Spatial Preference Modelling for equitable infrastructure provision: an application of Sen’s Capability Approach

To determine whether the inclusion of spatial neighbourhood comparison factors in Preference Modelling allows spatial decision support systems (SDSSs) to better address spatial equity, we introduce Spatial Preference Modelling (SPM). To evaluate the effectiveness of this model in addressing equity, various standardisation functions in both Non-Spatial Preference Modelling and SPM are compared. The evaluation involves applying the model to a resource location-allocation problem for transport infrastructure in the Special Province of Yogyakarta in Indonesia. We apply Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach to define opportunity to mobility as a non-income indicator. Using the extended Moran’s I interpretation for spatial equity, we evaluate the distribution output regarding, first, ‘the spatial distribution patterns of priority targeting for allocation’ (SPT) and, second, ‘the effect of new distribution patterns after location-allocation’ (ELA). The Moran’s I index of the initial map and its comparison with six patterns for SPT as well as ELA consistently indicates that the SPM is more effective for addressing spatial equity. We conclude that the inclusion of spatial neighbourhood comparison factors in Preference Modelling improves the capability of SDSS to address spatial equity. This study thus proposes a new formal method for SDSS with specific attention on resource location-allocation to address spatial equity.     

Evaluation and comparison of landslide susceptibility mapping methods: a case study for the Ulus district,Bartın,northern Turkey

The purpose of this study was to investigate the capabilities of different landslide susceptibility methods by comparing their results statistically and spatially to select the best method that portrays the susceptibility zones for the Ulus district of the Bart?n province (northern Turkey). Susceptibility maps based on spatial regression (SR), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), logistic regression (LR) method, and artificial neural network method (ANN) were generated, and the effect of each geomorphological parameter was determined. The landslide inventory map digitized from previous studies was used as a base map for landslide occurrence. All of the analyses were implemented with respect to landslides classified as rotational, active, and deeper than 5 m. Three different sets of data were used to produce nine explanatory variables (layers). The study area was divided into grids of 90 m × 90 m, and the ‘seed cell’ technique was applied to obtain statistically balanced population distribution over landslide inventory area. The constructed dataset was divided into two datasets as training and test. The initial assessment consisted of multicollinearity of explanatory variables. Empirical information entropy analysis was implemented to quantify the spatial distribution of the outcomes of these methods. Results of the analyses were validated by using success rate curve (SRC) and prediction rate curve (PRC) methods. Additionally, statistical and spatial comparisons of the results were performed to determine the most suitable susceptibility zonation method in this large-scale study area. In accordance with all these comparisons, it is concluded that ANN was the best method to represent landslide susceptibility throughout the study area with an acceptable processing time.     

Geochemistry of the limestone of Mortas Formation and related terra rossa,Seydisehir, Konya,Turkey

The purpose of this study was to determine and evaluate the geochemical characteristics of the limestone of the Upper Cretaceous Mortas Formation and related terra rossa in a 50 km² area which is located 20 km south of the city of Seydisehir, Central Anatolia, by using data obtained from the ICP-MS analysis of randomly collected 42 samples of limestone and 18 samples of the terra rossa.The limestone of the Mortas Formation is composed of fossilliferous, gray-cream colored, medium to thick bedded, partially dolomitic carbonate rocks, and generally has dismicrite, intrapelmicrite composition. It includes the largest bauxite reservior in Turkey and has many occurences of terra rossa formation on it. According to mean distance, the Ba, Be, Hg, Mo, Nb, Sb and Th concentrations in the limestones overlying and underlying the bauxite deposits are different, but the main oxides, REE and other trace elements are same. In factor analysis, the first component reflects relative enrichment of clay against to CaO contents of the limestone, the second component corresponds to the degree of dolomitization. The PAAS-normalized REEs pattern for the Mortas Formation limestone samples illustrate similar main features as seawater.The terra rossa soils in the study area are considered to be highly weathered and weakly mature soil with respect to their generally low Al₂O₃ (21%), but high CaO (2%) contents, and their alteration indices. The element ratios in the terra rossa and limestone show that in the process of the transformation from limestone to terra rossa, Ba, Si, Ti, Al and Fe were enriched together by staying in-situ. Except Ce, all lanthanides show similar behavior, but the HREE, which were richer in limestone, were consumed fast relative to the LREE during soil formation. The association and the enrichment of Co, Cu, Cr, Ni and Pb as well as Ba, Zr, Ga, Nb and Rb in soil relative to the limestone are interpreted as being resulted from eolian transportation. Ca, Au, Hg, Sr, Se, Sb, Mo, Ag, U, Cd and Na were found to be the most mobile elements during pedogenic transformation. According to main oxide composition ratios of the limestone and terra rossa, the soils were described as representing a well washed soil completing the leaching and accumulation phase, but not totally completing the silicate weathering phase. In the processes of soil formation, 97.76% of the limestone was washed away; only 2.24% of limestone was deposited as soil. Therefore, 61 times mass reduction was realized.     

Numerical simulations of landslide-stabilizing piles: a remediation project in Söke,Turkey

A catastrophic landslide following a rainy season occurred in the backyard of a school building in Söke, Turkey. The landslide caused property damage and adversely affected the present forest cover. Immediately after the landslide, double-row stabilizing piles were designed and constructed based on the findings of two-dimensional (2D) finite element (FE) analyses to take an urgent precaution. To remedy the problem, pile displacements were monitored using inclinometers, and it was observed that the measured displacements were greater than the values calculated in the design stage. Accordingly, two different three-dimensional (3D) numerical FE models were used in tandem with the inclinometer data to determine the load transfer mechanism. In the first model, numerical analyses were made to predict the pile displacements, and while the model predicted successfully the displacement of the piles constructed in the middle with reasonable accuracy, it failed for the corner piles. In the second model, the soil load transfer between piles was determined considering the sliding mass geometry, the soil arching mechanism and the group interaction between adjacent piles. The results of the second model revealed that the middle piles with large displacements transferred their loads to the corner piles with smaller displacements. The generated soil loads, perpendicular to the sliding direction, restricted pile deformations and piles with less displacement were subjected to greater loads due to the bowl-shaped landslide. A good agreement between the computed pile displacements and inclinometer data indicates that the existing soil pressure theories should be improved considering the position of the pile in the sliding mass, the depth and deformation modulus of stationary soil, the relative movement between the soil and piles and the relative movement of adjacent piles.     

Late Cenozoic deformation in the South Caspian region: effects of a rigid basement block within a collision zone

Active deformation in the South Caspian region demonstrates the enormous variation in kinematics and structural style generated where a rigid basement block lies within a collision zone. Rigid basement to the South Caspian Basin moves with a westward component relative both to stable Eurasia and Iran, and is beginning to subduct at its northern and western margins. This motion is oblique to the approximately north–south Arabia–Eurasia convergence, and causes oblique shortening to the south and northeast of the South Caspian Basin: thrusting in the Alborz and Kopet Dagh is accompanied by range-parallel strike–slip faults, which are respectively left- and right-lateral. There are also arcuate fold and thrust belts in the region, for two principal reasons. Firstly, weaker regions deform and wrap around the rigid block. This occurs at the curved transition zone between the Alborz and Talysh ranges, where thrust traces are concave towards the foreland. Secondly, a curved fold and thrust belt can link a deformation zone created by movement of the basement block to one created by the regional convergence: west-to-east thrusts in the eastern Talysh represent underthrusting of the South Caspian basement, but pass via an arcuate fan of fold trains into SSW-directed thrusts in the eastern Greater Caucasus, which accommodates part of the Arabia–Eurasia convergence. Each part of the South Caspian region contains one or more detachment levels, which vary dependent on the pre-Pliocene geology. Buckle folds in the South Caspian Basin are detached from older rocks on thick mid-Tertiary mudrocks, whereas thrust sheets in the eastern Greater Caucasus detach on Mesozoic horizons. In the future, the South Caspian basement may be largely eliminated by subduction, leading to a situation similar to Archaean greenstone belts of interthrust mafic and sedimentary slices surrounded by the roots of mountain ranges constructed from continental crust.     

The evolution of an electrical fittings industrial cluster in Pakistan

GeoJournal - This study provides an evolution process of electrical fittings industrial cluster in Pakistan by using two rounds of survey dataset (2008 and 2017) taken from the electrical fittings...     

Spatial variability of climatic hazards in Bangladesh

Natural Hazards - Climate change is evident with the extreme climatic indices changing all over the world. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The patterns of...     

A cost-effective device and methodology to compute aquifer transmissivity and piezometry from free-flowing artesian wells

Artesian aquifers offer interesting opportunities for water supply by providing a low-vulnerability groundwater resource that is easily abstracted without any installation of pumps or power supply costs. However, hydraulic tests are challenging to perform, notably where the piezometric head is above ground level with free-flowing wells not equipped with valves and open for years. This paper describes a low-cost, easy to reproduce and adaptable device, the free-flowing artesian well device (FFAWD), which is mainly designed with a set of PVC tubes equipped with a pressure probe and a valve. This device is used to perform hydraulic tests on free-flowing artesian wells, to measure the piezometric head of the aquifer and to compute its transmissivity. The practical use of the FFAWD is described and a method is proposed to compute the piezometric head and the transmissivity of the aquifer from this data set (free-flowing well discharge and pressure increase measurements) with any adapted analytical solution, using the Houpeurt-Pouchan method. Artefacts such as post-production effects, surge effects, and the impact of a leaky well are identified to avoid any misinterpretation. The FFAWD was applied to the volcano-sedimentary artesian plain of Pasuruan (Indonesia). The advantages and limitations of using the device, along with the interpretation methodology, are also discussed.

     

MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS FROM THE INDUS SUTURE OPHIOLITE IN SWAT, NW PAKISTAN

MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS FROM THE INDUS SUTURE OPHIOLITE IN SWAT, NW PAKISTAN1　BeccaluvaL ,MacciottaG ,PiccardoGB ,etal.PetrologyoflherzoliticrocksfromthenorthernApennineophiolites[J] .Lithos,1984 ,17:2 99～ 316 . 2　HartmannG ,WedepohlKH .ThecompositionofperidotitetectonitesfromtheIvreacomplex ,northernItaly:residuesfrommeltextraction[J] .GeochimCosmochActa ,1993,57:176 1～ 1782 . 3　JaquesAL ,ChappellBW .Petrologya…