Buildings Damages after Elazığ, Turkey Earthquake on January 24, 2020

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 24, 2020, has been effective in Turkey’s eastern regions. The earthquake, with recorded peak ground acceleration (PGA) value of 0.292 g, caused the destruction or heavy damage of buildings, especially in the city center of Elaz?? province. The purpose of this paper was to share the results of detailed investigation in the earthquake-stricken area. Additionally, the causes of damages and failures observed in the buildings were compared to those that had occurred in previous earthquakes in Turkey. In this study, the damages observed in especially RC buildings as well as in masonry and rural buildings were summarized, the lessons learned were evaluated, and the results were interpreted with reference to Turkish earthquake codes. In the study, it was particularly emphasized why the building stock underwent such damage even though the buildings were exposed to earthquake acceleration well below the design acceleration values.

     

Synthesis of biochar from sugarcane filter-cake and its impacts on physiological performance of lettuce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lettuce sativa</Emphasis>) grown on cadmium contaminated soil

Soil contamination with cadmium has become major concern all over the world because of its adverse impacts on ecosystem health and agricultural land. Soil amendment with biochar may have varied effects on physical and chemical properties of soil. The objective of the study was to explore the impact of sugarcane filter-cake biochar on physiological performance and growth of lettuce in an aged soil. Four different doses (0, 1.5%, 3%, and 5%) of biochar were used in the soil and conditioned for 1 month. After this, lettuce seedlings were grown in the soil. The results showed that the biochar treatment improved the fresh and dry biomass of leaves and roots as well as plant height while diminished the bioavailability of cadmium from the soil. As compared to control, biochar significantly enhanced the chlorophyll content in lettuce leaves. Due to the biochar amendment, the oxidative stress decreased in lettuce shoots over the control. As compared to control, concentration of cadmium in lettuce significantly decreased after the application of biochar. It was concluded that biochar could mitigate the toxicity of cadmium in lettuce by altering the biochemical and physiological processes in cadmium contaminated soil.     

Impact of drilling mud on chemistry and microbiology of an Upper Triassic groundwater after drilling and testing an exploration well for aquifer thermal energy storage in Berlin (Germany)

After completion of an exploration well, sandstones of the Exter Formation were hydraulically tested to determine the hydraulic properties and to evaluate chemical and microbial processes caused by drilling and water production. The aim was to determine the suitability of the formation as a reservoir for aquifer thermal energy storage. The tests revealed a hydraulic conductivity of 1–2 E-5 m/s of the reservoir, resulting in a productivity index of 0.6–1 m³/h/bar. A hydraulic connection of the Exter Formation to the overlaying, artesian “Rupelbasissand” cannot be excluded. Water samples were collected for chemical and microbiological analyses. The water was similarly composed as sea water with a maximum salinity of 24.9 g/L, dominated by NaCl (15.6 g/L Cl and 7.8 g/L Na). Until the end of the tests, the water was affected by drilling mud as indicated by the high pH (8.9) and high bicarbonate concentration (359 mg/L) that both resulted from the impact of sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) additives. The high amount of dissolved organic matter (>?58 mg/L) and its molecular-weight distribution pattern indicated that residues of cellulose, an ingredient of the drilling mud, were still present at the end of the tests. Clear evidence of this contamination gave the measured uranine that was added as a tracer into the drilling mud. During fluid production, the microbial community structure and abundance changed and correlated with the content of drilling mud. Eight taxa of sulfate-reducing bacteria, key organisms in processes like bio-corrosion and bio-clogging, were identified. It can be assumed that their activity will be affected during usage of the reservoir.     

Geospatial assessment of soil erosion intensity and sediment yield: a case study of Potohar Region,Pakistan

Estimation of spatial extent of soil erosion, one of the most serious forms of land degradation, is critical because soil erosion has serious implications on soil fertility, water ecosystem, crop productivity and landscape beauty. The primary objective of the current study was to assess and map the soil erosion intensity and sedimentation yield of Potohar region of Pakistan. Potohar is the rainfed region with truncated and complex topography lying at the top of the Indus Basin, the world’s largest irrigation networks of canals and barrages. Spatially explicit Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) Model integrated with Remote Sensing-GIS techniques was used for detecting/mapping of erosion prone areas and quantification of soil losses. The results show that the Potohar region is highly susceptible to soil erosion with an average annual soil loss of 19 tons ha^?1 year^?1 of which the maximum erosion (70–208 tons ha^?1 year^?1) was near the river channels and hilly areas. The sediment yield due to the erosion is as high as 148 tons ha^?1 year^?1 with an average of 4.3 tons ha^?1 year^?1. It was found that 2.06% of the total area falls under severe soil erosion, 13.34% under high erosion, 15.35% under moderate soil erosion while 69.25% of the area lies in the low (tolerable) soil erosion. Chakwal and Jhelum districts of the region are seriously affected by erosion owing to their topography and soil properties. The information generated in this study is a step forward towards proper planning and implementation of strategies to control the erosion and for protection of natural resources. It is, hence, necessary that suitable water harvesting structures be made to control water to prevent soil erosion and provision of water in the lean season in this region. Tree plantation and other erosion control practices such as strip cropping can also minimize soil erosion in this region.     

Interior boundary-aligned unstructured grid generation and cell-centered versus vertex-centered CVD-MPFA performance

Grid generation for reservoir simulation must honor classical key constraints and be boundary aligned such that control-volume boundaries are aligned with geological features such as layers, shale barriers, fractures, faults, pinch-outs, and multilateral wells. An unstructured grid generation procedure is proposed that automates control-volume and/or control point boundary alignment and yields a PEBI-mesh both with respect to primal and dual (essentially PEBI) cells. In order to honor geological features in the primal configuration, we introduce the idea of protection circles, and to generate a dual-cell feature based grid, we construct halos around key geological features. The grids generated are employed to study comparative performance of cell-centred versus cell-vertex control-volume distributed multi-point flux approximation (CVD-MPFA) finite-volume formulations using equivalent degrees of freedom. The formulation of CVD-MPFA schemes in cell-centred and cell-vertex modes is analogous and requires switching control volume from primal to dual or vice versa together with appropriate data structures and boundary conditions. The relative benefits of both types of approximation, i.e., cell-centred versus vertex-centred, are made clear in terms of flow resolution and degrees of freedom required.     

Health risk of heavy metals from vegetables irrigated with sewage water in peri-urban of Dera Ismail Khan,Pakistan

Health risks of heavy metals in vegetables irrigated with sewage water were investigated in the present study. The findings indicated a massive accumulation of heavy metals in soil and vegetables collected from Dera Ismail khan, Pakistan. The concentration levels of heavy metal in vegetables grown on soil irrigated with untreated sewage water were significantly higher at (P ≤ 0.001) than in vegetables grown on fresh-water-irrigated soil and proceeded the recommended limits of World health organization. Moreover, the findings also indicated that the adults and children consuming such vegetables ingested a large proportion of the selected toxic metals. Health risk index was greater than one for Pb and Cd in all the selected vegetables and was greater than one for Ni in three vegetables like Spinacia oleracea, Benincasa fistulosa and Lactuca sativa. Health risk assessment would be a useful tool for information regarding any threats of heavy metals contamination in vegetables.     

Early Cretaceous sedimentary provenance and structural evolution of the central Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone,Iran: implications for palaeogeographic reconstructions of the northern Neo-Tethyan margin

ABSTRACT

The Early Cretaceous was an important epoch in the evolution of the Earth system in which major tectonic episodes occurred, especially along the Alpine–Himalayan belt. The paucity of reliable palaeogeographic data from the central segment of this geological puzzle, however, hampers the reconstruction of a panoramic view of its Early Cretaceous palaeogeography and geodynamic setting. Here we present multidisciplinary provenance data from Lower Cretaceous strata of the overriding plate of the Neo-Tethyan subduction zone (the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone; SSZ, of central Iran), including structural, basin-fill evolution, petrographic and geochemical analyses. Sandstone provenance analysis of Lower Cretaceous red beds suggests the occurrence of sub-mature litho-quartzose sandstones attributed to an active continental arc margin in convergent setting predominantly derived from plutonic, quartzose sedimentary and metamorphic rocks exposed in the central SSZ. Weathering indices indicate moderate chemical weathering in the source area which may be related to close source-to-sink relationships or arid climate. Our palaeogeographic reconstructions and original geological mapping indicate that the erosion of uplifted basement rocks exposed in horst blocks provided the sediment sources for the syn-extensional deposition of uppermost Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous conglomerates and Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic red beds within a continental retro-arc basin during initiation of the ‘Neo-Tethys 2?. The polyphase tectonic reactivation along the principal fault of the study area controlled the syn- and post-extensional tectonostratigraphic evolution that reflect the corresponding mechanical decoupling/coupling along the northern Neo-Tethyan plate margin.     

Spectral wheat yield prediction modeling using SPOT satellite imagery and leaf area index

As wheat represents the main staple food and strategic crop in Egypt and worldwide and since remote sensing satellite imagery is the tool to obtain synoptic, multi-temporal, dynamic, and time-efficient information about any target on the Earth, the main objective of the current study is to use remote sensing satellite imagery to generate remotely sensed empirical preharvest wheat yield prediction models. The main input parameters of these models are spectral data either in the form of spectral reflectance data released from Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) 4 satellite imagery or in the form of spectral vegetation indices. The other input factor is leaf area index (LAI) that was measured by LAI Plant Canopy Analyzer. The four spectral bands of SPOT4 imagery are green, red, near-infrared, and middle infrared; the five vegetation indices that are forms of ratios between red and near-infrared bands are normalized difference vegetation index, ratio vegetation index, soil-adjusted vegetation index, difference vegetation index, and infrared percentage vegetation index. Another vegetation index is green vegetation index that is calculated through a ratio between green band and near-infrared band. Each of the above-mentioned factors was used as an input factor against wheat yield to generate wheat yield prediction models. All generated models are site-specific limited to the area and the environment and could be applicable under similar conditions in Egypt. The study was carried out in Sakha experimental station by using the dataset from two wheat season 2007/2008 and 2009/2010. The total wheat area was 1.3 ha cultivated by Sakha 93 cultivar. Modeling and validation process were carried out for each season independently. Modeled yield was tested against reported yield through two common statistical tests; the standard error of estimate between modeled yield and reported yield, and the correlation coefficient for a direct regression analysis between modeled and reported yield with each generated model. Generally, as shown from the correlation coefficient of the generated models, green and middle infrared bands did not show good accuracy to predict wheat yield, while the other spectral bands (red and near-infrared) bands showed high accuracy and sufficiency to predict yield. This was proven through the correlation coefficient of the generated models and through the generated models with the wheat crops for the two seasons. Accordingly, the green vegetation index that is generally calculated from green and near-infrared bands showed relatively lower accuracy than the rest of the vegetation index models that are calculated from red and near-infrared bands. LAI showed high accuracy to predict yield as shown from the statistical analysis. The models are applicable after 90 days from sowing stage and applicable in similar regions with the same conditions.     

A new look on the Jurassic formations of the western part of Iraq

The Jurassic succession of western Iraq includes the Ubaid, Hussainiyat, Amij, Muhaiwir, and Najmah formations. Each formation is composed of basal clastic unit overlain by upper carbonate unit. Extensive and huge erosional unconformity occurred at the Triassic–Jurassic boundary due to marked shifting of structural (E–W) strike of the Triassic (Rhaetic) Zor Hauran Formation to (NE–SW) Jurassic formations. Sea level falling (lowstand system tracts) would result in the progradation of the land on the expense of the sea forming the recognizable progradation of the fluvial and deltaic deposits of the lower clastic units of the Jurassic formations, whereas sea level rising (highstand system tract), i.e., sea prograding, causes deposition of the carbonate units of the Jurassic formations system. This progradation resulted to various carbonate environments of deposition ranging from subtidal, intertidal, to supratidal. The main target on most of the exploration blocks in the western part of Iraq focused on the lower Paleozoic successions, whereas prospects in Triassic, Jurassic, and lower Cretaceous targets are less extensive but may have significant potential on certain blocks in both stratigraphic and structural traps. The western part of Iraq was subjected to intermittent pulses of uplifting (sea regression) and subsidence (sea transgression) to form the Jurassic basin system in the area. The Jurassic formations lack the characteristics of petroleum systems. In contrast, in the central and northern parts of Iraq, the Jurassic formations (Najmah and Gotnia formations) were deposited in subsiding basins in which the reservoir and sealed evaporitic rocks existed. In turn, in the western desert of Iraq, the Jurassic formations lack these petroleum system characteristics. Hence, it can be proposed that the petroleum–nonpetroleum inflection could be proposed in the east of area km 160.     

A probabilistic model to improve reconciliation of estimated and actual grade in open-pit mining

Many of the open-pit mines suffer from the lack of reconciliation between estimated and actual grades. In a mining operation, grade reconciliation is the comparison between the values of the estimated grade calculated in exploration stage and the actual grade obtained from more reliable data such as blast holes?? samples. Many different factors affect the degree of reconciliation in a mining operation. In this paper, the factors related to estimated grade which affect the reconciliation process in the exploration stage of the orebody are investigated. These factors constitute the sources of uncertainty for the upcoming phases of the mining life. Among these parameters, the inherent variability, statistical uncertainty, and systematic uncertainty are the most important factors. In this work, these parameters are studied in further detail, and, accordingly, for each of these uncertainties, a correction factor is determined in the proposed model. The model was applied to the study of real data taken from an iron open-pit mine in Iran. The results of the case study indicated that the systematic uncertainty, inherent variability, and statistical uncertainty are, in order, the main sources of uncertainty on grade reconciliation process. Applying the correction factors to estimated grade values has increased the amount of grade reconciliation from 10%, at original condition, to 50%, at new condition, in the case study.