Hydrogeochemical evaluation and statistical analysis of groundwater of Sylhet,north-eastern Bangladesh

Acta Geochimica - To investigate the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater 23 shallow, 30 intermediate and 38 deep wells samples were collected from Sylhet district of Bangladesh, and...     

Sedimentary facies of Maastrichtian to Danian deposits in Amur River area, Russian Far East

Sedimentary facies of the Tsagayan Formation is distributed in the eastern Zeya-Bureya Basin has been analyzed. The formation is of the Maastrichtian to Danian in age and characterized by the cyclicity of the fining-upwards successions. Analysis of environmental changes during the K/T boundary is the focus of this study. Five facies have been identified: Facies A, thick and laterally extensive coarse-grained to medium-gained sandstone units, interpreted as channelfill deposits; Facies B, parallel-laminated to massive mudstone units interpreted as interchannel lakes and flood plain deposits; Facies C, sheet-like medium-grained to fine-grained sandstones interpreted as crevasse splay deposits; Facies D, coal to coaly mudstone beds interpreted as deposits of peatlands; Facies E, very poorly sorted sandy mudstone beds interpreted as debris flow deposits. Fluvial environments with the low-relief fiat topography was inferred. A channel transported large volumes of clasts, and a flood basin with interchannel lakes and peatlands was deciphered. Any distinct change of sedimentary environments has not been identified throughout the Tsagayan Formation (including the K/T boundary). However, two beds of debris flow deposits were identified. The one occurs at the uppermost part of the lower Tsagayan Subformation and contains dinosaur fossils. The other is intercalated in the upper Tsagayan Subformation.     

A late Precambrian (∼ 710 Ma) high volcanicity rift in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt

The late Precambrian Shadli Metavolcanics of SE Egypt constitute a slightly metamorphosed bimodal sequence that has been previously interpreted as manifesting volcanic activity at an island arc. We report the first Rb-Sr geochronologic, trace element (including REE), and Nd isotopic data for these rocks. Two types of basalt are recognized, the stratigraphically lower suite having compositions like N-MORB ferrobasalt while the overlying basalt is similar to slightly fractionated E-MORB. The two basalt types were derived from melting of a strongly depleted source, most likely within the upper 60–75 km of the upper mantle. The origin of the felsic melts is problematic, and these could either have fractionated from a mafic melt or resulted from melting of juvenile crust. The mafic and felsic lavas yield a Rb-Sr isochron age of 712±24 Ma that probably represents the time of volcanic eruption. The trace element characteristics of both mafic and felsic members of the Shadli Metavolcanics show few of the hallmarks of subduction-related melts, and we reject the hypothesis that these formed at an island arc. Instead, the field and geochemical data are most consistent with the hypothesis that these rocks originated in a magmatic rift, where the eruption of large volumes of lava accompanied large-scale lithospheric extension. This inference suggests that the tectonic setting of the important 700–715 Ma crust-forming event in NE Africa and Arabia needs to be critically reexamined.

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Zusammenfassung Die spätpräkambrischen Shadli-Metavulkanite in der südöstlichen Eastern Desert von Ägypten sind eine schwach metamorphe bimodale Basalt-Rhyodazit-Abfolge, die bisher als Ausdruck eines Inselbogen-Vulkanismus gedeutet wurde. Zwei Basalt-Typen können aufgrund ihrer unterschiedlichen chemischen Zusammensetzung unterschieden werden: der stratigraphisch untere Typ ist ein N-MORB ähnlicher Ferrobasalt, während der überlagernde Typ Charakteristika eines leicht fraktionierten E-MORB aufweist. Die beiden Basaltvarietäten werden von stark an inkompatiblen Elementen verarmten Schmelzen aus den oberen 60–75 km des Mantels abgeleitet. Die Entstehung der sauren Metavulkanite ist nicht eindeutig geklärt; sowohl Fraktionierung aus einer mafischen Schmelze als auch Aufschmelzung juveniler Kruste vom Inselbogen-Typ sind denkbar. Die mafischen und felsischen Gesteine definieren zusammen ein Rb-Sr-Isochronenalter von 712 ± 24 Ma, das wir als den Zeitraum der Eruption deuten. Die Spurenelement-Verteilung der Shadli-Metavulkanite weist keine der charakteristischen Merkmale von Subduktionsmagmatismus auf, und wir sehen daher keinen direkten Zusammenhang mit einer Inselbogen-Entwicklung. Wir interpretieren den Shadli-Vulkanismus als Resultat eines Riftprozesses in junger kontinentaler Kruste, ähnlich dem Rio Grande-Rift oder dem Afar-Dreieck, wo starke Lithosphärendehnung die Förderung großer Lavamengen ermöglichte. Diese Interpretation stellt das einfache Schema einer panafrikanischen Krustenbildung durch Inselbogen-Addition im arabisch-nubischen Schild in Frage und erfordert eine Neubewertung bisheriger Modellvorstellungen.

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Résumé Les roches volcaniques faiblement métamorphisées du Précambrien tardif de Shadli dans le Sud-Est de l'Egypte se caractérisent par une séquence bimodale qui était jusqu'ici interprétée comme résultant d'un volcanisme d'arc insulaire. Nous présentons ici les premières données isotopiques (Rb-Sr, Nd) obtenues pour ces roches ainsi que des données d'éléments en trace (y compris les Terres Rares). Deux types principaux de basaltes peuvent être distingués: les basaltes qui se trouvent dans la partie inférieure de la colonne stratigraphique, ont une composition comparable aux ferrobasaltes de type N-MORB, tandis que les roches se trouvant dans la partie supérieure de la séquence s'apparentent plutôt aux E-MORB légèrement fractionnés. Les deux types de basalte proviennent de la fusion partielle d'un manteau fortement appauvri, et ce à une profondeur probable de 60 à 75 km dans le manteau supérieur. L'origine des laves acides pose, quant à elle, quelques problèmes: elles peuvent s'être formées par cristallisation fractionnée à partir d'un liquide basique, ou alors elles sont le produit de la fusion partielle d'une croûte juvénile. La combinaison des données Rb-Sr obtenues pour les roches acides et basiques permet l'obtention d'une isochrone définissant un âge de 712 ± 24 Ma. Cet âge est interprété comme datant les éruptions volcaniques. Les données d'éléments en traces obtenues pour les laves basiques et acides ne présentent aucune des caractéristiques associées au volcanisme d'arc insulaire. Par conséquent, nous rejetons l'hypothèse selon laquelle les roches volcaniques de Shadli se seraient formées dans un contexte d'arc insulaire. Les données géochimiques et de terrain seraient plutôt en accord avec une hypothèse selon laquelle les roches volcaniques métamorphiques de Shadli se seraient formées dans une zone de rift où de très volumineux épanchements de laves auraient succédé à une extension à grande échelle de la lithosphère. Cette interprétation des données nous conduit à suggérer un réexamen critique du contexte tectonique entourant la période de formation crustale se situant entre 700 a 715 Ma, dans le nord-est de l'Afrique ainsi qu'en Arabie.

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The GEF/UNDP/IMO Malacca Straits Demonstration Project: Sources of Pollution

The Straits of Malacca is subjected to a great variety of environmental stresses due to its strategic location as a major international shipping lane and the concentration of agriculture, industry and urbanisation which predominate on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This paper gives an overview of the study conducted in the Malacca Straits as part of the GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme on the Prevention and Management of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas, in particular pertaining to the identification of land and sea-based sources of pollution in Malaysia which contributes to the pollution load in the Straits, as well as the assessment of the relative contribution of each source.     

Conceptualization of the hydrogeological system of some sedimentary aquifers in Savelugu–Nanton and surrounding areas,Northern Ghana

Groundwater resources play a pivotal role in the rural water delivery system in Ghana. The hydrogeological system of Middle Voltaian terrain was simulated using available data on hydraulic heads and boundary conditions. The objective was to characterize the general groundwater flow pattern and provide local estimates of the distribution of hydraulic conductivity and recharge fields. The results suggest a predominant NE–SW flow direction, which ties in with the general regional structural trend and indicates that the hydrogeological conditions of the rocks are controlled by structural entities created in the wake of fracturing and/or weathering of the rocks whose primary permeabilities are considerably reduced because of high compaction and low‐grade metamorphism. Calibrated hydraulic conductivities range between 1.90 and 10.81 m/d. The spatial distribution appears to reflect the intensity of fracturing and/or weathering of the rock and the proportion of the clay fraction of the weathered zone. Vertical groundwater recharge has been estimated to range between 0.3% and 4.1% of the annual rainfall. This recharge rate is quite low and reflects the imperviousness of the thick overburden because of high clay content in some places and high compaction in others. Despite this apparently low recharge rate, groundwater resources potential in the area appear to be high, and increased abstraction from existing abstraction wells by up to 50% does not appear to register significant effects on groundwater budgets at the simulated recharge rates. This suggests that the well yields are much lower than the potential of the aquifer system. The apparently low yields might be associated with poor well development and the choice of inappropriate well completion materials. This study recommends a monitoring system to be developed for a much more regional groundwater flow simulation under transient conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Jewish settlement and its economic impact on the West Bank, 1967–1987

This paper focuses on the process of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and its economic consequences in the period from 1967 to the outbreak of the Intifada late in 1987. It attempts to show that this process is the practical application of Israeli objectives which are based on expansion and occupation of neighbouring Arab lands, facilitated by the fashioning of a dual or bifurcate economy there.After the war of June 1967, Israeli occupation authorities started to draw up plans with a view to settling Jews in the West Bank. There has been an increase in the numbers of settlements and settlers, estimated at 122 and 52,000 respectively in 1987. The pattern of settlement distribution is randomly dispersed, although it is concentrated in a region located to the NW of Jerusalem. The settlement began in the Jordan valley and extended gradually westward in the highlands.Jewish settlement has affected economic development of the West Bank, where there were many constraints on Arab agriculture and industry. Inequality is evident between settlers and Palestinians in an economy that has been structurally bifurcated: although settlers represent about 3% of total population of the West Bank, their economic activity constitutes at least 35% of the GDP of the West Bank.     

Sedimentary facies and soft-sediment deformation structures in the late miocene-pliocene Middle Siwalik subgroup,eastern Himalaya,Darjiling District,India

The Himalayan fold-and-thrust belt has propagated from its Tibetan hinterland to the southern foreland since ∼55 Ma. The Siwalik sediments (∼20 - 2 Ma) were deposited in the frontal Himalayan foreland basin and subsequently became part of the thrust belt since ∼ 12 Ma. Restoration of the deformed section of the Middle Siwalik sequence reveals that the sequence is ∼325 m thick. Sedimentary facies analysis of the Middle Siwalik rocks points to the deposition of the Middle Siwalik sediments in an alluvial fan setup that was affected by uplift and foreland-ward propagation of Greater and Lesser Himalayan thrusts. Soft-sediment deformation structures preserved in the Middle Siwalik sequence in the Darjiling Himalaya are interpreted to have formed by sediment liquefaction resulting from increased pore-water pressure probably due to strong seismic shaking. Soft-sediment structures such as convolute lamination, flame structures, and various kinds of deformed cross-stratification are thus recognized as palaeoseismic in origin. This is the first report of seismites from the Siwalik succession of Darjiling Himalaya which indicates just like other sectors of Siwalik foreland basin and the present-day Gangetic foreland basin that the Siwalik sediments of this sector responded to seismicity.     

Spatial analysis of daily rainfall intensity and concentration index in Peninsular Malaysia

This study presents the spatial analysis of daily rainfall intensity and concentration index over Peninsular Malaysia. Daily rainfall data from 50 rainfall stations are used in this study. Due to the limited number of stations, the geostatistical method of ordinary kriging is used to compute the values of daily rainfall concentration and intensity and to map their spatial distribution. The resultant analysis of rainfall concentration indicated that the distribution of daily rainfall is more regular over the west, northwest and southwest regions compared to the east. Large areas of the eastern Peninsula display an irregularity in distribution of daily rainfall. In terms of number of rainy days, analysis of daily rainfall confirms that a large number of rainy days across the Peninsula arise from low-intensity events but only contribute a small percentage of total rain. On the other hand, a low frequency of rainy days with high-intensity events contributes the largest percentage of total rain. The results indicated that the total rain in eastern areas is mainly contributed by the high-intensity events. This finding explains the occurrence of a large number of floods and soil erosions in these areas. Therefore, precautionary measures should be taken earlier to prevent any massive destruction of property and loss of life due to the hazards. These research findings are of considerable importance in providing enough information to water resource management, climatologists and agriculturists as well as hydrologists for planning their activities and modelling processes.     

On the potential of Bartlett Lewis rectangular pulse models for simulating rainfall in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

The applicability of two versions of the Bartlett Lewis rectangular pulse model, the original and the modified model, is discussed for describing the temporal and spatial variation of rainfall patterns observed at 15 raingauge stations in Peninsular Malaysia over the period 1971–2008; 17 different sets of moment combinations are fitted to these models based on the generalized method of moments approach. The common statistics included in all sets are the mean, variance, lag-1 autocorrelation and the probability of dry based on the hourly rainfall data. The analysis was carried out on hourly rainfall data from all 15 stations for all months of the year. Two stations, Petaling Jaya and Kemaman, located on the west and east coasts of the Peninsula, respectively, are considered for illustration of the results, taking the months of July and November, which correspond to the driest and wettest months, corresponding to the southwest monsoon (May–August) and northeast monsoon (November–February), respectively. The best moment combination found for the illustrative results is based on the common statistics, as well as the mean and variance based on 24-h aggregated rainfall data, the inclusion of which successfully improved the model performance; the errors were significantly reduced. It was also found that the performance of the fitted models based on the mean absolute deviate error varies according to the type of Bartlett Lewis model applied: errors are much smaller for the fitted model based on the modified model as compared to the original model. In addition, the fitted statistics: mean, lag-1 autocorrelation and probability of dry are quite well fitted for several aggregated time scales; however, the variances are underestimated in both models for all aggregated time scales, particularly in the case of the original model. The results of extreme value analysis indicate that the modified model failed to reproduce the annual hourly and daily rainfall extremes satisfactorily.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor C. Onof

Citation Hanaish, I.S., Ibrahim, K., and Jemain, A.A., 2013. On the potential of Bartlett Lewis rectangular pulse models for simulating rainfall in Peninsular Malaysia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (8), 1690–1703.