Amplitude of Secular Geomagnetic Variation in Late Cretaceous Based on Paleomagnetic Studies of the Okhotsk–Chukotka Volcanic Belt from Upper Reaches of Malyi Anyui River,West Chukotka

Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth - Abstract—A paleomagnetic study of the Okhotsk–Chukotka belt volcanics exposed in the region of the Kupol field (~66.9° N, 170.1° E) has...     

Analysis and assessment of slope instability along international mountainous road in North Africa

Natural Hazards - The sliding incidences along the mountainous roads in the northern part of Algeria are considered a major hazard, often with huge impacts on infrastructures, causing terrible...     

Analysis of marine radar image spectra collected during the grand banks ERS‐1 SAR wave experiment

Abstract

Remote measurements of wave spectra were made using MacLaren Plansearch's Marine Radar Wave Measuring System (Macrada^©) for the duration of the ERS‐1 Grand Banks Experiment (10–27 November 1991). The system consists of a Furuno X‐band marine navigation radar and a personal computer. The system was installed and operated onboard the BIO Research vessel CSS Hudson during the experiment. The radar system provides fully directional wave spectra in real time (within minutes of image acquisition) as well as archiving of the raw images for future analysis. During each of the satellite overpasses, excellent data were collected, covering a variety of wave conditions.

This paper describes the data analysis procedures and presents the results of the experiment. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to study: (1) sensitivity to the number of radar images processed on the resultant spectra, (2) effect of missing one or more images in a dataset, and (3) sensitivity to azimuth angle variation. Finally, the results are compared with corresponding directional wave spectra from other sensors (such as WAVEC Buoy and ERS‐1 SAR).     

A quantitative analysis on the Egyptian Mediterranean waters

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Archaeoseismological investigation of the ancient Ayla site in the city of Aqaba,Jordan

Many tens of severe earthquake damage patterns were revealed at the ancient city of Ayla. The seismic deformation patterns are of various types, including systematic tilting of walls, systematic shifting and rotation of wall fragments and individual stones, arch deformations and joints crossing two or more stones. Features of later repair, supporting walls and secondary use of building stones suggest that the damage patterns can be explained by two historical devastating earthquakes: (I) revealed in the constructions built during the late Rashidun period (644–656 A.D.); (II) revealed in the structures restored and/or built during the Fatimid period (1050–1116 A.D.). The maximum observed intensity of both earthquakes at the studied site was not less than IX (EMS98 scale). The sources of the seismic events were probably the Dead Sea Transform and Wadi Araba Faults that cross the site obliquely. The last 1995 Nuweiba earthquake with maximum observed intensity VIII has also left its clear traces in the excavated ancient Ayla buildings. The severity of the destruction was significantly increased because of site effects.     

The Dammam aquifer in Bahrain – Hydrochemical characterization and alternatives for management of groundwater quality

 Over-abstraction of the Dammam aquifer, the principal aquifer in Bahrain, by the agricultural and domestic sectors, has led to its salinization by adjacent brackish and saline water bodies. A hydrochemical study identified the locations of the sources of aquifer salinization and delineated their areas of influence. The investigation indicates that the aquifer water quality is significantly modified as groundwater flows from the northwestern parts of Bahrain, where the aquifer receives its water by lateral underflow from eastern Saudi Arabia, to the southern and southeastern parts. Four types of salinization of the aquifer are identified: brackish-water up-flow from the underlying brackish-water zones in north-central, western, and eastern regions; seawater intrusion in the eastern region; intrusion of sabkha water in the southwestern region; and irrigation return flow in a local area in the western region. Four alternatives for the management of groundwater quality that are available to the water authorities in Bahrain are discussed and their priority areas are proposed, based on the type and extent of each salinization source, in addition to groundwater use in that area. The effectiveness of the proposed management options in controlling the degradation of water quality in the Dammam aquifer should be evaluated using simulation modeling. Received: June 1998 Revised: November 1998 Accepted: December 1998     

Mode coupling analysis and differential rotation in a flow driven by a precessing cylindrical container

We present a theoretical weakly nonlinear analysis of the dynamics of an inviscid flow submitted to both rotation and precession of an unbounded cylindrical container, by considering the coupling of two Kelvin (inertial) waves. The parametric centrifugal instability known for this system is shown to saturate when one expands the Navier–Stokes equation to higher order in the assumed small precession parameter (ratio of precession to rotation frequencies) with the derivation of two coupled Landau equations suitable to describe the dynamics of the modes. It is shown that an azimuthal mean flow with differential rotation is generated by this modes coupling. The time evolution of the associated dynamical system is studied. These theoretical results can be compared with water experiments and also to some numerical simulations where viscosity and finite length effects cannot be neglected.     

Simultaneous Determination of 11 Sulfonamides by HPLC–UV and Application for Fast Screening of Their Aerobic Elimination and Biodegradation in a Simple Test

Sulfonamides (SAs) are one of the most frequently used antibiotics. SAs have been found in various environmental compartments. If SAs are not degraded in the environment, they can affect bacteria by their antibiotic properties and contribute to bacterial antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the biodegradability of 11 SAs (sulfanilamide, sulfaguanidine monohydrate, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfachloropyridazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfadimethoxine) was studied. For this purpose, the Closed Bottle Test (CBT, OECD 301D) was performed, which includes a toxicity control. In order to monitor the environmental fate of the parent compound and to check for transformation products, a simple, efficient, and reliable HPLC–UV method for the simultaneous determination of these SAs has been developed. Acetonitrile and water (with 0.1% formic acid) were used as mobile phase solvents for gradient elution. The method was validated in terms of precision, detection and quantitation limits, selectivity, and analytical solution stability. In the CBT, none of these SAs was readily biodegradable. The HPLC–UV analysis confirmed that no degradation of any SA took place. In the toxicity control, these SAs showed no toxic effect in the used concentration of environmental bacteria applied in the test.     

Heavy metal and anionic contamination in the water and sediments in Al-Mujib reservoir,central Jordan

Sixty-five sediment samples and 25 water samples were collected from Al-Mujib reservoir, central Jordan, in order to investigate the heavy metal and ionic contamination assessment. Therefore, to achieve this aim, water and sediment samples were collected during winter and summer seasons (2007) from Al-Mujib reservoir and the areas surrounding it. The study shows that there are elevated levels of SO₄ ²⁻, Cl⁻ and Na⁺ in reservoir water, which might originate from anthropogenic activities in the reservoir catchment area. In addition, the reservoir water has higher total hardness (TH) values together with high Ca and Mg contents. This might be attributed to pH of reservoir water and the nature of the rocks exposed in the catchment area. The average levels of heavy metals in reservoir sediments are Fe = 14,888.1, Cu = 17.8, Zn = 88.6, Ni = 38.7, Cd = 4.4, Mn = 337.9 and Pb = 6.1 mg/kg, which are lower than that observed in Wadi Al-Arab reservoir, northern Jordan. The values of enrichment factor are Cd = 35.5, Ni = 3.02, Zn = 2.54, Cu = 1.26, Mn = 1.2 and Pb = 0.57; these values indicate that heavy metals in sediments of Al-Mujeb reservoir have a different anthropogenic incrimination inputs. The study showed that the sediments are polluted with Cd, relatively contaminated with Ni and Zn and uncontaminated with respect to Mn, Pb and Cu.