Roadside soils are affected by traffic. Topsoil samples were collected at 35 Moravian localities with varying traffic intensity. They were analyzed by XRF spectrometry to obtain total element composition. The evaluation of results was carried out with an emphasis on risk elements (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Pb). Positive correlation between traffic intensity and Cu and Pb content in the soil was discovered. The evaluation of the level of contamination was carried out on the basis of the limits announced by the Czech Ministry of Environment. The whole diploma thesis is supplemented by a review in order to provide a comprehensive view on this extensive issue.

Loess from west Greenland was studied to evaluate Holocene paleoclimate in the Arctic region. Deposits of loess are formed over long time scales through deposition of fine aeolian sediment and they exist in several places in the world. The main aeolian dust source in the study area is glaciofluvial material derived from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Studying and understanding paleoclimate can help to make better predictions about the future in this sensitive region. Apart from sea level rise, melting of the GrIS also leads to an increase of aeolian dust as it gets released from the ice, which influences atmospheric and metrological phenomenon as well as the ice sheet’s albedo. This creates negative feedback mechanisms through increasing melting rates of glaciers and warming of the Arctic. Loess samples from two sites in the Kangerlussuaq area were analyzed and the mineral composition was measured with X-Ray Florescence Spectroscopy (XRF). With the measured mineral content, weathering indices were calculated to identify rates of weathering during the Holocene. Increased weathering intensities indicate warmer and more humid climate. The deposits in Greenland are relatively thin. Radiocarbon dating of the sediment suggests that the oldest parts of the profiles are about 4000 cal. yr B.P. (calibrated years before present). Arctic loess has not been studied very extensively. Weathering indices and ratios developed for classical loess, that had not been tested on Arctic loess, was used. The results were plotted by depth and age to visually identify changes over time. By considering the geology, climate and local conditions of the study area, some weathering indices seemed to be suitable, generating matching trends between the two sites. Compared with results from previous studies, the results also seemed credible. / Löss från västra Grönland studerades för att utvärdera holocent paleoklimat i Arktis. Lössjordar bildas över långa tidsskalor genom avsättning av fint vindburet sediment och de finns på flera platser i världen. Den huvudsakliga källan till det vindburna sedimentet i studieområdet är glaciofluvialt material härstammande från Grönlandsisen (GrIS). Att studera och förstå paleoklimat kan underlätta skapandet av bättre prognoser om framtiden i denna känsliga region. Bortsett från höjning av de globala havsnivåerna leder smältningen av GrIS också till en ökning av vindburet sediment då det frigörs från isen, vilket påverkar atmosfäriska och metrologiska fenomen samt isens albedo. Detta skapar negativa återkopplingsmekanismer genom ökande smälthastighet av glaciärer och uppvärmning av Arktis. Lössprover från två ställen i Kangerlussuaq-området analyserades och mineralsammansättningen mättes med röntgenstrålningsspektroskopi (XRF). Med det uppmätta mineralinnehållet beräknades vittringssindex för att identifiera vittringshastigheter under Holocen. Ökad vittringsintesitet indikerar varmare och fuktigare klimat. Avlagringarna på Grönland är relativt tunna. Kol-14-datering av sedimentet antyder att de äldsta delarna är cirka 4000 cal. yr B.P. (kalibrerade år före nutid). Arktisk löss är relativt ostuderad. Vittringsindex som har utvecklats för klassisk löss i tempererade regioner, och tidigare inte testats på arktisk löss, användes. Resultaten ritades i grafer efter djup och ålder för att visuellt identifiera förändringar över tid. Genom att ta hänsyn till geologin, klimatet och lokala förhållanden i studieområdet, verkade några av vittringsindexen ge trovärdiga resultat då matchande trender mellan bägge profiler kunde utläsas. I jämförelse med resultat från tidigare studier verkade resultaten också trovärdiga.

Decades of archaeological research have established the chronology of the history of culture by farmers in northern South Africa from the beginning of the first millennium AD to the recent past (1900). This thesis sought to explore the archaeology and archaeometallurgy of the early inhabitants of the Lowveld region. Rigorous methodological and theoretical approaches, which include Ethno-Historical, archaeological and archaeometallurgical studies, were employed to acquire the relevant information required to address research problems. Ceramic typology and settlement pattern studies were used to establish the culture-history to contextualise Iron Age sites, while Optical Microscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the metallurgical remains to understand metal production technology. Both Mutoti and Thomo sites share several similarities, namely, they are situated near the perennial streams, the presence of metal-production sites and the predominant pottery types, consisting of short and long neck vessels dominated by comb stamping, incision and punctate decorations on the rim, neck and shoulder of the vessels. Ceramic tradition analysis revealed that both Mut 2 and Thomo combine ceramic designs and attributes that appeared in the region near the beginning of the first Millennium AD, that is the Urewe and the Kalundu traditions. Garonga Phase tradition developed from the Urewe tradition which represent the first facie, represented by the Silver Leaves sites of the Kwale branch ceramic tradition which dates to AD 280- 420 and the Kalundu tradition (which starts from Happy Rest and progresses to Diamant - Phase 2) which dates from the sixth century AD, both traditions share distinctive ceramics styles and decoration attributes (Burrett, 2007; Huffman, 2007). The radiocarbon-based chronology suggests that Mut 2 and Thomo sites were occupied contemporaneously and dated to AD 650-850. Analysis of the distribution of materials objects across Mut 2 site revealed active participation in both local and international trade network (Soapstone and Islamic ceramics) operated at a village status. Some of the craft production related evidence include metal production, eggshell beads and cloth manufacturing. Metal production was regarded as signature of power and authority in Iron Age period (Herbert, 1996). More research may strengthen this observation.

This diploma theses is about the study of the effect of individual components of printing compositions intended for material printing of identificaton codes, read by X-ray fluorescence. Two printing technologies were used – screen printing and pad printing. The composition of the print compositions has been optimized in term of visual recognition, print repeatability, a dry matter content providing an X-ray fluorescence signal, as well as optimization of the material print process leading to the creation of invisible identification tags for archive documents.

The Master’s thesis deals with study printing and optimization of a chemical labels with a code readable by XRF technique. The study is focusing on the identifiability of components in chemical code through data analysis in the Origin program environment and reproducibility of the analysis. The responses of the XRF signal on real samples of historical documents were studied and possible interfering elements were identified. Based on these analyses, a recommendation was formulated for the method of evaluating the obtained data, code analysis and also for the composition of the printing formulation.

The diploma thesis deals with aluminum food packaging. At first was made a literature recherche relating to this subject. In the next part was realized market analysis of food products, in which is usually used aluminum or aluminum composite in the Czech Republic. After the market analysis we were measuring the samples. We choosed dairy products packaging, for example packaging of the yoghurt (different sizes), the packaging from a curd, from a blue cheese and thermized cheese (Lučina). In selected types of dairy products packaging was set qualitative weight distribution of aluminum-containing composite materials and with the X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was made the qualitative measurement of the aluminum content in these obtained samples. The aluminium content in the metal parts of my samples was between 46,9% and 99,1%.

This diploma thesis is focusing on heavy metals content measuring in sewage sludge. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part deals with valid legislation of the Czech Republic, with toxic effect of heavy metals on environment and population health, and with X-ray spectrometry and technical equipment of selected WWTPs.

Excavation is a common method to clean up areas with increased levels of metal contamination. Identifying the degree of soil contamination is normally done by a laboratory analysis but it could also be done using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) in the field. This project has investigated how well XRF results correlate with the results from the laboratory and how the water ratio affects the results in XRF measurement. The purpose has been to gain an increased knowledge of how soil samples should be handled to obtain a reliable XRF result. Data was compared between lab results and XRF results. Soil samples with different water ratios have been examined to see whether moist affect the XRF results. The results indicate that the reliability of XRF results depends on the metal being studied. The water ratio also affects the result to varying degrees depending on the metal. This study has involved arsenic, lead, nickel, copper and zinc. The main focus is on arsenic, and the results show no significant difference between the two aforementioned methods. There is however a significant difference at some water quotas, but the result correlate very well and can be estimated based on the equation calculated in the results. Results show that a portable XRF is a reliable instrument for dry samples of arsenic, but laboratory analysis should be used to confirm the results at low levels of arsenic close to the applicable limit values due to margin of error when measuring with a portable XRF.

Lithic source analysis, or “sourcing,” is a geochemical compositional analysis of lithic materials for both major and trace elements. Sourcing analysis assigns lithic sources to geochemical groups according to distinct geochemical compositions, where unique elemental signatures represent separate lithic sources. In archaeological research, sourcing informs upon mobility strategies, trade and exchange networks, and lithic conveyance studies. While obsidian sourcing is a relatively reliable and popular technique, chert sourcing is more difficult and historically less successful largely due to variability in chert formation processes. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) offers a possible sourcing technique, and is non-destructive, as well as time and cost-effective. In this thesis, I test the reliability of XRF in determining the geochemical characterization of Tosawihi Quarries chert, a unique chert source located in the Humboldt River Basin of north-central Nevada. The Tosawihi Quarries archaeological district (26EK6624) is a significant lithic resource that has hosted human occupation and activity for millennia. The Tosawihi Quarries offers a high quality toolstone that was intensely used, as indicated by numerous quarry locales and biface tool caches. Additionally, the Tosawihi Quarries is a social identity marker for the Tosawihi band of Western Shoshone, also serving as a source of spirituality and medicine. Tosawihi chert is a distinct, white lithic material type that also has a characteristic fluorescence pattern when exposed to ultraviolet light. While these are defining attributes, they are not unique to Tosawihi chert, as they occur in other Great Basin white chert sources. Identifying Tosawihi chert has been problematic, and misidentifications may have led to erroneous interpretations of the archaeological and ethnographic records. If successful, a geochemical characterization by XRF would provide an elemental signature specific to Tosawihi chert, thus eliminating discrepancies in visual and ultraviolet fluorescence readings and permitting archaeologists to accurately asses the distribution and use of this sacred material. In this thesis research, I first conducted an XRF analysis of a source standard collection of Tosawihi Quarries chert, which yielded a preliminary methodology for identifying Tosawihi chert. This protocol was tested against two comparative collections of other Great Basin white cherts: Mono Lake Spillway located in western Nevada and Pahute Mesa (26NY1408) located in southern Nevada. The methodology, now refined, was then run against the archaeological collection, where five collections of white chert artifacts were tested for the presence of Tosawihi chert. Incorporating both the qualitative and quantitative data from XRF analysis, the results show that this proposed methodology can successfully discriminate between Tosawihi chert and other Great Basin white cherts based on its XRF signature.

Sediments in Lake C3, Ellesmere Island, Canada, contain annual laminations, providing a record of sediment accumulation for 1900+ years. Marine sediments are also present at base of cores, recording lake isolation following isostatic rebound of the Taconite Inlet region in the mid-Holocene. Beyond weak correlations with snowfall and summer temperature and precipitation, varve thickness comparisons with instrumental data were largely unsuccessful, likely due to turbidite-induced erosion. However, summer climate conditions are of key importance in varve thicknesses at many Arctic sites and we expect this to be true at Lake C3. Trends in the thickness record also correspond in approximate timing and response to large-scale climate events including the Little Ice Age (thin laminations) and the Medieval Warm Period (thick laminations). Long term trends and variability in the thickness record are also likely influenced by the weakening flow of the Taconite River following deglaciation as well as localized geomorphic events. Elemental profiles combined with varve thickness features identify anoxic periods resulting from ice-cover- or marine incursion- induced stratification. Through synthetic aperature radar imagery we verify the strong link between air temperature and ice-cover conditions during the summer. Modification to tephra isolation methods resulted in the successful extraction of cryptotephra. Shards are currently undergoing microprobe identification to identify volcanic source and eruption timing. Sediments at Lake C3 provide a high-resolution record of local and regional environmental change and add to the high-latitude network of reconstructions with the objective of placing current changes in a long-term context.