Iran is a land of complex geological past which reflects in its many natural wonders. There are more than 850 known caves in Iran with a total length not exceeding 1000 km, many of them not being properly explored. Two of the biggest and most famous caves are Ali-Sadr and Katale-Khor. The Katale-Khor cave has a simple maze anastomotic pattern. Ghar Ali-Sadr is an anastomotic type of cave located 75 km northwest of Hamedan in a village by the same name and circa 60 km south of Katale-Khor cave. Ali-Sadr cave is considered to be one of the most unique and scenic caves in the world. One of the features that makes Ali-Sadr cave special is a fact that it is the longest and the biggest water cave in the world (from the point of the boating course inside the cave). This natural wonders in Northern Iran are great base for developing a geotourism, as a form of tourism that specifically focuses on geology and landscape. Its purpose is to promote an understanding of earth sciences through appreciation and conservation of geodiversity. The best way to achieve this is through visits to geological features and locations.
The present study focuses on finding potential sites for ecotourism development using GIS and remote-sensing-based weightage sum overlay techniques in Western Rajasthan, India. Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing and revenue-making sectors incorporating a sustainable future. Western Rajasthan has a broad scope to develop tourism-based activity in various ways, mainly through cultural heritage, historical and archaeological wonders, and rare wildlife. Weightage sum overlay analysis is a useful and simple tool to compare each thematic layer. These values are based on various factors and understanding taken during the study. For this purpose, different data types have been taken from the USGS website. Arc GIS 10.8 and ERDAS Imagine software 2015 have been utilized to process the data. This research incorporates seven thematic layers, i.e., elevation, proximity to streams, land use/cover, population density, road connectivity, proximity to protected areas, and heritage hotspots. Based on the physical and cultural characteristics of Western Rajasthan, the weightage of each thematic layer has been decided, which is finally overlaid using Arc GIS software. After processing all the thematic layers, we finally get an outcome in the form of a suitability map. The final suitability map represents five suitability classes that divide the total area into the following categories, very high (37.31%), high (26.85%), moderate (7.89%), low (0.83%), and very low (27.12%), which represents the potential of ecotourism in Western Rajasthan.
Unpredictable climate changes are affecting water resources, especially in karst arid and semiarid areas. In such locations, the need for additional sources of water always arises. The paper gives insight into hydrogeological characteristics of Kazeroo County and resolves some unknowns around the catchment area of the springs important for water supply of the wider urban area of the city of Kazeroon, Iran, by using stable isotope analysis (δD and δ18O) and tracer test. Multiple tracer test and stable isotope analysis were conducted for research purposes. The uranine injected at Tale Milek 1 borehole was detected in the Chenar Shahijan spring in less than 2 and in the Seyed Hossein spring after 6 days. Small amounts of uranine were detected in the Sasan and Pirsabz springs. Based on the high apparent flow velocity (approximately 1750–2000 m/day), the underground system has a quick response to the precipitation during dry seasons. The assumed hydraulic connection between Shahneshin North (Asmari) and Dashtak Northzones has been confirmed by tracer test since the dye injected in Northern Asmari Shahneshin anticline appeared in the springs in Dashtak North zone. The results of water stable isotope measurements show that the catchment area of karst springs in the vicinity of Kazeroo is probably over 2000 m at the area of Shahneshin anticline and is positioned lower than the catchment area of Arjan spring.
The production of electric energy from rivers by using mini, as well as micro hydroelectric power plants, is a very promising solution, especially in rural and isolated areas. Numerous waterways in Croatia and their hydrological and hydrogeological diversity present an opportunity, but also a challenge, for the construction of hydroelectric power plants. Due to the complexity of the water courses’ hydrology, as well as hydrogeological characteristics, it is very hard to determine an appropriate flow pattern (amount), which will be used as an input value for the sizing of hydroelectric power plants. Such analysis will be provided for real case studies in Croatia with special regard to present geological media—media with intergranular porosity (Bednja River), karst media (Gornja Dobra River), and flysch media (Mirna River). Considering different geological media increases the possibility of using the presented methodology on other locations in Croatia, as well in the world. It has been shown that the analyzed rivers definitely have potential for electric energy production, regarding the potential and kinetic river energy. The presented analysis is scientifically original, but also shows the procedure for the determination of the hydro-energy potential of the rivers, as well as for the sizing on the hydropower plants. Hydrology and hydrogeology analyses rounds out the usual hydro-energy analysis, which is in most cases based on basic statistical parameter analysis.
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