Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Gravity gradient tensor (GGT) data contains the second derivatives of the Earth’s gravitational potential in three orthogonal directions. GGT data can be measured either using land, airborne, marine or space platforms. In the last two decades, the applications of GGT data in hydrocarbon exploration, mineral exploration and structural geology have increased considerably. This work focuses on developing new interpretation techniques for GGT data as well as pseudo-gravity gradient tensor (PGGT) derived from measured magnetic field. The applications of developed methods are demonstrated on a GGT data set from the Vredefort impact structure, South Africa and a magnetic data set from the Särna area, west central Sweden. The eigenvectors of the symmetric GGT can be used to estimate the position of the causative body as well as its strike direction. For a given measurement point, the eigenvector corresponding to the maximum eigenvalue points approximately toward the center of mass of the source body. For quasi 2D structures, the strike direction of the source can be estimated from the direction of the eigenvectors corresponding to the smallest eigenvalues. The same properties of GGT are valid for the pseudo-gravity gradient tensor (PGGT) derived from magnetic field data assuming that the magnetization direction is known. The analytic signal concept is applied to GGT data in three dimensions. Three analytic signal functions are introduced along x-, y- and z-directions which are called directional analytic signals. The directional analytic signals are homogenous and satisfy Euler’s homogeneity equation. Euler deconvolution of directional analytic signals can be used to locate causative bodies. The structural index of the gravity field is automatically identified from solving three Euler equations derived from the GGT for a set of data points located within a square window with adjustable size. For 2D causative bodies with geometry striking in the y-direction, the measured gxz and gzz components of GGT can be jointly inverted for estimating the parameters of infinite dike and geological contact models. Once the strike direction of 2D causative body is estimated, the measured components can be transformed into the strike coordinate system. The GGT data within a set of square windows for both infinite dike and geological contact models are deconvolved and the best model is chosen based on the smallest data fit error. / Felaktigt tryckt som Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 730

L'urbanisation représente une menace majeure pour la biodiversité. Ce mémoire de maîtrise vise à comprendre ses effets sur la composition fonctionnelle et l'homogénéisation biotique dans les forêts riveraines. Des inventaires floristiques ont été réalisés dans 57 forêts riveraines de la région de Montréal. Afin d'étudier la variation de la composition fonctionnelle avec l'urbanisation, des moyennes pondérées de traits par communauté ont été calculées pour les arbres, arbustes et herbacées. Chaque forêt a été caractérisée par des variables relatives au paysage urbain environnant, aux conditions locales des forêts et aux processus spatiaux. Les conditions locales, notamment les inondations, exerçaient une pression de sélection dominante sur les traits. L'effet du paysage était indirect, agissant via l'altération des régimes hydrologiques. La dispersion le long des rivières était aussi un processus important dans la structuration des forêts riveraines. Les changements dans la diversité β taxonomique et fonctionnelle des herbacées ont été étudiés entre trois niveaux d'urbanisation et d'inondation. Alors que l'urbanisation a favorisé une différenciation taxonomique, les inondations ont favorisé une homogénéisation taxonomique, sans influencer la diversité β fonctionnelle. L'urbanisation était l'élément déclencheur des changements de la diversité β, directement, en causant un gain en espèces exotiques et une diminution de la richesse totale dans les forêts très urbanisées, et, indirectement, en entraînant un important turnover d'espèces par l'altération des régimes hydrologiques. Globalement, ces résultats suggèrent que la modification des processus naturels par les activités anthropiques est le principal moteur de changements dans les communautés riveraines urbaines. / Urbanization is a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. This thesis aims at understanding its effects on plant functional composition and biotic homogenization in riparian forests. Floristic inventories were carried out in 57 riparian forests of the Montreal area. To investigate changes in functional composition with urbanization, community weighted means were computed for trees, shrubs and herbs using eight functional traits. Each forest was characterized by variables related to the surrounding urban landscape, local forest conditions and spatial processes. The relative importance of these three subsets on the functional composition was quantified by variation partitioning using redundancy analyses. Local conditions, especially flood intensity, exerted an overriding selection pressure on riparian functional communities. The effect of the landscape was suspected to be indirect, acting on trait patterns likely through alteration of hydrological disturbances in riparian forests. In addition to environmental filtering, dispersal along rivers was also an important process structuring riparian forests. Changes in taxonomic and functional β-diversity for herb species were studied between three urbanization and flood levels. While urbanization led to taxonomic differentiation, flood intensity fostered taxonomic homogenization, both without influence on functional β-diversity. Urbanization was the main trigger for all β-diversity changes, as it directly caused a gain in exotic species and a net species loss in highly urban forests, and indirectly fostered an important species turnover through alteration of the hydrological regime. Overall, these results suggest that the alteration and interruption of natural landscape-scale processes by human activities are major mechanisms underlying changes in urban riparian communities.