Structural control of groundwater flow regimes and groundwater chemistry along the lower reaches of the Zerka River,West Jordan,using remote sensing,GIS, and field methods

A hydrogeological study was completed within a sub-catchment of the Zerka River drainage basin, in western Jordan. The system is characterized by anticlinal bending with an axis trending SSW–NNE and plunging a few degrees in the SSW direction. The anticlinal structure diverts groundwater flow towards the SSW while the strike-slipe faults cause the groundwater to diverge where the fault is perpendicular to the groundwater flow lines, and to converge where the fault is parallel to the groundwater flow lines. A direct relationship was found between the location of springs and the type of groundwater flow with regard to the amount of discharge wherein large spring discharges are located in zones of converging groundwater flow lines. In areas where faults are not abundant, the groundwater retention time in the aquifers is long and a zonation of the electrical conductivity was detected due to mineral dissolution. By controlling groundwater flow, the anticlinal setting produces three genetic groups of groundwater flow systems: (1) alkaline–earth alkaline water which is predominately a bicarbonate-type composition, (2) alkaline–earth alkaline water which is predominately bicarbonate–sulfate, and (3) alkaline–earth alkaline water with a high alkaline component.     

Coastal erosion in the south-eastern Mediterranean: case of beaches in North Tunisia

This research is conducted as part of a Spanish International Cooperation Agency project with the aim to investigate the sustainable protection of Tunisian coastal zones, as in the case of Beni Khiar and Dar Chaabane coasts (Hammamet Gulf) separated by Oued El Kebir river. The sedimentary dynamic of these beaches is studied in order to identify the main causes responsible for their erosion by the use of different approaches of in situ measurements and numerical methods. Geophysical surveys and sedimentary analyses have demonstrated that sediments are finer and less carbonated from Beni Khiar to Dar Chaabane. Then, the shoreline mapping of several missions of aerial photos has illustrated a mean shoreline retreat between 3 and 4 m/year. In terms of sand volume, a sediment loss more than 30,000 m³/year at Dar Chaabane has been observed since the hill lake structures were built within Oued El Kebir river in 1996. Finally, modelled hydrodynamic and sedimentary patterns have illustrated the refraction of waves in deep water close to shoals and a high-energy concentration along Dar Chaabane coast. The sediment transport direction is mainly of NE-SW induced by ESE-SE wave-driven alongshore current. Results provided by these approaches have shown the importance of Oued El Kebir sediment yield in supplying the neighbouring beaches. Changes in sedimentary dynamics are affected by the modification of hydrodynamic patters caused by the presence of hydrological dams and the implementations of hotels close to the shoreline. This finding underlines the key role of Oued El Kebir fluvial activity in controlling the equilibrium of beaches and their sensitivity to coastal managements induced by man activities, as in the case of the most Mediterranean beaches.     

Mixing and differentiation in the Oruanui rhyolitic magma, Taupo, New Zealand: evidence from volatiles and trace elements in melt inclusions

Large pyroclastic rhyolites are snapshots of evolving magma bodies, and preserved in their eruptive pyroclasts is a record of evolution up to the time of eruption. Here we focus on the conditions and processes in the Oruanui magma that erupted at 26.5 ka from Taupo Volcano, New Zealand. The 530 km³ (void-free) of material erupted in the Oruanui event is comparable in size to the Bishop Tuff in California, but differs in that rhyolitic pumice and glass compositions, although variable, did not change systematically with eruption order. We measured the concentrations of H₂O, CO₂ and major and trace elements in zoned phenocrysts and melt inclusions from individual pumice clasts covering the range from early to late erupted units. We also used cathodoluminescence imaging to infer growth histories of quartz phenocrysts. For quartz-hosted inclusions, we studied both fully enclosed melt inclusions and reentrants (connecting to host melt through a small opening). The textures and compositions of inclusions and phenocrysts reflect complex pre-eruptive processes of incomplete assimilation/partial melting, crystallization differentiation, magma mixing and gas saturation. ‘Restitic’ quartz occurs in seven of eight pumice clasts studied. Variations in dissolved H₂O and CO₂ in quartz-hosted melt inclusions reflect gas saturation in the Oruanui magma and crystallization depths of ∼3.5–7 km. Based on variations of dissolved H₂O and CO₂ in reentrants, the amount of exsolved gas at the beginning of eruption increased with depth, corresponding to decreasing density with depth. Pre-eruptive mixing of magma with varying gas content implies variations in magma bulk density that would have driven convective mixing. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Study on rain-runoff process in the peripheral mountainous area of the Sichuan Basin

Studies on rain-runoff process in the peripheral mountainous area of the Sichuan Basin, which is regarded as a key ecological shelter, will contribute to flood control and environmental protection for the Upper Yangtze River Basin. In two typical catchments--the Fujiang River Catchment and the Wujiang River Catchment, rainfall simulations have been conducted to study the rain-runoff processes of yellow soil and limestone soil in three types of land use--forestland, farmland and grassland. Results showed that （1） within the same rainfall process, overland flow occurs first on farmland, then on grassland, and finally on forestland; （2） soil surface coverage has a great impact on the occurrence and amount of overland flow. The runoff amount can increase 2-4 times after the coverage is removed; （3） the infiltration before the occurrence of overland flow will decrease because of higher gravel contents of soil, but it takes no effect on infiltration once overland flow becomes stable; （4） the runoff coefficient of the limestone soil forestland is greater than that of the yellow soil forest land, but less than that of the farmland; （5） three empirical infiltration models, including Horton＇ model, Kostiakov＇ model, and modified Kostiakov＇ model, were compared by using the observed results under rainfall simulation. The results showed that the Kostiakov＇ model performed better than both the Horton＇ model and modified Kostiakov model. According to the results of this research, the Kostiakov＇s model can be used to simulate rainfall infiltration when water erosion is modeled in the peripheral mountainous area of the Sichuan Basin.     

The age distribution of galactic cosmic rays

The distribution of ages for secondary and interacting cosmic-ray nuclei is derived for a class of steady-state, bounded models of diffusion in the galaxy. Results are presented in detail for the model in which diffusion is in one dimension, sources are uniformly distributed throughout the scattering region, and particles are observed near the central plane of the galaxy. The leakage-lifetime approximation is shown to be accurate as long as the ratio of the cosmic-ray diffusive lifetime to the mean interaction or decay lifetime is less than about ten.     

Biosorption of methylene blue from aqueous solutions by Typha angustata phytomass

The objective of this study was to investigate the biosorption of an azo dye (Methylene blue) by a wetland phytomass (Typha angustata) under post-phytoremediation scenario. Thus, the phytomass was used without any chemical modification. The batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of contact time and temperatures (25–45 °C) on the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution by cattail phytomass (CP). More than 80 % of MB dye was removed from the aqueous solution within first 10 min of the experiment. Langmuir isotherm was modeled to describe the monolayer adsorption of MB dye (R ² = 0.995) with the maximum adsorption capacity of 8.1 mg/g at 25 °C. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model adequately described the kinetics of absorption process (R ² = 0.999). The adsorption of MB on the cattail phytomass was a spontaneous and endothermic process that was governed by chemisorption. Hence, CP could be applied as a potential low cost biosorbent to treat dyeing wastewater.