Provisional Elemental Values for IAEA‐Sewage Sludge by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organised a proficiency test (PT), IAEA‐CU‐2010‐02, for the determination of elements in sewage sludge. The PT sample was analysed by semi‐absolute standardless k₀‐instrumental neutron activation analysis (k₀‐INAA). Results for seven elements (As, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Se, Zn) were submitted to the IAEA by our laboratory. All of our results were scored ‘acceptable’ by the ‘result evaluation criteria’ adopted by the IAEA. The same analytical methodology produced quantitative results for twenty‐six additional elements. In total, thirty‐six elements were determined with uncertainty varying from 4 to 11%. This paper presents the provisional mass fractions of twenty‐six additional elements (Ag, Al, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Dy, Eu, Ga, Hf, I, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, V, U, W) not reported by the IAEA. The analytical methodology was discussed with important sources of spectral, nuclear and fission‐product interferences. It was shown that the important components of uncertainties were the k₀ factor, Q₀ factor, detector efficiency, mass and counting statistics. The methodology was validated by analysing the IAEA‐S7 reference material.     

A comparative analysis of gridding systems for point-based land cover/use analysis

For spatial analyses, raster land cover/use maps are converted into points, where each point holds attribute of its corresponding land cover/use. However, these are not identical in terms of areas or shapes; thus assigning a point to each isolated shape is not an adequate solution and for that gridding is suggested. Square, hexagon and triangle are among the basic land use gridding systems where each of them has its own advantages in such process. This research aims to compare the systems in providing accurate representations of the original land cover/use maps, assess the data loss while increasing resolution and suggest suitable gridding system. The research finds the errors in area and feature numbers as criteria for selected classes. Modules that find out errors in each scale considering each criterion and class alone are proposed. The modules suggest both the best system for each criterion alone and for combined criteria.     

Centrality-based hierarchy for street network generalization in multi-resolution maps

This paper introduces a new hierarchy for cartographic generalisation processes, applied in street networks. The aims of implementing this hierarchy are to emphasise on significant street features, and to provide more free spaces between street features. The hierarchy is obtained from the functional classes of the features and four centrality measures in a street network, i.e. betweenness, reach, straightness and closeness extracted from a primary graph. The values of centrality measures change in every zoom level by calculating a radius parameter, which depends on the users’ field of view. The coefficients for the measures are constructed using a decision-making technique called fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). The weights for each of the centrality measures are computed and normalised to form the proposed hierarchy. The hierarchy is applied and used later in the thinning process to omit insignificant features from the street network in medium scales.     

Elemental profile of black shales

A black shale sample collected from the Chimiari site(Tarbela) was analyzed for elemental contents.Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry(ICP-OES) was employed to determine major and trace elements in the digests.Precise analysis was accomplished for the black shales,which was better than 2.0%.Result shows that the shales are very rich in Ca(25439 μg·g-1),Fe(13933 μg·g-1),Ti(6932 μg·g-1),Al(5993 μg·g-1) and K(2730 μg·g-1).     

Hydrochemical investigation of water from the Pleistocene wells and springs, Jericho area, Palestine

Rising salinity levels is one of the significant signs of water-quality degradation in groundwater. The alluvial Pleistocene wells in the Jericho area, Palestine show high salinity and a high susceptibility to contamination. Future exploitation and management of the water resources under these conditions will require an in-depth understanding of the sources and mechanisms of contamination. The Jericho area is located in the basin of the Jordan Valley. The basin is underlain by alluvial deposits of soil, sand and gravel of Quaternary units Q1 and Q2, and marl clay and evaporites of the upper part of unit Q2. This paper deals with the source of salinity in the wells penetrating these units, using hydrochemical tracers. The study reveals three main zones of different salinity by using different diagnostic hydrochemical fingerprinting as tracers for elucidating the sources of salinity. It was concluded that the most probable sources of salinity are (1) the geological formations of the region, which form inter-fingering layers of both the Samara and Lisan formations of Pleistocene age, where the eastern Arab Project aquifers show the highest amount of sulphate. The location and geological formation of these wells within the Lisan suggested that the source of high sulphate content is the dissociation of gypsum. (2) The NaCl water within the same area may also be upwelling from a deep brine aquifer or from a fresh-water aquifer which contains salt-bearing rocks with particles becoming finer from west to east. This noticeable high TDS to the east should be affected by the rate of pumping from the upper shallow aquifer, especially in the wells of the Arab Project which are in continuous pumping during the year. (3) The third possible source of salinity is from anthropogenic influences. This can be easily shown by the increment of nitrate, bromide and sulphate, depending on whether the location of the well is coincident with urban or agricultural areas. This reflects the addition of agricultural chemical effluents or sewer pollution from adjacent septic tanks which are mainly constructed in top gravel in the Samara layer. Further studies are required, using different geochemical and isotopic techniques, to confirm these suggested salinity sources.The revised version was published online in March 2005 with corrections to the order of the authors.     

The evolution of an electrical fittings industrial cluster in Pakistan

GeoJournal - This study provides an evolution process of electrical fittings industrial cluster in Pakistan by using two rounds of survey dataset (2008 and 2017) taken from the electrical fittings...     

Facies controlled diagenetic evolution of the Delhi Group Sandstones,Bayana Basin,Rajasthan

The Bayana Basin forms the eastern most limit of north Delhi fold belt covering parts of northeastern Rajasthan. The deposition of sediments took place during middle Proterozoic in fluvial and shallow marine environments. The rocks are mainly clastics and include conglomerate, sandstone and shale. During mechanical compaction rearrangement of grains took place and point and long contacts were formed. The sandstones are cemented by iron oxide, silica, carbonate and barite. The porosity has developed due to dissolution of iron, carbonate cement and feldspar grains. Dissolution of quartz along grain boundaries and silica rich compaction pore water seems to be the main source of silica. These observations suggest progressive compaction which initiated at the sediment water interface and continued till deep burial diagenesis in a rapidly subsiding basin.