Deformation, Stratigraphy, Structures and Shortening of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt in Southwest Iran Analysis by Restoration

A structural cross-section constructed across the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt covering the Abadan Plain, Dezful Embayment, and Izeh Zone applied 2D and 3D seismic data, well data, surface and subsurface geological maps, satellite images and field reconnaissance. Besides validation and modification of the cross-section, restoration allows better understanding of the geology, structural style and stratigraphy of the Zagros basin. In the area of interest, the Hormuz basal decollement and the Gachsaran detachment play the most significant roles in the structural style and deformation of the Zagros belt. More complexity is associated with interval decollements such as Triassic evaporites, Albian shales and Eocene marls. A variety of lithotectonic units and detachment surfaces confound any estimation of shortening, which generally decreases with increasing depth. Deformation completely differs in the Abadan Plain, Dezful Embayment and Izeh Zone because of different sedimentation histories and tectonic evolution; gentle and young structures can be interpreted as pre-collisional structures of the Dezful Embayment before the Late Cretaceous. After the Late Cretaceous, the Mountain Front Fault is the main control of sedimentation and deformation in the Zagros Basin, and this completely characterizes fold style and geometry within the Dezful Embayment and the Izeh Zone.     

Bivariate frequency analysis of low flow using copula functions (case study: Dez River Basin,Iran)

Accurate estimation of low flow as a criterion for different objectives in water resource management, including drought is of crucial importance. Despite the complex nature of water deficits, univariate methods have often been used to analyze the frequency of low flows. In this study, low flows of Dez River basin were examined during period of 1956–2012 using copula functions at the upstream of headbranches’ junction. For this purpose, at first 7-day series of low flow was extracted at the studied stations, then their homogeneity was examined by Mann–Kendall test. The results indicated that 7-day low flow series of Dez basin were homogenous. In the next stage, 12 different distribution functions were fitted onto the low flow data. Finally, for Sepid Dasht Sezar (SDS), Sepid Dasht Zaz (SDZ), and Tang Panj Bakhtiyari (TPB) stations, logistic distribution had the best fit, while for Tang Panj Sezar (TPS) station, GEV distribution enjoyed the best fit. After specifying the best fitted marginal distributions, seven different copula functions including Ali–Mikhail–Haq (AMH), Frank, Clayton, Galambos, Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern (FGM), Gumbel–Hougaard (GH), and Plackett were used for bivariate frequency analysis of the 7-day low flow series. The results revealed that the GH copula had the best fitness on paired data of SDS and SDZ stations. For TPS and TPB stations, Frank copula has had the best correspondence with empirical copula values. Next, joint and conditional return periods were calculated for the low flow series at the upstream of branches’ junction. The results of this study indicated that the risk of incidence of severe drought is higher in upstream stations (SDZ and SDS) when compared with downstream stations (TPB and TPS) in Dez basin. Generally, application of multivariate analysis allows researchers to investigate hydrological events with a more comprehensive view by considering the simultaneous effect of the influencing factors on the phenomenon of interest. It also enables them to evaluate different combinations of required scenarios for integrated management of basin and planning to cope with the damages caused by natural phenomena.     

Investigation of spatial and temporal variability of precipitation in Iran over the last half century

Investigation of the precipitation phenomenon as one of the most important meteorological factors directly affecting access to water resources is of paramount importance. In this study, the precipitation concentration index (PCI) was calculated using annual precipitation data from 34 synoptic stations of Iran over a 50-year period (1961–2010). The trend of precipitation and the PCI index were analyzed using the Mann–Kendall test after removing the effect of autocorrelation coefficients in annual and seasonal time scales. The results of zoning the studied index at annual time scale revealed that precipitation concentration follows a similar trend within two 25-year subscales. Furthermore, the PCI index in central and southern regions of the country, including the stations of Kerman, Bandarabbas, Yazd, Zahedan, Shahrekord, Birjand, Bushehr, Ahwaz, and Esfahan indicates a strong irregularity and high concentration in atmospheric precipitations. In annual time scale, none of the studied stations, had shown regular concentration (PCI < 10). Analyzing the trend of PCI index during the period of 1961–2010 witnessed an insignificant increasing (decreasing) trend in 16 (15) stations for winter season, respectively, while it faced a significant negative trend in Dezful, Saghez, and Hamedan stations. Similarly, in spring, Kerman and Ramsar stations exhibited a significant increasing trend in the PCI index, implying significant development of precipitation concentration irregularities in these two stations. In summer, Gorgan station showed a strong and significant irregularity for the PCI index and in autumn, Tabriz and Zahedan (Babolsar) stations experienced a significant increasing (decreasing) trend in the PCI index. At the annual time scale, 50 % of stations experienced an increasing trend in the PCI index. Investigating the changes in the precipitation trend also revealed that in annual time scale, about 58 % of the stations had a decreasing trend. In winter, which is the rainiest season in Iran, about 64 % of stations experienced a decreasing trend in precipitation that caused an increasing trend in PCI index. Comparing the spatial distribution of PCI index within two 25 years sub-periods indicated that the PCI index of the second sub-period increased in the spring time scale that means irregularity of precipitation distribution has been increased. But in the other seasons any significant variations were not observed. Also in the annual time scale the PCI index increased in the second sub-period because of the increasing trend of precipitation.     

Prediction of Groundwater Level in Ardebil Plain Using Support Vector Regression and M5 Tree Model

The Ardebil plain, which is located in northwest Iran, has been faced with a recent and severe decline in groundwater level caused by a decrease of precipitation, successive long‐term droughts, and overexploitation of groundwater for irrigating the farmlands. Predictions of groundwater levels can help planners to deal with persistent water deficiencies. In this study, the support vector regression (SVR) and M5 decision tree models were used to predict the groundwater level in Ardebil plain. The monthly groundwater level data from 24 piezometers for a 17‐year period (1997 to 2013) were used for training and test of models. The model inputs included the groundwater levels of previous months, the volume of entering precipitation into every cell, and the discharge of wells. The model output was the groundwater level in the current month. In order to evaluate the performance of models, the correlation coefficient (R) and the root‐mean‐square error criteria were used. The results indicated that both SVR and M5 decision tree models performed well for the prediction of groundwater level in the Ardebil plain. However, the results obtained from the M5 decision tree model are more straightforward, more easily applied, and simpler to interpret than those from the SVR. The highest accuracy was obtained using the SVR model to predict the groundwater level from the Ghareh Hasanloo and Khalifeloo piezometers with R = 0.996 and R = 0.983, respectively.     

Sedimentary basins of Yemen: their tectonic development and lithostratigraphic cover

This paper describes the updated stratigraphy, structural framework and evolution, and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins of Yemen, depicted also on regional stratigraphic charts. The Paleozoic basins include (1) the Rub’ Al-Khali basin (southern flanks), bounded to the south by the Hadramawt arch (oriented approximately W–E) towards which the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments pinch out; (2) the San’a basin, encompassing Paleozoic through Upper Jurassic sediments; and (3) the southern offshore Suqatra (island) basin filled with Permo-Triassic sediments correlatable with that of the Karoo rift in Africa. The Mesozoic rift basins formed due to the breakup of Gondwana and separation of India/Madagascar from Africa–Arabia during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous. The five Mesozoic sedimentary rift basins reflect in their orientation an inheritance from deep-seated, reactivated NW–SE trending Infracambrian Najd fault system. These basins formed sequentially from west to east–southeast, sub-parallel with rift orientations—NNW–SSE for the Siham-Ad-Dali’ basin in the west, NW–SE for the Sab’atayn and Balhaf basins and WNW–ESE for the Say’un-Masilah basin in the centre, and almost E–W for the Jiza’–Qamar basin located in the east of Yemen. The Sab’atayn and Say’un–Masilah basins are the only ones producing oil and gas so far. Petroleum reservoirs in both basins have been charged from Upper Jurassic Madbi shale. The main reservoirs in the Sab’atayn basin include sandstone units in the Sab’atayn Formation (Tithonian), the turbiditic sandstones of the Lam Member (Tithonian) and the Proterozoic fractured basement (upthrown fault block), while the main reservoirs in the Say’un–Masilah basin are sandstones of the Qishn Clastics Member (Hauterivian/Barremian) and the Ghayl Member (Berriasian/Valanginian), and Proterozoic fractured basement. The Cenozoic rift basins are related to the separation of Arabia from Africa by the opening of the Red Sea to the west and the Gulf of Aden to the south of Yemen during the Oligocene-Recent. These basins are filled with up to 3,000 m of sediments showing both lateral and vertical facies changes. The Cenozoic rift basins along the Gulf of Aden include the Mukalla–Sayhut, the Hawrah–Ahwar and the Aden–Abyan basins (all trending ENE–WSW), and have both offshore and onshore sectors as extensional faulting and regional subsidence affected the southern margin of Yemen episodically. Seafloor spreading in the Gulf of Aden dates back to the Early Miocene. Many of the offshore wells drilled in the Mukalla–Sayhut basin have encountered oil shows in the Cretaceous through Neogene layers. Sub-commercial discovery was identified in Sharmah-1 well in the fractured Middle Eocene limestone of the Habshiyah Formation. The Tihamah basin along the NNW–SSE trending Red Sea commenced in Late Oligocene, with oceanic crust formation in the earliest Pliocene. The Late Miocene stratigraphy of the Red Sea offshore Yemen is dominated by salt deformation. Oil and gas seeps are found in the Tihamah basin including the As-Salif peninsula and the onshore Tihamah plain; and oil and gas shows encountered in several onshore and offshore wells indicate the presence of proven source rocks in this basin.     

Active Control of A Piston-Type Absorbing Wavemaker with Fully Reflective Structure

China Ocean Engineering - Multiple reflections of the waves between structure and wavemaker in hydraulic flumes could change the frequency content of the desired incident wave or result in...     

The oil price crash of 2020: causes,consequences and historical context

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed every affair of our society, and rightly so. Nevertheless, the world has also plunged into an economic crisis of enormous gravity on par with the Great Depression of the 1930s. The oil market crash is an alarming symptom of this weakened economy which hurts all people, whether affected by coronavirus or not. This article examines its causes, consequences and historical context.     

Physically based modelling of sheet erosion (detachment and deposition processes) in complex hillslopes

A one‐dimensional uncoupled model governed by this research is a physics‐based modelling of the rainfall‐runoff induced erosion process. The presented model is composed of three parts of a three‐dimensional (3D) hillslope geometry, a nonlinear storage (kinematic wave) model for hillslope hydrological response, and an unsteady physically based surface erosion model. The 3D hillslope geometry model allows describing of the hillslope morphology by defining their plan shape and profile curvature. By changing these two topographic parameters, nine basic hillslope types are derived. The modelling of hillslope hydrological response is based on a flow continuity equation as the relation of discharge and flow depth is passed on kinematic wave approximation. The erosion model is based on a mass conservation equation for unsteady flow. The model assumes that suspended sediment does not affect flow dynamics. The model also accounts for the effect of flow depth plus loose soil depth on soil detachment. The presented model was run for two different precipitations, slope content, and length, and results were plotted for sediment detachment/deposition rate. Based on the obtained results, in hillslopes with convex and straight profile curvatures, sediment detachment only occurred in the whole length of the hillslope. However, in concave ones, sediment detachment and deposition only occurred together in hillslope. The hillslopes with straight profiles and convergent plans have the highest rate of detachment. Also, results show that most detachment rates occur in convex profile curvatures, which are about 15 times more than in straight profiles. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.