Performances of Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Treatment of Olive Mill Wastewater

In the following study, two methods were employed in which olive mill wastewaters were treated by using reverse osmosis membranes (BW30 and XLE). In the first, wastewater was centrifuged and then passed through the reverse osmosis whereas in the second, an ultrafiltration was placed between the centrifuge and the reverse osmosis. The reverse osmosis experiments were conducted under 10, 15, 20, and 25 bar. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies under 25 bar were found to be 97.5% for both BW30 and XLE membranes. The highest conductivity removal rates obtained under 25 bar for BW30 and XLE membranes were found to be 95.6 and 96.2%, respectively. As for the highest permeation flux values obtained under 25 bar, they were separately determined for BW30 and XLE as 15.3 and 21.2 L m^?2 h^?1, respectively. The performances of the membranes were also evaluated in terms of their mass transfer coefficients. According to this, all mass transfer coefficients were found to be <1 and also in proximate to one another; this clearly reflects the results as COD and conductivity removals were approximate and there was a lack of any significant difference, whether ultrafiltration was applied or not.     

The Effect of Oxygen on Anaerobic Color Removal of Azo Dye in a Sequencing Batch Reactor

In this study, various amounts of oxygen were added to the anaerobic phase of an anaerobic‐aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) receiving azo dye remazol brilliant violet 5R to mimic the input of oxygen into the anaerobic zones of biological textile wastewater treatment plants. The effect of oxygen on the anaerobic biodegradative capability of the mixed microbial culture for remazol brilliant violet 5R was investigated. To investigate the effect of oxygen on anaerobic azo dye biodegradation, the anaerobic phase of the SBR cultures were exposed to a very low limited amount of oxygen for various air flow rates. Initially, an air flow rate of 20 mL/min was applied, further on the air flow rate in the anaerobic phase was increased up to 40 mL/min. System performance was determined by monitoring chemical oxygen demand, color removal rate, activities of anaerobic (azo reductase) and aerobic enzymes (catechol 2,3‐dioxygenase, catechol 1,2‐dioxygenase). The results of percentage COD reduction at each stage were similar for all runs, giving an overall reduction of 96%. Anaerobic color removal efficiency and azo reductase activity of anaerobic microorganisms were adversely affected by the addition of oxygen. Color removal efficiencies of the anaerobic phases decreased from 80% down to 42 and 38% for the limited oxygen conditions of 20 mL/min and 40 mL/min, respectively. It was observed that the activity of catechol 2,3‐dioxygenase and catechol 1,2‐dioxygenase, involved in breakage of aromatic rings, increased after they are exposed to oxygen limited conditions compared to fully anaerobic conditions. It was also observed that catechol 1,2‐dioxygenase enzyme activity increased by increasing the oxygen level on oxygen limited conditions in the anaerobic zone.     

First results on determination of cosmogenic 36Cl in limestone from the Yenicekale Complex in the Hittite capital of Hattusha (Turkey)

We have measured ³⁶Cl in three rock surfaces of the Yenicekale building complex in Hattusha (Bo?azköy, Turkey). Hattusha was the capital of Hittite Empire which lasted from about 1650/1600 to 1200 BC. At Yenicekale, Hittite masons flattened the summit of an outcropping limestone knoll to form an artificial platform as the foundation for a building. Next they built a circuit wall along the lateral precipices of the flattened bedrock platform. We took one sample from the limestone bedrock platform and two samples from limestone building blocks of the circuit wall for cosmogenic ³⁶Cl analysis. Calculated exposure ages are 20 ± 1 ka for the sample from the bedrock platform and 24 ± 1 ka and 52 ± 2 ka for the circuit wall blocks. These exposure ages are significantly older than the age expected based on the estimated time of construction between 3.2 ka and 3.7 ka. We conclude that the sampled surfaces contain significant inherited cosmogenic ³⁶Cl. We cannot directly determine exposure ages for the building complex based on these three samples. On the other hand we may use the measured concentrations to determine how much of the rock was removed from the platform during flattening. To this end we modeled the variation of ³⁶Cl production with depth at Yenicekale using the results from the bedrock sample. We conclude that the Hittite masons removed only around 3 m from top of the limestone block. This means that the volume of rock removed from the bedrock platform is significantly less than the volume in the circuit wall atop the platform. They did not gain enough rock from this flattening to make the building. In agreement with this, the first results of our detailed microfacies analysis indicate that many of the building blocks are not of the same facies as the underlying limestone and must have been quarried elsewhere. Although we were not able to exposure date the Yenicekale complex due to the presence of inherited ³⁶Cl, our data suggest that Hittite masons excavated (most of) the building stones not at Yenicekale, but in quarries outside of Hattusha and then transported them to the construction site. These quarries have not yet been identified.     

Late Cenozoic uplift of western Turkey: Improved dating of the Kula Quaternary volcanic field and numerical modelling of the Gediz River terrace staircase

A set of 13 new unspiked K–Ar dates has been obtained for the Quaternary basaltic volcanism in the Kula area of western Turkey, providing improved age control for the fluvial deposits of the Gediz River that underlie these basalt flows. This dating is able, for the first time, to resolve different ages for the oldest basalts, assigned to category β2, that cap the earliest Gediz deposits recognised in this area, at altitudes of 140 to 210 m above present river level. In particular, the β2 basalt capping the Sarnıç Plateau is dated to 1215 ± 16 ka (± 2σ), suggesting that the youngest underlying fluvial deposits, 185 m above present river level, are no younger than marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 38. In contrast, the β2 basalt capping the adjacent Burgaz Plateau is dated to 1014 ± 23 ka, suggesting that the youngest underlying fluvial deposits, 140 m above present river level, date from MIS 28. The staircase of 11 high Gediz terraces capping the latter plateau is thus dated to MIS 48-28, assuming they represent consecutive 40 ka Milankovitch cycles, although it is possible that as many as two cycles are missing from this sequence such that the highest terrace is correspondingly older. Basalt flows assigned to the β3 category, capping Gediz terraces 35 and 25 m above the present river level, have been dated to 236 ± 6 ka and 180 ± 5 ka, indicating incision rates of 0.15 mm a^− 1, similar to the time-averaged rates since the eruptions of the β2 basalts. The youngest basalts, assigned to category β4, are Late Holocene; our K–Ar results for them range from zero age to a maximum of 7 ± 2 ka.This fluvial incision is interpreted using numerical modelling as a consequence of uplift caused by a regional-scale increase in spatial average erosion rates to 0.1 mm a^− 1, starting at 3100 ka, caused by climate deterioration, since when a total of 410 m of uplift has occurred. Parameters deduced on this basis from the observed disposition of the Early Pleistocene Gediz terraces include the local effective viscosity of the lower crust, which is 2 × 10¹⁸ Pa s, the Moho temperature of 660 °C, and the depth of the base of the brittle upper crust, which is 13 km. The thin lithosphere in this area results in high heat flow, causing this relatively shallow base of the brittle upper crust and the associated relatively thick lower-crustal layer, situated between depths of 13 and 30 km. It estimated that around 900 ka, at the start of the 100 ka Milankovitch forcing, the spatial average erosion rate increased slightly, to 0.12 mm a^− 1; the associated relatively sluggish variations in uplift rates are as expected given the relatively thick lower-crustal layer.This modelling indicates that the growth of topography since the Pliocene in this study region has not involved a steady state. The landscape was significantly perturbed by the Middle Pliocene increase in erosion rates, and has subsequently adjusted towards—but not reached—a new steady state consistent with these increased erosion rates. It would not be possible to constrain what has been occurring from the Middle to Late Pleistocene or even the Early Pleistocene uplift response alone; information regarding the starting conditions is also essential, this being available in this region from the older geological record of stacked fluvial and lacustrine deposition. This result has major implications for the rigorous modelling of uplift histories in regions of rapid erosion, where preservation of information to constrain the starting conditions is unlikely.     

Impacts of climatic variables on water-level variations in two shallow Eastern Mediterranean lakes

Variations in temperature and precipitation have direct impacts on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the shallow lakes. This paper examines the possible linkages between climate variables and the water levels of shallow interconnected Lakes Mogan and Eymir, located 20 km south of Ankara in Central Anatolia. The variations in the lakes’ water levels during 1996–2015 are studied and the impacts of climate variables on the lake levels are assessed to address the long-term consequences. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test was used to quantify trends in the climate variables and the lakes’ level fluctuations between the observation periods 1998–2007 and 2008–2014. Statistical analyses results showed that precipitation and temperature have crucial influence on the variations in the lakes’ levels. The projected increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation over the next century may produce substantial decreases in lake levels, with consequent drying of both lakes.     

Petrographic and geochemical features of the dolostones at the Gölboğazı Formation (Upper Devonian), Southwest Konya,Turkey

This paper describes the occurrence of dolostone and the mechanism of dolomitization of the Upper Devonian Gölbo?az? Formation in the allochthonous Taurus Mountains Alada? unit in Turkey. The Upper Devonian Gölbo?az? Formation carbonates, with dominant ostracod-bearing mudstone and wackestone, formed tidal and subtidal environments, and some of these rocks were dolomitized from shallow to deep burial. On the basis of the field, the petrographic and geochemical features, four different replaceable and cement dolostone phases have been recognized. The replacive dolostones contain (1) very fine to fine crystalline planar-s dolostone (df1), (2) medium to coarse crystalline planar-s to planar-e dolostone (df2), (3) coarse to very coarse crystalline non-planar-a dolostone (df3), and (4) coarse to very coarse crystalline planar dolostone cement (df4). The replacive dolostones are disordered to moderate the ordered and calcium-rich. They are non-stoichiometric and have 46–59 mol% CaCO₃ and 41–54 mol% MgCO₃ total contents. The df1 dolostones have MgCO₃ contents of 41–54 mol%, the df2 dolostones have 41–53 mol%, the df3 dolostones have 49 mol%, and the df4 dolostones have 49–50 mol%, respectively. The Gölbo?az? dolostones have δ¹⁸O values of ?9.44 to ?2.20‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB) and δ¹³C values of ?1.58 to +2.52 VPDB. Sr, Na, Mn, and Fe concentrations of replacive dolostones are 74–184, 148–593, below detection level (bdl)–619, and 1049–9233 ppm, respectively. The petrographic and geochemical data demonstrate that the replacive dolostones occurred prior to the chemical compaction at shallow to intermediate burial depths from Late Devonian seawater and/or seawater lightly modified by water–rock interaction process and later recrystallized by basinal brines at increasing burial depths and temperature. The North American Shale Composite-normalized rare earth element values of both limestone and dolostone show very similar rare earth element patterns characterized by slightly or considerably negative cerium (Ce) anomalies and a clear depletion in all rare earth element species. The dedolomitization observed in the Gölbo?az? Formation is thought to occur by the oxidizing effect of the meteoric water in the shallow burial environment during the telodiagenesis.     

Case study of PM pollution in playgrounds in Istanbul

In a world where at least 50% of the population is living in urban environments, air pollution and specifically particulate matter (PM) have become one of the most critical issues for human health. Children are more susceptible than adults to air pollution and its adverse effects because they inhale and retain larger amounts of air pollutants per unit of body weight. In this study, PM pollution, particularly PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, at selected playgrounds were investigated in Istanbul city. Istanbul is a megacity of over 15 million inhabitants, and on-road traffic is increasing rapidly (over 3 million vehicles on the road). To estimate the effect of traffic emissions on children, the location of the playgrounds were selected according to traffic density. Measurements were carried out at five different playgrounds throughout the city in 2009. Field results show that the values of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 have reached critical limits at the playgrounds close to the main roads, especially at P-1. Thus, we focused on this location and investigated a source other than traffic emissions. One of the episode days has been observed on 5–7 March 2009. Evaluations of meteorological events are very important to determine air pollution sources and their long-range transport. Therefore, the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) was used to simulate and forecast meteorological parameters and the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT) applied to investigate long-range transport. According to the WRF model outputs, there was a low-pressure system over Geneva gulf on the 500-hPa level, and its core had been located over Britain on 5 March 2009 00UTC. The system had been sweeping dust from the Sahara Desert and carrying the air particles over Istanbul. Similarly, backward HYSPLIT analysis showed that air particles had moved through Istanbul from Northern Africa.     

Hyperspectral Image Classification Using Relevance Vector Machines

This letter presents a hyperspectral image classification method based on relevance vector machines (RVMs). Support vector machine (SVM)-based approaches have been recently proposed for hyperspectral image classification and have raised important interest. In this letter, it is genuinely proposed to use an RVM-based approach for the classification of hyperspectral images. It is shown that approximately the same classification accuracy is obtained using RVM-based classification, with a significantly smaller relevance vector rate and, therefore, much faster testing time, compared with SVM-based classification. This feature makes the RVM-based hyperspectral classification approach more suitable for applications that require low complexity and, possibly, real-time classification.     

Enhancing monthly lake levels forecasting using heuristic regression techniques with periodicity data component: application of Lake Michigan

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - This study investigates the accuracy of three different techniques with the periodicity component for estimating monthly lake levels. The three techniques are...