Desertification is the reduction of ecologic and biologic on the earth surface, which might happen naturally or unnaturally (human). In this research, the TM and ETM images were used to study changes occurred in sand dunes during last 11 years and for determining the type of clay minerals. For evaluation of changes, maximum likelihood image classification and LMM, methods are carried out. Accor...

The objectives of this study were to determine the nature (aeolian vs. alluvial) and origin of sandy sediments in southwestern Iran (Khuzestan province) were collected in two transects across (NW-SE directions) and perpendicular to the Karkheh River, by using grain sized distribution characteristics, and the mineralogy and micro-texture of quartz grains of forty-five surface samples (0-30cm) at...

The surface area of the individual phyllosilicates (clay minerals) in Athabasca oil sands determined from XRD crystallite size measurements was found to be comparable to the bulk surface area measured by ethylene glycol monoethyl ether adsorption. The primary phyllosilicates are kaolin and illite but the large surface area is imparted by varying degrees of smectitic interstratifications in the ...

Abstract The hardfill embankments are composed of cemented sand-gravel (CSG) mixtures. In some cases, however, sand and gravel used in the mixture contain fine-grained fraction. This paper aimed to study mechanical behavior microstructure CSG mixtures which base soil contains particles with different plasticity specifications. Various contents kaolinite bentonite were added a sand-cement cement...

We investigated the particle size distribution of radiocesium in riverbed sediments after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Riverbed sediments were collected in the Abukuma River system in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures. The collected sediments were separated into 11 fractions, ranging from granular size (>2000 μm) to clay size (<2 μm) fractions. Cesium-137 concentrations we...

A 500 km long network of valleys extends from Herschel crater to Gale, Knobel, and Sharp craters. The mineralogy and timing of fluvial activity in these watersheds provide a regional framework for deciphering the origin of sediments of Gale crater’s Mount Sharp, an exploration target for the Curiosity rover. Olivine-bearing bedrock is exposed throughout the region, and its erosion contributed t...