Utilization of low quality water of mountain reservoirs: a case study from Al Jabal Al Akhdar,Oman

Al Jabal al Akhdar (Green Mountain) in arid northern Oman has freshwater resources that had supported small communities for hundreds of years. Jabal Akhdar receives more rainfall (300-400 mm) when compared to the desert plains. In the last few years, this region had undergone enormous changes due to rapid development. The resident and transient populations have increased and their activities exert severe stress on the water resources. There are 24 retention reservoirs in the area, but most are eutrophic and the nutrient loading is due to input of animal fecal matter via surface run-off. As expected, these waters contaminated with coliform bacteria and some have pathogenic Escherichia coli. Drinking water needs of all the villages met by groundwater extraction. Because of poor quality, the surface water in the reservoirs is under-utilized. A low-cost low-maintenance treatment system designed, constructed and operated in one village to clean the reservoir water for non-drinking human use. The treatment unit improved the water quality parameters. A survey among the adult male population of the village showed their eagerness to adopt this system and use the treated reservoir water for uses other than agriculture. Establishment of these treatment units in other villages should reduce the pressures on groundwater extraction.     

Mesoscale analysis of failure in quasi‐brittle materials: comparison between lattice model and acoustic emission data

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development and the evolution of the fracture process zone during fracture and damage in quasi‐brittle materials. A model taking into account the material details at the mesoscale is used to describe the failure process at the scale of the heterogeneities. This model is used to compute histograms of the relative distances between damaged points. These numerical results are compared with experimental data, where the damage evolution is monitored using acoustic emissions. Histograms of the relative distances between damage events in the numerical calculations and acoustic events in the experiments exhibit good agreement. It is shown that the mesoscale model provides relevant information from the point of view of both global responses and the local failure process. © 2015 The Authors. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Spatiotemporal trends of temperature extremes in Bangladesh under changing climate using multi-statistical techniques

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The rise in the frequency and magnitude of extreme temperature phenomena across the globe has led to the recurrent incidence of global climate hazards, which...     

Ground Penetrating Radar Applied to Monumental Stone Conservation: Application to the Rock Necropolis of San Vítor de Barxacova in NW Spain

Surveys in Geophysics - This paper deals with the application of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method in the assessment of stone monuments. Compilation of published works and a discussion of...     

Hydrogeochemical processes and multivariate analysis for groundwater quality in the arid Maadher region of Hodna,northern Algeria

Acta Geochimica - This study focused on water quality and hydro-geochemical processes (evolution, origin) in the Maadher region, central Hodna in Algeria. In recent decades, the excessive...     

Rainfall Variability Index (RVI) analysis of dry spells in Malaysia

Natural Hazards - The lower number of rainfall events resulting in drier environment over the years is a crucial phenomenon attracting the concern of all around the world. The impact of rainfall...     

Multi-topographical landscape: comparative vulnerability of climate-induced disaster-prone rural area of Pakistan

Pakistan, being an agro-based economy, is considered most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The country is susceptible to many natural catastrophes and climate-induced events due to intra-geographical and intra-topographical disparities. This paper is an attempt to measure the relative vulnerability of diverse topographies in rural areas of Pakistan using vulnerability and capacity index tool. The results are based on the findings of primary survey data (350 households from 17 rural communities). Accordingly, and as expected, the key relative differences are attributed to topographical conditions besides the basic quandary of rural areas of Pakistan. The topographical attributes are largely linked to the nature of hazards and relative impacts. While the other aspects of vulnerability in all topographies stem out of inappropriate infrastructure, low education, and institutional factors. The absence of multi-sectoral and productive economic opportunities also poses an adverse impact on the resilience of households in rural areas. The women and households headed by females are found relatively more vulnerable than male-headed households.