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This study aims to evaluate the urban pollution by combined magnetometric and geochemical analyses on road dusts from three towns in the vicinity of Cu-smelter and ore mining. A collection of 117 road dust samples was investigated for their magnetic characteristics (magnetic susceptibility (χ), frequency dependent susceptibility, anhysteretic and isothermal (IRM) remanences), IRM step-wise acquisition and thermal demagnetization. Coarse grained magnetite and hematite were identified as major iron oxides in the emissions from ore spills and smelter, while traffic-related magnetic minerals were finer magnetite grains. Degree of pollution is assessed by geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor and Pollution Load Index (PLI) for a set of potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Using the geochemical data, we evaluate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks for the population. Our results show that dust emissions from the industrial facilities likely pose significant health hazard for adults and children caused largely by Arsenic pollution in "hot spots". Based on the strong correlation between χ and most of the PTEs, detailed variations in pollution degree inside the urban areas are inferred. Strong linear regression between χ and PLI allows designating limit susceptibility values, corresponding to the PLI categories. This approach can be successfully applied for monitoring and mapping purposes at high spatial and temporal resolution.

The river catchment management is a complex problem, which requires analysis of massive amounts of mandatory monitoring data on analytical, spatial, and temporal level. The present study deals with the application of a novel water quality assessment approach combining water quality index (WQI) developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and self-organizing maps of Kohonen (SOM). The study is carried out by using long-term water quality monitoring data (2008–2018) collected from 10 sampling stations located in the Mesta River catchment, Bulgaria. In the first step, the assessment of annual water quality categories of each sampling station was estimated by the calculation of CCME WQI modified according to the Bulgarian legislation. In the next step, all annual water quality categories (n = 105) characterized by the factors used for CCME WQI calculation (scope, frequency, amplitude) underwent SOM analysis. The results of implementation of the WQI factors in SOM calculations reveal similar groups of annual water quality categories with specific CCME WQI patterns among the whole river catchment. The obtained patterns represent different water quality situations, which could be treated by different management activities. Additionally, the visualization advantages of the SOM algorithm allowed for detection of the water quality temporal changes and similarity between sampling stations among river catchment. Thus, the combination between integral CCME WQI assessment and multivariate technique SOM made it possible to achieve a precise river catchment water quality assessment, which could be used by water management authorities.

The article analyzes the current status of the river waters in Sofia city district, Bulgaria. The object of this study is the waters of the river Iskar and its tributaries in the selected area. The main hydrochemical indicators are analyzed in accordance with the national legislation for the period 2016-2020. Key points and areas of anthropogenic impact are determined. A complex assessment of quality of the river water has been carried out with the application of the Water Quality Index (CCME) – Canada.

[EN] The contribution of small farms to local food supply, food security and food sovereignty is widely acknowledged at a global level. In the particular case of Europe, they often are seen as an alternative to large and specialised farms. Assessing the real role of small farms has been limited by a lack of information, as small farms are frequently omitted from agricultural censuses and national statistics. It is also well acknowledged that small farms differ widely, and are distributed according to different spatial patterns across Europe, fulfilling different roles according to the agriculture and territorial characteristics of each region. This paper presents the result of a novel classification of small farms at NUTS-3 level in Europe, according to the relevance of small farms in the agricultural and territorial context of each region, and based on a typology of small farms considering different dimensions of farm size. The maps presented result from an extensive data collection and variables selected according to European wide expert judgement, analysed with advanced cluster procedures. The results provide a fine grained picture of the role of small farms at the regional level in Europe today, and are expected to support further data analysis and targeted policy intervention., This work was supported by the SALSA project (Small farms, small food businesses and sustainable food and nutrition security) (Project ID: 677,363) funded under H2020-EU.3.2. Societal Challenges - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; and by FEDER Funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology. Helen Sooväli-Sepping was funded by the Estonian Ministry of Education target-financed project IUT3-2 Culturescapes in transformation: towards an integrated theory of meaning making.

Among the many kinds of natural and man-made disasters, earthquakes dominate with regard to their socially and economically impact on the urban environment. Seismic hazard assessment for industrial objects is of a substantial importance, because it provides valuable information for seismic safety and disaster mitigation. The main objective of the study is to integrate basic geo-datasets in thematic mapping products and to assess the seismic hazard using GIS techniques to provide a basis for disaster management of the case study of Ada Tepe in Bulgaria. GIS is applied as a valuable tool to support an effective decision-making by managing, structuring and utilizing comprehensive data for disaster prevention. Web GIS is of interest to us in the future work, because it is provided the ease for real-time access and simultaneous informed decision-making process for all stakeholders involved.