Dynamic sub-surface characteristic and the active faults of the Genç District locating over the Bingöl Seismic Gap of the East Anatolian Fault Zone,Eastern Turkey

The Genç District is located on the Bingöl Seismic Gap (BSG) of the Eastern Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) with its?~?34.000 residents. The Karl?ova Triple Junction, where the EAFZ, the North Anatolian Fault Zone, and the Varto Fault Zone meet, is only 80 km NE of the Genç District. To make an earthquake disaster damage prediction of the Genç District, carrying a high risk of disaster, we have (1) prepared a new geological map, and (2) conducted a single-station microtremor survey. We defined that three SW-NE trending active faults of the sinistral Genç Fault Zone are cutting through the District. We have obtained dominant period (T) as?<?0.2 s, the amplification factor (A) between 8 and 10, the average shear wave velocity for the first 30 m (Vs₃₀) as?<?300 m/s, and the seismic vulnerability index (Kg) as?>?20, in the central part of the Genç District. We have also prepared damage prediction maps for three bedrock acceleration values (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 g). Our earthquake damage prediction scenarios evidenced that as the bedrock acceleration values increase, the area of soil plastic behavior expands linearly. Here we report that if the average expected peak ground acceleration value (0.55–0.625 g) is exceeded during an earthquake, significant damage would be inevitable for the central part of the Genç District where most of the schools, mosques, public buildings, and hospitals are settled-down.

     

Site classification of Turkish national strong-motion stations

Since 1973, the General Directorate of Disaster Affairs of Turkey has deployed several strong-motion accelerographs at selected sites. Within the framework of the project entitled Compilation of National Strong Ground Motion Database in Accordance with International Standards, site conditions were investigated within the upper 30-m depth by surface seismic and standard penetration tests. Preliminary characterization of the sites is made by making use of both geophysical and geotechnical criteria of NEHRP Provisions and Eurocode-8 site classification systems. The liquefaction susceptibility of those sites which comprise saturated cohesionless deposits is also determined. Mean shear-wave velocity, mean penetration resistance, site class, and liquefaction susceptibility of each site are tabulated. The Turkish strong-motion database supplemented by detailed information on site conditions is a valuable source of information particularly for those studies that put emphasis on the relationship between site conditions and strong-motion parameters.     

A parametric study on seakeeping assessment of fast ships in conceptual design stage

The paper presents an approach to investigate the effects of some parameters on seakeeping assessment of fast ships in conceptual design stage. Hull form parameters have been classified into two groups: main dimensions (L, B and T) and secondary form parameters (LCB and C_P). To demonstrate the approach a fast ship is redesigned as parent hull and alternative hull forms are generated by changing these parameters systematically. Some hull forms are selected related the geometric limits and seakeeping analyzes are here investigated and discussed. The obtained results are satisfactory for seakeeping predictions during the conceptual design stage.     

Geochemistry of dacitic volcanics in the Eastern Pontides (NE Turkey)

Dacitic rocks that crop out around the Zigana Mountain (Gümü?hane) in the eastern Pontide (NE Turkey), are mainly composed of quartz, plagioclase, sanidine, amphibole, muscovite, and biotite as the main minerals. Zircon and rutile are the accessory minerals. Pyrite, chalcopyrite, and covellite are the opaque components. On the basis of trace-element data, dacites have been classified as Dacite-I and Dacite-II. Dacite-I is tholeitic-transitional, whereas Dacite-II is transitional-calc-alkaline. The geochemical variation can be explained by the fractionation of the common mineral phases, such as plagioclase, hornblende, magnetite, and apatite. Dacites also show island-arc properties, with negative Nb, Sr, P, and Ti anomalies. The trace-element distrubitions of the dacitic rocks reflect the typical characteristics of rocks from the subduction-related tectonic setting, with enrichment of large-ion lithofile elements and light rare-earth element, but depletion in high-field-strength elements. The dacitic rocks are developed through plagioclase ± hornblende-controlled fractionation from the same parental magma that settled in two successive stages and are derived from an enriched source, probably by the mixing of slab-derived and lithospheric melts.     

Spatio-temporal variation and sensitivity analysis of aerosol particulate matter during the COVID-19 phase-wise lockdowns in Indian cities

Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry - At the pandemic of COVID-19, the movement of business and other non-essential activities were majorly restricted at the end of March 2020 in India and continued...     

Identifying baseflow source areas using remotely sensed and ground-based hydrologic data

Understanding how rainfall and snowmelt influence baseflow, the groundwater-fed component of streamflow, is essential for sound water resources management. Current approaches to understand the spatial couplings between these processes and baseflow are limited. The most commonly used methods include geochemical tracers and hydrologic models. A key limitation of the first is cost, while the second is limited by the need for simplifying assumptions. This study developed a data-driven approach which leverages satellite Earth observation data and ground-based data to assess the degree to which baseflow is influenced by upstream rainfall and snowmelt in California's Sierra Nevada. The procedure involved: (1) separation of baseflow from streamflow time series using a low-pass filtering technique, (2) quantification of aquifer drainage timescales through baseflow recession analysis, (3) application of time series and information theory methods to identify the areas which have the greatest impacts on baseflow through both rainfall and snowmelt, and (4) characterization of the elevation zones which have a prevailing influence on baseflow. Results suggest that areas which have the strongest impact on baseflow through rainfall and snowmelt are not necessarily the areas which experience the highest annual rates of snowmelt or rainfall; snowmelt occurring in the 3000–3700 m elevation range was found to be the most important driver of baseflow.     

Following things of rubbish value: End-of-life ships, ‘chock-chocky’ furniture and the Bangladeshi middle class consumer

There has been an upsurge of geographical work tracing globalised flows of commodities in the wake of Appadurai’s (1986) call to ‘follow the things’. This paper engages with calls to follow the thing but argues that work thus far has been concentrated, first, on global flows from developing world producers to developed world consumers, and, second, on things that remain stable as they circulate. This paper instead argues that ‘follow the thing’ research needs to also attend to flows ‘down’ the value chain, from developed to less developed worlds, and to things that are either coming apart or being disassembled. The case presented here is end-of-life ships, sent to be broken in less developed countries, as most are, in this case in Bangladesh. It looks at how the arts of transience re-work materials from rubbish value ships into new forms and objects in the household furnishing sector, which are then appropriated by Bangladeshi middle class consumers. Far from being a minor feature this is shown to be empirically a significant component of the Bangladeshi economy. Theoretically the paper challenges many habitual assumptions about global flows of commodities and urges ‘follow the thing’ research to rethink the thing. Paying attention to the back-end of the value chain shows that things are but temporary configurations of material. At best partially stable, things are argued to be endlessly being assembled, always becoming something else somewhere else.     

Study of radon in soil gas,trace elements and climatic parameters around South Kordofan state,Sudan

This study was conducted primarily to measure and map radon activity concentration in soil gas and to understand the effect of geology and lithology and meteorology on radon concentration. Portable radon meter has been used for the measurement of soil gas radon at 30 different locations around Uro and Korn area in eastern Nuba Mountain South Kordofan State. The results indicate that the activity concentrations of ²²²Rn in soil gas fall within the range of 20–1,359 Bq/m³ with geometric mean of 102.80 Bq/cm³. The obtained data show that samples around Uro have anomaly of ²²²Rn concentrations than the sample around Korn. The reason could be attributed to differences in the geological structure, lithology and climate parameters. GIS predicative map has shown that the elevated levels of radon concentration were measured in North study area. Upon comparing the results with global data, it was found that the obtained values are far below the reported range of India, Slovenia, Portugal and Syria. However, the range of ²²²Rn concentrations in the soil observed in this study is significantly high relative to similar data reported from Libya. The regression analysis has shown that no correlation was noted between radon concentrations, climatic parameters and trace element.     

An improved version of innovative trend analyses

Systematic and random changes occur in any hydro-meteorological record and have significant effects on human activities on time and space scales. Although it is almost impossible to forecast the future behavior of any natural event accurately, researchers can identify trend on systematic variations and seasonality rather accurately with random residual parts. On the other hand, the role of trend is very significant in climate change studies and the Mann-Kendall test is the most employed method for trend identification. However, this method requires restrictive assumptions such as the data length, normality, and serial independence. Recently, innovative trend analysis (ITA) method is suggested for detailed trend determination and classification interpretations in a given time series without restrictive assumptions. In this study, an ITA-change boxes (CB) approach is proposed, taking into account quantitative changes with increasing or decreasing trends of the two half-time series obtained from the data. Given the periodicity of the hydro-meteorological data, the data group is used to obtain two half-time series instead of the data. This allows the researcher to numerically observe changes in trends beyond visualization. This approach assists to make more detailed interpretations about trend possibilities within a given time series. The applications of the proposed approach are presented for daily temperature and monthly rainfall and discharge records from Turkey, UK, and the USA.