Least-squares Minimization Approaches to Interpret Total Magnetic Anomalies Due to Spheres

We have developed three different least-squares approaches to determine successively: the depth, magnetic angle, and amplitude coefficient of a buried sphere from a total magnetic anomaly. By defining the anomaly value at the origin and the nearest zero-anomaly distance from the origin on the profile, the problem of depth determination is transformed into the problem of finding a solution of a nonlinear equation of the form f(z)=0. Knowing the depth and applying the least-squares method, the magnetic angle and amplitude coefficient are determined using two simple linear equations. In this way, the depth, magnetic angle, and amplitude coefficient are determined individually from all observed total magnetic data. The method is applied to synthetic examples with and without random errors and tested on a field example from Senegal, West Africa. In all cases, the depth solutions are in good agreement with the actual ones.     

Synchronization issues in ocean telemetry

The synchronization problem over fading dispersive channels is discussed. Although stated in general terms, the results are equally applicable to sonar and undersea problems in which the propagation medium has significant multipath spread and fluctuation rate. Optimum detection over such channels requires a perfect knowledge of the channels' scattering functions, which completely characterize the behavior of fading dispersive channels. Lack of such knowledge may result in performance degradation. A closed-form expression for the probability of false alarm and probability of detection is given, and a set of curves is provided to demonstrate the amount of degradation due to mismatch conditions. A parallel structure to achieve acquisition is suggested, and its performance is investigated. A performance measure for the synchronizer in this mode is defined. Upper and lower bounds on the performance measure are derived. The effect of various parameters, such as the signal-to-noise ratio, pulse width and modulation, number of pulses, spread of the channel, and the size of the resolution cell on the performance of the synchronizer is investigated. After achieving acquisition, the system needs to switch to the tracking mode. An optimum closed-loop symbol synchronizer is developed     

Experimental studies on solar stills and their performance characteristics

Summary Demineralization of saline water, using different designs of solar stills, has been considered. The productivity and efficiency of these stills, were determined daily and for a whole year.To investigate the basic principles of the solar distillation process, meteorological measurements concerning the solar intensity the wind speed and the ambient air temperature were undertaken simultaneously together with the temperature measurements of the brine and the glass cover of one of the stills during its operation. The results obtained gave valuable information concerning the construction and design of solar stills.     

Depicting urban boundaries from a mobility network of spatial interactions: a case study of Great Britain with geo-located Twitter data

Existing urban boundaries are usually defined by government agencies for administrative, economic, and political purposes. However, it is not clear whether the boundaries truly reflect human interactions with urban space in intra- and interregional activities. Defining urban boundaries that consider socioeconomic relationships and citizen commute patterns is important for many aspects of urban and regional planning. In this paper, we describe a method to delineate urban boundaries based upon human interactions with physical space inferred from social media. Specifically, we depicted the urban boundaries of Great Britain using a mobility network of Twitter user spatial interactions, which was inferred from over 69 million geo-located tweets. We define the non-administrative anthropographic boundaries in a hierarchical fashion based on different physical movement ranges of users derived from the collective mobility patterns of Twitter users in Great Britain. The results of strongly connected urban regions in the form of communities in the network space yield geographically cohesive, nonoverlapping urban areas, which provide a clear delineation of the non-administrative anthropographic urban boundaries of Great Britain. The method was applied to both national (Great Britain) and municipal scales (the London metropolis). While our results corresponded well with the administrative boundaries, many unexpected and interesting boundaries were identified. Importantly, as the depicted urban boundaries exhibited a strong instance of spatial proximity, we employed a gravity model to understand the distance decay effects in shaping the delineated urban boundaries. The model explains how geographical distances found in the mobility patterns affect the interaction intensity among different non-administrative anthropographic urban areas, which provides new insights into human spatial interactions with urban space.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry studies on the Nusab El Balgum granitic batches,South Western Desert,Egypt

Igneous rocks of Nusab El Balgum are formed as an elongated complex mass covering an area of about 4 km?×?12.5 km (50 km²), in the NNE-SSW direction of the Tarfawi-Qena-South Sinai trend, which is a branch of the Trans-African shear zone at the intersection with the Kalabsha fault, which is a branch from Guinean-Nubian lineaments. The continuous reactivation of these two major weakness zones from the late Triassic to recent times has created many generations of the magma batches. The exposed granitic rocks of these batches at Nusab El Balgum were represented by the fresh peralkaline granite (youngest) and hydrothermally altered granites (oldest). The fresh peralkaline granite takes the form of a small stock composed essentially of perthites, quartz, sodic pyroxenes, amphiboles (secondary), and rare albite according to the proportion of presence, respectively. The accessory minerals are zircon, bastnaesite-(Ce), columbite-(Fe), magnetite, barite, and sphalerite. The geochemical study indicated that this granite is peralkaline, ferroan, A-type (specifically belongs to the A1-subgroup), anorogeny, emplaced in a within-plate, and crystallized at relatively shallow depth from the alkali basaltic magma similar to the OIBs. Furthermore, it is enriched in the HFSE (e.g., Th, U, Nb, REE, and Zr). The hydrothermally altered granites are formed as an incomplete ring shape and a small stock. They were formed during the late Cretaceous age and were altered due to the hydrothermal solutions from the continuous reactivation affected weakness zones and the new magmatic batches. The hydrothermally altered granites are extremely rich in HFSE found in the accessory minerals such as zircon (different in shape, size, and contains inclusions of bastnaesite and columbite), columbite-(Fe&Mn), rare gittinsite, pyrochlore minerals (ceriopyrochlore and plumbopyrochlore) carlosbarbosaite, changbaiite, bastnaesite-(Ce), monazite-(Ce), stetindite, cerianite-(Ce), thorite, and uranothorite. These rocks were subjected to many highly superimposed hydrothermal alteration types, including propylitic, sericitic, potassic, silicification, argillic, and Fe-Mn oxy-hydroxides. The hydrothermal solutions with low temperatures and containing F^1? and CO₃^2?, PO₄^3? and H₂O caused redistribution; transportation and redeposition of the HFSE in these rocks, in addition to the clay minerals and K-metasomatism, were formed. The relations between the silicification index (SI?=?SiO₂/(SiO₂ + Al₂O₃) and Zr, Nb, Th, U, LREE, and HREE are positive but they become negative with the K-metasomatism.     

Chemical Fractionation of Aluminium in the Sediments of El-Burullus Lagoon of Nile Delta,Egypt

A five step sequential extraction technique, following Tessier’s protocol has been applied to determine the chemical association of aluminium with major sedimentary phases (exchangeable, carbonate, manganese and iron oxides, organic and residual fraction) in four short sediment cores collected from El-Burullus lagoon of the Nile delta, Egypt. This study is a first approach of chemical fractionation of aluminium in one of the protective areas of the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt. The total metal content was also determined. The results of the fractionation study indicated that aluminium was mainly associated with the residual fraction (>95%). The organic and Fe–Mn oxide fractions were the next important phases. The exchangeable and carbonate fractions were less than 1%, limiting its potential toxicity as a pollutant. The geochemical analysis of aluminium forms reflected the lithogenic origin of this metal in the study area.     

Numerical study of combined overflow and wave overtopping over a smooth impermeable seawall

A numerical wave flume is used to investigate the discharge characteristics of combined overflow and wave overtopping of impermeable seawalls. The numerical procedure computes solutions to the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and includes the generation of an irregular train of waves, the simulation of wave breaking and interaction with a sloping, impermeable wall. The numerical model is first tested against published experimental observations, approximate analytical solutions and empirical design formulae for the cases of pure overflow and pure overtopping. A sequence of numerical experiments simulating combined overflow and overtopping are described. The results are used to determine empirical discharge formulae of the form used in current practice.     

Evaluation of phosphorus bioavailability in El Mex Bay and Lake Mariut sediments

Phosphorus (P) fractions and their bioavailability in the sediments from El Mex Bay and Lake Mariut in Egypt were investigated using different chemical extraction methods. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) extractable P (Olsen-P) was the largest fraction (14.42%), followed by algal available P (AAP) (3.56%), water soluble P (WSP) (0.79%), and readily desorbable P (RDP) (0.06%) for El Mex Bay. While AAP con-tributed 9.94% to total P in sediments from Lake Mariut, Olsen-P 8.53%, WSP 4.11%, and RDP 0.92%. Summation of the bioavailable P fractions didn't exceed the sediment quality guidelines, and, therefore, P doesn't represent a danger to marine organisms. Correlation coefficients showed that no apparent relations between total P (TP) and iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and calcium (Ca) in the sediments. Fur-thermore, Fe:P ratio was less than 15 indicting that there was not enough Fe in surface sediments to bind to P at most of the sampling sites. The positive correlation between TP and organic matter (OM) for Lake Mariut and El Mex Bay sediments indicated that the organic matter content of the sediment was a useful predictor of the total phosphorus content. Data from this study constitute a baseline of phosphorus bioavailability in sediments from El Mex Bay and Lake Mariut and could be used as a reference for future studies on the changes of bioavailable and residual phosphorus fractions over time.