Atmospheric Water Harvesting from Low-Humid Regions of Hail City in Saudi Arabia

Natural Resources Research - Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is emerging as a promising technique of water production in remote and isolated areas away from natural water resources. The present...     

Upper crustal Poisson’s ratio and coda-wave attenuation beneath Eastern Anatolia

The attenuation of seismic waves reflects the elastic nature of the media within which the waves propagate. In this study, we calculate the Coda-Q(Q_c), frequency dependence(η), Vp/Vs and Poisson's(υ) ratios by using 2621 vertical component seismograms generated by 987 earthquakes recorded by 13 seismic stations in Eastern Anatolia, and creat a 2-D seismic tomographic Q_c model for the region. The obtained model provides significant information for exploring the boundaries of adjacent tectonic units within the upper crust and interpreting their dynamic characteristics. The 2-D Q_c model and the other parameters are consistent with the seismotectonic features of Eastern Anatolia. Highly heterogeneous Q_c values are observed in the study area dividing it into north-south directed bands of low and high attenuation. The highest η values were obtained beneath the northwestern and eastern parts of the study region. Clear, high and low υ values are obtained in the western and eastern parts of the study area, respectively. The spatial variations in the measured parameters are consistent with many geophysical observations including low Pn velocities, efficient Sn blockage, high heat flow, and widespread volcanism. Different upper crustal thicknesses and inhomogeneous stress distribution along the East and North Anatolian Fault Zones may also contribute to the observed heterogeneities.     

Change in low flows due to catchment management dynamics—Application of a comparative modelling approach

Understanding the natural low flow of a catchment is critical for effective water management policy in semi-arid and arid lands. The Geba catchment in Ethiopia, forming the headwaters of Tekeze-Atbara basin was known for its severe land degradation before the recent large scale Soil and Water conservation (SWC) programs. Such interventions can modify the hydrological processes by changing the partitioning of the incoming rainfall on the land surface. However, the literature lacks studies to quantify the hydrological impacts of these interventions in the semi-arid catchments of the Nile basin. Statistical test and Indicators of Hydrological Alteration (IHA) were used to identify the trends of streamflow in two comparatives adjacent (one treated with intensive SWC intervention and control with fewer interventions) catchments. A distributed hydrological model was developed to understand the differences in hydrological processes of the two catchments. The statistical and IHA tools showed that the low flow in the treated catchment has significantly increased while considerably decreased in the control catchment. Comparative analysis confirmed that the low flow in the catchment with intensive SWC works was greater than that of the control by >30% while the direct runoff was lower by >120%. This implies a large proportion of the rainfall in the treated catchment is infiltrated and recharge aquifers which subsequently contribute to streamflow during the dry season. The proportion of soil storage was more than double compared to the control catchment. Moreover, hydrological response comparison from pre- and post-intervention showed that a drastic reduction in direct runoff (>84%) has improved the low flow by >55%. This strongly suggests that the ongoing intensive SWC works have significantly improved the low flows while it contributed to the reduction of total streamflow in the catchment.     

Supported TiO2 on Kaolin,Cordierite, and Calcite for Photocatalytic Removal of Dyes from Wastewater

Kaolin, cordierite, and calcite are investigated as supports for TiO₂. The prepared TiO₂/support samples are examined for the removal of organic dyes from wastewater. The samples are preliminarily investigated to identify the optimal loaded system using synthetic wastewater containing methylene blue (MB). Data indicate that the investigated support significantly affects the photocatalytic activity of the supported TiO₂. Low photocatalytic activity toward MB degradation is observed upon using TiO₂/calcite when compared to the unsupported TiO₂. Interaction between calcite and titania species probably occurrs to produce the less photoactive CaTiO₃ amorphous species. Anatase TiO₂ is obtained upon using kaolin and cordierite as supports. The low photocatalytic performance of the TiO₂/kaolin sample is also observed. A high concentration of MB on TiO₂/kaolin surfaces blocks the photoactive sites. TiO₂/cordierite shows the highest photocatalytic activity compared to the unsupported TiO₂ as well as the other TiO₂/support samples. Rigid cordierite particles suppress the agglomeration of TiO₂ particles during the preparation, leading to a high exposed surface of TiO₂ towards light illumination. TiO₂/cordierite is investigated for the removal of organic dye from real wastewater collected from a textile dyeing factory. Color removal of up to 46% is achieved upon UV irradiation.     

Population growth and food supply margin in Pakistan

Conclusion Population growth in Pakistan is alarming. The long and continuing shortage of foodgrains at intervals and increasing competition for land use have resulted in deterioration in yield per hectare, and low reproduction of livestock, although hard struggle is going on for self sufficiency. The margin in food supply has arrived even in those areas where the production has been abundant, and vulnerable to crop failure and other emergency causes. Provision against these dangers call for the maintenance of adequate national reserves, which can be brought into action at an early stage of the emergency.The area under agriculture can be increased through improved programmes of soil conservation and development of barani (rain fed areas) with cost-benefit consideration. Several million hectares of barani areas have fertile soils and are suitable for agricultural development. It has been estimated that 45 billion m³ of river water flows into the Arabian Sea. A part of the water sources is properly harnessed and could possibly change the economic conditions of the barani region. A number of regions are covered by hard texture of the soil, mechanization will have to be introduced in these areas to increase production much beyond the level of margin. Soil conservation measures have already been initiated and in some cases demonstrated to farmers, but the reclaimed virgin lands up to 1973 were very little, just 46.5 ha of virgin lands and 72 ha of cultivated area from the Soan and Potwar uplands. It is expected that 300,000 ha of cultivated area, 10,000 ha of gullied land will be reclaimed through soil conservation methods in the current Fifth Year Plan.Pakistan has great water potential. The remedy lies in wise judicious and scientific water management. Inadequate natural and artificial drainage systems are causing water-logging and salinity. An accelerated programme for recovering lost land is already in operation. Many land reforms were introduced from time to time, but the production result is not of great significance. Restrictions were imposed on consolidated holdings. The economic level of such holding above subsistence have not yet been taken into consideration. It is, therefore, necessary, to make a thorough analysis of agricultural problems, particularly with the foodgrain crops, with reference to population growth, the efforts should continue till the food supply occupies the supreme position by increasing production and reducing the rate of population growth by adopting socio-economic methods.     

Two orogenies in the Meatiq area of the Central Eastern Desert,Egypt

The Pan-African basement exposed in the Meatiq area west of Quseir, Egypt, consists of an infracrustal basement overthrusted by a supracrustal cover. The infracrustal rocks were developed as a result of an old orogeny referred to as the Meatiqian orogeny where granite—gneiss, migmatitic gneisses and migmatized amphibolites were formed. The granite—gneiss represents a deformed granite pluton emplaced at 626±2 Ma, whereas the migmatitic gneisses and amphibolites are of mixed igneous and sedimentary parentage. In view of the data so far available, the nature of the Meatiqian orogeny could not be deciphered. In spite of the young isotopic ages, it is suggested that at least the metasedimentary gneisses represent older rocks in the stratigraphic sequence of the infracrustal basement.The supracrustal cover represents a part of an extensive ophiolitic mélange obducted onto the infracrustal basement during the next orogeny (Abu Ziran orogeny) which culminated at 613±2 Ma. An active continental margin-type regime can adequately explain the evolution of such a supracrustal cover. During obduction, the ophiolitic mélange and the upper 2 km thick part of the infracrustal basement were intensely deformed and metamorphosed under PT conditions of the greenschist—epidote amphibolite facies. The deformed infracrustal basement was converted into mylonitic—blastomylonitic rocks and schists composing five thrust sheets, and subsequently intruded by synkinematic granitoid sheets. Later, both the infracrustal basement and the overlying supracrustal cover were isostatically uplifted, subjected to complex shallow folding giving rise to the major Meatiq domal structure, and were intruded by a postkinematic adamellite pluton at 579±6 Ma.     

The need for a better defined Egyptian geodetic datum for geodynamic studies

One of the main objectives of geodesy is to establish a framework of well distributed points (geodetic control points). The coordinates of these points should be known with sufficient accuracy in order to detect any crustal movement and to be also used in any application of geodynamics. These in turn need a better defined geodetic datum.Unfortunately, in Egypt such datum has not yet been adopted due to the lack in geodetic observations. The adopted ellipsoid is not the best or even a good fit to the geoid in Egypt. Therefore, the geodetic observations have not been completely and rigorously reduced to the reference ellipsoid. The network suffers from a fairly large distortion in scale and orientation. Quite a part of that distortion is due to the lack in reducing such observations. The objective of this paper is to review both the available geodetic data and to propose an approach to achieve a well defined geometric datum. Such approach should use all types of geodetic observations (astro-gravity-Doppler) in a combined study using a least squares collocation technique.     

Composition of trace mineral inclusions in cassiterite of greisens and greisenized rocks at Homr Akarem area Eastern Desert,Egypt

The present communication deals with the composition of the trace minerals inclusions encountered in the cassiterite of some greisen and greisenized rocks at Homr Akarem area, Eastern Desert, Egypt.SEM studies, X-ray spectral analysis and EMP analyses revealed that these inclusions are to be Nb-Ta, Nb-Ti, Ta-Ti and Fe-Ti besides Ti and Fe minerals.

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Zusammenfassung Der vorliegende Beitrag befa\t sich mit der Zusammensetzung von Spurenmineral-Einschlüssen in Cassiteriten einiger Greisen und vergreister Gesteine aus dem Homr Akarem Gebiet der Eastern Desert, Ägypten. Untersuchungen mit dem Rasterelektronenmikroskop, Röntgenspektralanalysen und Mikrosondenanalysen ergaben, da\ diese Einschlüsse Nb-Ta, Nb-Ti, Ta-Ti und Fe-Ti sein müssen, neben Ti- und Fe-Mineralen.

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Résumé Cette contribution a trait à la composition des inclusions minérales en trace dans la cassitérite de quelques greisen et roches gresinifiées dans la région de Homr Akarem, désert oriental, Egypte.Des etudes SEM, des analyses spectrales aux rayons X et des analyses EMP ont montré que ces inclusions sont des minéraux Nb-Ta, Nb-Ti, Ta-Ti et Fe-Ti en plus de minéraux Ti et Fe.

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