Morphological Variation between Life and Death Gastropod Populations in the Nile Delta: A Pollution-Induced Evolution

Wetland ecosystems of the Nile Delta face severe threats due to natural climatic changes and anthropogenic activities. Life and death assemblage comparisons can be implemented as a historical record to detect anthropogenic-induced environmental changes in the past few decades. A geometric morphometric approach was applied to quantify the pollution-induced morphological variation between life and death populations of the gastropod Melanoides tuberculata. The results indicated that life populations differ significantly from the death ones, where the first tend to be much smaller, more globular, and with a depressed aperture and whorl section. In addition, the phenetic diversity of the life populations was also decreased, and the allometric growth was shifted. These morphological changes in the life populations are well-known adaptations for reducing the cost of shell maintenance in polluted water. No distinct morphospace was found between life populations from different habitats, suggesting that habitats have no significant role in the current pollution-induced evolution.This work is funded by the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R455), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

An Integrated Approach for Saturation Modeling Using Hydraulic Flow Units: Examples from the Upper Messinian Reservoir

The Upper Messinian reservoirs located in the Salma Field of the Nile Delta area contain variable facies. The key reservoir interval of the Abu Madi Formation was deposited in fluvial to deltaic environments. These fine-grained facies form significant reservoir heterogeneity within the reservoir intervals. The main challenges in this study are reservoir characterizing and predicting the change in reservoir water saturation (SW) with time, while reservoir production life based on the change in reservoir capillary pressure (Pc). This work applies petrophysical analysis to enable the definition and calculation of the hydrocarbon reserves within the key reservoir units. Mapping of SW away from the wellbores within geo-models represents a significant challenge. The rock types and flow unit analysis indicate that the reservoir is dominated by four hydraulic flow units. HFU#1 represents the highest flow zone indicator (FZI) value. Core analysis has been completed to better understand the relationship between SW and the reservoir capillary pressure above the fluid contact and free water level (FWL), which is used to perform saturation height function (SHF) analysis. The calculated SW values that are obtained from logs are affected by formation water resistivity (Rw) and log true resistivity (RT), which are influenced by the volume of clay content and mud salinity. This study introduces an integrated approach, including evaluation of core measurements, well log analysis covering cored and non-cored intervals, neural analysis techniques (K-mode algorithm), and permeability prediction in non-cored intervals. The empirical formula was predicted for direct calculation of dynamic SW profiles and predicted within the reservoir above the FWL based on the change in reservoir pressure

Meta-Evaluation of Water Quality Indices. Application into Groundwater Resources

Until now, there was no simple procedure to test the performance of water quality indices (WQIs) or, in other words, to perform their meta-evaluation. The purpose of this study is to provide a meta-evaluation approach of two widely used WQIs and suggestions for selecting one or both of them for application in groundwater quality assessment as proposed by the European Union. The meta-evaluation concept is based on testing the performance of two widely known WQIs by applying classification of Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) and Groundwater Directive (GWD; 2006/118/EC) which was used as a reference. The Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment (CCME) and National Sanitation Foundation (NSF-WQI) have been selected for evaluation. These WQIs were applied in an agricultural area of the Mediterranean region where six sub-datasets for an entire hydrological year were available. This study uses all the available water quality data (52 monitoring stations × 2 sampling periods × 15 parameters) which is systematically collected at the area studied. The CCME-WQI is a rather strict index since it estimates statistically significantly lower values than the NSF-WQI. Based on the performance of the examined indices, it is shown that, mostly, the CCME-WQI classification findings are close to those of the GWD

Water Quality Indices: Current and Future Trends in Evaluating Contamination of Groundwater Resources

Groundwater and surface water contamination is related to the presence of chemical substances, which strongly influence the water suitability for human consumption as well as for industrial and agricultural uses [...

Anthropogenic and Geo-Environmental Impacts on the Hydrosphere: Diagnosis, Monitoring, Assessment, and Sustainable Management

A worldwide issue directly affecting human health, resources, and ecosystems concerns the harmful consequences of anthropogenic and geo-environmental influences on the hydrosphere [...

Multielement Contamination of Land in the Margin of Highways

The spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements in land near a heavily loaded highway in the West Attica region (Greece) is discussed. This study aimed to investigate the extent of soil contamination with trace elements on land in the margin of highways. The concentration of thirty-five elements in topsoil, car ash, and road sediment bulk samples was determined. Statistical and spatial analysis was applied for evaluating the geochemical dispersion of the examined elements. Geo-accumulation index was estimated. Elements content were compared to criteria and screening values established by the literature. The concentration of As, Cu, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, and Zn in topsoil appeared to be influenced by traffic emissions. It is found that engine exhaust, tyre wear, and brake lining contribute to the As, Ba, Cu, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, and Zn content recorded in topsoil in the margin of highways. The bulk sample of road sediment is moderately contaminated to extremely contaminated with Cu, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, and Zn. Comparison of elements content in topsoil with screening values revealed that Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sb, V, and Zn pose a potential risk for plants

Applying Factor Analysis and the CCME Water Quality Index for Assessing Groundwater Quality of an Aegean Island (Rhodes, Greece)

Globally, water quality indices (WQIs) are beneficial for evaluating groundwater and surface water quality. The Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI) was combined with the parametric values given by Directive 98/83/EC to investigate the possible suitability of groundwater resources for human consumption on Rhodes Island. Chloride (Cl−), pH, calcium (Ca2+), electrical conductivity (CND), carbonate (CO32−), bicarbonate (HCO3−), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), sulfate (SO42−), sodium (Na+),nitrate (NO3−), nitrite (NO2−), ammonium (NH4+), and phosphate (PO43−) were included in the dataset applied in this study. Statistical analysis, GIS database, and WQI estimation were successfully used to evaluate the groundwater resources of the study area. All studied groundwater parameters have mean and median values lower than the corresponding parametric values established by Directive 98/83/EC. The high CND values (up to 2730 μs cm−1) in groundwater collected from Rhodes’ coastal aquifers indicate a direct relationship with seawater intrusion. CCME-WQI classifies the groundwater samples for most monitoring stations on Rhodes aquifers as “excellent”, Class 5, for 2019 and 2020. The findings of this study may be helpful for scientists and stakeholders monitoring the study area and applying measures to protect the groundwater resources

The Effectiveness of Rainwater Harvesting Infrastructure in a Mediterranean Island

Rainwater Harvesting system (RWHs) can be considered as an alternative water resource in the era of the climate crisis. This research aims to study the effectiveness of a RWHs for domestic non-potable use and the water demand of the community in a Mediterranean site (Chios island, Greece). A water balance model is applied to simulate the behavior of a rainwater tank and calculate the daily water savings. The analysis correlates rainwater tank capacity, catchment area and population. The operation of the rainwater collection system has been calculated for seven years. In order to assess the investment risk regarding the application of the RWHs, the financial ratio of PayBack (PB) period was determined. The multifaceted character of Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) practice in the three-dimensional concept of sustainability is discussed. This study concludes that RWH contributes to the greening of society, dealing with water scarcity in urban areas

The Effectiveness of Rainwater Harvesting Infrastructure in a Mediterranean Island

Rainwater Harvesting system (RWHs) can be considered as an alternative water resource in the era of the climate crisis. This research aims to study the effectiveness of a RWHs for domestic non-potable use and the water demand of the community in a Mediterranean site (Chios island, Greece). A water balance model is applied to simulate the behavior of a rainwater tank and calculate the daily water savings. The analysis correlates rainwater tank capacity, catchment area and population. The operation of the rainwater collection system has been calculated for seven years. In order to assess the investment risk regarding the application of the RWHs, the financial ratio of PayBack (PB) period was determined. The multifaceted character of Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) practice in the three-dimensional concept of sustainability is discussed. This study concludes that RWH contributes to the greening of society, dealing with water scarcity in urban areas

Combining Artificial Neural Network and Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response Approach for Evaluating a Mediterranean Lake

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the surface water system of Lake Vegoritida (Region of Central Macedonia, Greece). The Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) methodological approach was used. The analysis includes data from three (3) stations monitoring point source pollution and recording the most critical water quality measurement parameters in a time series data analysis from 1983 to 1997. The data will contribute to the analysis and was used to investigate, identify, and evaluate possible sources of chemical and ecological changes recorded in the lake. The artificial neural network (ANN) is a valuable tool for making predictions based on the water quality data set. The findings highlighted the increased concentration of nutrients that contribute to the presence of eutrophic conditions, while their seasonal variability is mainly due to factors, such as water level fluctuations and biological processes in the lake. The above, combined with the critical biotic indicators and factors alongside the reduction in biodiversity, indicated that only the most resistant species survive, confirming the previous finding. In Greece, systematic monitoring and reporting programs have recently been implemented, such as the ECOFRAME scheme and the guidelines proposed by the “Intercalibration Group for Mediterranean Lakes”. The water quality status could be classified as “High”, “High to Good”, and “High to Poor”, respectively, while the overall ecological assessment tends to change to poor conditions. The actions required at an early stage concern the planning of programs and actions that contribute to the sustainable management of land uses and the reduction in point sources of pollution, as well as the reduction of the applied quantities of agrochemicals on the cultivated land in the study area