Iran and the Role of Transit Corridors in the South Caucasus in the Context of the War against Ukraine

The Russian war against Ukraine, the extensive Western sanctions against Russia, the blockade of the east-west transit corridors through Russian territory, including the various China-Central Asia-Russia-Europe transit corridors and the Northern Corridor branch of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), that traverse Eurasia have impacted on new dynamics of the three corridors through the South Caucasus: the 'Middle Corridor', the 'International North-South Transport Corridor' (INSTC), and the 'Persian Gulf-Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor' (ITC). While neither Iran nor Russia play a role in the 'Middle Corridor' as it bypasses the two countries, Tehran and Moscow (as well as Baku) are very active in the INSTC. Furthermore, Iran aims to play an active role in the ITC in collaboration with Armenia, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. In general, Iran seeks to establish a 'transit balance' in the South Caucasus region as part of its 'balanced foreign policy approach' framework; the challenges and constraints it has faced in this process will be examined in this article

Investigation of spatial distribution and optimal site selection of fire station in Iran- a case study of Tehran township using GIS (AHP model)

Fire fighting station are one of the elements of public security in the city. to make them have the supposed role in public security; we should look at different urban facilities in detail and lend the city structure as a whole. Appropriate site selection of firefighting stations is one of the most important obligations of the city planners, which should be carefully planned and implemented. Better site selection is meant to avoid waste of resources in one hand and better capability of the stations on the other hand. In this research, best sites for the construction of new stations and moving of those stations with improper location in Tehran city has been studied. First, conceptual model of the study was defined, then, spatial layers and other information about site selection of the stations collected. In the next session Analytical Hierarchy process used to assign weights to spatial layers. This process was done based on the expert's views and pair wise compaction method. After collection of expert views and in order to avoid wrong views, judgment compatibility amounts were calculated. After accepting of CR values, these weights used in future analyses. Network analysis, one of GIS spatial functions, used to find best routes from fire stations to affected area and service area of each station. Based on the analyses of this section and field checks, gave good attitude in terms of stations functionality. Regarding to the locations of existing stations, new stations proposed using a moving widow on the potential sites map

Geographical information systems and urban management

GIS represents a working technique more and more useful for contemporary world both in the field of theoretical research and in very many practical activities. In fact, GIS introduction, their storing, interpretation and analysis is done by means of the computer, the result being mainly the ability to see some complex information, spatially differentiated in comparison to real geographical coordinates. Secondly, GIS techniques allow combining information of different types (figures, images, maps), hardware and software components, all being under the direct coordination and determination of the human component, in order to make analyses and correlations of great complexity. Management of urban space requires spatial accurate information from the design of applied changes of urban lands and survey of these changes is also important for users and urban managers. For this purpose, GIS has been useful tools for scientific analysis which gives information about changes and converge of ground surface to the urban managers for its optimal use

Analyzing spatiotemporal relationship between land use changes and groundwater quantity in Hamedan north plains (Iran)

Perceiving the spatiotemporal relationship of land use changes and groundwater resources is crucial for the effective and sustainable management of the plains. This study aims to investigate the relationship between land use changes and groundwater depth fluctuations in the forbidden plains of northern Hamedan. In the present study, the land use maps for 1989, 1997, 2005, 2013 and 2018 were extracted and categorized from Landsat satellite images and then evaluated for accuracy. In addition, groundwater depth distribution maps were prepared by kriging method for five years from piezometric data. The correlation and relationship between land use changes and groundwater depth fluctuations were determined by REGRESS methods. The findings from kriging method indicated that the intensity of groundwater decline during the last three periods of study (2005, 2013 and 2018) becomes more severe in the study area. Land use change trends indicate a sharp decline in the orchards, pasture lands, barren lands and a relative decline in the irrigated agricultural land, and consequently, increasing in non-irrigation and residential farmland. In addition, the average annual depth of groundwater level during the past 29 years decreased to 1.57 m and 0.87 m in the Kabudrahang and Razan Plains, respectively. The r value of REGRESS method during five study periods was the minimum 0.015 and maximum 0.15 in the Kabudrahang Plain and minimum 0.06 and maximum 0.15 in the Razan Plain, respectively. The results of the study indicated that climate changes cannot be considered as the reason for declining the groundwater in the study area. However, along with the relative impacts of land use changes, the role of managerial factors, the prominent example of which is the non-expert location of the Shahid Mofatteh Hydroelectric Power Station, which supplies underground water to cool the generators, should be considered. The present study can be effective in the management, planning, and policy of groundwater resources, land use location, and spatial planning in the areas facing severe water shortages, especially in the northern plains of Hamedan because this study indicates the importance of underground water in arid and semi-arid regions

Study of Shock Ignition Approach in Heavy Ion Fusion of Reactor-size DT Target

The ignition of pre-compressed fuel by convergent shock wave, as a new approach in inertial confinement fusion that is known as shock ignition is considered with the aim of achieving high gain and providing threshold of ignition in lower energy. In this research, optimization of the energy of individual ions in the beam according to the hydrodynamic efficiency and target energy gain in a five-layer fuel pellet of nuclear fusion reactor size with heavy ion beam by one-dimensional code, DEIRA4. Then with substitution of the box pulse by three-stage pulse in shock ignition, the power and time of each phase are optimized and the energy consumption, fuel hydrodynamic efficiency and Rayleigh–Taylor instability is investigated. Calculations show that in optimal target with DT fuel, by applying three-stage pulse by heavy ion beam 207Pb, target energy gain is 542 corresponding to 21% increasing in energy efficiency and 19% decreasing in deriver energy. Also the decreasing of implosion velocity and e-fold parameter shows, the hydrodynamic instabilities in shock ignition is less than central ignition

Augstakas lauksaimniecibas izglitibas un lauksaimniecibas mehanizacijas zinatnes attistibas tendences 20. gs. pirmaja puse

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Russia’s War against Ukraine: Connectivity and Disruption in the South Caucasus

Connectivity and disruption are key elements in analysing the impact of the Russian large-scale war against Ukraine on the South Caucasus. Laurence Broers analyses the simplified, securitised and conservative thinking about connectivity in the South Caucasus. For Katja Kalkschmied, China’s interest in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has increased. Vali Kaleji argues that the security balance in the South Caucasus has shifted away from Iran. With a focus on Armenia and Azerbaijan, Stefan Meister argues that there is an ongoing reshuffle of the regional security balance and geopolitical interests in the South Caucasus.Konnektivität und Disruption sind Schlüsselelemente bei der Analyse der Auswirkungen des groß angelegten russischen Krieges gegen die Ukraine auf den Südkaukasus. Laurence Broers analysiert das vereinfachte, sicherheitsorientierte und konservative Denken über Konnektivität im Südkaukasus. Für Katja Kalkschmied hat Chinas Interesse an der transkaspischen internationalen Transportroute zugenommen. Vali Kaleji argumentiert, dass sich das Sicherheitsgleichgewicht im Südkaukasus weg vom Iran verschoben hat. Stefan Meister vertritt mit Blick auf Armenien und Aserbaidschan die Auffassung, dass sich das regionale Sicherheitsgleichgewicht und die geopolitischen Interessen im Südkaukasus derzeit neu ordnen.ISSN:1867-932