Description: Though neotectonic activity is believed to be the major factor in the evolution of the topography of the Ejina Basin in Central Asia, detailed documentation and analysis of climatic landscape features and their environmental implications are lacking. The present study is a site-specific documentation of landforms developed in the wide part of the Ejina Basin, with the aim to identify the climatic landforms based on the method of climatic geomorphology and to evaluate its landscape evolution and response to palaeoclimate changes. The morphodynamics of older landscapes are recognized by making comparison with the present climate and its corresponding landscapes. Clear evidences testifying the basin-scale shifting and transformation of different morphoclimatic zones in the basin are observed, which prove that the main geomorphic unit is changed from an alluvial-lacustrine plain to a desert plain. The coexistence of diverse landscapes and the consequent geomorphodiversity in the basin should be a compound result of surficial processes other than glaciations. The climate and hydrological conditions of the basin during the last glaciation and during the Early Holocene were much better than at present, possibly having an average annual precipitation ranged between 60~350 mm on   the basin during ca. 39-23 ka BP but great fluctuations during Holocene. The periods of lower aridity during the late Pleistocene in the bain could be induced by an increase of the westerlies and a weakening of the Asian winter monsoon on the arid areas of the central Asia.

Description: Satellite communications, in telecommunications, the use of satellite can provide communications links between various points on the earth. Typical satellite communication is composed of a communication satellite, a signal transmitter and a signal receiver. As the signal transmitter or the signal receiver, an earth station plays a vital role in the satellite communications. Accurately adjustment of antenna azimuth, elevation and polarization angles on the earth station is the key to satellite communications. In the present paper, a study of polarization tracking of earth station is presented, and a detailed adjustment procession of the polarization angle is given. Combing with observation series of MEASAT-2 satellite in geostationary orbit, the polarization tracking accuracy is verified. The method can be embeded into computer program of antenna polarization adjustment in earth station.

Description: Soils formed from Ebonyi formation in south eastern Nigeria were mapped and classified for effective management and sustainable land use. The soil mapping was executed by combination of conventional method, soil landscape relationship and spatial analyses in GIS environ using digital terrain model to produce the soil map of Ikwo Local Government in Ebonyi State at a scale of 1:50,000. The soils were characterized and classified for effective soil management based on results of analyses of soils sampled from profile pits. The results show four mapping units based on the geology which comprises mainly sandstone, silt stone, shale and river alluvium parent materials. The major soils mapped include Typic Udifluvent, Aquertic Udifluvent, Typic dystrudept and Ultic Udifluvent. The morphology shows influence of low Ca:Mg ratio and high clay content in the subsoil (〉30%) consequent ponding and hydromorphic soils. Soil quality is low to moderate based on pH and of between 4.14 to 5.19 which decreased down the profile. This also explains decrease of base saturation in some pedons. (16.84 and 98.17%). The acidic and anaerobic condition of some of the profiles must have aided the Fe/Mn movement to form Fe/Mn nodules at the base of some of the profiles. Bi genetic processes was involved in the lowlands including cummulization and gleization with formation of alluvium at the upper horizons with little stratification of the underlain parent materials due to combination of ecto/endo saturation. Other processes include Ferruginisation at break of slope and in situ formation of soils with high clay and silt content in areas with geohydrology setting of marine sedimentation of marl. The combination of poorly bedded shales, siltstones and limestone highly influenced formation of multifaceted terrain with rolling to undulating uplands and flood plains at the lowlands.

Description: Major and trace elements of ninety-two coastal beach sands samples, collected along the San’in region of southwest Japan, were determined by X-ray fluorescence to define their geochemical characteristics. These included Yamaguchi (n=27), Shimane (n=50), and Tottori (n=15) beach sands samples. Data of beach sands from Shimane and Tottori normalised averages show approaching patterns　relative to the upper crust of the Japan arc UCJAN, and upper continental crust UCCN, reflecting the composition of the source rocks that dominate their watersheds. In contrast the normalised patterns for most elements of Yamaguchi beach sands samples are less than 1 except for CaO, Sr, and Th. The primary component of beach sands from Shimane is quartz, or silica (SiO 2 ), Sands from Tottori are composed essentially of weathered particles of feldspar, and in contrast components of biogenic and quartz-rich sands from Yamaguchi are primarily shell fragments, quartz, and igneous rock.

Description: Conventional towed streamer seismic acquisition has proven highlyeffective over the years for 3D subsurface imaging. However, in areas wherewater depths are too shallow or where there are too many obstacles for streameroperations, seabed seismic sensors have, in some cases, been employed as analternative to image the subsurface. Apart from seabed seismic acquisitionbeing extremely expensive compared to surface streamer, seabed seismic data areseverely affected by receiver ghosts generated by water column reverberation.We present an improved method of summing the pressure (hydrophone data) and verticalgeophone (geophone data) data to reduce the deleterious effects of ghosts andwater column reverberations in a seabed seismic data acquired at water depthsranging from 21.1m to 40.0m in the Niger Delta. The method is based on the separationof up and down-going wavefields from the geophone and hydrophone data, andprovides an efficient noise rejection and amplitude preservation in the summeddata.

Description: Research activities close to the south western edge of the coastal line has shown inland extension of deep oceanic features identified as regional fault zones. This research work focused on mapping of inland extension of Chain Fault zones into the south-western part of Nigeria using both satellite images and aeromagnetic intensity map over a 55 km by 55 km Ifon Basement-Sedimentary area. The area is a transition zone between the south-western basement complex and sedimentary basin of the south-western Nigeria. Interpretations of magnetic field over the area revealed intra-sedimentary features identified as fault zone which form an alignment and inland extension pattern with the offshore Chain fault zone. On the account of the qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the acquired aeromagnetic data, the Landsat-ETM+ multi-spectral bands and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the topography of the area, the evidence of inter-sedimentary tectonic events are recorded in the geomorphic characteristics of the study area’s terrain in relation to the underlying influence of geology and structural trends revealed by extracted lineaments. From geophysical and geomorphologic interpretations, the observed geomorphic characteristics show three physiographical areas: the northern uplifted block (connection of a series of hills cut by deep-sided valleys), the central SW-NE trending subsided block (or graben) and the southern uplifted block. This geomorphic pattern of a series of flat and highly undulating terrain broken by a series of deep valleys and hills is believed to be related to rifting arising from the influence of the transform fault zones, which subdivide the area into smaller units. The rift valleys in the area are long, deep valleys bounded by parallel faults, or fractures. In addition, the predominant SW/NE, SE/NW and E-W trending linear structures mapped as fracture/faults cut the basement and penetrated the overlying Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments in the study area. Key word: Chain Fault zones, transform faults, rifting, inter-sedimentary tectonics, south-western Nigeria Embayment.

Description: Strings have been recorded in the laboratory (Tahan 2011). The responsible string experimentation method involves a symmetry breaking that permits access to a fifth dimension of gravitons and superpartners (Tahan 2012, 2013, 2014). The symmetry breaking can be thought opposite to traditional understanding since it introduces superparticles to the Standard Model visible sector.

Description: Water-resource deficits have led to the need for artificial groundwater-recharge techniques to provide drinking water for rural communities in southeastern Kazakhstan, especially those with a small number of inhabitants. The Kishi-Tobe settlement located in the Karatal agricultural area on the right bank of the Karatal River in southeastern Kazakhstan has severe water-supply shortages. In this study, the groundwater-flow model MODFLOW was used to simulate complex hydrogeological and irrigation conditions for a quantitative assessment of artificial groundwater recharge from infiltration pools. The aim of these pools was to solve the water shortage in the Kishi-Tobe settlement. New findings showed that the maximum rate of artificial groundwater recharge from the infiltration pool can reach 1000 m 3 day ?1 , corresponding to an infiltration rate of 0.2 m day ?1 , which creates a groundwater mound with a radius of around 500 m from the center of the pool. The groundwater mound also serves as a hydrodynamic barrier, preventing inflow of contaminated groundwater from irrigated fields and rice checks to the pumping wells. The potential rate of groundwater pumping from two water-supply wells can reach up to 7350 m 3 day ?1 over 10 years, providing a maximum drawdown in the wells of about 24 m. The water required by the Kishi-Tobe settlement can be supplied at a rate of 864 m 3 day ?1 , achieving both available drawdowns by the end of the forecast period and balanced provision of the groundwater resource.

Description: Geophagy is the practice of deliberate consumption of soil and clay deposits by humans, birds and other animalsin the wild. It is closely related to pica, a classified eating disorder characterized by abnormal cravings fornon-food items. The focus of this work is to determine the compositional characteristics of the geophagic claysconsumed around Asaba, Benin, Ibadan and Aramoko-Ekiti areas in southern Nigeria in order to get an insightinto the role these clay constituents play in geophagy. This study includes XRD aided mineralogicaldetermination, chemical analysis of major and trace elements using ICP-MS instrumentation, physical testsincluding determination of Atterberg limits. Biological parameters such as the bacteriological content andnutritional value were also determined from in situ samples of geophagic clays. X-ray diffraction analysis of tenrepresentative samples collected from these areas show mineralogical composition of predominantly kaolinitewith minor palygorskite, nontronite, illite, K-feldspar and halloysite, while the nonclay fraction is mainly quartz..The relatively high percentage of fine grained kaolinite content in the geophagic clays is similar to that inkaolinite-based western medicines that are marketed for the purpose of alleviating gastrointestinal upsets. Thischaracteristic is also revealed in the chemical analysis of the study samples which show average values of majorelements such Si02 (50.9%), Al2O3 (25.4%) and Fe2O3 (2.9%); while MgO, P2O5 and Ba are all below 0.5%. Thebacteriological analysis shows high total bacteria count of 9.8 x 104 – 11.4 x 104 cfu/gm for the Asaba sampleswhile the Benin and Aramoko-Ekiti samples have an average total bacterial count of 2.1 x 104. Cfu/gm TheIbadan samples have the lowest total bacteria count of 0.2 x 104. cfu/gm. The low total bacteria count of theIbadan sample may be due to the baking of the sample before consumption as against samples from Asaba,consumed fresh. Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus acidiophilus are the two micro-organisms common toall samples. Analysis for nutritional value indicates that geophagic clays have little or no nutritional value forhumans. Results of this study show that the rich kaolinite content of these clays could serve as an antacid, whilebacteriological and trace element content reveals the harmful effect of these clays on consumers.

Description: Reviewer Acknowledgements for Earth Science Research, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015