Modeling and Prediction of Habitat Suitability for Ferula gummosa Medicinal Plant in a Mountainous Area

Natural Resources Research - Habitat suitability modeling and mapping are important aspects of long-term strategies for sustaining plant ecosystems. In this study, seven state-of-the-art machine...     

Geologic relationships and mineralization of peralkaline/alkaline granite-syenite of the Zargat Na’am ring complex, Southeastern Desert, Egypt

Tungsten-bearing hydrothermal veins range from tensional veinlets to lodes containing multiple injections of hydrothermal quartz veins. Major composite lodes display greisen alteration envelopes characterized by enrichments in volatiles, K2O, Al2O3, Rb, L…     

Rock joint modeling using a visco-plastic multilaminate model at constant normal load condition

Rock joints play an important role in the behavior of rock masses under normal and shear loading conditions. Numerical simulation of the behavior of jointed rock masses is not an easy task due to complexities involved in the problem such as joint roughness, joint shear strength, hardening and softening phenomenon and mesh dependency. In this study for modeling purposes, a visco-plastic multilaminate model considering hardening and softening effects has been employed. For providing the necessary data for numerical simulation, a series of laboratory experiments have been carried out on regular tooth-shape asperities made by gypsum, under constant normal load conditions. Shear stress–shear displacement and normal displacement–shear displacement of artificial joint specimens are simulated using the proposed numerical model at constant normal load condition (CNL). The results indicate the capability of the model for simulating rock joints behavior in both strength and deformation field. Although the numerical model has been developed for simulating the behavior of artificial joints, the concept of the method can also be used for natural rock joints.     

Late Eocene marginal marine deposits and paleoenvironment characterisation from the Maadi Formation (Northern Eastern Egypt)

Two beds containing relatively thick and highly concentrated oyster shell banks occurring in the densely fossiliferous Wadi Al Abraq outcrop (Upper Eocene Maadi Formation, Cairo-Sukhna Road, Egypt). Such shell beds are almost monospecific. The upper level consists mainly of Ostrea clotbeyi Bellardi, topped by a considerable concentration of Carolia placunoides Cantraine, while in the lower level occurs Ostrea multicostata Deshayes. In both beds, the upper contact with the overlying marl bed (about 2 m thick) is sharp and sometimes erosive. Similarly, the contact with the underlying shale (1.5 m thick) is sharp and erosional. The shell beds are composed mainly of loosely packed oyster shells and their fragments (usually with a high proportion of disarticulated specimens) set in the sandy limestone matrix. The collected oysters show bioerosion and skeletobiont assemblages. Bioerosion trace fossils comprise ten ichnospecies while skeletozoans comprise five taxa. In general, shells of O. clotbeyi show a higher incidence of bioerosion than O. multicostata. The shells' chaotic orientation and their moderate fragmentation indicate that the shell bed formation was associated with high energy events. On the other hand, the low frequency of articulated specimens suggests that the shell beds are parautochthonous oyster banks' remnants. The taphonomic features of the studied assemblage indicate deposition in a shallow-water, wave-dominated environment.     

Characterization of complex fluvial systems using remote sensing of spatial and temporal water level variations in the Amazon,Congo, and Brahmaputra Rivers

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will provide global, space‐based estimates of water elevation, its temporal change, and its spatial slope in fluvial environments, as well as across lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, and floodplains. This paper illustrates the utility of existing remote sensing measurements of water temporal changes and spatial slope to characterize two complex fluvial environments. First, repeat‐pass interferometric SAR measurements from the Japanese Earth Resources Satellite are used to compare and contrast floodplain processes in the Amazon and Congo River basins. Measurements of temporal water level changes over the two areas reveal clearly different hydraulic processes at work. The Amazon is highly interconnected by floodplain channels, resulting in complex flow patterns. In contrast, the Congo does not show similar floodplain channels and the flow patterns are not well defined and have diffuse boundaries. During inundation, the Amazon floodplain often shows sharp hydraulic changes across floodplain channels. The Congo, however, does not show similar sharp changes during either infilling or evacuation. Second, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission measurements of water elevation are used to derive water slope over the braided Brahmaputra river system. In combination with in situ bathymetry measurements, water elevation and slope allow one to calculate discharge estimates within 2.3% accuracy. These two studies illustrate the utility of satellite‐based measurements of water elevation for characterizing complex fluvial environments, and highlight the potential of SWOT measurements for fluvial hydrology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gravity and magnetic data inversion for 3D topography of the Moho discontinuity in the northern Red Sea area, Egypt

The main goal of our study is to investigate 3D topography of the Moho boundary for the area of the northern Red Sea including Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba. For potential field data inversion we apply a new method of local corrections. The method is efficient and does not require trial-and-error forward modeling. To separate sources of gravity and magnetic field in depth, a method is suggested, based on upward and downward continuation. Both new methods are applied to isolate the contribution of the Moho interface to the total field and to find its 3D topography. At the first stage, we separate near-surface and deeper sources. According to the obtained field of shallow sources a model of the horizontal layer above the depth of 7 km is suggested, which includes a density interface between light sediments and crystalline basement. Its depressions and uplifts correspond to known geological structures. At the next stage, we isolate the effect of very deep sources (below 100 km) and sources outside the area of investigation. After subtracting this field from the total effect of deeper sources, we obtain the contribution of the Moho interface. We make inversion separately for the area of rifts (Red Sea, Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba) and for the rest of the area. In the rift area we look for the upper boundary of low-density, heated anomalous upper mantle. In the rest of the area the field is satisfied by means of topography for the interface between lower crust and normal upper mantle. Both algorithms are applied also to the magnetic field. The magnetic model of the Moho boundary is in agreement with the gravitational one.     

Use of Geophysical and Remote Sensing Data for Assessment of Aquifer Depletion and Related Land Deformation

An integrated approach [field, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), hydrogeology, geodesy, and spatial analysis] was adopted to identify the nature, intensity, and spatial distribution of deformational features (sinkholes, fissures, differential settling) reported over fossil aquifers in arid lands, their controlling factors, and possible remedies. The Lower Mega Aquifer System (area 2 × 10⁶ km²) in central and northern Arabia was used as a test site. Findings suggest that excessive groundwater extraction from the fossil aquifer is the main cause of deformation: (1) deformational features correlated spatially and/or temporally with increased agricultural development and groundwater extraction, and with a decline in water levels and groundwater storage (? 3.7 ± 0.6 km³/year); (2) earthquake events (years 1985–2016; magnitude 1–5) are largely (65% of reported earthquakes) shallow (1–5 km) and increased from 1 event/year in the early 1980s (extraction 1 km³/year), up to 13 events/year in the 1990s (average annual extraction > 6.4 km³). Results indicate that faults played a role in localizing deformation given that deformational sites and InSAR-based high subsidence rates (? 4 to ? 15 mm/year) were largely found within, but not outside of, NW–SE-trending grabens bound by the Kahf fault system. Findings from the analysis of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment solutions indicate that sustainable extraction could be attained if groundwater extraction was reduced by 3.5–4 km³/year. This study provides replicable and cost-effective methodologies for optimum utilization of fossil aquifers and for minimizing deformation associated with their use.