Time and frequency domains response analyses of April 2015 Greece’s earthquake in the Nile Delta based on GNSS-PPP

Earthquake response characteristic and sensitivity of 1-Hz Global Navigation Satellite System - precise point positioning (GNSS-PPP) for a seismic response in time and frequency domains are the main objectives of this study. The Delta and Cairo areas, Egypt, experiencing the shock of the Greece earthquake occurring on April 16, 2015 (18:50 hours), is presented in this study. The results of this study reveal that the seismic wave effect is very small and can be neglected inside the Delta region and the strong motion occurred in an upward direction for the whole monitoring area. Furthermore, the time-frequency analysis illustrates the ability of the time and frequency domains to use and analyze the surface motion based on a 1-Hz sampling frequency and to detect the small- and high-strength motions of seismic waves.     

Dissolution of calcitic marble and dolomitic rock in high iron concentrated acid mine drainage: application to anoxic limestone drains

Oxidation of sulphide mining waste can generate acid mine drainage (AMD) that has the potential to seriously affect the ecosystems. Acid mine drainage is characterised by a high acidity, high concentrations of sulphates and metals. To reduce the environmental impacts due to AMD, neutralisation using limestone drains is an option proposed in the literature and used around the world. The present study focuses on the influence of the carbonate rock mineralogy and their particle size on the neutralising capacity. The tests were performed in two different anoxic conditions: in batch reactors, and in columns having a hydraulic retention time of 15?h. The results showed that the neutralisation capacity of calcite was more important than for dolomitic rock, and smaller particle size gave higher alkalinity production (fine calcite dissolved faster in contact with AMD). A characterization of metal precipitate in sludge and in limestone coating was performed and demonstrated that gypsum, lepidocrocite and goethite were the predominant secondary minerals to be formed. Finally, this study underlines that anoxic limestone drain cannot be used alone to treat high iron concentrated AMD.     

Ore deposits and epithermal evidences associated with intra-magmatic faults at Aïn El Araâr-Oued Belif ring structure (NW of Tunisia)

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Hydrothermal ore deposits at Aïn El Araâr-Oued Belif location are classified as epithermal deposits type. The ore bodies are hosted by upper...     

An analytical theory of resonant scattering of SH waves by thin overground structures

Scattering of SH waves in a half-space with simple overground structures is studied analytically. For two-dimensional structures, such as shells, shear walls and a slab-bridge over a river, the method of matched asymptotics is used for sinusoidal waves long compared to the thickness of the structures. Resonance features are deduced analytically and calculated numerically for various incidences and other parameters.     

Building frequency fluctuations from continuous monitoring of ambient vibrations and their relationship to temperature variations

Building frequencies (fundamental and higher modes) are a critical parameter especially in the field of structural health monitoring mainly based on the stability of the structural dynamic parameters of individual building (frequencies, damping and modes shape). One of the most used methods to find out these parameters is based on the use on ambient vibration analysis. In this work, we study the fluctuations over a month period of the fundamental frequencies (transverse and longitudinal) of a 3.5-story RC-building made of 2 identical units connected by a structural joint. Time independent building frequencies is a strong assumption; as illustrated by our experiment showing that over an observation period of a month, building frequencies fluctuate of about 3.5 %. A clear correlation is found between the building frequency fluctuations and temperature variations, with a phase-shift interpreted as the characteristic time of heat diffusion within the walls. This allows: (1) determining the thermal diffusivity of the structure, (2) inferring its relative stiffness variations, and (3) showing that its Young modulus varies linearly with temperature.     

Hydrodynamic Tidal Model of the Persian Gulf Based on Spatially Variable Bed Friction Coefficient

The aim of this study is to develop a two-dimensional hydrodynamic tidal model for the Persian Gulf (PG2017) using 2D-MIKE21 software. The advantages of present study is accounting for the spatial variation of bed friction coefficient besides a precise bathymetry together with a 23-year of combined records of satellite altimetry data. We found that the bed friction coefficient has a significant effect on sea level changes in the region under our modeling consideration. Since the tidal behavior in the northern part of the Qeshm Island is significantly different from the other parts of the Persian Gulf, to present a more accurate hydrodynamic tidal model, the Gulf is divided into two regions where the bed friction coefficient is modeled separately for each region. The root mean square value of the differences between the amplitude of dominant constituents; M2, S2, K1, and O1 derived from the PG2017 model and that of 98 altimetry and coastal tide gauge stations are respectively equal to 1.6, 1.9, 2.8, and 1.3?cm. Moreover, comparing the PG2017 model efficiency with the FES2014, OSU12, EOT11a, DTU10, and Admiralty models shows that the PG2017 model has an improvement of 22.1%, 47.2%, 43.2%, 44.2%, and 57.6% in terms of relative error, respectively.     

Fuzzy logic and multi-criteria methods for groundwater potentiality mapping at Al Fo’ah area,the United Arab Emirates (UAE): an integrated approach

This study has modified an approach based on fuzzy logic in a GIS and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) for groundwater potentiality mapping in Al Fo’ah area, the United Arab Emirates. The proposed approach uses nine groundwater conditioning factors recognized by local hydrology experts. Each factor and class of each factor was given a weight and score based on its level of contributions to groundwater accumulation using analytical hierarchy process and MCDM. Our results revealed that the areas of very high harbouring groundwater are located at the foot of the Oman mountains and occupies an area of about 8.46 km² (4%) of the study area. We validated our results using the Relative Operating Characteristics. The area under the curve showed a ratio of 0.8957 (of 89.57%). The modified approach is timely and economically effective and can be applied in semi-arid regions to help hydrologists.     

The First Recorded Occurrences and the Distribution of Physalia physalis (Hydrozoa: Physaliidae) in Algerian Waters

Ocean Science Journal - Recently, there have been recorded findings of the pleustonic siphonophore Physalia physalis Linnæus, 1758, in different regions of Algeria. Several colonies washed...     

Magnetic mineralogy of some ring complexes from the South Eastern Desert,Egypt

Ore microscopic study was carried out on a great number of samples collected from four well-dated alkaline rock masses (ring complexes), namely Gabal Mishbeh, Gabal Nigrub El Fogani, Gabal Nigrub El Tahtani, and Gabal El Gezira located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These rings consist mainly of wide variety of rock types ranging from basic to acidic and from under saturated to quartz bearing. The opaques of the basic rocks consist mainly of various ilmenite–magnetite intergrowths and differ essentially from those of the acidic rocks where minor amount of titanomagnetite is present. Numerous exsolution, replacement, and deformational textures were described. The distribution of opaque minerals and their intergrowths in the four well-defined ring complexes is described. Systematic rock magnetic measurements such as natural remanent magnetization intensity and initial susceptibility, Curie point, saturation magnetization, and coercive force were carried out, and their results were discussed in the light of opaque mineralogical studies.