Water quality index (WQI) is the primary method applied to characterize water quality in the world. The current study employed the statistical analysis and multilayer perceptron (MLP) approaches for predicting groundwater quality in the Ghiss-Nekkor aquifer, northeast of Al Hoceima, Morocco. Fifty sampled groundwater were identified and analyzed for major anions and cations throughout May 2019. Several physicochemical parameters of all the samples were identified in this investigation, such as TDS, pH, EC, Na, K, Ca, Mg, HCO3, NO3, Br, SO4, and Cl. The entropy-weighted groundwater quality index (EWQI) was calculated from these parameters. The WQI procedure determined the suitability of groundwater for consumption. The WQI value varied from 90.98 to 337.28. The EC, TDS, WQI, and Cl- spatial distribution showed that EC and Cl- are associated with poor groundwater quality. A single sample (W16) represented unsuitable water for drinking purposes and offered a WQI value of 337.28, indicating poor drinking quality due to seawater intrusion, overexploitation, and harsh weather conditions. The majority of the values obtained for the parameters exceeded the recommended limit of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidelines for consumption. The findings show that using parameters is a straightforward method for predicting water quality indexes with sufficient and suitable precision. The MLP model shows good predictive performances in terms of the coefficient of determination R2, mean absolute error (MAE), and root-mean-square error (RMSE) with values of 0.9885, 5.8031, and 4.7211, respectively. The ANN approach was applied to develop a model that can accurately predict WQI utilizing mineralization, TH, NO3, and NO2 as inputs. The MAE for the model’s performance was calculated to be 4.72. A Bland–Altman test was used to validate that the model is suitable. Following the test, it was determined that the model is appropriate for predicting WQI, with an error of just 0.1%.

Bentonite clay mineral is widely present in the Gourougou Volcanic Massif and its satellites located in NE Morocco. It originated from the alteration of pyroclastic flows in shallow marine water in a lagoon lake environment (Ibourhardayn deposit). All studied samples were collected from that area and analysed accordingly in order to characterize and identify their components. Experimental techniques used included X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and the geotechnical characterization of the clay fraction and Atterberg limits. Granulometric analysis exhibited the presence of a clay fraction (<2 µm) ranging from 9.2 to 32.4%. The geotechnical study showed that the bentonites studied were generally very plastic, with plasticity index values ranging from 19.4 to 46.6%, and are also characterized by very high liquidity limits of 37.3–67%. A high water retention capacity with water contents ranging from 8.2 to 40.7% indicated that Ibourhardayn bentonites have important swelling properties. Mineralogical results showed that all specimens were mostly composed of montmorillonite alongside other clay minerals. Some crystalline impurities were also detected by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectra.

No abstract

The monthly variations in metal concentration of Cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn) and Chromium (Cr) were determined in tissues of Mytilus galloprovincialis and seawater obtained from the mussel farm installed along the Al Hoceima coasts, during the sampling period of 2018. The heavy metals encountered in the bivalves were higher than those observed in their environment with a decreasing order of Zn > Cr > Cd. The results also showed a decreasing trend for the metals studied during the summer sampling campaign. The maximum values were obtained during the wet periods. The monthly variations in trace metals observed in the mussel tissues were due to environmental parameters and the physiological state of the bivalves. Our results revealed that the average concentrations of pollutants found in M. galloprovincialis were below the limits allowed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which are 2.0, 1000 and 1.0 mg/kg, for Cd, Zn and Cr, respectively in molluscan shellfish for human consumption. Therefore, the trace elements present in the tissues of Al Hoceima shore mussels do not represent a risk to human health associated with their consumption, even during the period of their maximum bioaccumulation. Our work highlights the potential use of Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Biomonitoring of metallic pollutants in this region of the northern Moroccan coasts.

The objective of the study is to raise awareness of the effect of anthropogenic activity on groundwater in the urban area, water samples were collected from 12 wells in the area in April and September 2019.  From these samples, pH and conductivity were determined using a pH meter/conductivity meter. From these samples, pH and conductivity were determined using a pH meter/conductivity meter, while heavy metal concentrations (Mn, Fe, Pb, Cu and AL) were determined by atomic analysis and ICP-MS. The study showed that groundwater in the study area is (0.01mg/l<Mn2+<0.06 mg/l) and contains (0.14mg/l<Cu2+<0.03 mg/l), (0.02mg/l<Fe2+<0.4 mg/l), (0.02mg/l<Zn2+<1.8mg/l) and (0.01mg/l<AL3+<0.05mg/l). These concentrations are above the permissible limits recommended by the World Health Organization (0.05, 0.2, 0.3, 5 and 0.2 mg/l, respectively; p > 0.05). Bacteriological analyses show that the vast majority of the wells studied in the Ben Taib area harbour high densities of Faeceal coliform (0 to more than 420 CFU/100ml) and Fecal Streptococci (0 to over 25 CFU/100ml). The presence of these high quantities of pathogens, which are indicators of pollution and bacteriological contamination by wastewater, could be due to anthropic activities.