How "Green" is our Air? Epiphytes as proxies for air quality in the Tellus Border region
Investigator(s): Howard Fox/National Botanic Gardens
Funder: EU INTERREG IVA -funded Tellus Border project
The epiphytic organisms include lichens, fungi, bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) and algae. The lichens, in particular, are sensitive to anthropogenic pollution of air and water (in mists and precipitation). This study undertook biomonitoring of eiphytes growing on 700 twig samples, collected as ‘by-catch’ during the Tellus Border geochemical survey, to assess the environmental health of rural air quality, i.e. eutrophication, in the border region of Ireland. A distinctive “aerial green algal bloom” was observed on 75% of the vegetation samples examined. There is evidence that pollution-sensitive epiphyte species in the Tellus Border region suffer from excessive deposition of airborne nitrogen leading to the success of pollution-tolerant species at the expense of pollution-sensitive species.
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Mining contamination impacts on steam sediment in Northern lreland
Investigator(s): British Geological Survey
Funder: EU INTERREG IVA -funded Tellus Border project
Information on the baseline conditions of water catchments prior to mining is needed to better understand what restoration goals are achievable in mining impacted catchments. The Tellus geochemical baseline data provide a reference point against which changes can be measured and can be used both by industry and regulators in future mine applications. In this project pre-mining baseline sediment concentrations were derived using Tellus stream sediment data for a mineralised area associated with the Ordovician-Silurian rocks in southern Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland. Using exporatory data analysis, lead, zinc, chromium, nickel and arsenic data were examined using exploratory data analysis techniques, revealing several data populations for each element relating to natural geochemical variation and mineral extraction impacts across geological units.
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Soil Carbon and Peat Depth Assessment using Airborne Geophysical Data
Investigator(s): Queen’s University Belfast
Funder: EU INTERREG IVA -funded Tellus Border project
It has become increasingly important to measure and model soil carbon stores and changes in peat stocks to facilitate the management of carbon changes over time. This two-year postdoctoral reseach project evaluated the use of Tellus airborne geophysical (radiometric) data to estimate peat thickness, based on the principle that the radiometric signal is attenuated or reduced by the high water content in peat. Airborne geophysical measurements were validated with ground peat depth measurements combined with non-invasive ground-based geophysical surveys at two bogs in Northern Ireland. Geospatial statistics techniques examined changes in peat stocks over time. The work presents the possibility that by integrating remotely sensed data with ground geophysics, the need is reduced for invasive and damaging on-site peat depth measurements.
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Peer reviewed publication