The construction of a fifth-order Jupiter-Saturn motion: Analytical theory

We construct a fifth-order with respect to masses Jupiter-Saturn secular theory by Hori-Lie canonical technique. The J-S Hamiltonian includes both parts of the perturbing function. The influence of the 2:5 critical terms is taken into consideration. The Jacobi-Radau system of origins is adopted and the theory is expressed in terms of the Poincaré canonical variables.     

Structures controlling U and Th mineralisation in the Gebel Felat area of the south Eastern Desert of Egypt

In the Eastern Desert of Egypt, younger granites host U and Th mineralisations which are concentrated along faults and joints. In particular, the Gebel Felat Pluton is characterised by a high level of radioactivity as shown by an aeroradiometric survey. The U content is 82 ppm and the Th content is 15 ppm in areas of high radioactivity. The rocks are cross-cut by two main sets of fractures trending east-west and northwest-southeast. The contour maps of these two trends can be correlated with the aeroradiometric map of the same area.     

Ecohydrological responses to surface flow across borders: Two decades of changes in vegetation greenness and water use in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River delta

Hydrological and bioclimatic processes that lead to drought may stress plants and wildlife, restructure plant community type and architecture, increase monotypic stands and bare soils, facilitate the invasion of non-native plant species and accelerate soil erosion. Our study focuses on the impact of a paucity of Colorado River surface flows from the United States (U.S.) to Mexico. We measured change in riparian plant greenness and water use over the past two decades using remotely sensed measurements of vegetation index (VI), evapotranspiration (ET) and a new annualized phenology assessment metric (PAM) for ET. We measure these long-term (2000–2019) metrics and their short-term (2014–2019) response to an environmental pulse flow in 2014, as prescribed under Minute 319 of the 1944 Water Treaty between the two nations. In subsequent years, small-directed flows were provided to restoration areas under Minute 323. We use 250 m MODIS and 30 m Landsat imagery to evaluate three vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, EVI2). We select EVI2 to parameterize an optical-based ET algorithm and test the relationship between ET from Landsat and MODIS by regression approaches. Our analyses show significant decreases in VIs and ET for both the 20-year and post-pulse 5-year periods. Over the last 20 years, EVI _Landsat declined 34% (30% by EVI_MODIS) and ET_Landsat-EVI declined 38% (27% by ET_MODIS-EVI), overall ca. 1.61 mm/day or 476 mm/year drop in ET; using PAM ET_Landsat-EVI the drop was from 1130 to 654 mm/year. Over the 5 years since the 2014 pulse flow, EVI_Landsat declined 20% (13% by EVI_MODIS) and ET_Landsat-EVI declined 23% (4% by ET_MODIS-EVI) with a 0.77 mm/day or a 209 mm/year 5-year drop in ET; using PAM ET_Landsat-EVI the drop was from 863 to 654 mm/year. Data and change maps show the pulse flow contributed enough water to slow the rate of loss, but only for the very short-term (1–2 years). These findings are critically important as they suggest further deterioration of biodiversity, wildlife habitat and key ecosystem services due to anthropogenic diversions of water in the U.S. and Mexico and from land clearing, fires and plant-related drought which affect hydrological processes.     

Development Of The Hamiltonian Function Using The Jacobi System Of Reference

In this paper we describe two different methods to expand the second term of the planetary Hamiltonian function. The Jacobi system of coordinates is adopted leading to a unique evaluation of the Hamiltonian. Previous analytical or semi-analytical planetary theories suffer from the drawback of computing the perturbation function for each planet, which is quite cumbersome. The inclinations of planets are referred to a common fixed plane and the longitudes to a common origin. This is necessary when we deal with n > 2 planets. The treatment is straightforward, and no complexities appear throughout the analysis. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geologic hazards assessment of Cairo and vicinity

The greater area from Cairo to west of Suez and a smaller area directly around Cairo are subjected to general and detailed analysis of hazard due to geological fractures. Fracture density contour maps and rose diagrams of the fracture trends are provided. Possible natural geologic hazards which might affect the area are discussed. These include landslides, block failure, earthquakes, maars, fumarolic activity, hot springs, caves and possible rejuvenation of old fault systems.     

The elimination of the critical terms of a first order Uranus-Neptune theory by Hori's method

In this part we determine the value ofS ₁, and in terms of the canonical variables of H. Poincaré. A complete solution of the auxiliary system of equations generated by the Hamiltonian is presented.     

Stability analysis of lateritic waste deposits

In open-pit mines covered with lateritic soil, the sterile ground is stored in specially prepared sites. The waste area must then be enhanced in order to extend storage capacity.

To better understand the effect of an elevated dump, typical laboratory tests (triaxial and oedometer tests) have been performed on the lateritic material. The waste disposal site has been modeled using both limit equilibrium and finite element methods. Different types of finite element models have been run; they take the variation of Young's modulus with depth into account and simulate the effect of construction over various phases. Modeling results are then compared with in situ measurements.     

Effect of spatial resolution of satellite images on estimating the greenness and evapotranspiration of urban green spaces

Urban green spaces (UGS), like most managed land covers, are getting progressively affected by water scarcity and drought. Preserving, restoring and expanding UGS require sustainable management of green and blue water resources to fulfil evapotranspiration (ET) demand for green plant cover. The heterogeneity of UGS with high variation in their microclimates and irrigation practices builds up the complexity of ET estimation. In oversized UGS, areas too large to be measured with in situ ET methods, remote sensing (RS) approaches of ET measurement have the potential to estimate the actual ET. Often in situ approaches are not feasible or too expensive. We studied the effects of spatial resolution using different satellite images, with high-, medium- and coarse-spatial resolutions, on the greenness and ET of UGS using Vegetation Indices (VIs) and VI-based ET, over a 780-ha urban park in Adelaide, Australia. We validated ET with the ground-based ET method of Soil Water Balance. Three sets of imagery from WorldView2, Landsat and MODIS, and three VIs including the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 (EVI2), were used to assess long-term changes of VIs and ET calculated from the different imagery acquired for this study (2011–2018). We found high correspondence between ET-MODIS and ET-Landsat (R² > 0.99 for all VIs). Landsat-VIs captured the seasonal changes of greenness better than MODIS-VIs. We used artificial neural network (ANN) to relate the RS-ET and ground data, and ET-MODIS (EVI2) showed the highest correlation (R² = 0.95 and MSE =0.01 for validation). We found a strong relationship between RS-ET and in situ measurements, even though it was not explicable by simple regressions; black box models helped us to explore their correlation. The methodology used in this research makes a strong case for the value of remote sensing in estimating and managing ET of green spaces in water-limited cities.     

Application of geochemical tracers for the investigations of groundwater resources in semi-arid region (Central-East Tunisia)

Groundwater resources in Mahdia-Ksour Essef region, located in the central-eastern part of Tunisia, suffer from intensive exploitation and degradation of water quality. The assessment of groundwater vulnerability, the well-understanding of geochemical processes and the investigation of groundwater quality variations are of particular importance for water resources management in this semi-arid region. The results of this multi-disciplinary investigation show that groundwaters of Mahdia-Ksour Essef region are flowing from El Jem and Boumerdes regions in the South, towards the Mediterranean Sea and the sebkha of Moknine in the North. The groundwaters are classified as either Na-Cl or Ca-SO₄. Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) confirm a recharge by rapid water infiltration, evaporate surface water and water-rock interaction processes in the salinity increase. The rock-water interaction processes of the mineralization of groundwaters include the cation-exchange reactions and the dissolution of carbonates and evaporate. The high values of the water quality index (WQI) and of the total dissolved solids (TDS) (3.7–11 g/L) of these groundwaters indicate their unsuitability for drinking purpose. Moreover, the combination of the WQI, TDS and nitrate results prove the vulnerability of the studied groundwater to the anthropogenic pollution linked to agriculture and domestic activities and to the salt water contamination.     

Perturbation method in the theory of nonlinear oscillations

Asymptotic recurrence formulas for treating nonlinear oscillation problems are presented. These formulas are based on a Lie transform similar to that described by Deprit for Hamiltonian systems. It is shown that the basic formulas have essentially the same forms as those obtained by Deprit and by the present author in the Hamiltonian case.