Volume 1 Issue 4
Authors: Sameh S Ahmed; Mohamed R El Tahlawi
Abstract: Mining operations describe either mines or any of various work functions that are performed in mines, from exploration to waste disposal. The long-term environmental impacts of uncontrolled mining and quarrying operations are disruption of the hydrological cycle, loss of biological diversity, acceleration off deforestation and desertification in fertile areas and poor sustainable development for the future. This paper represents a comprehensive digest of the up-to-date literature on the impact of such operations, with focusing on the environmental impacts of one of the economical ores in the Middle East, Phosphate. The major environmental impacts of mining and quarrying operations to air, water, land and other resources are discussed and suggestions have been introduced to prevent their negative geo-environmental effects. Moreover, the paper presents a case study of the environmental impacts of the Abu Tartour phosphate mine, Western Desert, Egypt, where the mining area has been screened environmentally and the main issues are reported. Technical actions (methods) that may be taken to study and monitor these issues using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing are demonstrated through the case study. The environmental challenges faced by mining activities should not be underestimated. All the major mineral-consuming areas face problems of one sort or another. Pioneering computer software, designed to identify more sustainable integrated approaches to waste management, has been recently developed. We are invited to take part in the newly and progressively developed new world.
Keywords: Abu Tartour, Environmental Impacts, GIS, Phosphate, Mining
Authors: M.A.El-Taher; E.M.Fawzey; M.E. Soltan; M. N. Rashed
Abstract: Distribution, mobility and toxicity of heavy metals in the environment depend on the association form in the solid phase to which they are bound. Sequential extraction techniques used to obtain suitable information about heavy metals bounding form and eco- toxicity. In this work, the speciation of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cu, and Pb), individual metal contamination factor (Cf) and mobility of metals from sewage sludge hills to surrounding ecosystem were conducted. An optimized two sequential extraction (Tessier and BCR) and single extraction procedures for sewage sludge were used. Sewage sludge samples were collected from sludge hills near a wastewater treatment plant at Kema region Aswan. The percentage of each metal as residual, oxidizable, reducible and exchangeable form was calculated. The results revealed that on the basis of heavy metals speciation, the individual contamination factor values of Cd and Co have the highest mobility (Cf: 27.38 and 36.36, respectively) and susceptibility to be released from the sludge, while Pb and Cu have the lowest mobility (Cf 2.25 and1.39, respectively). This study provides valuable information on the mobility of metals in sludge and helps in predicting their behaviour to the ecosystem.
Keywords: Heavy metals; pollution; sewage sludge; contamination; metal speciation
Authors: Abdolrassoul Salman Mahiny; Seyed Masoud Monavari; Saba Reza Soltani
Abstract: Rapid urbanization imposes significant pressure on land resources and land use structures. Therefore, comprehensive studies should be applied to support urban land use management in the world and particularly in developing countries. This research is aimed at providing a critical analysis of weighted linear combination method applied to urban land use management in Tehran Province, Iran. An analysis is developed through the combination of a suite of existing methods and tools: geographical information system (GIS) and spatial decision support tools namely multi-criteria evaluation (MCE), analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and weighted linear combination method (WLC).
Keywords: Urban Development; Multi Criteria Evaluation; Analytic Hierarchy Process; Weighted Linear Combination; GIS
Authors: Ahmad Shukri Yahaya; Nor Azam Ramli Ramli; Noor Faizah Fitri Md Yusof
Abstract: Central fitting distribution (CFD) such as Weibull, gamma and lognormal distribution can give a good result for fitting the mean concentration of air pollutants data. However, it cannot precisely fit the high concentration region. Therefore, extreme value distributions (EVD) that are Gumbel and Frechet distributions were used in this research to fit the high particulate event in Seberang Perai, Penang from 2002 to 2006 to reduce the predicting error. The cfd (Weibull, gamma and lognormal distributions) and evd (Frechet and Gumbel distributions) were used to fit the daily maximum concentration. The best distribution that can fit the data was selected based on performance indicators. Furthermore, the exceedences of a critical PM10 concentration over the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guidelines were estimated using the best distributions. The results of performance indicators show that the extreme value distribution gives better fit to the actual high PM10 I. INTRODUCTION concentration than the central fitting distribution. The exceedences over a high particulate event were successfully predicted. In 2002, the exceedences is 291 days, 224 days in 2003, 151 days in 2004, 156 days in 2005 and 9 days in 2006.
Keywords: central fitting distribution; Gumbel distribution; Frechet distribution; method of moments; daily maximum concentration
Authors: Michele Freppaz; Gabriele Garnero; Salandin Barbero; Alessio Salandin; Enrico Rivella; Silvia Terzago; Gianluca Filippa; Danilo Godone
Abstract: An automated approach is presented, with the purpose of computing snow cover duration from satellite imagery and to validate them with in-situ measured data. In the present study the employed MODIS dataset has a spatial domain covering the entire study area, while its temporal domain covers the last ten years, i.e. 2000 – 2010. Snow depth records from sensors integrated in automated nivo-meteorological stations were used to provide field measurements for comparison with the MODIS data. The meteorological network records snow and climate variables such as snow depth, air temperature, wind speed, and soil temperature. Snow depth is measured from above with an ultrasonic snow depth sensor (mounted on a mast 6 m above ground). The two independent automated procedures to derive snow patterns and particularly to define the end of snowmelt have shown a fairly good agreement. Moreover, the study has shown that a strong influence on the relationship between MODIS and snow-sensor derived snow melts may be due to the elevation, with higher sites showing longer lasting snowpacks under the snow sensor than over the 500 m-side grid.
Keywords: GIS; Nivo-meteorological Station; Remote Sensing; Snowmelt; Visual Basic
Authors: Holzbecher Ekkehard; Jin. Yulan; Ebneth Stefan
Abstract: Groundwater lowering is usually required at construction sites, and for open pit mining, sometimes for aquifer remediation measures. Conventional methods lower the groundwater table by galleries of pumping wells. The pumped-out water is conducted to a distance place, where it is discharged back into the ground or into a surface water body. The system is criticized due to its environmental impacts, due to the disturbance of the local groundwater budget with negative effects on the eco-systems in the direct surroundings. Moreover, there may be severe problems connected with land subsidence and with groundwater or surface water pollution. In contrast to current and traditional techniques, we propose a novel method (DSI method), which can achieve dewatering without water conveyance above ground. In the method, dewatering is reached by pumping, while groundwater conservation is achieved by re-injecting pumped water back into the deep aquifer in the same borehole. The DSI method aims to avoid environmental problems with water pumped to the surface and meanwhile to reduce the costs. In the paper, the DSI concept, referred to as “borehole pump and inject” is described in detail. Moreover we report the current state of a project with two test sites for field experiments. Numerical models, based on Darcy’s Law as physical principle, are built up in 2D and 3D to evaluate the field experiments. The lowering of the groundwater table is implemented using ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) and moving mesh methods. Aquifer parameters are calibrated by inversely matching the modelled result to the measured field data. Our studies show a high potential for a promising future of the DSI method. The challenges are pointed out by discussing the limitations of the new method.
Keywords: Dewatering; groundwater; wells, pump; injection
Authors: Chittanahally Ramakrishnegowda; Ramakrishna Yaji; R Shivashankar; Puvvadi Venkata Sivapullaiah
Abstract: The paper brings out the effect of interaction of shedi soil containing both kaolinite and smectite minerals with alkali on various geotechnical properties such as the index properties, compaction characteristics, volume change behaviour, strength characteristics and hydraulic conductivity. It has been shown that though the plasticity index of soil decreases and optimum moisture content increases with increasing concentration of alkali content in the fluid. However the swell pressure and the compressibility of soil decrease. The shear strength of soil decreases essentially due to decrease in the cohesion of the soil particles. The hydraulic conductivity of the soil increases with higher concentrations of alkali solution. These changes in geotechnical properties of soil which are not consistent with changes in index properties are explained based on structural changes in soil particles due to alkali interaction.
Keywords: Alkali solution; Plasticity; Shear strength; Volume Change Behaviour
Authors: D. G. Marbaniang
Abstract: In this study, the gross activity of the alpha and beta emitting radionuclides present in the naturally occurring water bodies in the Uranium mineralization zone of Domiasiat, West Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya, India was determined. In our study, the gross radioactivity indicates that the water sample under investigation has a low concentration of both alpha and beta emitters and the activity was less than 0.5Bq/l for alpha activity and 1.0Bq/L for beta activity which is lower compared to the WHO prescribed limit. We estimate that the additional equivalent effective dose derived from water consumption is less than 0.3mSv/yr provided the water consumption for the population is on average, 730litres per inhabitant per year. We estimate that the additional equivalent effective dose derived from water consumption is less than 0.3mSv/yr provided the water consumption for the population is on average, 730litres per inhabitant per year (2L per day)
Keywords: Activity; Alpha; Beta; Dose; Intake; Uranium
Authors: Joonhong Lim; Meeseub Limr
Abstract: This paper describes the riding robot system named by "RideBot-II" which is a riding robot like as a horse. In order to simulate the riding motions, we developed the saddle mechanism which can generate 4 DOF motions including pitch, roll, bounce and slide movement, and also we controlled the riding motions and the intention of horseman. To generate the riding motions with the bodily sensation, we developed Novel Washout Filter and the algorithms for motion control. And also, we developed some health care service for the health care of horseman. A body state index was proposed that evaluates the personal health state from both the measured physiological variables and the surveyed questions. The physiological variables such as weight, blood pressure, heart rate variability(HRV), accelerated state photoplethysmograph (APG), body fat, and happiness index were measured by the specially designed bio-handle system and survey questions. The efficiency of the proposed ride robot is evaluated in the experiments.
Keywords: Riding Robot; Horseback Motions; Entertainment; Healthcare; Riding Motion Control
Authors: Chun-Chin Kuo; Han-Hwa Juang
Abstract: This study mainly consisted of two parts. First, the objective and content of community disaster prevention learning were constructed based on literature review and in-depth surveys. The development, influential factors and subject of community disaster prevention learning were analyzed and explored as well. Second, the concrete names and the content of the indicators were preliminarily drafted. Delphi method and AHP were used to evaluate the importance degree, sifted the indicators, revised the content and adjusted the frame. The result showed that the elements of maintaining the basic operation of the community were also the fundamental condition of constructing the disaster resistant community.
Keywords: Community Disaster Prevention Education; Learning Indicators; Delphi method; AHP