Modern Advances in Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences Vol. 5

Problem statement: The results of study of seism acoustic emission arising in a porous two-phase geological environment under acoustic influence are presented. Acoustic emission arising in reservoirs of oil fields using well observations is considered. The main feature of acoustic emission is a reflection of stress relaxation and high sensitivity to external influences. The regularity of the emission processes of acoustic emission, which manifests itself in the form of discrete spectra of signals similar to oscillations of nonlinearly coupled oscillators, is shown. Spectra have special characteristics for each type of rock.

Applied Method and Design: An algorithm for modeling the process of resonant acoustic response of a porous fluid-saturated reservoir of a hierarchical structure to an acoustic frequency excitation located in an elastic N-layer medium and having plastic properties is written. That algorithm is developed as an iterative process for solution integral and integral-differential equations. The frequencies that are parameters of the direct problem are used from the spectra of observed data of acoustic emission in the oil wells.

Typical Results: For the first time it had been found the relation between resonant frequencies of the acoustic emission, which these values had been used in the algorithm of modeling acoustic processes in fluid saturated nonlinear plastic environment.

Concluding Note(Practical Value/Implications): The analysis of these emission processes can serve as a source of information about the filtration-capacitive properties of productive reservoirs of a porous type with a hierarchical structure. It by practical data of oil fields of Western Siberia.

Marine cage culture has been developed quickly in recent years from land-based operation transfer to marine cage culture by government policy in Taiwan. Therefore, the suitable site selection is an important premised and key factor for successful marine cage culture and sustainable development in the future. Especially, it’s greatly influences economic viability by determining capital outlay and affecting running costs, production and mortality. Hence, the decision factors such as climate factors, geographic environmental factors, bio-environmental factors and social-economic factors are more important for site selection. With the rapid development of marine cage culture that creates a growing need for coastal zone environment analyses, a complex task need one useful tools for kinds of analysis is the Geographic Information System (GIS).  This study use AHP (analytic hierarchy process) to evaluate the criteria weight for site selection. From AHP analysis, the weights of suitability of the four GIS grid themes were 0.322, 0.410, 0.127 and 0.141, respectively. The result shows that the geographic environmental factors are the most important factors in selection suitable marine culture sits in Penghu cove in Taiwan. At the meanwhile, by using ArcMap, a GIS software package, a suitable map was made based on the selected grid themes. The suitable sites for marine cage culture development identified on the individual GIS grid themes, the GIS software and AHP method can be integrated to select objectively the optimal sites for marine cage culture development.  

The coral reef resources at Biak Island have been identified and studied through ground truth carried out during July 2007 and Alos imagery analysis with 10 m resolution recorded on 25 May 2010, it is assumed that there is no change for 3 years. The study integrates the 59 field data into Alos image data, using glint removal and depth invariant index algorithms to generate coral reef ecosystem classes. Those classes are: live corals, dead corals, a mixture of both, and sand The algorithm that is composed of three visible bands is applicable at clear water rather than at turbid water environment. Hence, vegetation coverage as well as seagrass, seaweed, and macroalgae which are to a small extent and usually covered by fine sand materials and associated with turbid water, are neglected. Corals at Biak Island spatially at Northeast part which is facing directly towards the Pacific Ocean is narrow, 50 to 150 m wide, covers an area of 1031 ha., live corals dominated 38 ha. (3%) and at Southwest part is 50 – 700 m wide, covers an area of 2161 ha., live corals dominated occupies 215 ha. (9%). It is suggested that the strong waves from the Pacific Ocean will cause corals in the North does not to thrive. This research aims to produce a map of the coral reef ecosystem at Biak Island, Indonesia, reached from 135^o48’E - 136^o28’E; 0^o41’S - 1^o15’S.

The existing landfill sites in Accra are reaching full capacity and the acquisition of land for the construction of landfill sites has become very difficult due to rapid developmental activities in Accra. However, with the current rate of development which will cause the construction of landfill sites far from the source of generation, there is an urgent need to get an intermediate facility. This is the waste transfer station where waste would be processed and compacted in long-distance trucks (Compactor trucks) to reduce the cost of waste transport and disposal. The objective of the study was to determine suitable places that could be used as waste transfer stations in relation to the location of landfill sites using the Geographic Information System (GIS). Here, coordinates of all the communal container sites in Accra were determined with the Geographic Positioning System (GPS). The coordinates were then converted into points using ArcGIS and Microsoft Excel 2007 to help analysed the data collected. From the study, four transfer stations were located with the help of the GIS namely: Ablekuman and Amomola (Transfer station 1) Oblogo and Weija (Transfer station 2) Ashongman and Agbogba (Transfer station 3) Ashaley Botwe and Ogbozdo (Transfer station 4). Waste transfer stations have now been constructed in Accra (Teshie, Achimota and, Kokomlemle), but most of them are located at old landfill sites.

The Norilsk ore region is located within the Siberian traps province which includes volcanic and intrusive rocks comprising the PGE-Cu-Ni deposits. The Turumakit area, which is situated within the southern Norilsk trough, also contains many different intrusions sometimes with related mineralization. We have studied magmatic rocks within the Turumakit area (83 samples). They are attributed to the Norilsk, Ergalakh, Daldykan and Ogonersky intrusive complexes. The obtained mineralogical and geochemical data, as well as the U-Pb system of baddeleyites, have shown difference between sub-alkaline rocks of the Turumakit area and the typical Eragalakh trachydolerites located in the Norilsk and Talnakh ore junctions. The Turumakit subalkaline rocks are coarse-grained, with segregations of pegmatite gabbro in contrast to typically fine-grained Ergalakh trachydolerites. They also contain higher TiO₂ (up to 4.7 wt%) in comparison with 2.2-3.3 in the typical Ergalakh rocks. Low U, lower La/Yb and La/Sm ratios (5-7 in contrast with 8-10 for and 2.5-2.6 versus 3.0-3.3 for the Ergalakh dolerites) are typical features of the Turumakit sub-alkaline rocks. Their age was determined by U-Pb methods on baddeleyite and zircon (244.8±2.7 Ma) and it appears likely that the mafic rocks traditionally attributed to the Ergalakh intrusion within the Turumakit area are younger than the Norilsk intrusions (250±1.4 Ma). These data strongly indicate an emplacement of the Turumakit intrusions during the end of the magmatic evolution of the Norilsk district. It is proposed that the sub-alkaline magmas within the Norilsk district intruded during two different magmatic events.

A regional mathematical model of the wind system of the lower atmosphere, developed earlier in the Polar Geophysical Institute, is applied to investigate the initial stage of the formation of polar lows at latitudes of the European Arctic. The mathematical model is based on numerical solving of nonsimplified gas dynamic equations and produces three-dimensional distributions of the atmospheric parameters in the height range from 0 to 15 km over a limited region of the Earth’s surface. Simulation results indicated that the origin of a convexity in the configuration of the arctic front can lead to the formation of a polar low during the period of about one day.

Objective: The stability of new materials with a multilayer hierarchical structure and required strength qualities must be studied on a regular basis . A new approach for simulating acoustic monitoring of a layer-block elastic medium with multiple inclusions of distinct physical-mechanical hierarchical structures was devised for this purpose .

Method of research: An iterative process of solving the direct problem for the case of acoustic field penetrating three hierarchical inclusions of l, m and s-th ranks based on the use of 2D integral- differential equations is developed. The degree of hierarchy of inclusions is determined by the values of their ranks, which can be different.

Results: Hierarchical inclusions are located in different layers one on top of the other: the top is abnormally plastic, the second is anomalously elastic and the third is abnormally plastic. The degree of filling inclusions of each rank for all three hierarchical inclusions can be different.

Usage: The simulation results may be used to track the stability of structures in a complex hierarchical system when subjected to varied mechanical forces .

Significant modifications of ecological and anthropogenic processes were documented along the historical record of the Kinneret-watershed ecosystems: Climate change, including air temperature fluctuations; decline of rainfall regime, sporadic occurrence of droughts accompanied by river (Jordan and others) discharges reduction and the subterranean flows in the Hula Valley were followed, by high amplitude of Lake Water Level (WL) variations. The lake and its drainage basin are two ecologically related parts of one ecosystem and are influenced both by natural and anthropogenic parameters. Regional trends of climate change and dryness process (SPI, Standard Precipitation Index enhancement) expressed as precipitation decline, air and lake water temperature increase, river discharges and lake input volumes restriction and consequently decline of WL and water availability for domestic and agricultural supply and elongation of RT duration, increase of Lake water salinity, Epilimnetic Nitrogen deficiency and Phosphorus sufficiency enhanced replacement of Peridinium by cyanobacterial biomass.

The present study aims to evaluate thermal fluctuations and their implications for water quality. Water quality deterioration as a result of pollution comprised of several aspects, among others: nutrient input loads, fishery management, hydrological budget, toxicity, watershed deforestation, soil exposure, and exotic invaders. Thermal pollution is mostly considered as the impact of power or nuclear Station effluent or the effect of exceptional thermal abrupt shock. The long-term influence of global warming consideration is not extensively studied. The long-term (1969-2001) effect of climate change (warming and precipitation decline) on the Lake Kinneret ecosystem is presented. Water and air Temperature, Heat Capacity and Thermal conductivity of water combined with reduced precipitation accompanied by lake water level decline are analyzed. It was found that the temperature of surface water increased with WL decline and decreased in deep layers during high WL. This study exemplifies that even minor thermal fluctuations might be a signal of ecological modification. The only thermal measure of degrees might be insignificance for a lake under water input reduction accompanied by WL and volume decline. Future management design is suggested.

As the world’s population has tripled (3x) since 1950, with another 50% increase expected by 2100,  global annual carbon dioxide emissions growth rate has quadrupled (4x) since 1950 and global energy demand has quintupled (5x), all in the same time period. This discontinuous combination can be called a “3-4-5 Triad” and the sudden acceleration in all three arenas is too stressful on the environment and the damaging effects will be felt globally for centuries to come unless drastic action is taken. More importantly, the energy demand at 5x is outstripping the other two. This clearly means that as the population explodes at 3x, the emerging middle class wants almost twice as much as their usual share as fossil-fueled generators spread around the globe and modern conveniences become more and more desirable. However, such energy demand at 5x is an artificial human need that is predicted by RMI.org to result in four to five billion new window-mounted air conditioners by 2050 that will add even more to the global warming caused by increasing atmospheric carbon. By an examination of paleoclimatology for the past 420,000 years, it is demonstrable that reducing the concentration of this single most prolific heat-trapping gas by geoengineering back to pre-industrial levels of less than 300 ppm can actually give humankind a collective control over the world’s rapidly rising average global temperature and once more, a temperate climate to live in.

As humanity has entered what has been called both the Anthropocene Age and the Urban Age, we need to be globally conscious of how we may be able to successfully create a sustainable urbanity. While our various national political systems have taken a number of actions to combat global warming and other features of sustainability, these actions have clearly been inadequate to the task, so the present article focuses on what urban areas and their governments, which contain within their borders both the vast majority of our planets population and economic products, can do to bring about environmental sustainability. To achieve this, planners will need to both create models of environmental sustainability, and also create economic, governance, quality of life and urban planning models supportive of both urban and environmental sustainability. This article undertakes to identify the interdependent strategies through which our urban areas can forge themselves into fully sustainable cities. The development of a new shared economy to replace the current primacy of global laissez-faire capitalism, the need to establish democratic urban governance worldwide, to put enhancement of quality of life ahead of GNP growth, and the establishment of urban planning and design guidelines will provide a path towards global sustainability of our common human heritage into our collective, global future.