A comparison of landslide susceptibility mapping of the eastern part of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey) by likelihood-frequency ratio and analytic hierarchy process methods

The North Anatolian Fault is known as one of the most active and destructive fault zones which produced many earthquakes with high magnitudes both in historical and instrumental periods. Along this fault zone, the morphology and the lithological features are prone to landslides. Kuzulu landslide, which is located near the North Anatolian Fault Zone, was triggered by snow melting without any precursor, occurred on March 17, 2005. The landslide resulted in 15 deaths and the destruction of about 30 houses at Kuzulu village. There is still a great danger of further landslides in the region. Therefore, it is vitally important to present its environmental impacts and prepare a landslide susceptibility map of the region. In this study, we used likelihood-frequency ratio model and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to produce landslide susceptibility maps. For this purpose, a detailed landslide inventory map was prepared and the factors chosen that influence landslide occurrence were: lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, topographical elevation, distance to stream, distance to roads, distance to faults, drainage density and fault density. The ArcGIS package was used to evaluate and analyze all the collected data. At the end of the susceptibility assessment, the area was divided into five susceptibility regions, such as very low, low, moderate, high and very high. The results of the analyses were then verified using the landslide location data and compared with the probability model. For this purpose, an area under curvature (AUC) and the seed cell area index assessments were applied. An AUC value for the likelihood-frequency ratio-based model 0.78 was obtained, whereas the AUC value for the AHP-based model was 0.64. The landslide susceptibility map will help decision makers in site selection and the site-planning process. The map may also be accepted as a basis for landslide risk-management studies to be applied in the study area.     

Inferring network paths from point observations

The use of geographically referenced point data, such as that obtained from global positioning systems (GPS), is rapidly increasing. However, due to error and uncertainty inherent in most geographic datasets, the ability to accurately associate these point locations with other layers of geographic data is still a challenge. One difficulty in particular is how to associate spatially and temporally referenced point-based observations of a network activity with a network topology such that a continuous network path can be best inferred. In this article, an optimization method for inferring a network path from a temporal sequence of point observations of location is presented. An application to GPS data is provided to highlight various characteristics of the proposed modeling approach relative to several other available techniques.     

An Extended Approach of Particle Swarm Optimization for Shoreline Extraction from RASAT Imagery

This study presents an extended shoreline detection approach from pansharpened images of Turkish RASAT satellite which covers red, green and blue bands of the optical spectrum with 15 m ground resolution and panchromatic band with 7.5 m spatial resolution. The Lake Ercek of Turkey has been selected as the study area, which is a tectonic lake and home to a variety of water birds. The satellite images of the lake taken in 2013 and 2014 were considered for analysis. The proposed shoreline extraction system consists of a sequence of image processing steps in which simple linear clustering (SLIC) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are the main components. SLIC was used to create superpixels that form basis for object-based image analysis while PSO was employed for classifying objects into corresponding classes. The resulting images still contained unwanted artefacts; therefore, a post-processing step was performed to improve the accuracy of segmentation by applying thresholding, morphological processing, and manual editing for noise removal. The proposed framework was applied on two temporal RASAT images to test the variations of defined parameter settings. The success of the proposed system was to obtain shorelines with satisfying accuracy without using NIR band. Finally, the extracted shorelines were vectorised and compared with manually digitized shorelines from pansharpened satellite images for accuracy assessment.     

Effect of shear strain compatibility and incompatibility approaches in the design of high modulus columns against liquefaction: A case study in Christchurch,New Zealand

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - Nowadays, investigating the effectiveness of high modulus columns in liquefaction mitigation is one of the important tasks in earthquake geotechnical...     

Evaluation of diaphragm conditions in AAC floor structures with RC beams

Diaphragm action in floor structures is an important aspect that affects both local behaviors of individual members and consequently, the global response of a structure. The diaphragm action of a built structure, therefore needs to be compatible with the assumed diaphragm condition in the design phase to prevent unpredicted overloading of load bearing members in a seismic action. Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a cost-effective, lightweight and energy efficient material, and its usage as a construction material has rapidly increased in recent decades. However, there is a limited experience regarding the in-plane behavior of the floor structures made of AAC panels in terms of diaphragm action. In this paper, the in-plane response of AAC floors is experimentally investigated and the floor performance of a typical building is analytically investigated according to ASCE 7-16 (ASCE/SEI in Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures, The American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, 2016). Full-scale experiments carried out through loading AAC floors in lateral directions to the panels, either parallel or perpendicular, provided important information about the damage progress and overall performance of such floors. A number of finite element modeling techniques that are generally used for modeling of AAC floors were examined and then validated through comparisons with test results. Finally, the diaphragm condition of a three-story building made of AAC walls and floor panels was assessed. The results indicated that the AAC floors in the examined building can be idealized as rigid diaphragms according to ASCE 7-16.     

Advanced Lake Shoreline Extraction Approach by Integration of SAR Image and LIDAR Data

Noise and an abnormal distributed-image histogram is the main challenge of using SAR data. From this point of view, this study’s authors motivated the non-use of user-defined input parameters. To achieve this purpose, a fuzzy approach was proposed to extract shoreline from SENTINEL-1A data. The parameters in the processing of the SENTINEL-1A image were generated automatically with LIDAR-intensity-derived object-based segmentation results. The LIDAR-intensity image was segmented with the Mean-shift method. The corresponding result was used to estimate the input parameters for fuzzy clustering of the SENTINEL-1A image. Fuzzy segmentation was proposed, due to the expected large number of values regarding water and land classes except for the pixels along the shoreline. The memberships for land and water classes were separately computed. In the proposed approach, the results from LIDAR and SENTINEL-1A dataset are promising, with differences below 1 pixel (10?m) by evaluation with the used reference vector data.     

Chemical Composition and Geologic History of Saline Waters in Aux Vases and Cypress Formations, Illinois Basin

Seventy-six samples of formation waters were collected from oil wells producing from the Aux Vases or Cypress Formations in the Illinois Basin. Forty core samples of the reservoir rocks were also collected from the two formations. Analyses of the samples indicated that the total dissolved solids content (TDS) of the waters ranged from 43,300 to 151,400 mg/L, far exceeding the 35,400 mg/L of TDS found in typical seawater. Cl-Br relations suggested that high salinities in the Aux Vases and Cypress formation waters resulted from the evaporation of original seawater and subsequent mixing of the evaporated seawater with concentrated halite solutions. Mixing with the halite solutions increased Na and Cl concentrations and diluted the concentration of other ions in the formation waters. The elemental concentrations were influenced further by diagenetic reactions with silicate and carbonate minerals. Diagenetic signatures revealed by fluid chemistry and rock mineralogy delineated the water-rock interactions that took place in the Aux Vases and Cypress sandstones. Dissolution of K-feldspar released K into the solution, leading to the formation of authigenic illite and mixed-layered illite/smectite. Some Mg was removed from the solution by the formation of authigenic chlorite and dolomite. Dolomitization, calcite recrystallization, and contribution from clay minerals raised Sr levels significantly in the formation waters. The trend of increasing TDS of the saline formation waters with depth can be explained with density stratification. But, it is difficult to explain the combination of the increasing TDS and increasing Ca/Na ratio with depth without invoking the controversial 'ion filtration' mechanism.     

The effects of dodecylamine, kerosene and pH on batch flotation of Turkey's Tuncbilek coal

The effects of dodecylamine (DDA), kerosene and pH on the recovery of combustible matter and ash content of a lignitic coal from Tuncbilek, Turkey have been studied using a three-variable and two-level (2³) factorial experimental design. The coal sample responded favourably to batch flotation with high recoveries in excess of 95% using both kerosene and DDA respectively. The main effects of all three factors on the recovery are positive. Significance of DDA as a collector, is somewhat greater than that of kerosene, but its selectivity for ash reduction is not significant at the 95% confidence level. The pH-dependence of recovery by these collectors is opposite to each other. The DDA-induced flotation recovery is lowest at pH 9.4, an effect which has been related to precipitation of cationic species of this collector. The kerosene-induced recovery and grade of combustible matter increases with pH and this has been attributed to a better dispersion of coal and its associated clays. The two-way interaction effects are all negative at a smaller level. The main and interaction effects have been discussed on the basis of adsorption at most favourable surface sites, different modes of orientation of DDA species, competition with kerosene, and probable collecting properties of the frother used. The simultaneous effects of the two collectors on the recovery of combustible matter have been discussed at each pH value used.     

Landfill Leachate Treatment: A Case Study for Istanbul City

One of the most important problems arising from landfilling solid wastes is the leachate which contains high amount of pollution. Discharge of leachate without treatment causes negative effects on environmental and public health. In this study, parameters of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (NH₄‐N), and total phosphorus (TP) were examined in the samples taken from the influent and effluent of leachate treatment plant, where Odayeri landfill leachate is treated. Obtained results showed that the treatment plant, which consisted of preanoxic biological treatment system, ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) units were operating with high efficiency. Among the examined parameters during study, COD, TN, NH₄‐N, and TP were found to be treated at the rate of 99, 94.5, 99, and 93.8%, respectively. Landfilling is increasing rapidly in the world and this consequently brings the need of leachate treatment facilities. Therefore, this study is considered to be a guide for construction and operation stages of proposed new treatment plants.