Malaysian fisheries policy : Search for new grounds

Past fisheries development policies in Malaysia are assessed and new grounds for managing the Malaysian fisheries are explored. Some incompatibility in the goals for fishery development are discerned, especially those of increasing domestic landings through mechanization and resource conservation. Future management efforts should be based on a fuller understanding of the fishery stock and regional management of fish stocks. Aquaculture is often seen as a plausible alternative in order to augment supplies from the capture fisheries. A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach is needed to transform and commercialize traditional, experience-dependent culture systems into technology-packaged systems based on scientific methods. There is also substantial potential for the development of recreational fisheries.     

The maximum-slope method for the interpretation of electrical soundings over two horizontal layers

Using the Carpenter configuration, in which the distances between the successive electrodes of a four-electrode system are kept at r, s and r (as shown in Fig. 1), where r = ma and s = la, or the Wenner-Carpenter configuration, in which r = s, the corresponding formulae for the apparent resistivities ρ_A^α, ρ_A^β and ρ_A^γ for the α, β and γ configurations are used to compute maximum gradient values for various values of the reflection coefficient K. For any observed curve for these resistivity types, the maximum slope is determined. A set of standard curves is presented which, provided that K is known, then allows the thickness of the top layer to be determined.In the case that K is unknown, another set of standard curves is presented allowing determination of K provided that the maximum slopes of any two of the three resistivity curves are known.The method has been tested for both field and laboratory observations. Discrepancies between the observed and actual values of resistivity are noted and attributed partly to instrumental errors.     

Adsorptive removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) onto mixed-waste activated carbon: kinetic,thermodynamic, and competitive studies and application to real wastewater samples

This work aimed to investigate the adsorption characteristics, both kinetically and thermodynamically, of Cu(II) and Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions onto mixed-waste activated carbon, as well as to study the competitive behavior found in mixed heavy metal solution systems. This study shows that activated carbon prepared from mixed waste is an effective adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions, with the aim of detoxifying industrial effluents before their safe disposal onto water surfaces. The adsorption process was characterized in terms of kinetic and thermodynamic studies. In addition, the influence of presence of Cu(II) and Pb(II) in a competitive system was investigated. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacities were gained at a pH of 6 with a contact time of 180 min, a metal solution concentration of 300 ppm, and an adsorbent dose of 0.3 g/L. The adsorption process was found to follow a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG ^o, ΔH ^o, and ΔS ^o showed that the sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. A competitive study demonstrated the applicability of mixed-waste activated carbon to adsorb Cu(II) and Pb(II) from a solution of mixed metals. In addition, the adsorption capacity was found to be as effective as other adsorbents reported in the literature. The developed adsorptive removal procedure was applied for treatment of real wastewater samples and showed high removal efficiency.     

Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of listwaenite from the Semail Ophiolite, Oman

The late Cretaceous-lower Tertiary hydrothermal alteration of serpentinized peridotite in the Semail ophiolite has formed two distinct types of listwaenite. Type I is characterized by the presence of calcite (Type IA) or dolomite (Type IB)+fuchsite±spinel. Type II is dominated by silicate minerals (quartz, chlorite, fuchsite)±calcite+dolomite±magnetite±apatite±plagioclase. Most listwaenites occur as veins along thrust fault zones within the ophiolite mélange. High Cr and Ni contents, abundant occurrence of Cr-spinel within a matrix of red-brown ferruginous carbonates within a micro-vein network of goethite, and the relics of mesh texture indicate an ultramafic protolith. Type I and II listwaenites represent different stages of hydrothermal alteration. The mineralogical and chemical distinctions of both types are the response to the extent of the reactions between the protoliths and the solutions leading to different stages of metasomatic replacement. The hydrothermal fluids involved in the formation of Type I listwaenite were enriched in Ca, Mg, and CO₂, whereas Type II listwaenite bodies were formed from a hydrothermal fluid enriched in SiO₂. REE and trace elements in both listwaenite types were extracted in part from adjoining peridotite. No Au anomaly in the study areas has been detected.     

Detecting biophysical properties of a semi-arid grassland and distinguishing burned from unburned areas with hyperspectral reflectance

This paper examines the utility of hyperspectral remote sensing to detect fresh and dry biomass, water content and plant area index of burned and unburned grassland in southern California. Contrary to many previously published reports, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, a vegetation greenness index) was not a good indicator of any of these important biophysical properties in either the burned or unburned area, especially after regeneration. Rather, the water band index (WBI, an index of water status in vegetation) showed better promise of estimating these biophysical properties in this semi-arid ecosystem. Despite the post-regeneration similarities in visual and harvested values of these two areas, we found that the full range of hyperspectral reflectance in ‘visible to infrared’ (400–1000 nm) wavelengths when used in a cluster analysis can readily differentiate the burned and unburned areas. This demonstrates the utility of hyperspectral remote-sensing in mapping subtle features that may not be detectable from conventional remote-sensing indices (e.g. NDVI) alone.     

GIS-based spatial landslide distribution analysis of district Neelum,AJ&K,Pakistan

Natural Hazards - The Landslide happens in mountainous regions due to the catastrophe of slope through intensive rain and seismicity. The Himalayas is one of the susceptible parts of the world in...     

Radiochemical separation and determination of radium-228 in bottled mineral waters by low level gamma spectrometry and its committed effective dose

?The gross beta and ²²⁸Ra radioactivity measurements in mineral waters were performed by proportional counter and gamma spectrometry, respectively, in this study. The natural mineral water samples were collected from various regions of Turkey for this study. Gross beta activities have been determined according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency standard method (EPA 900). In the case that the gross beta activity was determined to be greater than 1 Bq/L, then the ²²⁸Ra activity concentration in the related mineral water sample was specifically measured. ²²⁸Ra activity in mineral water samples was determined by high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The photopeak efficiencies were calculated by modeling the sample geometry and the detector in Canberra software LabSOCS. The gross beta activities in the eight of 32 bottled mineral water samples were greater than 1 Bq/L. ²²⁸Ra activity concentrations in bottled mineral waters were determined within 0.100–1.04 Bq/L. The committed effective doses were calculated for three different scenarios according to mineral water consumption rates.