Estimation of near-surface geotechnical parameters using seismic measurements at the proposed KACST expansion site, Riyadh, KSA

Eight shallow seismic refraction profiles were conducted at the proposed KACST expansion site, northwest of Riyadh, to estimate the near-surface geotechnical parameters for construction purposes. Both compressional (P) and shear (S) waves were acquired, processed, and interpreted using “time-term” technique which is a combination of linear least squares and delay time analysis to invert the first arrivals for a velocity section. The most important geotechnical near-surface parameters such as stress ratio, Poisson’s ratio, material index, concentration index, N value, and foundation material-bearing capacity are calculated. The results of these seismic measurements were compared with the results of borehole report in the project area in terms of number of layers, the lithological content, thicknesses, and N values of rock quality designation. A good matching between the results was observed particularly at the sites of boreholes.     

The Influence of Seasonal Changes and Headwaters on Physico-chemical Dynamics of Temengor Reservoir, Malaysia

A study on physico-chemical dynamics of Temengor Reservoir was conducted to determine whether headwaters and seasonal changes play a major role in regulating physico-chemical dynamics of Temengor Reservoir. Temengor Reservoir receives water from its surrounding water catchments and headwaters. Then, the water flows into a series of hydroelectric dams, namely the Bersia, Kenering and Chenderoh dams. Generally, water quality in Temengor Reservoir can be classified as Class I. Physico-chemical trends showed that water quality in euphotic zone of Temengor Reservoir is stable and consistent. Two-way ANOVA analyses showed that seasonal variations only affected water temperature, Secchi disc’s depth and nitrate-nitrogen. Based on Tukey’s post-hoc test, all three headwaters in this study exert no influence to the reservoir’s water quality. These insignificant differences were probably due to water temperature and the size of the headwaters and the reservoir itself. In situ parameters profiling showed that the epilimnion zone in Temengor Reservoir is from the surface to 6 m depth, the metalimnion zone is from 6 m to 12 m depth and the hypolimnion zone is from 12 m depth onwards to the bottom of the reservoir. Thus, continuous water profiling monitoring that covers high and low water levels need to be conducted to determine characteristics of the physico-chemical dynamics in the water column and also to analyse changes in reservoir layers. Through these studies, discontinuity trends in the Perak River could be determined and suggestions to the respective agencies could be made to conserve and to sustain downstream biodiversity.     

Adsorption of Pb(II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Date Bead Carbon Activated with ZnCl2

This study reports on the adsorption characteristics of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions using ZnCl₂‐activated date (Phoenix dactylifera) bead (ADB) carbon with respect to change in adsorbent dosage, initial pH, contact time, initial concentration, and temperature of the solution. Kinetic studies of the data showed that the adsorption follows the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy change (ΔH° = 55.11 kJ/mol), entropy change (ΔS° = ? 0.193 kJ/mol/K), and Gibbs free energy change (ΔG°) were also calculated for the uptake of Pb(II) ions. These parameters show that adsorption on the surface of ADB was feasible, spontaneous in nature, and endothermic between temperatures of 298.2 and 318.2 K. The equilibrium data better fitted the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models than the D–R adsorption isotherm model for studying the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) onto the ADB carbon. It could be observed that the maximum adsorption capacity of ADB was 76.92 mg/g at 318.2 K and pH 6.5.     

Flash flood inundation map preparation for wadis in arid regions

Flood inundation maps are dependent on the topographic and geomorphologic features of a wadi (drainage basin) in arid regions, which are most susceptible for potential flash flood occurrences, such as in the southwestern part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is not possible to control the potential flood hazards by using only technological instruments that forewarn the occurrences or imminence. Additionally, it would be better to prepare flood risk maps so as to delineate the risky areas to educate the administrators and local settlers. The availability of these maps is the key requirement for any urban development that entails land use allocation, identification of dam, tunnel, highway, bridge sites, and infrastructure locations for sustainable future. This paper suggests the necessary steps in flood inundation map preparation after determining the possible flood discharge. For this purpose, a set of critical cross-sections along the possible flood plain are taken in the field with surveying methods and measurements. The calculation of the average flow velocity in each section is calculated according to the cross-section geometric, hydraulic, and material properties. Synthetic rating curves (SRC) are prepared for each cross section, which are very useful especially in arid and semi-arid regions where there are no perennial surface water flows for natural rating curve measurements. All the SRCs appear in the form of power function which relates the flow depth to discharge in a given cross section. It is then possible to calculate the flood depth in the cross section through its SRC. Depending on the cross-section shape, the flood width can be calculated. The connection of a series of widths on a scaled topographic map delineates the flood inundation area. If digital elevation map (DEM) is available, then the SRCs can be integrated with these maps and the flood inundation delineation can be achieved automatically. Since DEMs are not available, the topographic maps are used for this purpose in order to delineate flood inundation areas within wadis Hali and Yiba from the southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.     

Mapping alteration mineral zones and lithological units in Antarctic regions using spectral bands of ASTER remote sensing data

Abstract

Geological mapping is one of the primary tasks of remote sensing. Remote sensing applications are especially useful when extreme environmental conditions inhibit direct survey such as in Antarctica. In this investigation, a satellite-based remote sensing approach was used for mapping alteration mineral zones and lithological units using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data in the Oscar II coast area, north-eastern Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula. Specialized band ratios and band combinations were developed using visible and near infrared, shortwave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared spectral bands of ASTER for detecting alteration mineral assemblages and lithological units in Antarctic environments. Constrained Energy Minimization, Orthogonal Subspace Projection and Adaptive Coherence Estimator algorithms were tested to ASTER SWIR bands for detecting sub-pixels’ abundance of spectral features related to muscovite, kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, epidote, chlorite and biotite. Results indicate valuable applicability of ASTER data for Antarctic geological mapping.     

The cumulative impacts of reclamation and dredging on the marine ecology and land-use in the Kingdom of Bahrain

This article assesses the ecological and economic impacts of land reclamation and dredging through consulting recent environmental impact assessment reports. Geographic features of Bahrain during 1963-2008 are produced using Geographical Information System. Extensive but inexpensive shallow coastal areas and tidal flats have been reclaimed particularly from 1997 to 2007 at a high rate of 21 km(2)/year. Formal records show the increase in the original land mass by the year 2008 to be 91 km(2). An estimated total cumulative loss of major habitats resulting from 10 reclamation projects was around 153.58 km(2). Also much larger scale impacts should be considered resulting from the borrow areas used for the extraction of sand or infill materials. A number of key habitats and species are affected in the vicinity of these projects. The study attempts to assign a monetary value to the marine ecosystem functions. There is a need for efficient coastal zone management to regulate a sustainable use of the marine resources.     

Adaptation of ANFIS model to assess thermal comfort of an urban square in moderate and dry climate

Attractiveness of the open urban spaces, such as plazas or squares, depends on the visitor’s thermal comfort. In this respect, it is important to assess the environment of such open space along with the demographic factors of the visitors. This study used the soft-computing method of adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to investigate the thermal comfort of visitors at a public square in Iran during hot and cold weather conditions. The ANFIS process for variable selection was implemented in order to detect the predominant variables affecting the individual’s comfortable feeling. Model’s training and testing data were collected through the field measurement and survey during hot and cold times of the year. We used 18 input parameters, representative of demographic and environmental factors, to compute visitor’s thermal sensation, comfort feeling, and 4 common indices, namely the mean radiant temperature (T_mrt), mean physiological equivalent temperature (PET), standard effective temperature (SET) and predicted mean vote (PMV). The results indicated that among the examined factors, the air temperature (T_a) is the most influential parameter and best predictor of accuracy for the individual’s comfort feeling at the studied urban square. The results show that T_a can best predict the common indices of outdoor comfort, namely the PMV, PET, SET, thermal sensation, T_mrt, and comfortable felling compared to other parameters with the least error of 1.94, 18.87, 13.67, 0.91, 7.80, and 0.34 %, respectively. Some of the main advantages of the ANFIS scheme are that it is adaptable to the optimization and adaptive methods, and is computationally efficient.     

Ontogenetic changes in feeding and food preferences of the dog conch Laevistrombus canarium Linnaeus 1758 (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Merambong shoal,Malaysia

Laevistrombus canarium is one of the marine gastropod mollusks that have high commercial value,particularly in the aquaculture sector in Malaysia.This study was conducted to determine the feeding and food items of L.canarium at dif ferent ontogenetic stages(juveniles,sub-adults and adults)from Merambong shoals,Malaysia.Field observations on feeding activity were conducted,followed by detailed laboratory analysis on the stomach content.Five-minutes observations on randomly selected individuals were conducted at the fi eld sampling site and their feeding activities were recorded with reference to age stage.Various shell sizes from each ontogenetic stage were randomly collected and quickly anaesthetized with ice and preserved in 10%formalin before being transported to the laboratory for stomach content analyses.Field observations showed that L.canarium mainly grazed on epiphytes occurring on seagrass(46.67%),followed by sediment surface(40%)and epiphytes occurring on macroalgae(13.33%).Stomach content analyses showed a signifi cant dif ference(P0.05)in gastro-somatic index(Gasi)between the juveniles(0.39±0.05),sub-adults(0.68±0.09)and adults(0.70±0.05)(P0.05).Food items found in the conch stomach include diatoms,detritus,foraminifera,seagrass and macroalgae fragments,sand particles and shell fragments.The Index of Relative Importance(%IRI)indicates three main types of food dominated the three ontogenetic stages namely diatoms,sand particles and detritus.However,no signifi cant diff erence(P0.05)was detected between the three main food items(diatoms,sand particles and detritus)among the ontogenetic stages.Therefore,feeding activity revealed the role of the dog conch in the marine food network.While,classifi cation of the types of food consumed by L.canarium through stomach content analysis determines the particular position of the gastropod in the food chain.Further studies are needed to provide a better insight between trophic relationships of L.canarium with marine ecosystem.     

Prediction of safety factors for slope stability: comparison of machine learning techniques

Natural Hazards - Because of the disasters associated with slope failure, the analysis and forecasting of slope stability for geotechnical engineers are crucial. In this work, in order to forecast...     

Seismic response of a four-storey RC school building with masonry-infilled walls

This paper focuses on the evaluation of the effect of masonry-infilled walls on the seismic response of a four-storey RC school building. Numerical simulation is presented with respect to the building with and without masonry-infilled walls. The simulation employed force-based fibre elements for beams and columns, and a single equivalent diagonal strut to represent the masonry infill. The numerical model was verified through comparison with shake table test results. It was found that the presence of masonry-infilled walls has significant influence on the global response of the structure. Although the displacement of the structure with infilled wall is reduced in the in-plane direction, it was increased in both in-plane and out-of-plane directions when the infilled walls experienced loss in serviceability.