Assessment of temporal variation and sources of PCBs in the sediments of Mediterranean Sea, Mersin Bay, Turkey

Information on temporal distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the coastal sediments of Mediterranean Sea, Mersin was compiled using data published between 1980 and 2009, and the present study. The first congener specific PCB results from the region yield concentration levels of Σ₄₁PCBs in sediments ranging from 0.61 to 1.04 ng g⁻¹. Sediment profiles show penta-, hexa- and hepta-chlorobiphenyls, specifically, #149 and 153 as the most abundant congeners in all samples. Comparison of total PCB concentrations over time suggests no recent PCB input to the region. Using congener specific PCB data for the region, identity and contribution of PCB sources were also predicted using a chemical mass balance -based (CMB) receptor model. The CMB model identified Aroclor 1260 to be the major PCB source in coastal sediments. The potential sources for the PCBs were briefly discussed in terms of their use in various industrial applications.     

Determining and modeling tectonic movements along the central part of the North Anatolian Fault (Turkey) using geodetic measurements

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF), which extends from Karl?ova in Eastern Turkey to the Gulf of Saros in the Northern Aegean Sea, is one of the longest active strike-slip faults in the world with a length of about 1500 km. Within the North Anatolian Shear Zone (NASZ) there are long splays off the main trunk of the NAF veering towards the interior parts of Anatolia. Although the whole shear zone is still seismically active, the major seismicity is concentrated along the main branch of the NAF. Splays of the NAF dissect the shear zone into different continental blocks. The largest splay of the NAF was selected to analyze the distribution of movements between the faults delimiting these blocks. Four years of GPS measurements and modeling results indicate that the differential motion between the Anatolian collage and the Eurasian plate along the central part of the NAF is partitioned between fault splays and varies between 18.7 ± 1.6 and 21.5 ± 2.1 mm/yr with the main branch taking ∼90% of the motion.     

Widespread overspill from a saline density‐current channel and its interaction with topography on the south‐west Black Sea shelf

Seaward of the Bosphorus Strait, the south‐west Black Sea shelf is dominated by the world's largest channel network maintained by a quasi‐continuous saline (ca 35 → 31 psu) underflow. Calculations indicate that >85% of the initial discharge of ca 10⁴ m³s^?1 spills overbank before the shelf edge. This paper documents interaction of the overspill with sea bed topography using multibeam bathymetry, echo‐sounder images of the water column, conductivity–temperature–depth profiles and sediment cores. Overbank spill is widespread, particularly through crevasse channels and on the middle shelf where confinement by channel banks is negligible. Towards the outer shelf, the wind‐driven Rim Current advects mud along the shelf, contributing to levée successions and deposition on stoss sides of elongate transverse ridges. Echo‐sounder profiles reveal metre‐scale eddies over megaflutes, and breaking lee waves and internal hydraulic jumps over ridges. Megaflutes reach 600 m long and 7 m deep, yet form where the underflow, outside the flute, is no thicker than ca 2 to 5 m. Two types of elongate seaward‐facing ridges are recognized. Type 1 ridges, 2 to 5 m high, consist of bivalve‐rich muddy sand in low‐angle (3·5° to 6°) cross‐sets created by the underflow. Type 2 ridges, ca 5 m high, have crests up to 2 km long and a buried wedge‐shaped foundation (the ‘ridge‐core’) comprised of facies similar to Type 1 ridges. These ridge‐cores are blanketed on the landward side by stratified muds, and are capped by obliquely oriented ribs supporting a diverse benthic community. This facies distribution is interpreted to result from stoss‐side and lee‐side velocity and turbulence fluctuations induced by internal hydraulic jumps and breaking lee waves in overspilling portions of the underflow. Experimental results published by W.H. Snyder and co‐workers effectively explain ridge evolution and flow across the ridges, and therefore can be applied with confidence to less easily studied deep‐marine settings swept by turbidity currents.     

A tectonic escape structure: Erciyes pull-apart basin,Kayseri, central Anatolia,Turkey

Abstract

A large sinistral intracontinental transcurrent structure, the Central Anatolian Fault Zone (CAFZ), is located between Erzincan in the northeast and offshore of Anamur county in the southwest of Turkey. Northeastern and southwestern segments of the fault zone are linked to each other by an intervening and approximately N-S-trending transtensional structure, the Erciyes pull-apart hasin (EPB). The Krzihrmak-Erkilet and Dökmeta? segments of the CAFZ bend southwards at about 45°-50° near Kayseri and result in a releasing double bend, which has nucleated both the EPB and its main feature, the Erciyes stratovolcano complex (ESVC) since Middle Pliocene time. The EPB is a ~35-km-wide, 120-km-long, 1.2-km-deep, lazy S-shaped and actively-growing depression with the ESVC forming a high-standing central barrier between the northern and southern parts of the basin. Hence, the EPB appears as two separate basins, namely the ‘Sultansazh?i and Kayseri-Sarimsakli depressions’. However, this is not correct, because development of the EPB and ESVC has been coeval with the volcanic activity producing the ESVC continuing into prehistoric times. Development of the EPB is continuing as indicated by faulted, uplifted and terraced Pleistocene-Early Holocene palaeolake beach deposits, and historical to recent earthquakes. Accumulative throws on the eastern and western margin-bounding faults of the EPB are 1225 m and 720 m respectively and show that basin development has been asymmetrical. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Interpretation of gravity anomalies to delineate some structural features of Biga and Gelibolu peninsulas,and their surroundings (north-west Turkey)

On the basis of gravity data, derived anomaly traces were presented for the interpretation of some shallow structural features of Biga and Gelibolu peninsulas. Since building general understanding of subtle details about subsurface geology is of great importance considering that the study area is tectonically important, some advanced data processing techniques were implemented to gravity anomalies in a detailed manner. The procedures were performed using a MATLAB-based software package (Gravity and Magnetic Interpretation – GMINTERP). First, a finite element method was utilised to produce the residual data-set which is expected to reflect short wavelength anomalies arising from shallower geological structures, and thereafter some derivative-based algorithms were executed to analyse the residual data. The general anomaly patterns obtained from the applications clearly corresponded to the well-known surface geology map of the study area. Derivative-based anomaly maps put forward some findings about the existence of an old caldera structure in the western part of the Biga Peninsula. Additionally, abrupt lateral changes in anomaly amplitudes indicated the presence of some major structural discontinuities. Thus, findings yielded to make significant geological interpretations that might be important for further investigations. This study also showed that GMINTERP software package proved useful in assisting geological interpretation using geophysical potential field data-sets.     

Community structure of epiphytic algae on three different macrophytes at Acarlar floodplain forest （northern Turkey）

The aim of this study was to determine the species composition, biodiversity and, relative abundance of epiphytic algae and their relationship with environmental variables on three different macrophytes( Nymphaea alba, Ceratophyllum demersum, Typha latifolia) at Acarlar Floodplain Forest(AFF). Epiphytic algae were gathered monthly by collecting aquatic plants between November 2011 and October 2012, except in winter when there were no plants. In this study, 67 taxa on N. alba, 66 taxa on C. demersum and 66 taxa on T. latifolia were identified as epiphytic algae. The mean value of species richness was 17, that of diversity was 1.5 and that of evenness was 0.54 for epiphytic algae on N. alba, 17, 1.1, and 0.39 on C. demersum, and 18, 1.64, and 0.56 on T. latifolia, respectively. Oscillatoria sp. and Komvophoron crassum(Vozzen) Anagnostidis and Komárek were the most abundant and consistent epiphytic algal species, occurring in high abundance on all macrophytes. Results show that species composition of epiphytic algae was different, but diversity values were similar on all the macrophytes. The hydrological pulse is one of the most important factors determining the physical and chemical environment of the epiphytic algal community. However, substrate type also affected the colonization by F. capucina, O. sancta, P. catenata, and L. truncicola more than the epiphytic algal seasonality.     

Relatedness between contemporary and subfossil cladoceran assemblages in Turkish lakes

Cladocerans are valuable indicators of environmental change in lakes. Their fossils provide information on past changes in lake environments. However, few studies have quantitatively examined the relationships between contemporary and sub-fossil cladoceran assemblages and no investigations are available from Mediterranean lakes where salinity, eutrophication and top-down control of large-bodied cladocerans are known to be important. Here we compared contemporary Cladocera assemblages, sampled in summer, from both littoral and pelagic zones, with their sub-fossil remains from surface sediment samples from 40 Turkish, mainly shallow, lakes. A total of 20 and 27 taxa were recorded in the contemporary and surface sediment samples, respectively. Procrustes rotation was applied to both the principal components analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) ordinations in order to explore the relationship between the cladoceran community and the environmental variables. Procrustes rotation analysis based on PCA showed a significant accord between both littoral and combined pelagic–littoral contemporary and sedimentary assemblages. RDA ordinations indicated that a similar proportion of variance was explained by environmental variation for the contemporary and fossil Cladocera data. Total phosphorus and salinity were significant explanatory variables for the contemporary assemblage, whereas salinity emerged as the only significant variable for the sedimentary assemblage. The residuals from the Procrustes rotation identified a number of lakes with a high degree of dissimilarity between modern and sub-fossil assemblages. Analysis showed that high salinity, deep water and high macrophyte abundance were linked to a lower accord between contemporary and sedimentary assemblages. This low accord was, generally the result of poor representation of some salinity tolerant, pelagic and macrophyte-associated taxa in the contemporary samples. This study provides further confirmation that there is a robust relationship between samples of modern cladoceran assemblages and their sedimentary remains. Thus, sub-fossil cladoceran assemblages from sediment cores can be used with confidence to track long-term changes in this environmentally sensitive group and in Mediterranean lakes, subjected to large inter-annual variation in water level, salinity and nutrients.     

Adsorption Kinetic and Equilibrium Studies on Removal of Lead(II) onto Glutamic Acid/Sepiolite

In this study, a modified method was used to increase the adsorption of lead ions from aqueous solutions by using modified clay mineral on the laboratory scale. Adsorption experiments have been carried out on the use of both thermal activated sepiolite (TAS) and their glutamate/sepiolite modification (GS) as adsorbents. The experimental data was analyzed using adsorption kinetic models (pseudo first‐ and second‐order equations). The pseudo second‐order kinetic model fitted well to the kinetic data (R² ≥ 0.99). Then, the Freundlich and Langmuir models were applied to describe the uptake of Pb(II) on GS and the Langmuir isotherm model agrees well with the equilibrium experimental data (R² ≥ 0.97). The maximum adsorption capacity was observed to be 128.205 mg/g by GS according to the Langmuir equation. Desorption efficiency of the GS was studied by the batch method using EDTA, HCl, and HNO₃ solutions. Desorption of 69.18, 74.55, and 80% of Pb(II) from GS was achieved with 0.1 M EDTA, 0.1 M HCl, and 0.1 M HNO₃ solutions, respectively. FTIR analysis suggests the importance of functional groups such as amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl during Pb(II) removal. SEM observations demonstrated that an important interaction at the lead‐modified sepiolite interface occurred during the adsorption process. In addition, the thermodynamic constants was calculated that the values of the Gibbs free energy (ΔG*), enthalpy (ΔH*), and entropy (ΔS*) of modification were 86.79 kJ/mol, ?18.91 kJ/mol, and ?354.70 J/mol/K, respectively. The negative value of ΔH* shows exothermic nature of adsorption.     

Evaluation and comparison of landslide susceptibility mapping methods: a case study for the Ulus district,Bartın,northern Turkey

The purpose of this study was to investigate the capabilities of different landslide susceptibility methods by comparing their results statistically and spatially to select the best method that portrays the susceptibility zones for the Ulus district of the Bart?n province (northern Turkey). Susceptibility maps based on spatial regression (SR), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), logistic regression (LR) method, and artificial neural network method (ANN) were generated, and the effect of each geomorphological parameter was determined. The landslide inventory map digitized from previous studies was used as a base map for landslide occurrence. All of the analyses were implemented with respect to landslides classified as rotational, active, and deeper than 5 m. Three different sets of data were used to produce nine explanatory variables (layers). The study area was divided into grids of 90 m × 90 m, and the ‘seed cell’ technique was applied to obtain statistically balanced population distribution over landslide inventory area. The constructed dataset was divided into two datasets as training and test. The initial assessment consisted of multicollinearity of explanatory variables. Empirical information entropy analysis was implemented to quantify the spatial distribution of the outcomes of these methods. Results of the analyses were validated by using success rate curve (SRC) and prediction rate curve (PRC) methods. Additionally, statistical and spatial comparisons of the results were performed to determine the most suitable susceptibility zonation method in this large-scale study area. In accordance with all these comparisons, it is concluded that ANN was the best method to represent landslide susceptibility throughout the study area with an acceptable processing time.