Hydromagnetic-gravity wave critical levels in the solar atmosphere

It is shown that the discontinuous jump in the vertical wave energy flux of slow hydromagnetic-gravity waves, occurring at a critical level, which is accompanied by wave absorption, and the existence of a reflection point imply that slow waves are trapped in the solar atmosphere. Thus such a system behaves as a leaky wave guide.     

Radiation transfer for an inhomogeneous half-space with an internal source

The emergent flux for radiation transfer in an inhomogeneous half-space with internal source is obtained in terms of the source-function of the diffuse reflection problem. Modified Eddington method is used to calculate the diffuse problem and, hence, the emergent flux. Numerical result are given and compared with previous work.On leave of absence from the Nuclear Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.     

Open cluster membership probability based on K-means clustering algorithm

In the field of galaxies images, the relative coordinate positions of each star with respect to all the other stars are adapted. Therefore the membership of star cluster will be adapted by two basic criterions, one for geometric membership and other for physical (photometric) membership. So in this paper, we presented a new method for the determination of open cluster membership based on K-means clustering algorithm. This algorithm allows us to efficiently discriminate the cluster membership from the field stars. To validate the method we applied it on NGC 188 and NGC 2266, membership stars in these clusters have been obtained. The color-magnitude diagram of the membership stars is significantly clearer and shows a well-defined main sequence and a red giant branch in NGC 188, which allows us to better constrain the cluster members and estimate their physical parameters. The membership probabilities have been calculated and compared to those obtained by the other methods. The results show that the K-means clustering algorithm can effectively select probable member stars in space without any assumption about the spatial distribution of stars in cluster or field. The similarity of our results is in a good agreement with results derived by previous works.     

GIS-based multi-criteria land suitability analysis for sustainable agriculture in the northeast area of Tadla plain (Morocco)

Assessment of soil suitability for sustainable intensive agriculture is an appropriate tool to select the land suitable for agricultural production with the least economic and environmental costs. This study was conducted to evaluate the agricultural soil quality in the northeast area of Tadla plain (Morocco) using geographic information system (GIS) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Six soil quality indicators, i.e., pH, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, texture, salinity and slope were considered and performed in 60 subsurface soil samples. AHP method was utilized to identify the weight of each indicator from the pairwise comparison matrix. The weighted sum overlay analysis was then used to generate the soil quality map in a GIS environment, by overlaying both indicator weights and sub-indicator weights. The studied area was classified into four soil quality categories, i.e., poor, medium, good, and excellent, the percentage of each category is 1.12, 20.98, 61.07 and 16.83%, respectively. The results indicated that 1.12% of the study area has poor suitability for sustainable intensive agriculture due to their unsuitable texture and low salinity, while about 77% of cultivated soils are adapted to agricultural production. The above results could be useful for the management of agricultural activity.     

Investigation of RS and GIS techniques on MPSIAC model to estimate soil erosion

Soil erosion due to surface water is a standout among the serious threat land degradation problem and an hazard environmental destruction. The first stage for every kind of soil conservation planning is recognition of soil erosion status. In this research, the usability of two new techniques remote sensing and geographical information system was assessed to estimate the average annual specific sediments production and the intensity erosion map at two sub-basins of DEZ watershed, southwest of Lorestan Province, Iran, namely Absorkh and Keshvar sub-basins with 19,920 ha, using Modified Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee (MPSIAC) soil erosion model. At the stage of imagery data processing of IRS-P6 satellite, the result showed that an overall accuracy and kappa coefficient were 90.3% and 0.901, respectively, which were considered acceptable or good for imagery data. According to our investigation, the study area can be categorized into three level of severity of erosion: moderate, high, and very high erosion zones. The amount of specific sediments and soil erosion predicted by MPSIAC model was 1374.656 and 2396.574 m³ km^?2 year^?1, respectively. The areas situated at the center and south parts of the watershed were subjected to significant erosion because of the geology formation and ground cover, while the area at the north parts was relatively less eroded due to intensive land cover. Based on effective of nine factors, the driving factors from high to low impact included: Topography > Land use > Upland erosion > Channel erosion > Climate > Ground cover > Soil > Runoff > Surface geology. The measured sediment yield of the watershed in the hydrometric station (Keshvar station) was approximately 2223.178 m³ km^?2 year^?1 and comparison of the amount of total sediment yield predicted by model with the measured sediment yield indicated that the MPSIAC model 38% underestimated the observed value of the watershed.     

Leachability of radium-226 from industrial phosphogypsum waste using some simulated natural environmental solutions

This study investigated the leaching of radium-226 from phosphogypsum (PG) waste produced from the fertilizer industry by synthetic solutions that replicate water that may contact the waste in natural conditions. The results indicated that the activity concentration of Ra-226 in the PG was 461 ± 12 Bq kg^?1 and compared with other studies carried out worldwide. The leached percentage of Ra-226 represents the exchangeable fraction loosely bounded in the matrix of the PG waste. The leached fraction of Ra-226 was 6.5 ± 0.6 and 9.0 ± 0.5% when the waste was exposed to rainwater and saline solution, respectively. It is also found that the leaching fraction increased 10–12 ± 0.4% when the waste was exposed to the admixture of saline solution containing Sr²⁺ or Ba²⁺ cations, whereas it was lowered to 4–5 ± 0.5% in the presence of carbonate or sulfate anions. When the PG is used as an economic fertilizer, the irrigation water can leach 7.8 ± 0.6% of Ra-226 that could contribute to plant uptake, thereby to animal and/or human consumption. The primary tests of the drinking water (well and tap resources) consumed by the populations surround the PG facility showed that the activity concentration of Ra-226 was below the minimum detectable activity.     

Numerical heat and fluid flow modeling of the Hercynian Draa Sfar polymetallic (Zn–Pb–Cu) massive sulfide deposit,Central Jbilets,Morocco

Draa Sfar is a polymetallic (Zn–Pb–Cu) volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit with an actual resource of 13 Mt at 4.0% Zn and 1.3% Pb. It is part of the central Jbilets area known for its several Cu–Zn ore deposits. The ore is hosted in the upper Visean-Namurien sedimentary formation. Owing to the complexity of the geology of the ore deposits, numerical simulation approach was attempted to shed light into the temperature distribution, the circulation of the hydrothermal fluid and the genesis of massive sulfide ore bodies by evaluating the permeability, porosity, and thermal conductivity. On the basis of this simulation approach, the ore is predicted to be deposited at a temperature ranging between 230 and 290 °C. This temperature range is dependent on the pre-existing temperature of the discharge area where a metal-rich fluid precipitated the ore. The duration of the Draa Sfar ore body formation is predicted to be 15, 000 to 50, 000 years. Based on geological studies of Draa Sfar deposit together with the aforementioned results of the simulation approach, an ore genetic model for the massive sulfide ore bodies is proposed. In this model, the supply of ore-forming fluids is ensured by the combination of seawater and magmatic waters. Magma that generated rhyodacite dome acted as the heat source that remobilized the circulation of these ore-bearing fluids. The NW-SE trending faults acted as potential pathways for both the downward and upward migration of the ore-forming fluids. Due to their high permeability, the ignimbritic facies, host rocks of Draa Sfar ore bodies, have favored the circulation of the fluids. The mixing between the ore-forming fluids of magmatic origin and the descending seawaters and/or in situ pore waters led to the formation the ore bodies in 35,000 years. The position and size of the ore body, determined by the simulation approach, is consistent with the actual field geological data.     

Mapping of slow landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula using the California landslide inventory and persistent scatterer interferometry

Extremely slow landslides, those with a displacement rate <16 mm/year, may be imperceptible without proper instrumentation. These landslides can cause infrastructure damage on a long-term timescale. The objective is to identify these landslides through the combination of information from the California landslide inventory (CLI) and ground displacement rates using results from persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI), an interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) stacking technique, across the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California. A total of 34 ENVISAT radar images (acquired between 2005 and 2010) and 40 COSMO-SkyMed radar images (acquired between 2012 and 2014) were processed. An InSAR landslide inventory (ILI) is created using four criteria: minimum PS count, average measured ground velocity, slope angle, and slope aspect. The ILI is divided into four categories: long-term slides (LTSs), potentially active slides (PASs), relatively stable slopes (RSSs), and unmapped extremely slow slides (UESSs). These categories are based on whether landslides were previously mapped on that slope (in the CLI), if persistent scatterers (PSs) are present, and whether PSs are unstable or stable. The final inventory includes 263 mapped landslides across the peninsula, of them 67 landslides were identified as UESS. Although UESS exhibit low velocity and are relatively small (average area of 8865 m² per slide), their presence in a highly populated area such as the Palos Verdes Peninsula could lead to destruction of infrastructure and property over the long term.     

Distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the transitional environment of the Djerba lagoon (Tunisia)

The eastern edge of the Djerba Island represents an important tourist pole. However, studies describing the environmental processes affecting this Island are scarce. Although never studied before, the peculiar Djerba lagoon is well known by the local population and by tourists. In July 2014, surface sediment and seawater samples were collected in this lagoon to measure grain size, organic matter content and living foraminiferal assemblages to describe environmental conditions. Seawater samples were also collected and the concentration of 17 chemical elements were measured by ICP-OES. The results show that a salinity gradient along the studied transect clearly impacts seagrass distribution, creating different environmental conditions inside the Djerba lagoon. Biotic and abiotic parameters reflect a transitional environment from hypersaline to normal marine conditions. Living benthic foraminifera show an adaptation to changing conditions within the different parts of the lagoon. In particular, the presence of Ammonia spp. and Haynesina depressula correlates with hypersaline waters, whilst Brizalina striatula characterizes the parts of the lagoon colonized by seagrass. Epifaunal species, such as Rosalina vilardeboana and Amphistegina spp. colonize hard substrata present at the transition between the lagoon and the open sea.     

Novel applications of fluid inclusions and isotope geochemistry in unravelling the genesis of fossil travertine systems

The Denizli Basin is a fault‐bounded Neogene–Quaternary depression located in the Western Anatolian Extensional Province, Western Turkey. The basin is a unique geological site with abundant active and fossil (Quaternary) travertine and tufa deposits. Fluid inclusion microthermometry and isotopic analysis were applied to study the genesis of the Ball?k fossil travertine deposits, located in the south‐eastern part of the basin. Microthermometry on fluid inclusions indicates that the main travertine precipitating and cementing fluids are characterized by low salinity (<0·7 wt% NaCl equivalent) and variable temperatures that cluster at <50°C and ca 100°C. Fluids of meteoric origin have been heated by migration to the deeper subsurface, possibly in a local high geothermal gradient setting. A later uncommon cementation phase is related to a fluid with a significantly higher salinity (25·5 to 26·0 wt% bulk). The fluid obtained its salinity by interaction with Late Triassic evaporite layers. Strontium isotopes indicate that the parent carbonate source rock of the different travertine precipitates is very likely to be the Triassic limestone of the Lycian Nappes. Carbon isotopes suggest that the parent CO₂ gas originated from thermal decarbonation of the Lycian limestones with minor contributions of magmatic degassing and organic soil CO₂. Oxygen isotopes confirm the meteoric origin of the fluids and indicate disequilibrium precipitation because of evaporation and degassing. Results were integrated within the available geological data of the Denizli Basin in a generalized travertine precipitation model, which enhanced the understanding of fossil travertine systems. The study highlights the novel application of fluid inclusion research in unravelling the genesis of continental carbonates and provides several recommendations for hydrocarbon exploration in travertine‐bearing sedimentary basins. The findings suggest that travertine bodies and their parent carbonate source rocks have the potential to constitute interesting subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs.