2021-06

Arabian Journal of Geosciences (Issue : 14) (Volume : 14)

Tehran, the capital of Iran, is the most densely populated city in the country that has been experiencing extensive population growth and urban expansion in the last decades. The land use/cover (LULC) patterns have noticeably been changed to impervious surfaces that led to the changes in the thermal condition and forming heat islands in Tehran. In this study, the relationship of LULC patterns with land surface temperature (LST) was investigated using landscape metrics in the city of Tehran. For this aim, the LULC map of the year 2012 was derived from Landsat 7 images. The spectral mixture analysis (SMA) and proximity likelihood algorithm were used to classify the LULC map. Then, the LST zoning map was produced from the thermal sensor band and was classified based on standard deviation and quartile deviation methods. Finally, the landscape metrics applied to analyze the relationship between the LULC …

2021-02

Journal of Water Process Engineering (Issue : 1) (Volume : 1)

Microplastics (MPs) have recently been detected in different products and environmental samples, ranging from wastewater to drinking water, as well as in products consumed by humans. However, few studies have addressed the contamination by MPs in bottled mineral water. Therefore, in the present study, the contamination by MPs was investigated from 11 samples of popular brands of bottled mineral water in Iran. Using a staining method and stereomicroscope analysis, MPs were detected in 9 out of the 11 sample brands. The amount, shape, and color of MPs varied in different bottles. The most detected MPs were in the shape of fragment (93 %) and fiber (7%), with an average concentration of approximately 8.5 ± 10.2 particles/L. In addition, there were no MPs in 20 % of the collected samples, which was the reason for the observed high variation of SD. The presence of MPs was demonstrated by FTIR and …

2020-09

Chemical Research in Toxicology

The rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology has offered innovative discoveries. Due to a wide variety of nanotechnology applications in the industrial, medical, and consumptive products, the application of nanotechnology has received considerable attention in the past decades. Metal-based nanoparticles including metal and metal oxide nanoparticles are now widely utilized in different areas of nanotechnology, leading to an increase in human exposure to nonmaterial. Since the kidney is one of the major organs to remove a variety of potentially harmful substances, including nanoparticles (NPs), from living organisms and a large proportion of cardiac output reaches the kidney, this organ is susceptible to the toxin-induced renal injury. However, despite the extensive use of NPs, there is still a limited understanding of NP-mediated toxicity. The unique physicochemical properties of metal-based NPs not only make …

2020-08

Journal of Civil Engineering Frontiers

Discovering the quality of the environment is essential because it directly affects health status and plays a significant role in the quality of life and public health. This research aimed to evaluate the environmental quality affecting by human-made sources in Duhok province using GIS. Based on the human-made sources affecting the quality of the environment, including population density, solid waste generation, and industrial density, the state of the environment was evaluated in the study area. The overall result indicated that about 85% of the study area has a moderate to high-quality state, while low and very low contributed to 13% and 1%, respectively. The integrated analysis of the environmental quality in Duhok province would increase the protection of the ecological environment and help the regional sustainable development and improvement of the built environment.

2020-08

Sustainability

In this study, land use/cover change was systematically investigated in the Qeshm Island to understand how human and nature interact in the largest island of Persian Gulf. Land-use maps were prepared for 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014 using Landsat satellite imagery in six classes including agriculture, bare-land, built-up, dense-vegetation, mangrove, and water-body, and then dynamic of changes in the classes was evaluated using intensity analysis at three levels: interval, category, and transition. Results illustrated that, while the land changes were fast over the first and third time intervals (1996–2002 and 2008–2014), the trend of changes was slow in the second period (2002–2008). Driven by high demand for construction and population growth, the built-up class was identified as an active gainer in all the three time intervals. The class of bare-land was the main supplier of the land for other classes especially for built-up area, while built-up did not act as the active supplier of the land for other classes. The dense-vegetation class was active in all three time intervals. As for the mangrove class, drought and cutting by residents had negative effects, while setting up protected areas can effectively maintain this valuable ecosystem. High demands were observed for land change in relation to built-up and agriculture classes among other classes. The findings of this study can advance our understanding of the relationship and behavior of land use/cover classes among each other over 18 years in a coastal island with arid climate. View Full-Text

2020-07

Applied Water Science

In this study, the degradation of crystal violet (CV) was investigated by different oxidation processes; ozone (OZ), peroxone (PO), electrolysis (E), electrolysis/H 2 O 2 (ECP), electroperoxone (EPO), and electrolysis/peroxene/H 2 O 2 (EPOP). Main parameters including contact time, pH, CV concentration, and effect of scavengers were studied. The results showed that all processes were capable of CV decolorization. Among these processes, peroxone and electrolysis/peroxene/H 2 O 2 with efficiency about> 90% were more effective than other ones. A significant decrease in oxidation rate of CV was observed by adding scavengers. This fact was due to higher affinity to react with free radicals. To confirm degradation of CV, FTIR spectra and nitrate ion level were taken. Also, to recognize toxicity the treated wastewater was tested against coliform bacteria. Growths of Escherichia coli in EMB medium were observed. As a …

2020-04

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Abstract: Significant volumes of oil products, which are mainly transmitted and distributed through pipelines, are being consumed throughout the world. Pipes can be affected by natural features, inappropriate design and maintainance systems, leading to environmental pollution. When located near freshwater reservoirs, leaking pipelines act as a source of contamination. This study analysed the possible environmental risk that could arise from the oil pipeline systems in the water basin of the Chamshir Dam in Iran. The potential environmental risk of oil installations was determined based on environmental factors (i.e., hydrological parameters, slope, and the distance of the facilities from the dams lake) and the oil leakage volume in pipelines and their installations. The factors were determined and mapped using ArcGIS, then the maps were combined to locate vulnerable zones. Afterward, the risk of oil leakage in pipelines was calculated using the HAZOP method to recognise high-risk pipelines. The result showed that oil installations posing a high threat to the dams lake were nearby the lake, crossed sub-basins with a steep slope, and also under specific hydrological conditions. The analysis of oil spill risk in three different modes (small, medium, and complete leakage) showed the risk was exceptionally high. In conclusion, installing pipelines in the current location would have environmental risks for the lake behind the dam and, therefore, optimal solutions and mitigation measures are necessary.

2020-03

International Journal of Environmental Health Research

In this study, an integration of multi-criteria evaluation, geographic information system, and remote sensing techniques were used for site selection of medical waste landfills in Kermanshah, Iran. Also, an environmental risk assessment for the selected site has been conducted in order to minimize the possible hazardous. The GIS and remote sensing were used for acquiring and preparing layers and maps and the multi-criteria evaluation was used for setting aim, criteria selection, criteria weighting, and final decision making. The results showed that only 1.2% of the study area is scored high-suitable, while 90% of the area is considered unsuitable that makes this region critical for preservation. After further assessment and field visits, a suitable site was selected for landfilling. Environmental risk assessment showed that the selected site poses a low-level of risks to the environment and surrounding areas and this is …

2020-03

Journal of Applied Science and Technology Trends

Environmental Impact Assessment plays a crucial role in environmental land use planning and has been known as the most effective approach to identify the proposed impacts of the projects and followed that proposing mitigation measures. The mathematical matrix is one of the environmental impact assessment methods that has been used extensively since it provides incorporates impact compensation factors, expert discussion, and provide more objective and practical feedback. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the environmental impacts of the Bistoon thermal power plant located in the west of Iran using the matrix method and proposing mitigation measures for minimizing the adverse effects. First, the activities of the project were identified. Then, environmental components, including physical environment, biological environment, socio-economic environment, were analyzed using maps and field checks. The impacts of the project activities were predicted on the environment and quantified using the mathematical matrix method. The results illustrated that the importance of effects is in a medium and low range; therefore, the status of the project is not very serious and can be verified by implementing a series of remedial actions and environmental improvement plans.

2020-02

Journal of Critical Reviews

In this study, the integration of GIS-based ordered weighted averaging as used to spatial site selection of parking lots in Sanandaj city located in the west of Iran. For this purpose, the effective parameters were selected including distance from attractions, street width, population density, distance from roads, land price, and land use were selected based on literature review and expert opinion. The layers of the parameters were prepared in the GIS environment, and the relative weights of factors were gained using analytical hierarchy processes. Then, the ordered weighted averaging method was used to aggregate all maps and creat the suitability map. The zoning of suitable lands finally was determined using the zonal land suitability (ZLS) method and the most suitable sites were suggested in the study area. The results indicate that 234,887 m2 (16.14%) of the study area has high suitability for construction parking sites mostly located in the northern and southern parts of the city. In conclusion, the combination of GIS with powerful aggregation and suitability analysis methods has a strong ability to integrate and analyze various spatial data simultaneously, in particular in site selection studies.

2020-02

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

In recent years, advance oxidation processes (AOPs) have been widely interested for treatment of industrial wastewater and organic matter. At among, Electrofenton has been proposed as a strong oxidative method. So, the aim of this work was purification of colored aqueous containing crystal violet by electrofenton process and steel mesh electrodes. All reagents and methods were prepared from analytical grad and standard methods. The amounts of crystal violet were determined by colorimetric using a spectrophotometer at a maximum wavelength about 586 nm. The main parameters such as pH, applied current, dye concentration, reaction time and supporting electrolyte dose were investigated. Experimental data analysis was also performed using excel software. The results of this study showed that better dye degradation is occurred in acidic pH (pH3), contact time of 5 minutes, initial concentration of crystal …

2020-01

E3S Web of Conferences

Buildings, commercial and residential combined, account for around 40% of total energy consumption in Iran. Energy consumption in buildings is predicted to increase in the the coming decades decades and immediate actions are required to meet the needs of future generations. Zero energy building (ZEB) is an important concept that can help nations to have a sustainable future. An important step for building a ZEB is to minimize the energy lost from the building, and the envelope of buildings plays a vital role in achieving minimal energy losses. In this paper, a life cycle cost (LCC) analysis is adopted to find the optimum insulation thickness for the common wall structure in Iran. Then, the Iranian standard (Chapter 19) for building envelopes have been reviewed and compared with the minimum requirements of the ASHRAE standard 90.2. The comparison shows that the Iranian standards for buildings envelopes …

2020-01

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

International Journal of Health and Life Sciences,

2019-12

International Journal of Health and Life Sciences

: Nowadays, the growing population is demanding freshwater resources, and the availability of water influence the population distribution and its activities. Groundwater sources such as springs and wells are the major source of water for drinking, agricultural, and industrial consumptions. However, water resources are always exposed to industrial, agricultural, and residential pollutions. In the current study, water samples were collected from twenty-two springs sources from February to October 2017 in Amadiya districts, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The physicochemical characteristics including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), calcium hardness (Ca2), magnesium hardness (Mg2), turbidity (NTU), total alkalinity (TA), and nitrate (NO3-) of the samples were analyzed. The findings showed that …

2019-11

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

The current study presents the integration of geographical information system (GIS) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for municipal landfill site selection, a case example in Iran. In the first step, useful criteria were determined based on the literature review, national standards and regulations, expert opinion, data availability and regional characteristics. Several criteria including distance from groundwater resources, distance from surface water, distance from urban and rural areas, distance from protected areas, land use, distance from faults, distance from roads and the slope were selected, and a hierarchical structure was formed for landfill suitability. The maps of the criteria were prepared using ArcGIS 10.2. Using different fuzzy membership functions, the maps were standardized. An AHP-based pairwise comparison was applied to calculate the weights of the parameters, and standardized maps …

2018-10

Arabian Journal of Geosciences

Human‐induced land use/land cover (LULC) changes are among the most important processes that shape the dynamics of the earth’s surface. This phenomenon, which is occurring at an astonishing rate, and its consequential environmental impacts have become an important area of research for scientists.Therefore, a wide range of methods and models have been developed to detect and predict these alterations, among which cellular automata (CA) models such as the CA‐Markov model, due to their affinity to geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS), are appropriate for detailed resolution modelling and simulating dynamic spatial processes. In Iran, the district of Ravansar has undergone severe LULC changes recently, thus to take the necessary precautions, decision‐makers need to predict and determine the extent of these changes. In this study, using spatial analysis methods the …

2018-04

Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has become an increasingly important decision-support tool for identification, projecting, and mitigating the potential impact of a policy, plan, or program that may affect the environment directly or indirectly. The aim of this study was to use the EIA process to identify and minimize environmental impacts of Bistoonˊs thermal power plant and to provide appropriate options for managers and planners.<br>Material and Methods: This study was performed using Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) and Iranian matrix. Firstly, based on the field observation, review literature, and data collection the impacts of the action of this power plant on the socio-economic, physicochemical and biologic components were identified. Then, using methods environmental impacts assessment of the project was conducted.<br>Results: The results indicated that the power plant has been established regardless of EIA and environmental standards. However, the factory can continue to operate provided some mitigation and improvement plans should be implemented.<br>Discussion and Conclusion: Sine the most significant negative impact sourced from fuel combustion, using natural gas in the whole of the power plant and installing filters are the most effective proposed mitigation tools.

2017-06

Civil Engineering Infrastructures Journal

Choosing a location for a power plant site is a complex task that involves the evaluation of multiple factors, which should satisfy a number of economic and environmental requirements. The main aim of this study is to determine the best possible candidates for thermal power plant sites using Multi-criteria Evaluation and Geographic Information System (GIS) in Kahnuj County in the southeast of Iran. First, the affecting factors to find the best sites for power plant establishment were identified including socio-economic and environmental factors. Each criterion was mapped in the GIS environment. Then, the layers were standardized and the relative weights of these layers were determined. Finally, weighted information layers were consolidated by Weighed Linear Combination approaches in GIS environment and the suitable locations were selected and ranked accordingly. The final index maps were grouped in five categories ranging from “no suitability” to “high stability” with an equal interval classification method. As a result the most suitable sites were patches located in the north-west parts of the study area.

2016-03

Environmental Processes

This paper presents a methodology of determining the air pollution potential based on pollutant source identification and meteorological parameters, using as a case study the Isfahan Province in Iran. First, taking the county as the evaluation unit, the regional air pollution information system database of Isfahan Province was established, supported by Geographic Information Systems. Then, the air pollution potential of the study area was assessed based on the analysis of regional air pollution, review of available literature, seeking advice from experts, and using determining factors such as population density, traffic, industries, wind speed, precipitation, temperature and humidity. A layer for each factor was prepared in GIS. After data acquisition, criteria were set and weighted by experts. Finally, all criteria were integrated using the Weighted Linear Combination method to obtain the spatial distribution of air …