Civil Engineering / İnşaat Mühendisliği
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Review Citation - WoS: 14Citation - Scopus: 25Sustainability of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: From Prehistoric Times To the Present Times and the Future(MDPI, 2023) Angelakis, Andreas N.; Capodaglio, Andrea G.; Passchier, Cees W.; Valipour, Mohammad; Krasilnikoff, Jens; Tzanakakis, Vasileios A.; Suermelihindi, Guel; Baba, AlperContaminated water and poor sanitation are associated with disease transmission. Absent, inadequate, or improperly managed water resources and sanitation systems expose individuals to preventable health risks. Billions of people lack access to these basic services today and will remain in this condition for decades to come. As we are usually thinking and talking about water, sanitation and hygiene services have changed. Looking back at the history of water, sanitation, and hygiene can help us understand the challenges and opportunities of these issues and draw lessons to achieve sustainable development in the future. Throughout history, civilizations have successfully experimented with treating water and using it for drinking, sanitation, and agriculture. For example, the Minoan civilizations originally focused on water treatment and cleaning to improve the aesthetic properties of drinking water. During prehistoric times, Minoan and Indus Valley civilizations, dating back to about 2000 BC, were the first to focus on the treatment of water supplies. From the early Minoan period, they relied on rainwater collection. During historic times, Hippocrates was the first to invent and used a water filter in the form of a cloth bag, at about 400 BC, known today as the Hippocrates Sleeve. The Romans perfected existing water technologies on a larger scale and initiated their spread throughout the Empire. Hygiene in ancient Rome was promoted by the famous public baths and toilets, which were supplied with water through widely branched aqueducts that had a high standard of cleanliness for the time and were regularly maintained.Conference Object Hydrogeochemical Characteristics of Acidic Water Sources Around Can Region, Biga Peninsula, Nw Turkey(Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi, 2014) Şanlıyüksel Yücel, Deniz; Baba, AlperAcid rock drainage (ARD) is one of the major sources of water pollution in some countries. Densely generation of ARD have been seen around Can Region (Biga Peninsula-NW Turkey) due to altered (silicification, argillic alteration) volcanic rocks which contain sulfide minerals and specially pyrite and there is inadequate availability of neutralizing carbonate minerals. Forty water samples (including 17 drilling, 5 drinking water, and 18 spring water) were collected from 2011 to 2012. The result show that pH of water samples is lower than 5 in most part of study area.Conference Object Assessment of Water Quality Related To Lead/Zinc Mines in Umurbey Dam Basin, Northwestern Turkey(International Water Association, 2017) Şanlıyüksel Yücel, Deniz; Baba, AlperThe purpose of this study is to determine hydrochemical properties of the water resources and to assess the potential environmental consequence of the mining activities in Koru and Tesbihdere lead/zinc mine districts, and investigate detrimental effects caused by mining activities on the water resources and sediment quality in Umurbey dam basin (Biga Peninsula, NW Turkey). Cadmium, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations in sediments downstream of Tesbihdere and Koru mines and in Umurbey dam sediments are higher than average values of world river sediments.Conference Object Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 2Arsenic in Groundwater in Western Anatolia, Turkey: a Review(University of Silesia Press, 2010) Gündüz, Orhan; Baba, Alper; Elpit, HandanOccurrence of arsenic (As) in groundwater has been a major problem worldwide for the last hundred years. Considering its toxic effects on human health, the presence of elevated levels of arsenic in groundwater resources used in drinking water supply has been an active research field throughout the world (Van Halem et al., 2009). In this regard, case studies from Bangla-desh, India, Nepal, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Chile, China, Canada, Argentina, Peru, Taiwan, United States, Bolivia and Turkey have been documented with regards to the detection of natural levels in groundwater, the occurrence and distribution mechanisms, the human health effects and the in-situ and ex-situ treatment techniques (Jean et al., 2010). In many of these locations, arsenic is naturally found in the subsurface strata within volcanic and sedimentary formations as well as in areas of geothermal systems related to tectonic activity. Western Anatolia in Turkey is one such area of complex geology with active tectonics and high geothermal potential. This natural setting serves as a suitable environment for the presence of high levels of arsenic in subsurface waters. Based on these fundamentals, this study presents a general overview of arsenic presence in western Anatolia.Conference Object An Integrated Assessment of Water Quality in an Arsenic Containing Aquifer: Milestones From Hydrogeology To Public Health(American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2012) Gündüz, Orhan; Şimşek, Celalettin; Elçi, Alper; Baba, Alper; Bakar, Çoşkun; Gürleyük, Hakan; Çakır, A.; Mutlu, MerdiyeA multi-disciplinary research is being conducted in Simav Plain, Turkey where an arsenic containing aquifer is at the center of attention. The study is not only aimed to understand the sources and mechanisms of the presence of high arsenic levels in groundwater but also to determine the associated consequences with regards to human health. The high arsenic levels in most groundwater (N=33, avg. 162 ppb), surface water (N=9, avg. 76.6 ppb) and geothermal water (N=3, avg. 406 ppb) samples are strongly related to high occurrences of arsenic in rocks and soils of the plain, which range between 7.1 and 833.9 ppm with an average of 49 ppm. These values correspond to several orders of magnitude higher than international standards and world averages in water and soil, respectively. With this motivation, this research also focuses on human health in the study area associated with exposure to these high arsenic levels via numerous pathways. Consequently, more than 1000 individuals were personally surveyed by public health specialists to determine an inventory of diseases in the area. Furthermore, a verbal autopsy study was also conducted with relatives of the deceased, which were further verified with hospital records, to understand the underlying death cause. As a result, certain cancer rates were found to exceed national averages and the results statistically demonstrated a potential link with high arsenic levels mainly through oral exposure.Conference Object Effect of Urbanization on Groundwater Resources of Izmir City(İZSU, 2017) Baba, Alper; Yazdani, Hamidrezaİzmir is the third largest city in Turkey. Fiftysix percent of the drinking water of İzmir city is provided from groundwater resources. Halkapınar (located on Bornova Plain) is one of the important groundwater resources areas. This region is providing 16 % of İzmir drinking resources. The water withdraws from the Halkapınar wells is about 30 million m3 in recent years. The groundwater levels of Bornova plain are range from 1 m to 10m. This plain had been used as agricultural lands until the 1950s, while today they have been opened for settlement. In 1965 Bornova accommodated half of its population in rural areas after receiving so much immigration. It was inevitable to open the citycentre to housing and to consider the surrounding village areas as urban areas. By the year 2000, the rural population had already been melted into the urban population. The agricultural areas in rural parts of the country will have completely disappeared in 50 years' time. Much of the surface of the plain is rendered impermeable by buildings, roads and surface coverings. Because of this covering, groundwater recharge is reduced and increases and accelerates runoff the plain. The groundwater recharge from precipitation was about 27 % in 1925, but this amount dropped to 13% in 2012. Groundwater recharge from precipitation will be 1% in 2030. Hydrodynamic of plain is change because of excessive urbanization. Groundwater level of the plain still high because tall building makes a barrier for groundwater recharge points.Conference Object Tracing the Relative Distribution of Arsenic Species in Groundwater and Its Association With Soil Arsenic Levels in the Simav Graben Area, Turkey(2016) Gündüz, Orhan; Şimşek, Celalettin; Elçi, Alper; Baba, Alper; Gürleyük, HakanA comprehensive hydrogeochemical assessment was conducted in the Simav Plain, Turkey where major health concerns were reported and elevated arsenic (As) levels were previously found. Boreholes drilled in the plain were used to take core samples from the alluvial aquifer from which most groundwater was extracted. The results of core analyses revealed several orders of magnitude higher values than global average. Groundwater samples were later collected from these boreholes and analyzed for arsenic and its species as well as other related hydrochemical parameters. The results of groundwater quality assessment revealed that the groundwater in the plain was enriched with arsenic that exceed 1 mg/L level and was mostly under reducing conditions. The dominant arsenic specie in groundwater was arsenite in more than 70% of all samples.Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 4Determining Water and Sediment Quality Related To Lead-Zinc Mining Activity(Polish Academy of Sciences, 2018) Şanlıyüksel Yücel, Deniz; Baba, AlperThis study focuses on the Koru and Tesbihdere Pb-Zn mining districts, located at the upstream areas of the Umurbey dam basin. Mining activities in Koru, one of the longest operated mines in NW Turkey, date back to the beginning of the 1900s. The purpose of the study is to (1) determine the hydrochemical properties of the water resources and to assess the potential environmental consequences of mining activities in the Koru and Tesbihdere mining districts, and (2) investigate the effects caused by mining activities on the water resources and sediment quality in the Umurbey dam basin. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn in river sediments downstream of the Tesbihdere and Koru mining district, and in the Umurbey dam sediments were higher than the world average for river sediments. The geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor revealed that sediments were strongly polluted with Pb and Zn, moderately to strongly polluted with Cd and moderately polluted with Cu. The chemical analyses of water resources revealed that the maximum Fe, Zn, Pb, Mn, and Cu concentrations reached 2890 μg/l, 1785 μg/l, 1180 μg/l, 984 μg/l, and 419 μg/l, respectively. The Koru River is classified as polluted water according to Turkish inland water quality regulations. The environmental contamination problems in the local drainage system are caused by leakage from past and current tailing ponds into the Koru River.Article Citation - WoS: 17Citation - Scopus: 28Effect of Geogenic Factors on Water Quality and Its Relation To Human Health Around Mount Ida, Turkey(MDPI Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2017) Baba, Alper; Gündüz, OrhanWater-rock interactions strongly influence water quality. Waters originating from highly altered zones affect human health. Mount Ida region in western Anatolia is an example for such geogenic interactions and additional anthropogenic impacts. A water quality monitoring study was held and a total of 189 samples were collected from 63 monitoring stations to characterize the quality of water resources and its relation with human health. The results indicated that waters originating from altered volcanic rocks that are mainly used for drinking purposes have low pH, high conductivity and elevated trace element levels. In addition, a number of acidic mining lakes were formed in the open pits of abandoned mine sites in the study area and pyrite oxidation in altered volcanic rocks resulted in extremely acidic, high mineral content and toxic waters that demonstrate an eminent threat for the environmental health in the area. Overall, the water quality constituents in Mount Ida region had a spatially variable pattern and were locally found to exceed the national and international standards, mainly due to geogenic alteration zones and anthropogenic intervention.Article Citation - WoS: 22Citation - Scopus: 28Geochemical Characterization of Acid Mine Lakes in Northwest Turkey and Their Effect on the Environment(Springer Verlag, 2013) Şanlıyüksel Yücel, Deniz; Baba, AlperMining activity generates a large quantity of mine waste. The potential hazard of mine waste depends on the host mineral. The tendency of mine waste to produce acid mine drainage (AMD) containing potentially toxic metals depends on the amounts of sulfide, carbonate minerals, and trace-element concentrations found in ore deposits. The acid mine process is one of the most significant environmental challenges and a major source of water pollution worldwide. AMD and its effects were studied in northwest Turkey where there are several sedimentary and hydrothermal mineral deposits that have been economically extracted. The study area is located in Can county of Canakkale province. Canakkale contains marine, lagoon, and lake sediments precipitated with volcanoclastics that occurred as a result of volcanism, which was active during various periods from the Upper Eocene to Plio-Quaternary. Can county is rich in coal with a total lignite reserve >100 million tons and contains numerous mines that were operated by private companies and later abandoned without any remediation. As a result, human intervention in the natural structure and topography has resulted in large open pits and deterioration in these areas. Abandoned open pit mines typically fill with water from runoff and groundwater discharge, producing artificial lakes. Acid drainage waters from these mines have resulted in the degradation of surface-water quality around Can County. The average pH and electrical conductivity of acid mine lakes (AMLs) in this study were found to be 3.03 and 3831.33 μS cm-1, respectively. Total iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) levels were also found to be high (329.77 and 360.67 mg L-1, respectively). The results show that the concentration of most elements, such as Fe and Al in particular, exceed national and international water-quality standards. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.