Statistical Techniques In Stereology

Stereology typically concerns estimation of properties of a geometric structure from plane section information. This paperprovides a brief review of some statistical aspects of this rapidly developing field, with some reference to applications in the earth sciences. After an introductory discussion of the scope of stereology, section 2 briefly mentions results applicable when no assumptions can be made about the stochastic nature of the sampled matrix, statistical considerations then arising solelyfrom the ‘randomness’ of the plane section. The next two sections postulate embedded particles of specific shapes, the particular case of spheres being discussed in some detail. References are made to results for ‘thin slices’ and other prob-ing mechanisms. Randomly located convex particles, of otherwise arbitrary shape, are discussed in section 5 and the review concludes with a specific application of stereological ideas to some data on neolithic mining.

Primary Production In An Estuarine Environment - Comparison Of Insitu And Simulated Insitu C-14 Techniques

A simulated in situ incubation box has been compared with in situ exposure for 14C production measurements in an estuarine environment. Measurements were made over the course of 14 months, mainly in the Tamar estuary; production rates ranged from less than 1 mg C m−2h−1 to 350 mg C m−2h−1 and there was no significant difference between results from the two methods. In the estuarine waters investigated, the simulated in situ incubator with neutral density filters, used with a Secchi disc to determine sampling depths, gives a satisfactory estimate of in situ primary production.