Taxonomical and Biogeochemical Investigation of Elements in Holocene Mollusk Shells in the South and Southwestern Marmara Basin, Turkey

Concentrations of some heavy metals and trace elements such as Cr,Ga,Ni,Zn,Mo,Cu, Pb,Yb,Y,Nb,Ti,Sr,Ba,Mn,Sc,Co,V,Zr,Fe,Al,W,Se,Bi,Sb,As,Cd in recent mollusk shells and factors affecting their distribution and deposits collected from various depths in the southern and southwestern parts of the Marmara Sea are investigated.The distribution of the elements in the shells is categorized into four groups.Of these,concentrations of 12 elements(As,Bi,Cd,Co,Ga,Mo,Nb, Sb,Se,Sc,W and Yb)are below zero [(0.053-0.79)×10~(-6)];concentrations of seven elements(Cr,Ni, Pb,V,Y,Zr and Cu)are(1.0-6.0)×10~(-6);concentrations of four elements(Ti,Mn,Ba and Zn)are 10- 20×10~(-6);and concentrations of five elements(Si,Al,Fe,Mg and Sr)are(47.44-268.11)×10~(-6).The taxonomic characteristics of the 29 elements were studied separately in mollusk shells such as Chamalea gallina(Linné),Pitar-rudis(Poll),Nassarius reticulatus(Linné),Venerupis senescens (Coocconi),Mytilus galloprovincialis(Lamarck),Mytilaster lineatus(Gemelin in Linné)and Chlamys glabra.It was found that,in mollusk taxonomy,the elements have unique values.In other words, element concentrations in various mollusk shells depend mainly on the taxonomic characteristics of mollusks.In various bionomic environments different element distributions of the same species are attributed to the different geochemical characters of the each environment.Data obtained in this study indicate that the organisms are the most active and deterministic factors of the environment.     

Pb isotopic variability in the modern-Pleistocene Indus River system measured by ion microprobe in detrital K-feldspar grains

The western Himalaya, Karakoram and Tibet are known to be heterogeneous with regard to Pb isotope compositions in K-feldspars, which allows this system to be used as a sediment provenance tool. We used secondary ion mass spectrometry to measure the isotopic character of silt and sand-sized grains from the modern Sutlej and Chenab Rivers, together with Thar Desert sands, in order to constrain their origin. The rivers show a clear Himalayan provenance, contrasting with grains from the Indus Suture Zone, but with overlap to known Karakoram compositions. The desert dunes commonly show ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values that are much higher than those seen in the rivers, most consistent with erosion from Nanga Parbat. This implies at least some origin from the trunk Indus, probably reworked by summer monsoon winds from the SW, a hypothesis supported by bulk Nd and U-Pb zircon dating. Further data collected from Holocene and Pleistocene sands shows that filled and abandoned channels on the western edge of the Thar Desert were sourced from Himalayan rivers before and at 6-8 ka, but that after that time the proportion of high isotopic ratio grains rose, indicating increased contribution from the Thar Desert dunes prior to ∼4.5 ka when flow ceased entirely. This may be linked to climatic drying, northward expansion of the Thar Desert, or changes in drainage style including regional capture, channel abandonment, or active local Thar tributaries. Our data further show a Himalayan river channel east of the present Indus, close to the delta, in the Nara River valley during the middle Holocene. While this cannot be distinguished from the Indus it is not heavily contaminated by reworking from the desert. The Pb system shows some use as a provenance tool, but is not effective at demonstrating whether these Nara sediments represent a Ghaggar-Hakra stream independent from the Indus. Our study highlights an important role for eolian reworking of floodplain sediments in arid rivers such as the Indus.     

Topical Collection: Coastal aquifers in the Middle East and North Africa region

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region suffers from low precipitation and high evaporation. Coastal areas of the MENA region are usually densely populated; hence, the coastal aquifers are easily over-exploited beyond their safe yield, and seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization have been caused by the groundwater-level declines. Four studies in MENA coastal aquifers, on seawater intrusion modeling and aquifer recharge and salinization using isotopes, have been brought together in a topical collection and are discussed in this essay. A brief overview is given of managed aquifer recharge as an effective method to combat groundwater-level decline, seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization in MENA counties.     

Morphometric,statistical, and hazard analyses using ASTER data and GIS technique of WADI El-Mathula watershed,Qena, Egypt

An attempt to carry out morphometric, statistical, and hazard analyses using ASTER data and GIS technique of Wadi El-Mathula watershed, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. Morphometric analysis with application of GIS technique is essential to delineate drainage networks; basin geometry, drainage texture, and relief characteristics, through detect forty morphometric parameters of the study watershed and its sub-basins. Extract new drainage network map with DEM, sub-basin boundaries, stream orders, drainage networks, slope, drainage density, flow direction maps with more details is very necessary to analyze different morphometric and hydrologic applications for the study basin. Statistical analysis of morphometric parameters was done through cluster analysis, regression equations, and correlation coefficient matrix. Clusters analyses detect three independents variables which are stream number, basin area, and stream length have a very low linkage distance of 0.001 (at very high similarity of 99.95%) in a cluster with the basin width. Main channel length and basin perimeter (at very high similarity of 99.83%) are in a cluster with basin length. Using the regression equations and graphical correlation matrix indicates the mathematical relationships and helps to predict the behavior between any two variables. Hazard analysis and hazard degree assessment for each sub-basin were performed. The hazardous factors were detected and concluded that most of sub-basins are classified as moderately to highly hazardous. Finally, we recommended that the flood possibilities should be taken in consideration during future development of these areas.     

Prediction of safety factors for slope stability: comparison of machine learning techniques

Natural Hazards - Because of the disasters associated with slope failure, the analysis and forecasting of slope stability for geotechnical engineers are crucial. In this work, in order to forecast...     

Trend analysis of hydroclimatological variables in Urmia lake basin using hybrid wavelet Mann–Kendall and Şen tests

This paper investigates monthly, seasonal, and annual trends in rainfall, streamflow, temperature, and humidity amounts at Urmia lake (UL) basin and analyzes the interaction between these variables and UL’s water level fluctuation during the 1971–2013 period. Two new methods including nonparametric hybrid wavelet Mann–Kendall test and ?en’s methodology have been used to determine potential trends in the variables and their dominant periods. The results showed significant decreasing trends in the water level and streamflow series, moderate decreasing trend in the rainfall and relative humidity series, and increasing trends in the observed temperature data. The 8- , 12-month, and 2-year periods were detected as the dominant periods of the variables in monthly, seasonal, and annual timescales, respectively. The results from the interaction analysis revealed that the main factor influencing the water level at UL is decreasing trend in the streamflow series. Both the monthly series of UL’s water level and the streamflow series of the stations indicated two start points of significant decreasing trend in 1973 and 1998. Furthermore, a comparative analysis among the applied methods indicated a good agreement between the results of hybrid wavelet Mann–Kendall test and ?en’s trend analyzing method.     

Compositions and sources of extractable organic matter in Mesopotamian marshland surface sediments of Iraq: II. Polar compounds

The concentrations of polar organic compounds including n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols, steroids and triterpenoids were determined in extracts of shallow sediments from the Mesopotamian marshlands of Iraq. The sediments were collected by a stainless steel sediment corer, extracted with a dichloromethane and methanol mixture (3:1 v:v) by ultrasonic agitation and then analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC–MS). The analysis results showed that the n-alkanoic acids ranged from C₈ to C₂₀ with concentrations of 7.8 ± 1.2 μg/g sample, whereas the concentrations of n-alkanols, which ranged from C₁₂ to C₃₉ were from 28.6 ± 4.3 to 121.7 ± 18.3 μg/g sample. The steroids and triterpenoids included stenols, stanols, stenones, stanones, tetrahymanol, tetrahymanone and extended ββ-hopanes. The total concentrations of steroids and triterpenoids ranged from 26.8 ± 4.1 to 174.6 ± 26.2 μg/g and from 0.74 ± 0.11 to 11.2 ± 1.7 μg/g sample, respectively. The major sources of these lipids were from natural vegetation, microbial (plankton) residues and bacteria in the sediments, with some contribution from anthropogenic sources (livestock, sewage and petroleum). Further studies of these wetlands are needed to characterize the input rate, transformation and diagenesis of the organic matter and to assess its various sources.     

Deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard analysis for Gwadar City, Pakistan

Gwadar City is located at the coastline of Pakistan. The city is currently in a phase of development, which is expected to become a future economic hub for Pakistan. This has led us to choose Gwadar for seismic hazard evaluation. Seismic hazard analysis for Gwadar is carried out using deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard analysis techniques. The present study will help in sustainable development of a future large city and economic hub for Pakistan on ways of coping from a major threat of earthquake hazard. In deterministic seismic hazard analysis, line sources were identified close to Gwadar. Based on the analysis of maximum magnitude and closest distance (worse conditions), Makran subduction zone was identified out of all the line sources with earthquake potential of 8.2 at a distance of 30 km. This yielded a peak ground acceleration value of 0.38 g for Gwadar City. In second phase, probabilistic seismic hazard analysis technique with the area source modeling was adopted to acquire results at different return periods. For this purpose, seismic data were collected from the Pakistan Meteorological Department and International Seismological Center (2010) databases for development of a comprehensive data catalog. The a and b values were obtained using regression analysis for each source zone, and probabilistic analysis yielded the results of 0.34 g for a return period of 500 years. As per building codes of Pakistan, areas or cities with ground acceleration greater than 0.32 g are considered in seismic zone 4, and both deterministic and probabilistic hazard analysis place the city in seismic zone 4. These values correspond to rock site with shear wave velocity of 760 m/s.     

Undrained Shear Strength of Normally Consolidated and Overconsolidated Clays from Pressuremeter Tests: A Case Study

Undrained shear strength (s_u) of foundation soil of Marquette interchange near Milwaukee, Wisconsin was evaluated from the results of a number of pressuremeter tests conducted on normally consolidated (NC) organic silts and overconsolidated (OC) silty clay. The s_u-values were interpreted from traditional closed-form methods. The pressuremeter geometry and test sequence as well as response of the soil profiles were also simulated using axisymmetric finite element (FE) method with Cam-Clay soil model. The Cam-Clay model parameters were estimated from laboratory tests on undisturbed soil samples. Results show that the s_u estimated from the rate of cavity pressure change with volumetric strain (referred to as direct traditional method) is almost twice the s_u estimated from an indirect traditional method that estimates s_u from shear modulus, in situ horizontal stress, and ultimate cavity pressure obtained from the cavity pressure curves. The s_u-values predicted from the FE models are lower than those estimated from the traditional methods and shows that the assumption of infinite pressuremeter length in traditional methods results in overprediction of undrained shear strength by a factor of 1.5 for NC clay and 2.2 for OC clay. The results of finite element analysis considering Cam-Clay soil model and finite length for pressuremeters suggest the undrained shear strength of 63 ± 7 kPa for NC organic silt and 259 ± 68 kPa for OC silty clay.     

Public perception of the risk of disasters in a developing economy: the case of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has in recent years experienced frequent disasters, including flooding, epidemics, and dust storms, while many parts of the country are subject to regular earthquake and volcanic activity. The paper examines public perception of the risk of disasters in this interesting socio-cultural and regional environment not already covered by existing literature. A wide national survey conducted between March and May 2012 resulted in 1,164 responses across the 13 regions of Saudi Arabia. The study showed that the majority of the participants have faith that God is in control of the world and that disasters may be a punishment from him. However, this does not hinder their desire to be prepared to cope with disasters. It also highlighted that direct experience with such disasters does not directly influence perception. The research findings lead to the emergence of a number of recommendations regarding raising awareness of hazards and the risk of disasters, including education, training, encouraging voluntary work, and improving public access to vital information resources. A requirement for research into resilience also emerges, to prepare communities to cope with disasters; this is the focus of the authors’ future research.