Fuzzy Modeling for Reserve Estimation Based on Spatial Variability

This article addresses a new reserve estimation method which uses fuzzy modeling algorithms and estimates the reserve parameters based on spatial variability. The proposed fuzzy modeling approach has three stages: (1) Structure identification and preliminary clustering, (2) Variogram analysis, and (3) Clustering based rule system. A new clustering index approach and a new spatial measure function (point semimadogram) are proposed in the paper. The developed methodology uses spatial variability in each step and takes the fuzzy rules from input-output data. The model has been tested using both simulated and real data sets. The performance evaluation indicates that the new methodology can be applied in reserve estimation and similar modeling problems     

The variability of ruthenium in chromite from chassignite and olivine‐phyric shergottite meteorites: New insights into the behavior of PGE and sulfur in Martian magmatic systems

The Martian meteorites comprise mantle‐derived mafic to ultramafic rocks that formed in shallow intrusions and/or lava flows. This study reports the first in situ platinum‐group element data on chromite and ulvöspinel from a series of dunitic chassignites and olivine‐phyric shergottites, determined using laser‐ablation ICP‐MS. As recent studies have shown that Ru has strongly contrasting affinities for coexisting sulfide and spinel phases, the precise in situ analysis of this element in spinel can provide important insights into the sulfide saturation history of Martian mantle‐derived melts. The new data reveal distinctive differences between the two meteorite groups. Chromite from the chassignites Northwest Africa 2737 (NWA 2737) and Chassigny contained detectable concentrations of Ru (up to ~160 ppb Ru) in solid solution, whereas chromite and ulvöspinel from the olivine‐phyric shergottites Yamato‐980459 (Y‐980459), Tissint, and Dhofar 019 displayed Ru concentrations consistently below detection limit (<42 ppb). The relatively elevated Ru signatures of chromite from the chassignites suggest a Ru‐rich (~1–4 ppb) parental melt for this meteorite group, which presumably did not experience segregation of immiscible sulfide liquids over the interval of mantle melting, melt ascent, and chromite crystallization. The relatively Ru‐depleted signature of chromite and ulvöspinel from the olivine‐phyric shergottites may be the consequence of relatively lower Ru contents (<1 ppb) in the parental melts, and/or the presence of sulfides during the crystallization of the spinel phases. The results of this study illustrate the significance of platinum‐group element in situ analysis on spinel phases to decipher the sulfide saturation history of magmatic systems.     

Local spatial regression models: a comparative analysis on soil contamination

Spatial data analysis focuses on both attribute and locational information. Local analyses deal with differences across space whereas global analyses deal with similarities across space. This paper addresses an experimental comparative study to analyse the spatial data by some weighted local regression models. Five local regression models have been developed and their estimation capacities have been evaluated. The experimental studies showed that integration of objective function based fuzzy clustering to geostatistics provides some accurate and general models structures. In particular, the estimation performance of the model established by combining the extended fuzzy clustering algorithm and standard regional dependence function is higher than that of the other regression models. Finally, it could be suggested that the hybrid regression models developed by combining soft computing and geostatistics could be used in spatial data analysis.     

Geological and archaeological evidence for post– Roman earthquake surface faulting at Cibyra,SW Turkey

Abstract

The NE-SW-trending Burdur–Fethiye fault zone is one of the major active fault zones of southwestern Turkey and the ancient city of Cibyra is located on this zone. Segments of the Burdur–Fethiye fault zone have ruptured in the historical period and during the 20th century. A detailed investigation in the ancient city of Cibyra showed the presence of faults sinistrally offset sitting rows of the stadium up to 50 cm. In addition, there are broken corners of blocks, collapsed walls, broken columns, and tilted and toppled blocks in existing major buildings in the city centre. Field observations showed that fractures and associated damage at Cibyra Produced by a post-Roman earthquake, possibly during the 417-A.D.-earthquake which had an intensity of 9 on the MSK scale. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS.     

Investigation of a shallow alluvial aquifer using geoelectrical methods: a case from Turkey

Near-surface geophysical methods are commonly used to solve a wide class of geological, engineering and environmental problems. In this study, a geoelectrical survey was performed to investigate an alluvial aquifer. The study area is located in the southwest of the Çubukluda? graben, situated in the south of ?zmir, Turkey. The geophysical studies included the electrical resistivity imaging and self-potential (SP) methods. The resistivity data were acquired along eight profiles in the northern part of the study area by a Wenner-Schlumberger electrode configuration and the data processing was achieved by a tomographic inversion technique. The SP data were collected by gradient technique along 16 profiles. Total field values were calculated for each profile by addition of the successive gradient values, then a total field SP map was obtained. The water-saturated zone in the northern part of the study area was clearly revealed by the electrical resistivity imaging and the SP survey yielded useful information on the subsurface fluid movement.     

Temporal variations of fluoride concentration in Isparta public water system and health impact assessment (SW-Turkey)

Water–rock interaction is one of the prime factors affecting the fluoride contents of surface and groundwater. If fluoride concentration of drinking water has been neglected, excess fluoride can cause serious dental and medical problems on human health, which is well known at Golcuk-Isparta region. In the research area, Egirdir lake, Golcuk lake and surrounding springs have been utilized as drinking water sources. Golcuk lake water and surrounding groundwaters have high fluoride content (1.4–4.6 mg/l), which is above the WHO standards. Fluoride is predominantly supplied by dissolution of fluoride within the fluormicas of volcanics during the circulation of water. Fluoride concentrations of waters have shown variations for dry and rainy seasons depending on the degree of interaction between groundwater and volcanic rocks. It tends to decrease in rainy seasons and increase in dry seasons for all years. In this study, temporal variations and spatial distribution of fluoride concentration in public water system of Isparta were investigated to get benefit using GIS techniques from1990 to 2003 years. Extremely fluoride concentrations were measured in the public water system in 1990 at almost every district of the city. In 2003, fluoride content of the public water system decreased in some district of city due to drinking water has started obtaining from Egirdir lake in 1995. The fluoride contents of Isparta drinking water ought to be modified with suitable mixture of lake waters and groundwater point of view to health impact.     

A comparison of the contribution of zooplankton and nekton taxa to the near-surface acoustic structure of three Turkish seas

The bioacoustics of upper waters of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Mediterranean Sea were studied in October 1999 with an echosounder with 120 and 200 kHz dual‐beam transducers. Net tows were taken to ground‐truth the acoustic volume backscattering. A forward solution was applied to determine significant scatterers of the three seas with regard to detection limits of the frequencies and background noise measured in each sea. The noise was 4 dB higher in the Sea of Marmara than in the other two seas. 200 kHz data showed significant correlation between measured and calculated volume backscattering strength, and density (biomass and abundance) of the taxa. Large‐sized copepods and chaetognaths in the Black Sea, Aurelia, Beroe, chaetognaths and large‐sized and abundant appendicularians in the Sea of Marmara, and fish larvae in the Mediterranean Sea contributed most to the volume backscattering.     

Modeling of tensile strength of rocks materials based on support vector machines approaches

In the predicting of geological variables, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have some drawbacks including possibility of getting trapped in local minima, over training, subjectivity in the determining of model parameters and the components of its complex structure. Recently, support vector machines (SVM) has been found to be popular in prediction studies due to its some advantages over ANNs. Because the least squares SVM (LS‐SVM) provides a computational advantage over SVM by converting quadratic optimization problem into a system of linear equations, LS‐SVM method is also tried in study. The main purpose of this study is to examine the capability of these two SVM algorithms for the prediction of tensile strength of rock materials and to compare its performance with ANN and linear regression (MLR) models. Total porosity, sonic velocity, slake durability index and aggregate impact value were used as input in modeling applications. Favorite performance evaluation measures were employed to assess developed models. The results determined in study indicate that the SVM, LS‐SVM and ANN methods are successful tools for prediction of tensile strength variable and can give good prediction performances than MLR model. Although these three methods are powerful artificial intelligence techniques, LS‐SVM makes the running time considerably faster with the higher accuracy. In terms of accuracy, the LS‐SVM model resulted in error reductions relative to that of the other models. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A copula-based closed-form binary logit choice model for accommodating spatial correlation across observational units

This study focuses on accommodating spatial dependency in data indexed by geographic location. In particular, the emphasis is on accommodating spatial error correlation across observational units in binary discrete choice models. We propose a copula-based approach to spatial dependence modeling based on a spatial logit structure rather than a spatial probit structure. In this approach, the dependence between the logistic error terms of different observational units is directly accommodated using a multivariate logistic distribution based on the Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstein (FGM) copula. The approach represents a simple and powerful technique that results in a closed-form analytic expression for the joint probability of choice across observational units, and is straightforward to apply using a standard and direct maximum likelihood inference procedure. There is no simulation machinery involved, leading to substantial computation gains relative to current methods to address spatial correlation. The approach is applied to teenagers’ physical activity participation levels, a subject of considerable interest in the public health, transportation, sociology, and adolescence development fields. The results indicate that failing to accommodate heteroscedasticity and spatial correlation can lead to inconsistent and inefficient parameter estimates, as well as incorrect conclusions regarding the elasticity effects of exogenous variables.