Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Limnobium laevigatum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ludwigia peploides</Emphasis>: their phytoremediation potential in water contaminated with heavy metals

Contamination with heavy metals in surface and groundwater is a threat to human health and ecosystems. Due to this, the need arises to remediate water polluted through ecological and profitable technologies, such as phytoremediation. The objective of the work was to evaluate the concentration of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in the floating macrophytes Limnobium laevigatum and Ludwigia peploides, after being exposed to contaminated water experimentally. In this way to be able to determine if these plants have mechanisms that allow them to accumulate the metals in the roots and to perform the translocation of these to different vegetative organs, L. laevigatum and L. peploides were placed in solutions contaminated with Pb ([Pb]?=?5 mg/l) and Zn ([Zn]?=?20 mg/l). The concentrations of metals in water, root and leaf samples were evaluated as a function of time (0, 1, 2 and 4 days). The determination of the metals was performed by the atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique. After 4 days of exposure to Pb and Zn, the plants showed high metal removal efficiencies of water, more to 70% in all cases. Pb was accumulated fundamentally by roots, while Zn was accumulated more in the leaves. In addition, the bioconcentration and translocation factors for each metal were calculated.     

Geochemistry of Çoruh River Bed Sediments in NE Turkey: Implications in Weathering-Sedimentary Cycle,Provenance, and Metal Pollution

This study defines the source area, sub-aerial weathering, and sedimentary cycle level, as well as heavy metal content and origin, of the Çoruh River bed sediments. The studied sediments are geochemically classified as litharenite based on the ratio of the major element contents. Relative to the Upper Continental Crust (UCC), trace elements Rb, Sr, Ba, Th, U, Zr, Hf, Y, Nb, and Pb are generally depleted; Co, Ni, Cu, Sc, and V are generally enriched; and Au is depleted in some places and enriched in other places. The rare earth element (REE) distributions of the samples exhibit a trend similar to that of the upper continental crust (UCC); however, low to moderate depletion occurs in the bed sediments in UCC. The analyzed samples exhibit low Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) values, Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA) values (<50), CIA/WIP (Weathering Index ratios <1), and substantially high Index of Compositional Variability values (ICV) (>1). Thus, the samples are not chemically mature and are mainly derived from non-altered sources and were exposed the simple cycling history. REEs are depleted in the river bed sediments, unlike the world river average silt, world river average clay, and suspended sediment in world rivers. Minor enrichment of Zn, Sn, and Sc contents, low-to-moderate enrichment of Cu content, very severe enrichment of as content, and extremely severe enrichment of Ni content of the analyzed samples are observed. Consequently, stream bed sediments are derived from intermediate sources close to mid-continental crust rather than felsic sources Low-to-moderate degrees of chemical weathering of these sediments indicate increased tectonic activity, increased erosion, and rapid sedimentation in semiarid to arid conditions in the source regions over time. Thus, the sediments are chemically immature. These sediments are exposed to lithogenic and anthropogenic contamination.     

Petrogenesis of plio-quaternary intra-plate continental alkaline lavas from the İskenderun Gulf (Southern Turkey): Evidence for metasomatized lithospheric mantle

The Quaternary alkaline volcanic field of Southern Turkey is characterized by intra-continental plate-type magmatic products, exposed to the north of the ?skenderun Gulf along a NE-SW trending East Anatolian Fault, to the west of its intersection with the N–S trending Dead Sea Fault zone. The ?skenderun Gulf alkaline rocks are mostly silica-undersaturated with normative nepheline and olivine and are mostly classified as basanites and alkaline basalts with their low-silica contents ranging between 43 and 48?wt.% SiO₂. They display Ocean Island Basalt (OIB)–type trace element patterns characterized by enrichments in large-ion-lithophile elements (LILE) and light rare earth element (LREE), and have (La/Yb)_N?=?8.8–17.7 and (Hf/Sm)_N?=?0.9–1.6 similar to those of basaltic rocks found in intraplate suites. The basanitic rocks have limited variations Sr-Nd isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.70307–0.70324, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd?=?0.512918–0.521947), whereas the alkali basalts display more evolved Sr-Nd isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.70346-0.70365, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd?=?0.512887–0.521896). The ?skenderun Gulf alkaline rocks also display limited Pb isotopic variations with ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb?=?18.75–19.09 ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb?=?15.61–15.66 and²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb?=?38.65–39.02, indicating that they originated from an enriched lithospheric mantle source. Calculated fractionation vectors indicate that clinopyroxene and olivine are the main fractionating mineral phases. Similarly, based on Sr-Nd isotopic ratios, the assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) modeling shows that the alkali basalts were affected by AFC processes (r?=?0.2) and were slightly contaminated by the upper crustal material.The high TiO₂ contents, enrichments in Ba and Nb, and depletions in Rb can likely be explained by the existence of amphibole in the mantle source, which might, in turn, indicate that the source mantle has been affected by metasomatic processes. The modeling based on relative abundances of trace elements suggests involvement of amphibole-bearing peridotite as the source material. ?skenderun Gulf alkaline rocks can thus be interpreted as the products of variable extent of mixing between melts from both amphibole-bearing peridotite and dry peridotite.     

A new approach to minimize the loss of life after natural hazards by using Android operating system

Nowadays, the usage rates of smartphones are increasing rapidly. With the versatility of its features, smartphones have succeeded in attracting users. Performing this study has also affected the usage rate of smartphones every day. It is possible to determine the position with GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which is located in smartphones. In this study, smartphone location notification was used to detect the locations of the people who were under debris after the earthquake by means of the phones on them. People who cannot be reached for any reason will be immediately identified, and emergency interventions will be possible. Thus, the survival rate of the injured will be high with early intervention. In this study, it was aimed to minimize the loss of life after the earthquake and all the negativities that would be experienced in society due to this loss. The developed application has been tested in the external world, and the obtained data are given in results section.

     

Assessing the performance of WRF model in predicting high-impact weather conditions over Central and Western Africa: an ensemble-based approach

Natural Hazards - For numerical weather prediction over a particular region, it is important to know the best combination of physical parameterizations available in the considered modelling frame...     

Image-aided platform orientation determination with a GNSS/low-cost IMU system using robust-adaptive Kalman filter

The availability of miniaturized sensors with enhanced capabilities, new methods for image processing, and easy access to small and low-weight airborne platforms for data acquisition, including unmanned vehicles, opens new possibilities for geodetic navigation applications and developing new developments in sensor fusion. In this context, the development of efficient methods, based on low-cost sensors, to extract precise georeferenced information from digital cameras is of utmost interest. We present a method to improve the performance of the integration of GNSS/low-cost IMU by exploiting the orientation changes retrieved from digital images. In this work, a robust-adaptive Kalman filter is also introduced to further improve the performance of the method deployed. The adaptive factor and the robust factor accomplished are determined by innovation information and the threshold value of orientation changes between consecutive images. Results from airborne tests used to assess the performance of the method are presented. The results show that using a non-metric camera, the Euler angle estimation accuracy of the GNSS/low-cost IMU integration can be improved to be close to 0.5 degree and an additional improvement, which can reach 59%, can be achieved after using the robust-adaptive Kalman filter.     

The investigation of flood risk perception as a quantitative analysis from socio-demographic perspective

The priority of flood management planning is physical victimization and focuses on taking structural measures. Although this approach is an accurate approach, more information is needed in implementing efficient precautionary and planning decisions. It is an indisputable fact that the existence of nothing that is not sustainable in nature cannot continue. Hence, it is necessary to implement a planning decision suitable for the structure of the population living in the region so that the continuity of the policies to be carried out against natural hazards of hydrometeorological origin such as a flood is ensured. How the socio-demographic structures affect the flood risk perception of 245 people living in the city center of Bayburt is examined in this study. It is the first research conducted for the province of Bayburt for this perspective. The participants were asked to fill a questionnaire containing 24 items and consisting of 2 sections. T test and one-way ANOVA (one-way analysis of variance) statistical methods were used to ascertain the difference between the responses of the participants to the questionnaire, based on their demographic structure. As the result of the study, significant differences were observed between the expressions depicting flood risk perception and the participant's age, income levels and educational background. In addition, it has been noted that there is a positive relationship between education and income levels and flood risk perception.

     

Hydrologic models coupled with 2D hydrodynamic model for high-resolution urban flood simulation

Natural Hazards - Floods are the most frequent natural disaster and pose a very challenging threat to many cities worldwide. Understanding the flood dynamic is essential for developing strategies...     

The Colider and Roosevelt Volcanic rocks (sw amazonian craton): geochemistry and sm-nd isotope characteristics of a silicic large igneous province

The volcanic rocks of the Colíder and Roosevelt formations are extensively exposed in the south-central portion of the Amazonian Craton where effusive and pyroclastic rocks have been mapped. Both units, topped by chemical sediments and oceanic facies as rhyolite and andesite lavas, rhyodacite, and porphyritic dacite, with frequent intercalations of pyroclastic and epiclastic deposits. Whole-rock geochemistry for 55 samples of rhyolitic to andesitic composition suggests the involvement of fertile mantle-derived components with E-MORB to OIB compositions. The analyzed rocks display calc-alkaline to shoshonitic affinity consistent with generation related to an active continental margin. The whole-rock Sm-Nd isotope data from selected felsic volcanic rocks of the Colíder and Roosevelt formations yield negative initial ε_Nd values between –3 and –9, indicating the predominantly crustal nature of the parental magmas with early Archean to late Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2.5–2.0 Ga) depleted mantle model ages.

     

Groundwater metering: revisiting a ubiquitous ‘best practice’

Hydrogeology Journal - It is often taken for granted that metering is an unarguable ‘best practice’ when it comes to the quantitative management of groundwater resources. This paper...