Investigation of Arsenotrophic Microbiome in Arsenic‐Affected Bangladesh Groundwater

Arsenotrophic bacteria contribute to the nutrient cycling in arsenic (As) affected groundwater. This study employed a culture‐independent and ‐dependent investigation of arsenotrophic microbiomes in As affected groundwater samples collected from Madhabpur, Sonatengra, and Union Porishod in Singair Upazila, Manikganj, Bangladesh. Total As contents, detected by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) of the samples, were 47 µg/L (Madhabpur, SNGW‐1), 53 µg/L (Sonatengra, SNGW‐2), and 12 µg/L (Union porishod, SNGW‐3), whereas the control well (SNGW‐4; depths >150 m) showed As content of 6 µg/L. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the amplified 16S rRNA gene from As‐affected groundwater samples revealed the dominance of aerobic bacteria Pseudomonas within heterogeneous bacterial populations. DGGE of heterotrophic enrichments supplemented with arsenite [As (III)] for 4 weeks showed the dominance of Chryseobacterium, Flavobacterium, and Aquabacterium, whereas the dominant genera in that of autotrophic enrichments were Aeromonas, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas. Cultured bacteria retrieved from both autotrophic and heterotrophic enrichments were distinguished into nine genotypes belonging to Chryseobacterium, Acinetobacter, Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Janibacter, Staphylococcus, and Bacillus. They exhibited varying range of As(III) tolerance from 4 to 27 mM. As(III) transformation potential was confirmed within the isolates with oxidation rate as high as 0.143 mM/h for Pseudomonas sp. Sn 28. The arsenotrophic microbiome specifies their potential role in groundwater As‐cycling and their genetic information provide the scientific basis for As‐bioremediation.     

Highways protection from flood hazards,a case study: New Tama road,KSA

Natural Hazards - Highways in arid regions are highly exposed to damage by floods. This requires intensive analysis of flood quantity, time and direction that can be used to design the suitable...     

Are carbonate barrier islands mobile? Insights from a mid to late-Holocene system,Al Ruwais,northern Qatar

Barrier islands are important landforms in many coastal systems around the globe. Studies of modern barrier island systems are mostly limited to those of siliciclastic realms, where the islands are recognized as mobile features that form on transgressive coastlines and migrate landward as sea-level rises. Barrier islands of the ‘Great Pearl Bank’ along the United Arab Emirates coast are the best-known carbonate examples. These Holocene islands, however, are interpreted to be anchored by older deposits and immobile. The mid-Holocene to late-Holocene depositional system at Al Ruwais, northern Qatar, provides an example of a mobile carbonate barrier island system, perhaps more similar to siliciclastic equivalents. Sedimentological and petrographic analyses, as well as ¹⁴C-dating of shells and biogenic remains from vibracored sediments and surface deposits, show that after 7000 years ago a barrier system with a narrow back-barrier lagoon formed along what is now an exposed coastal zone, while, contemporaneously, a laterally-extensive coral reef was forming immediately offshore. After 1400 years ago the barrier system was forced to step ca 3 km seaward in response to a sea-level fall of less than 2 m, where it re-established itself directly on the mid-Holocene reef. Since that time, the barrier has retreated landward as much as 1000 m to its current position, exposing previously-deposited back-barrier lagoonal sediment at the open-coast shoreline. In modern neritic warm-water carbonate settings mobile barrier island systems are rare. Their construction and migration may be inhibited by reef formation, early cementation, and the relative inefficiency of sourcing beach sediments from open carbonate shelves. Carbonate barrier island systems likely formed more commonly during geological periods when ramps and unrimmed shelves predominated and in calcite seas, when meteoric cementation was minimized as a result of initial calcitic allochem mineralogy. As with their siliciclastic analogues, however, recognition of the influence of these transient landforms in the rock record is challenging.     

Wave breaking and bubble formation associate energy dissipation and wave setup

Ocean Dynamics - In this work, theoretical development of void fraction effect over wave energy dissipation and wave setup in a surf zone is made. The formulation incorporates simple energy...     

The Pushtashan juvenile suprasubduction zone assemblage of Kurdistan (northeastern Iraq): A Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Neo-Tethys missing link

The Pushtashan suprasubduction zone assemblage of volcanic rocks, gabbros, norites and peridotites occurs in the Zagros suture zone, Kurdistan region, northeastern Iraq. Volcanic rocks are dominant in the assemblage and consist mainly of basalt and basaltic andesite flows with interlayered red shale and limestone horizons. Earlier lavas tend to be MORB-like, whereas later lavas display island arc tholeiite to boninitic geochemical characteristics. Tholeiitic gabbros intrude the norites and display fractionation trends typical of crystallisation under low-pressure conditions, whereas the norites display calc-alkaline traits, suggesting their source included mantle metasomatised by fluids released from subducted oceanic crust. Enrichment of Rb, Ba, Sr, Th and the presence of negative Nb anomalies indicate generation in a suprasubduction zone setting. Trondhjemite and granodiorite intrusions are present in the volcanic rocks, gabbros and norites. SHRIMP U-Pb dating of magmatic zircons from a granodiorite yields a mean~(206)Pb/~(238)U age of 96.0 ±2.0 Ma(Cenomanian). The initial ε_(Hf) value for the zircons show a narrow range from +12.8 to+15.6, with a weighted mean of + 13.90±0.96. This initial value is within error of model depleted mantle at 96 Ma or slightly below that, in the field of arc rocks with minimal contamination by older continental crust. The compositional bimodality of the Pushtashan suprasubduction sequence suggests seafloor spreading during the initiation of subduction, with a lava stratigraphy from earlyerupted MORB transitioning into calc-alkaline lavas and finally by 96 Ma intrusion of granodioritic and trondhjemitic bodies with juvenile crustal isotopic signatures. The results confirm another Cretaceous arc remnant preserved as an allochthon within the Iraqi segment of the Cenozoic Zagros suture zone. Implications for the closure of Neo-Tethys are discussed.     

Hydrochemistry and Classification of Groundwater Resources of Ishwardi Municipal Area,Pabna District,Bangladesh

The chemical property of groundwater depends largely on the mineralogical composition of the rocks through which the water has moved and the rate of movement and these characteristics of surface water depend on organic and inorganic reactions, industrial effluents, rainfall and temperature etc. The underground water tends to contain more dissolved materials than those in surface water because of their more intimate and longer contact with organic materials of soil and rock particles. The groundwater of the studied area is dominant of alkaline earth’s (Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺) and weak acids (HCO₃ ⁻) which may be classified as Magnesium-Bicarbonate and Calcium Carbonate types. Genetically, the groundwater of the area belongs to both “Normal Chloride” “Normal Sulphate” and “Normal Carbonate” to “Super Carbonate” group. Based on EC, SAR and RC, the groundwater of the area varies from good–excellent quality for irrigation purposes with low alkali hazard and medium salinity hazard.     

Hydrothermal alteration and evolution of Zr-Th-U-REE mineralization in the microgranite of Wadi Ras Abda,North Eastern Desert,Egypt

Ras Abda plutonic suite, North Eastern Desert of Egypt, consists predominantly of Neoproterozoic calc-alkaline older granites. Minor exposures of pink microgranite are occurring along Wadi Ras Abda within the older granites. Previous studies on this area demonstrated that the microgranite is altered in some parts and contains anomalous concentrations of rare metal elements (Zr, Th, and U). These altered and mineralized zones are re-assessed using field observations, chemical analysis, and by the application of various transmitted light and electron microscopic techniques. The rare metals exist as mineral segregation grew freely into open cavities of the microgranite and concordant with the NNE strike-slip fault movement. The mineralized zones contain an assemblage of secondary magnetite, zircon, uranothorite, columbite-(Mn), fergusonite-(Y), and allanite-(Ce). The extreme abundance of zircon in the mineralized zone, along with other evidence, indicates a hydrothermal origin of this zircon together with associated rare metals. The geochemical investigation and mass balance calculations revealed extreme enrichment of Zr, Th, U, Y, Nb, Ta, and REE. Post-magmatic hydrothermal alterations resulted in such pronounced chemical and mineralogical heterogeneity. The hydrothermal fluids are thought to be oxidizing, alkaline and of medium temperature (>?250 °C). The average contents of the elements Zr (1606 ppm), Th (1639 ppm), U (306 ppm), Nb (955 ppm), and REE (1710 ppm) in the mineralized microgranite reach sub-economic levels and could be a potential source of these elements.     

Sediment transport in high‐speed flows over a fixed bed: 2. Particle impacts and abrasion prediction

Single bed load particle impacts were experimentally investigated in supercritical open channel flow over a fixed planar bed of low relative roughness height simulating high‐gradient non‐alluvial mountain streams as well as hydraulic structures. Particle impact characteristics (impact velocity, impact angle, Stokes number, restitution and dynamic friction coefficients) were determined for a wide range of hydraulic parameters and particle properties. Particle impact velocity scaled with the particle velocity, and the vertical particle impact velocity increased with excess transport stage. Particle impact and rebound angles were low and decreased with transport stage. Analysis of the particle impacts with the bed revealed almost no viscous damping effects with high normal restitution coefficients exceeding unity. The normal and resultant Stokes numbers were high and above critical thresholds for viscous damping. These results are attributed to the coherent turbulent structures near the wall region, i.e. bursting motion with ejection and sweep events responsible for turbulence generation and particle transport. The tangential restitution coefficients were slightly below unity and the dynamic friction coefficients were lower than for alluvial bed data, revealing that only a small amount of horizontal energy was transferred to the bed. The abrasion prediction model formed by Sklar and Dietrich in 2004 was revised based on the new equations on vertical impact velocity and hop length covering various bed configurations. The abrasion coefficient k_v was found to be vary around k_v ~ 10⁵ for hard materials (tensile strength f_t > 1 MPa), one order of magnitude lower than the value assumed so far for Sklar and Dietrich's model. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of advanced technology to build a vibrant environment on planet mars

In order to make Mars a better planet, in this paper, photo-dissociation technology, mathematical modeling, and a series of chemical reaction methodology have been proposed to create a vibrant ecosystem and balance the atmosphere on Mars. Since CO₂ is a stable compound, breaking it down into C and O₂ always is challenging, but exciting thought. Interestingly, my recent research revealed that photo-dissociation by utilizing UVV (laser) could be an exciting technology to split CO₂ into C + O₂ since the theoretical reaction suggested that the production of C + O₂ channel from CO₂ photo-exciting technology releases the energetic level threshold of C(³P₂) + O₂(X³∑ _g ^? ) that can be detected by ultraviolet laser pump-probe spectroscopy. Subsequently, a mathematical model for creating of ocean on Mars by breaking its substantial polar ice has been performed considering algorithms for surface and coordinate between the barotropic momentum and continuity equations, and interestingly the calculation suggested that it is very much possible to flow ocean on Mars surface to meet its water demand. Subsequently, proposed series of chemical reaction technology suggested that implementation of carbonator looping and plasma reaction paths can convert photo-dissociated carbon (C) into N₂ and NH₃ to enrich Mars’ soil in order to grow vegetation as well as to create a balance ecosystem in Mars eventually. Finally, sustainable green technology has been proposed for the development of Mars to be a complete balanced planet to deliver all basic and modern needs to run daily life smoothly. Thus, implication of chemical reaction technologies along with sustainable development plans can indeed make the Mars a vibrant environment to live there in clean and green.