DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT USING THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS AND GIS IN SOUTHEAST IRAN

Studying the factors influencing desertification progress of a region and its resulting zoning can be effective in helping to reduce the damage of this phenomenon. This study attempted to investigate the factors influencing desertification progress; hence, it proceeded to zone Sistan and Baluchestan Province using three analytic hierarchy processes, Expert Choice software and a geographic information system. First, factors affecting desertification progress were checked and they were then used to determine the most important aspects in order of priority as follows: climatic elements (temperature, evaporation, wind, precipitation and humidity), morphology (topography and slope) and human factors (land cover). Then, a zoning map of desertification‐prone lands was prepared. The results showed that, in terms of hazard progress of these lands, there were five desertification hazard regions in Sistan and Baluchestan Province with an area of about 187 502 km² and high hazard regions covering approximately 29.2% of the province were located in the north of the province. High hazard regions with an approximate area of 3.20% of the total area of the province were mostly located in Saravan, Khash, and the surrounding areas; medium hazard regions with an approximate area of 19.6% were in Iranshahr and the southeastern part of the province; low hazard regions with an area of about 18.2% were in the southern parts of the province; and very low hazard regions with an approximate area of 12.7% were in Nikshahr and the southern parts of the province.     

Nonlinear genetic-based simulation of soil shear strength parameters

New nonlinear solutions were developed to estimate the soil shear strength parameters utilizing linear genetic programming (LGP). The soil cohesion intercept (c) and angle of shearing resistance (ϕ) were formulated in terms of the basic soil physical properties. The best models were selected after developing and controlling several models with different combinations of influencing parameters. Comprehensive experimental database used for developing the models was established upon a series of unconsolidated, undrained, and unsaturated triaxial tests conducted in this study. Further, sensitivity and parametric analyses were carried out. c and ϕ were found to be mostly influenced by the soil unit weight and liquid limit. In order to benchmark the proposed models, a multiple least squares regression (MLSR) analysis was performed. The validity of the models was proved on portions of laboratory results that were not included in the modelling process. The developed models are able to effectively learn the complex relationship between the soil strength parameters and their contributing factors. The LGP models provide a significantly better prediction performance than the regression models.     

INVESTIGATING MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF NAFTLIGE MUD VOLCANO IN GOLESTAN PROVINCE,EASTERN PART OF THE CASPIAN SEA

Mud volcanoes are geomorphological phenomena and there is a limited volume of knowledge about them. Output of a composition of water, mud, and gas forms the mud volcano phenomenon. Geographical distribution of mud volcanoes indicates their relationship with pressured, rapid and thick sedimentation, which is seen in both tectonically active and inactive zones. Naftlige mud volcano is located in the southwest of the Caspian Sea and west of Gomishan Wetland in Golestan Province, Iran. Since no study has ever been conducted with a specific focus on mud volcanoes, field and laboratory studies were carried out for the first time to overcome the shortage of library resources. The objective was to determine the composition of emerging mud and study its morphometric and geomorphic features so that there would be a method for identifying and introducing some unknown aspects of this mud volcano. Therefore, three samples of this mud volcano which were taken on 27 Apr., 2012 were tested and analyzed using X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray fluorescence techniques to determine the mineral and chemical composition. The results of this analysis showed that, in these three samples, silicon oxide with the chemical formula SiO₂ had 40.88% volatile materials, 19.15% H₂O Loss on Ignition (LOI) and 13.97% calcium oxide. Quartz, calcite and albite formed the three main phases of minerals.     

Accelerating shear velocity in gravel-bed channels

Abstract

The behaviour of the shear velocity along a gravel-bed channel is investigated experimentally in the presence of a negative pressure gradient (accelerating flow). Different methods of estimation of the shear velocity, derived from vertical profiles of the mean longitudinal point velocity, are examined and a new method is proposed. Results show that the proposed method of estimation is comparable to the St Venant and Clauser's methods. At a specific cross section, for constant bottom slope and relative roughness, shear velocity increases with discharge.