Assessing desertification by using soil indices

Desertification generally refers to land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry semi-humid climatic zones. It involves five principal processes: vegetation degradation, water erosion, wind erosion, salinization and waterlogging, and soil crusting and compaction. The aim of this study is assessing desertification using soil criteria. For this purpose, nine indices including sodium absorption ratio (SAR), soil gypsum percentage, soil texture, the content of HCO₃ ^?, the percentage of the organic matter, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, the content of the soil sodium, and chloride were used. The soil samples were taken in the north of Zayandeh-Rood River in Isfahan province of Iran, using soil data randomly sampled in a depth of 0–20 cm. After assessing the normality of the samples using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, indices were imported into GIS environment and interpolated with IDW and normal and discrete kriging methods for delineating soil characteristics maps based on MEDALUS model. In this model, the data were firstly changed from 100 to 200. Thus 100 and 200 are estimated as the best and worst quality, respectively. Then the final map of soil criteria has been created by geometric mean of its indicators. The results showed that the maximum area is related to the medium class of desertification and is equal to 44,746 ha. The areas of severe and very severe classes of desertification are equal to 30,949 and 351 ha, respectively. The results also revealed that the indices of the organic matter and soil gypsum percentage are the most influential indices which affect desertification phenomenon.     

EXPERIMENTAL AND FIELD STUDY ON MINING-PIT MIGRATION

1 INTRODUCTION Because of the large quantity of sand and gravel in their beds, rivers have always been considered as a major source of sand and gravel for civil works. Acceptable quality, ease of extraction and economy are some of the reasons could be mentioned. Unfortunately, specific laws and regulations regarding the safe in-stream mining have not been provided for users and officials. What should be taken into account are the effects of over-mining of sand and gravel, which can cause …     

Late quaternary seismic stratigraphy and active faults of the Gulf of İzmit (NE Marmara Sea)

The Upper Quaternary seismic stratigraphy and active faults of the Gulf of İzmit were investigated by means of high-resolution shallow seismic profiling data in the source region of 1999 İzmit earthquake. High-resolution seismic reflection data correlated with borehole data indicate that the stratigraphy of İzmit Bay consists of three distinct depositional sequences formed in response to middle Pleistocene-Holocene sea-level changes. Reflector R, separating the pre-Holocene sequences (1 and 2) from the Holocene sequence (3), represents an erosional unconformity produced by the subaerial fluvial erosion of the continental shelves at the time of the last glacial maximum. Occasional, anomalous reflections (acoustic turbidity) observed within the Holocene sequence are interpreted as gas accumulations. The maximum thickness of the Holocene sediments is found to be about 25 m. The isopach map of Holocene sediment implies that the thickness of the Holocene decreases from the east towards the central and western basins of İzmit Bay. Two distinct fault systems are interpreted in İzmit Bay. The main fault system extending roughly in an E-W direction along the Gulf of İzmit is an active right lateral strike slip fault with a normal component. The secondary faults are normal faults striking in different directions and these are identified as being both active and inactive. In addition, prominent compressive features are identified in the seismic cross-sections of some profiles acquired to the east of Hersek Peninsula where the focal mechanisms of the aftershocks of the 1999 İzmit earthquake also reveal predominantly reverse faulting mechanisms, as identified by a local dense seismic network.     

Prediction of riverine suspended sediment discharge using fuzzy logic algorithms, and some implications for estuarine settings

The ability of fuzzy logic algorithms to model relationships between stream flow and suspended sediment discharge was investigated using daily measurements of stream flow and suspended sediment discharge for the Escanaba River mouth station, situated on the shore of Lake Michigan and operated by the US Geological Survey. Three different configurations of inputs were applied, whereby the inputs were fuzzified into fuzzy subsets of variables by means of triangular membership functions. The relationships between inputs and suspended sediment discharge (output) were represented by a set of fuzzy rule expressed in IF–THEN format. The weighted average method served for defuzzification. The commonly used sediment rating curve was also applied to the data, and its performance compared with that of the three models by means of statistical analyses. For all three models, suspended sediment discharge predicted by the fuzzy logic algorithm was in satisfactory agreement with observations. Furthermore, the fuzzy logic algorithms performed better than the sediment rating curve, particularly at higher rates of suspended sediment discharge (in this study, more than 50  × 10⁶ g/day). Considered collectively, the use of fuzzy logic algorithms is suggested as a simple and effective approach for better prediction of suspended sediment discharge, also for estuaries.     

Production of the Crab Elamenopsis kempiHymenosomatidae in the Garmat-Ali Region, Basrah, Iraq

Abstract. The production of the hymenosomatid crab Elamenopsis kempi was calculated for a period of 18 months from a subtidal area of the Garmat-Ali river, southern Iraq. The highest average individual somatic energy was attained in spring. Maximum population biomass and production were attained by the summer cohort and the minimum values were exhibited by the overwintering cohort. The fluctuations of the average population biomass were followed throughout the sampling period. Average total annual population production was 13.2 g DW · m^-2· a^-1 and the P/B ratio was 5.9. These values were compared with those of the most common crustaceans in the region.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">H-M</Emphasis> bearing capacity of a modified suction caisson determined by using load-/displacement-controlled methods

This paper presents a series of monotonically combined lateral loading tests to investigate the bearing capacity of the MSCs (modified suction caissons) in the saturated marine fine sand. The lateral loads were applied under load- and displacement-controlled methods at the loading eccentricity ratios of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5. Results show that, in the displacement-controlled test, the deflection-softening behavior of load-deflection curves for MSCs was observed, and the softening degree of the load-deflection response increased with the increasing external skirt length or the decreasing loading eccentricity. It was also found that the rotation center of the MSC at failure determined by the load-controlled method is slightly lower than that by the displacement-controlled method. The calculated MSC capacity based on the rotation center position in serviceability limit state is relatively conservative, compared with the calculated capacity based on the rotation center position in the ultimate limit state. In the limit state, the passive earth pressures opposite the loading direction under load- and displacement-controlled methods decrease by 46% and 74% corresponding to peak values, respectively; however, the passive earth pressures in the loading direction at failure only decrease by approximately 3% and 7%, compared with their peak values.     

On the fairing of resistance test data: A software-based approach

A fairing method is presented for giving a good representation of ship model resistance test data, which in general tend to exhibit a scattered trend and need to be smoothed appropriately. One component of the test data originates from the frictional resistance and can be formulated smoothly. The second component is the wave resistance which exhibits a specific harmonic character with peaks and troughs. In this method, this component is modelled using suitable harmonic cosine terms for obtaining the best representation of the corresponding resistance data. The performance of the method is then tested on two example cases, using the characteristic parameters of the sample data as input during the smoothing process.     

Present environmental status of Al-Kharrar Lagoon,central of the eastern Red Sea coast,Saudi Arabia

Al-Kharrar Lagoon is a fossil back-reef basin with hypersaline waters, situated 10 km northwest of Rabigh city, central of the eastern Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia. About 130 stations were selected for measurements of the lagoon’s water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and water depths during March 2014. The common macro-algae, flora, and fauna were also sampled and identified. The present study aims to investigate the prevailing environmental parameters and their impact on the macro-fauna/flora of the lagoon. The average water depth of the lagoon was around 5 m and reached maximum values of 8 and 16 at the lagoon centre and inlet, respectively. The results showed that the lagoon’s surface water temperature and salinity have mean values of 25 °C and 40‰, but with extreme values of 30 °C and 45‰ that occurred only at the enclosed intertidal areas, respectively. Their dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH were 6.5 mg/l and 8.3, respectively and the latter showing the highest values up to 8.5 in the intertidal areas dominated by the green cyanobacteria. These physicochemical conditions make the lagoon as a favorite place for the mangrove Avicennia marina, macro-algae, seagrasses (Halophila stipulacea and Cymodocea rotundata), and algal mats (Cyanobacteria) which dominate the intertidal and supratidal areas of the lagoon, tolerating extremely high-salinity and high-temperature conditions. On the other hand, corals were observed alive at the southern part of the lagoon, immediately south of the Al-Ultah Islet. Vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and density in the lagoon’s water indicated that the water column consists of two layers throughout the year.     

Spatial analysis of water quality and its suitability in farming giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in Negeri Sembilan region,Peninsular Malaysia

Finding potential sites for resilient prawn production in the tropical environment that also prevents wastage of natural resources is not an easy task. The purpose of this study is to evaluate water quality suitability for prawn farming in Negeri Sembilan of Peninsular Malaysia based on Geographic Information System (GIS). To achieve this goal, numerous criteria including sources of water, water temperature, water pH, sources of pollution, salinity, soil texture and availability of phytoplankton criteria were considered for the modelling process. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was performed to standardize the criteria and the weighting process. The weighted overlay of indicators and results were accomplished by applying the Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method in GIS. It was indicated that the Negeri Sembilan area has potential for prawn farming. The results showed that about 25 per cent (163 056.93 ha) of the area was most suitable for prawn farming, about 58 per cent (384 656.88 ha) was considered moderately suitable, while 18 per cent (117 633.49 ha) was regarded as least suitable. The study concluded that the multi‐criteria decision analysis of water quality for prawn farming is vital for regional economic planning in the Negeri Sembilan area and also significant when establishing a model for aquaculture development.     

Leachability of trace elements from two stabilized low lime Indian fly ashes

Fly ash is a waste by-product obtained from the burning of coal by thermal power plants for generating electricity. When bulk quantities are involved, in order to arrest the fugitive dust, it is stored wet rather than dry. Fly ash contains trace concentrations of heavy metals and other substances in sufficient quantities to be able to leach out over a period of time. In this study an attempt was made to study the leachabilities of a few selected trace metals: Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Pb and Zn from two different types of class F fly ashes. Emphasis is also laid on developing an alternative in order to arrest the relative leachabilities of heavy metals after amending them with suitable additives. A standard laboratory leaching test for combustion residues has been employed to study the leachabilities of these trace elements as a function of liquid to solid ratio and pH. The leachability tests were conducted on powdered fly ash samples before and after amending them suitably with the matrices lime and gypsum; they were compacted to their respective proctor densities and cured for periods of 28 and 180 days. A marked reduction in the relative leachabilities of the trace elements was observed to be present at the end of 28 days. These relative leachability values further reduced marginally when tests were performed at the end of 180 days.