Geochemistry and geodynamics of the Mawat mafic complex in the Zagros Suture zone, northeast Iraq

The Iraqi Zagros Orogenic Belt includes two separate ophiolite belts, which extend along a northwest-southeast trend near the Iranian border. The outer belt shows ophiolite sequences and originated in the oceanic ridge or supra-subduction zone. The inner belt includes the Mawat complex, which is parallel to the outer belt and is separated by the Biston Avoraman block. The Mawat complex with zoning structures includes sedimentary rocks with mafic interbedded lava and tuff, and thick mafic and ultramafic rocks. This complex does not show a typical ophiolite sequences such as those in Penjween and Bulfat. The Mawat complex shows evidence of dynamic deformation during the Late Cretaceous. Geochemical data suggest that basic rocks have high MgO and are significantly depleted in LREE relative to HREE. In addition they show positive ? _Nd values (+5 to+8) and low 87Sr/86Sr ratios. The occurrence of some OIB type rocks, high Mg basaltic rocks and some intermediate compositions between these two indicate the evolution of the Mawat complex from primary and depleted source mantle. The absence of a typical ophiolite sequence and the presence of good compatibility of the source magma with magma extracted from the mantle plume suggests that a mantle plume from the D″ layer is more consistent as the source of this complex than the oceanic ridge or supra-subduction zone settings. Based on our proposed model the Mawat basin represents an extensional basin formed during the Late Paleozoic to younger along the Arabian passive margin oriented parallel to the Neo-Tethys oceanic ridge or spreading center. The Mawat extensional basin formed without creation of new oceanic basement. During the extension, huge volumes of mafic lava were intruded into this basin. This basin was squeezed between the Arabian Plate and Biston Avoraman block during the Late Cretaceous.     

Temporal trends and spatial characteristics of drought and rainfall in arid and semiarid regions of Iran

Drought, a normal recurrent event in arid and semiarid lands such as Iran, is typically of a temporary nature usually leaving little permanent aftermath. In the current study, the rainfall and drought severity time series were analyzed at 10 stations in the eastern half of Iran for the period 1966–2005. The drought severity was computed using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for a 12‐month timescale. The trend analyses of the data were also performed using the Kendall and Spearman tests. The results of this study showed that the rainfall and drought severity data had high variations to average values in the study period, and these variations increased with increasing aridity towards the south of the study area. The negative serial correlations found in the seasonal and annual rainfall time series were mostly insignificant. The trend tests detected a significant decreasing trend in the spring rainfall series of Birjand station at the rate of 8.56 mm per season per decade and a significant increasing trend in the summer rainfall series of Torbateheydarieh station at the rate of 0.14 mm per season per decade, whereas the rest of the trends were insignificant. Furthermore, the 12‐month values of the standardized precipitation index decreased at all the stations except Zabol during the past four decades. During the study period, all of the stations experienced at least one extreme drought which mainly occurred in the winter season. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adsorption of BTEX on Surfactant Modified Granulated Natural Zeolite Nanoparticles: Parameters Optimizing by Applying Taguchi Experimental Design Method

In this paper, a novel adsorbent developed by means of granulating of natural zeolite nanoparticles (i.e., clinoptilolite) was evaluated for possible removal of the petroleum monoaromatics (i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, BTEX). To do this, the natural zeolite was ground to produce nanosized particulate, then modified by two cationic surfactants and granulated. The effect of various parameters including temperature, initial pH of the solution, total dissolved solids (TDS), and concentration of a competitive substance (i.e., methyl tert‐butyl ether, MTBE) were studied and optimized using a Taguchi statistical approach. The results ascertained that initial pH of the solution was the most effective parameter. However, the low pH (acidic) was favorable for BTEX adsorption onto the developed adsorbents. In this study, the experimental parameters were optimized and the best adsorption condition by determination of effective factors was chosen. Based on the S/N ratio, the optimized conditions for BTEX removal were temperature of 40°C, initial pH of 3, TDS of 0 mg/L, and MTBE concentration of 100 µg/L. At the optimized conditions, the uptake of each BTEX compounds reached to more than 1.5 mg/g of adsorbents.     

A Geometric Computational Model for Calculation of Longwall Face Effect on Gate Roadways

In this paper a geometric computational model (GCM) has been developed for calculating the effect of longwall face on the extension of excavation-damaged zone (EDZ) above the gate roadways (main and tail gates), considering the advance longwall mining method. In this model, the stability of gate roadways are investigated based on loading effects due to EDZ and caving zone (CZ) above the longwall face, which can extend the EDZ size. The structure of GCM depends on four important factors: (1) geomechanical properties of hanging wall, (2) dip and thickness of coal seam, (3) CZ characteristics, and (4) pillar width. The investigations demonstrated that the extension of EDZ is a function of pillar width. Considering the effect of pillar width, new mathematical relationships were presented to calculate the face influence coefficient and characteristics of extended EDZ. Furthermore, taking GCM into account, a computational algorithm for stability analysis of gate roadways was suggested. Validation was carried out through instrumentation and monitoring results of a longwall face at Parvade-2 coal mine in Tabas, Iran, demonstrating good agreement between the new model and measured results. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was carried out on the effect of pillar width, bearing capacity of support system and coal seam dip.     

Video monitoring of in-channel wood: From flux characterization and prediction to recommendations to equip stations

Wood flux (piece number per time interval) is a key parameter for understanding wood budgeting, determining the controlling factors, and managing flood risk in a river basin. Quantitative wood flux data is critically needed to improve the understanding of wood dynamics and estimate wood discharge in rivers. In this study, the streamside videography technique was applied to detect wood passage and measure instantaneous rates of wood transport. The goal was to better understand how wood flux responds to flood and wind events and then predict wood flux. In total, one exceptional wind and seven flood events were monitored on the Ain River, France, and around 24,000 wood pieces were detected visually. It is confirmed that, in general, there is a threshold of wood motion in the river equal to 60% of bankfull discharge. However, in a flood following a windy day, no obvious threshold for wood motion was observed, which confirms that wind is important for the preparation of wood for transport between floods. In two multi-peak floods, around two-thirds of the total amount of wood was delivered on the first peak, which confirms the importance of the time between floods for predicting wood fluxes. Moreover, we found an empirical relation between wood frequency and wood discharge, which is used to estimate the total wood amount produced by each of the floods. The data set is then used to develop a random forest regression model to predict wood frequency as a function of three input variables that are derived from the flow hydrograph. The model calculates the total wood volume either during day or night based on the video monitoring technique for the first time, which expands its utility for wood budgeting in a watershed. A one-to-one link is then established between the fraction of detected pieces of wood and the dimensionless parameter “passing time × frame rate ”, which provides a general guideline for the design of monitoring stations.     

Investigation of Headcut Erosion in Cohesive Soils

Headcut, known as knickpoint migration too, is developed due to sudden change in channel bed followed by bed scour and erosion which progressing upstream. The results are the downstream morphological change and transporting massive sediment to the downstream reservoir. Most of the past studies focus on non-cohesive soils, although many problems occur because of cohesive soils. In this study, 10 different samples of cohesive soils in long term consolidation with different composition of silt and clay were tested under different circumstances of waterfall height and flow velocity to investigate the neck migration rate and the sediment yield. Tests were continued to reach a constant migration rate. One of the effective phenomena in all tests was tensional cracks on soil surface. The size and number of these cracks have inverse relation with percent of clay. Because of these cracks, massive erosion occurs at the beginning of all tests. By reducing percent of clay, headcut, waterfall height and sediment yield were increased and by reducing waterfall height and flow velocity these parameters were reduced. In lower percent of clay, headcut erosion will occur quickly with more slants. Caving phenomenon was not observed in any tests and massive erosion rate was more quickly.     

A new rating system approach for risk analysis of rock slopes

In this paper, an approach is presented to analyze the stability risk of rock slopes based on a new rating system. Three factors are used to estimate the risk level of rock slopes: (1) failure probability, (2) element at risk rating, and (3) vulnerability rating. Element at risk and vulnerability ratings are both given a range from 0 to 10, and the probability of failure is varied between 0 and 1, so the risk rating ranges between 0 and 100. This risk rating can be used to determine both the quantitative and qualitative risk levels of slopes at the same time. The method is tested on the western sector of the slopes facing Songun copper plant phase III, Iran, to clarify its procedures and assess its validity. Deterministic kinematic analyses showed that the slope has a potential for circular failure. Risk assessments revealed that the risk levels of the slope in both static and pseudo-static conditions are “very low” and “high,” respectively.     

Groundwater Origin in Qanats,Chemo-Isotopic,and Hydrogeological Evidence

A systematic study of the chemo-isotopic characteristics and origin of the groundwater was carried out at six major qanats in the hyper-arid Gonabad area, eastern Iran. These qanats as a sustainable groundwater extraction technology have a long history, supporting human life for more than a thousand years in this region. The Gonabad qanats are characterized by outlet electrical conductivity (EC) values of 750 to 3900 µS/cm and HCO₃-Na-Mg and Cl-Na water types. The Gonabad meteoric water line (G_nMWL) was drawn at the local scale as δ²H = 6.32×δ¹⁸O + 8.35 (with R² = 0.90). It has a lower slope and intercept than the global meteoric water line due to different water vapor sources and isotope kinetic fractionation effects during precipitation in this arid region. The altitude effects on isotopic content of precipitation data were derived as δ¹⁸O = (−0.0031 × H_(m.a.s.l))−1.3). The δ²H and δ¹⁸O isotopes signatures demonstrate a meteoric origin of the groundwater of these qanats. The shift of the qanat's water samples from the local meteoric water line (LMWL) in a dry period with higher temperatures is most probably due to evaporation during the infiltration process and water movement in qanat gallery. Based on the isotopic results and mass balance calculations, the qanats are locally recharged from an area between 2000 to 2400 m.a.s.l of nearby carbonate formations and coarse alluvial sediments. The dissolution of evaporate interlayers in Neogene deposits deteriorates the groundwater quality, especially in Baidokht qanat.     

Physical and numerical studies of stability of soil blocks reinforced by brittle shear pins

In this paper, the stability and failure mechanism of soil blocks that were reinforced by brittle shear pins and rested on a low-interface friction plane were studied by means of physical and numerical models. The humid silica sand no. 6 was employed to build the physical models of soil blocks, while the Teflon sheet was employed as the low-interface friction plane. To study the effect of stabilizing piles on slopes, the soil blocks were reinforced by brittle shear pins using pencil leads with 2 mm in diameter. Three-dimensional finite element analyses were employed to analyze the stability of this problem. The effects of numbers and patterns of shear pins on the stability and failure mechanisms of physical and numerical models were compared and discussed.

     

Reconstruction management policies in residential and commercial sectors after the 2003 bam earthquake in Iran

In the very early hours of 26th December 2003, a devastating and strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck Bam, one of the historical cities of Kerman province in the south of Iran. According to the official reports, more than 30,000 were killed and about 25,000 injured. More than 80% of the town’s buildings were also destroyed. After the disaster, Bam’s reconstruction management process was presented with a lot of challenges and faced many fundamental questions. The number of human losses and related social issues, extensive destruction of the historical town, and also the lack of good experience in the reconstruction of a city or town made the reconstruction project of Bam more complicated. The reconstruction of Bam was the most important post-disaster reconstruction project among recent reconstructions in Iran. Many factors, such as concern over the government and international agencies, the new managerial approaches, and the application of appropriate reconstruction methods, made it different from the other reconstruction programs. Thus, the post-earthquake reconstruction of Bam is investigated in this research with respect to the importance of this issue. The aim behind this article is to give a brief explanation of the earthquake reconstruction management policies in Bam and also the plans for the reconstruction and rebuilding of urban residential and commercial units.