Investigation of meandering in Filyos River by means of satellite sensor data

The most significant morphological property of a river is the meandering process, which is dominated and governed by hydraulic, hydrologic and topographic characteristics of the river and its drainage area. It is possible to obtain reliable data on river morphology in the long term by using remotely sensed data. In this study the Filyos River, located at the Western Black Sea region of Turkey, has been selected as the study area to show the capabilities of remote sensing technology and to define the appropriate techniques for achieving the most reliable information on the river morphology by monitoring the meandering processes. The findings of the study indicate that remotely sensed data can be used successfully in defining some basic characteristics of the meandering process on rivers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lg Wave Attenuation in the Isparta Angle and Anatolian Plateau (Turkey)

We estimate Lg wave attenuation using local and regional seismic phases in the Isparta Angle and the Anatolian Plateau (Turkey). The Isparta Angle (IA) is a tectonically active zone forming the boundary between the African Plate and the Anatolian Plateau, and is currently undergoing N–S extensional deformation. The Anatolian Plateau contains many intra-continental faults including the North Anatolian Fault Zone and the East Anatolian Fault Zone as well as the Menderes Massif. A large waveform data set was compiled from a variety of local and regional seismic networks including 121 digital seismic stations (broad-band and short period) between 1999 and 2008 spanning the IA, the Anatolian Plateau and Azerbaijan. The data set was used to determine the nature of Lg wave propagation and characterize the nature of seismic attenuation within the crust of these regions. Lg waveforms were used to calculate the frequency-dependent Lg-Q _o and Lg- $ \eta $ . A wide range of Lg-Q _o values was obtained between ~52 ± 6 and 524 ± 227. Low Lg-Q _o values (~90–155) are calculated towards the north of IA, Iskenderun Gulf and its vicinity, Bingöl-Karl?ova, Izmit and its vicinity. Lg-Q _o values are especially low (<90) along the Menderes Massif and the Aksehir-Simav Fault Zones. This may be due to intrinsic attenuation of Lg associated with the partially molten crust and young volcanism. The high Lg-Q _o values (~350) are probably caused by the crust not being subject to large amounts of extensional deformation like the Antalya Gulf and apparently being thick enough to support Lg propagation. Relatively higher values along the border of this subduction zone and plate boundary might be related to the Taurus Mountain belts and Bitlis-Zagros Suture Zone. The lateral frequency dependency Lg- $ \eta $ is also consistent with high tectonic activity in this region.     

Biodegradability Assessment and Treatability of High Strength Complex Industrial Park Wastewater

Industrial park wastewater (IPWW) includes complex non‐biodegradable organic compounds. A wastewater treatability study using biodegradability assessment approach was carried out for an industrial park housing mainly textile and machinery sectors. Biodegradable and inert chemical oxygen demand (COD) fractions with soluble and particulate counterparts were experimentally estimated by implementing respirometric methods. Aerobic batch test methods and oxygen uptake rate profiles were used to map kinetic parameters and COD fractions. Denitrification potential was also determined by application of anoxic batch tests. Relevant kinetic constants, stoichiometric, and design parameters were determined for biological processes. Tests were carried out for raw and physico‐chemically pre‐treated IPWW. Hence, it was aimed to assess the effects and necessity of pre‐treatment on biological processes. Biological mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification processes were also designed and tested using a bench scale continuous treatment model for pre‐treated IPWW. The sum of initial inert soluble COD fraction and production of soluble microbial products decreased about 25% for the case of pre‐treated IPWW as compared to raw IPWW. Eighty‐three percent total COD and 89% total Kjeldahl nitrogen removal efficiencies were attained for the modeling experiments of pre‐treated IPWW. Results showed the significance of pre‐treatment if complex strength industrial wastewaters are to be biologically treated.     

A technique for improving MODIS standard snow products for snow cover monitoring over Eastern Turkey

Daily snow cover maps at 500 m resolution are available from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. However, information of the ground can only be obtained during clear sky conditions. In addition, the spectral similarity between clouds and snow in the visible part of the spectrum causes some ambiguities in separation of them. The dynamic behavior of clouds with their tendency to move faster often enables discrimination between cloud and snow, since snow remains relatively stationary. In this study, a daily merging methodology to combine Terra and Aqua based snow maps are proposed, and the benefits of this combination are evaluated. The methodology was tested for Eastern Turkey covering the period from December 2002 to March 2003. Merged maps derived from the standard daily snow maps from Terra (MOD10A1) and Aqua (MYD10A1) reduce the cloud cover present in any one image alone, provide better representation of the surface snow cover, and indicate better agreement with ground snow measurements than when either one is used alone. For “on the ground data date” analyses yielded 31% match ratios for MOD10A1 and MYD10A1, whereas combined images enabled 38%. One- to 2-day temporal window shifting enabled further 7% and 5% improvements in match ratios, respectively. The maximum improvement of 25% was achieved in January of 2003. The proposed methodology provides an easy and effective way to improve snow cover maps with little effort and provides fewer cloud-contaminated images for snow monitoring, for hydrology, and water resource management.     

Editorial

Editorial Introduction

Editorial     

iSERVO: Implementing the International Solid Earth Research Virtual Observatory by Integrating Computational Grid and Geographical Information Web Services

We describe the goals and initial implementation of the International Solid Earth Virtual Observatory (iSERVO). This system is built using a Web Services approach to Grid computing infrastructure and is accessed via a component-based Web portal user interface. We describe our implementations of services used by this system, including Geographical Information System (GIS)-based data grid services for accessing remote data repositories and job management services for controlling multiple execution steps. iSERVO is an example of a larger trend to build globally scalable scientific computing infrastructures using the Service Oriented Architecture approach. Adoption of this approach raises a number of research challenges in millisecond-latency message systems suitable for internet-enabled scientific applications. We review our research in these areas.     

Hybrid genetic algorithms in view of the evolution theories with application for the electrical sounding method

The classical genetic algorithm is a stochastic process which operates by natural selection. Although the algorithm may localize a point around the global minimum of the misfit function, it is not efficient at finding the precise solution. This paper suggests some hybrid genetic algorithms, derived from evolution theories, to overcome this problem. Firstly, sexual selection has been incorporated in the classical genetic algorithm to obtain a full representation of the Darwinist evolution concept. The simulation of sexual selection is performed by assigning a higher probability of surviving to some parameters that satisfy some algebraic relationships. This method is called the ‘marked constraints’ algorithm since it permits us to insert geological and geophysical constraints into the problem. The algorithm implementation is realized by progressively shrinking the parameter search space through successive generations. In this way, the genetic algorithm gains some degree of determinism. Secondly, since the evolution theory of Lamarck postulates that the acquired traits are passed on to the next generation, a hybrid use of the damped least‐squares method and the genetic algorithm is called Lamarckian inversion. Lamarckian inversion involves some improvement procedures that simulate the reduction of the misfit with the help of a derivative‐based method between two generations. Finally, although there is no correspondence in nature, Lamarckian and Darwinist evolution concepts are combined to strengthen the deterministic part of the solution algorithm. This is called the Lamarckian‐marked‐constraint algorithm. The merits and behaviours of the suggested algorithms are discussed using two examples. The first is a hypothetical example affected by a multiminima problem. The second examines the equivalence problem using vertical electrical sounding data.     

A kinetic study of copper cementation with zinc in aqueous solutions

Cementation of copper from zinc containing copper solutions using metallic zinc was studied in this work. The effect of copper, zinc and ammonium chloride concentration, stirring speed, pH and temperature on the cementation of copper was determined. Cementation rate increased with initial copper concentration, stirring speed and temperature. pH variation from 1 to 4 increased the cementation rate but at higher pH, the rate was not significantly effected. The cementation rate of copper increased with Zn²⁺ ion concentration. However, the rate of this rise was slightly less compared to the rise that occurred in the Zn²⁺ ions free copper solution.