This thesis presents an assessment of the variation in solifluction occurrence, morphometry and movement rates in the Abisko region, northern Sweden. Variations in movement rates are analyzed both on a regional and local scale. The main methodological contributions of this thesis have been to provide new techniques of analyzing spatial and temporal variations of solifluction in order to detect long term temporal trends and to regionalize the variations in movement rates. The spatial analysis is achieved by using a combination of field measurements, GIS and remote sensing techniques and statistical analysis. The results are presented in six papers, focusing on the morphometry of solifluction landforms (paper I), the occurrence of permafrost (paper II), the spatial and temporal variations of lobe front movement rates using aerial photographs (paper III), the temporal, regional and local spatial variations in movement rates (paper IV – VI) and statistical modelling of the occurrence of solifluction landforms and calculation of geomorphic work (paper V and VI). The results show that, on a regional scale, vegetation patterns are a major control on the occurrence of turf-banked solifluction landforms, with high NDVI-values (vegetation) associated with the presence of forms. Elevation is also a major control on a regional scale with a decrease in lobe dimensions and movement rates with increased elevation. High soil moisture values are associated with larger landforms and increased movement rates. Movement rates are generally higher in the western part of the region and appear to increase with higher MAAT. Equally, geomorphic work is greatest in the western part of the region. The important controls on a local scale vary from site to site, but include vegetation, slope angle and soil moisture. The photo analysis indicates that annual movement rates of lobe fronts in Kärkevagge and Låktatjåkka valley over the period 1959-2000 ranges from not-detectable to 63mm/yr. The permafrost model shows probabilities >0.8 for permafrost at elevations above 1300 m a.s.l. in the western part of the region, decreasing to altitudes over 850 m a.s.l. in the eastern part of the region. Calculated geomorphic work suggests that solifluction is a significant denudational agent in the sub-Arctic mountains of northern Sweden, but less so than previously estimated.

The urban near surface atmosphere is of great concern since it affects the climate to which an increasing amount of people are immediately exposed. This study investigated the microclimate in central Stockholm in terms of the thermal conditions in the 0-2.5 m air layer and the water and heat exchange processes at different types of surfaces found within the urban environment. The main objective was to improve our understanding of the urban small-scale climate system. The urban microclimate was measured in terms of vertical air temperature profiles along a horizontal transect running through a vegetated park and its built-up surroundings during three clear and relatively calm summer days. The results showed that the air temperature at 1.2 m height within the park was 0.5 to 1.5 K lower than in the surrounding city blocks, and that the thermal stratification was generally stable (increasing temperature with height) in the park and unstable (decreasing temperature with height) in the built-up areas. In addition, there were a few examples of temperature gradients orientated in different directions within the lowest 2.5 m air layer, indicating horizontal advection between the park and the built-up areas. Climate conditions simulated with a three-dimensional microclimate model agreed well with observations and the model was therefore assumed to provide reasonable representations of important climate processes such as surface-air energy exchange processes. However, there were some discrepancies between observations and simulations that are discussed in terms of differences in real and modelled heat storage processes and wind conditions. Processes that need to be included for a more precise model description of areas such as the Stockholm environment include dynamic heat storage in buildings and dynamic wind forcing during the course of the simulation. A soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer model was used to study soil water transport, the surface energy balance of an asphalt surface, and the impact of urban climate on evapotranspiration. Based on model calibration to field measurements of soil water content in a till catchment outside Stockholm, new parameter values were estimated that can be used for water flow modelling of till soils. The heat fluxes of an asphalt surface were reliably simulated without knowledge of site-specific calibration and the model was useful in identifying problems with energy balance closure based on measurements only. Simulations of ‘urban’ modifications to the forcing climate conditions demonstrated that increased air temperature, and thereby increased vapour pressure deficit, had most effect on evapotranspiration from tall vegetation, while increased long-wave radiation raised grass evapotranspiration the most. / QC 20100901

Anjoner från de tre korta organiska syrorna: acetat, format och MSA är intressanta att mäta då de kan användas för olika sorters miljöstudier. Jonkromatografen vid Institutionen för Geovetenskaper kan för närvarande inte skilja på dessa tre ämnen, därför utvecklades sex nya metoder i detta projekt för att lösa problemet. Metod 5 visade sig vara den bästa, där acetat och format separerades. Resultatet ansågs vara bra, även om MSA inte separerades. Metod 5 testades sedan på ett par naturliga prover; vatten-, snö- och isprover. Alla dessa prover visade en större mängd av format än acetat, som i vissa fall inte ens visades. Resultaten verkade rimliga, inte många av dem stack ut i jämförelse till andra resultat av samma fas. Det ytligaste provet från Lomonosovfonnaglaciären skiljer sig dock ganska mycket i mängden format jämfört med prover från andra djup av denna iskärna, förmodligen på grund av kontamination vid hanteringen av proverna både vid provtagningen och i labbet. MSA kan dock även mätas om man vet mängden acetat och format i provet. Detta görs genom tillsats av kända mängder av MSA till samma prov i efterföljande körningar, för att sedan kunna beräkna koncentrationen av MSA i provet. Problemet med denna metod är att koncentrationen av MSA måste vara tillräckligt hög i kontrast till koncentrationerna av acetat och format för att få tillförlitliga resultat, vilket den inte var i det här projektets analyserade prover. / Anions from three short organic acids: acetate, formate and MSA are interesting to measure since they can be used for different environmental studies. The ion-chromatographer at the Department of Earth Sciences is currently not able to separate these three substances; therefore six new methods were developed in this project to solve this problem. Short organic test 5 ended up to be the best method, where acetate and formate were separated. The result was considered good, even if MSA were not separated. Method 5 was then tested on a couple of natural water, snow and ice samples. All these samples showed a larger amount of formate than of acetate, which in some cases was not even found. The results seemed plausible; not many of them were sticking out compared to others of the same phase. The shallowest sample from the Lomonosovfonna ice cap did however differ quite a lot in amount of formate compared with samples from other depths of this ice core; probably because of contamination which could have occurred at both the ice cap and in the lab during the handling of the samples. MSA can however also be measured if the amount of acetate and formate in the sample is known. This is done by adding known amounts of MSA to the same sample in subsequent runs to then be able to calculate the concentration of MSA in the sample. The problem with the use of this method is that the concentration of MSA needs to be high enough in contrast to acetate and formate in order to get reliable results, which was not the case in the samples measured in this project.

Gravity is measured and used by Lantmäteriet to calculate a model of the geoid to get accurate reference heights for positioning. Lantmäteriet are continuously measuring new gravity and height data across Sweden to both complement, replace and to add new data points. This is mainly done by measurements in the field at benchmark points. One of the major reasons for continued measurements on e.g. benchmark points is that the measuring always moves forward which makes the measurements more accurate. More accurate data leads to a more accurate calculation of the geoid due to the more accurate gravity values. A more accurate geoid gives the possibility of more precise positioning across Sweden, due to the more precise height values. Lantmäteriet is in the process of updating their entire database of gravity data. They are also measuring at locations where there are none or sparse with measurements. As a stage in the renewing of their database and other systems the Geodesy department wishes to get an introduction to the ArcGIS environment. By customizations of several ArcGIS functions, Lantmäteriet’s work with the extensive data will get easier and perhaps faster. Customized tools will help make e. g. adding and removing data points easier, as well as making cross validation and several other functions only a click of a button away.

Some climate models are still lacking features such as dynamical modelling of ice sheets due to their computational cost which results in poor accuracy and estimates of e.g. sea level rise. The need for low-cost high-order models initiated the development of the First-Order Stokes (or Blatter-Pattyn) model which retains much of the accuracy of the full-Stokes model but is also cost-effective. This model has proven accurate for ice sheets and glaciers with frozen bedrocks, or no-slip basal boundary conditions. However, experimental evidence seems to be lacking regarding its accuracy under sliding, or stress-free, bedrock conditions (ice-shelf conditions). Hence, it became of interest to investigate this. Numerical experiments were set up by formulating the first-order Stokes equations as a variational finite element problem, followed by implementing them using the open-source FEniCS framework. Two types of geometries were used with both no-slip and slip basal boundary conditions. Specifically, experiments B and D from the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for Higher-Order ice sheet Models (ISMIP-HOM) were used to benchmark the model. Local model errors were investigated and a convergence analysis was performed for both experiments. The results yielded an inherent model error of about 0.06% for ISMIP-HOM B and 0.006% for ISMIPHOM D, mostly relating to the different types of geometries used. Errors in stress-free regions were greater and varied on the order of 1%. This was deemed fairly accurate, and probably enough justification to replace models such as the Shallow Shelf Approximation with the First-Order Stokes model in some regions. However, more rigorous tests with real-world geometries may be warranted. Also noteworthy were inconsistent results in the vertical velocity under slippery conditions (ISMIPHOM D) which could either be due to coding errors or an inherent problem with the decoupling of the horizontal and vertical velocities of the First-Order Stokes model. This should be further investigated. / Vissa klimatmodeller saknar fortfarande funktioner så som dynamisk modellering av istäcken på grund av dess höga beräkningskostnad, vilket resulterar låg noggrannhet och uppskattningar av t.ex. havsnivåhöjning. Behovet av enkla modeller med hög noggrannhet satte igång utvecklingen av den s.k. Första Ordningens Stokes (eller Blatter-Pattyn) modellen. Denna modell behåller mycket av noggrannheten i den mer exakta full-Stokes-modellen men är också väldigt kostnadseffektiv. Denna modell har visat sig vara noggrann för istäcken och glaciärer med frusna berggrunder eller s.k. no-slip randvillkor. Experimentella bevis tycks dock saknas med avseende på dess noggrannhet under glidning, eller stressfria, berggrundsförhållanden (t.ex. vid ishyllor). Därför ville vi undersöka detta. Numeriska experiment upprättades genom att formulera Blatter-Pattyn ekvatonerna som ett variationsproblem (via finita elementmetoden), följt av att implementera dem med hjälp av den öppna källkoden FEniCS. Två typer av geometrier användes med både glidande och stressfria basala randvillkor. Specifikt användes experiment B och D från Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for Higher-Order ice sheet Models (ISMIP-HOM) för att testa modellen. Lokala fel undersöktes och en konvergensanalys utfördes för båda experimenten. Resultaten gav ett modellfel på ca 0,06 % för ISMIP-HOM B och 0,006 % för ISMIP-HOM D, vilka var mest relaterade till de olika typerna av geometrier som användes. Fel i stressfria regioner var större och varierade i storleksordningen 1 %. Detta ansågs vara ganska noggrant och sannolikt tillräckligt för att ersätta modeller så som Shallow Shelf Approximationen med Blatter-Pattyn-modellen i vissa regioner. Dock krävs mer noggranna tester med mer verkliga geometrier för att dra konkreta slutsatser. Också anmärkningsvärt var motsägande resultat i den vertikala hastigheten under glidande förhållanden (ISMIP-HOM D) som antingen kan ha berott på kodningsfel eller ett modelproblem som härstammar utifrån särkopplingen mellan den horizontella- och den vertikala hastigheten i Blatter-Pattyn-modellen. Detta bör undersökas vidare.

Large-scale mining modifies the existing physical environment and has multiple long-term impacts on landscape but also on communities, and their cultural values. In Finland, social impact assessment has become a customary practice in assessing and estimating mining impacts that cause changes to the well-being of individual people and their livelihoods. However, the assessment is often lacking notions of social dimensions of the environment, neglecting discussing aspects such as localities and subjective well-being. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of considering the cultural benefits of the environment to human well-being in environmental decision-making. The purpose of this study is to explore and illustrate how cultural ecosystem services could contribute to the current practice in social impact assessments in Finnish mining projects by highlighting the relation between local people and environment through the valuation of cultural services. The study used a conceptual framework approach of cultural ecosystem services and conducted eight qualitative semi-structured interviews in two villages in Finnish Fell Lapland. The aim was to explore how the local people themselves describe their non-material benefits from the environment. Six out of the eight interviews were conducted walking with the participants. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed for analysis against the conceptual cultural ecosystem services framework. The results show how the well-being of local people was strongly linked to cultural benefits such as sense of place, enabled by meaningful activities in places that were often happening in mundane everyday places. The study implies the importance of considering cultural ecosystem services such as sense of place in the current social impact assessment practice as they help unveiling connections between people, the natural environment and subjective well-being.

Lagoons are coastal waterbodies which are sensitive to meteorological and hydrological changes. This study focused on the spatial distribution of salinity in Gialova lagoon, Greece. The area in which the lagoon is located is under pressure from agriculture and truism in the area. Besides that, the lagoon is an important stop for migratory birds as well as the home for rare species. To investigate how salinity is distributed in the lagoon a salinity gradient was produced. Also, an attempt was made to model the salt and fresh water fluxes in the lagoon using a mass balance approach. The water fluxes are either from fresh water sources or influx of saline water from the sea. Manual electric conductivity measurements were taken during a field campaign to the lagoon. Time series data used in the model was obtained from stations in the lagoon and the surroundings. An investigation in how the lagoon measurement station differ in salinity was also performed in this study. Results from the gradient map and manual measurements show that the water in the lagoon is the freshest in the North-Eastern parts and the most saline to the South-West. The modelled water fluxes show an inverse relationship from each other. High fresh water fluxes correspond to precipitation events, lower salinity concentration. Whereas high salt water fluxes correspond to high salinity concentration and lowered precipitation. The stations concentrated to the middle lagoon show corresponding values in salinity whereas the station to the South-West differs. The canal surrounding the lagoon shows interactions since measurements show that the water is brackish. A longer time series could provide patterns in water fluxes over time. Trying to find the portions of terrestrial groundwater and surface water, and further investigation of the regional aquifer could provide new information to develop this model. The region is expected to experience water stress which makes further studies and monitoring important.

Groundwater is an important natural resource in Sweden due to almost 50 % of the produced drinking water origins from groundwater, 50 % of the groundwater is artificially made. Artificial recharge is necessary in some areas in Sweden to enable enough groundwater extraction for the drinking water supply. Artificial recharge will affect the groundwater levels in the system. The infiltration of water can also affect the spread of pollution in the area. The effect of pollution spreading is due to the change in available oxygen in the system. When infiltrating water, the soil can go from anaerobic- to aerobic conditions, which in turn can cause mobilization of pollutants. This master project was carried out in collaboration with the consultancy company WSP. In this thesis, an esker assessed as suitable for artificial recharge from a hydrogeological point of view, is investigated regarding the contamination spread. Stockholm vatten och avlopp (SVOA) is investigating the possibilities for producing drinking water by artificial recharge in the esker. The area has been identified as a potential hazardous area by the Swedish environmental protection agency and increased levels of zinc, lead and copper have been found in the soil. The aim with this project is to investigate how zinc, lead and copper could spread in the groundwater for the current situation. This project also aims to investigate how the artificial recharge would affect the groundwater levels in the system as well as the effect of the spread of zinc, lead and copper regarding the mass transport, transportation time and the contaminant plume. A hydrogeological model was created in MODFLOW where the effect of infiltration was simulated. Models for groundwater transport as well as mass transport was created in MODPATH respectively in MT3DMS. The hydrogeological model´s Normalized root mean square (nRMS) was 7,4 % and the maximal residual between observed and simulated groundwater levels was 0, 16 meters. Two different scenarios for artificial recharge were investigated, one called pilotförsöket and the other called fullskaleanläggningen. For the pilotförsöket was 100 L/s infiltrated and for fullskaleanläggningen was 280 L/s infiltrated, the amount of extracted groundwater was assumed to be equal as the amount of infiltrated surface water. The simulations were indicating that the groundwater levels could rise up to 7 meters locally around the infiltration area. The groundwater levels closer to the extraction wells could decrease by 4 meters in pilotförsöket and decrease by 10-15 meters in fullskaleanläggningen. The simulations of zinc, copper and lead in the infiltration area, are indicating an increase in maximal concentration as well as an increase for the plume of contaminants as a result of infiltration. The maximal concentrations in the simulations of pilotförsöket were found to be in the following ranges 4x10-5 to 2,8x10-8 mg/L for lead; 8 x10-4 to 2,5x10-6 mg/L for copper and 0,012 to 9x10-4 mg/L for zinc. Fullskaleanläggningen resulted in the highest concentrations of the simulated scenarios. The following ranges were observed in the simulations of fullskaleanläggningen 4,5x10-5 to 4x10-8 mg/L for lead; 0,014 till 2,5x10-6 mg/L for copper, and 0,035 till 3x10-3 mg/L for zinc. The plume of contaminants was observed to increase with an increasing amount of infiltrated water. During the simulation period of 10 years, the simulation implies that zinc, copper and lead mainly will be transported close to the infiltration area. The results for simulations in all scenarios indicate that the plume of contaminant will not reach the extraction wells. These results can be due to longer transportation times than 10 years, as well as that the increase volume of water in the system will dilute the levels of metals. This master project indicates that the artificial recharge in the area will affect the groundwater levels in the system. Due to the change in groundwater levels can also the spread of zinc, copper and lead increase in magnitude and in size. This master project also indicates that zinc, copper and lead would not reach the extraction wells in high levels within a 10 years period. The simulations indicate that the area could be appropriate to use for artificial recharge, when considering zinc, copper and lead. This assessment is only based on the simulations of the mass transport of zinc, copper and lead and with the assumption that the contaminated soil would be excavated if an infiltration area is built. Even though the simulations indicate that the area could be appropriate. Other pollutants that was found, but not simulated, at increased levels could have a different transportation time as well as mass transport from the infiltration area. Regarding the age of the landfill it is likely in the methanogenic phase and leaching of contaminants could already have happened decades ago. With these two aspects in mind, my recommendation is that more investigations are made regarding the spread of other pollutants as well as the level of zinc, lead and copper in the groundwater closer to the extraction wells.

Following the necessity for spatial planning to focus on ‘what works’ in terms of implementation and policy delivery, during the last decade, the notion ‘soft’ spaces of cooperation have been in the spotlight of many academics working on territorial cooperation units. ‘Soft’ spaces of cooperation have been introduced mainly to explain what was happening for real through the continuous attempts to promote new policy scales, initially through the device of fuzzy boundaries. However, despite the necessity to address interests beyond existing rigid administrative boundaries, still issues related to financial power, infrastructure coordination and investment, ecological and environmental concerns, etc., all are situated within hierarchical structures of government and governance. Challenges arise and affect the interaction of actors in these areas, given the different institutional and cultural settings. This research investigates ways in which governmental institutions influence the coordination between non-governmental actors, points of interests that can foster the cooperation between governmental institutions and, more specifically the main challenges that non-governmental actors face while trying to cooperate due to cultural differences and institutional set-up in a ‘soft’ territorial cooperation. The research has been carried out in the Dutch-German border area, focusing on a common natural linkage and asset such as the Rhine river. While coordination between different sectoral policies exists in both sides of the border, different social context, planning mode and different legal and political conditions make the implementation of common projects a challenge.

Vår planet är under ständig omvandling, där de allt snabbare förändringarna i klimatet är mest påtagligt. Havsnivåförändringar vilket påverkar hela planeten, bestäms ur ett glaciologiskt perspektiv främst av hur mycket vatten som når haven vid smältning av stora mängder is. Smälter glaciärer kan vatten från ytan leta sig ned genom isen och nå botten under den, vilket kan leda till ökad hastighet hos glaciären genom smörjning av underlaget. Isdynamik är ett komplext område och vattnets väg genom isen och dess påverkan är dåligt känt. Det är därför betydelsefullt att få större kännedom om den fascinerande roll glaciärer spelar för vår planet. Vid tidigare markradarundersökningar på Grönland har reflektionsmönster i radardata upptäckts, vilka har gett upphov till spekulationer om vilken sorts vattenkropp som kan ha lett till det uppvisade mönstret. Då geofysiska metoder ofta kan leda till att olika vattenkroppar kan ge upphov till samma mönster, krävs ytterligare behandling av datat. Genom att använda en två-dimensionell, numerisk modell av fortplantingen av en elektromagnetisk puls genom ett medium, kan en teori om en viss vattenkropp uteslutas eller stödjas. Efter att modellen körts med både glaciärbrunnar och supraglaciala sjöar, framkommer det att sjöar ger ett tydligare VSH-mönster än brunnar, vilka tidigare antagits ha varit orsaken till nämnda VSH-mönster. Detta kan leda till ökad insikt om ytsmältvattnets väg genom isen, isars dynamik och dess påverkan på havsytenivån.