Civil Engineering / İnşaat Mühendisliği
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/13
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Article Citation - WoS: 3Citation - Scopus: 5Use of Geothermal Fluid for Agricultural Irrigation: Preliminary Studies in Balçova-Narlıdere Geothermal Field (turkey)(2021) Meriç, M. Kamil; Kukul, Yasemin Senem; Özçakal, Emrah; Barlas, N. Tuba; Çakıcı, Hakan; Jarma, Yakubu Abdullahi; Kabay, Nalan; Baba, AlperBalçova-Narlıdere Geothermal Field (BNGF) hosts the largest geothermal district heating system of Turkey and several geothermal wells used for district heating and thermal tourism activities. This study assesses the use of BNGF geothermal fluid for agricultural activities. The spent geothermal brine was treated using nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes on a pilot-scale membrane test system. The qualities of the product were evaluated in terms of agricultural irrigation integrated with the implemented innovative wireless sensor network. It is important to use geothermal fluid, which is consists of valuable minerals, for irrigation. But when using geothermal fluid in irrigation, the chemical composition of the water must be carefully monitored to prevent damage to the plants. Nevertheless, the first result shows that the use of geothermal fluid to irrigate is proving to be a promising and economically viable option in BNGF.Article Citation - WoS: 8Citation - Scopus: 8Structural Controls and Hydrogeochemical Properties of Geothermal Fields in the Varto(TÜBİTAK Scientific & Technological Research Council Turkey, 2021) Uzelli, Taygun; Sener, Mehmet Furkan; Dolek, Iskender; Baba, Alper; Sozbilir, Hasan; Dirik, Ramazan KadirVarto and the surrounding region have important geothermal fields, developing in strike-slip tectonic setting in East Anatolia, which resulted from the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The main structural elements in the area are the NE-trending sinistral and NW-trending dextral strike-slip fault segments and N-S trending extension zones. In order to determine fault-controlled geothermal circulation, it is very important to fully characterize the structural elements in these complex environments. The widely distributed volcanic rocks have fracture and crack systems that play an important role in surface infiltration, geothermal fluid, and groundwater circulation. Especially in areas where the fault segments intersect, hot springs outlets and natural resources easily come to the surface. In order to understand the flow paths of geothermal fluid along the faults in these geothermal systems, it is necessary to determine the stress state of the faults and to map the distribution of the structural elements. For this reason, we conducted a detailed study on the Varto Fault Zone, which has important geothermal fields in Eastern Anatolia. We present conceptual models of the geothermal fields in the Varto region that show favorable geothermal activity on the intersecting fault segments, fault bends, step-overs, and accompanying fracture-crack sets. As a result, we emphasize that the planes of strike-slip faults in transtensional areas are more favorable for secondary permeability and enhances the geothermal fluid circulation, and this can be supported by hydrogeochemical data.Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 15Effects of Seismic Activity on Groundwater Level and Geothermal Systems in İzmir, Western Anatolia, Turkey: the Case Study From October 30, 2020 Samos Earthquake(TÜBİTAK - Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, 2021) Uzelli, Taygun; Bilgiç, Esra; Öztürk, Bahadır; Baba, Alper; Sözbilir, Hasan; Tatar, OrhanThe October 30, 2020 Samos earthquake (Mw 6.6) affected the Aegean Sea and environs, caused destruction and loss of life in the city of İzmir located 70 km away from the earthquake epicenter. Before this earthquake, water resources were monitored in the areas of Bayraklı, Gülbahçe, and Seferihisar. For this purpose, 10 groundwater monitoring wells were drilled in the Bayraklı area, where groundwater level, temperature, and electrical conductivity changes were monitored at 1-h intervals in 5 wells. Besides physical parameters such as groundwater levels, temperatures and electrical conductivities, hydrogeochemical cations, and anions measured in the study area. Change in the groundwater levels was observed before, during, and after the Samos earthquake. A trend of rising groundwater level was observed two days before the mainshock, to a height of 10 cm, and the level was maintained till the end of the earthquake. The water levels returned to its original height after about 7 to 10 days of the earthquake. Moreover, electrical conductivity (EC) values were changed because of the interaction with the surrounding rocks and well walls, mixing with different waters during the earthquake shaking. The essential anomalies were observed in the geothermal fields of Gülbahçe and Seferihisar. Due to this earthquake, new geothermal springs emerged along the NE-SW trending Gülbahçe and Tuzla faults, located about 50 to 20 km from the Samos earthquake epicenter, respectively. The new geothermal waters are in Na-Cl composition and similar to other geothermal springs in the region. While the recorded water temperatures in the new geothermal springs vary from 40 to 45 °C in Seferihisar, it was measured between 35 and 40 °C in Gülbahçe. Due to these anomalies, it is found essential to monitor the effect of the earthquake on the physical and chemical characteristics of the groundwater and its usefulness in earthquake predictions.Article Citation - WoS: 7Citation - Scopus: 8Enrichment of Trace Element Concentrations in Coal and Its Combustion Residues and Their Potential Environmental and Human Health Impact: Can Coal Basin, Nw Turkey as a Case Study(Inderscience Enterprises, 2016) Baba, Alper; Gürdal, Gülbin; Şanlıyüksel Yücel, DenizIn this study, the variation of trace element concentrations ( total of 48 trace elements including rare earth elements) in coal, coal ash and fly ash were examined and compared with coal Clarke values. Results showed that the average concentrations of trace elements including As, B, Cu, Ce, Co, Cs, Gd, Hf, La, Lu, Mo, Nd, Nb, Pr, Pb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn and Zr in the Can Basin coals are higher than their respective Clarke values for world low-rank coals. The elements As, Cu, Co, Cs, Mo, Nb, Sc, Pb, Pr, Th, U, V, Zn and Zr are enriched in coal ashes, whereas As, Co, Nb, Sc, U and V are enriched in fly ashes. Among the elements, maximum enrichment in coal was observed for As, with the average concentration of 253.5 ppm As in the Can Basin coals, while the coal Clarke value is 14 ppm and world average value is 8.3 ppm. From the ecotoxicological point of view, combustion residues formed by indoor combustion of coal and/or in thermal power plants may be a hazard to the environment and to aquatic and terrestrial life including human beings, particularly As, trace elements and released radioactive elements.Article The Relation of Geogenic and Antrophogenic Factors With Blood and Hair Lead and Arsenic Levels in Women Living in Çan and Bayramiç Districts of Çanakkale Province(Nobelmedicus, 2019) Baba, Alper; Gündüz, Orhan; Bakar, Çoşkun; Sülün, Serdar; Save, DilşadObjective: Mining areas and associated industrial activities carry considerable risks for human health due to multi-pathway exposure of heavy metals such as arsenic and lead. The objective of this study was to compare arsenic and lead levels in human blood and hair samples in an industrial mining area in northwestern Turkey with that of a non-exposed group demonstrating similar sociocultural characteristics. Material and Method: The population of the study consisted of 674 nonsmoker women over the age of 40 who were selected on a random basis from mine region and control area. Venous blood samples were taken and analyzed for blood lead and arsenic levels in all participants. Hair samples were later collected from 108 women with high levels in blood samples. Results: The results showed that the highest prevalence of occurrences was found in district centers whereas relatively lower values were observed in the villages. Hair arsenic and lead levels were comparably higher in the industrialized area (Çan Region) where low-quality coal combustion used in power generation and residential heating were dominant. Conclusion: Although high correlations were not found, blood and hair arsenic and lead levels in individuals living in industrial and agricultural areas were found to be high at levels influencing the human health. On the other hand, these results should be further supported and verified with advanced and long duration monitoring activities.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: 3Citation - Scopus: 5Groundwater in Local Development Strategies: Case of Izmir(IWA Publishing, 2018) Velibeyoğlu, Koray; Yazdani, Hamidreza; Baba, AlperThis study takes into account groundwater in local development strategies of Izmir, in which rapid and uneven development has occurred in recent decades. Therefore, resilience thinking is needed in the future development of the city-region. To this end, the paper aims to make an analysis of recently completed asset-based local development strategies for Izmir city towards water resiliency. The methodology has two main steps. Firstly, by using spatial interaction analysis of peninsula and river basins, potential vulnerabilities and risks are indicated. Secondly, a stratified model of strategy evaluation is conducted by scrutinizing the existing layered approaches. Then, these models were applied to all strategic decisions including water resources and indicated a high level of consistency to achieve sustainable and resilient use of blue-green infrastructure in the future of Izmir’s metropolitan area. Local assets, including water resources, are the backbone of future development of the Izmir city-region. Therefore, usage of local assets in a multi-level perspective of strategy development needs to be understood. The stratified model denotes that special emphasis should be given to different river basins in different levels. This study illustrates that synergy management is needed between different layers of local development strategies, in which the role of urban and rural households is of the utmost importance.Article Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 4Use of Electrospun Fiber Mats for the Remediation of Hypersaline Geothermal Brine(Desalination Publications, 2017) Çelik, Aslı; Koç, Gonca; Erdoğan, Emre; Shahwan, Talal; Baba, Alper; Demir, Mustafa MuammerGeothermal brines display high contents of various metal ions that can adversely affect surface and groundwater resources. Nevertheless, it is possible to sequestrate these metals and use some of them in certain engineering applications. The aim of this study was to fabricate electrospun chitosan fiber mats and remove heavy metal cations from geothermal brine of the Tuzla geothermal field (TGF) by employing these mats. TGF is located on the Biga Peninsula in the northwestern part of Turkey. The brine of TGF has high salinity (EC > 91 mS/cm) and high temperature (reservoir temperature is 173°C). The brine is rich in terms of metal cations. For instance, the concentration of lithium ion in geothermal fluid ranges from 17 to 35 mg/L, with little seasonal variations. A horizontal electrospinning setup was employed to obtain a non-woven mat comprising submicron diameter chitosan fibers at 2.0 kV∙cm−1. This material was then utilized as a stable membrane for the removal of metal ions present in the brine through sorption at 25°C overnight. The results showed that the chitosan fiber mats sequestrate various ions in the brine. Under the studied conditions, the material was capable of removing 46%, 44%, 50%, 44%, 40%, 67% and 48% of Li+, Mg2+, Ba2+, Sr2+, Mn2+, Ca2+ and K+ from the geothermal brine, respectively.Article Citation - WoS: 27Citation - Scopus: 31Statistical Analysis of Causes of Death (2005-2010) in Villages of Simav Plain, Turkey, With High Arsenic Levels in Drinking Water Supplie(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2015) Gündüz, Orhan; Bakar, Coşkun; Şimşek, Celalettin; Baba, Alper; Elçi, Alper; Gürleyük, Hakan; Mutlu, Merdiye; Çakır, AyşeThe purpose of this research was to compare the causes of death in 5 villages situated in Simav Plain, Turkey, during 2005-2010 where different arsenic levels were detected in drinking water supplies. Since groundwater in Simav Plain had arsenic concentrations that ranged between 7.1 and 833.9 ppb, a two-phase research was formulated. In the first phase, public health surveys were conducted with 1,003 villagers to determine the distribution of diseases. In the second phase, verbal autopsy surveys and official death records were used to investigate the causes of death. In total, 402 death cases were found in the study area where cardiovascular system diseases (44%) and cancers (15.2%) were major causes. Cancers of lung (44.3%), prostate (9.8%), colon (9.8%), and stomach (8.2%) were comparably higher in villages with high arsenic levels in drinking water supplies. Furthermore, the majority of cases of liver, bladder, and stomach cancers were observed in villages with high arsenic levels. © 2015 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.Article Citation - WoS: 28Citation - Scopus: 30Hydrochemical and Isotopic Composition of Tuzla Geothermal Field (canakkale-Turkey) and Its Environmental Impacts(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2009) Baba, Alper; Yüce, Galip; Deniz, Ozan; Yasin, DidemTuzla is an active geothermal area located in northwestern Turkey, 80 km south of the city of Canakkale and 5 km from the Aegean Coast. Geothermal brine, deriving from this area, contains an abundance of NaCl and a water temperature of 173°C (T1 well at 814 m depth) is typically encountered. The aim of this study was to determine the hydrogeochemical properties of the geothermal brine using both chemical and isotopic data, and to investigate the origin of the geothermal brine in the Tuzla area and the environmental impacts of Tuzla Geothermal Field (TGF). Both geothermal brine and shallow groundwater in the area are of meteoric origin. Isotope results indicate that the hot saline waters (brine) in the Tuzla geothermal field originate from connate water along faults. As the saline water rises to the surface, it mixes with shallow groundwaters in various ratios. In addition, the high sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) content in the Tuzla Stream, fed from the Tuzla geothermal brine during the dry season, cause an increase in sodium and chloride concentrations in the shallow groundwaters by infiltration into the aquifer. Moreover, salt accumulation on the surface is observed due to the uncontrolled artesian flow of geothermal brine, which adversely affects the salinity of shallow groundwater.