Causes of rockfalls in Al-Huwayshah area, Yemen

According to topography of Yemen, most areas and villages are located at obligated crest, toe of mountain and under cliffs. Therefore Al-Huwayshah consisting of Tawilah sandstone group is characterized by steep slope reach to 90° in some areas. This area is affected by strong tectonic movements and faults that occurred during the geological epochs. This effect enhances to find out fractures and joints as well as the rocks become brittle and ready to slide depending on the position of area. And there are some fractures and joints on the surface of the areas due to tectonic movement associated with opening the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The rainfalls, fractures, joints, earthquakes, gravity, vegetations, temperatures and human activities play a big role in the processes of rockfalls and landslides in this area. All those factors are considered as the basic causes and catalyzed factors for occurrence of rockfall in the studide area. In addition, the authors carried out laboratory test for many rock samples to get the physical properties of the rocks.     

Causes of rockfalls in Al-Huwayshah area,Yemen

According to topography of Yemen,most areas and villages are located at obligated crest,toe of mountain and under cliffs.Therefore Al-Huwayshah consisting of Tawilah sandstone group is characterized by steep slope reach to 90° in some areas.This area is affected by strong tectonic movements and faults that occurred during the geological epochs.This effect enhances to find out fractures and joints as well as the rocks become brittle and ready to slide depending on the position of area.And there are some frac...     

Evolving a total-evaluation map of flash flood hazard for hydro-prioritization based on geohydromorphometric parameters and GIS–RS manner in Al-Hussain river basin,Tartous, Syria

Floods are one of the most severe hydrological hazards that cause an excessive threat to landscape stability, population welfare, infrastructure and spatial development in the Syrian coastal region. Al-Hussain river basin, like other Syrian coastal basins, is prone to a hazardous, frequent-flooding threat. However, investigating the probable areas of flooding risk is a difficult challenge that results from the almost complete absence of spatially distributed geo-hydrological measurements in Al-Hussain river basin. In this regard, geohydromorphometric parameters (Stream number N_u, Stream length L_u, Bifurcation ratio R_b, Form factor F, Elongation ratio E_b, Drainage density D_d, Stream frequency F_s, Drainage texture T_d, Lemniscate ratio K, Compactness index C, Circulatory ratio R_c, Ruggedness number R_n, Basin relief H_r, and Relief ratio R_r) derived from remote sensing data in the GIS environment can provide a comprehensive and objective approach that can be utilized to map the spatial distribution of flood hazards at the level of delineated sub-basins. This being the case, the present research focuses on exploring the spatial distribution of flood risk in ten sub-basins belonging to Al-Hussain river basin by using spatial techniques tools in order to overall determine the hydro-prioritization of conservation. The geo-visualization map of generated flash flood susceptibility evaluates five degrees of the flood risk: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The flood risk map indicates that Qalea, and Talaa sub-basins have massive hydrodynamic risk, which, in turn, indicates the urgent need of soil and water maintaining measures. This hydrological dynamic in these sub-basins is explained by high values of D_d, F, R_r, R_n, R_c, and K, respectively. Overall, the spatial outcomes of the current work successfully proved the efficiency of extracted geohydromorphometric layers from RS data in the context of the spatial assessment of flash flood hazard; they also ensure ecological sustainability and productivity of the study basin.

     

Sensitive Ion‐Flotation Separation of Ag(I) Traces Using 2‐(2‐Methoxyphenyl)benzimidazole before Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Determination in Water

A sensitive, reliable, and environmentally friendly method for simple separation and preconcentration of Ag(I) traces in aqueous samples is presented prior to their flame atomic absorption spectrometric determinations. At pH 7.0, Ag(I) was separated with 2‐(2‐methoxyphenyl)benzimidazole (MPBI) as a new complexing agent and floated after adding sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a foaming reagent. The floated layer was then dissolved in proper amount of concentrated nitric acid in methanol and introduced to the flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). The effects of pH, concentration of MPBI, type and amount of surfactant as the floating agent, type and amount of eluting agent, and influence of foreign ions on the recovery of the analyte ion were investigated. Also, using a nonlinear curve fitting method, the formation constant of 1.62 × 10⁶ was obtained for Ag(I)–MPBI complex. The analytical curve was linear in the range of 1.8 × 10^?7–1.7 × 10^?6 mol/L for determination of Ag(I). The relative standard deviation (RSD; N = 10) corresponding to 0.7 × 10^?6 mol/L of Ag(I), the limit of detection (10 blanks), and the enrichment factor were obtained as 1.7%, 2.9 × 10^?8 mol/L, and 43.0, respectively. The proposed procedure was then applied successfully for determination of silver ions in different water samples.     

Water conservation in the Arab region: a must for survival

The Arab region covers an area over 13 million square kilometers in size, with almost 90% of its area classified as arid or extremely arid with very little precipitation, extremely high evaporation and almost no vegetation cover. The region is classified in many international reports as the poorest region in the world in the context of renewable water resources and critical water scarcity which hinders the socio-economic development of many countries in this region. The rapidly increasing population has reduced the per capita share of renewable water to less than the poverty line of 1,000 m 3 /(capita·a) and, in some Arab countries, to less than the extreme poverty line of 500 m 3 /(capita·a). This has led to over-exploitation of non-renewable groundwater and desalination of salty water in many countries with considerable costs and contamination of many renewable sources. Atmospheric processes responsible for aridity in the Arab region are projected to intensify due to climate change, resulting in an alarming decrease in precipitation and increase in evaporation rates. Many concerned entities in the region consider water security as a key element for food security and ultimately political stability. Hence, various efforts have been exerted to identify key problems and suggested solutions. The Arab Water Ministers Council of the Arab League, as well as Reports of the Arab Forum for the Environment and Development (AFED) and the recommendations of the 13th Regional Meeting of the Arab National Committees of the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO (IHP), have all made similar recommendations on the need to address the issues of water scarcity in the Arab region which will be further discussed in this paper. However, none of these reports focused on "Water Conservation" as an equally important action for coping with water scarcity in the region. There are many definitions for "Water Conservation" in the scientific literature, including huge water savings from irrigation, industrial use, and domestic use as well as methods and approaches for augmenting water supply through non-conventional practices such as water harvesting and waste water reuse. In this paper, a review is provided for definitions, methods and impacts of water conservation and its role in alleviating water scarcity in the Arab region.     

Perspective of agricultural water safety under combined future changes in crop water requirements and climate conditions in China

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Agricultural water safety is foreseen to have more turmoil in the future, and this concern will be driven by agricultural production growth, population growth,...     

The biostratigraphic and paleoecological importance of the subsurface Carboniferous microfossil assemblages from Faghur-1x well,Western Desert of Egypt

The microfossil assemblages of subsurface Carboniferous rocks from Faghur-1x were examined and identified. Their biostratigraphical and paleoenvironmental importance were investigated. The assemblage included well-preserved foraminifera like Omphalotis omphalota, Omphalotis sp. 2, Omphalotis sp. 3, Paraarchaediscus stilus, Paraarchaediscus koktjubensis, Archaediscus krestovnikovi, Archaediscus complanatus, Archaediscus inflatus, Archaediscus karreri, Diplosphearina inequalis, Eotubertina sp., Tetrataxis conica, Cribrostomum lecomptei, Palaeotextularia angulata, and Palaeotextularia longiseptata. This foraminiferal association indicates the late Viséan-early Serpukhovian. The other microfossils are gastropods, brachiopods, ostracods, crinoidal ossicles, frond-like fenestrate bryozoan types and stick-like colonies, echinoderms, microproblematica like Draffania biloba and algal Calcisphaera and the dasyclad Koninckopora. This microfossils assemblage points to the deposition in a restricted to open platform in a lagoonal framework environment. The Tehenu Basin is the eastern segment of northern African Sahara basins that provided refuge for the foraminiferal genera through the mass extinction events during the glacial Viséan-Serpukhovian times. However, its foraminiferal associations have lower diversities than the western basins, which indicate that it was more readily affected by the mass extinction event.     

The ideal-typical sequence model: Its applicability to the development of transport in Saudi Arabia,the Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries

This paper is an attempt to apply the Ideal-Typical Sequence Model which was produced by Taaffe, Morrill and Gould (1963) to the development of modern transport in Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, and other Middle Eastern countries. The model and its principles are explained and then reference was made to studies produced in this connection. The finding of this paper is that the model is broadly applicable to modern transport development in Saudi Arabia but not to the Sudan, although the three principles of penetration, inter-connection and continuous process are applicable in both countries. Some modifications concerning the direction, number of the penetration lines and the motives behind the construction of those lines are made in this paper which are thought to make the model of general application to all under-developed countries irrespective of their geographical characteristics.     

Causes of rockfalls in AI-Huwayshah area, Yemen

According to topography of Yemen, most areas and villages are located at obligated crest, toe of mountain and under cliffs. Therefore Al-Huwayshah consisting of Tawilah sandstone group is characterized by steep slope reach to 90℃ in some areas. This area is affected by strong tectonic movements and faults that occurred during the geological epochs. This effect enhances to find out fractures and joints as well as the rocks become brittle and ready to slide depending on the position of area. And there are some fractures and joints on the surface of the areas due to tectonic movement associated with opening the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The rainfalls, fractures, joints, earthquakes, gravity, vegetations, temperatures and human activities play a big role in the processes of rockfalls and landslides in this area. All those factors are considered as the basic causes and catalyzed factors for occurrence of rockfall in the studide area. In addition, the authors carried out laboratory test for many rock samples to get the physical properties of the rocks.