Mesoscale and Nutrient Conditions Associated with the Massive 2008 Cochlodinium polykrikoides Bloom in the Sea of Oman/Arabian Gulf

Cochlodinium polykrikoides formed large blooms in the coastal waters of Oman from October 2008 through mid-January 2009, and satellite images from Aqua-MODIS and region-wide reports suggest that this bloom was found throughout the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman for more than 10 months. The unusual occurrence of this species appears to have supplanted the more regularly occurring bloom species, Noctiluca scintillans, in 2008–2009. For the first 2 weeks of the coastal Omani bloom, C. polykrikoides abundance was near monospecific proportions, with cell densities ranging from 4.6?×?10³ to 9?×?10⁶ cells L^?1 and very high levels of chlorophyll a (78.0 μg L^?1) were also recorded. The regional progression of the bloom likely began with stronger than normal upwelling along the Iranian and northern Omani coasts during the southwest monsoon in late summer, followed by discharge of unusually warm coastal plume water along the coast of Oman with the reversal of monsoonal winds in late October. The occurrence and persistence of high densities of C. polykrikoides in Oman coastal water were also significantly influenced by an elevated nutrient load and warmer than normal temperatures. Concentrations of nutrients, especially NH₄ ⁺, urea, PO₄ ^3?, and organic nitrogen and phosphorus, were manyfold higher than observed in the year prior or since. These findings suggest that mesoscale features were important in bloom dynamics more regionally, but locally the bloom was sustained by nutrient enrichment supplemented by its mixotrophic capabilities.     

Groundwater quality assessment and its suitability in Çeltikçi plain (Burdur/Turkey)

The Çeltikçi (Burdur) plain is located in the southwest of Turkey and is a semi-closed basin. Groundwater is densely used as drinking, irrigation and domestic water in the plain. Hydrogeochemical processes controlling groundwater chemistry and geochemical assessment of groundwater were investigated in the Çeltikçi (Burdur/Turkey) plain. In this study, groundwater samples for two seasons were analyzed and major ion chemistry of groundwater was researched to understand the groundwater geochemistry. Two major hydrochemical facies (Ca–HCO₃ and Ca–Mg–HCO₃) were determined in the area. Various graphical plots and multivariate statistical analysis were used for identifying the occurrence of different geochemical processes. In the study area, weathering is one of the key geochemical processes which controlled the solute concentration in groundwater. Chemical indexes such as sodium adsorption ratio, %Na, residual sodium carbonate, magnesium hazard and permeability index were calculated and results show that groundwater is suitable for irrigation purpose except for permeability index values. Concentrations of Mn, NO₃ and total hardness exceed the prescribed limits of WHO and are the major limiting parameters of groundwater use for potable and domestic purposes.     

Carbonate weathering and connate seawater influencing karst groundwaters in the Gevas–Gurpinar–Güzelsu basins,Turkey

There are 59 springs at the Gevas–Gurp?nar–Güzelsu basins, 38 of these springs emerge from the fractured karst aquifers (recrystallized limestone and travertine) and 21 emerge from the Yuksekova ophiolites, K?rkgeçit formation and alluvium. The groundwater samples collected from 38 out of the total of 59 springs, two streams, one lake and 12 wells were analyzed physico-chemically in the year 2002. EC and TDS values of groundwater increased from the marble (high altitude) to the ophiolites and alluvium (toward Lake Van) as a result of carbonate dissolution and connate seawater. Five chemical types of groundwater are identified: Ca–Mg–HCO₃, Mg–Ca–HCO₃, Mg–Na–HCO₃, Na–Ca–HCO₃ and Mg–Ca–Na–HCO₃. The calculations and hydrochemical interpretations show that the high concentrations of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and HCO₃ ^? as predominant ions in the waters are mainly attributed to carbonate rocks and high pCO₂ in soil. Most of the karst springs are oversaturated in calcite, aragonite and dolomite and undersaturated in gypsum, halite and anhydrite. The water–rock interaction processes that singly or in combination influence the chemical composition of each water type include dissolution of carbonate (calcite and dolomite), calcite precipitation, cation exchange and freshening of connate seawater. These processes contribute considerably to the concentration of major ions in the groundwater. Stable isotope contents of the groundwater suggest mainly direct integrative recharge.     

Characteristics of lipid tracer compounds transported to the Arabian Gulf by runoff from rivers and atmospheric dust transport

River runoff and atmospheric fallout (dust and air particulate matter) are major input sources of natural and anthropogenic terrestrial organic and inorganic components to the Arabian seas. In this study, we report on the various lipid tracer compounds that might be transported to the Arabian Gulf by rivers, dust, and air particulate matter. These are based on geochemical analysis of sediment, dust, and particulate samples collected from Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The samples were extracted with a dichloromethane/methanol mixture and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The extractable organic compounds (lipids) in the samples include n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols, methyl n-alkanoates, steroids, triterpenoids, carbohydrates, and petroleum hydrocarbons. The steroids and triterpenoids were major components in river and wetland samples. The major sources of these lipids were from natural vegetation, microbial (plankton and bacteria) residues in the sediments, sand, and soils, with some contribution from anthropogenic sources. Accordingly, these sources could be major inputs to the Arabian seas besides the autochthonous marine products. Future studies of the organic and inorganic biogeochemistry on river, dust, and coastal areas are needed to characterize the various regional sources, transformation, and diagenetic processes of the organic matter en route to the marine environment.     

A quantitative assessment of changes in seasonal potential predictability for the twentieth century

Changes over the twentieth century in seasonal mean potential predictability (PP) of global precipitation, 200 hPa height and land surface temperature are examined by using 100-member ensemble. The ensemble simulations have been conducted by using an intermediate complexity atmospheric general circulation model of the International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy. Using the Hadley Centre sea surface temperature (SST) dataset on a 1° grid, two 31 year periods of 1920–1950 and 1970–2000 are separated to distinguish the periods of low and high SST variability, respectively. The standard deviation values averaged for the (“Niño-3.4”; 5°S–5°N, 170°W–120°W) region are 0.71 and 1.15 °C, for the periods of low and high SST variability, respectively, with a percentage change of 62 % during December–January–February (DJF). The leading eigenvector and the associated principal component time series, also indicate that the amplitude of SST variations have positive trend since 1920s to recent years, particularly over the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) region. Our hypothesis states that the increase in SST variability has increased the PP for precipitation, 200 hPa height and land surface temperature during the DJF. The analysis of signal and noise shows that the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio is much increased over most of the globe, particularly over the tropics and subtropics for DJF precipitation. This occurs because of a larger increase in the signal and at the same time a reduction in the noise, over most of the tropical areas. For 200 hPa height, the S/N ratio over the Pacific North American (PNA) region is increasing more than that for the other extratropical regions, because of a larger percentage increase in the signal and only a small increase in noise. It is also found that the increase in seasonal mean transient signal over the PNA region is 50 %, while increase in the noise is only 12 %, during the high SST variability period, which indicates that the increase in signal is more than the noise. For DJF land surface temperature, the perfect model notion is utilized to confirm the changes in PP during the low and high SST variability periods. The correlation between the perfect model and the other members clearly reveal that the seasonal mean PP changed. In particular, the PP for the 31 years period of 1970–2000 is higher than that for the 31 years period of 1920–1950. The land surface temperature PP is increased in northern and southern Africa, central Europe, southern South America, eastern United States and over Canada. The increase of the signal and hence the seasonal mean PP is coincides with an increase in tropical Pacific SST variability, particularly in the ENSO region.     

The role of in situ stress in determining hydraulic connectivity in a fractured rock aquifer (Australia)

Fracture network connectivity is a spatially variable property that is difficult to quantify from standard hydrogeological datasets. This critical property is related to the distributions of fracture density, orientation, dimensions, intersections, apertures and roughness. These features that determine the inherent connectivity of a fracture network can be modified by secondary processes including weathering, uplift and unloading and other mechanisms that lead to fracture deformation in response to in situ stress. This study focussed on a fractured rock aquifer in the Clare Valley, South Australia, and found that fracture network connectivity could be discriminated from several geological, geophysical and hydrogeological field datasets at various scales including single well and local- to regional-scale data. Representative hydromechanical models of the field site were not only consistent with field observations but also highlighted the strong influence of in situ stress in determining the distribution of fracture hydraulic apertures and the formation of hydraulic chokes that impede fluid flow. The results of this multi-disciplinary investigation support the notion that the hydraulic conductivity of a fracture network is limited to the least hydraulically conductive interconnected fractures, which imposes a physical limit on the bulk hydraulic conductivity of a fractured rock aquifer.     

Re-appraisal of earthquake catalog in the Pamir―Hindu Kush region,emphasizing the early and modern instrumental earthquake events

Journal of Seismology - The Pamir-Hindu Kush region is seismically the most dynamic and active zone that went through many devastating earthquakes. While much research is ongoing to produce seismic...     

Failure and flow development of a collapse induced complex landslide: the 2005 Kuzulu (Koyulhisar, Turkey) landslide hazard

Koyulhisar located in a slope of hilly region and constructed in the side of a mountain along the North Anatolian Fault Zone is frequently subject to landslides. A catastrophic landslide occurred on the morning of 17 March 2005 in the North of the Kuzulu district of Koyulhisar (Sivas, Turkey). This landslide caused widespread loss of life, and damage to buildings, and lifelines. Fifteen people were dead and five were injured, 21 houses and a minaret were covered and damaged severely. The case study presented in this paper describes and analyses the results of the detailed surveys of an interesting landslide in Kuzulu district of Koyulhisar (Sivas, Turkey), based on field and laboratory measurements and monitoring of the slide area. Landslide initiated as a collapse, and developed into debris avalanches in the valley. This phenomenon caused a disaster in the Kuzulu district. The importance of this landslide in particular has been recognized both in terms of its consequence for the people and structures and in terms of its role in allowing an understanding of process and properties of landslide triggered by a collapse in limestone karst. In view of the potential for such events to occur again in this area and environs, understanding of the failure mechanism is very crucial.     

Color Removal from Synthetic Textile Wastewater by Sono‐Fenton Process

In this study, the oxidative decolorization of C.I. reactive yellow 145 (RY 145) from synthetic textile wastewater including RY 145 and polyvinyl alcohol by Fenton and sono‐Fenton processes which are the combination of Fenton process with ultrasound has been carried out. The effects of some operating parameters which are the initial pH of the solution, the initial concentration of Fe²⁺, H₂O₂, and the dye, temperature, and agitation speed on the color and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals have been investigated. The optimum conditions have been found as [Fe²⁺] = 20 mg/L, [H₂O₂] = 20 mg/L, pH 3 for Fenton process and [Fe²⁺] = 20 mg/L, [H₂O₂] = 15 mg/L, pH 3 for sono‐Fenton process by indirectly sonication at 35 kHz ultrasonic frequency and 80 W ultrasonic power. The color and COD removal efficiencies have been obtained as 91 and 47% by Fenton process, and 95 and 51% by sono‐Fenton processes, respectively. Kinetic studies have been performed for the decolorization of RY 145 under optimum conditions at room temperature. It has been determined that the decolorization has occurred rapidly by sono‐Fenton process, compared to Fenton process.