Analytic network process (ANP)-based spatial decision support system (SDSS) for sustainable tourism planning in Cameron Highlands,Malaysia

Sustainable approach to tourism development is rarely addressed among authorities and participants. This research presents an approach based on an integrated use of analytic network process (ANP) and geographic information system (GIS) for sustainable tourism planning in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. ANP was utilized to evaluate the relative priorities for the sustainable tourism development of the highlands based on chosen criteria. ANP results were then transferred into GIS environment and attached to their respective criterion maps. Subsequently, GIS-based sustainable tourism map was generated, which defines the various types of tourism activities that are compatible with the highlands according to the sensitivity of the highland’s environment. The final output was validated using Cameron Highlands Local Plan.     

The impact of the geologic setting on the Quaternary aquifer,El-Tur area,Southwest Sinai,Egypt

The groundwater extracted from the unconfined Quaternary aquifer is the main source of water supply in El-Tur area. The area is bounded from the east by the elevated basement complex of Southern Sinai and from the west by El-Qabaliyat Ridge. The wadis dissecting these highlands form effective watersheds of the Quaternary aquifer. These wadis form areas of focused recharge. Recharge also occurs directly via the Quaternary sediments covering El-Qaa Plain. Subsurface lateral groundwater flow from the fractured basement contributes significant recharge to the aquifer as well. The aquifer sediment facies affect the type and quality of groundwater. In the eastern part where the aquifer is composed mainly of gravel and coarse sand with fragments of weathered basement, the Na-Cl-SO₄ water dominates. In the west where the facies change is rapid and complex, many water types arise. The base exchange index (BEX) is positive in this part reflecting the role of clay minerals in changing the water types via cation exchange. In the east where clays are insignificant in the aquifer, the BEX is negative. In the western part next to El-Qabaliyat Ridge, the wells discharging from the calcareous sand zone have low groundwater salinities compared to the wells discharging from the alluvium. In general, the groundwater salinity increases in the direction of groundwater flow from the northeast to the southwest which reflects the dissolution of aquifer sediments. The concentration relationships between the major ions on one hand and chloride on the other reflect the dissolution of calcium carbonates, precipitation of K- and Mg-bearing minerals, and cation exchange of Ca for Na on clay minerals. The hydrochemical models support these reactions. In addition, they show that the effect of evaporation on the recharge water in the western catchment is about four times its effect on the eastern recharge water which reflects the rapid recharge through the wadis draining the fractured basement. Moreover, the contribution from the eastern catchment in sample No. 23 is more than four-folds the contribution from the western recharge area. The stable isotopes (²H and ¹⁸O) show that the Quaternary aquifer is recharging from recent rainfall. However, upward leakage of Paleogene groundwater (depleted in ¹⁸O) also occurs. The groundwater level map shows strong overpumping impact especially in the areas close to El-Tur city.     

Phytoplankton and bacterial community structures and their interaction during red-tide phenomena

Phytoplankton and bacteria diversity were studied before, during and after red tide phenomena during spring season 2015 in the Eastern Harbour (E.H.) of Alexandria, Egypt. Fifty five species of phytoplankton were identified and represented different distinct classes “Bacillariophyceae; Dinophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Eugelenophyceae”. Also, Diatom formed the most dominant group. The average number of the phytoplankton density varied from 4.8 × 10⁴ to 1.1 × 10⁶ cell l^-1 during the study period and Skeletonema costatum was the agent causing the red tide. The existence percentages of bacteria ranged from 2.6 to 17.9% on all media tested. The bacterial isolates on the nutrient agar medium represented the highest existence with a total percentage of 43.6%, followed by MSA medium (25.7%), while the lowest percentage was for the AA medium at 7.8%. However, twelve isolates were selected as representative for bacterial community during study interval. Based on the morphological, biochemical, physiological and enzymatic characteristics, the bacterial strains were described. Depending on the 16S rDNA gene sequence, three common antagonists were aligned as: Vibrio toranzoniae strain Vb 10.8, Ruegeria pelagia strain NBRC 102038 and Psychrobacter adeliensis strain DSM 15333. The interaction between these bacteria and S. costatum was studied. The growth of S. costatum was significantly lower whenever each bacterium was present as compared to axenic culture. More specifically, 30% (v/v) of the all tested bacteria showed the strongest algicidal activities, as all S. costatum cells were killed after two days. 10% of R. pelagia and P. adeliensis also showed significant algicidal activities within six days.     

Phenol and ammonium removal by using Fe-ZSM-5 synthesized by ammonium citrate iron source

Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites are important for many applications, especially for catalysis and volatile organic carbon removal. However, the inclusion of a high content of iron in the ZSM-5 structure is hindered due to the high pH required for hydrothermal synthesis. To overcome this problem, the synthesis of Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites with a novel iron chelate complex as the iron source (ammonium iron citrate) and a common iron source (iron chloride) was investigated. The synthesized materials were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, FTIR, XPS and ICP. The total iron content was determined by ICP. Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites prepared by the ammonium iron citrate source method contain the highest iron concentration within the framework of a Mobil five structure, which has a high surface area and crystallinity. The prepared materials were used to remove phenol and ammonium. The catalytic results demonstrated that Fe-ZSM-5 prepared with ammonium iron citrate is the best catalyst.     

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a middle Miocene alluvial fan to cyclic shallow lacustrine depositional system in the Calatayud Basin (NE Spain)

ABSTRACT The middle Miocene sedimentary fill of the Calatayud Basin in north‐eastern Spain consists of proximal to distal alluvial fan‐floodplain and shallow lacustrine deposits. Four main facies groups characteristic of different sedimentary environments are recognized: (1) proximal and medial alluvial fan facies that comprise clast‐supported gravel and subordinate sandstone and mudstone, the latter exhibiting incipient pedogenic features; (2) distal alluvial fan facies, formed mainly of massive mudstone, carbonate‐rich palaeosols and local carbonate pond deposits; (3) lake margin facies, which show two distinct lithofacies associations depending on their distribution relative to the alluvial fan system, i.e. front (lithofacies A), comprising massive siliciclastic mudstone and tabular carbonates, or lateral (lithofacies B) showing laminated and/or massive siliciclastic mudstone alternating with tabular and/or laminated carbonate beds; and (4) mudflat–shallow lake facies showing a remarkable cyclical alternation of green‐grey and/or red siliciclastic mudstone units and white dolomitic carbonate beds. The cyclic mudflat–shallow lake succession, as exposed in the Orera composite section (OCS), is dominantly composed of small‐scale mudstone–carbonate/dolomite cycles. The mudstone intervals of the sedimentary cycles are interpreted as a result of sedimentation from suspension by distal sheet floods, the deposits evolving either under subaerial exposure or water‐saturated conditions, depending on their location on the lacustrine mudflat and on climate. The dolomite intervals accumulated during lake‐level highstands with Mg‐rich waters becoming increasingly concentrated. Lowstand to highstand lake‐level changes indicated by the mudstone/dolomite units of the small‐scale cycles reflect a climate control (from dry to wet conditions) on the sedimentation in the area. The spatial distribution of the different lithofacies implies that deposition of the small‐scale cycles took place in a low‐gradient, shallow lake basin located in an interfan zone. The development of the basin was constrained by gradual alluvial fan aggradation. Additional support for the palaeoenvironmental interpretation is derived from the isotopic compositions of carbonates from the various lithofacies that show a wide range of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values varying from ?7·9 to 3·0‰ PDB and from ?9·2 to ?1·7‰ PDB respectively. More negative δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values are from carbonate‐rich palaeosols and lake‐margin carbonates, which extended in front of the alluvial fan systems, whereas more positive values correspond to dolomite beds deposited in the shallow lacustrine environment. The results show a clear trend of δ¹⁸O enrichment in the carbonates from lake margin to the centre of the shallow lake basin, thereby also demonstrating that the lake evolved under hydrologically closed conditions.     

Occurrence of uraniferous iron and manganese oxides in biotite granite North East Gabal El Sela area, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

Optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and back-scattered electron imaging (BSE) have been used to determine the mineralogical composition of the uraniferous iron and manganese oxides and the associated U-minerals hosted in biotite granite that occurred north east Gabal El Sela area south Eastern Desert, Egypt. These mineralizations were found as veinlets fractures filling associated with strongly kaolinitic alteration of the coarse-grained biotite granite. XRD determined that the geothite mineral form the main constituent of uraniferous iron oxide in addition to tapiolite, and kaolinite minerals, where as uraniferous manganese oxide composed of pyrolusite, ramsdellite, and cryptomelane. BSE confirmed that the associated uranium minerals represented by uranothorite, kazolite, and zentime in addition to columbite-bearing minerals. Uranothorite and columbite-bearing minerals are the most abundant minerals in this mineralization. Petrographically, biotite granite is composed mainly of quartz, in addition to K-feldspars, biotite and muscovite with minor zircon, garnet, apatite, uranium-rich thorite and iron oxide. Petrochemical studies and tectonic discrimination diagrams for this granite reveal that they are classified as granite to alkali feldspar granite, originated from calc-alkaline magma having peraluminous nature and developed in within-plate tectonic environment. Field radiometric measurements revealed the localization of two high radiometric anomalies associated with iron and manganese oxides, within this anomaly uranium content range from 65 to 85 ppm. Alpha Track-etch Detectors of radon gas registrations revealed high track density reach up to 15,448.7 Bq/m³.     

Tectonic deformation and subsurface active fault trends of El-Faiyum province,Egypt as deduced by seismicity and potential field data

We utilized the seismicity and the potential field data to study the tectonic deformation and to delineate the seismically active subsurface tectonic trends of El-Faiyum area. To accomplish these goals, we analyzed and interpreted the seismicity data, the reduced to pole total magnetic intensity, and the Bouguer anomaly maps. We also used the spatial distribution of the recent seismic events and the focal mechanism to outline the local seismic zones that control the seismicity of the study area and to determine the sense of the motion along the subsurface active faults. The focal mechanism of the recent seismic events and the interpreted subsurface tectonic faults from the potential field data reflect strike-slip movements with normal components along the subsurface active faults. The gravity and magnetic maps show a NE-SW regional trend with low gravity and magnetic values. The NE-SW regional trend extends across the whole area and could be related to the Pelusium Megashear fault. A NE-SW trend with high gravity and magnetic exists at the northern part and coincides with the Kattania Uplift and the basaltic flows in Gabal Qatrani area. The gravity and magnetic maps also reveal several local anomalies with different polarities, amplitudes, and extensions, which reflect anticlinal and synclinal structures on the basement surface. The seismotectonic map, generated by linking the basement structure map and the spatial distribution of the recent earthquake foci, reveals the dominant tectonic trends and the subsurface active faults.     

Holocene landscape reconstruction in the surroundings of the Temple of Pepi I at ancient Bubastis,southeastern Nile Delta (Egypt)

In ancient Egypt, lakes, canals, and other water bodies were an essential part of the sacred landscape in which temples were embedded. In recent years, geoarchaeological research at the site of the Temple of Bastet at Bubastis in the southeastern Nile Delta has proven the existence of two water canals surrounding the temple. It has now been investigated whether these canals were connected to the Temple of Pepi I (2300–2250 B.C.E.), located approximately 100 m to the west of the Temple of Bastet. To explore the Holocene landscape genesis of the Temple of Pepi I, 15 drillings and six geoelectrical profile lines were performed in the surroundings of the temple in spring 2022. The results show loamy to clayey sediments in deeper sections of all drillings with a maximum thickness of 1.70 m, indicating a marshy or swampy depositional environment. Based on the recovered sediment sequences and archaeological remains in the vicinity of the Temple of Pepi I, the marshy or swampy area existed before the Fourth Dynasty. During the Old Kingdom (ca. 2850–2180 B.C.E.), the former marshland either dried up through natural processes or was intentionally drained and filled with sediments for subsequent use for occupation. Regarding the original research question, there is as yet no evidence for a direct connection to the canals of the Temple of Bastet.     

影响三大洲的北非强沙尘暴动力机制WRF-chem模拟与分析北大核心

基于WRF-chem模式对北非2018年3月下旬的典型强沙尘暴过程进行模拟,分析了此次强沙尘发生季节、持续时间、局地特征以及传输路径的关键动力系统与动力机制。鉴于起沙是沙尘暴发生的关键点之一,并且起沙主要取决于风力和下垫面沙源性质,本文测试了三种起沙参数化方案的影响,并将模拟结果与卫星MODIS监测及其再分析资料MERRA-2进行了对比,又经系列统计方法检验。结果显示,宏观思路的起沙方案GOCART比AFWA和UoC两种起沙方案更适合此次大尺度强沙尘暴数值模拟(锋面跨度接近60个经度)。综合沙尘暴关键系统的动力机制分析和数值模拟结果显示,强沙尘暴关键系统为深厚的西风槽、沙尘冷锋锋面和锋后的地面高压反气旋。北非中部深厚的西风槽为后倾槽,该系统稳定,造成沙尘暴持续时间长。沙尘暴锋后反气旋中的下沉气流抑制了扬沙向高层扩散,造成低层能见度恶劣。沙尘锋区结合了动力、热动力以及湿热动力不稳定,因此锋区风力大,地面沙尘驱动力强。而西风槽和强大反气旋依托环流形势,提供了沙尘传输到三大洲的长途输送力。