Giant rhinoceros Paraceratherium and other vertebrates from Oligocene and middle Miocene deposits of the Kağızman-Tuzluca Basin, Eastern Turkey

A recent fieldwork in the Ka??zman-Tuzluca Basin in northeastern Turkey led us to the discovery of three vertebrate localities which yielded some limb bones of the giant rhino Paraceratherium, a crocodile tooth, and some small mammals, respectively. These discoveries allowed, for the first time to date some parts of the sedimentary units of this basin. This study also shows that the dispersal area of Paraceratherium is wider than it was known before. Eastern Turkey has several Cenozoic sedimentary basins formed during the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. They are poorly documented for vertebrate paleontology. Consequently, the timing of tectonic activities, which led to the formation of the East Anatolian accretionary complex, is not constrained enough with a solid chronological framework. This study provides the first biostratigraphic evidences for the infill under the control of the compressive tectonic regime, which built the East Anatolian Plateau.     

Energy and exergy analysis of a heat storage tank with a novel eutectic phase change material layer of a solar heater system

Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources, but it is not available every time and every season. Thus, storing of solar energy is important. One of the popular methods of heat storage is use of phase change materials (PCMs) which have large thermal energy storage capacity. In this study, the heat storage tank in a domestic solar water heating system was chosen as control volume. The experiments were performed in the province of Elaz?g, Turkey, in November when solar radiation was weak due to cloudy sky. The heat storage tank of the system was modified to fill PCM between insulation and hot water part. A few PCMs which are Potassium Fluoride, Lithium Metaborate Dihydrate, Strontium Hydroxide Octahydrate, Barium Hydroxide Octahydrate, Aluminum Ammonium Sulfate, and Sodium Hydrogen Phosphate were analyzed to proper operating conditions using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and the best PCM was obtained with the Aluminum Ammonium Sulfate and Sodium Hydrogen Phosphate mixture. Thus, eutectic PCM was obtained and used in a heat storage tank of the solar water heating system. Energy and exergy analysis of heat storage tank was performed with and without the PCM. Energy and exergy analysis has shown that the heat storage tank with the PCM is more efficient than without the PCM and the maximum exergy efficiency was obtained as 22% with the heat storage tank with the PCM.     

Assessment of surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of Behrimaz Stream, Turkey

Multivariate statistical techniques, such as cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis, and factor analysis, were applied for the evaluation of temporal/spatial variations and for the interpretation of a water quality data set of the Behrimaz Stream, obtained during 1 year of monitoring of 20 parameters at four different sites. Hierarchical CA grouped 12 months into two periods (the first and second periods) and classified four monitoring sites into two groups (group A and group B), i.e., relatively less polluted (LP) and medium polluted (MP) sites, based on similarities of water quality characteristics. Factor analysis/principal component analysis, applied to the data sets of the two different groups obtained from cluster analysis, resulted in five latent factors amounting to 88.32% and 88.93% of the total variance in water quality data sets of LP and MP areas, respectively. Varifactors obtained from factor analysis indicate that the parameters responsible for water quality variations are mainly related to discharge, temperature, and soluble minerals (natural) and nutrients (nonpoint sources: agricultural activities) in relatively less polluted areas; and organic pollution (point source: domestic wastewater) and nutrients (nonpoint sources: agricultural activities and surface runoff from villages) in medium polluted areas in the basin. Thus, this study illustrates the utility of multivariate statistical techniques for analysis and interpretation of data sets and, in water quality assessment, identification of pollution sources/factors and understanding temporal/spatial variations in water quality for effective stream water quality management.     

Dissolved heavy metal concentrations of the Kralkızı, Dicle and Batman dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin,Turkey

Water samples were collected at monthly intervals during 1 year of monitoring from Kralk?z?, Dicle and Batman dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin to assess the concentrations of dissolved heavy metals and to determine their spatial and seasonal variations. The results indicated that dissolved heavy metal concentrations in the reservoirs were very low, reflecting the natural background levels. The lowest total metal concentrations in the three dam reservoirs were detected at sampling sites close to the dam wall. However, the highest total concentrations were observed at sites, which are located at the entrance of the streams to the reservoirs. Fe, Cr and Ni were the most abundant elements in the reservoirs, whereas Cd and As were the less abundant. The mean concentrations of dissolved metals in the dam reservoirs never exceeded the maximum permitted concentrations established by EC (European Community), WHO and USEPA drinking water quality guidelines. All heavy metals showed significant seasonal variations. As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni and Pb displayed higher values in the dry season, while higher values for Zn in the wet season. Cluster analysis grouped all ten sampling sites into three clusters. Clusters 1 and 2, and cluster 3 corresponded to relatively low polluted and moderate polluted regions, respectively. PCA/FA demonstrated the dissolved metals in the dam reservoirs controlled by natural sources.     

Evaluation of sustainable groundwater utilization using index methods (WQI and IWQI), multivariate analysis,and GIS: the case of Akşehir District (Konya/Turkey)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Ak?ehir district is one of the regions where significant agricultural production and industrial activities are carried out. Groundwater is the...     

Investigation on thermal degradation kinetics and mechanisms of chicken manure,lignite, and their blends by TGA

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed under the air environment for four different heating rates (10, 20, 30, and 40 °C...     

Phytoplankton functional groups in a monomictic reservoir: seasonal succession,ecological preferences,and relationships with environmental variables

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The seasonal succession of phytoplankton functional groups (PFGs), their ecological preferences, relationships between environmental variables and...     

Comparison of heavy metal levels of farmed and escaped farmed rainbow trout and health risk assessment associated with their consumption

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, levels of ten metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc) in muscles of farmed and...     

Dissolved heavy metals in the Tigris River (Turkey): spatial and temporal variations

Multivariate statistical techniques, such as analysis of variance, cluster analysis (CA), correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and factor analysis (FA), were applied to determine the spatial and temporal variations of dissolved heavy metals in the Tigris River at 7 different sites spread over the river stretch of about 500 km during the period of February 2008 to January 2009. The results indicated that Fe, Cr, and Ni were the most abundant elements in the river water, whereas Cd and As were the less abundant. Cu, Fe, Ni, and Zn showed significant spatial variations, reflecting the influence of anthropogenic activities. The lowest total concentration of heavy metals was found at site 2 downstream of the Dicle Dam due to clean water from the dam. The concentrations of most metals were found lower when compared with results of previous studies due to reduction of the activity of the copper mine plant and the construction of two dams on the river. The lowest total concentrations were determined in February due to high precipitation and snow melts. Hierarchical agglomerative CA classified all the sampling sites into three main groups of spatial similarities. Clusters 1 (Maden and Bismil), 2 (Cizre), and 3 (E?il, Diyarbak?r, Batman, and Hasankeyf) corresponded to moderate polluted and relatively low polluted regions, respectively. PCA/FA, CA, and correlation analysis suggest that Cu, Ni, and Zn are controlled by anthropogenic sources.     

An investigation on endoparasites of Rana ridibunda complex (s. l.) with dermal parasite (metacercariae) in Dalaman (Turkey)

In this study, endoparasites of the Rana ridibunda specimens collected from Dalaman area, southwestern Turkey were investigated. In the intestine of 17 specimens of R. ridibunda, five different parasites, represented by three species of the trematoda (Diplodiscus sp, Pleurogenoides sp, Plagiorchis sp) and two genera of round worms (Cosmocerca sp; Foleyella sp) were recognized. The trematoda and one of the round worms were found in the rectal region whereas the other round worm species are observed in the abdominal cavity.