Comparing hydraulic properties of different forest floors

The forest floor plays an important role in runoff rate, soil erosion and soil infiltration capacity by protecting mineral soils from the direct impact of falling raindrops. Forest floor consists of different kinds of litter with different hydraulic properties. In this study, the inverse method was used to estimate the hydraulic properties of three kinds of forest floor (broad‐leaved, needle‐leaved and mixed‐stand) at three replications in a completely random design. Forest floor samples were collected from the Gilan Province, Iran. The samples were piled up to make long columns 40.88 cm high with an inner diameter of 18.1 cm. Artificial rainfall experiments were conducted on top of the columns, and free drainage from the bottom of the columns was measured in the laboratory. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s), saturated water content and water retention curve parameters (van Genuchten equation) were estimated by the inverse method. The results showed that the K_s of needle‐leaved samples differed significantly (p < 0.05) from those of broad‐leaved and mixed‐stand samples, whereas the latter two did not differ in this regard. No significant differences emerged in the water retention function parameters of van Genuchten (θ_r, β and α) in the three forest floor samples. The saturated water content of mixed‐stand samples was significantly different (p < 0.05) from that of broad‐leaved and needle‐leaved treatments with the latter two samples showing no significant difference. The good agreement between simulated and observed free drainage for all forest floor samples in the validation period indicates that the estimated hydraulic properties efficiently characterize the unsaturated water flow in the forest floor. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Systematic study of effects of pH and ionic strength on attachment of phage PRD1

Objectives of this work are to investigate effects of pH and ionic strength (IS) on virus transport in saturated soil and to develop a quantitative relationship for these effects. A series of 50-cm column experiments with clean quartz sand under saturated conditions and with pH values of 5, 6, 7, 8, and IS values of 1, 10, and 20 mM were conducted. Bacteriophage PRD1 was used as a model virus. Applying a one-site kinetic model, attachment, detachment, and inactivation rate coefficients were determined from fitting breakthrough curves using the software package Hydrus-1D. Attachment rate coefficients increased with decreasing pH and increasing IS, in agreement with DLVO theory. Sticking efficiencies were calculated from the attachment rate coefficients and used to develop an empirical formula for sticking efficiency as a function of pH and IS. This relationship is applicable under unfavorable conditions for virus attachment. We compared sticking efficiencies predicted by the empirical formula with those from field and column experiments. Within the calibrated range of pH and IS, the predicted and observed sticking efficiencies are in reasonable agreement for bacteriophages PRD1 and MS2. However, the formula significantly overestimates sticking efficiencies for IS higher than 100 mM. In addition, it performs less well for viruses with different surface reactivity than PRD1 and MS2. Effects of pH and IS on detachment and inactivation rate coefficients were also investigated but the experimental results do not allow constraining these parameters with sufficient certainty.     

Post-2012 CDM multi-criteria analysis of industries in six Asian countries: Iranian case study

The prospects of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and for carbon income, up to and beyond 2012, in the industrial sectors of Iran and five other Asian countries are investigated. The attractiveness and suitability of each host country, the status of their industrial sectors (based on four post-2012 scenarios), and the post-2012 potential of the CDM (or similar carbon projects) in these sectors are all examined. A multi-criteria analysis of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, China, and India, based on seven sets of criteria (institutional, regulatory, economic, political, social, CDM experience, and energy production/consumption), is conducted, and the post-2012 potential carbon incomes of each country – based on CO₂e emissions of industrial processes – are calculated. Finally, the Iranian industrial sector and the impact of deregulation of energy prices are examined. The post-2012 potential savings in the Iranian industrial sector are calculated based on energy savings, carbon income, and environmental savings. The results indicate that there is strong demand for investment and new technology in this sector to combat several-fold energy price increases. Moreover, high-priced carbon credits could play a meaningful role in post-2012 energy policies in this sector.

Policy relevance

This research is the first study to quantify the carbon market potentials in the industrial sectors of the selected Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members. The Kyoto Protocol is considered by most OPEC countries to be a mixed bag of threats and opportunities and they have shown ambivalence towards it, mainly due to the threat a reduction of fossil fuel consumption poses to their economies. On the other hand, energy efficiency is a desirable goal for their industrial sectors. Iran, as an OPEC member country with vast energy resources, has mostly ignored the CDM during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and has performed poorly on CDM implementation. However, the current deregulation of energy prices in Iran, with profound cuts in energy subsidies, would definitely alter the perspective of its industrial decision makers on the post-2012 carbon potentials.     

Multiple Classifier Systems for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data Classification

One of the most widely used outputs of remote sensing technology is Hyperspectral image. This large amount of information can increase classification accuracy. But at the same time, conventional classification techniques are facing the problem of statistical estimation in high-dimensional space. Recently in remote sensing, support vector machines (SVMs) have shown very suitable performance in classifying high dimensionality problem. Another strategy that has recently been used in remote sensing is multiple classifier system (MCS). It can also improve classification accuracy by combining different classifier methods or by a diversity of the same classifier. This paper aims to classify a Hyperspectral data using the most common methods of multiple classifier systems i.e. adaboost and bagging and a MCS based on SVM. The data used in the paper is an AVIRIS data with 224 spectral bands. The final results show the high capability of SVMs and MCSs in classifying high dimensionality data.     

Late glacial to Holocene sea-level changes in the Sea of Marmara: new evidence from high-resolution seismics and core studies

The late glacial to Holocene sedimentary record of the northern shelf of the Sea of Marmara (SoM) has been documented by detailed seismo-, chrono-, and biostratigraphic analyses using sub-bottom (Chirp) profiles and sediment cores. During MIS 3 and the main part of MIS 2 (60–15 ¹⁴C ka b.p.), disconnection from the Mediterranean and Black seas together with a dry climate resulted in a regression in the SoM, when the Sea was transformed into a brackish lake. The river incisions below 105 m water depth along the northern shelf took place during the last glacial maximum, when the lake level was modulated by stillstands at −98 and −93 m. The post-glacial freshwater transgressive stage of the Marmara ‘Lake’ occurred between 15 and 13.5 ¹⁴C ka b.p., leading to a rise in water level to −85 m by 13.0 ¹⁴C ka b.p., as evidenced by broad wave-cut terraces along the northern shelf. Since 12 ¹⁴C ka b.p., high-frequency sea-level fluctuations have been identified at the SoM entrance to the Strait of İstanbul (SoI). Thus, wave-cut terraces have been recorded at water depths of −76 and −71 m that, according to an age model for core MD04-2750, have ages of 11.5 and 10.5 ¹⁴C ka b.p., respectively. Ancient shoreline at −65 m along the northern shelf presumably formed soon after the Younger Dryas (YD) at ca. 10.1 ¹⁴C ka b.p. Moreover, there is compelling evidence of Holocene outflow from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. At the SoM entrance to the SoI, the existence of bioherms on the reflector surface together with abundant Brizalina spathulata and Protoglobulimina pupoides in a core suggests a return to higher salinities due to strong Mediterranean water incursion into the SoM at ∼8.8 ¹⁴C ka b.p. This finding is consistent with earlier suggestions that, after the YD, the Black Sea was flooded by outflow from the SoM as a result of global sea-level rise.     

Investigating the capability of deformation rate analysis method in stress estimation: a case study of water conveyance tunnel of Gotvand Dam

Knowledge of the magnitude and orientation of the initial in situ stress of rock mass in underground spaces in mining, construction, and oil projects are so vital; hence, putting it aside could not only cost a lot rather incur some irrecoverable damage. Various methods are available to estimate in situ stress in rock mass. However, the most commonly used one, i.e., hydraulic fracturing (HF) method is considered expensive and time consuming. As a matter of fact, laboratory methods based on drilled “core” have become prevalent these days considering them simple, cheap, and quick. Taking into account one such procedure, i.e., deformation rate analysis (DRA), the current research tries to review the DRA capability in determining the magnitude of initial in situ stress is in different parts of stress–strain curve. Further, an investigation was made about the usage of DRA method for both brittle and ductile rocks. To compare the DRA and hydraulic fracturing methods in in situ stress measurement, the water conveyance tunnel of Gotvand Dam was selected as a case study. The DRA tests were conducted on core samples prepared from blocks of tuff (as brittle) and soft sandstones (as ductile) from shallow quarry. The results show that the DRA method is suitable for all types of intact rock and that this could easily estimate in situ stress values. A comparison between in situ stress values obtained by DRA and those of HF method show the feasibility of geotechnical project, simplicity, speed, and low cost.     

Fluoride pollution in soils and waters of Koohbanan region, southeastern Iran

Dental fluorosis occurs because of fluoride over-absorption during tooth calcification and maturation. We studied fluoride concentration in water and soil samples of the Koohbanan region in Kerman province of southeastern Iran and the effects of calcium chloride and gypsum treatments in decreasing the amount of fluoride in water samples of this region. The results indicate that the high amount of fluoride in the water samples of Koohbanan region is not in agreement with the recommended amount of fluoride concentration for drinking water by World Health Organization (that is 1–1/5 mg/l). Applying calcium chloride and gypsum treatments decreased the amount of fluoride in the water samples showing that utilizing calcium chloride (6 mg/l) or gypsum (12 mg/l) can lower the fluoride concentration in the water samples of Koohbanan, and thus solve the observed dental fluorosis problem.     

Heavy metal contamination in water and sediment of the Port Klang coastal area, Selangor, Malaysia

This investigation presents the temporal and spatial distribution of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Hg, and Zn), in water and in sediments of Port Klang, Malaysia. Water and sediment samples were collected from 21 stations at 3-month intervals, and contamination factor $ (C_{\text{f}} ) $ and contamination degree $ (C_{\text{d}} ) $ were calculated to estimate the contamination status at the sampling stations. Cluster analysis was used to classify the stations based on the contamination sources. Results show that concentrations of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb in sediment and As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Cr, and Zn in water were significantly higher than the background values at which these metals are considered hazardous. The main sources of heavy metal contamination in Port Klang were industrial wastewater and port activities.