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Soil erosion is one of the crucial forms of land degradation; a menace caused by soil degradation and prevailing lithological feature in southern Nigeria. Several hectares of land area and properties worth about 2.5 million USD are lost annually due to soil erosion. Besides arable lands, the vegetation which serves as habitat to several species is rapidly disappearing leading to the extinction of the native plant species. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impacts of soil-gully erosion from 1986-2016 b...

We proposed a new hardware-software magnetic scanner for remote diagnostics of pipelines structure. The main tasks that the scanner solves are: diagnosis of potentially dangerous pipeline sections with high level of mechanic stress, search for underground pipeline route, correction of operator position under the pipeline during the diagnosis. Magnetic scanner includes four vector hall magnetic sensors, placed on ends of two aluminum profiles forming the cross. Scanner sensitivity to the magnetic field is 1 nT at a...

In parallel with technological and scientific developments in the world, people's choice on the materials is changing. In the light of these developments, mankind's environmental awareness is also increasing and thus the people aim to live in natural environments. In recent years, natural stones have started to be used widely especially inside and outside of the buildings in big cities in Turkey and the world. The low block efficiency of rocks caused to move the production of artificial stone in the construction s...

In the article are given the results of the study of chemical and organic composition of natural waters (bog, river and underground). The samples were collected on territory of the largest bog system in the world ? The Vasyugan bog at the mouth of the rivers Vasyugan and Parabel? (Tomsk region). It is shown, that for all types of waters are characteristic of increased concentrations of iron (from 1 to 12.5 mg/l) and organic matters (COD from 4 to 30 mg/l), at the same time contents them are directly proportional. ...

Decades are mining raw materials from seabed deposits. We are talking about deposits which are on the interface of land and sea. These are placer deposits as heavy metals and gemstones, secondary deposits of limestone, phosphorus, salt and also beach deposits on the edge of the continents. In this article, the authors want to become familiar with both forecasting utilization of selected earth resources, but also want to point out new trends in obtaining them. In this article, we have a broad spectrum of earth reso...

This paper presents a theoretical and practical approach of the evaluation concept of professional risk specific to activities of gas wells extraction and initial processing. The scientific research highlighted in this article was obtained during INSEMEX Project from The National Program for Research and Development PNCDI-CEEx. The main purpose of evaluating industrial risk is to prevent this type of risk and when there is no possibility to eliminate it, it is mandatory to reduce it up to the amount of residual ri...

The possibility of manufacturing compact accelerometer based on prefabricated elements has been shown. Since most of the sensitive element designs at the lowest cost possible to produce at different ranges of sensitivity, so accelerometer design will be flexible in terms of wide range measuring of linear accelerations. Paper describes an original method of calibrating an autonomous unit of accelerometers. Without the use of precision rotary tables, centrifuges, and independent of the vibration reason, it is possib...

An engineering survey to determine the existing height of constructions is a frequent requirement that the land surveyors are faced with. A height survey may be needed to verify building elevation while in construction, or according to the legislation, in order to apply for a building permit a detailed topographic plan must be conducted. Such a topographic plan must be prepared by licensed surveyor and include the measurements of nearby properties, adjacent with the land parcel on which the building authorization ...

In Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia, there is a huge development boom on the edge of the Old City, where is risen up a new complex down town of the city. The territory specified on the edge of the first ring called Chalupkova Centre will have around 20 high-rises with different function and there will be more than 20,000 parking spaces. At present, the operation of the territory is at the border of the saturation flows. There will be a new bus station and begins to reflect on the new tram routes. The extensive trav...

In late January of 2016 (27/01/2016) at Mining Section 14 (Block 7/10) of the Kukisvumchorr flank of the Kirovsk Mine (Khibiny), a violent seismo-dynamic event (lgE ? 8.11) took place to induce significant destructions and deformations of workings at Drill & haulage horizon 4 (4DHH) with an average elevation of +236 meter, 1DHH (+183 m), and possibly at 2DHH (+209 m), which is unavailable for examination. The dislocations, deformations and roof break formation occurred both at the cross-measure (predominantly) and...

Buildings account for significant energy consumptions in the global consumptions, according to the International Energy Agency. The path towards 2050 is that of nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB), a path that should change the way that buildings are designed in current practice. The design of a building?s envelope is always focusing more on the heat transfer of top components (i.e. exterior walls, terraces, roofs) and less on the heat transfer in bottom components (i.e. floors on the ground, walls in contact with...

The deposits of the Legnicko-G?ogowski Cooper District (SW Poland) are located in Permian sedimentary rocks. They are formed by accumulated cooper sulphides which occur in sandstones, shales and carbonates. The most important lithological layer among the mentioned ones is shale, as its level indicates the location of a deposit. This layer is characterized by a variable thickness which is a result of the sea bottom topography during the sedimentation of shale. Shale, as in the case of the remaining layers, is subje...

This paper analyzes the causes of groundwater breakthrough occurred during the excavation of deep pit in the central part of the city at the territory, which was being developed since the 14th century. Particular attention is paid to historical aspect of this area contamination and its impact on negative transformation of the underground space components such as soils, groundwater, gases, and microbiota. It is shown that the specificity of hydrodynamic and hydrochemical conditions has fundamental importance for as...

This study presents the role and significance of the land consolidation procedure in Poland, one of the six largest EU countries in terms of the surface area, and in Bulgaria. The consolidation traditions in Poland date back to the beginning of the last century and have been evolving along with dynamic social and technological changes. Currently, rural areas in Poland account for over 90% of the country?s area; therefore, it has been necessary for land consolidations to be transformed, over decades, into a multi-f...

In this study, object-based Land Use Land Cover (LULC) classification performance of Sentinel-2 image has been tested by comparing other medium resolution satellite dataset of Zonguldak test field. The test field covering a small area around Zonguldak is located in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey. It is noted for being one of the main coal mining areas in the world. For the purpose of the study, pan-sharpened Landsat 8 image was used because of its nearly similar ground sampling distance (GSD). The RGB and ...

The Internet and computer networks development led to the development of data acquisition and monitoring systems, becoming nowadays a necessity. This paper proposes the development of applications to monitoring parameters, both local and remote; the parameters? values are derived from a micro-weather station. Two interfaces are implemented for monitoring parameters? values: the first one is a part of a wireless sensors network (named eKoView), and the second one is implemented in C# and running on a color operatin...

The purpose of the research paper was to study the sensorial and physic-chemical characteristics of the `Carpinet` pie produced as a traditional ecological food product in a Romanian village, in the West part of the country. The technological production process of the `Carpinet` pie followed a traditional receipt known as a local bakery product. All the raw materials and ingredients used in the technological process according to the traditional receipt had organic origin as ecological ingredients. The sensory exam...

At present, increasingly high demands on the quality of the manufactured castings, which are used in the automotive industry. The foundry respect there are a number of advanced technologies, which are used for the casting. These include the technology of production castings by investment casting. It is used particularly where in view of the complex shape casting technology is the production of other more expensive, respectively, it is not at all possible. Such casting is the rotor of the turbocharger to be used in...

The study of the variations in the volume activity of radon-222 under natural conditions attests to their association with changes in porosity and permeability due to the stressstrain state of rocks. In most cases, the observed changes in the volume activity of radon in time are explained by lunar-solar tides, meteorological conditions, and a number of other factors. However, it is difficult to explain the observed relationship between the variations in volumetric activity of radon and tectonic events remote to ma...

Colours have a unique position among all the principles of map design and visualisation of spatial data. Colours are a part of map language, and they carry the information value. Also, colours are used for creating the hierarchy of map elements by distinguishing the important from the unimportant. Furthermore, colours are a part of the whole graphic design of any visualisation of spatial data. There is a huge number of papers focusing the theoretical basis of colour use in cartography and spatial data visualisatio...

Worldwide, 81% of cultivated soybeans is genetically modified. Soy is just one of the 68 products on the European list of approved GMOs for import, along corn, rapeseed, cotton. Cross-border exchanges lead to the introduction of GMOs on the market, requiring careful monitoring of food with the help of appropriate testing techniques. According to the EU legislation, the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms is mandatory, therefore being set a limit of 0.9% per ingredient. The research presente...

In Russia, terms ?marker substance? or ?marker parameter? have been used in regulatory acts on Best Available Techniques (BATs). For BAT-related purposes it is needed to select most significant, marker (or indicator) parameters characterizing applied technologies and useful for setting BAT-associated emission limit values. When reliable environmental performance data are scarce and self-monitoring practices are not fully developed, marker parameters should be chosen by means of expert analysis. Russian information...

The continuous improvement of building insulation and air tightness means that controlled ventilation is becoming more important every day. The ground-air heat exchanger makes a considerable contribution to this, especially when used in conjunction with an air heat exchanger unit. As well as increasing the quality of life within the building, this also provides significant energy cost reductions by using the embodied ground energy to pre-condition the incoming ventilation air. The Canadian wells use geothermal ene...

South Africa host massive deposits of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) in the Igneous Bushveld Complex. These deposits have been mined for a long time and in the process Mine sludge has been produced. It has been piled up and there is need to recover PGMs locked in it. The conventional way of processing PGMs has proved to be very difficult due to ultra-fines in the sludge that causes major loses during flotation. An alternative hydrometallurgical process for recovery of PGMs from a mine sludge by leaching using a mixt...

The results of research studies from deformation investigation of geotectonic recent movements in east Slovakia are presented. Satellite measurements were implemented in the geodetic network in the Kosice Basin. Transformation of the geodetic points coordinates from WGS-84 into the Slovak national positional coordinate and height system was carried out using Helmert seven-element transformation. The aim of the deformation measurements was determining geotectonic recent movements especially in the urban agglomerati...

Talc-bearing rocks in Kallievo-Murennanvaara deposit are associated with ultramafic rocks of peridotite-picritic series. Serpentinized rocks in the picritic portion of the sequence remained unaffected by talc alteration. Peidotitic komatiites, occurring below picrites which were altered to talc-carbonate rocks by carbon dioxide and then to talc-chloritic rocks under the influence of silica and alumina (the result of granite formation), were productive for soapstone. Kallievo-Murennanvaara soapstone deposit, is loc...

Present study determines conditions for titanium magnetite concentrate processing with fairly complete titanium conversion to the slag and iron and vanadium separation in the hot metal. It is quite difficult to process titanium magnetite concentrate in the blast furnaces due to low fusibility of charge and direct electrical melting causes process instability. Present work is devoted to development of concentrate double stage smelting process with little soda additions, including solid-phase recovery at the first s...

In most industrialized countries the problem of air pollution has become a major concern with significant social and political implications, is considered a barrier to economic and social development, drawing attention to these natural resources, materials and energy are not inexhaustible. In the literature are numerous researches on environmental pollution, correlated or not with the consequences on animals and food of animal origin, and not least on health human. In recent times the environmental pollution has d...

The use of coal resources has contributed to the economy of Jiu Valley over a long period of time. Considering the long-term role of coal, many experts believe that the coal-based energy is sustainable, ensures energy security, and may become a growth factor in the area. The knowledge and technologies improvement for coal extracting from the Jiu Valley mining basin, where many mines were closed due to lack non-performing loans and lack of profitability, represents a first step in the sustainable rehabilitation of ...

The paper presents a MEMS-INS/GPS data fusion algorithm based on an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system for the prediction of the navigation solution errors during GPS outages. The study was performed during the second stage of a research project related to the structural design of a data fusion intelligent algorithm based on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and Kalman filtering, for the prediction of the positioning errors during GPS signal outages. In this stage, the project research team targeted to r...

Based on a comparative analysis of biomarker data of the bituminous of the rocks of different ages located near the Sarayli and Altunino-Shunak troughs, various sources of their formation are shown. It is established that disjunctive rocks in the development zone of the Sarailin trough serve as ways for lateral and vertical migration of hydrocarbons of the one degree of catagenetic maturity to places of productive deposits. In the case of the Altunino-Shunak trough, two types of hydrocarbons are observed, differin...

This paper proposes a complementary reevaluation through appropriate numerical processing of geophysical measurements, namely electricity, which were intended for the sulfide metal ores research. Extracted data were processed both by digitizing profiles, and by extracting them from field notebooks. Using standardized methods, specifically by interpolating date, original maps were constructed. Subsequently, the results from the field work were processed by statistical and probabilistic methods in order to outline c...

Discussed are analyses and studies of an innovative method for managing active mining impact on future urban areas. Taking into consideration legal, methodological, engineering, economic, environmental, and social aspects, the solution represents an interdisciplinary attempt to address active mining damage problems. The examination follows a number of theoretical and practical analyses in addition to standard, numerical, and statistical calculations, as well as econometric models based on case studies and EU guide...

Denitrifying bioreactors can be used to reduce high nitrate concentrations in agricultural runoff in situ. They operate on the basis of the flow of nitrate-rich water through a filtration medium containing biodegradable organic matter that serves as an organic carbon source for denitrification bacteria. However, undesirable excessive leaching of organic compounds from the bioreactor fillings can occur, especially in the start-up phase. The paper presents the results of static leaching tests conducted on six differ...

The aim of this paper is to present results of numerical analysis of a bird model impact with a helicopter windshield. It appears that the research findings which take into consideration the bird?s shape differ from those using a simplified bird model in the shape of a cylinder or a sphere. Overall, at higher speeds the windshield becomes pierced and its damage process occurs in a different manner. In order to conduct an analysis of a bird impact onto an aircraft windshield, we used the LS_DYNA software package. A...

Safety of underground mining is significantly complicated if horizontal tectonic stresses hugely predominate over vertical ones and influence of tectonic disturbances, heterogeneities of physical-mechanical properties of rocks and mountainous relief is considerable. To the date multiply efficient tool methods have been developed aimed at estimation and forecast of rockburst hazardous events in the highly-stress rock mass. They allow studying the stress-strain state of the rock mass in the vicinity of underground m...

The paper is a technical analysis for choosing the heat supply source of a technological heat consumer requiring steam at 2 parameters pairs: 32 bar & 400?C, respectively 6.4 bar & at least 200?C. The analysis of the whole combined heat and power plant (CHPP) processes and performances are performed for 4 CHPP designs, all of them with Gas Turbines (GT) and Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG), through the numerical modeling of the processes in the CHPP components and by assembling them. The computing steps are: ...

The article describes program and algorithmic complex for synthesis of computer vision. This method operates as part of an automated control system for climate testing and it designs to analyze the aging of rubber products according to their visual indices. In this article the structural scheme of the system has been given. In addition, modified methods have been described. They compare the coordinates of a series of photographs, eliminate noise in the image being processed, and convert the output data of the comp...

The article concerns the problems of assessment the stability of the historical mine excavations which will be adapt to the underground tourist route. The issue is very important because of the special safety requirements for people (visitors), which do not have specialized safety training for employees of a typical underground mines. Post-mining facility, open to the public in 2013 in Krobica in Poland was characterized. Excavations from the XVI-XIX centuries are located in the rock mass characterized by a diffic...

The thermal conductivity of a geological structure is a paramount parameter in performing calculations for the proper design and installation of underground heat energy extraction or storage systems. Complex geological investigation must be performed to evaluate the thermal conductivity of a geological structure. It is a process that demands time and money. An assessment of the mutual influence between the thermal conductivity of the borehole heat exchanger and the geological structure allows us to predict the the...

The natural oxidation of iron-sulfide minerals (mainly pyrite) contained in mine waste material can produce the acid rock drainage (ARD). It leads to low acidity, high sulfate and iron concentration in surface and ground water and its heavy-metal contamination. This study investigates ARD prediction for sulfide-bearing mine waste rocks in the Verhne-Krichalskaya area, where the epithermal gold-silver deposit is located (Western Chukotka, Russia). Twenty samples of waste rocks (altered dacites, andesites and rubble...

The study considers the seaports as one of the main objects of coastal infrastructure in frames of the analysis of the system principles of sustainability of coastal systems in view of spatial planning and development of maritime activities in the coastal and marine areas of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation. The port of Sabetta launched in 2012 on the east coast of the Yamal Peninsula, the Gulf of Ob is aimed at providing the 24/7 and year-round transport and engineering infrastructure to ensure the suppl...

Paper presents results of 3D modeling and unconventional hydrocarbon resources assessment completed in regional scale on the area of the Eastern part of Paleozoic Baltic Basin. 3D modeling of structural framework, geochemical and petrophysical parameters was performed for Lower Paleozoic strata using Petrel software. The structural model incorporates 8 structural surfaces, 20 faults and stratigraphic information from 84 wells. The model covers an area of 16800 km2 and is divided into 7 zones (500x500 m grid cell s...

Over the past decade, the widespread concern about the staggering effects of climate change, particularly in the agricultural sector, has become very serious. It has been agreed that the inter-annual, monthly and daily distribution of climate variables such as temperature, radiation, precipitation, water vapour pressure in the air and wind speed affects a number of physical, chemical and biological processes that drive the productivity of agriculture. Thus, understanding the possible consequences of climate change...

The mapping of the archaeological sites from different historical periods and the analysis of their location over the landscape give us the opportunity to obtain an overall picture of human settlement on the territory in times past. A region located in the valley of the river Ortolyk (South-Eastern Altai, Russia) was selected as an example. In order to analyse landscape location of the archaeological sites the archaeological and landscape maps were created by use of the program ArcGIS 10.1. The cartographic method...

Regarding the mining industry, the risk of an explosive atmosphere occurrence and the consequences differ from one mine to another, depending on the configuration of the mine and on the type of the coal extracted. Although preventive measures are taken, the potential risk of explosion cannot be excluded from firedamp mines, but only reduced as much as possible. Therefore, where the possibility of forming these explosive atmospheres exists, the explosion risk assessment is required by developing scenarios that cons...

Surface modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are a kind of novel functional materials, which have been widely used in the various areas. The main requirements to magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications are the nontoxicity, biocompatibility and high-level accumulation in the target tissue or organ, chemical stability, simplicity and reproducibility of synthesis. The composition and characteristics of the SPION surface have a strong influence on their stability, distribution, and b...

The study focusses on an evaluation of the forest changes in the Low Tatras National Park. The used methods are based on the time series of the satellite Landsat images. The impacts of disturbances on the health of vegetation, particularly forest ecosystems, are investigated using time series methods. The main data source is the archive of satellite Landsat data. The selected vegetation indices are used and tested for the purposes of the detection of land cover changes and evaluation of the health of forest. From ...

Drilling by the submersible drilling hammer is one of the progressive technologies in drilling of boreholes and it is currently being widely applied method for the drilling works. Use of the submersible hammers disposed in the borehole - drilling directly above the drilling tool - entails number of advantages. The most important is the energy loss prevention. Submersible drilling hammers are gradually and successfully replacing the surface hammers, which have been widely used for many years in Slovakia and in the ...

The need for construction of new buildings is currently still growing. For construction are also used areas that were previously labelled as unsuitable or less suitable in terms of subsoil. The design, construction and implementation of building foundation, including subsoil modifications (foundation base) has a decisive influence on the building lifespan and its safety. This article presents an application of risk analysis method Umra (Universal Risk matrix analysis) to classify different types of subsoil. The me...