The use of soft shore protection measures in shallow lakes: Research methodology and case study

Shore protection in lakes is an issue of major importance in Switzerland where several big lakes in plains suffer from a pronounced bank erosion. For the moment, in shallow lakes, soft and biotechnical protection measures proved their reliability. Unfortunately, the scientific basis for the design of such techniques does not exist in some cases or not appropriate enough in order to have an optimized effect. Therefore, the aim of an on-going research project is to study, on the basis of physical and numerical modeling, the impact of such measures on the shores regarding bank erosion, and to establish the main basis for their dimensioning. A 2-D numerical model was used to simulate the eroded beach of Préverenges on the North coast of Lake Geneva. Hence, this case study allowed a better understanding of the numerical capacities of the program by modelling wave effect on bedload sediment transport and shore erosion as well as wind role in the generation of littoral currents.     

Seismic performance evaluation of high‐voltage disconnect switches using real‐time hybrid simulation: II. Parametric study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study that consists of real‐time hybrid simulation tests of electrical insulator posts on a smart shaking table. A companion paper presents the details of the development and validation of the real‐time hybrid simulation system used for conducting the tests of this parametric study. The purpose of the parametric study presented in this paper is to evaluate the effect of support structure damping and stiffness on the response of disconnect switches with two different insulator materials, namely porcelain and polymer insulator posts. Various global and local response parameters including accelerations, forces, displacements, and strains are considered in this evaluation. The data obtained from the conducted tests show that the maximum insulator response corresponds to the case where the support structure frequency is close to the insulator frequency. An incorporated evaluation of all the response parameters indicates that the stiff support structures constitute the most suitable configuration for both material types of the tested insulator posts. It is also observed that support structure damping has an effect on the response of both insulator types. However, this effect is secondary compared with the effect of support structure stiffness. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lead isotopes and trace elements in some Miocene Red Sea galenas

Summary Lead-zinc mineralization occurs in Miocene sediments along the Egyptian Red Sea Coast in several localities. Galena samples were collected from some of these localities for isotopic and trace elements studies. The isotopic ratios²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb,²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb,²⁰⁹Pb/²⁰⁴Pb for these samples indicate that they are contaminated with radiogenic lead (J-type anomalous lead) with different degrees. The variation in the degree of contamination is significant and indicates a non-uniform source of uranium and thorium from which radiogenic lead was deriven. The highst contaminations were observed in samples collected from sediments overlying or close to acidic basement rocks. The trace element content indicates that galenas were formed at low temperature from solutions that circulated the underlying basement picking several trace elements in addition to radiogenic lead.     

Application of spectral analysis technique on ground magnetic data to calculate the Curie depth point of the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez,Egypt

The bottom of the magnetized crust determined from the spectral analysis of magnetic anomaly is interpreted as a level of the Curie point isotherm. A spectral analysis technique was used to estimate the depth of the magnetic anomalies sources (Curie point depth analysis) of the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. The depth to the tops and centers of the magnetic anomalies are calculated by azimuthally averaged power spectrum method for the whole area. The results obtained suggests from this study showed that the average depth to the top of the crustal block ranges between 1.15 and 1.9 km, whereas the average depth to the center of the deepest crustal block ranges between 9.1 and 12.7 km. Curie point depths in the study area range between 14.5 km in the northwestern part of the study area and 26 km in the southeastern part of the study area. The results imply a high geothermal gradient (34.7 °C/km) and corresponding high heat flow value (72.87 mW/m²) in the northwestern part of the study area. The southeastern part of the study area displays a low geothermal gradient (24.26 °C/km) and low heat flow value (50.9 mW/m²). These results are consistent with the existence of the possible promising geothermal reservoir in the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez especially at Hammam Faraun area.     

Preliminary study of the microstructure and mineralogy of 12th and 13th century ceramics,Samsat, Southeastern Turkey

The mineralogy and microstructure of 12th and 13th century ceramics from Samsat, Turkey were examined with an X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope. There is a highly vitrified interlayer between the glaze and body in these sherds that probably accounts for the high durability of these ceramics. the lower vitrification and uniformity of the body in these ceramics suggests that leftover glaze was not mixed with paste during manufacture. Finally, the presence of tabular forsterite in the pores of the body points to the use of magnesium rich raw materials.