ALBERT

Description: The harmful effect on the health of superfine dust in industry is a serious problem. An especially important and complex task is the development of new methods for sedimentation of dust particles with a characteristic size of less than 10 μm. The solution offered by the authors involves a combined method of impact on industrial dust using high-frequency acoustic fields and spraying of a superfine water aerosol. Acoustic radiation sources are successfully applied to cleaning rooms from dust having fairly large particle sizes (10 μm and larger). The sedimentation of fine aerosols (particle diameter of 1–10 μm) is a more complicated challenge. The paper is devoted to substantiation of the acoustic sedimentation method for such aerosols. Good results were achieved when additional disperse phase was applied together with the ultrasonic source. Calculation results according to the mathematical model for coagulation and sedimentation, based on Smoluchowski’s equation, taking into account evaporation of liquid droplets, are given. Results of the experimental and theoretical study of the processes of acoustic sedimentation of superfine aerosols are presented. Recommendations are offered for the use of sources of ultrasonic radiation and sprayers of water aerosol for optimum removal of dust from workplace air.

Description: The pre-cracked Brazilian disc specimens of rock-like materials (Portland Pozzolana cement (PPC), fine sands, and water) are especially prepared in a rock mechanics laboratory to study the breaking process of brittle solids. The Brazilian discs may contain one, two, three, four, and five (parallel) center slant cracks (45° to the horizontal) under compressive line loading. The breaking load of the pre-cracked disc specimens is measured showing that as the number of cracks increases, the final breakage load of the specimen decreases. The experiments are carried out under compression (just like the Brazilian tests used for measuring the indirect tensile strength of intact rocks). It has been experimentally observed that the wing cracks are produced at the first stage of loading and start their propagation toward the direction of compressive line loading in the pre-cracked Brazilian discs. The same specimens are numerically simulated by a higher order displacement discontinuity method (HDDM). The effect of bridge area and orientation of cracks on the cracks coalescence and breakage path of the pre-cracked Brazilian discs specimens are simultaneously studied.

Description: Geophysical and geochemical studies were carried out in the eastern part of Lagos metropolis to determine the possible contamination of subsurface soils and groundwater as a result of dumping of waste into the canal. The geophysical method involved the use of 2D electrical resistivity imaging which was acquired along five (5) traverses, while the geochemical method involved the physicochemical analysis of water samples from nine (9) wells within the study area. The geochemical study includes the analysis of physical parameters like total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), pH and temperature. Seventy elements which include trace elements (such as As, B, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, U and Zn), major cations (such as Ca, K, Mg and Na) and anions (Cl and Br) were analysed, and the concentrations of the elements were compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) permissible level for drinking water. Geophysical results show that the lithology is composed of topsoil, clayey sand, peat and sand. 2D electrical resistivity tomography revealed that the leachate and polluted water from the canal have percolated to the subsurface soil down to a depth of about 37 m with low resistivity values of 1–13 Ω m. In addition to this, result of physicochemical analysis of water samples shows that Mn, Br, TDS, and EC were high in some wells, above the WHO and NSDWQ standard. It was deduced that the subsurface has been invaded by the polluted water from the canal consequently, making the groundwater unsuitable for human consumption.

Description: Probability distribution and extreme value analysis were carried out on total suspended particulate matter (TSP) in Kuwait. The measured TSP data, available for about 10 years from three different locations in Kuwait, viz., Managhesh, Shuwaikh, and Kuwait City were used. For probability distribution analysis, four theoretical distributions were considered, namely Rayleigh, exponential, Gumbel, and log-normal distribution. Based on the study, it was found that log-normal distribution represented the measured daily average TSP value in Kuwait. The expected extreme daily average TSP values for 10-, 25-, 50-, and 100-year return periods were estimated based on Gumbel, exponential, and Weibull extreme value distributions for these three locations. For 100-year return period, the expected TSP values in Managhesh were 5270, 5920, and 4584 μg/m 3 , based on Gumbel, exponential, and Weibull extreme value distributions, respectively. For the same return period, the expected TSP values in Shuwaikh were 11,255, 12,592, and 8771 μg/m 3 , and in Kuwait City, 7109, 8136, and 6494 μg/m 3 , based on Gumbel, exponential, and Weibull extreme value distributions, respectively. During an extreme dust storm in Kuwait, an extreme TSP of 9619 μg/m 3 was recorded on 25 March 2011. The results of this study are an important input to understand the probability distribution of TSP and also for the analysis on the impact of TSP on the socioeconomic development and on the respiratory health issues in Kuwait.

Description: Kadabora-Suwayqat area, in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, is built up by a wide variety of non-consanguineous, basement rock units, which represent a tectono-stratigraphic suite within the frame of the Late Neoproterozoic, Pan-African Arabian-Nubian Shield. They were developed from different magma sources at varied tectonic settings through subsequent tectono-magmatic processes. They cover a wide compositional range of the Pan-African legend in the Eastern Desert of Egypt comprising ophiolitic, island-arc, and within-plate assemblages. The ophiolitic serpentinites were obducted onto arc-related metavolcanics and intruded by gabbroic and syn-late to post tectonic granitoids. Geochemically, the precursor of the ophiolitic serpentinites seems to be peridotite (harzburgite). The basic, intermediate, and acidic metavolcanics imply a transitional stage between an island-arc and a proper active continental margin setting. They exhibit with the gabbroic rocks a diagnostic subduction-related island-arc, calc-alkaline affinity. The granitoids comprise both arc-related, calc-alkaline I-type and within-plate, anorogenic A-type varieties. These rocks have been successfully discriminated on Landsat 8 images including Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF; 4, 3, 7), Principal Component Analysis (PCA; PC6, PC2, PC7), and various band ratios (b6/b2, b6/b7, b6/b5×b4b5) and (b7/b6, b7/b5, b5/b3). ASTER clay index (5×7/6) and silica index (10/13) discriminated the granitoid rocks, while the serpentinite-talc carbonate and metavolcanic rocks are distinguished on the ASTER images of amphibole index (6+9/7+8) and (6/8).

Description: An underground reservoir is an effective way to solve water resource problems, such as uneven water distribution and shortage. Based on the groundwater overdraft status in Beijing, the hydrogeologic conditions in Miyun–Huairou–Shunyi (MHS) area, and the excess water of Middle Route Project of South-to-North Water Transfers in Beijing, 3D strata spatial geological structure models are developed by software Groundwater Modeling System (GMS). Different types of water levels and their corresponding feature storage are illustrated to assess the storage capacity of the underground reservoir. The storage capacity is analyzed in the MHS area according to the models and water levels. The total storage is about 31.11 × 10 8  m 3 . The dead storage is approximately 15.07 × 10 8  m 3 , and the beneficial storage is approximately 16.05 × 10 8  m 3 . Results present important reference for the construction of underground reservoir in Beijing. The construction is important in solving the serious water shortage problem in Beijing.

Description: In this paper, the correlations between the different measurements of rock brittleness (i.e., B 1 , B 2 , B 3 , and BI ) and the penetration rate (PR) of tunnel boring machine (TBM) through Zagros long tunnel were evaluated. According to the results of simple regression analyses, there was no correlation between the penetration rate of TBM and the brittleness of B 1 , but stronger log-linear correlations have been observed between the penetration rate of TBM and the B 2 , B 3 , and BI brittleness indices. As part of the present study, correlations between some of rock mass classification systems (RQD, RMR, GSI, Q , and Q TBM ) and penetration rate of TBM have been investigated. The results of simple regression analyses showed that the first four rock mass classification systems did not exhibit a good correlation with the TBM penetration rate, but the Q TBM had strong correlation with that. Multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses were applied for estimating the TBM penetration rate based on three properties of the rocks (porosity ( n ), brittleness of B 3 , and elastic modulus ( E ) of intact rock) and rock mass quality system ( Q ). Also, in this study, artificial neural network (ANN) analyses were applied on the data to develop predictive models for the penetration rate of TBM from porosity, brittleness of B 3 , elastic modulus, and Q values. The comparison of the models produced from ANN and MLR analyses using the coefficients of determination showed that the ANN models for predicting the TBM penetration rate were more reliable than the MLR models.

Description: This paper presents the design and 3D numerical modeling of the temporary support system for the twin tunnels in the transition zone of the Esfahan subway project. Ground movements caused by tunneling beneath urban areas can have a significant impact on adjacent structures and therefore require consideration when choosing the excavation method and the type of support system. Due to the old buildings in the historical city of Esfahan, this research requires parametric studies for the use of simulation techniques. This paper focuses on 3D stability analysis and design of the support system required to control the critical strain and ground movement due to excavation of the transition area of the twin tunnels in the Esfahan subway project. A numerical model is developed to estimate the excavation effects on the critical strain and ground settlement and also the effect of reinforcement measures. In the 3D numerical model, a constitutive law characterized by the time-dependent stiffness and strength of the shotcrete is employed. Results show that the suggested support is sufficient to control the settlement and critical strain due to tunneling. Comparison between the 2D model prediction and the results of corresponding 3D model indicates that the conformity between 2D and 3D analysis results decreases in the transition region. One of the most useful methods to determine the induced seismic loads, the use of time-history dynamic analysis is usually done for major projects. In this paper, for the twin tunnels of subway, Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) software is used for this purpose.

Description: Iraq Geological Survey carried out geological investigations on a limestone deposit at SW Najaf area during 2006–2007 to be utilized in Kuffa Cement Plant. Large reserve is estimated with good quality enough to produce 2.3 million tons/year of Portland cement for more than 50 years. The next stage is to use the geological information to prepare mining geological study needed for extractive processes. The results of chemical analysis of samples are used for quantitative mining condition study and estimating industrial reserve by programs RW2004 and RW2006. This procedure resulted in some essential geological and mining recommendations.

Description: This paper suggests that the fungal fruiting bodies identified by Al-Ameri and Jassim ( Arab J Geosci 4:443–461, 2011 ) as Plochmopellinites (Figures 6–10) is a thecamoebian taxa Arcella discoides , likewise Miliolinites nivalis (Figures 6–14) is another thecamoebian taxa Centropyxis aculeata. This conclusion is primarily based on the remarkable morphological similarity between these specimens illustrated and described by Al-Ameri and Jassim ( Arab J Geosci 4:443–461, 2011 ) and the well-known thecamoebian taxa mentioned in this paper. These misidentified ‘fruiting fungal bodies’ were reported from the environments where thecamoebians are well known to inhabit. Thecamoebians are, by now, known to occur in the palynological slides and have become an important constituent of the non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP). Palynologists too study them as they are excellent proxies for Quaternary climatic and environmental changes.

Description: A lateritic soil profile formed on the top of the middle Miocene was identified in the south of the Eastern Desert of Egypt. It is located about 55 km south of Marsa Alam and far about 3 km from the Red Sea coast. The mineral identification of samples was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The study revealed the relative predominance of kaolinite and gibbsite beside iron minerals (hematite and goethite), evaporates (halite and anhydrite), carbonate (dolomite and calcite), quartz, and cryptomelane. Accessory minerals are represented by columbite, tapiolite, thorite, monazite, zircon, barite, atacamite, anarkite, romanchite, hemimorphite, cerussite, garnet, ilmenite, nickel, and flurorichterite. The geochemical data of the bulk samples reflect enrichment in SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , Zn, Pb, Ba, Sr, As, Nb, Cu, and Zr. This lateritic soil shows high Uc/Th ratio indicating addition of uranium under suboxic to anoxic condition. The LREE predominance was over the HREE due to the presence of monazite mineral. Negative Eu anomaly confirms the saturated source rocks of these laterites.

Description: Based on distinct variations of textural characteristics, stratigraphical relationships and mineral composition of clastics sedimentary sequence (coarse aggregates) in west Sohag, Upper Egypt had been classified into six individual geological evolutionary stages. These stages were controlled mainly by geomorphology, paleo-climatic conditions, and regional and local tectonic events. In west Sohag, Upper Egypt, the suitability of the Oligocene–Pleistocene natural coarse aggregates have been examined in terms of pavement materials in a sub-base consideration. Depending on textual characteristics and mineral composition, these natural coarse aggregates indicated three distinct stages of geological evolution of the Egyptian Nile Valley. These aggregates are classified as well-graded gravels (GW) and distinguished by cubical shape with sub-angular to sub-rounded edges, as well as characterized by a relatively high abrasion resistance. This leads to a suitability of these natural aggregates in being used as a sub-base pavement course for higher shear strength, exhibiting a less fatigue life. The total estimated volume of these coarse aggregate is 2060.41 million m 3 . This volume of natural coarse aggregates can be dry sieved and crushed to produce base and surface pavement courses.

Description: This study addresses the effects of rock characteristics and blasting design parameters on blast-induced vibrations in the Kangal open-pit coal mine, the Tülü open-pit boron mine, and the Kırka open-pit boron mine. In this study, multiple vibration measurements have been conducted, and the related data have been analyzed and evaluated. Several artificial neural network (ANN) and regression models based on the same blasting design parameters, resistivity, and P-wave and S wave velocities of the surrounding rocks have been constructed to estimate the peak particle velocities and the frequencies of related blast-induced vibrations. The data derived from these models and the classical evaluations indicate that ANNs provide more reliable results than the other methods.

Description: Landmasses can be classified as “islands” or “continents” mainly by geological, rather than geographical, criteria but the classification is still a bit arbitrary. We are presenting a statistical method (a modified Korcak analysis) where the area distribution reveals an intrinsic classification of landmasses. Based on this analysis, one can separate island, subcontinents and continents using only a spatial or geographical criterion, the area. Although not completely, this classification gives more or less the same groups like the ones based on geological criteria.

Description: Eastern desert of Egypt is well-endowed with noble mineral resources that provide challenges for the future economy and development in Egypt. Such mineral resources are not yet well-mapped and fully understood; however, various geological maps are available. The newly advanced sensors of earth observations such as advanced space thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) images were functioned to map the lithology, the structural patterns and the alteration zones related to gold mineralization at the Fawakhir area, Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. Integration of band rationing and principal component analysis (PCA) clearly determined the lithological units of the study area. The alteration zones of the study area were efficiently mapped from the ASTER radiance data using reference spectra based on two supervised classification techniques including the spectral angle mapper (SAM) and spectral information divergence (SID). Field visits and laboratory microscopic examination of thin and polished sections were used for validating the process. The final resulted map of the alteration mineral zones consists of sericite, clay minerals, quartz, carbonate, and pyrite. Auto-detection of the structural lineaments, which are zones of deformation and fracturing that implies secondary porosity, was mapped from the satellite image. These structures represent significant pathways for migration of hydrothermal solutions, which influence the creation of the alteration zones and become potential zones for mineral resources. The spatial analysis showed the high correlation between the density of lineaments and the occurrence of the alteration zones, which represent high probability of the presence of gold deposits that validated against the old gold mines.

Description: Phosphorus (P) removal in a bioretention system has been highly variable. In this study, we investigated the potential application of sludge pyrolysis residue, which was prepared from sludge pyrolysis, for adsorption of P from a bioretention system. Kinetics result suggested that the P adsorbed on sludge pyrolysis residue was faster than that of two soils, and both the surface and intraparticle diffusion were the rate-controlling steps for the adsorption. All adsorption isotherms were highly nonlinear and fitted well by the Langmuir model in comparison to the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacity of P by sludge pyrolysis residue reaches 1,250 mg/kg at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L. Batch adsorption experiments and post-adsorption characterization results indicated that the adsorption was mainly controlled by both the precipitation and surface deposition mechanisms. The presence of Al, Fe, and Ca in sludge pyrolysis residue can facilitate the P adsorption. The release of P adsorbed on sludge pyrolysis residue is negligible because of a strong interaction between P and Al, Fe, and Ca in sludge pyrolysis residue. The findings of this study suggested that sludge pyrolysis residue could be used as an optimal filter medium to improve the removal performance of P in a bioretention system.

Description: The Alut 1:100,000 sheet is located in the Sanandaj-Sirjan structural zone, NW Iran, which contains Au-Ag (Cu) mineralization. The aim of this research is to separate geochemical anomalies using concentration-number (C-N) multifractal modeling based on stream sediments and lithogeochemical data. Results obtained from the C-N method indicated the main anomalies of Au, Ag, Cu, and As accumulated in the central and eastern parts of the area which are associated with meta-volcanic and granitic rocks. Correlation between the elemental highly intensive anomalies and geological particulars consisting of alteration zones and faults revealed that the main Au anomalies are in the central and eastern parts of the Alut 1:100,000 sheet.

Description: The Gurpi Formation is a well-known source rock in the Zagros basin, which stretches from northeast to southwest Iran. Sequence stratigraphy was done based on the integration of evidence derived from palynological proxies and foraminiferal data. According to sequence stratigraphy, seven time lines including four sequence boundaries of type II and three maximum flooding surfaces with a resolution varying from 1 to 5 MY and three complete third-order sequences and one transgressive systems tract (TST) were differentiated. Maximum flooding surface of the first sequence in middle Campanian probably equates the 70-Ma maximum flooding surface (MFS) K175 of Sharland et al. (GeoArabia P: 371, 2001), and MFS of the second sequence in early Maastrichtian is correlated with the marked 68-Ma MFS (MFS K180) of Sharland et al. (GeoArabia P: 371, 2001) that is recorded in many parts of the Arabian Plate. Correlation with the Haq global eustatic curve, though uncertain because of the effect of local tectonics over the relative sea level changes, however, could be possible with the 69.5 Ma. Also, purple shales of the base of the Pabdeh Formation with a Thanetian age are defined as a MFS, correlation of which with the marked 58-Ma MFS (MFS Pg10) of Sharland et al. (GeoArabia P: 371, 2001) and with 56.5-Ma MFS of Haq seems likely. The relative sea level curve resulted in this study is not well in accord with the existing eustasy curves for the middle Campanian-late Paleocene indicating effect of tectonic on relative sea level changes during this period.

Description: The Triassic Chang-3 and Jurassic Yanan low-permeability reservoirs in the southern part of the Tianhuan Depression of the Ordos Basin, north-central China, were investigated using the quantitative fluorescence of reservoir sandstone grains and their hydrocarbon extracts. Values of quantitative grain fluorescence on extract intensity (QGF-E) are generally higher than 150 pc, indicating that oil and gas migration has taken place in the low-permeability tight sand bodies in the study area, so these sandstone strata were the main transport system of oil and gas migration. The values of QGF index and QGF-E in the Chang-3 subsection profile above 2168 m are higher than those below 2168 m; similarly, the two values in the Yanan formation profile above 1849 m are higher than those below 1849 m, indicating that the oil–water contacts of the Chang-3 subsection and Yanan Formation in the study area are 2168.0 and 1849.0 m, respectively. The results of total scanning fluorescence for hydrocarbon extracts from the Chang-3 subsection and Yanan Formation show that the extracts contain low aromatic hydrocarbon and are mature. Our results demonstrate that QGF and QGF-E methods are very effective in understanding the properties and accumulation process of hydrocarbon in low-permeability tight reservoir.

Description: More than 15,000 geological disasters occurred in areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake. Among these regions, the Mujialiang collapse was obtained as the research object in this study. The motion characteristics of the rolling, bouncing, curveting, and crashing of dangerous rocks in the caving process were evaluated using physics theory. Results show that the rocks of the Mujialiang collapse were fractured and cracked after the earthquake and can easily caved under rainstorm and aftershock. In addition, vegetation conditions along the motion path promoted the accelerated movements of dangerous rocks. The velocity of dangerous rocks reached 9.05 m/s upon arriving on the slope platform, thus endangering the houses within the area. Therefore, management projects are necessary to ensure safety of the residents in the Mujialiang ditch.

Description: Geochemical and hydrogeochemical studies were conducted to assess the origin and geochemical mechanisms driving the fluoride enrichment in groundwaters of semiarid regions in Central India. The study region is geologically occupied by Precambrian rocks (granites, pegmatites, gneisses, schists, etc.) where groundwater occurs under unconfined condition. Majority of the groundwater locations did not meet the potable water criteria as they contained excess fluoride (〉1.5 mg/l). The greater concentrations of fluoride were recorded in the monsoon followed by post-monsoon and pre-monsoon. Ionic composition and hydrogeochemical facies revealed the dominance of carbonate weathering and alkalinity that favors high dissolved fluoride in groundwaters. The values of dissociation constant showed slow weathering of fluorite and fast weathering of calcite in the study area. Rainfall shifted the unsaturated to saturated values of SI C and SI F in the monsoon. The factor analysis and saturation indices revealed geogenic origin of fluoride, a condition responsible for perennial fluoride problem in the study region.

Description: The large amounts of phosphate fertilizers which are used in agriculture activities in Egypt lead to the contamination of large quantities of soil surrounding the agricultural fields. Also, the use of traditional flood irrigation method makes the problem more worse. An extensive laboratory testing program is carried out to determine the Atterberg limits, compaction characteristics, hydraulic conductivity, and shear strength parameters of clean and contaminated soils. Three types of soils are used including coarse sand, fine to medium sand, and silty clay. Batch tests are used to study the short-term effect of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) contamination on the soil properties. Contaminated specimens are prepared by mixing the dried soil samples with different di-ammonium phosphate concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 %. The results indicate a significant reduction in Atterberg limits and increase in hydraulic conductivity for silty clay soil with the increase of phosphate concentration. The change that is induced by chemical reaction in the micro-structure of the soil is studied by laser scanning microscope before and after soil contamination. For sand soil, γ dmax is significantly increased with the increase of DAP concentrations up to 5 % and slightly increased with concentrations from 5 to 20 % which indicates excess phosphate in the soil. However, the general trend of hydraulic conductivity is towards reduction. In addition, the friction angle of two sand samples decreases about 10 % due to the increase of DAP concentration up to 20 %. For silty clay, the reduction in cohesion is about 20 % and the increase of friction angle is about 10 % with the increase of DAP up to 20 %.

Description: With the increasing impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities, drought happens in more areas with higher frequency. In this paper, we calculate the return period and the drought risk in China based on the monthly PDSI, the Palmer Drought Severity Index, data over 188 stations from 1901 to 2010. We use the theory of runs to identify the drought duration and severity. We adopt the kernel density estimation to obtain the marginal distribution function, and the Gumbel Copula function to obtain the joint distribution function. The results show that the return period of the joint distribution for the drought duration and severity can be regarded as the extreme condition of the return period of the marginal distribution for the single factor such as the drought duration or drought severity. Under the same drought severity, the return period of the joint distribution is increasing with the prolonging of the drought duration, and it approaches to the return period of the marginal distribution of the drought severity. Under the extreme drought situation, Haihe River Basin, Huaihe River Basin, Songliao River basin, and rivers in the northwest China have a higher drought risk in future 50 years. The drought risk value in China is increasing with the prolonging of predicting time.

Description: Gully systems develop widely in the Yuanmou Dry-hot Valley. Based on the Scheidegger method and the non-parametric method, this study interpreted 1599 gullies using a DEM with a scale of 1:50,000, and remote sensing images were photographed by QuickBird. The objectives are to explore the regularity that is shown in the distributive direction of the gully system and to understand the factors (including aspect, slope, and the neotectonic stress field) that control the distributive direction of the gully system. The results show that (1) the maximum “dominant” direction of the overall, the third and fourth order, the east, above 1400 m gully are 270°; the “dominant” direction 270° has relative superiority. So 270° is the “dominant” direction of the gully system in the Yuanmou Dry-hot Valleys area. (2) The slope of 38° is the threshold value which separates the overall slope range. When the slope is in the range 0–38°, the slope is the dominant factor; when the slope is in the range 38–59°, aspect is the dominant factor. So, with the increase of slope, 38° is the threshold value, and the dominant topographic influence is changed from slope to aspect. (3) The direction of the compressive stress field, 157.5°, is proven not to conflict with the directions 146.3, 157.5, 169, and 180° that are the principal compressive stresses calculated for the gully system. So the collision and extrusion of plates can form fracture surfaces which provide a favorable condition for the development of drainage and gullies. The distributive direction of the gully system is comprehensively affected by the neotectonic stress field, the terrain, and other factors. Therefore, the study of the distributive direction of the gully system not only enriches the content of morphology on the landform but can also be the basis for the evolutional direction of the gully system that is effectively predicted in the study area, and it provides scientific guidance for industrial and agricultural production layout and the construction of infrastructure.

Description: The nature of Al Batinah coast beach sediments in the Sultanate of Oman was investigated by the analysis of grain size and mineralogy. The beach sediments, mostly light-medium gray green, were predominantly fine sands, with the average grain size of all samples about 200 μm. Some of the particles were gravel (2–16 mm), and some were even larger pebble-size particles (16–256 mm). Some mud (sediment 〈63 μm) was present, mostly in the sub-tidal sediments. The majority of the samples were skewed to the coarse size with coarse tail partly due to the presence of shell fragments. Approximately 50 % of the beach sediments were quartz with different varieties based on shape and size. The second major component of beach sediment was calcium carbonate which varied from 10 to 65 %. The other components in decreasing order consisted of microbreccia, feldspar, pyroxene, igneous rock fragments, biotite flakes, and heavy minerals. The levels of carbonate were lower in NW Al Batinah coast from Harmul to Al Khaburah but were higher in the SE from Al Khaburah to Al Ghubrah. This could be attributed to either lower carbonate production or more sediment input by wadis along the north-western part of Al Batinah coast. The unique and complex nature of these sediments is largely due to the geology of the terrestrial source area in the Hajar Mountains which contains the famous Samail ophiolite complex and the weak sorting along the shoreline in these tide-modified beaches.

Description: Anomaly separation plays a critical role in mineral exploration. The power spectrum-area considers the spatial data which give rise to detecting the anomalies more significantly. Induced polarization data has been surveyed using dipole-dipole array in the Hamyj copper index. Electrode spacing was designed at about 20 m. The Hamyj index was explored based on the result of remote sensing and economic geology. Hamyj deposit is located about 80 km west of Birjand city, South Khorasan province, Iran. In this paper, the induced polarization from the concentration-place domain was transferred to the time-frequency domain by using two dimensional Fourier transforms in order to use the power spectrum-area method. Then, the power spectrums of induced polarization signals were calculated and differentiated by means of fractal geometry. The threshold of separation for the design of digital filter was used to filter the data. Threshold IP and filtered data was calculated by concentration-area method. Finally, IP data and filtered data were compared with each other and 72 percentages of the anomalous data corresponded significantly with each other. The results showed that the power spectrum-area method can eliminate noise; hence, anomalies can be highlighted more sharply. As far as this study is concerned, this method can be used to suggest the best places for drilling.

Description: Calc-alkaline arc magmatism at convergent plate margins is volumetrically dominated by metaluminous andesites. Many studies highlighted the importance of differentiation via fractionation processes of arc magmas, but only in the last decades, it has been demonstrated that not all rock-forming minerals may affect the evolution of calc-alkaline suites. In particular, a major role exerted by Al-rich hornblende amphibole as fractionating mineral phase has been documented in many volcanic arc settings. The aim of this work is to understand the role of the Tschermak molecule (CaAlAlSiO 6 ) hosted in the hornblende and plagioclase fractionation assemblage in driving magma differentiation in calc-alkaline magmatic suites. We explore this issue by applying replenishment–fractional crystallization (RFC) and rare earth element–Rayleigh fractional crystallization (REE-FC) modeling to the Sabzevar Eocene (ca. 45–47 Ma) calc-alkaline volcanism of NE Central Iran, where hornblende-controlled fractionation has been demonstrated. Major element mass balance modeling indicates RFC dominated by a fractionating assemblage made of Hbl 52.0–52.5  + Pl 44.1–44.2  + Ttn 3.3–3.9 (phases are expressed on total crystallized assemblage). REE-FC modeling shows, instead, a lower degree of fractionation with respect to RFC models that is interpreted as due to hornblende and plagioclase resorption by the residual melt. Calculations demonstrate that fractionation of the Tschermak molecule can readily produce dacite and rhyolite magmas starting from a calc-alkaline andesite source (FC = ca. 30 %). In particular, the Tschermak molecule controls both the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and light rare earth element (LREE) budgets in calc-alkaline differentiation trends.

Description: The objective of the present study was to reconstruct a short-term (12–14 years) trend of surface temperature and precipitation patterns using their surrogates as provided by satellite images for selected locations along the Red Sea mountains in Saudi Arabia. Time series land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data acquired from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite were temporally plotted to delineate the trend and the decadal rates of change of both parameters. Results showed that real climate change is reported in the study area during the study period. There is a net increasing in the surface temperatures by 0.45 to 1.2 °C/decade and a net decrease in annual rainfall between 2001 and 2014. Findings of the present study show that the region is under a warming of the climate and a declining of wetness, which coincide with the air temperature and rainfall trends obtained from meteorological stations.

Description: Comparison of microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) and stromatolitic bearing horizons from the Proterozoic Kunihar Formation, Simla Group, Lesser Himalaya, has been scrutinised to understand the formative processes and controls on MISS and stromatolites in the context of sedimentary facies and response to sea level fluctuations. MISS structures recorded are wrinkle structures, Kinneyia ripples, load casts, domal structures, sand chips, palimpsest and patchy ripples with limited desiccation cracks. Stromatolitic morphotypes recorded are solitary, branching, wavy and domal forms of stromatolites associated with ooids, peloids and fenestral laminae. MISS structures flourished within tidal flats to shallow intertidal while stromatolites mushroomed in environments ranging from tidal to deep subtidal. MISS structures were favoured by resistant substratum, low energy conditions, consistent water supply and low terrigenous input. Stromatolites boomed when the volume of carbonate accumulation exceeded siliciclastic deposition. Fluctuating environmental conditions and sediment budget controlled morphology of stromatolites. Owing to limited siliciclastic input during deposition of dolomudstones (characterizes transgressive systems tract), microbial growth was enhanced. Calcareous shales were deposited over dolomudstones which marks the maximum flooding surface (MFS) indicating the culmination of transgression. Deposition of storm-dominated sandstone-siltstone (FA1), wave-rippled sandstones (FA2), tide-dominated sandstones (FA3), heteroliths (FA4), wackestone-packestone (FA6), boundstone (FA7) and ooid-peloid grainstone (FA8) on top of the MFS reflects initiation of highstand systems tract (HST) which is mainly characterized by stromatolitic horizons, alternation of carbonates and siliciclastics with flourishing microbial activity. Eventually, increased sedimentation in upper part of Kunihar Formation marks late stage of regression.

Description: The sediment cores of 20 cm length collected from 31 to 83 m range of water depth from the inner shelf of Bay of Bengal west of “Swatch of No Ground” were analyzed for grain size, organic carbon, total nitrogen, calcium carbonate and clay mineralogy. Grain size analysis revealed that the sediment size decreases from west to east within the study area indicating a possible direction of transport towards east parallel to the coast. The grain size also decreases with increasing water depth, i.e. north to south, indicating sediment contribution to the area of study from Hooghly and other local rivers. In the cores studied, illite was the dominant clay mineral which seems to be a product of glacial weathering under arid conditions with its source being the Himalayan region. The organic carbon content was low in the sediments and was attributed to low plankton production or intense oxidation processes. Low calcium carbonate percentage also supports the view of a low productivity in this region. Organic carbon increases gradually from west to east indicating its association with finer sediments and also indicates transport due to currents which drift the organic carbon away before it settles down within the sediments. Higher values relatively closer to the coast in the eastern side indicate additional contribution from Sunderban mangroves. The C/N ratio obtained indicates mixed source of terrestrial and marine for the organic matter in the sediments. Sedimentation rates available for deltaic plains and shelves off Bangladesh when adopted for the present area revealed that a 20 cm long sediment column was deposited in around 10 years. In most of the cores studied, a change in the trend of sediment components and organic carbon was observed at around 10 cm where grain size increases and organic carbon decreases towards the surface inferring that during the last 5 years, possible floods during NE monsoon or due to melting of ice in Himalaya are responsible for releasing additional water and material which brought a change in hydrodynamic conditions. The surface depletion of organic carbon indicates its dilution by the addition of coarser materials.

Description: Rock burst frequently occurs during coal mining at the Huafeng Coal Mine because of the high-strength, thick conglomerate strata above the coal seam. Given this situation, theoretical analysis, physical simulation, and field measurement methods were applied to study the mechanism of rock burst of hard and thick upper strata in this paper. The results show that rock burst in the mine is caused by a combination of movement, special breaking laws of thick conglomerate, and special breaking-induced stress fields. The combined structure of the upper hard thick conglomerate and the lower soft red layer can provide favorable conditions for the occurrence of bed separation. Accordingly, technical evaluation of bed separation grouting as a means of controlling rock burst under such conditions of hard and thick upper strata was proposed. The engineering application of bed separation grouting was shown to effectively control the movement of thick conglomerate and reduce the accumulation of stress. The range of underground microseismic event energy decreased by 40–60 %, which greatly reduced the frequency and intensity of rock burst. The occurrence of strong rock burst in particular was greatly curtailed. Meanwhile, the velocity and degree of surface subsidence decreased notably and surface cracks were effectively controlled. These achievements provide references for controlling rock burst under conditions of hard and thick upper strata.

Description: The Middle to Late Eocene Mangahewa Formation of Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, has been evaluated in terms of organic matter abundance, type, thermal maturity, burial history, and hydrocarbon generation potential. Mangahewa Formation reflects the deposition of marine, marginal marine, shallow marine, and terrestrial strata due to alternative transgressive and regressive episodes in Taranaki Basin. The sediments of the Mangahewa Formation contain type II (oil prone), types II–III (oil-gas prone), and type III kerogens (gas prone), with hydrogen index values ranging from 58 to 490 mg HC/g total organic content (TOC). Vitrinite reflectance data ranging between 0.55 and 0.8 %R o shows that the Mangahewa Formation is ranging from immature to mostly mature stages for hydrocarbon generation. Burial history and hydrocarbon generation modeling have been applied for two wells in the study area. The models have been interpreted that Mangahewa Formation generated oil in the Mid Miocene and gas during Middle to Late Miocene times. Interpretations of the burial models confirm that hydrocarbons of Mangahewa Formation have not yet attained peak generation and are still being expelled from the source rock to present.

Description: The reproduction of the non-stationary distribution and detailed characteristics of geological bodies is the main difficulty of reservoir modeling. Recently developed multiple-point geostatistics can represent a stationary geological body more effectively than traditional methods. When restricted to a stationary hypothesis, multiple-point geostatistical methods cannot simulate a non-stationary geological body effectively, especially when using non-stationary training images (TIs). According to geologic principles, the non-stationary distribution of geological bodies is controlled by a sedimentary model. Therefore, in this paper, we propose auxiliary variables based on the sedimentary model, namely geological vector information (GVI). GVI can characterize the non-stationary distribution of TIs and simulation domains before sequential simulation, and the precision of data event statistics will be enhanced by the sequential simulation’s data event search area limitations under the guidance of GVI. Consequently, the reproduction of non-stationary geological bodies will be improved. The key features of this method are as follows: (1) obtain TIs and geological vector information for simulated areas restricted by sedimentary models; (2) truncate TIs into a number of sub-TIs using a set of cut-off values such that each sub-TI is stationary and the adjacent sub-TIs have a certain similarity; (3) truncate the simulation domain into a number of sub-regions with the same cut-off values used in TI truncation, so that each sub-region corresponds to a number of sub-TIs; (4) use an improved method to scan the TI or TIs and construct a single search tree to restore replicates of data events located in different sub-TIs; and (5) use an improved conditional probability distribution function to perform sequential simulation. A FORTRAN program is implemented based on the SNESIM.

Description: In order to examine the seasonal characteristics of the dust events over western parts of Iran, surface observations from 27 meteorological stations for the period 1951–2014 were analyzed to obtain spatial distributions and temporal variations and trend of dusty day frequency (DDF). Trends of DDF were analyzed by Mann–Kendall and Sen’s estimator of slope nonparametric statistics. Three meteorological stations were selected in north (Tabriz), middle (Kermanshah), and south of the study area (Ahwaz) as reference stations for detecting the regional differences of DDFs. The results showed that DDF is a variable season by season but in general, DDF increases from north to south and from east to west of Iran. The maximum of DDF is monitored in May, June, and July. There are tangible seasonal increasing–decreasing periods in which these changes are logically related with seasonal changes. Regardless of the existence of the maximum DDF in south and southwest of study area, the most intensive increasing DDF trend is calculated in west middle areas. The most widespread and intensive increasing DDF pattern in west of Iran is observed when it is spring. In this case, the dust storms replaced the rainfalls. Distance from dust sources, major movement ways of dust transporting synoptic systems, regional effective wind activity (such as Shamal wind), and arrangement of high mountains are the known factors affecting frequency variation, distribution, and rate of the trend of all the dust phenomena in west of Iran.

Description: The peri-urban catchments are distinguished by discontinuous urban extensions. They extend between the margins of the city and the borders of the rural space forming a mid-urban, mid rural mosaic. They experience unprecedented expansion movement since the end of the 60 years. When hydrological models for urban and for rural catchments have been developed, it was until recently impossible to apply those principles in a concrete manner to peri-urban catchments. The representation of the hydrological functioning of these surfaces can be done by considering both urban processes and rural processes. In this paper, we present the simulation model named “Multi-Outlets model”. This model allows taking into account the mixed nature of peri-urban areas. The model was applied to Yzeron catchment located in Lyon, France.

Description: The spatial variability of precipitation was investigated in the northwestern corner of Iran using data collected at 24 synoptic stations from 1986 to 2015. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used to regionalize precipitation in the study area. Eleven precipitation variables were averaged and arranged as an input matrix for the R-mode PCA to identify the precipitation patterns. Results suggest that the study area can be divided into four spatially homogeneous sub-zones. In addition, the spatial patterns of annual precipitation were identified by applying the T-mode PCA and CA to the annual precipitation data. The delineated spatial patterns revealed three distinct sub-regions. The resultant maps were compared with the spatial distribution of the rotated principal components (PCs). Results pointed out that the delineated clusters are characterized by different precipitation variability; and using different precipitation parameters can lead to different spatial patterns of precipitation over northwest Iran.

Description: A satellite rainfall retrieval technique is proposed here. The relationships of rain rate with each of cloud water path (CWP) and cloud top temperature (CTT) are investigated. The CWP and CTT are retrieved from SEVIRI data (spinning enhanced visible and infrared imager), and corresponding rain rates are measured by weather radar. The rain rates are compared to corresponding CWP and then to corresponding CTT. The investigation demonstrates an exponential functional dependency between rain rates and CWP for low and moderate rain rates (stratiform rainfall). Conversely, the rain rates are more closely related to CTT for high rain rates (convective rainfall). Therefore, two separate relationships are established for rain rate retrievals. The results show rain rates estimated by the developed scheme are in good correlation with those observed by weather radar.

Description: In this research, the frequency of dust storms was prepared at 87 synoptic stations for the period of 1987–2013. These data were classified by means of Fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. Satellite images of MODIS and brightness temperature index were also used for detection and tracking dust storm of 30 Jun 4 July 2008. The results indicated that Iran is classified in five clusters by the dust-storm-frequencies from which, cluster 5 is reclassified in three clusters because of its wide range. The maximum number of days with dust storms was observed in cluster 1 that includes only Zabol station with the frequency of 790 days with the duration 1987–2013. The minimum number of days with dust storms was observed in cluster 5-3 that includes the stations located in portions of North, Northwest, Northeast Iran and the higher elevations of the Zagros in western Iran. A case study about a severe dust storm in Iran using satellite images indicate that brightness temperature index (BTI) is a desired index for detection and monitoring of dust storms. The source of the investigated dust storms is Iraq and South of the Arabian Peninsula that had influenced the western half of Iran in several days. The frequency of dust storms increased markedly in the west, southwest of Iran and Persian Gulf around as main receptors from emerging dusty areas but it increased slightly in the eastern half of Iran.

Description: The Arabshah kaolin deposit (Takab geothermal field, NW Iran) is the product of alteration of Miocene dioritic rocks. According to mineralogical data, the rock-forming minerals in this deposit include kaolinite, quartz, muscovite-illite, pyrophyllite, accompanied by lesser amounts of rutile, chlorite, anatase, albite, gypsum, nontronite, and pyrite. Consideration of elemental ratios and geochemical indices such as TiO 2 , Nb + Cr, Ti + Fe, Sr + Ba, and La + Ce + Y demonstrated that both hypogene and supergene processes played a significant role in the development of this deposit. The mass change calculations revealed that elements like Zr, Ga, Hf, REEs, and Th which are normally immobile in ordinary alteration processes had both incremental and decremental trends during the development of this deposit. The Eu and Ce anomaly values (normalized to chondrite) in kaolinized samples vary within the range of 0.65–1.13 and 0.91–1.05, respectively. It seems that the variation of negative Eu anomaly values was controlled by kaolinization of feldspars by hypogene solutions and by scavenging of this element by Fe oxides and hydroxides (formed during oxidation of hypogene pyrite by supergene solutions). Variation of Ce anomalies also unravels the effective role of reducing hypogene fluids and to some extent of supergene solutions during kaolinization. Combination of the results obtained from mineralization considerations, mass change calculations of elements, and correlation coefficients illustrate that distribution and concentration of major, minor, and rare earth elements during kaolinization at Arabshah were affected by the function of factors such as changes in physico-chemical conditions of altering solutions (e.g., Eh and pH), adsorption, accessibility to complex-forming ligands, water-rock ratios, existing in resistant (to alteration) mineral phases, and scavenging by Fe and Mn oxides.

Description: Indoor radon measurements were carried out in a total of 420 dwellings and 17 schools in Hail region of Saudi Arabia, using NTDs based radon dosimeters. The duration of the measurements was one year, from April 2008 to April 2009. The indoor radon concentrations varied from 4 to 513 Bq/m 3 with an overall average of 45 Bq/m 3 for all surveyed dwellings. These passive measurements were confirmed by the active measurements. The anomalous concentrations above 200 Bq/m 3 were observed in 13 dwellings, representing 3.1 % of the total surveyed dwellings. In Inbowan village alone, it was found that 7.6 % of the dwellings have indoor radon concentration above 200 Bq/m 3 . The highest average indoor radon concentration of 64 Bq/m 3 was found in Inbowan village while the lowest average of 24 Bq/m 3 was found in Majasah village. The city of Hail showed an average indoor radon concentration of 49 Bq/m 3 . The average indoor radon concentration in one area located at the edge of the Aja Mountain in Hail city was 111 Bq/m 3 . The elevated indoor radon concentrations in many dwellings in the Hail region, prompted us to measure outdoor ground radon in such locations using gas monitor. It was found that radon concentrations at a depth of 0.5 m varied significantly from place to place ranging from 1.2 to 177 kBq/m 3 . The outdoor radon concentrations are generally correlated with the indoor radon measurements. Radon exhalations from construction materials and soil samples from the Hail region were also measured. It was found that radon exhalations from soil samples are higher than that of construction materials by a factor of at least 3 and reaching up to 11. These results indicate that soil is the main source of indoor radon. Geological interpretations of the results are also given.

Description: Outcrops of the Paleozoic Chalki volcanic rocks are restricted to part of the northern Thrust Zone of Iraq close to Iraqi-Turkish border. Petrographically, the volcanic rocks from the Chalki area are mainly layered, appearing fresh in the field and exhibiting some basaltic lava flows. Porphyritic, amygdaloidal, and microlite-porphyric are the main observed textures. Phenocrysts of primary phases (i.e., olivine, iron oxides) are in a groundmass of feldspars and clinopyroxene. Chalki Formation is intercalated with Pirispiki Formation which consists of thin to medium bedded, greenish gray marl, red mudstone, and veins of calcite. The Chalki rocks are mafic of theolitic basalt type. Geochemically, they have high chromium and nickel concentrations in most samples. Rare earth element (REE) patterns illustrate parallel to sub-parallel, moderately fractionated REE patterns. The low heavy REE (HREE) contents in the studied samples appear to be due to partial melting of metamorphosed oceanic crust leaving HREE-rich accessory minerals (i.e., garnet) as a residual phase in the source. No Eu anomalies were observed in the Chalki samples which may indicate a back-arc basin pattern. The non-subduction signature of the Chalki rocks is confirmed by the Nb/Yb versus Th/Yb diagram, which shows that most of the studied rocks fall in the compositional field of non-arc-related rocks—well within the field of the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-ocean island basalt (OIB) mantle array.

Description: Tunisia has invested heavily in irrigation schemes to secure water supply. The management of irrigation systems has been denied to local water user associations (WUA). These WUAs are assimilated to a natural monopoly. They sell water to farmers at the unit operational cost (marginal production cost). Such a price does not allow for budgetary balance, which leads to a chronic deficit of these WUA. It also does not reflect the scarcity of the resource, a situation that contributed to irrigated area expansion, an increase in the agricultural water demand, and misallocation of the resource. Low cost recovery results in poor maintenance, infrastructure deterioration, and water distribution inefficiency. The purpose of this paper is two folds: (i) to propose an alternative price scheme which ensures cost recovery and water use efficiency and (ii) to examine the impact of this new price on the farms’ surplus. To achieve this goal, we assumed that irrigation’s water price increase will be necessary. A field survey of 75 farmers in the center of Tunisia was conducted to estimate the irrigation water demand function. We also used the data collected on 36 WUAs in the region to estimate the irrigation water production cost function using the OLS method for both demand and cost functions, and the peak and the non-peak irrigated demand functions (i.e., summer and winter). The methodology consisted of maximizing social surplus to derive optimal prices for both seasons. The main results show that an increase in price in the range of 11 to 15 % in the winter and 50 to 75 % in the summer results in 11 % decrease of the annual quantity consumed and in a 2 % increase in the social surplus.

Description: Deformed conglomerates in the Igarra schist belt display contrasting strains between different lithological clast populations. We analysed three different clast populations (pegmatite, metasediment, quartz) across three sites in the Igarra metaconglomerates of Edo state, Nigeria. We calculated finite strain using the R f /ø method and Flinn graph. Quartz clasts exhibited the least amount of strain, while the pegmatite and metasedimentary clasts had greater strains (pegmatite 〉 metasediment 〉 quartz). The variability in the finite strains gotten from the three sites is controlled by clast composition and probably grain size. The differences in finite strain and maximum elongation direction ( λ 1 ) in the three sites indicates that the Igarra metaconglomerates was subjected to a heterogenous simple shear deformation which is probably associated with the general transpressional deformation that affected the Pan-African mobile belt considering its (Igarra schist belt) spatial proximity with regional dextral shear zones. Three-dimensional strain analysis in site one indicates a constrictive deformation with the dominance of L tectonites. Spatial analysis of two-dimensional strain suggests a strain gradient where finite strain decreases from north to south.

Description: Sequence stratigraphy division and comparison of the Silurian in Tarim Basin were a hot research field in oil industry and academia. However, basic geological problems limited the exploration needed for further research. In this paper, 21 lithofacies and 5 facies associations were identified based on the grain size of sediments, sedimentary characteristics, and bioturbation conditions: (1) fluvial-dominate delta front facies association; (2) tidal flat facies association; (3) tidal channel facies association; (4) offshore-transition facies association; (5) shoreface facies association. The seismic, outcrops, and logging data were involved to divide the Silurian (including upper Ordovician Tierekeawati Fm.) at Tabei uplift into five sedimentary sequences. SQ1 (Tierekeawati Fm.) is mainly characterized by tidal flat facies association, while delta front facies association locally develops; SQ2 (the lower Kepingtage Fm.) generally consists of offshore-transition facies association; SQ3 (the upper Kepingtage Fm.) is mainly characterized by shoreface and delta front facies association. For SQ4 (Tataaiertage Fm.), the transgressive system tract (TST) is dominated by shoreface facies association, while the fluvial-dominate delta facies association widely develops in highstand system tract (HST). SQ5 (Yimugantawu Fm.) is mainly characterized by tidal flat facies association. From SQ1 to SQ2, an overall sea level transgressive process is shown, while an overall sea level regressive process is found from SQ2 to SQ5. The results are consistent with the progradation and regression trends of large regions reflected by sequence framework pattern. As to SQ3 sequence, TST and HST sandstones are the main reservoir intervals in the Silurian. Hercynian movement led to the strong uplift and extensive erosion in the Silurian at Tabei and Tazhong uplift, and is favorable to the formation of strata erosion unconformable traps.

Description: Fracture-cavity reservoirs can be described in terms of storage space, filling materials and distribution, however, characterizing these variables remains a challenge. In this study, a method was developed to characterize complex reservoirs by integrating outcrop, core, well log, and seismic data from the Tahe oilfield. Outcrop analogs were used to identify and qualitatively analyze the genesis of different reservoir spaces. Cores, well logs, and seismic data were used to identify different types of reservoir space in the subsurface, to describe the spatial distribution, and to establish the distribution pattern of fracture-cavity reservoirs. Clastic sediments, collapse breccia, and chemical fillings were described from the cores and used to assess porosity and permeability. On the basis of the results, a three-dimensional geological model was constructed incorporating a structural model, a reservoir space model, and a property model. Caves and fractures were the main storage spaces and seepage passages. The cave model was built using multi-point geostatistical simulation, while the fracture model was established using deterministic modeling combined with manual interpretations and ant-tracking technology.

Description: Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) is used to calculate the potential runoff value in ungauged catchment basins. The CN method was applied to calculate the runoff in the catchment basin of the Yamula Dam which is located on the Kızılırmak River in the semi-arid climate of the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The analysis of the relation between the land use change and the change of the curve number (change of the runoff values) in the catchment basin can be calculated through geographic information system (GIS) techniques by using the data obtained from satellite images. Using GIS analysis with Python language, SCS-CN technique was applied to study area efficiently. The estimated CN values indicate an uptrend in proportion to the increase in the water level and agricultural lands in the catchment basin. This change is relevant to the land use/land cover (LULC) and the land inclination and in connection with the morphological structure of the soil.

Description: The economic challenges related to the fields of agriculture and industry led us to adopt the best suited method to represent the rain on the spatial and temporal plan especially in areas characterized by heterogeneous rainfall distribution additionally to drought periods. The methods of analysis and estimation of rainfall, using a number of tools (statistics, geostatistics and digital mapping), provide the opportunity to represent the average inter-yearly rainfall fields in the eastern high plateaus region of Algeria. In this study, an approach was proposed for yearly rainfall characterization. Data series for the period 1986–2007 were collected from 65 rain-gauging stations. This approach is based on two combined methods (geostatistic and multiple linear regression) including direct relationship between rainfall and geographical parameters (longitude, latitude and altitude). Statistical analysis indicates that the annual rainfall values ranges from 127 to 752.2 mm and that their distribution is Platykurtic. Results show that yearly rainfall structure obeys mainly a north/south gradient, and latitude is the most influential geographical parameter with a coefficient of 261.25 contrary to the longitude (17.06) and altitude (0.04) which have a non-significant effect on precipitation. In addition, other factors such as vegetation, temperature and air mass movement affect negatively the rainfall structure. Moreover, the map of rainfall indicates that the rain bands ranging from 300 to 400 mm dominate 58 % of the total study area whereas rain bands greater than 400 mm occupy 37 % of the total study area.

Description: During the pre-monsoon season (June, 2013), 115 groundwater samples were collected randomly at different depths in Cox’s Bazar paleobeach and its vicinity. The collected samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). Studies showed that the higher values of radionuclides (i.e., U, and Th) were observed in the shallow depth of tubewells (5–50-m depth) with ranges of 0.01–9.70 and 0.01–127.10 μg/l, a mean of 0.47 and 1.38 μg/l, and a median of 0.13 and 0.01 μg/l, respectively. Uranium concentration in all drinking water samples was found to below the safe limit of 30 μg/l (WHO, Guidelines for drinking-water quality, 2011). When we compare our measured U contents in the drinking water to the WHO (WHO, Health Criteria and Other Supporting Information – Addendum, 1998) and Japanese drinking water recommendation level of 2 μg/l, we found about 5 % shallow exceeded this limit, although WHO health-based drinking water guidelines were not determined so far for Th. High concentrations of Mn (0.01 to 28.64 mg/l), Fe total (0.01 to 88.89 mg/l), and B (13 to 969.50 μg/l) were also observed for 87, 60, and 7 % of tubewell water, respectively, some of which exceeded their WHO (WHO, Guidelines for drinking water quality, 2004) drinking water guidelines. Based on the spatial distribution of the tubewells with elevated concentrations of Mn, Fe, B, U, and Th, about 85 % of the study area has been contaminated with at least one of these elements. No direct correlation was found, but a weak positive correlation was observed between the concentrations of radionuclides (i.e., U and Th) belonging to total dissolved solid (TDS), alkalinity as HCO 3 , and the heavy metals, i.e., Mn, Fe total , and B. However, the high concentrations of radionuclides along with heavy metals observed particularly in certain areas can be attributed due to interaction of groundwater with the local subsurface geology of the area. Since the radionuclides and heavy metals can have toxic effect and also the levels were considerable to those compared to the WHO drinking water guideline values, the results will serve to arouse public interest and lead to much research on a potential health hazard in the area studied.

Description: Near-surface layer variations can degrade the desired response of seismic arrays which are typically used to attenuate horizontally traveling coherent noise and enhance vertically traveling signal. We investigate the effect of variations in the near-surface layer thickness on the performance of arrays by studying their impulse and wavelet responses. The models considered include the topographic variations and a channel in the base of weathering layer. The topographic variations include a dipping surface layer as well as a surface layer that follows a sine wave. The geological channel is assumed to be present under the entire receiver array as well as partially under a few receivers. We use Ricker wavelet and model plane wavefronts with incidence angles (90, 70, 45, 20, and 5 °) on a 12-element equally weighted array for the weathering layer models. We found that the array responses are more degraded for near-vertically traveling waves in all cases. The array responses are also found to be more degraded when channel variations are present underneath a few receivers as compared to the entire array length. We recommend designing a spatial filter or using single-sensor records after correcting for intra-array statics to preserve the reflection amplitudes in the presence of weathering layer variations.

Description: Size and strain rate are two key factors that dramatically influence the estimation of rock mechanical behaviors. To better understand the effects of size and strain rate on measured rocks, rock specimens with six different sizes were tested at six different strain rates under uniaxial compression using the MTS 815 Rock Mechanics Test System. Having determined that the size and strain rate significantly affect the peak strain, peak stress, elastic modulus, acoustic emission (AE), and failure pattern of the rock specimens, the relation was established between the strength and the size and strain rate of red sandstone. And the variation was revealed among the size and strain rate, the AE, and the failure pattern. It turned out that the peak stress was negatively correlated with the rock size and was positively correlated with the strain rate. When the length to diameter ratio (L/D) of the rock specimen was less than 2.0, the AE appeared mildly. The AE quantities gradually increased before the peak stress, and then sharply decreased after the peak stress. The failure pattern of the rock specimen was relatively complicated, with a fracture plane appearing along the axial direction. Conical failure type was also presented. When the L/D ratio of the specimen was greater than 2.0, the AE characteristics of red sandstone showed the radical model. There were relatively few AE rings before the peak stress. But the AE rings increased suddenly and dramatically during the peak stress. The rock specimens primarily failed with a single shear plane. Moreover, with an increase in the strain rate, the AE activities were enhanced and the AE quantities increased. When the strain rate of the rock specimen was less than 5.0 × 10 −4 /s, the rock specimen failed with a shear or tensile-shear pattern. And when the strain rate was greater than 5.0 × 10 −4 /s, the rock specimen tended to fail in a conical pattern.

Description: Major, trace, and some rare earth element compositions in clastic sediments of the Dibdibba Formation (Late Miocene-Pleistocene) in central and southern Iraq have been investigated to describe the sedimentary environment and provenance. These sediments are classified as subarkosic to arkosic with few sublithic arenite, lithic arenite, and gray wacke; they are mainly composed of quartz (Q) followed by feldspar (F) and rock fragments (L) with a petrologic composition of Q73-F21-L6. The Arabian Shield is a probable source of the studied sediments which are derived from multi-sources including igneous rocks (felsic to mafic) and metamorphic rocks and were transported by river currents towards the northeast. Eventually, the clastic sediments were deposited in a fluviatile environment covering a wide area in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq during the Late Miocene-Pleistocene. They were developed on a passive continental margin under a semi-humid climate alternating with drought periods. The grain size analysis indicates that Basra in the south of Iraq is close to the source, but Karbala and Najaf in central Iraq are farthest from the source.

Description: Late Proterozoic rocks of Tanol Formation in the Lesser Himalayas of Neelum Valley area are largely green schist to amphibolite facies rocks intruded by early Cambrian Jura granite gneiss and Jura granite representing Pan-African orogeny event in the area. These rocks are further intruded by pegmatites of acidic composition, aplites, and dolerite dykes. Based on field observations, texture, and petrographic character, three different categories of granite gneiss (i.e., highly porphyritic, coarse-grained two micas granite gneiss, medium-grained two micas granite gneiss, and leucocratic tourmaline-bearing muscovite granite gneiss), and granites (i.e., highly porphyritic coarse-grained two micas granite, medium-grained two micas granite, and leucocratic tourmaline-bearing coarse-grained muscovite granite) were classified. Thin section studies show that granite gneiss and granite are formed due to fractional crystallization, as revealed by zoning in plagioclase. The Al saturation index indicates that granite gneiss and granite are strongly peraluminous and S-type. Geochemical analysis shows that all granite gneisses are magnesian except one which is ferroan whereas all granites are ferroan except one which is magnesian. The CaO/Na 2 O ratio (〉0.3) indicates that granitic melt of Jura granite gneiss and granite is pelite-psammite derived peraluminous granitic melt formed due to partial melting of Tanol Formation. The rare earth element (REE) patterns of the Jura granite and Jura granite gneiss indicate that granitic magma of Jura granite and Jura granite gneiss is formed due to partial melting of rocks that are similar in composition to that of upper continental crust.

Description: The main objective of this work is to evaluate the petrophysical characteristics of Alam-El Bueib reservoirs (AEB-3E, AEB-3D, and AEB-3A) in North Western Desert, Egypt, where they are important targets in this area. Core plugs laboratory measurements (porosity and permeability) of about 275 core samples of these reservoirs in TUT-1X well are used to achieve reservoir petrophysical evaluation. The core data analysis involves the construction of histograms, relations, and statistical analysis for porosity and permeability of these reservoirs. The statistical analysis and histograms of AEB-3E porosity indicate a good to very good homogenous reservoir with mean values 16 and 18 % for helium and fluid summation porosities, respectively. The horizontal and vertical permeability are very good with mean values 835.5 and 429.25 md, indicating high-quality reservoir. The study of AEB-3D indicates good and heterogeneous reservoir with mean values 10 %, 80.66 and 59.28 md for porosity, horizontal, and vertical permeability, respectively. AEB-3A reservoir reflects a good to very good homogeneous porosity and very good to excellent permeability with mean values 14 %, 299.75 and 184.32 md for porosity, horizontal, and vertical permeability. Concerning the three reservoirs, the helium-fluid porosity relations and the horizontal-vertical permeability relations give positive trends with strong correlation coefficients ranging from 0.51 to 0.93 which give the ability to calculate one parameter from the other.

Description: The credibility and wide acceptance of the curve number (CN) method are rooted in its simplicity, convenience, authoritative agency support, absence of a strong competitor, and versatility to estimate runoff especially from ungauged watershed. Numerous studies have reported that the application of the tabulated CN (CN Tab ) and the fixed initial abstraction ratio ( λ  = 0.20) to estimate the runoff volume is inferior. In the current study, we investigated the applicability of λ  = 0.20 and its successful modification to λ  = 0.05 using the CN Tab and other calibrated CNs based on the measured rainfall-runoff data. In addition, with a fixed CN Tab , the value of λ was reduced to 0.01 and 0.0 in order to evaluate the runoff variability response for 587 storm events from 10 South Korean forest-dominated mountainous watersheds. Both for λ  = 0.20 and λ  = 0.05, the application of CN Tab exhibited poor results in all of the watersheds based on quantitative statistics using four performance evaluation indicators. The application of the calibrated CN increased the runoff prediction capability of the CN method both for λ  = 0.20 and λ  = 0.05. Using λ  = 0.05 and its adjusted calibrated CN depicted a modest improvement in the results. Among the different calibrated CN variants, the asymptotic method was comparatively appropriate. However, the method still needs improvement for a consistent CN. Interestingly, for the unaltered CN Tab , the λ  = 0.01 and λ  = 0.0 exhibited very consistent results for the estimation of runoff from watersheds. Therefore, it is more tempting for application in ungauged watersheds without deterioration of the CN model’s versatility and simplicity.

Description: Runoff peak and volume in flood studies are estimated relying on temporal rainfall distribution from various storm patterns. Usually, SCS distributions types (I, II, III, IA) are commonly used. Using these distributions in runoff calculations assume that the in situ temporal rainfall pattern typically behaves as the one described by the SCS-type distribution, which is due to cyclonic frontal storms and actually developed in temperate environment. To what extent such assumption is valid in the arid environment? How much the impacts of rainfall temporal patterns are reflected in runoff volumes and peaks? The aim objectives of the current study are to answer the above two questions and clarify the validity of aforementioned assumption and exemplify such effect. Real rainfall data collected from rain gauges of Makkah Al-Mukkramah region over a period of more than 20 years are utilized. Temporal rainfall patterns and their parameters are deduced. Many hydrological simulations are performed and comparisons, in terms of runoff volume and peak flows, are made to show the effects of the common rainfall storm patterns and the developed rainfall storm patterns in the region based on the current study. Results indicate that major bursts of the design rainfall storm pattern are located in the first time of the storm period in the two quartiles which is mainly due to convective rainfall type in thunderstorms unlike the commonly used by SCS types relying on frontal cyclonic storms. Makkah Al-Mukkramah temporal rainfall pattern does not behave as the “typical pattern” assumed by SCS distributions that are deduced from different environments. The impacts of the temporal pattern reflected as an overestimate in the runoff peak reached to 68 %. The developed hyetographs and tables presented in the current study are recommended to enhance economical and rational design practice in watersheds of Makkah Al-Mukkramah region.

Description: Long-term groundwater recharge from rainfall in the Nile Delta is needed as an input for integrated groundwater modelling in the Nile Delta aquifer for more accurate simulation. The main objective is to estimate the spatial and temporal variation of groundwater recharge from rainfall in the Nile Delta aquifer. Water and Energy Transfer between Soil, Plants and Atmosphere under quasi-Steady State (WetSpass) model parameters were identified for the Nile Delta based on the available meteorological data for the area collected in 1991 and 2000. The collected data were rainfall, temperature, wind speed and evapotranspiration. Geomorphological characteristics, such as soil type, topography, groundwater depth and slope, were also collected as input data for the WetSpass model. ENVI software was used to come up with land use classification based on available land cover images of the Nile Delta for 1972, 1984, 1990, 2000 and 2009. The WetSpass model was calibrated by comparing the simulated groundwater recharge with the calculated one by using the water balance equation model. The results indicated close agreement in groundwater recharge between the two model outputs with R 2 of 0.99 and 0.94, while the root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) were 4.86 and 9.39 mm for 1991 and 2000, respectively. The WetSpass model was then applied in respect of 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2010 for the purpose of validation. The overall RMSE and R 2 for the 6 years were 8.83 mm and 0.88, respectively. The results of the WetSpass calibrated model provide information to support integrated groundwater modelling. The results reveal that WetSpass works well in simulating the components of the hydrological balance in the Nile Delta.

Description: A geostatistical approach based on ordinary kriging is presented for the evaluation and the augmentation of an existing rain gauge network. The evaluation is based on estimating the percentage of the area that achieves a targeted level of acceptable accuracy. The variances of kriging estimation erros at un-gauged locations were assumed to be normally distributed. Kriging estimation erros with a probability that equals to or exceeds a given threshold value of acceptance probability were assumed to have satisfactory accuracies. The percentage of the area that achieved the targeted probability of acceptance is delineated and used to judge the overall performance of the existing rain gauge network. A study area in northern Oman located in Sohar governorate is selected as the pilot case. The area has 34 rain gauges and it is characterized by a terrain surface that varies from coastal plain to mountains. For a threshold value of 0.85, and 0.90 of acceptance probability, the existing network achieved area of acceptable probability of 88.71 and 77.72 %, respectively. For a success criterion of 80 %, the existing rain gauge network indicated acceptable performance for acceptance probability threshold of 0.85 and inadequate performance is noticed in the case of probability threshold of 0.90, which necessitated further network augmentation. A sequential algorithm for ranking and prioritization of the existing rain gauges is used to classify the existing rain gauges into base and non-base rain gauges. The base rain gauge network for mean annual rainfall comprised about 29 of the existing rain gauges. The identified non-base rain gauges were sequentially relocated to achieve higher levels of percentage of area with acceptable accuracy. The percentage of area with acceptable accuracy increased from 88.71 % for the original rain gauge network to about 94.51 % for the augmented network by adding four rain gages at probability acceptance threshold of 0.85. It also increased from 77.72 % for the existing network to 90.50 % for the augmented rain gauge network at acceptance threshold of 0.9.

Description: Inclusion of synthetic fibers is becoming a routine task in soil reinforcement. The ability of synthetic fibers in controlling the shrinkage cracks in concrete is the main drive to consider its benefits in clay and other soil materials. The polypropylene fibers are nonbiodegradable and can perform well even in aggressive chemical exposure conditions. The direct shear testing is a popular geotechnical approach to assess the shearing strength for a range of soils. This study is aimed at investigating the effect of fiber inclusion on the direct shear response of semi-arid clay soils. This research is conducted using two different types of polypropylene fibers, viz., Fibercast and Fibermesh, having different surface properties on the shear strength envelope and parameters (angle of internal friction and cohesion). The aspect lengths were varied as 6 and 12 mm, and the dosages were varied as 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 % by weight of the soil. The results were viewed in relation to the fiber type, size, and dose. The soil response and shear resistance measured in consolidated undrained direct shear test is presented for the targeted doses, and the results revealed useful insight compared to unreinforced. The Fibermesh material proved to be the more appropriate fiber additive to typical semi-arid clay soils. The data provides helpful guide for the design geotechnical engineers.

Description: This paper investigates volcaniclastic fan facies and reservoir characteristics of Guantao Formation in the No. 1 and No. 2 structures in the Nanpu Sag, Bohai Bay basin, Eastern China. Core and log data from the Guantao 3 and 4 Formations were analyzed in order to characterize volcaniclastic fan facies. Comprehensive analyses show that volcaniclastic fan sediments have been characterized as rapid proximal deposition of well-rounded and poorly sorted large-grain sediments. During the developmental processes of the volcanic fans, shallow to moderately deep lacustrine mudstones are deposited on the volcanoes. They vertically form superimposed sedimentary bodies that were characterized by laterally alternating fingers of volcaniclastic fan sediments and interchannel mudstone. Differences in pyroclastic supply and the volcanic terrain during the deposition account for the variations in volcanic rocks distribution. Distribution of volcaniclastic fans also exhibited characteristic features. Volcaniclastic fans around the volcanic highlands show variable distribution of volcanic rocks. The deep valley sizes of the debris flows and streams indicate variable sediment supply. The extent and thickness of the lahar deposits from the volcaniclastic debris flows indicate variable size of sedimentation processes. Most volcaniclastic fans are composed of debris-transported deposits having small clasts. The bed thickness increases with increasing distance from the volcanic source. The volcaniclastic rocks show high content of intermediate–basic volcanic rocks debris. The original and dissolved intergranular and dissolved intragranular porosities in the volcaniclastic rocks provide the best reservoir properties. Identification of lithofacies and their assemblages, and volcaniclastic sedimentary facies buried within volcanos and adjacent regions provide a better understanding that can be applied to similar rift basins. A method to identify depositional geometry and accumulation patterns of volcaniclastic fans was employed. This method assisted in constructing depositional models, reconstructing the depositional history of volcaniclastic fans and the related history of volcanic activity based on geological and geophysical data within volcanic areas in rift basins.

Description: In China’s western coal mining area, the traditional room mining technology is facing coal pillar instability, mine earthquake, large-area roof subsidence in the goaf, surface subsidence, water and soil loss, vegetation deterioration, and other environmental problems. To solve the aforementioned problems and to improve coal recovery, the roadway backfill coal mining (RBCM) method was proposed as a solution and its technical principle and key equipment were presented in this paper. In addition, the microstructure and mechanical behavior (strain-stress relation in confined compressive test) of aeolian sand and loess backfill materials were studied for a rational backfill design for underground mines. Further, coal pillar stress, plastic zone change, and surface deformation of the RBCM schemes were studied using the FLAC 3D numerical simulation software, and a reasonable mining scheme of “mining 7 m and leaving 3 m” was determined. The engineering application in Changxing Coal Mine shows that the RBCM method with loess and aeolian sand as backfill materials allows a stable recovery of coal pillars with a recovery ratio of more than 70 %. The maximum accumulated surface subsidence and the maximum horizontal deformation were measured to be 15 mm and 0.8 mm/m respectively, indicating that the targeted backfilling effect can help protect the environment and also control surface subsidence.

Description: The main purpose of this paper is to apply the singular spectrum analysis (SSA), based on the phase space, and the wavelet multiresolution analysis (WMA), based on the frequency space, to the weekly time series of global sea level anomaly (GSLA) derived from satellite altimetry data over 1993–2013, in order to assess its nonlinear trends and its seasonal signals. The SSA results show that the GSLA time series is mainly dominated by a nonlinear trend explaining 89.89 % of the total GSLA variability, followed by annual and semi-annual signals with an explained variance of 9.15 and 0.32 %, respectively. For the annual signal, both methods give similar results. Its amplitude is less than 14 mm with an average of about 11 mm, and its minimum and maximum occur in April and October, respectively. The calculation of sea level trend, by both methods, is direct without removing the seasonal signals from the original GSLA time series as the most commonly used in the literature. The global sea level trend obtained from the WMA is about 2.52 ± 0.01 mm/year which is in good agreement with 2.94 ± 0.05 mm/year estimated from the SSA. Furthermore, the SSA method is most suitable for seasonal adjustment, and the WMA method is more useful for providing the different rates of sea level rise. Indeed, the WMA reveals that the global sea level has risen with the rate of 3.43 ± 0.01 mm/year from January/1993 to January/1998, 0.66 ± 0.01 mm/year from February/1998 to May/2000, 5.71 ± 0.03 mm/year from June/2000 to October/2003, and 1.57 ± 0.01 mm/year since January/2004.

Description: This paper presents the first attempt to investigate the potential of Tunisian palygorskite-rich clay (Pal-clay) on the effectiveness of a textile dye “Direct orange 34” (DO34) removal. Important parameters which affect adsorption, such as initial solution pH, contact time, adsorbent mass, initial dye concentration, and temperature, were investigated. The raw Pal-clay was characterized using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), cation exchange capacity (CEC), specific surface area (SSA) analysis, and point of zero charge (PZC) determination. The results showed that the Pal-clay has a high selectivity for DO34 and had maximum removal efficiency reaching up to about 91 %. The highest adsorption capacity was obtained at 25 °C and pH of 2. The dye uptake process fitted well to the pseudo-second-order kinetic expression and was best described by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Intra-particle diffusion studies showed that the adsorption mechanism was not exclusively controlled by the diffusion step and was more likely to be governed by external mass transfer. Thermodynamic parameters such as change in free energy (Δ G °), enthalpy (Δ H °), and entropy (Δ S °) were also calculated. The parameters revealed that the adsorption of dye by the raw clay is spontaneous and exothermic. The results indicate that the Pal-clay has a moderate adsorption capacity towards anionic dye.

Description: The Chtouka-Massa area in Southern Morocco has shown an increase in water scarcity during the last decades, caused mainly by withdrawal of water resources aggravated by agricultural intensification and climate change impacts. To better understand the changes of groundwater quality, a sampling campaign was conducted in many wells during March 2015 and compared to historical chemical data from the hydraulic basin agency, as well as previous studies performed at Ibn Zohr University. All data were used to assess the spatial-temporal evolution of nitrate and salinity relevant to the recent sampling. This paper describes the current state of groundwater quality in the Chtouka-Massa zone with an overview of different sources of water mineralization and the nitrate evolution in an agricultural area. Our results indicate a general increase in mineralization from the north to the south, and from the east to the west. The plain, dominated by farms, shows a relatively high conductivity (up to 2000 μS/cm), while in both costal area and Anti-Atlas Mountain the water salinity shows a gradient increase from the north to the south. However, the highest electrical conductivity is observed along the Massa River. The water type is bicarbonate, chloride, and sodium for farm samples, while from the other parts, it is mostly dominated by chloride and sodium. The spatial-temporal analysis of nitrates generally shows an increasing trend. However, the levels remain overall lower than the limit. The temporal evolution of control points set by the hydraulic agency shows a decreasing trend decline that can be explained by the improvement of agriculture practices, including the conversion towards drip irrigation mode. Different chemical tracers highlighted some processes involving the changes of mineralization of groundwater (e.g., irrigation water return, marine intrusion, and water/rock interaction). The results will be used to improve water management in this area showing water quality degradation.

Description: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) level two (L2) data is used in estimating the groundwater storage changes (GWSC) in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS). This set of data consists of spherical harmonics coefficients with specific degree and order. The GRACE data is de-correlated using a sixth degree polynomial in order to reduce the effect of the noise error resulting from the correlation between the spherical harmonics coefficients with the same degree parity. The GRACE estimates of GWSC are smoothed using Gaussian filter with half width of 1000 km. This half width is chosen in order to maximize the correlation between the GRACE estimates of GWSC and previous modeling results of the NSAS. The loss in groundwater storage occurring in each of the four countries sharing the NSAS is calculated to assess the sustainability of using the NSAS as a water resource in each country. The overarching finding in this study is that NSAS is losing its groundwater storage at a very high rate. Also, it is found that Egypt is the fastest in losing its groundwater storage from the NSAS. This loss of groundwater storage in Egypt may not necessarily be resulting from in-country extractions because of the trans-boundary nature of this aquifer. The GRACE-based estimates are found to be close to available data and previous modeling results of the NSAS.

Description: As known, P-wave velocity and Schmidt hardness are non-destructive tests, which have been used for many years in geological, geotechnical, and civil engineering as an index tests for a quick assessment of rocks mechanical properties due to its rapidity and easiness, and non-destructiveness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between P-wave velocity and Schmidt hardness with some of mechanical properties of travertine building stones by empirical equations. Moreover, we have compared the accuracy of P-wave velocity and Schmidt hardness to estimate the mechanical properties of rocks. For this purpose, 15 types of travertine have been collected from various quarries of Iran and tested. The tests include the determination of P-wave velocity and Schmidt hardness, and mechanical properties include the unconfined compressive strength, Brazilian tensile strength, and point load strength. Using data analysis, empirical equations have been developed for estimating the mechanical properties from P-wave velocity and Schmidt hardness. To check the validity of the empirical equations, a t test was performed, which confirmed the validity of the proposed empirical equations. Moreover, the results show that P-wave velocity appears to be more reliable than the Schmidt hardness for estimating the mechanical properties. Consequently, we propose empirical equations avoiding from cumbersome and time consuming tests for determining the mechanical properties of rocks.

Description: A variety of distinct salt tectonic features are present in the Sab’atayn Basin of western Yemen. Based on the interpretation of regional 2D seismic reflection data and exploration wells in the central part of the basin, an Upper Jurassic evaporite formation produced numerous salt rollers, salt pillows, reactive, flip-flop, and falling diapirs. Due to regional extension, halokinetics began as soon as the early Cretaceous, within just a few million years after the deposition of the Tithonian Sab’atayn evaporite sequence, by formation of salt rollers. The salt locally formed salt pillows which evolved to reactive and active salt diapirs and diapiric salt walls as the result of renewed, but low-strain extension in the basin. Some of the diapiric walls further evolved into falling diapirs due to ongoing extension. As the result of a prominent extensional episode at the end of the Cretaceous, many of the diapiric walls in the basin are controlled by large normal faults on their updip flanks. As the post-Cretaceous sedimentary cover is largely missing in the study area, the assumed reactivation of salt structures during the Cenozoic remains poorly constrained. The interpreted changes in the style of salt tectonics in the Sab’atayn Basin offer a better understanding of the regional-scale tectonic development of the Arabian plate during the late Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Description: Nitrate is a common pollutant in surface water and groundwater of agricultural areas. It is essential to monitor this pollutant in groundwater, especially when it is used for drinking purposes without treatment. The present study was carried out in an intensively irrigated area which forms a part of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India where groundwater meets all the water needs of the rural population living in this area. The objective was to assess the spatiotemporal variation in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater and soil. Based on the analysis of 496 groundwater samples collected from 45 wells over a period of 2 years from March 2008 to January 2010 by sampling every 2 months, it was observed that groundwater in 242 km 2 of the total 724 km 2 area had nitrate above the maximum permissible limit of 45 mg/l for drinking purposes. Nitrate concentration in groundwater showed a positive relation with potassium, chloride, and sulfate, indicating their source from fertilizers. Reasons for the high concentration of nitrate in domestic areas were the dumping of animal wastes and leakage from septic tanks. The pH of the soil samples showed that most of the area had basic soil. Apart from pH, organic carbon, available phosphorous, available potassium, ammoniacal nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen were also analyzed in the 97 soil samples.

Description: Nearly 108-km lengths of Mersin shores are composed of natural beaches. The region is located between major tourist centers. In the future, this region is thought to be built with a great number of tourist facilities. Turkey’s largest seaport, Ataş refinery (Mersin International Port) is located in Mersin. Recently, Mersin is becoming of great importance to Turkey as the latter plans to construct its second nuclear power plant in the region. Therefore, as nuclear power plants are built to withstand environmental hazards, it is very important to analyze the seismic risk of the areas where the nuclear power plant will be constructed. The region is located between the East Anatolian Fault Zone and Center Anatolian Fault Zone. Based on the Turkey Earthquake Regions Map, Mersin is divided into second-, third-, and fourth-degree earthquake regions. In this study, we sampled earthquakes of magnitude of 4.0 or greater between 01 Jan 1900 and 31 Dec 2010 in the area; seismic hazard of Mersin province was estimated with probabilistic and statistical methods. The study area was selected as the coordinates between 36.03° and 37.42° North and 32.57° and 35.16° East. On the study area, different scaled magnitude values in the last 110 years converted to a common scale (Mw) and earthquake catalog was re-compiled and also seismic sources that may affect the area was determined. In this study, the seismic hazards of the region were obtained using the methods of probability and statistics. This study used three different attenuation relationships. Using the attenuation relationships suggested by Boore et al. (Seismol Res Lett 68(1):128–153, 1997 ) and Kalkan and Gülkan (Earthquake Spectra 20:1111–1138, 2004 ), the largest ground acceleration which corresponds to a recurrence period of 475 years was found as 0.08–0.09 g and Akkar and Çağnan (Bull Seismol Soc Am 100 6:2978–2995, 2010 ), 0.04 g for bedrock at the central district. When computing for seismic hazard curves, Mut district appears to have a greater seismic hazard compared with other districts. Moreover, according to the attenuation relationships, seismic hazard curves corresponding to a recurrence period of 475 years were obtained for the Mersin Central, Mut, Erdemli, Çamlıyayla, and Tarsus districts.

Description: This research work has an objective to determine the effective variables in socioeconomic category of Integrated Water Resources Management for Saf-Saf river basin characterized by fast growing demand of urban and rural populations and the demand of economic sectors including industry and agriculture. In this paper, the artificial neural network models were used to model and predict the relationship between water resources mobilization and socioeconomic variables in the Saf-Saf river basin. The study area chosen is Saf-Saf river basin and real data were collected from 30 municipalities for reference year 2010. The results indicate that the feed-forward multilayer perceptron models with back-propagation are useful tools to define and prioritize the most effective variable on water resources mobilization and use. The model evaluation shows that the correlation coefficients are more than 94 % for training, verification, and testing data. The model aims to link the water resources mobilization and driving forces variables with the objective to strengthen the Integrated Water Resources Management approach.

Description: Gazestan phosphate ore deposit (Central Iran) is an apatite deposit which is instrumental in selecting the method of excavation. The position of fault systems and the condition of rock quality also play a role in the method used for mineral resources and ore reserves estimation. Conversely, the Rock Quality Designation (RQD) is a parameter that provides a quantitative judgment of rock mass quality obtained from drill cores. This factor can be applied to detect the fractured zones which occur due to fault systems. Additionally, the faulted areas can be determined by surface geological map and a few by core drilling. Some of the faulted areas are not distinguishable in the surface and are covered by soils, especially within 3D modeling and visualization. In this study, an attempt has been made to establish a relationship between the RQD percentages which were geostatistically simulated and faulted areas through the region. In comparison, the results showed that low RQD domains (RQD 〈20 %) can be interpreted as fault zones; high RQD domains (RQD 〉50 %) correspond to less fractured areas, and the contact between high and low RQD domain is gradual. Therefore, this categorization of RQD domains can be incorporated to detect the faulted zones in 3D models for mine design. Based on the categorization, the uncertainty within the area was calculated to introduce two new core drilling points for the completion of this phase of exploratory grid from the fault structural viewpoint, in order to have a proper model of ore reserve to estimate. It was concluded that this procedure can be utilized for conceptual comprehension of fault trends in 3D modeling for the method selection of excavation and complete the estimation procedure phase.

Description: Morphometric analysis using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS), in the recent study, has become an efficient method in the assessment of groundwater potential of a river basin. The present study focused on the morphometric analysis of Araniar river basin using RS and GIS techniques in the identification of groundwater potential zones for effective planning and management of groundwater resources of the basin. The study area was divided into six subbasins for the purpose of micro-level morphometric analysis. The main stream of the basin is of fifth order and drainage patterns of subbasins are mostly of dendritic and parallel type. Based on the linear, areal and relief parameters of subbasins, the groundwater potential zones of the basin were identified and the results substantiated with geomorphology map derived from RS data. The elongated shape, favourable drainage network, permeable geologic formation and low relief of the subbasins WS3, WS5 and WS6 make them the promising groundwater potential zones of Araniar river basin. The statistical analysis and overlay analysis of the morphometric parameters also indicated the subbasins WS3, WS5 and WS6 as high groundwater potential zones. The groundwater potential zone map when overlaid with groundwater fluctuation map indicated the suitable sites for artificial recharge structures.

Description: Soil erosion is one of the most serious land degradation problems and the primary environmental issue in Mediterranean regions. Estimation of soil erosion loss in these regions is often difficult due to the complex interplay of many factors such as climate, land uses, topography, and human activities. The purpose of this study is to apply the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to predict surface runoff generation patterns and soil erosion hazard and to prioritize most degraded sub-catchment in order to adopt the appropriate management intervention. The study area is the Sarrath river catchment (1,491 km 2 ), north of Tunisia. Based on the estimated soil loss rates, the catchment was divided into four priority categories for conservation intervention. Results showed that a larger part of the watershed (90 %) fell under low and moderate soil erosion risk and only 10 % of the watershed was vulnerable to soil erosion with an estimated sediment loss exceeding 10 t ha −1  year −1 . Results indicated that spatial differences in erosion rates within the Sarrath catchment are mainly caused by differences in land cover type and gradient slope. Application of the SWAT model demonstrated that the model provides a useful tool to predict surface runoff and soil erosion hazard and can successfully be used for prioritization of vulnerable areas over semi-arid catchments.

Description: The Makran accretionary wedge has a much larger number of mud volcanoes then those reported earlier. Using high-resolution satellite images, over 70 active mud volcanoes were identified. These mud volcanoes occur within a well-defined zone; we call it the Makran zone of active mud volcanoes (MZAMV), which is parallel to the regional trend of the accretionary wedge. Mud volcanoes within the zone occur as clusters, which form linear belts parallel to the regional thrusts associated with anticlines. The MZAMV zone also includes the offshore mud volcanoes occurring in the shallow shelf area, including the recurrently emerging mud islands. Several occurrences of thick deposits of old mud volcanoes (Pleistocene or even older) are also present within this zone, which also display recognizable features that are characteristic of the fossil mud volcanoes. We propose that the MZAMV developed and evolved in response to the continued compression within the Makran accretionary wedge, which in turn, is a response of the subduction process. Mud diapirism has been an ongoing phenomena since Pleistocene or even earlier. The events of enhanced mud extrusion in mud volcanoes and/or emergence of island(s) have relevance with seismic phenomena and, therefore, may be closely monitored.

Description: Recently, new theories on underground geophysical and geochemical interactions which had been reported to occur during the preparation stages of earthquakes and the remotely measurable variations have been put to test and some warning factors were suggested as earthquake precursors. Data vendors are providing daily basis information from the earth's surface by combining remote sensing data and in situ observations. In this paper, we analyze atmospheric, oceanic, and surface changes in the ocean, coast, and land lying near the epicenters of two recent major earthquakes. The changes are studied in terms of the regional fault locations which have been reported by the U.S. Geological Survey as the shake triggering geological structures. Our detailed analyses showed anomalous increases of surface latent heat flux (SLHF) for both the earthquakes. Meaningfully limited to the geographical extents of the regional active faults, the SLHF variation patterns suggest pre-seismic activity 2–3 weeks before the main events. The agreement of these variations with abnormalities in other climatic and surface factors like relative humidity and temperature represents an unusual situation during the same period as well. Spatiotemporal variations of chlorophyll- a was also studied as another earthquake indicator. Abnormal rises in these factors are possibly caused by the formation of micro-cracks, heat production, evaporation, ionization, and upwelling of nutrient-rich water produced by pre-seismic activity prior to the main events.

Description: A complete and homogeneous magnitude earthquake catalogue spanning the period 1900 to 2010 was created. The catalogue covers the area 29° to 37.5° N and 39° to 48° E. Entries in the new earthquake catalogue were cross checked and additions made from various sources of earthquake records to ensure that repetitions are not included in this analysis. Events were considered duplicates if they had a time difference of 10 s or less and space origin difference of 0.5° or less. In a given set of duplicate events, an event, which had a magnitude and International Seismological Center source, was retained as the record of the event. The unified magnitude scale, the moment magnitude ( M w ), was applied throughout the catalogue. The M w for 18 events was reported. The M w for other events was estimated using empirical relations between m b , M s , M L , and M w . Magnitude of completeness, M c , was estimated using the maximum curvature. It was 4.3 M w . Finally, a list of 213 events from 1900 to 2010 with M w  ≥ 4.3 is presented. The list is considered complete for the period from 1962 to 2010.

Description: Dammam Dome is an oval-shaped structure that covers an area of about 500 km 2 and encompasses Al Khobar, Al Dhahran and part of Ad Dammam cities, east of Saudi Arabia. The dome characterizes by the presence of well developed fractures system that exposes at its apex and extends to its peripheries. Based on their size, trend and extent, fractures within Dammam Dome are divided into three types: regional (major) fractures, local (minor) fractures and very small size-localized fractures. This study discusses the criteria used in classifying those fractures, and the relationship of the regional (major) ones to the doming process. A model for the trends pattern of fracture is suggested for those fractures, and examined with the concentric and radial fracture pattern associated normally with dome structures. The suggested model is compatible and concordant with the dome model, which proves that the major fractures in the area are related to the dome emplacement and process. Outcomes and findings of this study are crucial for understanding the behavior and distribution of fractures associated with domes. Additionally, the suggested model of fractures and their trend pattern is important model in similar setting for hydrocarbon exploration and for any urban development and major constructions within the Dome vicinities.

Description: For studying recent crustal movements and their relation to earthquake occurrence in large scales, the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Helwan, Cairo, Egypt started in 2006 the establishment of the Egyptian Permanent GPS Network (EPGN). Beginning with 4 stations in 2007, 15 stations were operational at the end of 2011. In addition, a station in Alexandria of the French “Centre d'Études Alexandrines” (CEALX) was added as station to the EPGN. Nowadays, 16 stations are operational and an extension to 20 in the near future is expected. The collected EPGN data of the last 6 years are used in this work to throw light upon the present state of recent crustal movement of the whole of Egypt. Bernese software V. 5.0 was used for processing the collected data according to the IGS standards. In addition, selected IGS, AFREF, and EPN sites are processed for reference frame definition. In this first comprehensive analysis of the permanent network, a complete and consistent evaluation resulted in the first estimates of present day horizontal velocities and coordinate time series.

Description: The organic matter content of the Paleocene Aaliji Formation has been studied from the Qm-1 well in the Qumar Oil Field, NE Iraq. A palynofacies analysis revealed the obvious domination of amorphous organic matter (AOM) in the samples studied in addition to the different ratios of palynomorphs, phytoclasts and opaque organic material. The deposition of the various percentages of organic matter components and types of palynomorphs appear to have occurred in a proximal suboxic–anoxic basinal environment. The samples analysed showed relatively low percentages of total organic carbon, indicating a generally poor source rock. The thermal alteration index for the palynomorphs (dinoflagellates) observed and identified ranged between 2, 2+ and 3−, indicating an immature to early stage of maturity for the section studied. No clear differentiation between the stages of maturity within the section was identified. The reflectance measured for a few vitrinite particles at a depth of 2,900 m showed uncertainly of 0.46 % Ro, indicating a still thermally immature stage. The values obtained from pyrolysis analysis also supported the formation being in the early stages of maturity, i.e. an immature condition, with T max values between 416 and 435 °C. The quality of the organic matter examined and analysed appeared to be mostly type III gas-prone kerogen, as discerned from the hydrogen index, oxygen index and other pyrolysis parameters. The parameters obtained and calculated from gas chromatography analysis performed on a sample at a depth of 2,900 m found marginally mature marine source organic matter.

Description: As a direct consequence of multiple periods of stress applied on areas with tectonic superposition, the multiple-periods fractures have complex abutting relationships, and the field study of fractures is usually restricted by outcrop conditions, such as section direction. Therefore, previous studies of superposed stress fields based on fractures have been generally performed in areas with proper observation conditions and clear abutting relationships. In contrast, in many other areas, the identification of fracture development period based on field observation is often infeasible. Compared to abutting relationships, fracture fabrics obtained from field measurement are not affected by the restriction of outcrops and consequently are more representative of the fractures. According to the analysis of fracture fabrics and fracture features, this paper has separated and extracted the superposed fracture sets and identified the fracture development period in the area without available abutting relationships. Taking the southern segment of the Longmen Mountain thrust belt as an example, fractures of two development periods are identified and timed in the tectonic superposition area between two adjacent fold belts. The analysis of stress direction in each period suggests that the structural boundaries, consisting of such pre-existing structures as faults and anticlines, could have induced directional rotation in the subsequent stress. An equivalent result was achieved using a finite element simulation of the stress field. Based on the stress analysis of the field sites and the stress field simulation, the stress variation in the tectonic superposition area is well modeled.

Description: Dust storm is one of the most important environmental problems in the west of Iran. To indicate the environmental impact of these phenomena, the characterization of dust storm loads is vital. The objective of this study is to identify the mineralogical and chemical composition, trace elements, and microorganisms of dust particles deposited during a springtime dust storm event over the west of Iran to obtain total suspended particulate. Dust samples were collected from four cities in the west of Iran during dust storms in two spring seasons of 2011 and 2012. In addition to determining the sources of dust samples on the dates of sampling, synthetic approaches including remote sensing technique of dust detection, physical–meteorological model called HYSPLIT, and analysis of weather map were used. XRD analyses of airborne dust samples indicate that the mineralogy of airborne dusts is dominated by calcite and quartz; additionally, gypsum, albeit, muscovite, clinochlore, and dolomite are other minerals in springtime dust storm. XRF analyses indicate that the most important chemical components of airborne dusts are SiO 2 , CaO, Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , and MgO. The Atomic Absorption analysis was performed to determine the concentration of heavy metals including Fe, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, and Ni. Concentration of heavy metals was Fe 〉 Zn 〉 Cr 〉 Ni 〉 Pb 〉 Cu 〉 Co 〉 Cd, respectively, and average concentration of heavy metals on Middle East springtime dust storm (MESDS) occurrences were higher than values proposed by the World Health Organization. Microorganism analysis shows that the Bacillus species (41.25 %) is dominant, then Micrococcus (10.3 %), Staphylococcus sp. (7.61 %), Klebsiella (4 %), Escherichia coli (2.7 %), and Enterobacter sp. (1.8 %); Aspergillus sp. (21.07 %), Candida albicans (5.7 %), Rhizopus (2.24 %), Penicillium sp. (1.04 %), and Mucor (0.89 %) genera were fungal species that were isolated in the (MESDS). Basic sources for scattering of dust in the west and southwest of Iran are Iraqi desert, desert lands in the north and northeast of Arabian Peninsula, east and southeast of Syria, also occasionally Sahara desert and Khuzestan province in southwestern of Iran.

Description: The present study provides assessment of wasteland development in Bihar State based on satellite data. Wasteland covers 6.90 % (6,501 km 2 ) of the state area and exhibits dominance of waterlogged areas in North Bihar (25.28 %) and scrubland (26.61 %) in South Bihar. The waterlogged areas in the state are dominantly associated with northern Bihar plains (94 %) with minor development (6 %) in southern Bihar plains. Such unequal distribution of waterlogged land areas in northern and southern Bihar plains is largely governed by high cumulative discharge generated in the large catchment area in Himalayan mountain ranges in the upland areas of northern Bihar plains in contrast to low cumulative discharge generated within small catchments in the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the southern Bihar plains. It is evaluated that the relief and groundwater level define the primary controlling factors, whereas rainfall, watershed area, and upland/plain ratio exert secondary control. Lower relief areas with high rainfall exhibit high soil moisture thereby inducing conditions of waterlogging. The study signifies the potential of satellite image-based evaluation of waterlogging through the use of Digital Elevation Model, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission-based rainfall measurement, and temporal waterlogging assessment together with other terrain parameters for conceptual understanding of waterlogging in northern Bihar plains.

Description: The present work focuses on the evaluation of the groundwater quality by chemical and bacteriological analyses to ensure its suitability for drinking and irrigation. Twenty groundwater samples were collected and analyzed from Manfalut district, Assiut, Egypt. Several water quality parameters were determined; the results show higher concentration of total dissolved solids (50 %), electrical conductivity (55 %), chloride (20 %), total hardness (20 %), and bicarbonate (55 %). This indicates signs of deterioration regarding drinking and domestic uses. Salinity hazard, sodium absorption ratio, sodium (Na) percentage, and residual Na carbonate were used to evaluate groundwater quality for irrigation. The values of electrical conductivity and SAR of groundwater samples were estimated illustrating that the most dominant classes are C2S1 (45 %; medium-salinity-low SAR), C3S1 (50 %; high-salinity-low SAR), and C4S1 (5 %; very high-salinity-low SAR). Bacteriological analysis was also conducted for 20 groundwater wells from December 2011 to May 2012. Seven samples (35 %) are contaminated by bacteria (total and fecal coliforms); these wells are not suitable for drinking. The analysis exhibits that bacterial contamination was the maximum in wells located at the center of the study area; this may be due to using the residential septic tanks. It was also discovered that the quality of groundwater is suitable for irrigation in the target aquifer except in a few locations. As for drinking, about 55 % of the samples are not suitable. However, the groundwater wells which are located in the center of the study area are suitable for drinking according to the hydochemical analysis. It was found that some of these wells are not suitable based on bacteriological analysis.

Description: The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model in the estimation of the deformation modulus of rock mass. ANFIS is a powerful processing tool which is used for the modeling of complex problems where the relationship between the model variables is unknown. For this reason, this model seems to be suited for the estimation of deformation modulus. In this paper, the ANFIS model was constructed and compared with empirical relation that was suggested for indirect estimation of this parameter. In the ANFIS model, five parameters, including depth, uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock, RQD, spacing of discontinuities, and the condition of discontinuities are considered. These parameters are the most effective parameters in the estimation of deformation modulus. Employing the ANFIS model for the estimation of rock mass deformation modulus shows a reliable performance. The values of correlation coefficient, variance accounted for, and root mean square error of the results for ANFIS model is obtained as 0.86, 85.3%, and 2.73, respectively, which indicates precise and correlate results.

Description: Satellite images from 2000 to 2010 were used to identify major dust trajectories within seven major deserts in the world. The fallen dust from these trajectories were collected and analyzed. The fallen dust rates tend to be lower downwind. The average samples of the world's fallen dust are negatively skewed trimodal with dominancy of silt size fractions (61 %). Most of the fallen dust within major dust trajectories is fining downwind. The fallen dust from the eastern zones (Taklimakan, Gobi, and Australian deserts) are characterized by higher percentages of feldspars and clay minerals, low carbonate content, and grain surface area in comparison to the Western zones (Sahara and Arabian deserts). The Western Sahara Desert dust is differentiated by the highest depositional rates and average quartz percentage (66 %). The dust samples in this zone contain low carbonates and grain surface area compared to dust from the Eastern Sahara Desert. The dust samples within Northern Arabia and Ethiopian-south Arabia zones show the highest average of carbonate amounts and grain surface area.

Description: In the present study, the two-dimensional blast model has been simulated using finite element software Abaqus/CAE. The John–Wilkins–Lee equation of state has been used to calculate the pressure caused by the release of the chemical energy of the explosive. Detonation point from center of hole has been defined for the traveling path of explosive energy. Elastoplastic dynamic failure constitutive with kinematic hardening model was adopted for rock mass responses under high explosive pressure to understand the mechanism of blast phenomena. In this model, it is assumed that failure of rock occurs under tensile failure when yield plastic stress exceeded to its static tensile strength. The hydrostatic pressure was used as a failure measure to model dynamic spall or a pressure cut off. Variation of detonation velocity has been measured in terms of simulation blast output energies index results.

Description: The presence of geological units with different grade characteristics mostly leads to problems during the grade modeling process. In special cases, if the area under study has units with small thickness and low grade with respect to the dominant unit of the area, it is difficult to reproduce different grade contents in these units in the simulated grade models because of the low thickness and lack of data in these units. In this study, the local moment constraints method, based on the definition of soft conditioning data reflecting geological knowledge, is investigated for improving simulated grade models under the mentioned conditions. This method is applied for grade simulation at the 1,750 m level of Sungun porphyry copper mine. The studied area is divided into two rock type domains: Sungun porphyry and Dyke. The Sungun porphyry unit is the dominant rock type in the considered area and has, on average, a higher copper grade, while dykes discontinue Sungun porphyry rock units sporadically and most of them are barren of mineralization. It is demonstrated that the use of soft conditioning data makes the simulated grade model closer to reality and improves the reproduction of grade contents considering the rock type units in the area. In the next step, the results obtained from conditional simulation are used for mineral resources classification. To this end, the conditional coefficient of variation is chosen as a criterion for measuring uncertainty and for defining the resources classes. Then, it is shown that uncertainty can be considerably reduced in the prepared models if soft data are considered; as a result, an increase in measured resource classification is observed.

Description: Phenol is one of the aromatic hydrocarbons. Phenol and its derivatives are highly toxic. These pollutants can be observed in the effluents of many industries. This research investigates the removal of phenol by the use of activated sludge in a batch system. The effects of influencing factors on biodegradation efficiency have been evaluated. The main factors considered in this study were the volume of acclimatized activated sludge inoculation, pH, temperature, and initial concentration of phenol. The inoculation volumes of 1, 3, and 5 mL of acclimatized activated sludge were taken into account. Different pH values of 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 were examined. The experiments were conducted for temperatures of 25, 30, 35, and 40 °C and initial phenol concentrations of 400, 800, 1,000, and 1,500 ppm. The results show that the acclimatized activated sludge has a high capacity for the removal of phenol. From a 100-mL aqueous solution was removed 1,500 ppm of phenol after 80 h. Furthermore, maximum phenol removal was observed for an inoculation volume of 5 mL for three different phenol concentrations of 100, 400, and 800 ppm. The best pH was 7 for the biodegradation process, and the optimum temperature was 30 °C. It was further found that an increase in the phenol concentration increased its removal time. Moreover, the activated sludge could effectively remove about 99.9 % of phenol from a synthetic aqueous solution in a batch system.

Description: Representative sandstone samples were collected from the surface-type section of the Shajara Formation of the Permo-Carboniferous Unayzah Group for reservoir characterization through fractal dimension investigation. Two models based on mercury intrusion technique were employed to represent the pores characteristics of these sandstones. The results show that realistic dimensions and outstanding fractal features of porous structures in Shajara sandstones, when these materials are correlated by thermodynamic model and 3-D fractal model of mercury intrusion. On the basis of sub-Unayzah unconformity, sub-Middle Shajara local unconformity, mudstone of the Middle Shajara and sub-Khuff unconformity, the three porous and permeable sandstone units of Shajara Formation were treated separately and classified here into three fractal dimension units. The units from base to top are: Lower Shajara Fractal Dimension Unit, Middle Shajara Fractal Dimension Unit, and Upper Shajara Fractal Dimension Unit. The thermodynamic model and 3-D fractal model were effectively used to characterize the porous structures of Shajara sandstones in logical and quantitative way.

Description: The present work deals with the geologic setting and mineralogical and geochemical study of Late Precambrian magmatic rocks especially the felsic dike swarms of northeast Aqaba complex in South Jordan. The northeast Aqaba complex represents one of the most significant regions in the South Jordan basement. The basement rocks in the studied region are composed of schists, gneisses, migmatites, met gabbros, diorite, and granite. It is invaded by post-orogenic dike swarms. The post-orogenic dike swarms have been recognized as felsic dikes of dacite, rhyodacite, and rhyolite composition. They are composed of plagioclase, K-feldspar, quartz, biotite, and hornblenble with a porphyritic texture. Chemically, they are enriched in compatible elements especially in the large ion lithophile elements such as K, Rb, and Ba. The values of A/NK are more than A/CNK, indicating that dacitic dike swarms have metaluminous nature. Meanwhile, the values of A/NK are less than A/CNK in rhyodacitic and rhyolitic dike swarms of prealuminous nature. This felsic dike can be related to an intercontinental setting that was accompanied by a chemical evolution of the extensional movements and is formed by partial melting of crustal rocks, which are already known from other areas in the northeast portion of the Arabian-Nubian Shield.

Description: The research site is the whole landmass of the Federal College of Education, Zaria, seated on basement complex of north-central Nigeria. Direct current resistivity geophysical method was employed to characterise parameters such as the basement depth and topography, aquifer depth and thickness, weathered basement distribution as well as mapping of orientations of fractures and faults present in the premises using radial sounding technique. The conventional vertical electrical sounding (VES) Schlumberger array was carried out at 40 stations, and eight of which were radial stations. Radial sounding was used to establish resistivity anisotropy which gives clue for the choice of consistent VES profile direction used throughout the fieldwork. Results from the resistivity interpretation suggest three layers in most parts of the premises with some minor occurrence of two and four layers. The first layer (topsoil) has its thickness ranging between 3.5 and 14.0 m; second layer (weathered basement) thickness ranges between 9.0 and 36.5 m, while the third layer (fresh basement) is deepest (40.1 m) towards the eastern corner of the area. The aquifer depth ranges from 1.5 to 4.0 m with a thickness range of 5.0 to 14.0 m. The thickest aquifer occurs around the centre to the west in the area. Results from radial sounding show presence of resistivity anisotropy, an insight to fracturing and faulting; this is more pronounced around the west-central part of the premises.

Description: Ras Banas Peninsula is a large triangular tract of land jutting out into the Red Sea. It extends about 40 km eastward out of the general trend of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, covering an area of about 600 km 2 . Three sandy spits are jutting out from the main body of the peninsula into the Red Sea, possibly representing relics of structural trends, two of which are located at the western part and the third one is extending from the eastern edge forming a further seaward extension of the main body. A series of isometric and contour maps of the whole area under investigation are provided in digitized visual form of geomorphologic features, landforms and slope configuration. According to difference in relief, the study area can be subdivided into three topographic divisions, namely coastal plain (〈50 m), medium-height land (50–150 m) and hinterland (〉150 m). Drainage and lineament maps of the drainage networks were prepared from the topographic map and satellite images of the area. The prepared lineament map shows four main trends that control the configuration of the drainage system in the study area. These trends are Aqaba trend (NE–SW to NNE–SSW), Red Sea trend (NW–SE to NNW–SSE), Nubian trend (N–S), and Tethyan trend (E–W). It is clear that the structural trends, lithology and general slope are the main controls of developing parallel and dendritic drainage patterns in the area. Both geomorphology and drainage system configuration have great influences on the land use and natural hazards affecting the peninsula especially torrential floods and sea level fluctuations.

Description: The most appropriate method in designing the adsorption systems and assessing the performance of the adsorption systems is to have an idea on adsorption isotherms. Comparison analysis of linear least square method and nonlinear method for estimating the isotherm parameters was made using the experimental equilibrium data of Zn(II) and Cu(II) onto kaolinite. Equilibrium data were fitted to Freundlich, Langmuir, and Redlich–Peterson isotherm equations. In order to confirm the best-fit isotherms for the adsorption system, the data set using the chi-square ( χ 2 ), combined with the values of the determined coefficient ( r 2 ) was analyzed. Nonlinear method was found to be a more appropriate method for estimating the isotherm parameters. The best fitting isotherm was the Langmuir and Redlich–Peterson isotherm. The Redlich–Peterson is a special case of Langmuir when the Redlich–Peterson isotherm constant g was unity. The sorption capacity of kaolinite to uptake metal ions in the increasing order was given by Cu (4.2721 mg/g) 〈 Zn (4.6710 mg/g).

Description: This study was based on the results of geochemical analysis of 332 core and 10 cutting rock samples from Triassic Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Triassic age, in addition to seismic sections, logs, initial drilling results, final reports of oil wells, and previous studies. Constructing models from these data are to assess new oil reservoirs, evaluation, and development of the existing oil reservoirs and hydrocarbon potential, and suggesting petroleum systems in order to reduce exploration risk and develop simple risk assessment of oil fields in the studied area. In general, Abu-Jir fault zone divides the studied area into two petroleum provinces: Mesopotamian Foredeep Basin and Widyan Basin–Interior Platform. The Mesopotamian Fordeep basin are thick stratigraphic sequences with no exploration for oil or gas source rock intervals within the Paleozoic sequence. while the Mesozoic sequence offers the best potential. The transitional sequence of the Triassic period is expected to contain occasional fair to good quantity of oil source rock intervals. The Widyan Basin–Interior Platform is an area with possible deployment of low to moderate risk of Paleozoic play and Lower Mesozoic plays with fair Triassic and Mesozoic objectives. Oil has generated and expelled into traps in the studied area during two phases; the first is during Early Palaeogene that accumulated in traps of the Cretaceous structural deformation, while the second is during Late Neogene.

Description: The recent development of digital representation has stimulated the development of automatic extraction of topographic and hydrologic information from digital elevation model input, using geographic information system (GIS) and hydrologic models that integrate multiple databases within a minimal time. The objective of this investigation is to compare the drainage extracted from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data with the drainage digitized from topographic data (1:50,000) and also to draw attention to the functions of an add-on tool in ArcGIS 9.2 (Arc Hydro v.2) of Kuttiyadi River basin. The analysis reveals that the watershed extracted from the SRTM digital elevation model (DEM) (90 m resolution) is having an area of 668 km 2 and that from toposheet is 676 km 2 . The river mouth in the drainage network from the SRTM DEM is found to be shifted to the northern side from where it actually exists. The drainage network from SRTM DEM at stream threshold 15 (0.0002 % of maximum flow accumulation) is delivering best results than the other threshold value in comparison with the drainage pattern derived from toposheets. The study reveals the importance, reliability, and quaintness of drainage network and watershed derived from the SRTM using the Arc Hydro Tool, an extension for Environmental Systems Research Institute ArcGIS. The advantage of the Arc Hydro Tool is that it would help a novice with little GIS knowledge to run the model to obtain watershed and drainage network.

Description: The objective of this paper is to derive and analyze the present and future climate projections over the region of wheat production over Iran. In addition, the projected future climate fluctuation results will be used to assist the maximum performance of wheat and to be used as the main basis for planning changes in the farming calendar in Iran. Observed climate (temperature and degree day) changes during the period (1951–2009) will be discussed. Projected future changes up to 2100 based on the MAGICC/SCENGEN 5.3 compound model was utilized. Furthermore, 18 scenarios were used to derive a single GCM model referred to as the United Kingdom Hadley Center Global Environment Model, which will be used to select the worst, best, and average scenario.