Current Status of Marine Pollution and Mitigation Strategies in Arid Region: A Detailed Review

Ocean Science Journal - Coastal pollution is becoming a significant threat for both marine ecosystems and humans. Marine pollution and coastal degradation are severely exacerbated by anthropogenic...     

Contamination of diuron in coastal waters around Malaysian Peninsular

The use of antifouling paints to the boats and ships is one among the threats facing coastal resources including coral reefs in recent decades. This study reports the current contamination status of diuron and its behaviour in the coastal waters of Malaysia. The maximum concentration of diuron was 285 ng/L detected at Johor port. All samples from Redang and Bidong coral reef islands were contaminated with diuron. Temporal variation showed relatively high concentrations but no significant difference (P > 0.05) during November and January (North-East monsoon) in Klang ports (North, South and West), while higher levels of diuron were detected during April, 2012 (Inter monsoon) in Kemaman, and Johor port. Although no site has shown concentration above maximum permissible concentration (430 ng/L) as restricted by the Dutch Authorities, however, long term exposure studies for environmental relevance levels of diuron around coastal areas should be given a priority in the future.     

Field evidence of seismites in Quaternary deposits of the Jijel (Eastern Algeria) coastal region

Jijel has been hit by a strong earthquake in 1856 that triggered a destructive tsunami. Field geological investigations show that the marine terrace deposits (Tyrrhenian or likely Eutyrrhenian) exhibit several types of soft sediment deformation features including sismoslumps, thixotropic bowls, thixotropic wedges, and diapir-like structures. In addition, paleo-liquefaction features represented by neptunian and injection dikes have been observed in the sand dune deposits (Aterian or Würm). Furthermore, typical paleo-earthquake-induced ground failures including lateral spreading, paleo-landslides, and sand volcanoes have been observed in recent, likely, Holocene deposits. Such features, remarkably comparable to present-day earthquake-induced ground failures showing clearly repetitive occurrence of past events may constitute a precious material for future paleo-seismic investigation. The various features have been interpreted herein as seismites associated to strong earthquakes produced likely by the potentially active faults previously identified in the area.     

Nagmati River Sub-watershed Prioritization Using PCA,Integrated PCWS,and AHP: A Case Study

Prioritization of potential regions that are severely threatened by soil erosion is a prerequisite for formulating and implementing conservation measures and management practices, particularly in fragile semiarid regions. The present study prioritized eight delineated Nagmati sub-watersheds located in the Kutch District of Gujarat State, India, based on three approaches, namely principal component analysis (PCA), integrated PCA with weighted sum (I-PCWS), and analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and on 10 morphometric erosion risk parameters (ERPs). Sub-watersheds were categorized into three priority classes, namely high, medium, and low. PCA retrieved the three most significant ERPs (i.e., length of overland flow, Lo; drainage texture, Dt; and compactness coefficient, Cc) explaining 86.876% of the variance and exhibiting the highest correlation, i.e., r?=?0.961, 0.986, and 0.934 for the first three principal components. Sub-watersheds SW2 and SW7 were rated high priority, SW1 was rated low priority, and the rest were rated medium priority. The I-PCWS approach revealed that sub-watersheds SW2, SW6, and SW7 were in high-priority zone, followed by SW3, SW4, and SW8 in medium-priority zone and SW1 and SW5 in the low-priority zone. The AHP assigned the highest and lowest ranks to “Lo” and “Cc,” respectively, with consistency ratio of 8.1% and principal eigenvalue of 11.075. Results from AHP revealed sub-watershed SW2 to be the highest priority and sub-watersheds SW1 and SW5 to be the lowest priority. Out of eight prioritized sub-watersheds from three approaches, five were found to be the common priority classes, with SW2, SW6, and SW7 demanding urgent implementation of efficient soil conservation measures to prevent further degradation of the identified regions. Results from I-PCWS approach closely complied with the existing landforms within the study area, and this approach was considered more reliable and robust than the other two approaches. The methodology adopted in this study can be applied to different vulnerable, data-scarce regions to sustainably manage and conserve soil erosion through efficiently framed strategies.

     

Extreme positive Ce-anomalies in a 3.0 Ga submarine volcanic sequence,Murchison Province: Oxygenated marine bottom waters

Systematic positive anomalies of Ce, where Ce/Ce* spans 2.1 to 11.4, are present in basalts and rhyolites of a 2.96 Ga submarine volcanic sequence of the Murchison Province, Western Australia. This volcanic sequence is host to a stratabound Cu–Zn deposit that formed on the seafloor from a seawater hydrothermal system. These are true Ce anomalies as Pr/Pr* < 1. In modern oxygenated marine water Ce is sequestered by Mn-oxides and hydroxides, which coprecipitate with Fe-oxides and hydroxides as nodules and crusts on the ocean floor, as well as Fe–Mn chemical sediments from hydrothermal systems at ocean spreading centers. Fe–Mn sediments have positive Ce anomalies and marine water complementary negative anomalies. Such Ce anomalies have not formerly been reported for Archean hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks. These extreme anomalies are attributed to Mn-transport in shallow-circulating oxygenated marine bottom waters peripheral to the deeper, hotter, hydrothermal system from which the Cu–Zn deposit formed, and record an oxygenated marine environment ~ 500 Ma before the so-called great oxidation event at ~ 2.4 Ga. Results for positive Ce anomalies in the Golden Grove volcanic sequence are complementary to negative anomalies in Archean BIF, collectively stemming from particulate scavenging of Ce^+ 3 in an oxic water column.     

Heterogeneities characterization from velocity logs using multifractional Brownian motion

Well logs provide additional information from the borehole that cannot be derived from other subsurface investigations. Their analysis may bring supplementary features about the earth’s heterogeneities. In previous researches, the logs were modeled using fractional Brownian motions indexed by Hurst (or Hölder) exponents quantifying their global regularity degrees. Indeed, these monofractal models, characterized by the same Hurst exponent, do not allow to study the depth-evolution of the local Hurst parameter. In order to overcome this problem, we propose to model the logs using multifractional Brownian motions and suggest an algorithm, developed previously for financial time series, to estimate the local Hurst exponent function. First, the potential of this algorithm is assessed through its application on synthetic sonic log data simulated by the successive random additions method. We note that the estimated Hurst functions (or regularity profiles) are very close to the theoretical Hurst functions. Second, this analysis is extended to sonic logs data from the KTB pilot borehole (Germany). Using the resulted regularity profiles, we carry out a lithological segmentation and fault identification on the geological layers crossed by the well. We derived also a correlation between the Hurst value variation and the lithological changes.     

Aircraft measurements of sea surface conditions and their relationship to marine boundary-layer dynamics

Through simultaneous measurements, it is possible to demonstrate the relation between sea swell and surface temperature as measured by a thermoradiometer onboard an aircraft. Thermodynamic measurements made on board the aircraft enable analysis of the interaction between swell and surface marine layer dynamics. The cospectral functions of vertical turbulent transfer for sensible and latent heat indicate large-scale dynamic structures which would seem to be initiated by inhomogeneities in the humidity field. A cross-spectral examination of temperature and humidity produces a structure that is common to both parameters and is caused by swell propagation. The data used here were collected during the TOSCANE-T experiment, whose aim was to validate remote sensing scatterometer techniques, by means of an instrumented aircraft designed for atmospheric research.     

The Effect of pH on Electro-osmotic Flow in Argillaceous Rocks

The use of electro-osmosis in geotechnical engineering has been considered since 1930. Its application has been tested in several sectors like the fight against rising damp in porous materials, the consolidation of soils as well as the remediation of the soils contaminated by oil and heavy metals, etc. The paper presents an experimental study of the electrokinetic phenomena resulting from the application of an electric field to argillaceous sandstones. The electroosmotic tests required the development of a completely new experimental device composed of a confining cell, of a system of measurement and control of the pH of the electrolyte near the electrodes, of a system of control and measurement of the voltage and current at the edges of the sample, and of a system of measurement of inlet (anodic) and outlet (cathodic) flows. Various boundary conditions are considered with and without control of pH. In addition, a micro structural modelling of the electrokinetic phenomena makes it possible to quantify the electro osmotic conductivity with a good agreement with experiments.     

An Overview of the Use of Rockbolts as Support Tools in Mining Operations

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Historically, the idea of designing and installing rockbolts in rockmasses can be traced back to the construction of the Snowy Mountain hydroelectric...