Causes of rockfalls in AI-Huwayshah area, Yemen

According to topography of Yemen, most areas and villages are located at obligated crest, toe of mountain and under cliffs. Therefore Al-Huwayshah consisting of Tawilah sandstone group is characterized by steep slope reach to 90℃ in some areas. This area is affected by strong tectonic movements and faults that occurred during the geological epochs. This effect enhances to find out fractures and joints as well as the rocks become brittle and ready to slide depending on the position of area. And there are some fractures and joints on the surface of the areas due to tectonic movement associated with opening the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The rainfalls, fractures, joints, earthquakes, gravity, vegetations, temperatures and human activities play a big role in the processes of rockfalls and landslides in this area. All those factors are considered as the basic causes and catalyzed factors for occurrence of rockfall in the studide area. In addition, the authors carried out laboratory test for many rock samples to get the physical properties of the rocks.     

Observations on geomorphology,transportation and distribution of sediments in western Lebanon and its continental shelf and slope regions

The geomorphology, drainage systems and predominant lithologies of western Lebanon are briefly described as a background for sediment transportation into the eastern Mediterranean. Fragmentary past and current bathymetric work over offshore Lebanon is reviewed and a simplified compilation bathymetric map correlating and interpreting the different survey results is presented. It reveals a narrow continental shelf about 3 km in width with two wider areas in the north and south; the shelf break occurs generally at about 100 m depth. Submarine valleys are common, most of which are seaward continuations of important land valleys but some prolong land-fault trends. Many continue down the continental slope, dividing into “distributaries”. Hydrological data indicate that over 2,525 × 10⁶ m³ of surface-water runoff annually discharges into the sea through the perennial streams of western Lebanon. A high proportion of the country exposes carbonate rocks but a number of the stream basins drain appreciable areas of soft clastics; preliminary work suggests that these contribute appreciable loads into the Mediterranean. Overall marine net sediment transport is northwards by the longshore current and predominant WSW-ENE directed waves, but investigations in progress indicate that the submarine valleys provide avenues for cross-shelf and down-slope movement for much sediment.     

Integrated model for earthquake risk assessment using neural network and analytic hierarchy process:Aceh province,Indonesia

Catastrophic natural hazards,such as earthquake,pose serious threats to properties and human lives in urban areas.Therefore,earthquake risk assessment(ERA)is indispensable in disaster management.ERA is an integration of the extent of probability and vulnerability of assets.This study develops an integrated model by using the artificial neural network–analytic hierarchy process(ANN–AHP)model for constructing the ERA map.The aim of the study is to quantify urban population risk that may be caused by impending earthquakes.The model is applied to the city of Banda Aceh in Indonesia,a seismically active zone of Aceh province frequently affected by devastating earthquakes.ANN is used for probability mapping,whereas AHP is used to assess urban vulnerability after the hazard map is created with the aid of earthquake intensity variation thematic layering.The risk map is subsequently created by combining the probability,hazard,and vulnerability maps.Then,the risk levels of various zones are obtained.The validation process reveals that the proposed model can map the earthquake probability based on historical events with an accuracy of 84%.Furthermore,results show that the central and southeastern regions of the city have moderate to very high risk classifications,whereas the other parts of the city fall under low to very low earthquake risk classifications.The findings of this research are useful for government agencies and decision makers,particularly in estimating risk dimensions in urban areas and for the future studies to project the preparedness strategies for Banda Aceh.     

Impact of land cover changes and topography on soil quality in the Kasso catchment,Bale Mountains of southeastern Ethiopia

This study assessed land cover change and topographic elevation on selected soil quality parameters in the Kasso catchment, southeastern Ethiopia. Twenty‐seven soil samples collected from 0–30cm depth under four land cover types across three elevation gradients were analysed for selected soil quality parameters. Results indicated that soil particle size distribution is different (p<0.001) in the catchment because of the effect of land cover change and elevation. Most cultivated lands occupy lower elevations where clay accumulates as a result of its movement from higher to lower elevations. Ploughing accentuates weathering, making cultivated lands richer in finer materials. Cation exchange capacity and exchangeable magnesium and potassium negatively correlated with elevation, total nitrogen and available phosphorous. Conversion of natural vegetation to cropland contributed to changes in pH (p<0.05), exchangeable calcium (p<0.01), potassium (p<0.001), available phosphorous (p<0.01) and nitrogen (p<0.01) contents. Parameter soil degradation index results showed that soil organic carbon, nitrogen, available phosphorous and exchangeable potassium contents declined and bulk density increased because of the land cover change. This negative effect on agricultural development and environmental health of the catchment makes an integrated land resource management approach indispensable for sustaining agricultural productivity and the environmental health of the Kasso catchment.     

Geo-environmental effect of landfill site, southeast of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Landfilled wastes manifest slow decomposition, producing emanation of gases, and outflow of leachate. Waste mass shows various chemical reactions and complex evolutions that occur under the influence of natural agents, as rain and microorganisms. These reactions lead to biological, physical, and chemical transformations of wastes. The intensity of the phenomenon is related to the air and the humidity. These factors originate from the initial composition of the solid waste, the operating mode of the landfill, and the geological and hydrogeological conditions. Leachate is considered a major source of groundwater pollution. It has a complex nature; it typically contains high concentrations of chemical hazardous including heavy metals, chemical compounds that may severely pollute the environment. These challenges are faced all over the world by environment protection agencies and waste management bodies. The challenge differs according to the specific situation of the site, the climatic, environmental, and geological factors. The international literature is rich with studies in this concern. Each country or region of the world has its own legislation and laws governing waste management, e.g., the European Commission Legislation, the US Environmental Agency, and so forth. The main objective of this study is to shed light on the environmental consequences of a landfill site located in the southeast of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. It constitutes a peculiar case because of its situation, its exploitation mode, and nature of buried wastes. The study made use of satellite MSS, TM, ETM and SPOT image 2007, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM), respectively. Geological, morphological, hydrological, hydrochemical, and detailed drainage analyses were performed. Records of meteorological stations were also used in this study. The satellite images illustrate the evolution of the site through time since its start in the 1990s of the twentieth century. The main geological units outcropping in the area are the Sulaiy Formation, the Yamama Formation, Khabra deposits, floodplain deposits, alluvium, and sheet gravel. Drainage analyses shows a dendritic nature for the network, a total area of 2,113 km², basin slope of 0.016, perimeter of 430?×?10³, and a mean elevation of 635 m. Annual rainfall is around 100 mm, evapotranspiration is about 2,900 mm, wind speed averages at 5.1 km/h, and runoff peak is within 2.7–4.7 m³/s. A plume of total dissolved solids and nitrates was observed to initiate from the landfill site. Heavy metal concentration confirms the same result. Planners, environmentalists, decision makers, and other interest groups can use the findings of this study for environmental management of the landfill and protection of the downstream part of the Sulaiy tributary from leachate contamination. The results indicate the importance of monitoring landfills through the combined use of ground and satellite monitoring.     

Impacts of rising water demands in the Juba and Shabelle river basins on water availability in south Somalia

ABSTRACT

Somalia has frequently been affected by droughts, famines and water-related humanitarian crises. Water is scarce and the only perennial streams, the Juba and Shabelle rivers, are trans-boundary with river flows mainly originating from the Ethiopian highlands. In both riparian countries water demands are projected to increase. This paper reveals the impact of rising regional water abstractions on stream flows by illustrating sectoral demands and joining them into scenarios of medium and high population and economic growth. These scenarios are associated to the time horizons of 2035 and 2055, respectively. The scenarios disclose alarming trends especially for the Shabelle River: in the medium and high growth scenarios, water demands surpass the available river flows by 200 and 3500 hm³, respectively. The calculated deficits partly derive from conflicting assumptions about river flows by the two main riparian countries, an obstacle to any integrated planning efforts and sustained regional development.

EDITOR Z.W. Kundzewicz; ASSOCIATE EDITOR F. Hattermann     

High-order Statistics of Spatial Random Fields: Exploring Spatial Cumulants for Modeling Complex Non-Gaussian and Non-linear Phenomena

The spatial distributions of earth science and engineering phenomena under study are currently predicted from finite measurements and second-order geostatistical models. The latter models can be limiting, as geological systems are highly complex, non-Gaussian, and exhibit non-linear patterns of spatial connectivity. Non-linear and non-Gaussian high-order geostatistics based on spatial connectivity measures, namely spatial cumulants, are proposed as a new alternative modeling framework for spatial data. This framework has two parts. The first part is the definition, properties, and inference of spatial cumulants—including understanding the interrelation of cumulant characteristics with the in-situ behavior of geological entities or processes, as examined in this paper. The second part is the research on a random field model for simulation based on its high-order spatial cumulants. Mathematical definitions of non-Gaussian spatial random functions and their high-order spatial statistics are presented herein, stressing the notion of spatial cumulants. The calculation of spatial cumulants with spatial templates follows, including anisotropic experimental cumulants. Several examples of two- and three-dimensional images, including a diamond bearing kimberlite pipe from the Ekati Mine in Canada, are analyzed to assess the relations between cumulants and the spatial behavior of geological processes. Spatial cumulants of orders three to five are shown to capture directional multiple-point periodicity, connectivity including connectivity of extreme values, and spatial architecture. In addition, they provide substantial information on geometric characteristics and anisotropy of geological patterns. It is further shown that effects of complex spatial patterns are seen even if only subsets of all cumulant templates are computed. Compared to second-order statistics, cumulant maps are found to include a wealth of additional information from underlying geological patterns. Further work seeks to integrate this information in the predictive capabilities of a random field model.     

The quality of water and sediments of street runoff in Amman,Jordan

Metallic content (Cr, Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb and Cd) of street sediments and street runoff in addition to major inorganic constituents (Ca, Mg, Na, K, HCO₃, Cl, NO₃ and SO₄) of street runoff were determined under semi‐arid conditions. Two sites in the vicinity of Amman during the pluvial year 1998–1999 were chosen for this investigation. A higher quantity of ionic contents was found at site 2 in comparison to site 1 except for iron, which was significantly higher at site 1. This finding was attributed to higher anthropogenic activity and lower rainfall at site 2, which indicates better water quality of street runoff from residential sites than the city centre. The average concentrations of Pb, Cu and Cd in Amman street runoff compared with the highest levels recorded at humid sites of the world as a result the prevailing semi‐arid conditions in the areas investigated. The highest concentrations of all constituents were detected during the first month of sampling, which might be the result of low rainfall, and a long dry period of atmospheric deposition preceding rainfall events. However, high levels of both lead and copper were recorded (below that of iron) which might be attributed to traffic pollution. In contrast, a significant variation between the average concentrations for Cu, Ni and Cr was found in sediments from the two sites. Moreover, a significant difference was detected only for Cu and Mn at each site overtime. The overall pattern of the results suggests that all heavy metal concentrations for street runoff showed a significant variation over time at site 1 whereas only a significant variation was found for Ni at site 2, which can be explained as the result of higher rainfall at site 1 than at site 2. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the use of the capability polar plots program for dynamic positioning systems for marine vessels

As the capability of polar plots becomes better understood, improved dynamic positioning (DP) systems are possible since the control algorithms greatly depend on the accuracy of the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic models. The measurements and estimation of the environmental disturbances have an important role in the optimal design and selection of a DP system for a marine vessel. The main objective of this work is to present a new software program capable of estimating the environmental forces, thrusters capability calculations, and capability polar plots for marine vessels. A flowchart illustrating the logic and data flow of a developed software program, the Capability Polar Plot Program (CPPP), and the estimated results for two case studies for a scientific drilling vessel and a survey vessel are presented. It is obvious from the obtained results that the developed program has a future potential for the estimation of the Capability Polar Plots for marine vessels. Moreover, the developed software program would be considered as a marine tool for the thrusters' selection and their configuration for marine vessels and floating production units for the Oil and Gas industries.