A B S T R A C TThe principle objective of this study was to evaluate the soil quality and the level of contamination of soil by heavy metals adapting various developed index in a selected waste disposal site at Rajbandh, Khulna, Bangladesh. To theses endeavor, ten soil samples were collected from the selected locations and then the relevant elements of Al, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cd, As, Co, Sb, Sc and Hg were measured and monitored using standard method. To estimate the contamination situation of soil, contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and potential ecological risk index (PERI) were computed using geological background values. In addition, for assessing soil quality, Pearson's correlation coefficients analysis was also performed. Furthermore, this study revealed that the values of CF and Igeo in soils around the waste disposal area affected from the contamination of heavy metals mostly by Pb, Cd and Sb. In contrast, Pearson's correlation indicated that the sources of metals are almost the same and these heavy metals might be derived from the waste accumulation activity. Dump sites have great potential for energy extraction if the high valued compounds to be extracted.
Rockfall is a natural hazard in mountainous areas not to be underestimated. Mass activities differing in rock volume may cause considerable economic damage. Accomplishing qualitative appraisal of high-potential zones for rockfall is a first step towards implementing mitigation strategies. Nowadays, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are the state-of-the-art tool for a fast and economic approach of identifying potential hazard zones rather than using conventional mapping with in-situ field data. Primarily, current research focuses on designing and implementing user-friendly tools delineating potential rockfall hazard zonation (RHZ). The constructed model examines triggering factors like slope, aspect, elevation, lithology, structural lineament, rainfall intensity, and seismic activity focal depth of a mountainous coastal region (Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt). The extracted geomorphological parameters were based on a high-resolution TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Model. The enhanced Landsat ETM + 7 was used to generate the lithological and structural lineament parameters, while the rainfall data were collected from NASA project tool. The zonation model was implemented by means of ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro ModelBuilder. Google Earth Pro orthophotos compared with the generated rockfall hazard zonation map indicate the potential RHZ with high reliability. The achieved results show that 15 % of the study area qualifies as a high rockfall hazard zone. As the RHZs generated by the model depend on the input data and the selected rating scores and weights, obtaining ground truth is essential to get a trustworthy result. Finally, this study recommends employing the built RHZ model on similar terrains worldwide to support decision-makers involving any sustainable development projects.
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