Retention of a heavy metal by marl collected from aquifer substratum

One of the objectives of this work is to characterize marl samples collected from the bedrock aquifer (at 30 m depth) of Wadi Al Ghoula located in Draria southwest of Algiers. The other objective is to make a kinetics study, linear and non-linear isotherm study, and mass transfer study of the adsorption of copper onto marl in aqueous solution. The fitness of kinetics and isotherm models was evaluated by using some error analysis function. One of the major results using an XRF technique is an evidence of the presence of calcite in the weight of 13.82%. The XRD patterns of these samples confirmed the presence of montmorillonite, kaolinite, illite, calcite, and quartz. On the other hand, the FTIR analysis clarified the presence of calcite. The specific surface area of 20,999 m²/g was obtained using the BET, which indicates that the material has a predominance for the mesoporous character. The instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), a nondestructive method, gives the elemental composition of the adsorbent. Based on the value of the coefficient of determination, the adsorption kinetics of copper in aqueous solution using marl as adsorbent follows the pseudo-second-order model. And according to the value of the coefficient of determination obtained for the two models, the intraparticle diffusion and liquid film diffusion control the process of adsorption of copper onto marl with low predominance for the second model of diffusion in the first stage of adsorption. The linear and the non-linear treatments of the two-parameter isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlish, Temkin) show that the fitting best model of isotherm is the empirical Freundlish isotherm. For the three-parameter isotherm models (Toth, Sips, and Redlish-Peterson), the Sips model is the more accurate fitting model than the two other isotherms in the non-linear approach. Some error analysis functions are used to choose the best results.     

Surface soil assessment in the Ubhur area,north of Jeddah,western Saudi Arabia,using a multichannel analysis of surface waves method

Ten boreholes drilled in Ubhur area up to the depth of bedrock indicted the shallow depth of bedrock where the average depth ranges between 10 and 15 m. The standard penetration test N-values of these boreholes were measured and averaged. Based on N-values to the depth of bedrock, Ubhur area can be classified as site class C and D. Multichannel analysis of surface waves technique has been applied along seventy six profiles using 24-channel geophone array and 4.5Hz vertical geophones with 1m geophone spacing and sledgehammer and/or weight drop as seismic energy sources. Values of shear wave velocity to 30 m are calculated and then averaged (Vs30) where it ranges between 310.08 m/s and 1139.8 m/s. Therefore, Ubhur area can be classified into site class B, C and D based on site classification of the national earthquake hazards reduction program (NEHRP) recommendations. Accordingly, the greatest part of the study area falls in site class C while class B and D covered limited areas in the western and the eastern parts respectively. Depending on the shallow depth of bedrock in the study area, the Vs30 parameter is not applicable in the study area so the average values of Vs for the soil thickness, excluding the bedrock, have been calculated and mapped for site class C and D only. So Vs30 approach is not applicable for areas with shallow depth of bedrock which gives higher classification.     

Earthquake imprints on a lacustrine deltaic system: The Kürk Delta along the East Anatolian Fault (Turkey)

Deltas contain sedimentary records that are not only indicative of water‐level changes, but also particularly sensitive to earthquake shaking typically resulting in soft‐sediment‐deformation structures. The Kürk lacustrine delta lies at the south‐western extremity of Lake Hazar in eastern Turkey and is adjacent to the seismogenic East Anatolian Fault, which has generated earthquakes of magnitude 7. This study re‐evaluates water‐level changes and earthquake shaking that have affected the Kürk Delta, combining geophysical data (seismic‐reflection profiles and side‐scan sonar), remote sensing images, historical data, onland outcrops and offshore coring. The history of water‐level changes provides a temporal framework for the depositional record. In addition to the common soft‐sediment deformation documented previously, onland outcrops reveal a record of deformation (fracturing, tilt and clastic dykes) linked to large earthquake‐induced liquefactions and lateral spreading. The recurrent liquefaction structures can be used to obtain a palaeoseismological record. Five event horizons were identified that could be linked to historical earthquakes occurring in the last 1000 years along the East Anatolian Fault. Sedimentary cores sampling the most recent subaqueous sedimentation revealed the occurrence of another type of earthquake indicator. Based on radionuclide dating (¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb), two major sedimentary events were attributed to the ad 1874 to 1875 East Anatolian Fault earthquake sequence. Their sedimentological characteristics were determined by X‐ray imagery, X‐ray diffraction, loss‐on‐ignition, grain‐size distribution and geophysical measurements. The events are interpreted to be hyperpycnal deposits linked to post‐seismic sediment reworking of earthquake‐triggered landslides.     

Numerical modeling of groundwater resource management options in the East Oweinat area,SW Egypt

Southwest Egypt is an arid area with no surface water and limited resources of useable groundwater in the well-known Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. These groundwater reserves have been heavily exploited since the 1960s, which has led to substantial decline in the potentiometric surface of the aquifer. A calibrated regional numerical model with refined grids on the pumping centers has been used to investigate the hydrodynamic impacts of different groundwater management options on the potentiometry of the aquifers. The results indicate that there is a real danger of either dewatering the shallow aquifer in some areas (e.g., Kharga Oasis), or increasing the water depth to uneconomic lifting depth. They also indicate that, although the planned extraction rates in Dakhla, Farafra, and Bahariya oases are feasible for at least the coming 100 years, the present rate for Kharga Oasis and the planned rate for the East Oweinat area have to be reduced substantially.     

A Simulation Model for the Evaluation of the Electrical Power Potential Harnessed by a Marine Current Turbine

This paper deals with the development of a Matlab-Simulink model of a marine current turbine system through the modeling of the resource and the rotor. The simulation model has two purposes: performances and dynamic loads evaluation in different operating conditions and control system development for turbine operation based on pitch and speed control. In this case, it is necessary to find a compromise between the simulation model accuracy and the control-loop computational speed. The blade element momentum (BEM) approach is then used for the turbine modeling. As the developed simulation model is intended to be used as a sizing and site evaluation tool for current turbine installations, it has been applied to evaluate the extractable power from the Raz de Sein (Brittany, France). Indeed, tidal current data from the Raz de Sein are used to run the simulation model over various flow regimes and yield the power capture with time.     

On the thermal instability of a nonuniformly rotating fluid layer heated from below

The thermal instability both as stationary convection and overstability of a nonuniformly rotating fluid layer of vertical extent is considered. It is shown that in both types of instability the effect of the variation of the rate of rotation is to introduce a new branch to the marginal instability curves of uniform rotation which departs from them towards a zero of the Rayleigh number as the horizontal wavenumber approaches zero. The relevance to the solar interior is discussed.     

R?le du brassage et du stockage magmatique dans l’homogénéisation des granito?des calco-alcalins: Cas du pluton composite de Za?r (Maroc central)

Resume.  Le pluton calco-alcalin de Za?r est composé de trois principaux faciès pétrographiques répartis en deux unités granitiques imbriquées. Ces faciès, de différents degrés d’hybridation et de différenciation, résultent de mélanges magmatiques entre des magmas basiques mantelliques de type ?HAB? (basalte hyperalumineux) et un magma anatectique issu de la fusion partielle de matériaux crustaux (métapélites ou métagrauwackes). La répartition des faciès granitiques de Za?r peut s’expliquer selon un modèle pétrogénétique de type ?MASH? (melting-assimilation-storage-homogenization) où des magmas hybrides seraient formés suivant différentes proportions de mélanges magmatiques acide-basique. Ces magmas auraient subides conditions d’ascension spécifiques et seraient mis en place sous forme de 3 grandes injections successives:

Étude de la variation spatio-temporelle des paramètres physico-chimiques caractérisant la qualité des eaux d'une lagune côtière et ses zonations écologiques : cas de Moulay Bousselham,Maroc

Our interest is related to the hydrological characteristics of the Moulay Bousselham lagoon. Water samples were taken monthly from July 2001 to June 2002 in 15 stations distributed along the lagoon. The various measured hydrological parameters (temperature, salinity, suspended matter, chlorophyll a) showed significant monthly variations ($p<0.001$), whereas spatially among all sampled stations, only the salinity showed significant variations. The variability analysis approached by the analysis of the normalized principal components combined with discriminate analysis showed very small inter-stations variability. Its percentage is 11% and 9% of the total variance during high and low tide, respectively. To cite this article: H. Labbardi et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Environmental impacts of Baltim and Ras El Bar shore-parallel breakwater systems on the Nile delta littoral zone,Egypt

This study evaluates the impacts resulting from the construction of two large-scale detached breakwater systems on the Nile delta coast of Egypt at Baltim and Ras El Bar beaches (~18.3 km shoreline length). The two protective systems were installed in a water depth of between 3 and 4 m and consist of 17 units in total (each ~250 m long). A comprehensive monitoring program spanning the years 1990 to 2002 was implemented and included beach-nearshore profiles, grain size distribution of seabed sand and information related to the background coastal processes. Evaluation of these systems concentrates on the physical impacts on coastal morphodynamics, mitigation and their design implications. The beach and nearshore sedimentation (erosion/accretion patterns) and grain texture of seabed sediment in the study areas have been substantially disrupted due to the interruption of longshore transport by the shore-parallel detached breakwaters. Rate of shoreline and seabed changes as well as alongshore sediment volume have been substantially affected, resulting in accretion in the breakwater landward sides (tombolo or salient) followed by downdrift erosion. The preconstruction beach erosion at Baltim (–5 m/year) and at Ras El Bar (–6 m/year) has been replaced, respectively, by the formation of sand tombolo (35 m/year) and salient (9 m/year). On the other hand, beach erosion has been substantially increased in the downdrift sides of these protective systems, being –20 m/year at Baltim and –9 m/year at Ras El Bar. Further seaward, the two protective systems at Baltim and Ras El Bar have accumulated seabed sand at maximum rates of 30 and 20 cm/year and associated with downdrift erosion of –45 and –20 cm/year, respectively. Strong gyres and eddies formed in the breakwater gabs have drastically affected swimmers and subsequently caused a significant number of drownings each summer, averaging 35 and 67 victims/year at Baltim and Ras El Bar beaches, respectively. This study provides baseline information needed to help implement mitigation measures for these breakwater systems.