparation and use of the modified standard solutions for a given sample. The new method of calibration was used for the quantitative analysis of different sample types· low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyketone (PK), polyethylene thin film as well as gels contained in the thin film, and stainless steel. Investigations were carried out on the mechanism of ablation of the modified standard solutions. It appeared that the ablation proceeded by a three-step process leading ultimately to nebulisation of the bulk liquid.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:27:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP