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  • Open access
  • 14 Reads
Applying a smart fuzzy adaptive regression to runoff estimation

A smart adaptive fuzzy based regression is proposed in order to describe a non-constant behavior of the runoff as a function of the precipitation. This methodology can be applied in similar hydrological processes. Hence, for high precipitation, beyond a fuzzy threshold, a conventional linear (crisp) relation between precipitation and runoff is established, while for low precipitation, a curve with different behavior must be derived. Between these curves and for a runoff range each curve holds to some degree. Hence, a simplified Sugeno architecture scheme is established based on no many logical rules. The training process is achieved based on a combination between the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method and the conventional least square method.

  • Open access
  • 18 Reads
Batch adsorption studies incorporating response surface methodology for the elimination of acephate

Banned pesticides are continuously preferred by the planters of the Idukki District irrespective of their toxicity. Among the banned ones acephate is preferred to its high solubility in water and persistent character. Unfortunately it detriments the biota leading to neurogenic, carcinogenic and physiological disorders in fish. The plantation near to Periyar River basin is contaminated with residues of pesticides and eventually drains to the river. There is an urgent need for the removal of acephate. So we have focused on the removal of acephate into the lab scale. Batch adsorption studies were carried onto the removal of acephate. We selected a material Fe-MMT ( Fe3O4-montmorillonite) which is benign and possess a high adsorption capacity towards acephate. Adsorbent properties were examined by various analytical tools XRD, SEM, FTIR, and Surface area analyzer. Adsorption followed Langmuir with first-order kinetic. Kinetic plots exhibited multistage adsorption indicating film diffusion and pore diffusion during the adsorption or the mechanism of adsorption is chemisorption, physisorption, and Lewis acid-base interaction. Response surface methodology involving CCD (central composite design) was extracted to maximize the adsorption of acephate onto Fe-MMT. Dosage and concentration seem to be the major parameters that influenced the adsorption. Adsorption achieved peak (83.18%) at optimum conditions corresponding to pH 6, initial acephate concentration 2mg/L, and adsorbent dosage corresponding to 0.5g/L.

  • Open access
  • 17 Reads
Danio rerio: A sustainable model for monitoring pollutants in the aquatic environments

Since the beginning of humanity, many sectors have continued to produce different chemicals. These chemicals are the main actors of environmental pollution and have become a global problem with irreversible effects in terms of single health. For this, countries have set a target of "a pollution-free planet". We need to determine target-specific strategies to both eliminate pollution and protect only health. To date, traditional methods of monitoring in receiving aquatic environments have been used and do not provide information on toxic levels of pollutants. For this reason, researchers have focused on "bio-indicator" or "bio-monitor" living things. Since organisms are in equilibrium with the aquatic environment, it can also be considered as an integrated sampling tool and may indicate potential contamination. Danio rerio (Zebrafish) is considered a promising model organism for single health studies in terms of its biological structure. This review aims to present Danio rerio's characteristics, susceptibility to environmental pollutants, and risks associated with pollutants in the aquatic environment.

  • Open access
  • 18 Reads
Water Footprint Score: A practical method for wider communication and assessment of Water Footprint performance

Water Footprint (WF) as a measure of water use and pollution during a product’s life cycle has proved to be a valuable tool for assessing water management efficiency of human production and consumption patterns. Its application in agriculture, identifies deficiencies in applied irrigation schemes and cultivation practices providing the basis for drawing sustainable water management strategies at river basin or at farm level.

Despite its wide application by scientists and policy makers there is a gap in farmers’ and consumers’ uptake mainly due to its interpretation approach. The WF value of an agricultural product, as a sole number, if not further analysed, provides little information regarding farmers’ cultivation and water management practices applied. Furthermore, WF computation method based on site and year specific information complicates its comparability.

Communication of a product’s environmental performance to the wider public is a core issue in the growing global market of green products. In the present study we propose a simple and practical method for assessing and communicating in a single score WF performance of an agricultural product. We introduce the concept of “Water Footprint Score”, a comprehensive and comparable indicator of farmer’s water resources management performance which can be incorporated in agricultural products’ labels. Water Footprint Score as the outcome of the comparison with a Water Footprint Annual Reference Level, is a spatiotemporally comparable metric that reflects the convergence to best irrigation and cultivation practices and can be easily adopted by both farmers and consumers. Examples of Water Footprint Score computation for two different agricultural products cultivated in the plain of Arta (NW Greece), kiwi fruits and table olives, are provided.

  • Open access
  • 26 Reads
Flood disaster mapping using geospatial techniques: A Study Case in Pakistan flood-2022

Extreme weather events occurrences have significantly increased as a result of climate change worldwide. The impact of extreme events occurrences, however, is unquestionably greatest in South Asian developing countries due to greater vulnerability and exposure. Pakistan is one of the top 10 countries in the world that are most impacted by climate change. The country has noticed shifting weather patterns, including fluctuations in precipitation and temperature, as well as an increase in the frequency and intensity of heavy torrential downpours, glacial melt, and droughts. The Pakistan flood in 2022 shows a glimpse of the size and destruction that climate change may bring. The inundation caused by the flood of 2022 in Pakistan, which severely affected all of its provinces, is incomparable to any recent catastrophes in terms of the massive spatial and temporal scale. The Pakistan flood in 2022 came in third for human fatalities while being the major cause of displacing roughly 32 million people. We have evaluated the primary causes, impacts, and estimated flood extent with duration using remote sensing (RS) and Geographic information system (GIS) techniques in District Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan. The Landsat satellite images were taken for pre-flood, co-flood, and post-flood stages. The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index was used to determine the flood extent, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was used to track changes in vegetation. Land use and land cover were classified using the supervised classification method. The analysis allowed us to evaluate the causes, severity, and damages to built-up regions and standing crops caused by floods. According to the results, the flood of 2022 was mostly caused by an extremely intense downpour in early August 2022. Agriculture and built-up regions were severely impacted by the flood inundation, which lasted for around 6 weeks. The current study provides the actual application of RS approaches as a foundation for efficient mapping of flood inundation and impacts analysis. The Pakistan flood of 2022 brings to light the difficulties in the adaptation that South Asian nations are encountering as well as the critical need for climate mitigation to lessen the likelihood of such occurrences in the future.

  • Open access
  • 29 Reads
Advances in the knowledge of Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark in the framework of the UNESCO IGCP-730 project

The project "Hydrological significance of Mediterranean Geoparks" is being carrying out since 2021 in five countries, Palestine, Marrocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Spain. Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark (UGGp) is focused for a specific hydrogeological study conducted through the analysis of relevant springs, as main water sources against groundwater which is barely used.

In this work, the main results achieved are presented:

a) Identification of the elements that allow defining the geological diversity of the geopark.

b) Main aquifers.

c) Physico-chemical characteristics of the most relevant springs.

As a result, a hydrogeological conceptual model is proposed to explain the hydrogeological functioning of the area.

  • Open access
  • 21 Reads
Investigation of groundwater resources quality for drinking purposes using GWQI and GIS: A case study of Ottawa City, Ontario, Canada

Evaluating groundwater quality for specific purposes requires accurate quantitative and qualitative management, accessibility to the study area, and knowledge of the governing environmental processes. Groundwater resources are used as a supplementary for drinking water consumption alongside surface water in most countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of groundwater resources in the city of Ottawa, located in Ontario, Canada, using the Schuler diagram and the Groundwater Quality Index (GWQI). To determine the water quality, the qualitative parameters of groundwater including Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4, HCO3, NO3, F, pH, TDS, TH, and Turbidity were considered in the Schuler diagram and GWQI. Each parameter's classified water quality Map layer is prepared using the Kriging method in the ArcGIS environment. The results of Schuler's diagram indicated that the range of drinking water quality was good to moderate in more than 50% of the investigated groundwater resources. Moreover, the results of the groundwater quality classification map layer based on the GWQI revealed more than 90% of the groundwater resources were examined in the good and excellent range for drinking purposes. Accordingly, these results indicate that the GWQI values in the study area are well within the permissible limits and the quality of the groundwater is suitable for drinking and other inhabitants' consumption.

  • Open access
  • 19 Reads
GIS-Based Multi‑Criteria Decision Analysis for Flash Flood Hazard and Risk Assessment: A Case Study of Eastern of Minya Area, Egypt

Flash floods are considered one of the most devastating and frequent extreme climatological natural hazards in the world. El Minya area is one of the most vulnerable land in Egypt to flash flood problems. El Minia Area has suffered numerous historical flooding events. These events have resulted in both catastrophic losses of life and severe damage to the infrastructure of the included area. The study area is located in the middle of Egypt about 240 km southern of Cairo. It is situated along the Limestone Plateau facing El Minia governorate. This study aims to assess flash flood hazard and risk in the El Minia watersheds in support of mitigation planning. Mapping Flash flood vulnerability were done using Analytical Hierarchy Process in a GIS environment. A significant Multi-Criteria including Geology, Hydrology, Geomorphology, Morphometry, Soil, and Topographic factors were chosen to evaluate the hazard map. Multi-source optical and radar remotely sensed data were collected, processed and analyzed. All used data are finally integrated in ArcGIS Model to prepare a final flood hazard map for study area. The areas in high-risk flood zones are obtained by overlaying the flood hazard index map with the zone boundaries layer.

  • Open access
  • 35 Reads
Groundwater quality assessment and evaluation of scaling and corrosiveness potential of drinking water samples

The aims of this study were to assess and analyze the drinking water quality of the Aurangabad area using the water quality index (WQI) and to investigate the water stability in the subject area. Groundwater samples from the shallow unconfined aquifer were collected from fifteen borewells in Aurangabad, Bihar, and were analyzed for various physico-chemical parameters. The pH, temperature, salinity, TDS, and EC were measured in the field. The borewell samples were analyzed in the laboratory for Ca2+, Mg2+, F-, Cl, PO43-, HCO3-, NO3- and SO42-. Accordingly, the Langeliar saturation index (LSI), Ryznar stability index (RSI), Puckorius scaling index (PSI), Larson-Skold index (Ls), and Aggressivity index (AI) were evaluated for assessing the corrosive nature of the groundwater. The results illustrated that the average values of LSI, RSI, PSI, LS, and AI were -0.92 (±0.47), 9.09 (±0.67), 9.50 (±0.73), 1.73 (±0.78), and 11.05 (±0.48), respectively. The calculation of WQI for groundwater samples indicated that 12.5 % of the samples could be considered as excellent water, 62.50 % of the samples were classified as good water category and 18.75 % of the samples showed poor and 6.25 % of the samples showed very poor water category. The corrosiveness indices, LSI and PSI, indicate that all water samples had a corrosive tendency. RSI indicates that 87.5 % high corrosive tendency and 12.5 % low corrosive tendency of water samples. Ls indicates that 75 % high corrosive tendency, 18.75 % corrosive tendency, and 6.25 % scaling tendency of water samples. AI indicates that 93.75 % of water samples were moderately corrosive tendency and 6.25 % of water samples were corrosive tendency.

  • Open access
  • 87 Reads
Jakarta’s 2020 New Year Flood Assessment by Rainfall-Runoff-Inundation (RRI) Model

Floods hit Jakarta and several areas in Ciliwung-Cisadane Watershed. The rain that occurred on 31 December 2019 stopped briefly and continued until January 1, 2020. As a result, several areas were flooded for several days. It is said that the rain that occurred was the largest in history. At least the rainfall station at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport recorded a rainfall with an intensity of 377 mm/day. That makes a question about how much discharge was generated by the rainfall. This study was conducted to assess the flood discharge and the inundated area caused by the rain on 2020 new year's eve. The Rainfall-Runoff-Inundation (RRI) is utilized to simulate the flood discharge and inundation using the 1D-2D hydraulic-hydrology model. This model also calculates infiltration and subsurface flow with the Green-Ampt equation. Besides, the rainfall data uses rain data recorded by the ground station and the topography uses SRTM data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Then, the flood discharge obtained from the model is compared with the flood return period. The return periods of the flood that are compared are 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years. The result shows that the flood that occurred on 1 January 2020 is equivalent to flooding with a return period of 50 years.

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