Civil Engineering / İnşaat Mühendisliği

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/13

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  • Conference Object
    Hydrogeochemical Characteristics of Acidic Water Sources Around Can Region, Biga Peninsula, Nw Turkey
    (Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi, 2014) Şanlıyüksel Yücel, Deniz; Baba, Alper
    Acid 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, Alper
    The 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: 2
    Citation - Scopus: 2
    Arsenic in Groundwater in Western Anatolia, Turkey: a Review
    (University of Silesia Press, 2010) Gündüz, Orhan; Baba, Alper; Elpit, Handan
    Occurrence 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, Merdiye
    A 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, Hamidreza
    İzmir 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, Hakan
    A 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: 4
    Citation - Scopus: 4
    Determining Water and Sediment Quality Related To Lead-Zinc Mining Activity
    (Polish Academy of Sciences, 2018) Şanlıyüksel Yücel, Deniz; Baba, Alper
    This 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: 40
    Citation - Scopus: 50
    Analysis and Assessment of Hydrochemical Characteristics of Maragheh-Bonab Plain Aquifer, Northwest of Iran
    (Springer Verlag, 2017) Fijani, Elham; Moghaddam, Asghar A.; Tsai, Frank T.-C.; Tayfur, Gökmen
    The present study aims at assessing the hydrochemistry of the groundwater system of the Maragheh-Bonab Plain located in the East Azarbaijan Province, northwest of Iran. The groundwater is used mainly for drinking, agriculture and industry. The study also discusses the issue of the industrial untreated wastewater discharge to the Plain aquifer that is a high Ca-Cl water type with TDS value of about 150 g/L. The hydrogeochemical study is conducted by collecting and analyzing the groundwater samples from July and September of 2013. The studied system contains three major groundwater types, namely Ca–Mg–HCO3, Na–Cl, and non-dominant water, based on the analysis of the major ions. The main processes contributing to chemical compositions in the groundwater are the dissolution along the flow path, dedolomitisation, ion exchange reactions, and the mixing with wastewater. According to the computed water quality index (WQI) ranging from 25.45 to 194.35, the groundwater in the plain can be categorized into “excellent water”, “good water”, and “poor water”. There is a resemblance between the spatial distribution of the WQI and hydrochemical water types in the Piper diagram. The “excellent” quality water broadly coincides with the Ca-Mg-HCO3 water type. The “poor” water matches with the Na–Cl water type, and the “good” quality water coincides with blended water. The results indicate that this aquifer suffers from intense human activities which are forcing the aquifer into a critical condition.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 17
    Citation - Scopus: 28
    Effect 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, Orhan
    Water-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: 19
    Citation - Scopus: 21
    Effects of Basin Activities and Land Use on Water Quality Trends in Tahtali Basin, Turkey
    (Springer Verlag, 2013) Elçi, Şebnem; Selçuk, Pelin
    Bi-weekly water quality data from seven monitoring stations located within Tahtali Watershed, İzmir, Turkey and digital land use/land cover data of the same watershed are analyzed in this study. To examine the changes in land use associated with urbanization, the satellite images of the main pool of the Tahtali reservoir prior to filling and subsequent to filling, respectively, are analyzed. Aerial photos of the basin taken in 1995 (October) are compared with images taken in 2005 (November) from the IKONOS satellite through use of several GIS techniques. New residential buildings, greenhouses, and industrial buildings are presented in separate layers, and changes in basin activities are quantified. The effects of urbanization on the water quality are investigated through statistical analysis. The seasonal Kendall test is applied to the water quality parameters monitored bi-weekly at seven stations within the basin for the duration 1997-2005. There was no trend in phosphorus, but there was a negative trend in boron and nitrate and a positive trend in the parameters of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The improvement in nitrate concentrations is attributed to the new regulations on the use of fertilizers in greenhouses. However, increase of BOD and COD concentrations is related to the growing settlement areas and industrial zones, which point to the insufficient wastewater treatment within the basin. Soil erosion within the basin is also quantified by the universal soil loss equation using available maps. Estimated total soil loss rate increased about 2. 5 times that of 1995 when the changed land use composition in 2005 is considered in the calculations.