An ecological economics framework for assessing environmental flows: the case of inter-basin water transfers in Lesotho

This paper used the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) that transfers water from the Orange River Basin in Lesotho to the Vaal River Basin in South Africa as a case study to show how environmental sustainability aspects can be integrated into economic development planning. Using the Ecological Social Accounting Matrix (ESAM) for Lesotho that integrates ecological implications of the LHWP with economic benefits of the project, the paper analysed the impact of lost ecological services downstream the LHWP dams in Lesotho on the well-being of households directly affected by the project (riparians) and the general economy of the country. The results revealed that despite significant economic benefits, the project has unintended impacts on ecological resources and services with resultant deleterious well-being implications for riparians. The results from the ESAM analysis indicated that not only the income of riparians is likely to suffer, but also that of other households and social groups, as well as the general economy of Lesotho. While results of the ESAM analysis did not indicate large income impacts on the economy at large, they were significant for riparians. The importance of integrating ecological consequences into impact assessment of IBWT before such transfers can be implemented to ensure sustainable development and considering economy-wide impacts associated with IBWT was proven necessary for a holistic impact assessment of IBWT.     

Landslide susceptibility analysis with a bivariate approach and GIS in Northern Iran

Globally, landslides cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries each year. A landslide susceptibility map describes areas where landslides are likely to occur in the future by correlating some of the principal factors that contribute to landslides with the past distribution of landslides. A case study is conducted in the mountainous northern Iran. In this study, a landslide susceptibility map of the study area was prepared using bivariate method with the help of the geographic information system. Area density (bivariate) method was used to weight landslide-influencing data layers. An overlay analysis is carried out by evaluating the layers obtained according to their weight and the landslide susceptibility map is produced. The study area was classified into five hazard classes: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The percentage distribution of landslide susceptibility degrees was calculated. It was found that about 26% of the study area is classified as very high and high hazard classes.     

Kinematic significance of fold- and fault-related fracture systems in the Zagros mountains, southern Iran

Initiation and formation of folds and the Kazerun high-angle fault zone, in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt, were related to the continuing SW–NE oriented contraction that probably initiated in the Late Cretaceous, and intensified, starting in Miocene, when the Arabian and Eurasian plates collided. The contraction that led to folding and thrusting of the Phanerozoic sequence in the belt has led to the strike–slip reactivation of basement faults that formed during the Precambrian. Two major systems of fractures have developed, under the same regional state of contraction, during the folding and strike–slip faulting processes. Folding led to the formation of a system of fold-related fractures that comprises four sets of fractures, which include an axial and a cross-axial set that trend parallel and perpendicular to the confining fold axial trace, respectively, and two oblique sets that trend at moderate angles to the axial trace. Slip along high-angle, strike–slip faults formed a system of fractures in the damage zone of the faults (e.g., Kazerun), and deformed folds that existed in the shear zone by rotating their axial plane. This fault-related fracture system is made of five sets of fractures, which include the two sets of Riedel shear fractures (R and R′), P- and Y-shear fractures, and an extensional set.

Remote sensing analysis of both fracture systems, in a GIS environment, reveals a related kinematic history for folding outside of the Kazerun shear zone and faulting and deformation (fracturing and rotation of folds) within the Kazerun fault zone. Rotation of the folds and formation of the five sets of the fault-related fractures in the Kazerun shear zone are consistent with a dextral motion along the fault. The mean trends of the shortening directions, independently calculated for the fold- and fault-related fracture systems, are remarkably close (N53 ± 4°E and N50 ± 5°E, respectively), and are perpendicular to the general NW–SE trend of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt. Although segments of the Kazerun fault are variably oriented within a narrow range, the angular relationships between sets of fault-related fractures and these segments remain constant.     

The Devonian–Lower Carboniferous succession in Northwest Peninsular Malaysia

A new stratigraphic nomenclature is proposed for the approximately 600 m thick, mainly clastic transitional sequence between the underlying Mempelam Limestone and overlying Kubang Pasu/Singa Formation in northwest Peninsular Malaysia. This sequence represents shallow marine deposits of the continental margin of the Sibumasu Terrane during the Middle Palaeozoic (Devonian–Carboniferous). It is separated into several formations. The Timah Tasoh Formation is an approximately 76 m sequence consisting of 40 m of laminated tentaculitid shales at the base, containing Monograptus yukonensis Jackson and Lenz and Nowakia (Turkestanella) acuaria Alberti, giving an Early Devonian (Pragian–Emsian) age, and about 36 m of rhythmically interbedded, light coloured argillo-arenites. The Chepor Formation is about 90 m thick and consists mainly of thick red mudstone interbedded with sandstone beds, of Middle to Late Devonian age. A new limestone unit is recognized and named the Sanai Limestone, which contains conodonts of Famennian age. The Binjal Formation consists of red and white mudstone interbedded with sandstone beds showing Bouma sequences. The Telaga Jatoh Formation is 9 m thick and consists mainly of radiolarian chert. The Wang Kelian Formation is composed of thick red mudstone beds interbedded with silty sandstone, and contain fossils indicative of an Early Carboniferous (Visean) age. The succession was deposited on the outer shelf, with depositional environments vertically fluctuating from prodelta to basinal marine. The Devonian–Carboniferous boundary is exposed at Hutan Aji and Kampung Guar Jentik, and indicates a major regressive event during the latest Devonian.     

Video‐based gravel transport measurements with a flume mounted light table

The study of bedload transport processes is constrained by an inability to monitor the mass, volume and grain size distribution of sediment in transport at high temporal frequencies. Building upon a previously published design, we have integrated a high‐resolution (1392 × 1024 pixels) video camera with a light table to continuously capture images of 2–181 mm material exiting a flume. The images are continuously recorded at a rate of 15 to 20 frames per second and are post‐processed using LabView^(?) software, yielding continuous grain‐size‐specific transport information on a per second basis. The video capture rate is sufficient to record multiple images of each grain leaving the flume so that particle velocities can be measured automatically. No manual image processing is required. After calibration the method is accurate and precise for sediment in the 2 mm through to 45 mm grain size classes compared with other means of measuring bedload. Based on a set of validation samples, no statistically significant difference existed between the D₁₀, D₁₆, D₂₅, D₅₀, D₇₅, D₈₄, D₉₀ and D₉₅ determined by sieving captured samples and the D_i values determined with the system. On average the system overpredicted transport by 4 per cent (n = 206, SD = 42%). This error can be corrected easily by simply weighing the mass of sediment that leaves the flume. The technology is relatively inexpensive and provides high‐resolution data on coarse sediment transport out of a flume. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Un exemple de volcanisme calco-alcalin de type orogénique mis en place en contexte de rifting (Cambrien de l'oued Rhebar,Meseta occidentale,Maroc)

The Middle Cambrian calc-alkaline Oued Rhebar volcanic complex (western Meseta, Morocco) compares with rocks originated in orogenic contexts. The La/Nb ratios are relatively high (5.2), suggesting a lithospheric mantle origin. The La/Ta ratios, higher than 26, and the negative Nb anomaly indicate a lithospheric source contaminated by the continental crust. These rocks were generated in the Mesetian Mid-Cambrian rift and would have inherited their orogenic signature from the partial melting of a previously metasomatized mantle. To cite this article: H. El Hadi et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

A Risk-Based Technique to Analyze Flyrock Results Through Rock Engineering System

Flyrock is an adverse effect produced by blasting in open-pit mines and tunneling projects. So, it seems that the precise estimations and risk level assessment of flyrock are essential in minimizing environmental effects induced by blasting. The first aim of this research is to model the risk level associated with flyrock through rock engineering systems (RES) methodology. In this regard, 62 blasting were investigated in Ulu Tiram quarry, Malaysia, and the most effective parameters of flyrock were measured. Using the most influential parameters on flyrock, the overall risk of flyrock was obtained as 32.95 which is considered as low to medium degree of vulnerability. Moreover, the second aim of this research is to estimate flyrock based on RES and multiple linear regression (MLR). To evaluate performance prediction of the models, some statistical criteria such as coefficient of determination (R²) were computed. Comparing the values predicted by the models demonstrated that the RES has more suitable performance than MLR for predicting the flyrock and it could be introduced as a powerful technique in this field.     

Flood hydrograph simulation in ungaged basins: modeling linear–nonlinear storage-discharge relationships in a semiarid mountain region

For the purpose of flood mitigation in a mountain region, this study aims to evaluate the degree of nonlinearity in the hydrologic storage-discharge relationship. The study area includes a mesoscale catchment, its headwater subcatchment, and its large-scale parent basin in the Zagros mountain region of southwestern Iran. Rainfall events are divided into two variable classes, Low Temporal (LT) and High Temporal (HT), based on their heterogeneity across time. For Low Temporal rainfall events, the mesoscale catchment and its headwater subcatchment show strong nonlinear behavior, but their responses tend to be less nonlinear for High Temporal rainfall events. Meanwhile, for High Temporal events, soil moisture has a dominant role in catchment response. On the other hand, a different perspective is drawn for the larger basin because a strong nonlinear response is obtained for all events regardless of temporal heterogeneities and soil moisture conditions, emphasizing the filtering effect of catchment extent on the rainfall–runoff process.