Finger prints of the formation of geothermal springs on the granitoids: Beypazarı–Ankara, Turkey

The Beypazarı granitoid in central Anatolia was emplaced during the Late Cretaceous and it is partly covered with Early Miocene–Quaternary sedimentary and volcanic units. Compression and tension regimes of the Beypazarı granitoid emplacing along the Sakarya River were evaluated considering the kinematical characteristics of discontinuities on granitoids, petrographic/geochemical works, formation of geothermal spring and irregularities in topographic structure. It was determined that the Beypazarı granitoid was witnessed with NE–SW compressional stress and NW–SE extensional stress which resulted in the formation of the Kapullu normal fault with N55–72°E, 78°SE crossing the Kapullu spring site. There are also several other probable normal faults around this fault in the Sakarya River basin. The results of the geochemical studies reveal that SiO₂, Na₂O, Al₂O_3, CaO and K₂O as a major oxide and As, Rb, Sr, Th and U as trace elements are decreased away from the Kapullu bath spring. On the other hand, the ratio of Fe₂O₃ and MgO as major oxide and Y as a trace element with the lost on ignition (LOI) are increased away from the Kapullu fault. Regard as the regional plate tectonism, there is a consistency between the direction of compression in the Beypazarı granitoid and that developed by the southwesterly movement of the Anatolian plate.     

iSERVO: Implementing the International Solid Earth Research Virtual Observatory by Integrating Computational Grid and Geographical Information Web Services

We describe the goals and initial implementation of the International Solid Earth Virtual Observatory (iSERVO). This system is built using a Web Services approach to Grid computing infrastructure and is accessed via a component-based Web portal user interface. We describe our implementations of services used by this system, including Geographical Information System (GIS)-based data grid services for accessing remote data repositories and job management services for controlling multiple execution steps. iSERVO is an example of a larger trend to build globally scalable scientific computing infrastructures using the Service Oriented Architecture approach. Adoption of this approach raises a number of research challenges in millisecond-latency message systems suitable for internet-enabled scientific applications. We review our research in these areas.     

Space-time Interpolation by Combining Air Pollution and Meteorologic Variables

In this paper, a technique is proposed in order to study triple time series. It combines the variable of interest, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) with two related meteorological variables. Hence, three variables measured at the same time points are jointly analyzed. Instead of using classical multiple time series analysis, it is suggested to consider the measurements of the two meteorological variables as coordinates of a two-dimensional space and the simultaneous observation of the third variable (associated SO₂ concentrations) at each pair of coordinates. Subsequently, well-known optimum interpolation is used for predicting the SO₂ concentrations on the basis of six meteorological variables. All the variables of the study are measured at the same times (all days in 2000) around the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The triple diagrams, in the form of contour maps, help to answer various questions concerning the SO₂ concentration variability with respect to meteorological variables. The same diagrams also provide a basis for the prediction of SO₂ concentrations. It is shown that the relative prediction error is less than 10%, which is acceptable for the practical studies.     

Hydrochemical evaluation of groundwater quality in the Çavuşçayı basin, Sungurlu-Çorum, Turkey

The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality and usage possibility of groundwater in the Çavuşçayı basin and suggest the best water structure for the groundwater use. Results from hydrochemical analyses reveal that groundwater is mostly affected by salty (Na⁺–Cl⁻) waters of the Incik Formation and brackish (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺–SO ₄ ²⁻ ) waters of the Bayındır Formation. The Alibaba saltpan discharged (2 l/s) from the Incik Formation is used for salt production. In the basin, salinity risk increases with depth and along the groundwater flow direction. Therefore, shallow water and trenches opened in the alluvium aquifer at the east of the basin were determined to yield suitable water with no Na⁺ and Cl⁻ contamination. Following the heavy rainy period, waters of less salinity and conductivity are possibly used for agriculture.     

Pesticide and nutrient contamination in the Kestel polje–Kirkgoz karst springs, Southern Turkey

The Kirkgoz karst springs are in the well-developed Taurus karst zone in southern Turkey. Discharge is at an average rate of 15 m³/s. The large Kestel polje is 40 km from the springs and within the recharge area of the system. Utilization of the Kestel polje for agriculture as well as sewage disposal at sinkholes are sources of pollution. Water samples were analyzed for nutrients and some of the pesticides among the persistent organic pollutants. Although nutrient contamination is not critical yet, pesticide concentrations that range between 81 and 9,009 μg/l are above the international guidelines. This is the first record of pesticide contamination in karst systems in Turkey. Pesticides may be useful as tracers.     

Site selection for hazardous wastes: A case study from the GAP area, Turkey

The increase in the popularity of using environmental design criteria in town and country planning has brought about the need to fully identify the principles to determine the best location of hazardous wastes to be landfilled. This environmental management issue has received considerable attention because of its applications in urban and rural infrastructure planning, industrial development planning as well as health, housing, transportation and agricultural schemes. This paper explains a method to determine how to locate suitable sites for hazardous waste landfilling area by using the site screening study. It demonstrates how the criteria such as geology, topography, land use, climate, earthquake and other related factors can be introduced into the overlayer technique to determine the suitable site selection in a region. The research was undertaken in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (known as GAP in Turkey) region where identifying the land resources is crucial for agricultural and water management purposes. The paper also explains the validity of the method employed on the site selection process for hazardous wastes. The introduced method may enable more accurate design procedure for planning in environmental management in future.     

Biostratigraphic interpretation and systematics of Alveolina assemblages from the Ilerdian–Cuisian limestones of Southern Eskişehir, Central Turkey

The Ilerdian–Middle Cuisian sedimentary succession of the Seyitgazi region, southern Eskişehir (Central Anatolia, Turkey) is composed of claystones, limestones and clayey limestones. It contains abundant benthic foraminifera, particularly species of Alveolina. From this succession, 28 species of Alveolina d’Orbigny are described and their comparative stratigraphic distribution with the Alveolina species in the Tethyan Eocene is documented. Generally, Ilerdian–Cuisian Alveolina assemblages of the Seyitgazi region have close affinities with coeval Alveolina assemblages described in different studies from the Tethyan Province. The Ilerdian unit of the study area is characterized by Alveolina species such as Glomalveolina lepidula, Glomalveolina minutula, G. karsica, Alveolina vredenburgi, A. ellipsoidalis, A. avellana, A. aff. minervensis, A. dedolia, A. moussoulensis, A. subpyrenaica, A. laxa, A. aragonensis, A. varians, A. ilerdensis, A. trempina, A. citrea, A. pisella and A. decipiens. Likewise, the Early Middle Cuisian unit is represented by G. minutula, A. oblonga, A. schwageri, A. haymanensis, A. canavarii, A. aff. coudurensis, A. ruetimeyeri, A. muscatensis, A. cremae, A. bayburtensis and A. lehneri.     

An integration of GIS and remote sensing in groundwater investigations: A case study in Burdur, Turkey

The importance of groundwater is growing based on an increasing need and decreasing spring discharges in the Burdur area. Remote Sensing and the Geographic Information System (GIS) have been used for investigation of springs, which are an important groundwater source. The chemical composition of groundwater is not of drinking water quality in Burdur city and water in the Burdur residential area is being obtained from the Cine plain.The purpose of this study was to investigate new water sources by using remote sensing and GIS methods. Geology, lineament and land use maps of the research area were prepared using the Landsat TM satellite image composed of different analyses on the TM 7–4-1 band. In addition, contours, creeks, roads and springs were digitized using a topographic map of 1/100,000 scale to produce a drainage density map. A groundwater potential map was produced which integrated thematic maps, such as annual rainfall, geology, lineament density, land use, topography, slope and drainage density. According to this investigation, the surrounding villages of Askeriye, Bugduz, Gelincik, Taskap and Kayaalt were determined to be important from the point of view of groundwater potential in the research area.     

Water quality assessment and the investigation of the relationship between the River Delice and the aquifer systems in the vicinity of Yerköy (Yozgat,Turkey)

The aim of this study was to investigate the pollution parameters relating to surface and groundwaters and to establish an interaction between these for the area near Yerköy. Three characteristic facies were determined based on the results of hydrochemical analyses: (1) Na⁺-Cl^- facies were greater the deeper the aquifer, (2) Na⁺-SO₄^2- facies were the greater portion of the shallow alluvium aquifer, and (3) Na⁺-HCO₃^- (SO₄^2-) facies represented the western portion of the shallow alluvium aquifer. Based on field and laboratory observations it was found that the water of the River Delice is suitable for irrigation and domestic use whereas the water from the shallow aquifer is extremely saline and considered to have been polluted by local lithological units. Active groundwater circulation and dilution between the alluvium aquifer and the River Delice was observed. Because of the short residence time of the groundwater in this area, the hydrogeochemical concentration and the salinity were found to be low. The other portions of the alluvium aquifer bear higher concentrations of soluble ions.