Numerical modeling of flow in riverine basins using an improved dynamic roughness coefficient

Various parameters such as bed and bank materials, shape and irregularity of the section, vegetation, river meanders, plan of the river path etc. affect the flow hydraulic resistance. In open channel hydraulics the effects of all these parameters are generally considered as the roughness coefficient. The Manning’s equation is one of the most practical equations to flow resistance analysis, in which the surface roughness is defined by Manning coefficient. Since many parameters are effective on the value of this coefficient, in this research study it was tried to define the roughness coefficient somehow that it be able to dynamically change with different river and hydraulic conditions. The collected data in Karun River (Iran) for two periods were used as the case study. It is shown that the accuracy of model predictions for water surface elevations were improved more than 13% in error estimation in comparison with the corresponding results obtained for a constant roughness coefficient. The roughness coefficient (n) for Karun River was also estimated using the empirical method proposed by Cowan for two different dry and wet periods. These values were then successfully compared with the average corresponding roughness coefficients calculated by the numerical model for those periods.     

Superiority of neural networks for pillar stress prediction in bord and pillar method

Estimation of pillar stress is a crucial task in underground mining. This is used to determine pillar dimensions, room width, roof conditions, and general mine layout. There are several methods for estimating induced stresses due to underground excavations, i.e., empirical methods, numerical solutions, and currently artificial intelligence (AI). AI based techniques are gradually gaining popularity especially for problems involving uncertainty. In this paper, an attempt has been made to predict stresses developed in the pillars of bord and pillar mining using artificial neural network. A comparison has also been done to compare the obtained results with the boundary element method as well as measured field values. For this purpose, a multilayer perceptron neural network model was developed. A number of architectures with different hidden layers and neurons were tried to get the best solution, and the architecture 5-20-8-1 was found to be an optimum solution. Sensitivity analysis was also carried out to understand the influence of important input parameters on pillar stress concentration.     

Soil organic carbon stock as affected by land use/cover changes in the humid region of northern Iran

This study was conducted to determine the changes in the soil carbon stocks as influenced by land use in a humid zone of Deylaman district(10,876 ha), a mountainous region of northern Iran. For this, land use maps were produced from TM and ETM+ images for 1985, 2000 and 2010 years; and this was supplemented by field measurement of soil carbon in 2010. The results showed that the mean soil organic carbon(SOC) density was 6.7±1.8 kg C m-2, 5.2±3.4 kg C m-2 and 3.2±1.8 kg C m-2 for 0-20 cm soil layer and 4.8±1.9 kg C m-2, 3.1±2 kg C m-2 and 2.7±1.8 kg C m-2 for 20-40 cm soil layer in forest, rangeland and cultivated land, respectively. During the past 25 years, 14.4% of the forest area had been converted to rangeland; and 28.4% of rangelands had been converted to cultivated land. According to the historical land use changes in the study area, the highest loss of SOC stocks resulted from the conversion of the forest to rangeland(0.45×104 Mg C in 0-40 cm depth layer); and the conversion of rangeland to cultivated land(0.37×104 Mg C in 0-40 cm), which typically led to the loss of soil carbon in the area studied. The knowledge on the historical land use changes and its influence on overall SOC stocks could be helpful for making management decision for farmers and policy managers in the future, for enhancing the potential of C sequestration in northern Iran.     

THE NARAGH METEORITE: A NEW OLIVINE-BRONZITE CHONDRITE FALL

At 9:20 A.M. on August 18, 1974, a stony meteorite of approximately 3200 grams struck the roof of a secondary school at Naragh, Central Iran, (51°30′E, 33°45′N). The ellipsoidal dark-gray meteorite was 17 × 15 × 13 cm (density 3.62 gr/cm³). XRF and wet chemical analysis yields the bulk composition of the meteorite as follows in weight percent: Fe 11.95, Ni 1.05, Co 0.07, FeS 5.49, SiO₂ 37.15, TiO₂ 0.15, Al₂O₃ 2.43, Cr₂O₃0.62, FeO 14.25, MnO 0.23, MgO 23.79, CaO 1.61, Na₂O 0.92, K₂O 0.08, P₂O₅ 0.26. Modal mineral contents (in volume percent) are olivine 40, orthopyroxene 25, clinopyroxene 3, plagioclase 10.5, chromite 0.80, phosphate 0.70, troilite 6, metal phases 14. The meteorite is fine-grained, with average grain size about 0.4–0.6 mm and contains numerous recrystallized glassy chondrules. Olivine occurs as laths and radiating crystals in chondrules and as coarse-grained phenocrysts and interstitial microcrystalline grains in the matrix. These olivines have relatively uniform composition (Fo_80–82Fa_20–18). Fine-grained skeletal orthopyroxenes of average composition (En₁₆Fs₈₂Wo₀₁) are inter-grown with olivine in both chondrules and matrix. Clinopyroxene and plagioclase of average composition (En_6.5Fs₄₈Wo_45.5) and (Ab₈₂An₁₂Or₀₆) respectively, are evenly distributed in the matrix, together with kamacite (Fe_92–95), plessite (Fe_69.6–82.2) and taenite (Fe_46.7–66.1), troilite (Ni-free) and chromite grains. The high ratios of total Fe to SiO₂ of 0.71, metallic Fe to total Fe of 0.54, and SiO₂ to MgO of 1.56 in the bulk composition, the Fa component of olivine grains of 17.5–19.6, and the high Ca content of orthopyroxenes between 0.53 and 0.87 wt % suggest that the Naragh meteorite belongs to the H-group and petrologic type 6 of Van Schmus and Wood (1967) classification. In addition, the occurrence of fine-grained clear sodic plagioclase, the presence of numerous recrystallized chondrules with homogeneous silicate minerals, and the absence of Ni in the sulfide phase indicate that the Naragh meteorite has been metamorphosed after the initial crystallization in the parental body.     

Biostratigraphy of Asmari Formation in Ghare Agha seyed of Farsan region,Chaharmahale Bakhtiari Province,Iran

The Asmari Formation consists of shallow marine sedimentary rocks deposited on ramp setting .Lar-ger benthic foraminifera collected from Asmri Formation are dominated by hyaline and porcelanouse forms , in-cluding Amphistegina, Nummulites, Archaias, Astrotrillina, Miogypsinella, Miogypsinoides, Lepidocyclina, Operculina, Spiroclypeous and Miliolids.The presence of Nummulites cf.vascus in the lower part of the forma-tion allows the age to be determined as Rupelian .The occurrence of Borelis pygmae is an index taxon of the Ru-pelian-Chattian and indicates Early Chattian of SBZ 21-22 in the study section .The first appearance of Mio-gypsinella akadagensis shows Late Chattian ( SBZ 23) and defines the upper boundary of the SBZ 21-22.The new data are the first evidences showing that the shallow marine Asmari Formation is attributed to Oligocene (Rupelian-Chattian) age for this region.     

Textural relations,P-T path,polymetamorphism and also geodynamic significance of metamorphic rocks of the Aligudarz-Khonsar region,Sanandaj-Sirjan zone,Iran

The metamorphic rocks of the Aligudarz-Khonsar region can be divided into nine groups: slate, phyllite, sericite schist, biotite-muscovite schist, garnet schist, garnet-staurolite schist, staurolite schist, mylonitic granite, and marble. In this metamorphic region, four phases of metamorphism can be identified (dynamothermal, thermal, dynamic and retrograde metamorphism) and there are three deformation phases (D1, D2 and D3). Paleozoic pelagic shales experienced prograde metamorphism and polymetamorphism from the greenschist to amphibolite facies along the kyanite geotherm. The metapelites show prograde dynamothermal metamorphism from the greenschist to amphibolite facies. Maximum degree of dynamothermal metamorphism is seen in the Nughan bridge area. Also development of the mylonitic granites in the Nughan bridge area shows that dynamic metamorphism in this area was more intense than in other parts of the AligudarzKhonsar metapelitic zone. The chemical zoning of garnets shows three stages of growth and syn-tectonic formation. With ongoing metamorphism, staurolite appeared, and the rocks reached amphibolite facies, but the degree of metamorphism did not increase past the kyanite zone. Thus, metamorphism of the pelitic sediments occurred at the greenschist to amphibolite facies (kyanite zone). Thermodynamic studies of these rocks indicate that the metapelites in the Aligudarz-Khonsar region formed at 490–550°C and 0.47–5.6 kbar.     

Regionalization of potential evapotranspiration using a modified region of influence

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - This study examined the effect of different attributes on regionalization of potential evapotranspiration (ETp) in Urmia Lake Basin (ULB), Iran, using the...     

Analysis of the stress field and strain rate in Zagros-Makran transition zone

Transition boundary between Zagros continental collision and Makran oceanic-continental subduction can be specified by two wide limits: (a) Oman Line is the seismicity boundary with a sizeable reduction in seismicity rate from Zagros in the west to Makran in the east; and (b) the Zendan-Minab-Palami (ZMP) fault system is believed to be a prominent tectonic boundary. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the stress field in the Zagros-Makran transition zone by the iterative joint inversion method developed by Vavrycuk (Geophysical Journal International 199:69-77, 2014). The results suggest a rather uniform pattern of the stress field around these two boundaries. We compare the results with the strain rates obtained from the Global Positioning System (GPS) network stations. In most cases, the velocity vectors show a relatively good agreement with the stress field except for the Bandar Abbas (BABS) station which displays a relatively large deviation between the stress field and the strain vector. This deviation probably reflects a specific location of the BABS station being in the transition zone between Zagros continental collision and Makran subduction zones.     

Some new lead oxide minerals and murdochite from T. Khuni Mine,Anarak, Iran

Four new lead oxide minerals together with ample murdochite (PbCu₆O₈) were found at the T. Khuni mine in the Anarak area of Central Iran. The formulae and proposed names are: Khuniite (Pb_1.6Zn_0.2Cu_0.2)CrO₅, Chrominium 2 PbO·CrO₃, Plumangite (Cu_0.85Zn_0.15)O·PbMn₄O₁₆ and a mineral X with the formula Pb₉O₁₆. These results were obtained by combined microscopic, X-ray and microprobe analyses.

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Zusammenfassung Vier neue Bleioxyd-Minerale, die mit reichlich Murdochit (PbCu₆O₈) verwachsen sind, wurden in der T. Khuni-Grube im Anarakgebiet in Zentralpersien gefunden. Ihre Eigenschaften und ihre Paragenese werden beschrieben. Es sind: Khuniit (Pb_1.6Zn_0.2Cu_0.2)CrO₅, Chrominium 2 PbO·CrO₃, Plumangit (Cu_0.85Zn_0.15)O·PbMn₄O₁₆ und ein Mineral X von der Zusammensetzung Pb₉O₁₆.Diese Mitteilung beruht auf Beobachtungen im Mikroskop, auf Röntgendaten und Mikrosondenuntersuchungen.

     

Inverse problem theory to chemo-poroelastic parameters estimation: an analytical/experimental investigation

Shale formation swelling is one of the main factors affecting wellbore instability and associated problems in drilling operation. In order to eliminate these problems, it is important to investigate formation characteristics and understand mechanisms of rock-fluid interaction, from chemical/mechanical point of view. Shale membrane efficiency is known as an important parameter affecting wellbore instability. In order to measure this parameter, many mathematical models and experimental efforts have been carried out which consider mechanical-chemical processes for rock-fluid interactions. In this study, the field equations governing the problem have been derived based on the linear chemo-poroelastic theory and solved using analytical/numerical methods. Afterward, a comprehensive workflow to characterize the chemo-poroelastic parameters of illite-rich shale is conducted in the laboratory. In fact, mineralogical and apparent properties of shale sample have been described and some setups were performed such as triaxial test and membrane efficiency. Then genetic algorithm has been applied to solve an inverse problem and get a match between experimental data and modeling results. Ultimately, the three important properties in shale-fluid interactions, i.e., shale membrane efficiency, hydraulic, and chemical diffusivity coefficient have been estimated. Comparing the simulation results with the experimental data indicates that the simulation model can appropriately simulate the pore pressure transmission test. With this approach, the required parameters can be estimated with good accuracy without using time-consuming and costly tests.