Environmental Service Learning Programs in the United Arab Emirates: Impacts on Environmental Awareness and Civic Engagement

Environmental Service Learning Programs in the United Arab Emirates: Impacts on Environmental Awareness and Civic Engagemen

Evaporation losses and dispersion of volatile organic compounds from tank farms

© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. The present study is an application of a Gaussian dispersion model to evaluate volatilization losses from tank farms. It reports methodology to estimate evaporation losses of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from organic liquid in storage tanks. This study used fixed roof and floating roof equations for breathing and working losses. Total loss, the breathing loss, vapor pressure, molecular weight of the product, tank diameter, diurnal temperature, paint factor, tank capacity, and number of turnovers were considered and factored in the calculation. AERMOD and ALOHA softwares were used to simulate the dispersion of VOCs under normal and accidental scenarios. For the modeling purposes, meteorological data such as annual average ambient temperature, annual average atmospheric pressure, daily minimum ambient temperature, daily maximum ambient temperature, solar insulation factor, and average wind speed were included as input in the calculation and modeling activities. The study took place in Sharjah Emirate in United Arab Emirates, which borders Dubai to the south and Ajman to the north, and the three form a conurbation. The reported method was used to estimate evaporation losses for baseline and hypothetical leak scenarios. Results of this research show that liquid storage tanks in the study area emit a low concentration of VOC under the studied and assumed conditions, e.g., new tanks with high performance sealing as well as the noted earlier climatic conditions. The dispersion of those concentrations is controlled by the prevailing wind direction. The predicted VOCs concentrations were within the range of the measured VOCs values in air. The study found that the spatial distributions of the predicted concentration attenuate with time and distance. Under the reported accidental spill scenario, the Gaussian model indicates that the danger area starts within the zone of less than 10 m. The danger area is subjected to flame pockets, and the VOC concentrations in this area will exceed 19,800 ppm

On The future of energy and resource security in the United Arab Emirates

The UAE is making notable progress in diversifying its economy through tourism, trade, and manufacturing. However, in the near term, oil, natural gas, and associated industries will continue to account for the majority of economic activity. Rising gas demand from power stations and industrial users such as petrochemical makers and steel manufacturers has turned the UAE into a net gas importer in the past decade, triggering multi-billion dollar investments into nuclear power and renewables. This paper looks into the patterns of energy production and consumption in the UAE in the context the changing nature of global energy markets. The paper will analyze current and proposed national energy initiatives, and assess their impacts on the future of the country. The research analyzed a wide range of statistics obtained from various sources to highlight the current situation and predicts some future scenarios. The study also adhered SWOT analyses of the energy scene in UAE and examined the impact of some external factors. The demand for electricity in the UAE, which is almost exclusively generated from natural gas-fired power plants, is set to rise at a rate of about 9 percent per annum through to 2020

Environmental service-learning in the United Arab Emirates: Is it mediated by the effects of biographical and demographical variables?

© 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This study evaluates environmental service-learning in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in relation to demographic variables and students\u27 characteristics. A diverse group of school and community sites were recruited. Statistical analysis was performed between the final attitude index scores and demographic variables. UAE citizens were found to have a more positive attitude toward the environment than others. Educational level and age were also significantly associated with final attitude index scores. Participants aged 18–22 years scored significantly higher (p \u3c 0.003) than those who were younger than 18 years and older than 22 years

Statistical analysis and estimation of the regional trend of aerosol size over the Arabian Gulf Region during 2002-2016

© 2018 The Author(s). In this article, we present the results of the regional estimation of the evolution of monthly mean aerosol size over the Arabian Gulf Region, based on the data collected during the period July 2002 - September 2016. The dataset used is complete, without missing values. Two methods are introduced for this purpose. The first one is based on the partition of the regional series in sub-series and the selection of the most representative one for fitting the regional trend. The second one is a version of the first method, combined with the k-means clustering algorithm. Comparison of their performances is also provided. The study proves that both methods give a very good estimation of the evolution of the aerosol size in the Arabian Gulf Region in the study period

Magnetized suspended carbon nanotubes based nanofluid flow with bio-convection and entropy generation past a vertical cone

© 2019, The Author(s). The captivating attributes of carbon nanotubes (CNT) comprising chemical and mechanical steadiness, outstanding electrical and thermal conductivities, featherweight, and physiochemical consistency make them coveted materials in the manufacturing of electrochemical devices. Keeping in view such exciting features of carbon nanotubes, our objective in the present study is to examine the flow of aqueous based nanofluid comprising single and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) past a vertical cone encapsulated in a permeable medium with convective heat and solutal stratification. The impacts of heat generation/absorption, gyrotactic-microorganism, thermal radiation, and Joule heating with chemical reaction are added features towards the novelty of the erected model. The coupled differential equations are attained from the partial differential equations by exercising the local similarity transformation technique. The set of conservation equations supported by the associated boundary conditions are worked out numerically by employing bvp4c MATLAB function. The sway of numerous appearing parameters in the analysis on the allied distributions is scrutinized and the fallouts are portrayed graphically. The physical quantities of interest including Skin friction coefficient, the rate of heat and mass transfers are assessed versus essential parameters and their outcomes are demonstrated in tabulated form. It is witnessed that the velocity of the fluid decreases for boosting values of the magnetic and suction parameters in case of both nanotubes. Moreover, the density of motile microorganism is decreased versus larger estimates of bio-convection constant. A notable highlight of the presented model is the endorsement of the results by matching them to an already published material in the literature. A venerable harmony in this regard is achieved

Assessing the groundwater quality in the liwa area, the united arab emirates

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Last period groundwater quality raises big concerns all over the world since it is a limited source of drinkable water and for agricultural and industrial use. While the suitability of the groundwater of Liwa aquifer (Abu Dhabi Emirate) for agricultural use has been previously partially studied, not all the water parameters have been taken into account. Therefore, in this paper, we propose the study of 42 concentrations series of 19 groundwater parameters. We test the hypothesis that the water parameters series recorded at different locations are similar and group the samples in clusters. The main parameters that determine the differences between the clusters are determined by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Finally, we use a quality index for assessing the water suitability for drinking. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of using more than one technique to evaluate water quality for different purposes and to cross-validate the results

The knowledge and practice of workers toward occupational hazards: Case study from United Arab Emirates

© 2017, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved. The focus of this investigation is to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of workers on occupational health and safety issues in the industrial town of Mussafah, United Arab Emirates. A combination of personnel interviews in conjunction with t-test and logistic regressions were used to assess the KAP of the workers. Around 98% of the survey results indicate that the computed p-value of the responses is greater than the significance level alpha = 0.05, hence the null hypothesis H0 of the test of normality cannot be rejected. The risk to reject the null hypothesis H0 while it is true ranges 77.86% to 99%. The study revealed that there is an overall low awareness of health and safety issues among the studied sample. This therefore makes the workers generally more susceptible to accidents. Results have also shown that 48% of the managers were aware of the hazards taking place at their facilities, and 42.6% of them knew the possible harmful effects from their industrial processes. In terms of the health considerations of the visited sites, 55% of the workers were unaware about it and 48% of them rarely used their given protective equipment. The present study indicates the education level and years of experience did not impact the practices. The results have shown the need for training programs to build the capacity of workers in the field of health and safety

The application of narrow-band NDVI as a tool for mapping mangrove environment in Abu Dhabi

© 2017 ACM. The overall utility of a visible/near infrared images and spectral profiles has several advantages and applications in environmental and ecosystem investigations. In the present paper, a close-range remote-sensing technique is used for assessing algal communities within the sabkha environment. The area is partially covered by mangrove trees and has salt at areas without visible algal mat. Other locations have dark brown and green patches of algae especially in the supratidal area. Those considered as the most important organisms living in the sabkha habitat. Visible and infrared electromagnetic bands were used to characterize productivity, biomass, and distribution of the algal communities in the sabkha environment. To accomplish this, the study tested the use of the well-documented ratio of near-infrared (NIR; 800nm) to red (670nm) reflectance in order to characterize the living component in the Sabkha area of Abu Dhabi. Multispectral visible/Near Infrared camera was used to collect images from the area of interest. The reported analysis characterized two types of algae; namely active and non-active algae. The active algea has high near-infrared (NIR) band reflectance and lower red band reflectance. However, inactive algea has low NIR band reflectance and higher Red band reflectance. The study also reported field observations, computer vision approach and remote sensing indicators that are useful in order to study the relation between spectral reflectivity and algal characteristics