Risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the West Port semi-enclosed basin (Malaysia)

Sediment samples collected from the West Port, the west coastal waters of Malaysia, were analyzed by standard methods to determine the degree of hydrocarbon contamination and identify the sources of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Concentrations of PAHs in the port sediments ranged from 100.3 to 3,446.9 μg/kg dw. The highest concentrations were observed in stations close to the coastline, locations affected by intensive shipping activities and industrial input. These were dominated by high-molecular-weight PAHs (4–6 rings). Source identification showed that PAHs originated mostly pyrogenically, from the combustion of fossil fuels, grass, wood, and coal or from petroleum combustion. Regarding ecological risk estimation, only station 7 was moderately polluted, the rest of the stations suffered rare or slight adverse biological effects with PAH exposure in surface sediment, suggesting that PAHs are not considered as contaminants of concern in the West Port.     

A numerical comparison of enhancing horizontal resolution (EHR) technique utilizing 2D resistivity imaging

The effectiveness of inversion apparent resistivity data to determine accurately the true resistivity distribution over 2D structures has been investigated using a common inversion scheme based on smoothness-constrained nonlinear least-squares optimization with enhancing horizontal resolution (EHR) technique by numerical simulation. The theoretical model generates in RES2DMOD software at specific distance and depth using Wenner, Wenner–Schlumberger, and pole–dipole arrays were inverted. The inversion model was compared with the original 2D model in RES2DINV software. The study model includes horizontal layering, vertical resolution, and horizontal two layers with different resistivity. Also, the response to variations in data density of these arrays was investigated. The study shows the best array suitable to be used in the survey was chosen for real data acquisition at the actual site. Subsequently, the results from borehole were used to verify the results of 2D resistivity imaging method with and without EHR technique. Saturated zone (0–40 Ω-m) was found scattered at the depth of 10–20 m. The borehole is located at 63 m at 2D resistivity imaging survey which shows at depth 10–20 m is sandy silt. Highly weathered sandstone was found at 6 m depth with resistivity value of 800 Ω-m and SPT N value of 20. The bedrock was found at 27 m depth with resistivity value of 3,000 Ω-m and SPT N value of 50. The application of 2D resistivity imaging with EHR technique indicate the ability of the proposed approach in terms of density, depth, and resistivity value of anomalous and layer in a computationally and numerically efficient manner and to exhibit good performance in the data inversion.     

Predictive environmental impact assessment of total petroleum hydrocarbons in petrochemical wastewater effluent and surface sediment

The contamination level of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in wastewater and surface sediment samples from the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone (PETZONE) and adjacent coastal area in Musa Bay (in Northwest of Persian Gulf) was examined. Concentrations of TPH in the Musa Bay sediments ranged from 16.48 to 97.15 µg/g dry weight (dw) with average value of 48.98 ± 30.36 µg/g dw. The highest concentrations were estimated in stations close to the coastline, locations affected by intensive petrochemical discharges and shipping activities. The average TPH concentration in the PETZONE wastewater effluent samples was 5.22 mg/L, with a range of 0.06–35.33 mg/L. Regarding environmental impact assessment, the concentration of TPH was lower than the wastewater effluent discharge standard at most of the monitoring stations inside PETZONE companies, with the exception of stations 15, 16 (Imam Khomeini petrochemical company 1, 2) and 17 (Razi petrochemical company). These stations were considered as moderate environmental aspects, suggesting that concentration of TPH in the wastewater effluents of these petrochemical companies could be considered as contaminants of concern in the PETZONE area.     

Linear regression models for estimating true subsurface resistivity from apparent resistivity data

Simple linear regression (SLR) models for rapid estimation of true subsurface resistivity from apparent resistivity measurements are developed and assessed in this study. The objective is to minimize the processing time and computer memory required to carry out inversion with conventional algorithms. The arrays considered are Wenner, Wenner–Schlumberger and dipole–dipole. The parameters investigated are apparent resistivity (\(\rho _a \)) and true resistivity (\(\rho _t\)) as independent and dependent variables, respectively. For the fact that subsurface resistivity is nonlinear, the datasets were first transformed into logarithmic scale to satisfy the basic regression assumptions. Three models, one each for the three array types, are thus developed based on simple linear relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The generated SLR coefficients were used to estimate \(\rho _t\) for different \(\rho _a\) datasets for validation. Accuracy of the models was assessed using coefficient of determination (\(R^{2})\), F-test, standard error (SE) and weighted mean absolute percentage error (wMAPE). The model calibration \(R^{2}\) and F-value are obtained as 0.75 and 2286, 0.63 and 1097, and 0.47 and 446 for the Wenner, Wenner–Schlumberger and dipole–dipole array models, respectively. The SE for calibration and validation are obtained as 0.12 and 0.13, 0.16 and 0.25, and 0.21 and 0.24 for the Wenner, Wenner–Schlumberger and dipole–dipole array models, respectively. Similarly, the wMAPE for calibration and validation are estimated as 3.27 and 3.49%, 3.88 and 5.72%, and 5.35 and 6.07% for the three array models, respectively. When compared with standard constraint least-squares (SCLS) inversion and Incomplete Gauss–Newton (IGN) algorithms, the SLR models were found to reduce about 80–96.5% of the processing time and memory space required to carry out the inversion with the SCLS algorithm. It is concluded that the SLR models can rapidly estimate \(\rho _t\) for the various arrays accurately.     

Effect of Geological Structure on Flyrock Prediction in Construction Blasting

Blasting is sometimes inevitable in civil engineering work, to fragment the massive rock to enable excavation and leveling. In Minyak Beku, Batu Pahat also, blasting is implemented to fragment the rock mass, to reduce the in situ rock level to the required platform for a building construction. However, during blasting work, some rocks get an excessive amount of explosive energy and this energy may generate flyrock. An accident occurred on 15 July 2015 due to this phenomenon, in which one of the workers was killed and two other workers were seriously injured after being hit by the flyrock. The purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of the flyrock accidents through evaluation of rock mass geological structures. The discontinuities present on the rock face were analyzed, to study how they affected the projection and direction of the flyrock. Rock faces with lower mean joint spacing and larger apertures caused excessive flyrock. Based on the steoreonet analysis, it was found that slope failures also produced a significant effect on the direction, if the rock face failure lay in the critical zone area. Empirical models are often used to predict flyrock projection. In this study five empirical models are used to compare the incidents. It was found that none of the existing formulas could accurately predict flyrock distance. Analysis shows that the gap between predicted and actual flyrock can be reduced by including blast deign and geological conditions in forecasts. Analysis revealed only 69% of accuracy could be achieved if blast design is the only parameter to be considered in flyrock projection and the rest is influenced by the geological condition. Other causes of flyrock are discussed. Comparison of flyrock prediction with face bursting, cratering and rifling is carried out with recent prediction models.     

The Response of Macrobenthic Communities to Environmental Variability in Tropical Coastal Waters

The relative contributions of spatial and temporal fluctuations are different in shaping natural communities in a tropical coastal/estuarine system. Understanding how coastal communities respond to these fluctuations is still equivocal, and thus, available data are rare. Here, multiple analytical approaches were used to identify key spatial and temporal factors, and to quantify their relative roles in shaping a macrobenthic community through space (contamination degree, physical parameters, and sediment characteristics) and time (climatic factors, season, and year). A dataset of eight sampling times was analyzed over a period of 2 years, in which macrobenthic species abundances were sampled. A total of 33 species were identified, including 18 bivalves, 5 gastropods, and 4 crustaceans. The other taxa were less diverse. The results show that there were no significant temporal changes of macrobenthic community structure, but spatial changes were significant and synchronized with environmental factors (i.e., sediment characteristics, water depth, and the distance from anthropogenic sources). This study demonstrates that spatial factors played a primary role in structuring of macrobenthic assemblages, whereas the influence of temporal factors appeared less across geographically distinct sites. Thus, temporal variation of a coastal macrobenthic community appears to be controlled by partly different processes at different scales.     

An RFI investigation for setting up a VLBI station below 2.8 GHz in Malaysia

In this paper, we investigated the radio frequency interference (RFI) that future Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) observations in Malaysia may encounter. Four frequency windows below 2.8 GHz were chosen for this study and their spectra were measured at four sites. The frequency windows are 322-328 MHz, 608-614 MHz, 1660-1660.5 MHz and 1660.5-1668.4 MHz. The measured averaged RFI floor noise levels in these windows are −99.992 (±0.570) dBm, −99.907 (±0.639) dBm, −100.220 (±0.4941) dBm and −100.359 (±0.110) dBm, respectively. We found that only two bands below 2.8 GHz are permitted for the purpose of radio astronomy in Malaysia. They are 608-614 MHz and 1660-1660.5 MHz. The RFI levels in these permissible bands at the best site (Langkawi) were also measured and concluded to be relatively low. Main sources of RFI in these bands in Malaysia were identified. We also reviewed several current VLBI observations in these two bands.     

Copper(II) Biosorption on Soda Lignin From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB)

The adsorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions by soda lignin as an absorbent using a batch adsorption system is presented in this paper. The soda lignin used in this study was extracted from black liquor derived from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) using 20% v/v sulfuric acid. The effects of varying experimental parameters such as pH value, adsorbent dosage, different concentrations of Cu(II) ions, and agitation period were investigated. The results revealed that the optimum adsorption of Cu(II) onto soda lignin was recorded at a pH of 5.0 at an adsorbent dosage of 0.5 g soda lignin and an agitation period of 40 min. The adsorption capacities and rates of Cu(II) ions onto soda lignin was evaluated. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were applied to calculate the isotherm constants. It was found that the adsorption isothermal data could be well interpreted by the Freundlich model. The kinetic experimental data properly correlated with the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model, which implies that chemical sorption is the rate‐limiting step.