Exploring the applications of 3D proximity analysis in a 3D digital cadastre

Increasing population in urban areas and limitations of suitable lands for developing houses and urban infrastructure have led to the vertical development in cities. However, these developments are managed by a cadastral system which is mainly two-dimensional and cannot efficiently represent Rights, Restrictions, and Responsibilities (RRRs) in complex scenarios. In fact, a three-dimensional cadastre is required for efficiently registering and representing RRRs. In this paper, a 3D proximity analysis was proposed and implemented to determine RRRs and associated easement rights in non-topology-based data structures. This method can be used to investigate the surrounding spaces of a subject apartment unit or storage in a high-rise. The performance of the developed method was evaluated in a large complex high-rise in Tehran, Iran. The results confirmed that the proposed method can correctly identify the neighbor spaces in complex scenarios.     

Dynamical studies of the Mersa Matruh Gyre: intense meander and ring formation events

A study of the dynamics of the Mersa Matruh Gyre and the Mid-Mediterranean Jet flow system in the southwestern Levantine basin is presented. Data-driven simulations in the Levantine basin, using an eddy-resolving quasigeostrophic model initialized with two quasi-synoptic hydrographic data sets, reveal intense mesoscale meander and ring formation events involving the Mid-Mediterranean Jet, the Mersa Matruh Gyre and the Rhodes Gyre. The dynamics of these events are quantified via local energy and vorticity budget analyses. The dominant processes are investigated and compared with previously studied events in the Gulf Stream Ring and Meander region.     

Maturity modeling and burial history reconstruction for Garau and Sargelu formations in Lurestan basin,south Iran

The Upper Jurassic Sargelu and the Cretaceous Garau formations are important source rocks in the Lurestan basin, southwest Iran. In this study, the maturity evolution and burial history of these source rocks are investigated using 1D modeling in 15 wells within the Lurestan basin. These models are calibrated using temperature and vitrinite reflectance readings at well locations. Results indicate that thermal maturity of studied source rocks increases towards the northwest of the Lurestan basin and is the lowest over the Anaran High. The present-day level of maturity suggests that these formations are suitable candidates for shale gas resources in the Lurestan basin.     

Optimization of calcium-based bioclogging and biocementation of sand

Bioclogging and biocementation can be used to improve the geotechnical properties of sand. These processes can be performed by adsorption of urease-producing bacterial cells on the sand grain surfaces, which is followed by crystallization of calcite produced from the calcium salt and urea solution due to bacterial hydrolysis of urea. In this paper, the effect of intact cell suspension of Bacillus sp. strain VS1, suspension of the washed bacterial cells, and culture liquid without bacterial cells on microbially induced calcite precipitation in sand was studied. The test results showed that adsorption/retention of urease activity on sand treated with washed cells of Bacillus sp. strain VS1 was 5–8 times higher than that treated with culture liquid. The unconfined compressive strength of sand treated with the suspension of washed cells was 1.7 times higher than that treated with culture liquid. This difference could be due to fast inactivation of urease by protease which was present in the culture liquid. The adsorption of bacterial cells on sand pretreated with calcium, aluminum, or ferric salts was 29–37 % higher as compared with that without pretreatment. The permeability of sand varied with the content of precipitated calcium. For bioclogging of sand, the content of precipitated calcium had to be 1.3 % (w/w) or higher. The shear strength of biotreated sand was also dependent on the content of precipitated calcium. To achieve an unconfined compressive strength of 1.5 MPa or higher, the content of precipitated calcium in the treated sand had to be 4.2 % (w/w) or higher. These data can be used as the reference values for geotechnical applications such as bioclogging for reducing the permeability of sand and biocementation for increasing the shear strength of soil.     

Assessing desertification by using soil indices

Desertification generally refers to land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry semi-humid climatic zones. It involves five principal processes: vegetation degradation, water erosion, wind erosion, salinization and waterlogging, and soil crusting and compaction. The aim of this study is assessing desertification using soil criteria. For this purpose, nine indices including sodium absorption ratio (SAR), soil gypsum percentage, soil texture, the content of HCO₃ ^?, the percentage of the organic matter, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, the content of the soil sodium, and chloride were used. The soil samples were taken in the north of Zayandeh-Rood River in Isfahan province of Iran, using soil data randomly sampled in a depth of 0–20 cm. After assessing the normality of the samples using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, indices were imported into GIS environment and interpolated with IDW and normal and discrete kriging methods for delineating soil characteristics maps based on MEDALUS model. In this model, the data were firstly changed from 100 to 200. Thus 100 and 200 are estimated as the best and worst quality, respectively. Then the final map of soil criteria has been created by geometric mean of its indicators. The results showed that the maximum area is related to the medium class of desertification and is equal to 44,746 ha. The areas of severe and very severe classes of desertification are equal to 30,949 and 351 ha, respectively. The results also revealed that the indices of the organic matter and soil gypsum percentage are the most influential indices which affect desertification phenomenon.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">3D</Emphasis> Modelling of Urban Area Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a newly-developed remote sensing technology that works in all weather and independent of daylight. Recent satellite designs such as TerraSAR-x, which have resolutions of a couple of meters and sub-meters, have provided appropriate data for modelling and monitoring of urban areas. Image classification and height information extraction is possible considering the nature of SAR data. In this paper, a proper classification method for high-resolution SAR images has been used in urban areas. This classifier is based on statistical models. First, statistical models that are well adapted to urban SAR images are selected. Initial labelling is performed using the maximum likelihood method. A method based on Markov random fields is applied to improve the results by considering neighbourhood information. Meanwhile, topographic information is extracted using the phase difference obtained from SAR interferometry. After classification and height extraction, the homogeneous regions consisting of locations with similar objects are determined. The homogeneous region adjacency graph are generated using vectors containing classification information, extracted objects, height of pixels forming each region, and information on the neighbouring areas. Height and classification information are then merged by assigning height conditions based on the nature of objects and optimizing an energy function. The results obtained, including buildings, streets, and corner reflectors, are easily recognizable. The overall accuracy is improved from 57% in the initial classification to 95% in the employed procedure. Moreover, the accuracy of height estimation is about 2.74 m, which is acceptable for height estimations of buildings with more than one floor.     

Estimation of sediment load and erosion of different geological units: A case study from a basin of north-eastern Iran

Erosion of geological units and sediment load in rivers can be considered as the serious problems in recent decades.Increasing sediment loads generate major hazards for water resources development,particularly in terms of loss of reservoir storage due to sedimentation and siltation of water distribution systems.In this paper,the performance of four sediment rating curve (SRC) development methods was evaluated for the Shirin Darreh River(SDR) basin (1750 km2),located in North Khorasan Province,Iran.Data of flow discharge (Q) and suspended sediment flux (SSF)(Q-SSF pairs,N=957)and daily flow discharge,recorded by the Regional Water Company of North Khorasan (RWCNK) at the Qaleh-Barbar (QB) gauging site during 1989-2018were used.The flow discharge classification method performed best by meeting the desired criteria of most statistical indices,including normalized root mean square error (NRMSE),mean bias error (MBE),mean absolute error (MAE),index of agreement (d),and coefficient of determination (R~2).Based on the optimized method,the rate of suspended sediment transportation at the study site was estimated about2.7×10~6 ton year~(-1).Erodibility of the exposed formations in the study area was estimated based on a factorial scoring model (FSM).Three indices,focused on the outcrop and erodibility,were calculated for the geological units at sub-basin and total scales.Marl deposits are the most extensive geological unit in the three sub-basins and the maximum formation outcrop ratio (FOR) and participation in erosion (PCE)were obtained for these rocks at total scale.In fact,marl unit can be regarded as the main source to supply the suspended sediments in the study basin.     

Evaluation of two satellite-based products against ground-based observation for drought analysis in the southern part of Iran

Natural Hazards - Water stress or more specifically drought assessment plays a key role in water management, especially in extreme climate conditions. Basically, globally gridded satellite-based...