Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

About: Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland is a facility organization based out in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Greenland ice sheet & Ice sheet. The organization has 844 authors who have published 3152 publications receiving 104706 citations. The organization is also known as: Danmarks og Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse.

Heterogeneity of bacterial populations and pesticide degradation potentials in the unsaturated zone of loamy and sandy soils

Abstract: Soil microbial processes play an important role in relation to pesticide pollution of groundwater, and may be strongly influenced by hydrological and geochemical properties. The consequences of such heterogeneous environments on bacterial biomass, enzymatic activities, carbon utilisation patterns, and pesticide mineralisation potentials in the unsaturated zone of a sandy loam and a coarse sandy soil profile were studied. In sandy loam soil profiles the number of bacteria decreased from 109 cells g–1 in the surface layers to about 107 cells g–1 at 1.5–5 m depth. Simultaneously, the hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate and arylsulfatase activity decreased to below the detection limit at about 1.5 m depth, and carbon utilisation patterns showed that bacterial populations from surface soil were significantly different from those from 4 m depth. Bacterial biomass and activity in macropore soil tended to be slightly higher than in matrix soil, and the carbon utilisation patterns of bacterial populations extracted from macropore soil and from matrix soil seemed to be different. Maximally 3% of 14C-labelled mecoprop and isoproturon was mineralised in soil from the 1–1.5 m depth, and less than 1.5% was mineralised in soil from the 3.5–4 m depth. The macropore soil tended to have a higher degradation potential than the matrix soil. The total number of bacteria in the coarse sandy soil profile decreased from about 108 in the plough layer to 107 cells g–1 at 0.4–2 m. The enzymatic activities and the degradation potentials of 14C-labelled mecoprop and isoproturon were significantly correlated (r2 >0.79) and showed a distinct decrease at about 0.4 m. In addition to the depth variability, a horizontal heterogeneity in this soil was observed as horizons or compartments that differed in colour, i.e. with different chemical composition and concentrations of Fe and organic matter. Counts of viable bacteria and measurements of fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis and arylsulfatase activity confirmed a high variability of microbial biomass and activity in the sandy soil profile.

Free, online Danish shallow geological data

Abstract: Geological data at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) have been available on the internet for more than 10 years. The first step in making geological data available online was the launch of web access to data from water supply wells (Tulstrup 2004). The database is called Jupiter, and currently data from more than 260 000 shallow wells are available to the public. Figure 1 shows an example of a map from the Jupiter database available in a web-browser. The first web access was via a text-based search form which supplied data lists and graphical well reports. In recent years, the interface has been extended with more data, map interfaces and extra functionality. This paper describes this development and illustrates the increasing value of the digital data at GEUS.

Comparative reflections on the use of modelling tools in conflictive water management settings: The Mancha Occidental aquifer, Spain

Abstract: Participatory methods provide an increasingly accepted path to integrated assessment. This paper reflects on the role of two participatory modelling initiatives implemented in a highly conflictive setting: the Mancha Occidental aquifer, Spain. The methodologies are described within the context of the case study, examining their potential relevance to integrated assessment from a conceptual standpoint. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are analysed in absolute and relative terms, attending to the different stages of the modelling process. The focus then shifts to explore the implications of this work within the context of participatory integrated assessment and scenario analysis. This serves the purpose of establishing the reasons why the tools have been useful in the eyes of stakeholders, and how the case-specific findings of this project may be relevant to other settings.