Retrieving spatial variations of land surface temperatures from satellite data–Cairo region,Egypt

Cairo region is characterized by a range of physiographic features, including: flat agricultural lands, bare sandy deserts, highlands, calcareous terrains and urban land use. A time series data-set (300 images) acquired from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer for the period July 2002–June 2015 were utilized to retrieve the spatial variations in the mean land surface temperature (LST) for the above-mentioned surface features. Results showed that vegetation, topography and surface albedo have negative correlations with LST. Vegetation/LST correlation has the maximum regression coefficient (R² = 0.68) and albedo/LST has the minimum (R² = 0.03). Cultivated lands reveal the lowest mean LST (<32 °C), whereas industrial lands exhibit the highest LST (>40 °C) of Cairo region. There is a considerable urban heat island formed at Helwan south of Cairo, where heavy industries are settled. Industrial activities raised the mean LST of the region by at least 4 °C than the surrounding urban lands.     

Scattering and intrinsic attenuation in Cairo metropolitan area using genetic algorithm

A total number of 46 local earthquakes (2.0≤ML≤4.0) recorded in the period 2000–2011 by the Egyptian seismographic network (ENSN) were used to estimate the total (Q_t⁻¹), intrinsic (Q_i⁻¹) and scattering attenuation (Q_sc⁻¹) in Cairo metropolitan area, Egypt. The multiple lapse time window analysis (MLTWA) under the assumption of multiple isotropic scattering with uniform distribution of scatters was firstly applied to estimate the pair of L_e⁻¹, the extinction length inverse, and B₀, the seismic albedo, in the frequency range 3–24 Hz. To take into account the effect of a depth-dependent earth model, the obtained values of B₀ and L_e⁻¹ were corrected for an earth structure characterized by a transparent upper mantle and a heterogeneous crust. The estimated values of Q_t⁻¹, Q_sc⁻¹ and Q_i⁻¹ exhibited frequency dependences. The average frequency-dependent relationships of attenuation characteristics estimated for the region are found to be: Q_t⁻¹=(0.015±0.008)f ^{(−1.02±0.02)}, Q_sc⁻¹=(0.006±0.001)f ^{(−1.01±0.02)}, and Q_i⁻¹=(0.009±0.008)f ^{(−1.03±0.02)}; showing a predominance of intrinsic absorption over scattering attenuation. This finding implies that the pore-fluid contents may have great effect on the attenuation mechanism in the upper crust where the River Nile is passing through the study area. The obtained results are comparable with those obtained in other tectonic regions.     

Postrevolutionary land encroachments in Cairo: Rhizomatic urban space making and the line of flight from illegality

After the January 2011 revolution, new and unpermitted constructions on previously empty land went up across Cairo at striking speed. This paper explores a case of such land encroachments carried out by waste collectors in the neighbourhood of Manshiet Nasser in Cairo, Egypt. It begins with theoretical debates about the production of urban space, arguing that the de Certeauian paradigm, in which urban marginals poach or hijack others' spaces evanescently, fails to account for the way such encroachments produce permanent new spaces rhizomatically alongside the pre‐existing order. The paper then turns to a close examination of the events in Manshiet Nasser. Although in a broad view the actors are marginals living in the ‘informal’ city, the conditions enabling the encroachments were such that only the wealthiest and most powerful members of the ‘community’ benefitted. In a context of generalized ‘illegality’, the squatters rely on practical norms and de facto recognitions to obtain some degree of tenure security. Since these efforts rely on and play off legal norms even as the squatters violate them, the paper argues that property rights in this context should be understood not in classificatory terms based on the legal/illegal binary, but rather through a trajectory of ‘becoming‐legal’: a ‘line of flight’ that approaches legality asymptotically.     

Estimation of frequency dependent coda wave attenuation structure at the vicinity of Cairo Metropolitan Area

Estimation of seismic wave attenuation in the shallow crust in terms of coda wave Q structure previously investigated in the vicinity of Cairo Metropolitan Area was improved using seismograms of local earthquakes recorded by the Egyptian National Seismic Network. The seismic wave attenuation was measured from the time decay of coda wave amplitudes on narrow bandpass filtered seismograms based on the single scattering theory. The frequency bands of interest are from 1.5 to 18 Hz. In general, the values obtained for various events recorded at El-Fayoum and Wadi Hagul stations are very similar for all frequency bands. A regional attenuation law Q _c = 85.66 f ^0.79 was obtained.     

Geologic hazards assessment of Cairo and vicinity

The greater area from Cairo to west of Suez and a smaller area directly around Cairo are subjected to general and detailed analysis of hazard due to geological fractures. Fracture density contour maps and rose diagrams of the fracture trends are provided. Possible natural geologic hazards which might affect the area are discussed. These include landslides, block failure, earthquakes, maars, fumarolic activity, hot springs, caves and possible rejuvenation of old fault systems.     

Scenario-based earthquake loss estimation for the city of Cairo,Egypt

This paper describes a multi-tiered loss assessment methodology to estimate seismic monetary implications resulting from structural damage to the building population in Greater Cairo. After outlining a ground-shaking model, data on geological structures and surface soil conditions are collated using a considerable number of boreholes to produce a classification of different soil deposits. An inventory database for the existing building stock is also prepared. The seismic vulnerability of representative reinforced concrete building models, designed according to prevalent codes and construction practices, is evaluated. Capacity spectrum methods are utilised for assessing the structural performance through a multi-level damage scale. A simplified methodology for deriving fragility curves for non-ductile reinforced concrete building classes that typically constitute the building population of the city is adopted. In addition, suitable fragility functions for unreinforced masonry constructions are selected and used for completing the loss model for the study area. The results are finally used to build an event-based loss model caused by possible earthquakes in the region.     

GLOBALIZATION AND EXTERRITORIALITY IN METROPOLITAN CAIRO

ABSTRACT. Rapid construction of new spaces like hotels, malls, private clubs, and gated communities in Greater Cairo, Egypt produces structures disconnected spatially and conceptually from most of the existing urban fabric. Their spatial concepts and practices, as well as architectural forms and expertise, are based largely on globally available models. Planning and construction are guided by the search for security in the face of real or imagined fear of the urban masses and political upheaval. Concrete walls, guarded entrances, and high‐tech security technology bear witness to these fears. Analysis of the Mena House Hotel, the Grand Egyptian Museum project, and the First Mall in Giza shows how these projects globalize Cairo and localize the global. Often these globalized spaces are remade by creating local and regional ties and design features that were not anticipated by the planners. Such changes shed light on underlying dynamics and contribute to a better understanding of in situ globalization. Whereas their physical features tend to accentuate their globalized nature, these spaces do not exist in isolation from their geographical and cultural contexts. Their everyday realities tell tales of reterritorialization that are frequently overlooked in scholarly debates.     

Fractal geometry of faults in relation to the 12 October 1992 Cairo earthquake

The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the 12 October 1992 Cairo earthquake relates to the spatial geometry of the northern Egyptian fault systems. A box-counting algorithm was used, in a focused down approach (from regional to local scales) to analyze the fractal dimensions of the existing faults. The results indicate that these faults display fractal geometries that are self-similar over two to three orders of magnitude. It is shown that the northwest-southeast (Northern Red Sea) trending fault system has the lowest fractal dimension value. Coincidentally, this fault trend is the one that the fault plane solution shows to be active.     

Factors controlling building susceptibility to earthquakes: 14-year recordings of Islamic archaeological sites in Old Cairo,Egypt: a case study

Cairo City has a large number and different forms of Islamic archaeological sites, in particular, at El-Gammalia and El-Moez streets, as well as Coptic archaeological sites, e.g. at Mari Gergis. Human interference and activities at these historical areas resulted in flooding such sites’ foundations with domestic water, deteriorating its basal courses by salt weathering. The 1992 earthquake is another natural environmental hazard severely affecting many of these sites. The aim of the current study is to examine some factors (of bedrock and buildings) that are expected to control building susceptibility to damage by earthquakes by taking 38 Islamic archaeological sites in the El-Gammalia area as a representative case study. Detailed field recordings of site damage category before and after the quake and continued recording of damage features generated by the 1992 quake over the last 14 years, measuring depth to sub-surface water, measuring buildings’ height before the quake and bedrock sampling at these sites for geotechnical investigations were all considered for achieving this aim. The data has been processed mathematically and graphically (using the Excel package) to examine the main factors responsible for building susceptibility to damage by earthquakes. The selected archaeological sites give an excellent representation of the factors controlling building susceptibility to damage by quakes; it is found that the sites with heights (before the quake) ranging from 12 to 14 m are the most affected ones; the sites with the highest damage category before the quake were more susceptible to more damage by the quake; the sites that had been built on alluvium soil were more affected than those built on the Eocene limestone. The age of these sites has, to a small extent, indirect control on sites’ susceptibility to damage by the quake, particularly in parts flooded with domestic water (i.e. affected by salt weathering). The depth to sub-surface water is an effective parameter on sites’ basal courses (through salt weathering), which, indirectly, control a building’s susceptibility to quakes, particularly where the depth of water ranges from 0.6 to 1.6 m in alluvium bedrock. The alluvium soil at the study area has a liquid limit ranging from 62% to 82%, plastic limit from 37% to 86% and plasticity index from 26% to 46% and free swelling from 27% to 81%. These geotechnical limits for such alluvium bedrock indicate that its clay minerals are mostly montmorrillonite.