Mass movements or mass wasting is being consid- ered as one of the severe forms of natural disasters. Iran is geographically located in the Alps-Himalaya seismicity belt. It has a high potential to mass wasting. This seismic phenomenon creates landslides and rock falls in the high mountains of Alborz and Zagros. These mass movements and various types of slides can be systematically assessed and mapped through traditional mapping frameworks using geo- information technologies. The geo-information-based tech- nology offers the earth scientist to study and map various types of mass movement and stability of slopes. In this study, we used field data coupling with the tectonic-related factors to provide a solution for slope-related hazards. Firstly, various geological and geomorphological factors such as lineaments andfaults, vegetation, lithology,slope,drainage,landuse/land cover, seismicity and roads network were extracted and compiled using geo-information technology. This is because the factors mentioned above play important role in the instability of the region. Then, the study area was divided into four regions based on the rate of mass wasting and its degree of vulnerability. The results of this study showed that the erosion in Karaj formation is severe. Additionally, this research also reveals that the hydrothermal solutions caused by the erosional activities have influenced the glassy element of tuffs and subsequently changed into the clays. This change has caused the tuffs to be relatively unstable. Further, it is evident that the chemical and physical weathering has had a big impact on it whilst most of the mass wasting has occurred within the unstable tuffs of Karaj formation. Finally, the paper concluded that the recent construction of the new roads in the region has increased the potential danger for generating the mass wastes and thus makes the region more unstable.

A recent scenario of mass wasting and its impact on the transportation in Alborz Mountains, Iran using geo-information technology

Arabia-Eurasia convergence is achieved in north-west Zagros by a combination of shortening on NW-SE-trending folds and thrusts, mainly in the Zagros Structural Belt, and by right-lateral strike-slip on the NW-SE-trending Main Recent Fault. Structural patterns are often used as indicators of major features on the surface. In the present study, Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) data from 9 November 2002 was digitally processed to enhance the structural patterns. The contrast stretching of ETM band 4 was found to be the best in displaying lineaments and folds for the area, hence was further processed by using directional filters and generating different combinations of false colour composites (FCCs). Finally, a structural map of the study area (Dezful-Brojerd) was prepared using the processed ETM images. This study indicates that the Landsat ETM data are useful for locating and interpretation of the structural features in the Zagros Structural Belt. Examination of the Landsat ETM 2002 images combined wi...

Geological applications of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) data and Geographic Information System (GIS): mapping and structural interpretation in south-west Iran, Zagros Structural Belt

Estimation of soil erosion using USLE and GIS in Awassa Catchment, Rift valley, Central Ethiopia

Understanding and assessing the landslides is immensely important to scientists and policy-makers alike. Remote sensing conventional methods and modelling approaches in geographical information system (GIS) tend to be limited to authentic quality and spatial coverage. This study aims to identify challenges and quality of landslides assessment based on remotely sensed data by the mean of existing works of the literature and practices we attempted in the Zagros and Alborz Mountains in Iran and the red rock shield Lake, China. Remote sensing data for landslides investigations require a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) from either aerial photography, satellite images, airborne laser scanning (ALS) or terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) derived in order to enable a reliable and valid output performance. This paper presents weaknesses and strengths of the existing remote sensing techniques in the last decades and further provides recommendations for a reliable approach to the fu...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19475705.2016.1238850

Landslides investigations from geoinformatics perspective: quality, challenges, and recommendations

The tribulations of water quality have become more serious than the quantity, as the environmental evils are getting more severe day by day in different parts of the world. Large number of components like soil, geology, sewage disposal, effluents and other environmental conditions in which the water tends to reside or move and interact with ground and biological characteristics, greatly persuade the groundwater quality. Therefore, hydrochemical study has been carried out graphically and spatially in GIS environment in part of Bundelkhand Massif. The hydrochemical study exposes the water quality by measuring the concentration of parameters and comparing them with the drinking water and irrigation standards. Groundwater samples have been collected and analysed for physiochemical characteristics in order to understand the hydrochemistry of the water. The results revealed that ground water is alkaline in nature and total hardness observed in all samples falls under moderately hard to very hard category. At some places higher concentration of Cl− could be dangerous from health point of view. Major hydrochemical facies were identified using Piper Trilinear diagram and Durov diagrams, etc. Analysis of different determinations such as sodium adsorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate and per cent sodium revealed that most of the samples are unsuitable for irrigation. It was also observed that the quality of groundwater was not suitable for drinking purpose in industrial and irrigation area. In the area, few sampling sites showed unsuitability because of influences of urban and industrial waste discharge, aquifer material mineralogy, other anthropogenic activities and increased human interventions.

/pdf/hydrochemical-characteristics-and-spatial-analysis-of-2mr774xbu8.pdf

Hydrochemical characteristics and spatial analysis of groundwater quality in parts of Bundelkhand Massif, India

The authors present the results of a study of the geomorphology of the tectonically active Zagros Structural Belt (ZSB) of southwestern Iran. More specifically the tectonic structure of the ZSB is examined using a digital elevation model (DEM) constructed from Landsat-5 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) bands 7-4-1 and ground truth. The emphasis was on detecting net erosion rates and constructing a graded profile of the Dez River that indicates that the area has been tectonically disturbed. Three topographic profiles were plotted on the DEM that are approximately perpendicular to the NW-SE direction of the Zagros main trend. Based on the initial landform shape, topography, and initial folding, net erosion rates of the study were calculated.

Sayyed Ahmad Ali

Papers

Remote Sensing and GIS Study of Tectonics and Net Erosion Rates in the Zagros Structural Belt, Southwestern Iran