Assesing the effect of an olive mill wastewater evaporation pond in Sousse, Tunisia

Olive oil is a typical and valuable agro-industrial product in Mediterranean countries. In Tunisia, olive mill wastewaters (OMW) reach an amount of about 1,000,000 t year⁻¹ and constitute a serious organic pollution risk because of the high chemical oxygen demand values and the presence of phytotoxic and antibacterial polyphenols. OMW have been generally stored in pond sites to be eliminated by natural evaporation or valorised by spreading on cultivated soils or by composting. Many researches on the interactions of OMW with soils at laboratory scale (columns) have been reported, but less attention have been paid to the effect of OMW on soils at field scale. The aim of this work is to investigate an area used for >15 years as an uncontrolled OMW pond site. The transformations of soil properties and groundwater occurring during OMW storage were characterised by the pH, phenolic contents, electrical conductivity (EC), moisture content and organic contents. The soil samples were taken from two borings and compared to those of a control one located near the pond site. Groundwater samples were taken on the accessible and nearest water wells to the evaporation ponds. The permeable silty and sandy layers in the site support the infiltration of OMW near the evaporation ponds. This infiltration has reached a depth of 6 m at a distance of almost 50 m laterally. The results show that the OMW infiltration in the subsoil has affected the pH, EC, organic content, phenolic compounds and the moisture.     

The effect of structures on the wave-induced liquefaction potential of seabed sand deposits

One of the important design considerations for marine structures situated on sand deposits is the potential for instability caused by the development of excess pore pressure as a result of wave loading. A build-up of excess pore pressure may lead to initial liquefaction. The current practice of liquefaction analysis in marine deposits neglects the effects of structures over seabed deposits. However, analyses both in terrestrial and marine deposits have shown that the presence of a structure, depending on the nature of the structure and initial soil conditions, may decrease or increase the liquefaction potential of underlying deposits. In the present study, a wave-induced liquefaction analysis is carried out using mechanisms similar to earthquake-induced liquefaction. The liquefaction potential is first evaluated using wave-induced liquefaction analysis methods for a free field. Then by applying a structure force on the underlying sand deposits, the effect of the structure on the liquefaction potential is evaluated. Results showed that depending on the initial density of the sand deposits and different structures, water depths and wave characteristics, the presence of a structure may increase or decrease the liquefaction potential of the underlying sand deposits.     

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping of the Hajeb-jelma aquifer (Central Tunisia) using a GIS-based DRASTIC model

The aim of this study is to elaborate a synthetic document for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in the Hajeb-Jelma aquifer. The specific object is to incorporate the Geographical Information System (GIS) to generate groundwater vulnerability and risk maps with DRASTIC model. Indeed, GIS could help to make the results of a complicated model more clear through visual representation, providing an applicable tool for decision makers. The vulnerability map of Hajeb-Jelma watershed shows three classes: moderate, high and very high depending on the intrinsic properties. The risk map shows a very high risk dependant on hydrogeological characteristics, land use and human impacts in major part of the Hajeb-Jelma region. These maps could serve as a scientific basis for sustainable land use planning and groundwater management in the Hajeb-Jelma region.     

Influence of gender and type of school on environmental attitude of teachers in Iran and India

The present study reports on secondary school teacher’s environmental attitude in India and Iran. One thousand and four teachers were selected through the stratified random sampling technique from 103 secondary schools of Mysore city (India) and Tehran city (Iran). Subjects consisted of 505 male and 499 females. They were assessed using the Taj Environmental Attitude Scale (TEAS) developed by Hasseen Taj (2001). Results revealed that there are significant differences between Indian and Iranian teachers in their level of environmental attitude. Also there are significant differences between them in environmental attitude across and within two groups with regard to their gender. Also in overall, type of school management (Government and private) is not a factor, which can affect teachers environmental attitude.     

Application of alternative digital rock physics methods in a real case study: a challenge between clean and cemented samples

High‐resolution three‐dimensional images are used in digital rock physics to numerically compute rock physical properties such as permeability and elastic moduli. These images are not widely available, and their preparation is both expensive and time consuming. All of these issues highlight the importance of alternative digital rock physics methods that are based on two‐dimensional images and use different approaches to compute effective properties of three‐dimensional samples. In addition, the scale of study in both standard and alternative digital rock physics is very small, which applications of its results are questionable at wells or reservoir scale. The aim of this study is to use two‐dimensional images and alternative digital rock physics techniques for computing seismic wave velocity and permeability, which are compared with well and laboratory data. For this purpose, data from one well in a reservoir located in the southwestern part of Iran are used. First, two clean (carbonate) and two cemented (limy sandstone) samples were collected from well cores at different depths. Then, two‐dimensional images by scanning electron microscope and conventional microscope were captured. In the next step, two alternative digital rock physics methods, namely, empirical relations and conditional reconstruction, have been employed to compute P‐wave velocity and permeability of a three‐dimensional medium. Results showed that, in clean (mono‐mineral) samples, velocity values were reasonably close to well data. However, permeability values are underestimated compared with laboratory data because laboratory data were obtained at ambient pressure, whereas alternative digital rock physics results are more representative of reservoir pressure conditions. Nevertheless, permeability–porosity trends are valid for both samples. In the case of cemented samples, a two‐scale procedure, along with a method for two‐scale computation and grain‐cement segmentation, is presented and developed. Results showed that P‐wave velocity is overestimated probably due to random sampling in this method. However, velocity–porosity trends are in agreement with well data. Moreover, permeability results obtained for cemented samples were also similar to those obtained for the clean samples.     

Modeling forest fire risk in the northeast of Iran using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Fire in forested areas can be regarded as an environmental disaster which is triggered by either natural forces or anthropogenic activities. Fires are one of the major hazards in forested and grassland areas in the north of Iran. Control of fire is difficult, but it is feasible to map fire risk by geospatial technologies and thereby minimize the frequency of fire occurrences and damages caused by fire. The fire risk models provide a suitable concept to understand characterization of fire risk. Some models are map based, and they combine effectively different forest fire–causing variables with remote sensing data in a GIS environment for identifying and mapping forest fire risk. In this study, Structural Fire Index, Fire Risk Index, and a new index called Hybrid Fire Index were used to delineate fire risk in northeastern Iran that is subjected to frequent forest fire. Vegetation moisture, slope, aspect, elevation, distance from roads, and vicinity to settlements were used as the factors influencing accidental fire starts. These indices were set up by assigning subjective weight values to the classes of the layers based on their sensitivity ratio to fire. Hot spots data derived from MODIS satellite sensor were used to validate the indices. Assessment of the indices with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves shows that 76.7 % accuracy of the HFI outperformed the other two indices. According to the Hybrid Fire Index, 57.5 % of the study area is located under high-risk zone, 33 % in medium-risk zone, and the remaining 9.5 % area is located in low-risk zone.     

Characterization of organic matter in surface sediments of the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada

The particulate organic matter in < 63 µm surface sediments from the Mackenzie River and its main tributaries was studied using Rock-Eval pyrolysis and organic petrology. The organic matter in the sediments is dominated by refractory residual organic carbon (RC) of mainly terrigenous nature, as indicated by abundant inertinite, vitrinite, and type III kerogen. Sediments from the tributaries contained significantly more algal-derived organic matter than from the main channel of the river, highlighting the importance of low-energy system dynamics in the tributaries, which allows modest algal production, more accumulation, and better preservation of autochthonous organic matter. This is particularly true for tributaries fed by lacustrine systems, which showed the highest S1 and S2 fractions, and consequently higher total particulate organic carbon (POC) in the basin. Organic petrology of the sediment samples confirms abundant liptinitic materials (i.e., fat-rich structured algae, spores and pollen, cuticles, and resins). Forest fire and coal deposits are also confirmed to contribute to the basin. Assuming that suspended and fine surfacial sediments have a similar OC composition, the Mackenzie River is estimated to deliver a total POC flux of 1.1 Mt C/yr to its delta, of which 85% is residual carbon with liptinitic OC (S1 + S2) and S3 accounting for another 9% and 6%, respectively.     

Évaluation de la qualité de l'eau par application de la méthode géoélectrique : exemple de la plaine d'El Mida–Gabes nord (Sud tunisien)

The Mida plain, which is part of the North Gabès region (southern Tunisia), is characterized by the deep sandy units of the ‘Continental intercalaire’ (CI) or the limestone of the Lower Senonian. A geophysical survey, by electrical sounding (ES), was undertaken in the studied region to better characterize the deep geological structure of this plain and therefore its aquifer resources potential. The analysis of the results shows that the prospected zone is characterized by the succession of several levels with contrasted resistivities, which are often affected by faults. Among these observed geoelectrical levels, the highly conductor one could host a saline aquifer. Another geoelectrical level corresponding to the resistant bedrock detected at Oudhref horst can contain better-quality water than that of the aquifer detected in the El Mida Graben. In this work, we tried to explain the origin of the salinity of this aquifer. Thus, we hypothesise about a contamination from Jebel Zemlet El Beida through a border fault and another one from the Sebkhet El Hamma. To cite this article: A. Mhamdi et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Uplift response of symmetrical anchor plates in reinforced cohesionless soil

The uplift response of symmetrical anchor plates with and without geogrid reinforcement layers has been evaluated in model tests and numerical simulations using PLAXIS. Many parameters of the reinforcement layers were used to reinforce the sandy soil over circular, square, and rectangular symmetrical anchor plates of various sizes. In the current research, different parameters, such as relative density of sand and embedment ratios, in conjunction with geogrid reinforcement layer parameters including size, number of layers, and the proximity of the layer to the circular anchor plate, were investigated in a scale model. The failure mechanism and the associated rupture surface were observed and evaluated. Test results showed that using geogrid reinforcement layers significantly improves the uplift capacity of symmetrical anchor plates. It was found that inclusion of one geogrid layer resting directly on top of the symmetrical anchor plate was more effective in enhancing the symmetrical anchor capacity than the layer itself. It was also found that the inclusion of one geogrid layer on the symmetrical anchor plate improved the uplift capacity more than the same symmetrical anchor plate embedded without a reinforcement layer. The single geogrid layer was also more effective in enhancing the uplift capacity compared to the multiple geogrid layer reinforcement approach. In general, the results show that the uplift capacity of symmetrical anchor plates in loose and dense sand can be significantly increased by the inclusion of geogrid layers. It was also observed that the inclusion of geogrid layers reduces the requirement for a higher L/D ratio to achieve the required uplift capacity. The results of the laboratory and numerical analysis are found to be in agreement in terms of the breakout factor and failure mechanism pattern.