Search

The continuous monitoring of total suspended solids (TSS) in streams plays an important role in the management of hydrological processes, and TSS is also a decisive parameter in the control of pollution in streams. Determination of TSS involves both a costly and time-consuming process. For this reason, there is a need to determine TSS more quickly, easily reliably, and economically. In this study, it is aimed to classify TSS concentration by using stream water surface images recorded with a mobile phone. For this purpose, the sampling studies carried out in the Lower Değirmendere Stream Watershed (Trabzon, northeast of Turkey) between June 2020 and May 2021, and the images of the stream water surface were taken and recorded with a mobile phone simultaneously with the sampling studies. The stream water surface images and TSS concentration were divided into four classification group, namely clear, turbid, very turbid, and extremely turbid and processed with deep learning method. More than 5500 stream water surface images and TSS concentration data were divided into groups as 70% training and the rest of test. This study uses eight convolutional neural network (CNN) models, including a custom CNN model designed for image classification, along with pre-existing architectures such as VGG-16, VGG-19, Inception-V3, Xception, DenseNet-121, MobileNet, and NASNet-mobile. The results revealed that the most effective ensemble model formation strategy was stacking with an accuracy rate of 87%, followed by weighted averaging, averaging, and majority voting. As a result, with the image of the stream water surface via the mobile phone camera, it can be easily determined which class the current TSS concentration belongs to instantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Trabzon has no site classification map or site-specific analyses representing the assessment earthquake hazard so far, although Trabzon had been influenced and damaged due to earthquakes that occurred particularly in the North Anatolian Fault zone both in the recent and distant past. This paper presents the site classification and analyzes the site-specific pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA) for densely populated areas of Trabzon. The coastline and the east and west edges of the city demonstrate minimum Vs30 in the overall study area from 175 to 396 m/s, respectively, which falls CD to DE class in NEHRP, and ZC to ZE in TBDY. The Vs30 of the remaining areas vary between 347 and 851 m/s, representing CD to BC in NEHRP and ZD to ZB in Turkish Building Regulation. The wide range of Vs30 is mostly due to the depth of the volcanic main rock, altered and agglomerated settings of dominant formation. The estimated PSA curves along the coast side of Trabzon including the lowest Vs30 demonstrate significantly greater spectral acceleration values than the design spectrum, particularly in TA–TB range that was used for almost whole constructions in the study area. Also, PSAs of the neighborhoods mostly classified as ZC in TDBY indicate overlapping with design spectrums and peak values are pretty close to limits. As a result, the proposed paper demonstrates that the earthquake hazard should not be underestimated, in particular considering the high possibility of well-known frequent ruptures on the east side of the North Anatolian Fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spaces must be designed in accordance with certain design principles for people to feel comfortable. In accordance with that, building ventilation is particularly important during hot periods to ensure thermal comfort. In this study, the effect of ventilation realized using a wind tower on the thermal quality of a classroom was investigated. In the study, two popular models (unidirectional and multidirectional wind tower) were studied, and the model that provided more ergonomic ventilation to sitting users based on climate conditions of the province of Trabzon (Turkey) during the month of August was determined. The more efficient model was studied further. Some dimensional changes in width, height, and shelf height were applied to it to find a model that provided more comfort for the used thermal conditions. The models were modelled and simulated using ANSYS FLUENT. Velocity distributions were generated to ease the interpretation of the results. With the calculated average wind speeds in different regions in the classroom, the thermal sensation in the space was evaluated. Furthermore, the thermal perception of users of the retained model was evaluated by entering thermal comfort parameter values calculated for the relevant region into the CBE thermal comfort tool available online. The change in the dimensional features of the wind tower had an impact on wind tower performance. Ventilation provided by wind towers under the thermal conditions of Trabzon in August often caused thermal discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While chemical weathering is the most significant geochemical process that affects the engineering behavior of rocks, the fact that authigenic soils present different values of their physical and mechanical properties depending on the depth is also directly related to weathering. Although it is known that such variation is applicable for regolith soils with thickness reaching tens of meters, significant differences can be observed through the depth of residual soils with the thickness of only a few meters. Ignoring such aspects especially in sites with a high risk of landslide leads to many engineering problems. Therefore, Trabzon Province, which has the highest potential of landslide in Turkey, has been selected as the pilot area within the scope of this study. The variations in engineering properties of regolith soils, which have a depth of up to 15 m and are weathered products of volcanic rocks, have been researched as a function of geochemical properties. For this purpose, the data collected from borehole applications, geophysical surveys, in situ cone penetration tests (CPT), and standard penetration test (SPT) as well as laboratory experiments have been evaluated; and it is observed that physico-mechanical properties are directly based on geochemical variations. While the zones with low SiO2 and high Al2O3 and Fe2O3 values are characterized with high content of clay and cohesion, depths with low S wave velocity correspond to areas with the highest chemical alteration index values and the highest degree of weathering. And high liquid limit (LL) values correspond to areas with high illite content as well as high Al2O3 and Fe2O3 values. At these depths, high friction ratio values are observed in CPT results. Obtained data indicate that physico-mechanical properties vary as a function of the depth based on geochemical properties, and this suggests that the soil in projects with regolith soils needs to be separated into different layers and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geotourism is a relatively new branch of tourism dealing with geosites, which are special places that exhibit aspects that characterize the complex history of the Earth. This contribution aims to report an inventory of features of geological interest occurring in the Çayırbağı-Çalköy area in the Eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey. Among these is Çal Cave, a site that attracts local and foreign visitors and can potentially contribute to the development of tourism in the study region. Further, there is a well-developed karstic system in the area. A number of caves and dolines in Çal-Camili Natural Park are a part of this system. There are also volcanic and volcano-sedimentary rocks outcrops in the region. Numerous forms such as dikes, pillow lava, and exfoliation structures show the formation dynamics of rocks and characterize the region. The Şahinkaya Member is among the unique places in the Eastern Pontides region, where the K–Pg boundary can be observed. Along with "pure" geological features, the region also offers visitors many other historical, cultural, and natural resources. Çal-Camili Natural Park was raised to the status of natural park for its biological (plant and wildlife) diversity and the integrity of its landscape. Rising from green forests, the white rocky structure of the Şahinkaya Member stands out against the surrounding dark landscape. The combination of valuable elements of different natures (i.e. geologic, naturalistic, historical) could allow sustainable local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the increasing urbanization and fast pace of work life, people started to turn to rural areas so as to regenerate both socially and psychologically. Increasing interest in the rural areas made the importance of landscape quality of these areas more significant. This improvement gave way to the idea of the necessity of preserving the resourceful landscape areas in terms of visual characteristics and bringing them under the spotlight, and it became the driving power in reconciling the planners and administrators. From this point of view, a study was conducted in Salacık Village of Akçaabat district of Trabzon (Turkey) in order to identify the visually resourceful landscape areas and maintain the sustainability of the resource values by preserving them. In this respect, the area was divided into seven individual landscape types, visual landscape evaluation including the opinions of the experts, and a survey that is used in planning of the rural areas was implemented. It is thought that the results attained with the evaluations made taking the principles of Gestalt theory into consideration will constitute an essential fundamental for urban and regional planners, natural resource administrators, and other planning parties in their planning decisions relating the specific area. Apart from that, among the goals of this study are contributing in the preservation of visually resourceful landscapes, maintaining their sustainability, and integration of these areas into the development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costly and time consuming testing techniques and the difficulties in providing undisturbed samples for these tests have led researchers to estimate strength parameters of soils with simple index tests. However, the paper focuses on estimation of strength parameters of soils as a function of the index properties. Analytical hierarchy process and multiple regression analysis based methodology were performed on datasets obtained from soil tests on 41 samples in Tertiary volcanic regolith. While the hierarchy model focused on determining the most important index properties affecting on strength parameters, regression analysis established meaningful relationships between strength parameters and index properties. The negative polynomial correlations between the friction angle and plasticity properties, and the positive exponential relations between the cohesion and plasticity properties were determined. These relations are characterized by a regression coefficient of 0.80. However, Terzaghi bearing capacity formulas were used to test the model. It is important to see whether there is any statistically significant relation between the calculated and the observed bearing capacity values for model testing. Based on the model, the positive linear correlation characterized by the regression coefficient of 0.86 were determined between bearing capacity values obtained by direct and indirect methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports a study of the surface and ground water in Solaklı Basin, Trabzon, from an assessment of 33 sampling points. Many of the parameters analysed are only marginally acceptable as potable water, even though the samples were collected during the wet season. The highest concentrations of contaminants were found downstream of the centres of population. The results indicate regular monitoring is required and some measures should be taken to protect the limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study is to generate a knowledge base which is composed of user-defined variables and included raster imagery, vector coverage, spatial models, external programs, and simple scalars and to develop an expert classification using Landsat 7 (ETM+) imagery for land cover classification in a part of Trabzon city. Expert systems allow for the integration of remote-sensed data with other sources of geo-referenced information such as land use data, spatial texture, and digital elevation model to obtain greater classification accuracy. Logical decision rules are used with the various datasets to assign class values for each pixel. Expert system is very suitable for the work of image interpretation as a powerful means of information integration. Landsat ETM data acquired in the year 2000 were initially classified into seven classes for land cover using a maximum likelihood decision rule. An expert system was constructed to perform post-classification sorting of the initial land cover classification using additional spatial datasets such as land use data. The overall accuracy of expert classification was 95.80%. Individual class accuracy ranged from 75% to 100% for each class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid waste collection processes are usually carried out by using trucks with diesel engine. In solid waste collection process, the trucks emit to environment different emissions from its exhausts. For this reason, in solid waste collection process, it is necessary that route optimization should be performed in order to decrease the emissions. This study was performed in Trabzon City with 39 districts, a shortest path model was used in order to optimize solid waste collection/hauling processes to minimize emission. Unless it performs route optimization in solid waste collection/hauling process, emissions increase due to empty miles negativeness. A software was used as an optimization tool. The software provided Geographical Information System (GIS) elements such as numerical pathways, demographic distribution data, container distribution data and solid waste production data. In addition, thematic container layer was having 777 points for the entire city. By using the software, the optimized route was compared with the present route. If the optimized route in solid waste collection system is used, route distance and route time will be decreased by 24.6% and 44.3% as mean of nine routes, respectively. By performing the stationary container collection process and route optimization, it is determined that CO2, NOx, HC, CO, PM emissions will be reduced 831.4, 12.8, 1.2, 0.4, 0.7 g per route, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iodine contents of soils developed over the major rock formations of the northern zone of the Eastern Pontide Tectonic Belt (Northeastern Turkey) have been investigated with respect to soil-parent rock relationship, effect of topography, elevation, and climate to construe its effect on the health of the local population. Samples were collected from the A and B horizons of the soils developed over the major stratigraphic units constituting the eastern Pontides, including the Lower Basic Complex of Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous age, the Berdiga limestone (Jurassic-lower Cretaceous), the Dagbasi granitoid (Upper Cretaceous), volcano-sedimentary sequence of Upper Cretaceous age, ore-bearing and barren dacites of Upper Cretaceous age, and Neogene alkaline basalts. Chemical analyses of soil samples indicate significantly lower iodine abundances for all the soils studied (5–28 ppm) in comparison to the average abundance of iodine in analogous soils of other parts of the world (22–93 ppm). The concentration of iodine in soils developed over the same geologic formation decrease with increasing elevation. In certain cases, this decrease may reach up to 70%. Goiter is highly common throughout this region in Turkey. The results of this study suggest that the iodine deficiency of region’s soils may be a principal underlying cause for this area of Turkey being an endemic goiter region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the Industrial Revolution, rapid urbanization brought about many socio-economic, physical, and cultural problems. The concept of urban transformation has come to the fore as a solution to these emerging troubles. Especially since 1980, in Turkey, like other developing countries, the concept of urban transformation has only been evaluated as an economic standpoint ignoring the social and spatial dimensions of that area and the quality of life of people residing in the area. Therefore, the necessity of these socially accessible areas where individuals can regenerate themselves in spiritual and physical terms has increased even more. However, when the urban transformation projects are put into practice, the needs and demands of the users are not taken into account; moreover, there are no studies showing the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the users following the implementation. In the current study, satisfaction/dissatisfaction levels of the users were determined by asserting the user profile of Zağnos Valley, which is the first urban transformation area of Trabzon. In the valley, which is an important air corridor and a recreation area for Trabzon, questionnaires were implemented through face-to-face interview technique. Factor analysis was carried out in order to reveal the socio-demographic characteristics, space usage trends, and spatial usage characteristics of the users. In order to measure satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels, the determined criteria were weighted on a 5-point Likert scale and frequency distributions were examined. In this way, solution proposals have been made in order to increase the level of satisfaction and remediate the level of dissatisfaction of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]