M. S.

Large woody debris (LWD) was added to North Fork Stony Creek and North Prong Barbours Creek in southwest Virginia to inlprove fish habitat. The purposes of this study were to monitor stream channel response to the addition of LWD at a stream reach scale and at a local scale around individual logs, to evaluate changes in fish population parameters, and to observe microhabitat availability and use before and after L WD additions. In low-gradient Stony Creek, LWD was effective in modifying fish habitat through the formation of pools, the structuring of poo1/riffle sequences, and the enhancement of channel complexity. New pools formed from the break up of continuous rime habitat, increasing the overall number of habitat units and decreasing mean surface areas. Total pool area increased for both treatment sections, while changing little in the reference section where no logs were added. Localized scour and fill was observed for crosssectional transects around individual logs, creating a more heterogenous environment than in areas without logs. In contrast, physical habitat changed little in moderate-gradient Barbours Creek after L WD was added. An increase in the relative weight of brook trout in Barbours Creek suggested that although minimal channel changes were observed, logs may have increased channel complexity and cover, providing resting areas of lower velocities next to food pathways, which may have lead to decreased energy expenditure. Observations of microhabitat use revealed that unlike adult brook trout, juvenile brook trout used a limited range of depths and velocities. Adult brook trout shifted microhabitat use in response to changes in microhabitat available. Low numbers of fish in Stony Creek may have been related to low pH, but numbers of adult brook trout found in each section increased in 1994. With improved water quality, I believe that fish abundance in Stony Creek would increase through time because of the improved habitat. Although few significant changes were observed for available microhabitat in Stony Creek, changes in physical habitat suggest that over time shifts in microhabitat would be apparent. / Master of Science

The diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of rainfall-runoff processes and erosion characteristics of selected catchment in different landscape management. This analysis was solved at the Lukavecký brook catchment, which is located in the Pelhřimov district in Vysočina region. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the rainfall-runoff process and then focuses more on individual processes. It also characterizes water erosion, its consequences, forms and erosion control. At the end of the theoretical part are described methods of calculation of water runoff and water erosion. The practical part describes the catchment of the Lukavecký brook, its characteristics of natural conditions and the threat of water erosion. Then there is a procedure for processing of bases and data in the program ArcGIS. Subsequently, it includes an assessment of the different measures and changes in the type of land to drain water from the catchment and erosion threat.

The "Zákolanský potok" takes part in European nature program Special Area of Conservation because of the presence of stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torentium), which is listed as threatened species. The area around brook is intensively agriculturally cultivated. Water from wastewater treatments plants is drained to the local brooks. The aim of the work was to describe diversity of macrozoobenthos on the brook called "Zákolanský potok". Further aim was to evaluate the ecological condition of the watercourse using biotic indexes. The samples of macrobenthos were taken from three profiles in five sampling periods. Profile 1 was control, profile 2 was under the wastewater treatments plants and the third profile was placed down the stream. Diversity, biomass, saprobic index, BMWP, and ASTP scores were evaluated for the community of macrozoobenthos. The saprobic index was evaluated to the beta-mezosaprobity value (2.0-2.4) in the first profile, the saprobic index on the second profile showed a relatively wide range from worse oligosaprobity to worse beta-mesosaprobity (1.2-2.4). On the third profile, the saprobic index ranged from better beta-mesosaprobity to better alpha-mesosaprobity (1.6-2.6). The BMWP and ASPT scores in all profiles refer to medium to low quality aquatic environments. The diversity of the community gained the best values on the 3rd profile, here was found with one more taxon than on the 1st profile. With increasing organic load, diversity decreased on the 2nd profile, although a more sensitive species was found here.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the impact of agricultural activity on hydrochemical parameters of surface waters in connection with the occurence of specially protected species within the surface waters of a monitored area. A model was chosen for the evaluation of the situation - Bedřichovský potok, which is located in Novohradské hory. The river consists of lower and upper sub-waters. Forest management is applied within upper sub-basin, while agricultural management on arable land, meadows and pastures is used in the lower sub-basin. The monitored parameters were indicators of eutrophication of surface waters: Nitrate nitrogen (N-NO3-), Phosphate phosphorus (P-PO43-), and conductivity of undissolved material (NL105). The results showed that the agriculture management (especially on arable land) burdens the soil with nutrients and consequently erosion enters the substances, bringing them to the surface and ground water as a result. There was an increase of substances in the water after rain.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:45:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EDSON NISHI.pdf: 3948175 bytes, checksum: 66a652eace1e20263f785d9c3303bcf2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-13 / The objective of this study was to carry trougha survey of the dispersed native fragments between zone caused by human activies of sub-basin of brook Joâo Leite, state of Goiás ,Brazil. Covering maps had been elaborated, measure of individual areas of fragments divided in section and classes of size of the fraction on hidrografic basin, table, indexes what alow analyze the proprierties of the fraction and prescrible managements from landscape. It follows that: On landscape studied on high and low withoud the zone of the park ecologic Altamiro Moura de Pacheco of sub-basin of brook joâo Leite, the native forest covering is low the required by law. However, the middle section, the zone of native forest is upper that demanded for law, considering one reserve upper 1000 ha, of private, pertaining property farm Santa Branca. Is necessary to stablish practices of handling, after the filling up of the reservoir, thanks to pressure territorial,principally about to amphibians and reptiles what will have the she sweats movement restritive, exposition the predators and preferential losses of habitats, and for the mammals we will have movimentation restricted compromising the increase of the individual due fragmentation of the territory and the alimentary availability. To implement the conection between the fragments is necessary to priorize the corridors of ciliares bushes and to stabilish liaison between the graters fragments. / O Objetivo deste estudo foi realizar um levantamento dos fragmentos nativos dispersos entre as áreas antropizadas da sub-bacia do ribeirão João Leite, Goiás. Foram elaborados mapas de cobertura, cálculo das áreas de cada fragmento divididos por seção e classes de tamanho do fragmento na bacia hidrográfica, tabelas, índices que permitiram analisar as características do fragmento e prescrever manejos da paisagem. Conclui-se que: na paisagem estudada na seção alta e baixa sem a área do Parque Ecológico Altamiro de Moura Pacheco da bacia do ribeirão João Leite, a cobertura florestal nativa é inferior ao exigido por lei, necessitando de uma intervenção para atender o mínimo necessário. Contudo a seção média a área de cobertura vegetal nativa é superior ao mínimo exigido por lei, considerando uma reserva superior a 1000 ha., de propriedade privada, pertencente a Fazenda Santa Branca. É preciso estabelecer práticas de manejo, após o enchimento do reservatório, devido a pressão territorial, principalmente para anfíbios e répteis que terão a sua movimentação restrita, exposição a predadores e perdas de habitats preferenciais, e para os mamíferos teremos a movimentação restrita comprometendo o aumento de indivíduos devido a fragmentação do território e a disponibilidade alimentar. Para implementar a conexão entre os fragmentos é necessário priorizar os corredores de matas ciliares e estabelecer ligações entre os maiores fragmentos.

Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) provide an aircraft pilot with a virtual 3-D image of surrounding terrain which is generated from a digital elevation model stored in an onboard database. SVS improves the pilot's situational awareness at night and in inclement weather, thus reducing the chance of accidents such as controlled flight into terrain. A terrain database integrity monitor is needed to verify the accuracy of the displayed image due to potential database and navigational system errors. Previous research has used existing aircraft sensors to compare the real terrain position with the predicted position. We propose an improvement to one of these models by leveraging the stream computing capabilities of commercial graphics hardware. "Brook for GPUs," a system for implementing stream computing applications on programmable graphics processors, is used to execute a streaming ray-casting algorithm that correctly simulates the beam characteristics of a radar altimeter during all phases of flight.

Ever since the first plate-tectonic model for the Appalachians was proposed, the Laurentian margin has been interpreted as having experienced a collision-related dynamo-thermal event during the Middle Ordovician Taconic orogeny. In the western Newfoundland Appalachians, evidence for this collision is well-preserved in the Dashwoods subzone. Nevertheless, rocks of the neighbouring Corner Brook Lake block (CBLB), which is located in the heart of the Laurentian realm, did not show evidence for such an event. Instead, it was affected by Early Silurian Salinic deformation and associated peak metamorphism. Even though this difference in Early Palaeozoic tectonic history between the Dashwoods and the CBLB is widely known, it has not been satisfactorily explained. To better understand the Early Palaeozoic history of the region, in particular to test and better explain the lack of a Taconic dynamo-thermal event in the CBLB, field mapping, microscopic work, and U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological studies were undertaken in the western and northern part of the Dashwoods subzone, and in the southern part of the CBLB. In addition, the kinematic history of the Baie Verte-Brompton Line - Cabot Fault Zone (BCZ), the tectonic zone that separates the two unique tectonic fragments, was studied. The western and northern parts of the Dashwoods subzone contain variably foliated igneous units of Middle Ordovician age (ca. 460 Ma) that are associated with the regionally voluminous Notre Dame continental arc. A ca. 455 Ma conjugate set of late syn-tectonic pegmatite dykes in the BCZ demonstrates a dextral sense of shear along the BCZ (DBCZ-1) during the Late Ordovician to earliest Silurian, and constrains the minimum age of the main phase of ductile deformation in the Dashwoods subzone. The fault-bounded CBLB has been affected by a single west-vergent deformational event, constrained between ca. 434 and ca. 427 Ma. More importantly, no evidence – neither petrographic nor geochronological – is present that would indicate that the CBLB was affected by a significant Taconic dynamo-thermal event. Hence, the CBLB and Dashwoods could not have been juxtaposed until after the late Early Silurian. Furthermore, the basement to the CBLB is devoid of any Grenville (sensu lato; ca. 1.0-1.3 Ga) U-Pb ages, which is in sharp contrast with crystalline basement elsewhere in the region, such as the Long Range Inlier. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the CBLB represents the para-autochthonous leading edge of the Laurentian craton in the Newfoundland Appalachians, as commonly accepted. The CBLB is interpreted as a suspect terrane that has moved over 500 km parallel to the strike of the orogen. Docking to the external Humber Zone is likely to have occurred during the Early Silurian. Final juxtaposition with the Dashwoods took place after the late Early Silurian (post-Salinic) as a result of protracted dextral movement along the BCZ (DBCZ-2 and DBCZ-5). Current tectonic models for the Newfoundland Appalachians mainly focus on well-documented Early Palaeozoic orthogonal convergence of various terranes with the Laurentian margin, but large-scale orogen-parallel movements have rarely been considered. The possibility of large-scale strike-slip tectonics documented here, in addition to the convergent motions, may have significant implications for the tectonic interpretation of the Early Palaeozoic evolution of the Newfoundland Appalachians.

Ever since the first plate-tectonic model for the Appalachians was proposed, the Laurentian margin has been interpreted as having experienced a collision-related dynamo-thermal event during the Middle Ordovician Taconic orogeny. In the western Newfoundland Appalachians, evidence for this collision is well-preserved in the Dashwoods subzone. Nevertheless, rocks of the neighbouring Corner Brook Lake block (CBLB), which is located in the heart of the Laurentian realm, did not show evidence for such an event. Instead, it was affected by Early Silurian Salinic deformation and associated peak metamorphism. Even though this difference in Early Palaeozoic tectonic history between the Dashwoods and the CBLB is widely known, it has not been satisfactorily explained. To better understand the Early Palaeozoic history of the region, in particular to test and better explain the lack of a Taconic dynamo-thermal event in the CBLB, field mapping, microscopic work, and U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological studies were undertaken in the western and northern part of the Dashwoods subzone, and in the southern part of the CBLB. In addition, the kinematic history of the Baie Verte-Brompton Line - Cabot Fault Zone (BCZ), the tectonic zone that separates the two unique tectonic fragments, was studied. The western and northern parts of the Dashwoods subzone contain variably foliated igneous units of Middle Ordovician age (ca. 460 Ma) that are associated with the regionally voluminous Notre Dame continental arc. A ca. 455 Ma conjugate set of late syn-tectonic pegmatite dykes in the BCZ demonstrates a dextral sense of shear along the BCZ (DBCZ-1) during the Late Ordovician to earliest Silurian, and constrains the minimum age of the main phase of ductile deformation in the Dashwoods subzone. The fault-bounded CBLB has been affected by a single west-vergent deformational event, constrained between ca. 434 and ca. 427 Ma. More importantly, no evidence – neither petrographic nor geochronological – is present that would indicate that the CBLB was affected by a significant Taconic dynamo-thermal event. Hence, the CBLB and Dashwoods could not have been juxtaposed until after the late Early Silurian. Furthermore, the basement to the CBLB is devoid of any Grenville (sensu lato; ca. 1.0-1.3 Ga) U-Pb ages, which is in sharp contrast with crystalline basement elsewhere in the region, such as the Long Range Inlier. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the CBLB represents the para-autochthonous leading edge of the Laurentian craton in the Newfoundland Appalachians, as commonly accepted. The CBLB is interpreted as a suspect terrane that has moved over 500 km parallel to the strike of the orogen. Docking to the external Humber Zone is likely to have occurred during the Early Silurian. Final juxtaposition with the Dashwoods took place after the late Early Silurian (post-Salinic) as a result of protracted dextral movement along the BCZ (DBCZ-2 and DBCZ-5). Current tectonic models for the Newfoundland Appalachians mainly focus on well-documented Early Palaeozoic orthogonal convergence of various terranes with the Laurentian margin, but large-scale orogen-parallel movements have rarely been considered. The possibility of large-scale strike-slip tectonics documented here, in addition to the convergent motions, may have significant implications for the tectonic interpretation of the Early Palaeozoic evolution of the Newfoundland Appalachians.

This thesis presents a new developed method for first intermolecular aldehyde/ketone cross benzoin coupling. Protected &amp / #945 / -keto tertiary alcohols are synthesized starting from easily available acyl phosphonates and ketones via Brook rearrangement in the presence of catalytic amount of cyanide ion. The scopes and the limitations of the methods for the synthesis of tertiary alcohols with &amp / #945 / -keto group are discovered.