Middle Pleistocene bivalves of the İznik lake basin (Eastern Marmara, NW Turkey) and a new paleobiogeographical approach

?znik Lake is a tectonically originated basin mainly controlled by the E–W trending middle strand of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) system. Pleistocene sediments occurring in front of the faults are well exposed both in the northern and in the southern shorelines of the basin. In this study, two endemic brackish water bivalve species, Didacna subpyramidata Pravoslavkev 1939 and Didacna nov. sp. were found in the oldest terrace of the northern Pleistocene sequence. Having characterized morphology, these species serve as stratigraphic indicators in the regional Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Ponto-Caspian region, and thus are well correlated to the assemblages of the early Khazarian subhorizon (Middle Pleistocene). Hence, these data demonstrate that the early Khazarian brackish water sea covered the study area. Additionally, a model for the formation of the basin is proposed: the ?znik lake basin was a gulf of the former Marmara Sea in the early Khazarian, connecting the Marmara to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The subsequent regional prograding uplifts, main dextral strike-slip fault and many normal faults of the NAF Zone cut off the marine connections to the basin, leading to its present location and topographic level.     

Utilizing Natural Liner Materials for Heavy Metal Removal in Simulated Landfill Conditions

Inorganic industrial waste landfills have the potential to contaminate subsurface groundwater supplies through migration of leachates down to the water table and into groundwater aquifers, despite the use of compacted low permeability clay or polyethene liners. This paper aims the removal of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in the leachate from an industrial waste landfill using natural materials (natural zeolite, expanded vermiculite, pumice, illite, kaolinite, and bentonite) as a liner material. Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ concentrations for all treatments decreased during the process. Of all the different natural materials, natural zeolite, expanded vermiculite and pumice, with bentonite, were effective in removing Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ present in the leachate. However, the use of illite and kaolinite with bentonite as liner materials could be of disadvantage in Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ removal from leachate. The adsorption kinetic models were also tested for the validity. The second order kinetics with the high correlation coefficients best described adsorption kinetic data.     

Spatial and temporal controls on historical channel responses – study of an atypical case: Someşu Mic River,Romania

In this paper the spatial and temporal responses of the Some?u Mic River (Romania) to natural and anthropogenic controls over the past 150 years are analysed, based on a series of morphometric parameters extracted from five successive sets of topographic maps and one set of orthophotos. Prior to the intensive hydrotechnical interventions of the last four decades, the river was characterized by a complex alternation of different channel types, resulting in a mixture of alluvial and mixed sinuous – meandering – sinuous anabranched – meandering anabranched reaches, each a few hundred metres to a few kilometres long. The main cause for this spatial behaviour was the local geology. Its effects were intensified by a larger scale slope, slightly higher than along a longitudinal profile with normal concavity, as a consequence of the presence of a 400 m elevation knick‐point located in the catchment area. A generalized maintenance of river in the floodplain perimeter during the entire interval of study (centennial scale), with local planform adjustments and lack of median scale avulsion in lateral tilting areas and along the anabranched reaches, channel lengthening and meander development during hydrological stable periods and channel shortening and increasing of natural cutoffs during periods with higher incidence of floods (decadal scale), and the incapacity of local morphologic changes resulted from human interventions to completely counterbalance general trends (decadal scale), supports the idea of decreasing the amplitude and frequency of important floods, after the end of the Little Ice Age. Channel metamorphosis by canalization, diminishing/elimination of overflows and medium‐scale avulsions by changes in flow regimes (dams) and the presence of dykes in the floodplain perimeter, channel narrowing (43%) and incision (at least after 1945) downstream from dams, and probably because of in‐channel gravel mining are the main anthropically induced changes along the Some?u Mic River. Even if human impact is important, both at the drainage basin scale and along the Some?u Mic River, it has only local impacts, subordinated to climate. The low level of human impact on this river could be the consequence of the higher general slope downstream from 400 m elevation knick‐point, which probably forces the positioning of its effects under an important internal threshold of the fluvial system. This boundary condition defines Some?u Mic River as an atypical river. This study supports the idea that climate has a more important role in the post‐Little Ice Age (LIA) rivers' behaviour than currently accepted. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid earthquake loss assessment after damaging earthquakes

This article summarizes the work done over the last decades regarding the development of new approaches and setting up of new applications for earthquake rapid response systems that function to estimate earthquake losses in quasi-real time after an earthquake. After a critical discussion of relevant earthquake loss estimation methodologies, the essential features and characteristics of the available loss estimation software are summarized. Currently operating near-real-time loss estimation tools can be classified under two main categories depending on the size of area they cover: global and local systems. For the global or regional near-real-time loss estimation systems: GDACS, WAPMERR, PAGER, and NERIES-ELER methodologies are presented together with their loss estimations for the 2009 Abruzzo (L’Aquila) earthquake in Italy. Examples are provided for the local rapid earthquake loss estimation systems, including the Taiwan Earthquake Rapid Reporting System, Real-time Earthquake Assessment Disaster System in Yokohama, Real Time Earthquake Disaster Mitigation System of the Tokyo Gas Co., and Istanbul Earthquake Rapid Response System.     

Earthquake awareness and perception of risk among the residents of Istanbul

Awareness and perception of risk are among the most crucial steps in the process of taking precautions at individual level for various hazards. In this study, we investigated the factors affecting better knowledge and greater risk perception about earthquakes among residents of Istanbul. A field survey was carried out, and a total of 1,123 people were interviewed in two districts of Istanbul with different seismic risk levels and from three (low, moderate and high) socio-economic levels (SEL). The findings showed that although the level of knowledge regarding earthquakes and preparedness for them was promising, it could be improved. The results indicated that future preparedness programmes should target people with lower educational and socio-economic levels. The media were the leading source of information among the respondents. Location of the home was a strong influence on individuals having above average earthquake knowledge and even more on high risk perception. Socio-economic parameters (educational level, economic status, SEL of the sub-district and tenure of the home), gender and attitude score were other factors influencing greater risk perception with regard to earthquakes.     

Petrology and Geochemistry of Post-Collisional Early Miocene Volcanism in the Karacada? Area (Central Anatolia, Turkey)

Early Miocene (ca.?21–18 Ma) volcanism in the Karacada? area comprises three groups of volcanic rocks: (1) calcalkaline suite (andesitic to rhyolitic lavas and their pyroclastics), (2) mildly-alkaline suite (alkali basalt, hawaiite, mugearite, benmoreite and trachydacite), and (3) a single trachyandesitic flow unit. Field observations, 40Ar/39Ar ages and geochemical data show that there was a progressive temporal transition from group 1 to 3 in a post-collisional tectonic setting. The calcalkaline suite rocks with medium-K in composition resemble those of subduction-related lavas, whereas the mildly-alkaline suite rocks having a sodic tendency (Na2O/K2O=1.5–3.2) resemble those of within-plate lavas. Incompatible element and Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics of the suites suggest that the lithospheric mantle beneath the Karacada? area was heterogeneously enriched by two processes before collision: (1) enrichment by subduction-related processes, which is important in the genesis of the calcalkaline volcanism, (2) enrichment by small degree melts from the astenosphere, which dominates the mildly alkaline volcanism. Perturbation of the enriched lithosphere by either delamination following collision and uplift or removal of the subducted slab following subduction and collision (i.e., slab breakoff) is the likely mechanism for the initiation of the post-collision volcanism.     

Geological Modeling of Gold Deposit Based on Grade Domaining Using Plurigaussian Simulation Technique

Mineral resource evaluation requires defining grade domains of an ore deposit. Common practice in mineral resource estimation consists of partitioning the ore body into several grade domains before the geostatistical modeling and estimation at unsampled locations. Many ore deposits are made up of different mineralogical ensembles such as oxide and sulfide zone: being able to model the spatial layout of the different grades is vital to good mine planning and management. This study addresses the application of the plurigaussian simulation to Sivas (Turkey) gold deposits for constructing grade domain models that reproduce the contacts between different grade domains in accordance with geologist’s interpretation. The method is based on the relationship between indicator variables from grade distributions on the Gaussian random functions chosen to represent them. Geological knowledge is incorporated into the model by the definition of the indicator variables, their truncation strategy, and the grade domain proportions. The advantages of the plurigaussian simulation are exhibited through the case study. The results indicated that the processes are seen to respect reproducing complex geometrical grades of an ore deposit by means of simulating several grade domains with different spatial structure and taking into account their global proportions. The proposed proportion model proves as simple to use in resource estimation, to account for spatial variations of the grade characteristics and their distribution across the studied area, and for the uncertainty in the grade domain proportions. The simulated models can also be incorporated into mine planning and scheduling.     

The characteristics of the chemical flow within the Motru catchment area, south — west Romania

The present paper, with reference to the Motru catchment area, contributes to the hydrochemical studies at an international level and to the completion of the characteristics regarding the chemical flow in Romania. In this regard, it emphasizes once again the dependence between the content of dissolved salts (fixed residue — mg/l) on the one hand and the lithological conditions, human activity, flow and the surface of the catchments on the other hand. The calculation and the analysis of the chemical flow for the Motru catchment area (located in the south-west of Romania) was performed on the basis of two parameters: the average flow of dissolved chemical substances (mg/s) and specific average chemical flow (t/kmp year) recorded at the monitoring stations on the Motru River and its tributaries during the period 2005–2009. The values obtained (for example: 2.63 mg/s and 47.7 t/km² year, at the Fata Motrului station, on the Motru River, in 2009) confirm the importance of the areal factors of natural background in the analysis of chemical flow as a morpho-dynamic process and implicitly for the chemical quality of surface waters.     

The effects of elevation on thermal bioclimatic conditions in Uludağ (Turkey)

This study compares the thermal bioclimatic conditions recorded at Bursa (100 m) and Uluda? (1878 m) meteorological stations at 7:00, 14:00 and 21:00 LST (local standard time) between 1975 and 2006, by using the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), which is calculated from meteorological parameters. The effects of elevation-dependent environmental and atmospheric conditions on thermal perception (i.e., PET) values were analyzed and assessed. The analysis showed that the mean annual difference between PET values in Bursa and Uluda? was 12 ºC. The difference was lower in winter (9 ºC PET) and higher in summer (15 ºC PET). The highest difference between PET values occurred in the afternoon (16 ºC PET) and the lowest difference occurred in the morning (8.4 ºC PET). The differences occur as a result of high altitude and higher surface albedo due to snowfall, which leads to lower PET values and thus to less comfortable thermal conditions. The mean PET values of Bursa and Uluda? decrease 0.67 ºC every 100 m.     

Geomechanical Evaluation of Derinkuyu Antique Underground City and its Implications in Geoengineering

Derinkuyu Underground City, located in the Cappadocia Region of Turkey, is an important structure not only for its antique and archaeological characteristics, but also as a structure in terms of the long-term stability of underground rock structures excavated by mankind. The authors carried out some observational, experimental and theoretical rock mechanics studies in the region from 1996 in the context of a research project supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan for the assessment of the long-term behaviour of Derinkuyu Underground City, and these studies are still continuing. In addition to the monitoring of the environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture and air pressure, they also installed acoustic emission (AE) and electrical potential (EP) measurement systems to monitor the behaviour and response of the surrounding rock at the fifth and seventh floors of the underground city. In this article, the geology, seismicity and state of stress of the Cappadocia Region, climatic conditions in the underground city and its vicinity, short- and long-term behaviours of the surrounding rock, its index and mechanical properties, and effects of water content and freezing–thawing processes were investigated. The stability of Derinkuyu Underground City was also evaluated using theoretical and numerical methods, and the results were presented. Furthermore, its implications in modern geoengineering are also discussed.