Status of macrobenthic community of Manifa-Tanajib Bay System of Saudi Arabia based on a once-off sampling event

Shallow water bays located in the western Arabian Gulf experience harsh environmental conditions. Some of these bays, including Manifa-Tanajib Bay System (MTBS), were also exposed to the 1991 oil pollution event. This study investigates the status of the macrobenthos in MTBS during 2006. This bay system is characterized by very shallow inner bays with elevated salinity and temperature compared to the rest of the bay area. As a result mainly of the hyper salinity, the inner bay communities are distinct from the outer bay communities. Overall, fairly high species richness with several rare species was observed. High Shannon-Wiener diversity values and ABC plots indicated the healthy status of the polychaete communities, while BOPA index indicated slightly polluted status in 20% of the stations. The oil sensitive amphipods were not completely re-colonized in 20% of the stations, even after 15 years of recovery from the 1991 oil spill.     

Foraminifers and conodonts from the late Viséan to early Bashkirian succession in the Saharan Tindouf Basin (southern Morocco): biostratigraphic refinements and implications for correlations in the western Palaeotethys

The Carboniferous succession in the Tindouf Basin of southern Morocco, North Africa, displays Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian marine beds, followed by Pennsylvanian continental deposits. The marine beds comprise a shallow water cyclic platform sequence, dominated by shales and fine‐grained sandstones with thin but laterally persistent limestone/dolostone beds. Foraminiferal assemblages have been studied in the limestone beds in several sections from the Djebel Ouarkziz range in the northern limb of the Tindouf Syncline; they indicate that the age of the limestones range from late Asbian (late Viséan) to Krasnopolyanian (early Bashkirian). The foraminiferal assemblages are abundant and diverse, and much richer in diversity than those suggested by previous studies in the region, as well as for other areas of the western Palaeotethys. The richest assemblages are recorded in the Serpukhovian but, unusually, they contain several taxa which appear much earlier in Western European basins (in the latest Viséan). In contrast, conodont assemblages are scarce due to the shallow‐water facies, although some important taxa are recorded in the youngest limestones. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation on crude oil penetration depth into soils

The main objectives of this paper are to study crude oil migration as a toxic fluid, its rate of penetration, and its consequences for eventual treatment. To achieve these objectives, an experimental model was designed comprising two separated columns, filled with soil and other rock types to simulate a real case scenario. Crude oil penetration depth versus time was recorded by taking soil samples whereas water samples were collected from the wet system to analyze the penetrating liquid. The results show that penetration depth was greater in the wet system during the early stages rather than in the dry system. However, with time, penetration becomes more developed in both systems. Overall penetration in the final stage was found to be significantly higher in the dry system. In addition, it was observed that during crude oil migration in dry system, chromatographic separation of crude oil components has occurred obviously. The obtained results reveal that immediate treatment must be performed in both systems but particularly in the wet system, due to its higher initial penetration rate.     

Modeling and risk assessment of landslides using fuzzy logic. Application on the slopes of the Algerian Tell (Algeria)

Natural risk regains the notion of exposure to natural disaster or dangers of any natural hazard. Its management consists in the assessment and the anticipation of risks, as well as to the setting up of an alert system. From natural risk, we mentioned one bound to landslides in natural slopes that are difficult to surround and approach. Nevertheless, the assessment of landslides risk is the object of several works of research and many models, based on the multicriteria analysis, have been established. It should be noted that based on multicriteria approach, we evaluated, in a previous work, the landslide risk using the weighted sum model. The results reveal that the use of qualitative parameters influenced the classification of slope. This led us to adopt fuzzy logic approaches for assessment. This work examines the contribution of fuzzy sets theory to modeling and assessment of landslides risk in natural slopes. It brought to use this approach that permits the survey of these imprecision in adopting a Mamdani model. The method has been applied on slopes, situated in four areas of the Algerian Tell, where each is characterized by the different natural conditions. The result, put in evidence, summarizes modeling and risk assessment of landslides in an optimal classification of slopes according to the degree of instability risk. It allows decision makers to put in strategies for possible work of these slopes.     

Axisymmetric finite element analysis of pile loading tests

In this paper a typical soil–structure interaction problem is considered, the case of a vertical pile installed in sand and submitted to an axial compression loading. Results from two full scale pile tests are analysed and the tests are reproduced by numerical simulations via finite elements method (FEM). The choice of the mechanical parameters for the soil and the sand–pile interface and the modelling approach are first described. A new numerical strategy is outlined to account for pile installation effects due to jacking and driving via FEM. The proposed approach is based on the application of existing empirical correlations available for the quantification of residual radial and shear stresses along the pile shaft as well as residual pressures around the pile base after the installation. This approach is proposed as an alternative to more complex methods based on the numerical modelling of the pile penetration problem. The role of the constitutive modelling of the interface is also discussed. Finally, comparative analyses of pile loading tests using FEM are provided and the comparisons between numerical and experimental results are presented and discussed.     

Effect of decompression and suction on macroscopic and microscopic behavior of a clay rock

The goal in this research was to analyze the effects of decompression and suction on the formation of cracks in a clay rock from the Andra (French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency) site at Bure (Meuse–Haute-Marne, France). The article investigates the relationship between the changes in the hydromechanical properties and the changes in microstructure and porosity. Concerning the effect of decompression, at the macroscopic scale, the study highlighted an important effect on the elastic modulus and permeability, but little effect at the microscopic scale except an evolution of mineralogy related to the oxidation of pyrite often present in layers where cracks develop. Concerning the effect of suction, at the macroscopic level, the results showed that, on drying path, the change in the properties of the material was very small, whereas, on wetting path, a large decrease in tensile strength and gas permeability was observed. At the microscopic level, observations with SEM and ESEM, and measurements with MIP, highlighted the evolution of microstructural organization as a function of suction, and the propagation and enlargement of cracks on wetting path, rather than on drying path.     

Identification and mapping of clay minerals in the region of Djebel Meni (Northwestern Algeria) using hyperspectral imaging,EO-1 Hyperion sensor

Applied in Djebel Meni (Northwestern of Algeria), this research highlights the results obtained from the supervised classification using the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) algorithm, through introducing the spectral signatures of illite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite, via Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) spectral library. These results were compared to the ones of the SAM classification, which use spectral signatures obtained by the Sequential Maximum Angle Convex Cone (SMACC) endmembers extraction algorithm. This implies the ability to detect and identify any object present on the Earth’s surface, whether its nature is mineral, vegetal, or human made, from hyperspectral imaging. By extracting the spectral signatures with the SMACC algorithm and matching them to the current signatures of JPL spectral library, comparing spectral signatures with another is not an easy task. Indeed, for a better comparison and a more appropriate interpretation in the use of the SAM classification, the results obtained were very relatively convincing because, regarding very strong similarities. It appears also that the signatures extracted with SMACC occupy the same areas as those of the JPL spectral library. This method of detection and identification of any present object on the Earth’s surface is rather conclusive.     

The Deep Mixing Method: Bearing Capacity Studies

Nowadays, several techniques are employed to improve the problem of carrying out construction in soft soils by increasing the strength of the soil foundation and reducing the settlement of the soil. Among these stabilizing techniques, the deep mixing method is regarded as the most popular. The deep mixing method is a soil modification method where the soil is mixed in situ with stabilizing agents, commonly soil–cement columns. It increases the strength of the soil, providing bearing resistance and improved settlement performance. Deep mixing is carried out in situ using a machine equipped with mixing blades mounted at the end of a tube that has a nozzle at the lower end. The stabilizer agent is injected into the soil via the nozzle using a pumping system so that it mixes with the soil as the blades are rotated. Throughout this paper, previous works by numerous researchers on deep mixing including laboratory work, full-scale field tests, analytical and numerical analyses related to bearing capacity are reviewed. The techniques and results used are discussed with the help of figures depicting charts, failure modes, and the model configuration setup. It was found that the deep mixing method is suitable for use with any type of soil and provides a better alternative to the existing method of improving soft clay ground, especially with regard to the soil bearing capacity. In addition, future research is needed to improve the use of the method for soil improvement in the construction industry.     

Genetic and morphological divergence in the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) across the African Mediterranean coast

The present investigation focuses on population structure analysis of the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus across the African Mediterranean coast, with the main aim of assessing the influence of the Siculo-Tunisian Strait on gene flow disruption in this highly dispersive echinoid species. For this purpose, patterns of morphological and genetic variation were assessed among its populations from the western and eastern Mediterranean coasts. A total of 302 specimens from seven Tunisian sites were collected and examined for morphometric variability at twelve morphometric traits. Concordant results, inferred from CDA (canonical discriminant analyses), pairwise NPMANOVA (non parametric multivariate analysis of variance) comparisons and MDS (multidimensional scaling) plot, unveiled significant inter-population differences in the measured traits among the studied populations. Furthermore, the combined use of the one way ANOSIM (analysis of similarities) and the Discriminant/Hotelling analysis allowed unravelling two morphologically differentiated groups assigned to both western and eastern Mediterranean basins. The SIMPER (similarity percentages) routine analysis showed that total dry weight, test diameter and spine length were major contributors to the morphometric separation between locations and between groups. Pattern of phenotypic divergence discerned in P. lividus across the Siculo-Tunisian Strait is interestingly in congruence with that inferred from the genetic investigation of the purple sea urchin populations from the same region based on the analysis of the mtDNA COI (cytochrome oxidase I) gene in 314 specimens from nineteen locations covering a wider geographic transect, streching westward to the Algerian coast and eastward to the Libyan littoral. The specific haplotypic composition characterizing each Mediterranean basin, as inferred from the minimum spanning network, confirmed the geographic partioning of genetic variation, as revealed by F-statistics and AMOVA (analysis of molecular variance) analyses, yielding significant genetic differentiation between eastern and western Mediterranean populations. The newly detected phylogeographic patterns, observed for the first time in P. lividus throughout the explored distribution range, suggest the involvement of different biotic and abiotic processes in shaping such variation, and provide evidence that a large and geographically exhaustive dataset is necessary to unveil phylogeographic structure within widespread marine species, previously cathegorized as panmictic in part of their distribution range.     

Rate of seawater intrusion estimated by geophysical methods in an arid area: Al Khabourah, Oman

Seawater intrusion and its spreading rate are the challenging problems in over-pumped coastal aquifers of arid zones like the Batinah region of Oman. The study delineates the saline plume, identifies saline/freshwater zones, and estimates the migration rate of the plume in the Al Khabourah area of the Batinah coast. Time domain electromagnetic surveys, aided by vertical electrical sounding surveys, and seismic refraction methods have defined the locus of the saline/freshwater interface in the area. The current (2007) interface position, when compared with that determined during 2002, indicates a prominent recession in the saline plume and suggests an average annual recession rate of 120 m. This recession may be attributed mainly to the recharging dam of Wadi Al Hawasinah, constructed in 1995, and the enforcement of new water resources legislation. This study reveals the shielding role of the recharging dam to counter advancing saline intrusion.