Heavy metal pollution and acid drainage from the abandoned Balya Pb-Zn sulfide Mine,NW Anatolia,Turkey

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the waste-rock dump (WRD) of the underground polymetallic Balya Mine on the Kocacay River and eventually on Lake Manyas in Turkey. Data presented in this paper include geochemical characteristics of various kinds of water (mine, surface and groundwater) and of suspended-particle samples in the vicinity of Balya. The more polluted mine waters have low pH and high conductivity, while high concentrations of Zn, Cd, Mn tend to be found in the dry and wet seasons. High concentrations of Pb, As, Cr, Cu and S appear only in the wet season. The sources of the heavy metal concentration within the Kocacay River are leached waste, surface run off, and overflow from the spillway of the WRD. To minimize the formation of acids and dissolved metal, and for the remediation of the harmful effects of extreme contamination conditions, it is recommended that lime or alkali materials and organic carbon be added to simulate the action of sulfate-reducing bacteria.     

A fault zone cause of large amplification and damage in Avcılar (west of Istanbul) during 1999 Izmit earthquake

Twenty seven buildings collapsed and 2076 buildings were heavily damaged during 17 August 1999 Izmit Earthquake in Avc?lar (west of Istanbul), which is nearly 100 km from the epicenter of the earthquake. The geology of Avc?lar consists of Upper Miocene poorly bounded conglomerate and sandstone (Çukurçe?me formation), claystone with sandstone and limestone interbedding (Güngören member) and limestone with sandstone and claystone interbedding (Bak?rköy formation). Lithological and geotechnical parameters of these formations in Avc?lar are not different from non damaged parts of the western Istanbul such as Zeytinburnu, Bak?rköy and Beylikdüzü, but these formations were cut by several faults in the damaged area. Collapsed and damaged buildings are located on this fault zone. Thus, cause of large amplification and damage in Avc?lar might be related with this fault zone because the fault zone behaves as a waveguide trapping seismic energy.     

Analysis of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst transport in porous media

Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite, transmitted through aqueous environments in the form of an oocyst. In this study, a transport model into which sorption, filtration and inactivation mechanisms are incorporated is applied to simulate laboratory column data, and the suitability of a kinetic model to describe the C. parvum oocyst transport and removal in porous media is compared with an equilibrium model. The kinetic model is applied to simulate previous column experimental data and successfully simulates the concentration peak; the late time tailing effect appeared in the breakthrough curves, indicating that the kinetic model is more suitable than the equilibrium one at simulating the fate and transport of the oocysts in porous media. Simulation illustrates that sorption causes retardation along with a tailing in the breakthrough curve. Additionally, filtration acts as a major mechanism of removing the oocysts from the aqueous phase, whereas the role of inactivation in reducing the viable oocyst concentration is minimal. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater potential mapping by combining fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process and GIS in Beyşehir Lake Basin,Turkey

Delineation of the groundwater potential zones is one of the most essential process for the sustainable management of the groundwater sources. However, groundwater studies are quite hard and complex for many regions besides consuming time and cost. This study focused on the groundwater potential mapping in Bey?ehir Lake Basin. Mainly, fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy-AHP) integrated with GIS was used to determine potential zones for groundwater. Seven parameters, namely lithology, lineament, drainage density, land use, slope, soil type, and rainfall were evaluated and Groundwater Potential Index (GWPI) was calculated using weight and rating coefficients of each parameter. According to obtained results, GWPI varies from 0.07665 to 0.28243 in the basin. The low, moderate, and high groundwater potential classes were determined with quantile classification method. The groundwater potential map demonstrates that the high groundwater potential area is located around the lake shore, in the alluvium and limestone fields because high permeability rates depend on soil type, low slope, karstic structure, and agricultural activities in these regions. In addition, the distribution of the springs confirms with groundwater potential area determined with this study.     

The role of short-wave troughs on the formation and development of sea-effect snowbands in the western Black Sea

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The short waves (less than 6000 km) embedded within the long waves and the resulting short-wave troughs have an effect on the sea-effect snow (SES)....     

Multi-proxy records of Quaternary fluvio-lacustrine sediments around Lakes Eymir and Mogan,Ankara (Central Anatolia,Turkey)

This paper presents the mineralogical, geochemical, palynological and stable isotopic compositions of the Late Pleistocene–Holocene fluvio-lacustrine sediments around Lakes Eymir and Mogan (Ankara), Central Anatolia. It is based on the interpretation of the multi-proxy records in conjunction with the geochronological data in eight different sections. The comparison between the increase/decrease in the abundances of carbonates and total clay assemblages is correlated with the changing abundance of coniferous forests and herbaceous plants (mainly Asteraceae and Chenopodiaceae). δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values and molecular weathering ratios of the sediments revealing the hydrolysis, evaporation and leaching together with chemical index of alteration (CIA) provide insight into the climatic changes in the study area between 11,899 and 1428 cal year BP. Relatively higher total clay amount, δ¹⁸O of around ?8‰ and higher CIA (>40%) with higher hydrolysis suggest humid conditions during 11,899–6448 cal year BP. Between 6448 and 5763 cal year BP, sediments show oscillations between high and relatively low values of the proxy data implying intercalation of dry and wet seasons. The last period recorded between 5763 and 1428 cal year BP is realized with high calcite precipitation–low total clay and low CIA and relatively higher salinization which directly characterize aridity.     

Determining optimum tilt angles of solar surfaces in Sakarya,Turkey

Climate change constitutes a major challenge for high productivity in wheat, the most widely grown crop in Germany. Extreme weather events including dry spells and heat waves, which negatively affect wheat yields, are expected to aggravate in the future. It is crucial to improve the understanding of the spatiotemporal development of such extreme weather events and the respective crop-climate relationships in Germany. Thus, the present study is a first attempt to evaluate the historic development of relevant drought and heat-related extreme weather events from 1901 to 2010 on county level (NUTS-3) in Germany. Three simple drought indices and two simple heat stress indices were used in the analysis. A continuous increase in dry spells over time was observed over the investigated periods from 1901–1930, 1931–1960, 1961–1990 to 2001–2010. Short and medium dry spells, i.e., precipitation-free periods longer than 5 and 8 days, respectively, increased more strongly compared to longer dry spells (longer than 11 days). The heat-related stress indices with maximum temperatures above 25 and 28 °C during critical wheat growth phases showed no significant increase over the first three periods but an especially sharp increase in the final 1991–2010 period with the increases being particularly pronounced in parts of Southwestern Germany. Trend analysis over the entire 110-year period using Mann-Kendall test revealed a significant positive trend for all investigated indices except for heat stress above 25 °C during flowering period. The analysis of county-level yield data from 1981 to 2010 revealed declining spatial yield variability and rather constant temporal yield variability over the three investigated (1981–1990, 1991–2000, and 2001–2010) decades. A clear spatial gradient manifested over time with variability in the West being much smaller than in the east of Germany. Correlating yield variability with the previously analyzed extreme weather indices revealed strong spatiotemporal fluctuations in explanatory power of the different indices over all German counties and the three time periods. Over the 30 years, yield deviations were increasingly well correlated with heat and drought-related indices, with the number of days with maximum temperature above 25 °C during anthesis showing a sharp increase in explanatory power over entire Germany in the final 2001–2010 period.     

Reply to the comment on “Prediction of ground vibrations resulting from the blasting operations in an open pit mine by adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system” by Tarkan Erdik

Environmental Earth Sciences -     

Durability assessment of the Ala?at? tuff (Izmir) in western Turkey

Ala?at? tuff has been used extensively as a source of building stone for outdoor and indoor decorations since the historical times in and around the tourist town of Ala?at? (western Turkey). The use of the Alacati tuff in buildings has been made compulsory by the Ala?at? municipality, for preserving the historical appearance of the buildings, after 2005 in Ala?at?. It has been noticed that, evident deteriorations developed in tuff surfaces of the stone buildings and garden walls within 5?C6?years of their emplacement. Durability properties of the Ala?at? tuff are evaluated by determining the mineralogical, chemical, and physico-mechanical properties of the fresh tuff samples obtained from the only operative quarry in the area. Ageing tests such as Na₂SO₄ and MgSO₄ salt crystallization, freezing?Cthawing, and wetting?Cdrying were conducted on the fresh tuff samples to assess their durability. Additionally, the durability of the tuff is also evaluated by determining its average pore diameter, saturation coefficient, wet-to-dry strength ratio, static rock and slake-durability indices. Fresh Ala?at? tuff has high porosity and low unit weight and strengths and are classified to be very poor to moderately durable stone based on the test results of different durability assessment methods. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses have also been carried out on the deteriorated tuff samples collected from the surfaces of the stone buildings to determine the effect of weathering on tuff and the test results have been compared with those of the fresh tuff samples. There is no major difference observed between the mineralogy and chemistry of the fresh and weathered tuff samples thus, it has been concluded that physical weathering has been dominant in the area in deterioration of tuff.