Polycyclic aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons pollution at the coast of Aliağa (Turkey) ship recycling zone

Alia?a Bay is one of the most important maritime zones of Turkey where shipping activity, shipbreaking industry, steel works and petrochemical complexes exist together. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and aliphatic hydrocarbons in sediment of the Alia?a Bay were investigated to evaluate an environmental risk assessment from PAHs contamination in 2009-2010. Aliphatic and PAHs diagnostic ratios were showed to be mainly petroleum-originated and pyrolitic contaminations, respectively. The TEL/PEL analysis suggests that Alia?a sediments were likely to be contaminated by acutely toxic PAH compounds.     

Phase and amplitude error indices for error quantification in pseudodynamic testing

Real-time pseudodynamic (PSD) and hybrid PSD testing methods are displacement controlled experimental techniques that are used to investigate the dynamic behaviour of complex and load rate-dependent structures. Because the imposed command displacements are not predefined but generated during the test based on measured feedback, these methods are inherently prone to error propagation, which can affect the accuracy and even the stability of the entire experiment. As a result, to have these experimental methods as reliable tools, the accuracy of the test results needs to be assessed by carefully monitoring, and if possible, quantifying the errors involved. In this paper, phase and amplitude error indices (PAEI) are introduced to identify the experimental errors through uncoupled closed-form equations. Unlike the indicators that have been previously introduced in the literature for error identification purposes, PAEI do not use test setup specific parameters in their formulation, and can quantify the errors independent of the amplitude of the command displacements. As such, PAEI can be used as standard tools for assessing the quality of the experiments performed in different laboratories or under different conditions. Additionally, because they can quantify the error, when implemented online, PAEI have the potential to be incorporated in the control law and thereby improve the actuator control during the tests. The formulation and implementation of PAEI are provided in this paper. The enhanced performance of the proposed indices is demonstrated by processing several different measured and command signals using PAEI and comparing the results with those revealed by the previous indicators. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Real‐time hybrid testing using the unconditionally stable explicit CR integration algorithm

Real‐time hybrid testing combines experimental testing and numerical simulation, and provides a viable alternative for the dynamic testing of structural systems. An integration algorithm is used in real‐time hybrid testing to compute the structural response based on feedback restoring forces from experimental and analytical substructures. Explicit integration algorithms are usually preferred over implicit algorithms as they do not require iteration and are therefore computationally efficient. The time step size for explicit integration algorithms, which are typically conditionally stable, can be extremely small in order to avoid numerical stability when the number of degree‐of‐freedom of the structure becomes large. This paper presents the implementation and application of a newly developed unconditionally stable explicit integration algorithm for real‐time hybrid testing. The development of the integration algorithm is briefly reviewed. An extrapolation procedure is introduced in the implementation of the algorithm for real‐time testing to ensure the continuous movement of the servo‐hydraulic actuator. The stability of the implemented integration algorithm is investigated using control theory. Real‐time hybrid test results of single‐degree‐of‐freedom and multi‐degree‐of‐freedom structures with a passive elastomeric damper subjected to earthquake ground motion are presented. The explicit integration algorithm is shown to enable the exceptional real‐time hybrid test results to be achieved. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating Curie Point Depth and Heat Flow Map for Northern Red Sea Rift of Egypt and Its Surroundings, from Aeromagnetic Data

In this study, we aim to map the Curie point depth surface for the northern Red Sea rift region and its surroundings based on the spectral analysis of aeromagnetic data. Spectral analysis technique was used to estimate the boundaries (top and bottom) of the magnetized crust. The Curie point depth (CPD) estimates of the Red Sea rift from 112 overlapping blocks vary from 5 to 20 km. The depths obtained for the bottom of the magnetized crust are assumed to correspond to Curie point depths where the magnetic layer loses its magnetization. Intermediate to deep Curie point depth anomalies (10–16 km) were observed in southern and central Sinai and the Gulf of Suez (intermediate heat flow) due to the uplifted basement rocks. The shallowest CPD of 5 km (associated with very high heat flow, ~235 mW m^?2) is located at/around the axial trough of the Red Sea rift region especially at Brothers Island and Conrad Deep due to its association with both the concentration of rifting to the axial depression and the magmatic activity, whereas, beneath the Gulf of Aqaba, three Curie point depth anomalies belonging to three major basins vary from 10 km in the north to about 14 km in the south (with a mean heat flow of about 85 mW m^?2). Moreover, low CPD anomalies (high heat flow) were also observed beneath some localities in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez at Hammam Fraun, at Esna city along River Nile, at west Ras Gharib in the eastern desert and at Safaga along the western shore line of the Red Sea rift. These resulted from deviatoric tensional stresses developing in the lithosphere which contribute to its further extension and may be due to the opening of the Gulf of Suez and/or the Red Sea rift. Furthermore, low CPD (with high heat flow anomaly) was observed in the eastern border of the study area, beneath northern Arabia, due to the quasi-vertical low-velocity anomaly which extends into the lower mantle and may be related to volcanism in northern Arabia. Dense microearthquakes seem to occur in areas where the lateral gradients of the CPD are steep (e.g. entrance of the Gulf of Suez and Brothers Island in the Red Sea). These areas may correspond to the boundaries between high and low thermal regions of the crust. Thus, the variations in the microseismic activity may be closely related to thermal structures of the crust. Indeed, shallow cutoff depths of seismicity can also be found in some geothermal areas (e.g. western area of Safaga city along the Red Sea coastal region and at Esna city along the River Nile). These facts indicate that the changes in the thickness of the seismogenic layer strongly depend on temperature. Generally, the shallow Curie point depth indicates that some regions in our study area are promising regions for further geothermal exploration particularly in some localities along the River Nile, Red Sea and Gulf of Suez coastal regions.     

Vineyard site suitability analysis by use of multicriteria approach applied on geo-spatial data

Abstract

In this research, multicriteria decision analysis with pairwise comparison weighting method was utilized to determine the suitable locations for vineyard plantation in Sarkoy region of Turkey. Soil maps, meteorological measurements, slope, aspect and elevation maps were used as input to conduct spatial analysis. Different methods were compared and pairwise comparison method was identified as the most appropriate method of weighting for this spatial analysis. Current vineyard areas were determined using Worldview-2 imagery and their spatial distribution compared with the resulting suitability map to determine the current suitability. Comparisons showed current vineyards were mostly established in locations where suitability map expresses low capability. Further inspection unveiled that, these low capability lands are closer to the transportation networks and city/county centres that tend to be in sea level elevations as opposed to vine grapes thriving in higher altitudes. Results also enabled providing suggestions on alternative sites for new vineyard plantation.     

Simultaneous Growth of Spirulina platensis and Removal of Hardness in Van Lake Water

In this study, batch experiments were carried out to investigate simultaneous growth of Spirulina platensis and removal of hardness in the Van Lake Water (VLW). Laboratory‐scale studies showed ample Spirulina growth observed in VLW when exposed to light. Spirulina was the only algal specimen inoculated in the water during the study. VLW percentages were varied between 0.1 and 100% while pH values were 8.7–10.42 in the flasks. On a dry‐weight basis the biomass concentration was 1.18 g L^?1 at pH 10 after 17 days of incubation in the VLW. The increase of pH to above 10.38 associated with Spirulina growth resulted in the precipitation of hardness causing compounds while providing 70% hardness removal from the VLW medium. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method can be used to design batch systems for producing S. platensis and removal of hardness from the VLW.     

A microgravity model for the city of İzmir (Western Anatolia) and its tectonic implementations

Western Anatolia has an extensional tectonic regime and the characteristics of the deformation in the continental crust observed in Aegean Region have a very complex structure. In our study area, the ?zmir city, Turkey, which is located within this active region, the general geological setting is also rather complex. This first microgravity study in ?zmir and its surroundings is related to the determination of active fault zones. It was conducted in the south of ?zmir, with the aim to investigate this complex structure in detail through microgravity data collected from six profiles throughout the survey area. The variation in Bouguer values was profoundly investigated along Profile P1 in N-S direction that was delineated to intersect all the tectonic elements. For this reason, Profile P1 was modeled in this study as 2D. As a result, the created gravity model was investigated together with geology, earthquake focal depths, and isostasy.     

The sources of metal contents in the shelf sediments from the Marmara Sea, Turkey

The shelf area is the largest morphological unit of the Marmara Sea and is subjected to increasing population, urbanization, and industrial activities. Metal contents (Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr, Co and Hg) of the surface sediments from the shelf areas of the Marmara Sea generally do not indicate shelf-wide pollution. The variability of the metal contents of the shelf sediments is mainly governed by the geochemical differences in the northern and southern hinterlands. Northern shelf sediments contain lower values compared to those of the southern shelf, where higher Ni, Cr, Pb, Cu and Zn are derived from the rock formations and mineralized zones. However, besides from the natural high background in the southern shelf, some anthropogenic influences are evident from EF values of Pb, Zn and Cu, and also from their high mobility in the semi-isolated bay sediments. Anthropogenic influences are found to be limited at the confluence of Istanbul Strait in the northern shelf. However, suspended sediments along the shallow parts of the northern shelf were found to be enriched in Pb and Hg and to a lesser degree in Zn, reflecting anthropogenic inputs from Istanbul Metropolitan and possibly from the Black Sea via the Istanbul Strait.     

Relations between turbulent regions of interplanetary magnetic field and Jovian decametric radio wave emissions from the main source

Jovian decametric radio wave emissions that were observed at Goddard Space Flight Center, U.S.A. for a period from 1 October to 31 December, 1974 and data obtained at Mt Zao observatory, Tohoku University, Japan, for a period from 14 July to 6 December, 1975 have been used to investigate the relationship of the occurrence of the Jovian decametric radio waves (JDW), from the main source, to the geomagnetic disturbance index, ΣK_p. The dynamic cross-correlation between JDW and ΣK_p indicates an enhanced correlation for certain values of delay time. The delay time is consistent with predicted values based on a model of rotating turbulent regions in interplanetary space associated with two sector boundaries of the interplanetary magnetic field, i.e. the rotating sector boundaries of the interplanetary magnetic field first encounter the Earth's magnetosphere producing the geomagnetic field disturbances, and after a certain period, they encounter the Jovian magnetosphere. There are also cases where the order of the encounter is opposite, i.e. the sector boundaries encounter first Jovian magnetosphere and encounter the Earth's magnetosphere after a certain period.