Soil erosion is a major environmental problem in many parts of Syria generally, and in coast basin in western part particularly. The main objective of this paper is to integrate information from various sources including remote sensing and geographic information system data to accurately quantify and map the spatial distribution of the potential soil erosion risk in Alhusain basin, Tartous, Syria, using geospatial modeling and analysis tools. The results show that 58% of the study basin has a low loss of soil, 27% moderate loss, 11% high loss, and 4% a very high loss, respectively. Alhusain basin is in the extremely severe level of soil erosion rates with about 15% of land affected by high and very high soil erosion risk. Therefore, the generated soil erosion map represents the effective base to spatial strategies for decisionmakers to avoid soil erosion risks and consequently to soil conservation.

The characteristics of the physiology of microorganisms, their influence on minerals, organic substances, gases, and also their wide - spread occurrence in soils, give every reason to expect that they exert a considerable influence and physico-mechanical characteristics of soils. Analysis of literature data and established features of the distribution of microorganisms make it possible to distinguish among them only certain groups and special cases, influences on the formation and change of soil properties. IN Bolotin and EM Sergeev note that the properties of soils depend on the composition of all its components in their correlation and interaction.

Underground coal mining generally occurs in the terrifically thermodynamic environment of high geostress and geotherm, resulting in many coal-gas disasters, such as coal-gas outburst, coal spontaneous combustion and even gas explosion etc. Geological statistics and relative researches show that when mining depth is over 1000 m, the geotherm will reach the range of 40 and 45°C with the commonly geothermal gradient of 30-50°C/km, and the geostress is 95-135 MPa at 3500-5000 m depth.

In the present study, the change in benthic community was identified in the coastal stretch from Ennore to Pulicat, total of 6 stations were identified to study benthic community. In order to understand the distribution of the benthic community structure with respect to macro fauna in the Buckingham canal benthic were collected from all the stations during high tide on Spring tide of each month from September 2004 to December 2005 from bed and bank. Higher nutrient concentration during summer coincides with high density of Polycheates and Molluscs and vice versa during monsoon season. Salinity is also an important factor for macro fauna distribution and growth. Salinity is high during pre-monsoon and summer which resulted in high production. From the Abundance and Biomass correlation it is inferred that Station 2 and 4 are grossly polluted. Stations 1, 3 and 5 are moderately polluted and Station 6 is less polluted.

BACKGROUND: Waste is defined as unwanted remains, residues discarded, and material or by products which are no longer required by the initial user. These materials are by-products of human activities such as process of preparation, manufacture, packing, repacking, unpacking, construction, renovation of structures and mining operations. Almost any substance that is discarded is designated as waste, but it may also be considered as a potential resource. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community residing in Addis Ketema and Kometa kebele towards waste disposal management Mizan-Aman Town, Bench-Maji Zone, SNNPRS, South West Ethiopia, 2017. METHODOLOGY: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed and systematic sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data was collected from 392 selected samples in every Kth interval which was 13th, and Data quality was assured by performing pre-test to evaluate the appropriateness of data collection instrument and after collection of the data it was tallied manually, processed and analyzed in a line of its objective and frequency and percentage of the result were presented by using tables, graphs and charts. RESULT: The finding of this study showed that majority 84% of the respondents were females, regarding their ethnicity 35.5% were Bench, also the majority of the participants (87.1%) were married with regard to their religion (47%) were Orthodox, on the other hand 48.6% of the respondents were the age between 21-30. Furthermore, the study showed that 81.8% of the respondents have good knowledge, 77.5% of the participants showed positive attitudes toward waste management as well as 76.9% of participants have a good practice toward waste management. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The finding of the study revealed that majority of Mizan-Aman town community has a good level of knowledge, have a positive attitude and showed good practice toward waste management.

The study aimed at designing and performance testing of a suitable small scale Iron and Manganese removal system for Copperbelt University’s Borehole water. Materials for the filtration system were locally sourced within the Copperbelt province of Zambia. Tests were carried out on borehole water and system filtered water. The results show that the system performed relatively well on reducing Iron and Manganese from groundwater. The model constructed was a small scale version of an Up-flow filtration system. Evaluation showed performance efficiencies of 81.67% and 32% on iron and manganese removal respectively. The Up-flow design is better because water takes relatively more time to pass through the filter increasing contaminant removal capacity. The aerator tray was good but retention time for air was not sufficient and could be made better. Based on the results from the lab scale model a full scale Prototype was proposed and designed. Selecting the most applicable design largely depends on economical availability of materials, ease of construction and operation all this in relation to system efficiency. The Up-flow design in this study can be improved with respect to (i) the sedimentation tank for the settlement of oxidized iron and manganese by improving retention time of water (ii) spray nozzle to increase the surface area for aeration of water. Additionally, a substitute aerator tray with cascades to increase retention time for aeration is proposed. Furthermore, based on the model and literature review of similar designs, the sand layer depth should be at least 20 cm.

Clam shrimps are large branchiopod crustaceans with laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a bivalved chitinous or complex chitin-mineral carapace. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica. They generally inhabit seasonally astatic wetlands such as playas, vernal pools, rice field, inundated road ruts or fishless lakes. Because their resting eggs are able to survive dormant for several years under dry conditions, they are able to rapidly colonize seasonal water pools after flooding . Thus they are important components of the ephemeral water ecosystems, and indicate the alternation of a wet/dry seasonal climate.

Planting mangroves has been projected as a well-known technique for restoring mangrove ecosystem. However, the greater parts of planting endeavors neglect to reestablish functional mangroves and leave lessons for us to realize which we advantageously overlook. Utilizing confined mangrove species, especially from the families, Rhizophoracea and Aviceniaceae along an uncovered coastline in too-deep water, generally in the lower half of the intertidal system, from mean sea level down to lowest tide where mangroves, do not normally develop are the reasons behind mangrove planting projects’ disappointment.

Over the last few years the use of advanced satellite and bathymetric detection systems has enabled the identification of pockmark aggregates of different shapes and sizes, which are frequently developed along preferential directions, in many sea basins. The bathymetric observations of the seabed near Hawaii Island revealed the existence of special sea star-shaped structures due to radial alignment and coalescence of pockmark groups. In some areas interactions between very close pockmarks have been observed. Similar star structures have been found in other parts of the world and a common feature is the presence of magmatic underplating. Tomographic images, seismic data and direct observation of about 100 of these structures suggest that the most likely genetic mechanisms are attributable to the stress field induced by rising and stationing of small volumes of magmatic plumes. The presence of these particular structures could be a key to explaining some questions about Hawaii’s magmatism.