Chemical and geological characteristics of sediment pore water along the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt

The objective of this study was to know the chemical characteristics of surface water in a segment of Sumpil River and the groundwater on its surrounding. The location of this study was in 3 cross sections, consisting of 1 well on the right of the Sumpil River, 1 well on the left of the Sumpil River flow, and 1 point on the Sumpil River flow. The chemical characteristics of the water were determined by the concentrations of cations and anions in the water sample using the Piper Trilinear Diagram with the GW Chart 1.30 computer program. Based on the results of the study, it was shown that the chemical characteristics of the Sumpil River water and the groundwater at the location of this study were the same, where all water samples had an alkaline earth metals content over the alkali content (zone 1), had a strong acidic content exceeding the weak acidic content (zone 4), have a balanced cation and anion pairs, none of which exceed 50% (zone 9), and shown that all of the water in the location of this study were fresh water.

Erosion chain reaction at El Alamein Resorts on the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt

Onopordum alexandrinum is a near-endemic to Egypt and neighboring countries. Its habitats are designated as priority sites for conservation in the south and east Mediterranean regions. We hypothesize that variation in morphological, reproductive, and molecular traits could provide a survival strategy that allows the species to occupy landscapes including anthropogenic habitats (barley and abandoned fields) and natural habitats (sand dunes and desert plateau) with different soil resources along the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The results indicated that plant functional traits associated with high rates of resource acquisition and growth (e.g., high values of vegetative height and specific leaf area, and low values of leaf dry matter content) occurred in populations located in abandoned fields with high soil resources. The genetic diversity analyses indicated similarity in genetic diversity of the present populations of O. alexandrinum in barley and abandoned fields with those of sand dunes. However, the genetic structures of these populations were different from those of natural desert plateau, which suggests reduced rates of gene flow. In this framework, it is essential to monitor and reduce the anthropogenic activity which will not only support the conservation of genetic diversity within populations but will also help ensure the resilience of O. alexandrinum in the face of environmental and climatic changes.

    Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide. Obtaining scientific information about the efficacy and safety of the wild plants grown in western Mediterranean coast of Egypt is one of our research goals. In this study, 10 wild plants namely Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Blackiella aellen, Arthrocnemon glaucum, Atriplex halimus, Thymelaea hirsute, Carduus getulus, Nicotiana glauca,Alhagi maurorum, Atractylis carduus and Echinops spinosissimus were collected from El-Hammam, Burg El Arab and Bahig regions located along the Western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Hexane and methanol extracts of fresh aerial parts ofthe plants were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activity against 15 Gram positive and negative pathogenic bacteria. Both methanol and hexane plant extracts showed strong antibacterial activity against at least two pathogenic microorganisms tested. However, hexane extracts generally showed lower activity against microorganisms compared to methanol extracts. The microorganisms’ susceptibility to different extracts did not correlate with the susceptibility or resistance to a particular antibiotic. The results of this study thus support the medical usage of the studied plants and suggest that some of these plants possess antimicrobial properties that can be used to cure infectious diseases.     Key words: Egyptian wild plants, antagonism, biological control, phytochemicals, multi-drug resistant.

This study is a quantitative analysis of the distributional behavior of Asphodelus microcarpus in relation to the main environmental factors. Its abundance was estimated in 40 stands covering most of the apparent physiographic and edaphic variations in an area extending about 500 km along the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. In each stand, the number of shoots of A. microcarpus was counted in fifty 1—m2 quadrats, and its density and frequency were calculated. Variations in these two phytosociological characters were then evaluated in different types of habitat. Associated perennials were recorded in each quadrat and their relative frequencies estimated. These frequencies were used in ordering stands along there different axes according to the degrees of dissimilarity between them. This three—dimensional ordination was used to illustrate the phytosociological behavior of A. microcarpus and its relationship with other species. Quantitative estimations of conductivity and percentages of CaCO3, organic carbon total nitrogen, sand, silt, and clay were made for the soil in each stand. Also, the nature of surface, depth of soil, and physiographic position of each stand was rated. Variations in each of these environmental parameters, or their combinations, were then correlated with the distributional behavior of A. microcarpus. Variations in the abundence of A. microcarpus within each of the major types of habitat were found to be at least as significant as those between them. This indicated that local environmental variations had a substantial role in determining the distributional pattern of that species. The position of A. microcarpus in the ordination, which represented the phytosociological structure of the vegetation, was intermediate. The conclusion is that abundance of A. microcarpus is controlled mainly by the moisture availability and the total nitrogen and CaCO3 percentage in the soil. The moisture availability correlated significantly with more than 85% of the variation in its abundance. Its ecological amplitude in relation to local variations in this factor conformed roughly to that based on an geographical scale. Along the gradient of total nitrogen, the abundance of A. microcarpus exhibited a significant abrupt increase at the category of the highest value. In relation to the CaCO3 gradient A. microcarpus increased in abundance at medium categories and decreased toward low, as well as high ones. However, significant variation with either nitrogen or CaCo3 percentage was less than one—third of that with moisture availability, implying that moisture is ore important in controlling A. microcarpus distribution.

The composition and texture of beach sediments along continental coastlines vary considerably. Beach sands made completely of carbonate sediments are prevalent along Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Forty-five sediment samples were collected from various locations (El-Dekhela, Kilo-21, Abu Talat, and Sidi Krir) along the Western Mediterranean Coast of Egypt. The sedimentological and mineralogical attributes of the collected sediments were investigated using collaborative techniques. The beach sediments in the coastal region between El-Dekhela and Sidi Krir consist mainly of carbonate sands that are mineralogically composed of dolomite, calcite, and aragonite with smaller amounts of quartz, sylvite, anhydrite, gypsum, and trace amounts of microcline. They contain ooids with bioclasts and very few heavy minerals, except for notable amounts of these minerals in the El-Dekhela region. These heavy minerals primarily consist of opaque minerals, amphiboles, and pyroxenes, with smaller amounts of epidote, zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, kyanite, monazite, sphene, staurolite, and biotite. The combination of heavy minerals in these deposits indicates a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock types as potential source rocks. Heavy mineral concentrations decrease westward from the Nile River's mouth near Rosetta to Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Most of the studied ooids are white colored and usually have a pearly luster; these characteristics indicate that these sediments were formed in agitated water. The current study reveals that the ooids in the study area originated from a variety of sources, including autochthonous and allochthonous ooids that eroded and broke, implying that they may have originated from coastal plain carbonate ridges.

Agua Caliente Spring, in downtown Palm Springs, California, has been used for recreation and medicinal therapy for hundreds of years and currently (2008) is the source of hot water for the Spa Resort owned by the Agua Caliente Band of the Cahuilla Indians. The Agua Caliente Spring is located about 1,500 feet east of the eastern front of the San Jacinto Mountains on the southeast-sloping alluvial plain of the Coachella Valley. The objectives of this study were to (1) define the geologic structure associated with the Agua Caliente Spring; (2) define the source(s), and possibly the age(s), of water discharged by the spring; (3) ascertain the seasonal and longer-term variability of the natural discharge, water temperature, and chemical characteristics of the spring water; (4) evaluate whether water-level declines in the regional aquifer will influence the temperature of the spring discharge; and, (5) estimate the quantity of spring water that leaks out of the water-collector tank at the spring orifice.

The spatial position of the Mušnica River catchment in the Dinaric Karst results in specific conditions of the drainage, distribution and chemical characteristics of the surface water and groundwater. This catchment is mountainous, located between 930 and 1985 m above sea level. The chemical characteristics of the waters are strongly dependent on the local lithological composition and the precipitation regime. The dominant cations are Ca2+ and Mg2+, and anions HCO3 - and SO4 2-. The surface water is characterized by low and medium mineralization, with resultant soft, medium-hard and very-hard total hardness levels. The groundwater is more mineralized than the surface water. Gacko Town and its associated thermal power plant, Gacko 1, which are located in the southern part of the Mušnica River catchment, have no modern facilities for sewage and wastewater transport or treatment. In order to prevent further water quality deterioration and to enable its sustainable use, it is recommended to ensure adequate protection measures in the catchment area. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor S. Faye Citation Banjak, D. and Nikolić, J., 2012. Hydrochemical characteristics and water quality of the Mušnica River catchment, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (3), 562–575.

تقدم هذه الدراسة نتائج لبعض الخواص الفيزيائية والكيميائية للمياه الجوفية لبئر طريق بغداد الكائن خلف محطة تعبئة بابا كركر [بئر رقم 1] وبئر غرناطة الكائن قرب حمام الساعة [بئر رقم 2 ] وبئر حي العروبة مقابل مجزرة كركوك [بئر رقم 3] وبئر حي المعلمين الكائن بداية الجسر الرابع [ بئر رقم 4] ضمن محافظة كركوك. تهدف الدراسة أساسا إلى تقييم صلاحية مياه الآبار الأربعة للاستعمالات البشرية والري والاستهلاك الحيواني من خلال مقارنة هذه الخواص مع الحدود الموضوعة من قبل منظمة الصحة العالمية WHOوكذلك مع المواصفة القياسية العراقية. أظهرت النتائج بان الخواص الفيزيائية والكيميائية المدروسة واقعة ضمن المواصفات المطلوبة مما يدل على صلاحية مياه الآبار الأربعة للاستخدامات المدنية.

Air-water interactions: The signature of meteorological and air-quality parameters on the chemical characteristics of water produced from the atmosphere

Evaluation of the physical and chemical characteristics of water on the removal efficiency of rotavirus in drinking water treatment plants and change in induced health risk

This report is a review of literature pertaining to the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, and to the subsequent effects of those eruptions on physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of surface water, ground water, and precipitation in the Pacific Northwest, Montana, and Colorado. Scores of studies dealing with the eruption and changes in water quality have been published; however, the data and information are contained in numerous U.S. Government and State government publications, proceedings of symposia, and a myriad of scientific journals. The salient published findings and conclusions on eruptionrelated, water-quality topics are compiled and categorized here to illustrate the scope of previous investigations. Conclusions, other than those reported by the authors listed in the Selected References, are not presented. This report contains quantitative information and descriptions of changes in the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water quality caused by the volcanic activity of Mount St. Helens during 1980. Lakes that received only ashfall experienced fewer effects than lakes that were within the blast zone. Phenomena occurring in new lakes created by the eruption are unique, and in some cases, had never been observed or documented prior to 1980. Different lakes are described, using a casestudy approach that includes sufficient background information on each lake to put the effects of the eruption in perspective. The changes attributable to the volcanic blast, mudfiows, and ashfall varied dramatically from one lake to another depending on the location of the lake under the ash plume, the distance of the lake from Mount St. Helens, and other physical circumstances. Similarly, the effects on rivers and streams varied in magnitude from barely perceptible changes to profound alterations that virtually created new drainage systems. Limited literature exists about the effects of the eruption on ground water. Changes in ground-water levels and chemistry are principally associated with the most heavily effected river systems those which lay in the path of mudflows generated by the volcanic eruption. Potentially toxic chemical compounds, such as phenols, were identified by researchers in several investigations. Ground-water levels in parts of the Cowlitz River system appear to have been raised above historical levels. Few studies were done about the effects of the eruption on precipitation. Observations from investigations in Colorado and Oregon suggest that physicochemical changes, such as altered specific conductance and pH of rainwater samples, were not long-lived.

This paper, based on the fundamental inorganic chemical and organic geochemical characteristics of oilfield waters from the Turpan Depression, presents the contents of organic matter, the distribution of low-carbon fatty acids and the contents of aromatic hydrocarbons as well as their principal ultraviolet absorption spectral and fluorescence spectral characteristics in oilfield waters from different oil/gas-bearing areas. The oil/gas reservoirs in this depression are classified in terms of their conserving conditions. In addition, the paper also discusses the chemical characteristics of oilfield waters from different types of oil/gas reservoirs with an emphasis on the characteristics of their localization in the γNa/γCa-γNa/γCl correction diagram. On this basis it is attempted to expound the fundamental geochemical characteristics of oilfield waters from the Turpan Depression and their geological significance.

Despite well-known corrosion inhibition behavior of cathodic protection (CP) system, this process might be a potential hazard to surrounding ecosystem resulted mostly from continuous electrical current which is applied to the adjacent environment and metallic anode dissolution as well. In this research, deepwater CP wells at different locations of Golestan province, Iran, were taken into consideration to evaluate the impact of these protective systems on underground waters from viewpoint of chemical and physicochemical characteristics resulted from anode dissolution. For this purpose, concentration of metallic constituents of the anode as well as the amount of pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), and total hardness were determined. On the basis of obtained results, the concentration of Mn, Cr, and Fe in CP well located nearby an industrial district (i.e., 0.087, 0.475, and 8.5mg/L, respectively) was higher than both WHO and USEPA standards. This fact can be resulted from the position where the well was dug as well as the CP anode dissolution within the deep CP water wells. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The impact of impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system on chemical and physicochemical characteristics of underground water has been evaluated. Anode dissolution of ICCP systems influences the water characteristics nearby the anodes. Despite low dissolution rate of high silicon cast iron anodes, their long-term utilization might be harmful for adjacent ecosystem. The amount of heavy metals in underground waters was demonstrated to be influenced by the employment of ICCP system. Both anode dissolution and the geological properties of the Earth`s crust surrounding the wellbore might be responsible for significant increase of heavy metals concentration.

Comparative study of some physic-chemical parameters along Egyptian Mediterranean western coast, winter 2009 and 2010