GIS Based Urban Area Spatiotemporal Change Evaluation Using Landsat and Night Time Temporal Satellite Data

This study aims at determining the spatiotemporal change in urban areas by using multi-temporal satellite images with geographic information systems integration. In this study, the city of Erzincan was selected as the sample case. The analyses of change were conducted by using the optical satellite images from LANSAT TM dated 1987 and the LANDSAT ETM+ dated 2006, besides the night images from 1998, 2006 and 2010. Spatial change maps were created for the qualitative analysis, and change matrixes were formed for the quantitative assessment of these changes. The outcomes of these change analyses were then evaluated and interpreted in the light of the demographics of the population living in the area. The results obtained from the Landsat satellite images indicate that the area of the city expanded at the annual average rate of 1.65% in 1987–2006. Night images indicate that the city area grew at an annual average rate of 4.04% in 1998–2006, while this rate was 20.28% in the period of 2006–2010. The results of the study demonstrate that the usability and contribution of satellite images is quite significant in tracking and monitoring temporal and spatial change in the area.     

Effect of Atmosphere and Temperature Treatment on Leoanardite for Increasing Humic Acid Yield

In this review, the shifts in organic matter (OM) accumulation and C:N ratios in lake sediments to reconstruct paleoclimate and paleo-environmental changes since the early Holocene period are presented. The C:N proxy data of total OM reflect wet climatic conditions during early Holocene (10 to 8.2 kyrs BP) due to enhanced southwest monsoon. This was followed by intermittent arid conditions during the mid and late Holocene period (8.2 to 2.8 kyr BP). Enhanced values of C:N ratio during middle to late Holocene (7.8–2.3 kyrs B.P) indicate periods with lower lake levels and minimum precipitation, while decreased C:N ratio point to stronger SW monsoon and expansion of the lakes. Further, C:N and δ¹³C results from the lake sediments reveal a detailed and continuous paleo-environmental changes in the relative sources of OM (allochthonous vs autochthonous). Proxy records using such natural archives have also been utilized to reconstruct past extreme events and environmental changes around the lake systems, such as causes for lake desiccation, hydrographic changes, alternations between C₃ and C₄ vegetation and historical disturbances in the catchment area since the early-late Holocene period coupled with the Indian summer monsoon.     

A new approach to minimize the loss of life after natural hazards by using Android operating system

Nowadays, the usage rates of smartphones are increasing rapidly. With the versatility of its features, smartphones have succeeded in attracting users. Performing this study has also affected the usage rate of smartphones every day. It is possible to determine the position with GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which is located in smartphones. In this study, smartphone location notification was used to detect the locations of the people who were under debris after the earthquake by means of the phones on them. People who cannot be reached for any reason will be immediately identified, and emergency interventions will be possible. Thus, the survival rate of the injured will be high with early intervention. In this study, it was aimed to minimize the loss of life after the earthquake and all the negativities that would be experienced in society due to this loss. The developed application has been tested in the external world, and the obtained data are given in results section.

     

Parametric analysis of liquid storage tanks base isolated by curved surface sliding bearings

Curved surface sliding bearings, which are usually called as friction pendulum system (FPS) are commonly used for base isolation of liquid storage tanks since the period of the isolation system is independent of the storage level. However the restoring force and the damping at the isolation system are functions of axial load which changes during an earthquake excitation. This change might be in appreciable amounts especially for the tanks with high aspect ratios. The present paper focuses on earthquake performances of both broad and slender tanks base isolated by FPS bearings. The effects of overturning moment and vertical acceleration on axial load variation at the bearings are considered. The efficiency of the isolation system is investigated by analyzing the effects of various parameters such as; (i) isolation period, (ii) tank aspect ratio and (iii) coefficient of friction. The Haroun and Housner's three-degrees-of-freedom lumped mass model was used to solve the governing equations of motion in which convective, impulsive and rigid masses were included. A number of selected ground motions were considered and the results were compared to those of non-isolated cases.As a result, base isolation was found to be effective in reducing the base shear values for both broad and slender tanks without significantly affecting the sloshing displacements of the broad ones. The efficiency was even more pronounced for slender tanks subjected to near fault ground motions for isolation periods above 3 s. This specific value of isolation period also eliminated possible design problems arising from under-estimation of base shear values (up to 40%) due to ignoring the effects of axial load variation in lower isolation periods. Overturning effects should not be ignored especially for tanks with high aspect ratios (S) and being subjected to near fault ground motion.     

Animal burrowing and associated formation of large desiccation cracks as factors of a rapid restoration of soil cover in flooded farmlands

The burrowing activity of annelids controls the spatial pattern and rapid formation of large desiccation cracks in the river flood-derived mud cover in recently inundated farmland areas in northwestern Anatolia, Turkey. The phenomenon is confirmed by laboratory experiments imitating the natural floodplain conditions.     

Uplift and subsidence from oblique slip: the Ganos–Marmara bend of the North Anatolian Transform, western Turkey

Bends that locally violate plate-motion-parallel geometry are common structural elements of continental transform faults. We relate the vertical component of crustal motion in the western Marmara Sea region to the NNW-pointing 18° bend on the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF-N) between the Ganos segment, which ruptured in 1912, and the central Marmara segment, a seismic gap. Crustal shortening and uplift on the transpressive west side of the bend results in the Ganos Mountain; crustal extension and subsidence on the transtensional east side produce the Tekirdağ Basin. We propose that this vertical component of deformation is controlled by oblique slip on the non-vertical north-dipping Ganos and Tekirdağ segments of the North Anatolian Fault. We compare Holocene with Quaternary structure across the bend using new and recently published data and conclude the following. First, bend-related vertical motion is occurring primarily north of the NAF-N. This suggests that this bend is fixed to the Anatolian side of the fault. Second, current deformation is consistent with an antisymmetric pattern centered at the bend, up on the west and down on the east. Accumulated deformation is shifted to the east along the right-lateral NAF-N, however, leading to locally opposite vertical components of long- and short-term motion. Uplift has started as far west as the landward extension of the Saros trough. Current subsidence is most intense close to the bend and to the Ganos Mountain, while the basin deepens gradually from the bend eastward for 28 km along the fault. The pattern of deformation is time-transgressive if referenced to the material, but is stable if referenced to the bend. The lag between motion and structure implies a 1.1–1.4 Ma age for the basin at current dextral slip rate (2.0–2.5 cm/year). Third, the Tekirdağ is an asymmetric basin progressively tilted down toward the NAF-N, which serves as the border fault. Progressive tilt suggests that the steep northward dip of the fault decreases with depth in a listric geometry at the scale of the upper crust and is consistent with reactivation of Paleogene suture-related thrust faults. Fourth, similar thrust-fault geometry west of the bend can account for the Ganos Mountain anticline/monocline as hanging-wall-block folding and back tilting. Oblique slip on a non-vertical master fault may accommodate transtension and transpression associated with other bends along the NAF and other continental transforms.     

The effect of seasonally frozen soil on stochastic response of elevated water tank under random excitation

Significant seismic events have occurred around the world during winter months in regions where cold temperatures cause ground freezing. Current seismic design practice does not address the effects of cold temperatures in the seasonally frozen areas. Since many elevated water tank structures in cold regions are located in seismic active zones, determining the effect of seasonally frozen soil on the stochastic response of elevated water tank structures subjected to random seismic excitation is an important structural consideration. A three dimensional finite element model, which considers viscous boundaries, was built up to obtain the stochastic seismic behavior of an elevated water tank–fluid–soil interaction system for frozen soil condition. For this model, the power spectral density function represents random ground motion applied to each support point of the three dimensional finite element model of the elevated water tank–fluid–soil interaction system. Numerical results show that the soil temperature affects the seismic response of the elevated water tank; whereas the variation in the thickness of the frozen soil causes insignificant changes on the response. In addition, the effect of the variation in water tank’s fullness on the stochastic response of the coupled system is investigated in the study. As a result, the seasonal frost changes the foundation soil stiffness and may impact seismic behavior of the water tank.     

Active fault database of Turkey

We have updated the active fault map of Turkey and built its database within GIS environment. In the study, four distinct active fault types, classified according to geochronological criteria and character, were delineated on the 1:25,000 base map of Turkey. 176 fault segments not included in the former active fault map of Turkey, have been identified and documented. We infer that there are 485 single fault segments which are substantially potential seismic sources. In total 1964 active-fault base-maps were transferred into the GIS environment. Each fault was attributed with key parameters such as class, activity, type, length, trend, and attitude of fault plane. The fault parameters are also supported by slip-rate and seismogenic depth inferred from available GPS, seismological and paleoseismological data. Additionally, expected maximum magnitude for each fault segment was estimated by empirical equations. We present the database in a parametric catalogue of fault segments to be of interest in earthquake engineering and seismotectonics. The study provides essential geological and seismological inputs for regional seismic hazard analysis of all over Turkey and its vicinity.