Journal of Engineering Geology

---

In order to assess mineralogical composition influence on durability and strength of rocks, four samples of hornfelsic rocks were selected from southern and western parts of the city of Hamedan, west of Iran. These rock samples were subjected to mineralogical, physical and mechanical tests in the laboratory. Also, they were evaluated in 15 cycles of slake-durability testing in different pH of sulfuric acid solutions and XRD analysis. Based on the results, the type and amount of minerals, their density and hardness had an influence on the uniaxial compressive strength and the slake durability index of tested rocks. That means, presence of non-dissolved minerals such as graphite in studied rocks, decreases Unconfined Compressing Strength (UCS) but increases the slake durability index. The results of slake-durability test indicated that weight loss of the samples at initial cycles was found to be higher than the end cycles. Also, in these samples, initial minerals in the fresh samples were not exchanged by secondary minerals such as clay minerals. Therefore Hamedan hornfelsic rocks are approximately resistant when were put under accelerated chemical weathering and degradation in the laboratory and natural chemical weathering.

---

Mountains are usually formation origin of their neighbor land surface features such as hillsides and plains. some problems and errors may occur in application of RS technique for generation of geology maps and in separation of these units from other similar units. The main objective of this study is to integrate RS and geomorphology approaches for identification of different geomorphology units and finally separation of debris lime stones from massive lime stones in Bahadoran region, Yazd province. For this purpose, a Landsat ETM⁺ image was acquired together with band ratios, principal component analysis and factor analysis approaches to generate lime stone distribution map. Results of this study show that (integration of RS and geomorphology sciences) can better generate the lime stone distribution map compared with the first one

---

Objective of the present research is to identify, analyze, and assess risk of Paveroud Dam during construction phase. Following collection and analysis of the information related to environmental conditions of the area of study and technical specifications of dam construction, a list of probable risk factors was prepared in the form of a questionnaire, and for verification, the questionnaires were provided to a group of specialists consisting of elites and professors specialized at the disciplines relevant to environment and civil engineering. Number of questionnaires was determined based on Cochran’s formula. In the first step, the expert group in the research was asked to score in Likert scale format so as to analyze the acquired responses and the risks present in the region. Having analyzed the scores using the findings of PHA method, TOPSIS technique was applied to prioritize the identified risks of Paveroud Dam. The results indicated that erosion had the highest priority among 36 risk factors. After prioritization among the risk factors, risk was also assessed using RAM-D technique in which “impact on Sorkhabad Protected Zone with 9 scores, “erosion” with 6 scores, and “work at high elevation” with 3 scores were recognized as three major risks of Paveroud Dam. In order to mitigate the effects of dam risks during construction phase, environmental management planning is crucial, and for this purpose, risk mitigation choices were recommended at the end aimed at coping with the identified risks.

---

The Sharbyan river is located in the Sharbyan village, Sarab, East Azarbaijan province. This river alluvials are supplied from rock units belonging to Oligo-miocene and Miocene, including conglomerate, sandy lime, limestone, marl and shale. These deposits are used as raw materials of producing hot asphalt in two asphalt plants that have been built in the vicinity of this river, and the produced asphalt is used mainly in the neighbor provinces that have rather cold climate. Combined analysis of the sediments indicate high level of silica, around 60 percent, for which  the prepared asphalt  is prone to stripping phenomenon in the cold seasons. During this process, the moisture penetration in aggregates and asphalt mixtures, causes weakening bitumen-asphalt materials bounding and finally asphalt demolition.  The role of sediments and its impact on the quality of asphalt has not been studied in this area, therefore, the solutions for dealing with this phenomenon is also examined and presented. This study is based on the conventional sedimentology methods, different standards of ASTM, AASHTO and Ministry of Roads and Urban Development guidelines. In this study, the combined effects of hydrated lime (lime filler) and natural filter materials with different proportions was used to deal with the stripping phenomenon, and  the parameters of strength, softness, indirect tensile strength, asphalt quality and durability criteria, have been appraised. The results show that these parameters are improved using additives in various proportions and the produced asphalt quality and durability is better. The results illustrate, when the lime is used in its maximum ratio of 3%, stripping score is 1 and is disappeared by other parameters improvement

---

Durability is a significant parameter in engineering geology and it shows the extent of the degradability of rocks as the result of mechanical and chemical breakdowns. This phenomenon is closely linked to the composition, porosity and texture of rocks. To understand the relationship between the chemical composition of rocks and their durability the mineralogical properties of the rocks along with durability tests under both acidic and alkaline pH environments were determined. Five samples of limestone and three samples of marl were analyzed. The results revealed that rocks containing high levels of CaCo3 were affected in the acidic conditions while rocks containing high levels of SiO2 were not affected by variance in the pH of the environment. These second groups of rocks were more dependent on the texture of their constituent minerals.

---

Previous earthquakes have shown that topographic irregularities have significant impacts on the site seismic response and increasing structural damage by amplifying seismic responses. Studies on seismic behavior of slope topographic have shown that dynamic response of free field and soil-structure system is severely on the influence of topography shape and soil properties. Angle and height of slope, frequency of excitation, nonlinear behavior of soil and depth of bedrock are other parameters that affect on the response of the entire system. Furthermore the studies have shown that presence of structure adjacent to slope is very effective on variation of seismic behavior pattern of this topography but these studies are very limited. In this study the effect of existing structure adjacent to slope to seismic behavior pattern of slope topography have been investigated. The parameters that have studied in this article comprise slope angle and frequency content of excitation. The results show that the presence of structure adjacent to the slope, causes an increase to the response of free field and transmitting maximum response to distance away from structure position.

---

Introduction
One of the most important 1-ring aromatic organic pollutants is phenol and its related compounds. These compounds are classified as hazardous wastes base on U.S.EPA primary contaminates list. The phenolic compounds are very poisonous and these are harmful for human health and also for other biota.
To control the movement of such hazardous organic waste in a contaminated soil, solidification/stabilization (S/S) process can be an effective alternative.  Due to the negative impact of organic compounds on the cement hydration, the cement-based S/S may be not effective for controlling the movement of such pollutants. To avoid these effects, using some additives during solidification period has been recommended. One of the proposed of such compounds is organophilic clay that is the modified montmorillonite by quaternary ammonium salts (QAS). There are several researches to evaluate the organophilic clay effect on adsorption and stabilization of organic compounds during S/S process. The effectivity of S/S process can be examined by several tests such as leaching test, durability, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), etc.
In this study, efficiency of ordinary and organophilic clay was evaluated in the solidification and stabilization process based on unconfined compressive strength of a phenol-contaminated soil.
Material and methods
In this study, an artificially phenol contaminated sand was considered to evaluate the effectivity of the white cement based S/S process by using two different additives of ordinary and organophilic clay.
The contaminated sand contains 2000 ppm of phenol. S/S process was conducted on 14 samples with different amounts of white cement (15 and 30 wt%) as binder and ordinary/organophilic clay (0, 8, 15, and 30 wt % for each of them) as the additives. Two zero percent additive samples are considered as control samples.
All samples were cured for 28 days and then UCS test was conducted for all of them.
Results and discussion
Unconfined compressive strength of all examined samples were ranged from 2226 to 6999 KPa. In the samples with equal amount of cement, th higher UCS values can be observed in blank samples (without any additives and phenol). By adding phenol in the examined sand, UCS of the solidified sample reduces 3 -3.5%.Moreover, results showed that UCS was reduced by increasing the amount of clays. The reduction of the samples containing organophilic clay was higher than samples containing ordinary clay. Unconfined compressive strength values of all samples met the minimum standards indicated by France, Netherlands, Britain and America for disposal in a sanitary landfill. The sample with 30% white cement and 8% bentonite was the maximum amount of UCS (4856 KPa) and the sample with 15% white cement and 30% organophilic clay was the minimum one (2226 KPa). In this study, the average cost of organophilic clay-based solidified samples was 2.3 to 2.8 times more than the average cost of the bentonite-based solidified samples.
Conclusion
In this study, the strength of the cement-based solidified samples contaminated by phenol was investigated. The summary of the findings of the research is as follows:
1. By adding the phenol to pure sand, the UCS of the samples can be reduced 3-3.5 %.
2. Addition of organophilic clay reduces the UCS of the samples more than the ordinary clay (bentonite) in the same amount.
3. All samples met the recommended UCS level for the S/S process. The minimum UCS level is for the sample with 15% of cement and 30% of organophilic clay.
The cost of S/S process is between 23 and 650 $/ton of contaminated soil depending on the amount of used additives and binder. The samples containing organophilic clay has a higher cost than the similar sample containing ordinary clay.
4. To evaluate the S/S process effectivity, a leaching test of phenol (such as TCLP) is recommended  ./files/site1/files/0Extended_Abstract2.pdf

---

 IExtended Abstract
 Introduction
The Iranian plateau is situated in the Alpine-Himalayan orogeny between the Eurasian plate in the north and the Arabian plate in the south. It is being shortened by the northward movement of the Arabian plate, which causes the most parts of Iran to be active and dynamic in terms of tectonic movements. The recent tectonic activity in the southern edge of central Alborz causes both development and deformation of the tectonically active landforms. Seismic records indicate a high frequency of earthquakes of relatively small magnitude (<4) and infrequent large earthquakes (>5.1) in the Alborz. The studied area is located in the southern central Alborz and at the edge of northwestern central Iran between seismic faults of Ipak (with approximately E-W trend) and Avaj (with NW-SE trend) that includes significant earthquakes. Generally, the dominant tectonic structures of the study area involve thrust faults. The Ipak fault is one of the major fault systems in the area, located about 120 km west of Tehran, and caused the 1962 Buin Zahra earthquake of Ms 7.2 (Mw 7.0). The earthquake was associated with 95 km surface rupture along the Ipak reverse fault with average throw of 140 cm and left-lateral displacement of 60 cm. This investigation has evaluated the active tectonics and the acceleration zoning of the region in order to analyze and measure the recent tectonic activities.
Material and methods
To assess the acceleration zoning of this region, seismic data, Kijko software, PSHA software and reduction equations were used; consequently, minimum and maximum acceleration for useful life of 75-year and 475-year building were estimated. In order to assess the relative tectonic activity through the study area, sub-basins and stream network were extracted by using Arc Hydro Tools software based on the DEM and in turn, 134 sub-basins have been resulted. The six geomorphologic indices were used as follow: Stream length–gradient index (SL), mountain front Sinuosity (Smf), Ratio of valley floor width to valley height (Vf), Asymmetric factor (Af), Hypsometric integral (Hi) and drainage Basin shape (Bs). Eventually, after calculating the relative tectonic activity index (Iat), the studied area was classified into four tectonic activity classes in ArcGIS10.1 as very high, high, medium and low.
Stream Length–Gradient Index (SL): The SL index indicates an equation between erosive processing as streams and rivers flow and active tectonics. The SL is defined by Eq. (1) 
SL= (∆H/∆Lr) Lsc                                        (1)
where ΔH is change in altitude, ΔLr is the length of a reach, and Lsc is the horizontal length from the watershed divide to midpoint of the reach. The SL index can be used to evaluate relative tectonic activity.  The quantities of the SL index were computed along the streams for all sub-basins.
Index of Mountain Front Sinuosity (Smf):  Index of mountain front sinuosity is defined by Equation (2). 
Smf = Lmf ⁄ Ls                                             (2)
where Lmf is the length of the mountain front along the foot of the mountain in which a change in slope from the mountain to the piedmont occurs; and Ls is the straight line length of the mountain front. Smf represents a balance between erosive processes tending to erode a mountain front, making it more sinuous through streams that cut laterally and into the front and active vertical tectonics that tends to produce straight mountain fronts, often coincidental with active faults or folds.
Ratio of Valley Floor Width to Valley Height (Vf): Vf is defined as the ratio of the width of the valley floor to its average height and is computed by Equation (3).
Vf = Vfw/ [(Ald-Asc) + (Ard-Asc) /2)]                            (3)
where Vfw is the width of the valley floor, and A_ld, A_rd, and A_sc are the altitudes of the left and right divides (looking downstream) and the stream channel, respectively. A significant relationship exists between the rate of mountain front activity and the Vf index. Consequently, the high Vf values conform to low uplift rates (Keller and Pinter 2002). The shape of a valley can also represent the Vf amount and uplift rate. Therefore, U-shaped valleys accommodate low Vf and high uplift.
Asymmetric Factor (Af): The asymmetric factor (Af) is a way to evaluate the existence of tectonic tilting at the scale of a drainage basin. The method may be applied over a relatively large area. Af is defined by Equation (4).
Af= 100(Ar/At)                                                   (4)
where Ar is the area of the basin to the right (facing downstream) of the trunk stream and At is the total area of the drainage basin. If the value of this factor is close to 50, the basin has a stable condition with little or tilting; while values above or below 50 may result from basin tilting, resulting from tectonic activity or other geological conditions such as lithological structure.
Hypsometric integral (Hi): The hypsometric integral is an index that describes the distribution of the elevation of a given area or a landscape. The Hi is independent of basin area. This index is defined as the area below the hypsometric curve and thus expresses the volume of a basin that has not been eroded. A simple equation that may be used to calculate the index is defined by Equation (5).
Hi = (average elevation - min. elev.) / (max. elev. - min. elev.)  (5)
Then Hi values were grouped into three classes with respect to the convexity or concavity of the hypsometric curve: Class 1 with convex hypsometric curves (Hi≥0.5); Class 3 with concave hypsometric curves (Hi<0.4); and Class 2 with concave–convex hypsometric curves (0.4≤Hi<0.5).
Index of Drainage Basin Shape (Bs): Horizontal projection of basin shape may be described by the elongation ratio, Bs, expressed by Eqation (6):
Bs = Bl/Bw                                        (6)
where Bl is the length of the basin measured from the headwaters to the mouth, and Bw is the width of the basin measured at its widest point. High values of Bs are associated with elongated basins, generally related to relatively higher tectonic activity. Low values of Bs indicate a more circular-shaped basin, generally associated with low tectonic activity.
Evaluation of Relative Tectonic Activity (Iat): The average of the six measured geomorphic indices (Iat) was used to evaluate the distribution of relative tectonic activity in the study area. The values of the index were divided into four classes to define the degree of active tectonics.
Results and discussions
Results of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis have shown that the minimum and the maximum acceleration for useful life of 75-year building is estimated as 0.33g and 0.45g and for 475-year one are 0.46g and 0.60g, respectively. These values are indicative of high risk in the studied area. Acquired values from geomorphologic indices and also acceleration zoning of the realm are indicative of high recent tectonic activities near Ipak, Hasanabad, Soltaniyeh and Avaj faults; they are extremely concordant with the obtained evidences and geomorphologic characteristics of the field samples. In this study, considering the diversity of the morphotectonic features, six morphometric indices relevant to the river channels, drainage basins, and mountain fronts were computed for every catchment, and consequently, a single index (Iat) was calculated from the these indices for each of 134 subbasins to define the degree of active tectonics. Finally, the Index of the Active Tectonic (Iat) was calculated through which the study area is classified into four tectonic activity classes, from very high to low; 1—very high (1.0≤Iat<1.5); 2—high (1.5≤Iat<2.0); 3—moderate (2.0≤Iat<2.5); and 4—low (2.5≤Iat). The distribution of the four classes of Iat has been presented in a well classified map. The indices have represented a quantitative approach to differential geomorphic analysis related to erosion and depositional processes which include the river channel and valley morphology as well as tectonically derived features, such as fault scarps. We also evaluated the outputs of the morphometric analyses based on field-based geomorphological observations. Thus, these results are proved to be extremely beneficial to evaluate relative rates of active tectonics of this region.
The values of Af show widespread drainage basin asymmetry related to tectonic tilting, particularly associated with Ipak fault. The values of Smf suggest that mountain fronts are tectonically active, and the values of Vf show that some valleys are narrow and deep, suggesting a high rate of incision. The parts with class 1 and 2 of the relative tectonic activity are located along the main faults of the region, such as Soltaniyeh, Avaj, Hasanabad and Ipak faults and show high correlation with observed landforms during the field investigations such as the direct mountain fronts, fault gorges, fault scarps, and deep v-shaped valleys. Besides, the high amount of the relative active tectonic index shows a good consistency with the recent tectonic activity, namely tilting and deformation of the Quaternary units, which is the indicative of the effect of compressive stresses, affecting the region.
Conclusion
In this study, according to the current tectonic activity using the Iat index, it was found that the study region represents a high current tectonic activity along the fault zones. The values of SL, Hi, and Bs were found to be high along Soltaniyeh, Avaj, Hasanabad and Ipak faults segments.
According to the earthquakes and probabilistic seismic hazard analysis in the study area, it can be said is worthy to note that some basins which are located among active faults, are seismically dangerous.  However, they show low relative active tectonic index (Iat)../files/site1/files/121/AleeiAbstract(1).pdf

---

Introduction
Earth is a dynamic system. Change is one of its features. At its surface, there is almost no region that over the past few thousand years has not affected its neotectonic activities. In fact, it can be said that active neotectonic is changing the surface of the earth. Among geological methods for analyzing active tectonic movements, deciphering the geomorphology and morphotectonic nature play a very important role, because many geomorphic complications are sensitive to active tectonic movements and the geometric analysis of these complications provides evidence of the type, rate, and configuration of active tectonic deformations. Moreover, these geomorphic indices at a regional scale provide basic reconnaissance tool to identify tectonically active regions, their susceptibility to tectonic deformation, and level of tectonic activity.
In the presented study, tectonic activities and geological structural features of the Vark basin in Lorestan province, such as the discontinuities that may be detected on satellite imagery as lineaments, and in many cases control landslide occurrences, have been analyzed using the GIS and remote sensing.
Material and methods
Neotectonic investigation in the area: in order to analyze and to evaluate the tectonic movements in the Vark basin, considering the validity of geomorphic indices, longitudinal gradient (SL), river meanders (S), basin hypsometric curves (HC) and asymmetry factor (AF) have been used.  After calculating the desired indices, the tectonic activity of the area has been evaluated using the index of active tectonic (IAT).
Vark basin lineaments map derived from satellite images with proper resolution: using remote sensing techniques and visual interpretation of the OLI Landsat 8 satellite imagery, all fractures and lineaments of the region were identified and then by preparing the rose diagram, the trend of the lineaments of the area analyzed.
Landslide hazard zonation in the Vark basin: In this study, in addition to plotting landslide occurrence Points, eight other factors were also investigated. In order to provide a map of the factors affecting slip, the digital elevation model (DEM) in ENVI 4.8 and ArcGIS soft wares were used and the maps of slope, slope aspects, altitude classes, area geology, land use, topography and precipitation were prepared. Then, in order to zoning the landslide hazard, fuzzy logic method has been used. Fuzzy logic is based on the fuzzy layers and the fuzzy inference process.
Results and discussion
Analyzing the Neotectonic of the Area: as stated above, the relative active-Neotectonic (IRAT) index is derived from the interpolation of the morphotectonic indexes. In this case, after reviewing the morphotectonic indices of the study area and determining the activity rate of each indicator, the classification or prioritization of these activities were done. The results obtained from calculating the active tectonic index indicate that the study area with IAT is equal to one, has an active neotectonic.
Preparing the Lineation Maps of the Area: in this research, the aim of the data processing including satellite imagery and digital elevation model is identification and extraction of fractures and faults in the Vark basin. To this end, we can use the integration of the information layers derived from the above processes. In this step, all layers of information are logged into the ArcGIS software so that their overlap can provide a map of fractures and faults. On each information layer processed there is a series of lineaments recognizable that can be visually distinguished. After extraction of lineaments by comparing them with bundle compounds and maps derived from digital elevation model and geological map of the region, the lineaments of fractures and faults were separated from other lineaments and their shape file map has been prepared. In order to plot the rose diagram of fractures and faults, the Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension was used. The results obtained from this rose diagram showed that the dominant trend is the northwest southeast followed the trend in the region.
Preparing a map of landslide hazards zoning in the region and investigating its relationship with the lineaments: In order to overlap layers affecting the area's landslide hazard, Gamma fuzzy operator (λ= 0.9) has been used and landslides hazard mapping prepared. Based on the results, 12.40, 8.25, 37, 32.61 and 9.73 percent of the area are located in the very low, moderate, high and very high-risk classes, respectively.
In order to investigate the relationship between the lineaments and the landslide hazard maps as parameters that are affected by the tectonic activities of the area, the lineaments map was integrated with the map of landslide hazard. The results show that the most of lineaments identified in the study area have a northwest-southeast trend that are similar to the main faults of the region and Zagros. It can therefore be said that the lineaments are influenced by the faults and folds mechanism of the region. According to the lineament density in areas in places that are exposed to landslides, one can understand the close relationship between the lineaments and the landslide.
Conclusion
Based on the results obtained from relative active tectonics index, the Vark basin has an active neotectonic, which leads to an uplift in parts of the basin, as well as tilting in the southern part of the area.
In this research, the tectonic of the area, and then the relationship between the lineaments and the map of the landslide risk, as two phenomena affected by active neotectonic were reviewed. Investigating the lineaments of the region shows that the dominant trend is fractures north-west-south-east and following the trend in the region. In addition, analyzing the relationship between the lineaments with the map of the landslide hazard of the area shows that there is a close relationship between the lineaments and the zones with high risk of slipping.

---

Introduction
Local site conditions considerably influence all characteristics of the ground strong motion including the domain, frequency content, and duration. The level of such an effect could be considered as a function of geometry, properties of the materials embedded in the underlying layers, the site topography, and properties of excitement. Site effect fall into two categories: a) the effect of the surface soft layers triggered by the shear velocity differences between the soil layers and b) the surface and subsurface topography effects that lead to the wave reflection and refraction based on the site geometry, and subsequently enhance the level of amplification.
Since most cities have been constructed in the vicinity of or on sedimentary basins, geotechnical earthquake engineering devotes particular attention to effects of the sedimentary basins. Basin edge curvature deposited with soft soils are capable to trap the body waves and generated surface waves within the deposit layers. Such waves could create stronger and lengthier vibrations than those estimated in a 1D analysis that assumes the shear waves to be vertically propagated.
Although critically important, the 2D effect of the site has not been included in seismic codes and standards of the world. This might be due to the fact that the site effect depends on a number of parameters such as the site geometry, the type of wave excitement, properties of the materials, etc. that in return make it almost out of the question to make predictions about the effect. This study was an effort to compare the responses of four sedimentary basins with hypothetical geometries of rectangular, trapezoidal, elliptical, and triangular shapes in order to examine the effect of the geometrical shape of the basin on its responses and the extent of the response sensitivity to the excitation frequency of the wave. The study assumed the edge to depth proportion to be both constant and equal in all four basins so that the effect of the geometrical shape could be equally examined and compared in all four basins.      
Material and methods
In order to validate the results of the sedimentary basin modeling, firstly, ABAQUS finite element software was used to create a free field motion of a semi-circular alluvium valley in accordance with Kamalian et al. (2006) and Moassesian and Darvinsky (1987).  Then, the results from the model were compared with those from the above mentioned studies. The following descriptions are to present the model in details.
To evaluate the geometrical effect of the sedimentary basin on its response, the authors relied on the software to examine four sedimentary basins with the fundamental frequency (2.04 Hz). The basins enjoyed rectangular, trapezoidal, elliptical, and triangular geometrical shapes with a constant edge to depth proportion (49m to 300m respectively). The implicit method was also applied to perform the dynamic analysis. The materials were all viscoelastic and homogeneous. The soil behavior/treatment model was considered to be of a linear nature.  The Rayleigh damping model was used to specify the damping level. The soil element was a plane strain and SV waves (the Ricker wavelet) were used for seismic loadings in a vertical dispersion. The side boundaries (right and left) of the model were of a combinational type (viscous and free field boundaries); the down side boundary was composed of viscous. To achieve higher levels of wave absorptions, heavy columns were used as the free filed columns.
Next, it was the time to conduct the 1D analysis of the site. Three waves were in use in order to examine the effect of the frequency content of the excitation load on the basin response: 1) a wave with the dominant frequency of 1Hz that was out of the frequency range of all basins (2.04 Hz), a second wave with the dominant frequency of 2Hz that was close to the fundamental frequency of all basins, and a third wave with the dominant frequency of 4Hz. The waves were applied to a 2Dmodel. The results were compared with those obtained from a 1Dmodel in terms of the timing.
Then, the basin responses to all three waves (1, 2, and 4 Hz) were subjected to an individual analysis in order to examine the sensitivity of each basin response to its geometrical shape. Results indicated that while the responses of the rectangular and trapezoidal basins were significantly more sensitive to the excitation frequencies, the elliptical and triangular basins showed more stable behaviors to such frequencies. The final stage of the study was dedicated to examine the site 2D effect during the ground motion.
Results and Conclusions
According to the results of the present study, it could be suggested that the geometrical shape of the sedimentary basin has a significant effect on the responses of the field of seismic waves and that it could result in so different responses from the ones attained after a 1D analysis of the site. In addition, the pattern of the seismic waves’ responses is highly dependent on the geometrical shape and the frequency content of the seismic load. Also, the location where the maximum horizontal acceleration occurs along with the sedimentary basin depends on the excitation wave and varies accordingly. Further, it could be suggested that the site 2D effect results in both considerable amplification and an increase in the length of ground motion.
The results of the 2D analysis showed remarkable differences with their 1D counterparts: a 1.45 larger response for the rectangular basin, a 1.28 larger response for the trapezoidal basin, a 1.22 larger response for the elliptical basin, and a 1.19 larger response for the triangular basin.
With the frequency of 1 Hz where the excitation frequency is out of the basin range (i.e. the excitation frequency is below the lowest frequency of basin), the sedimentary basin did not show any signs of amplification and chaos (unlike two other frequencies); instead, it was a cause for de-amplification.
The frequency of 2 Hz that is subject to resonance resulted in amplifications (absent in 1D analysis) and there are traces of a reduction in the acceleration responses near to the edges of the basins. The proportion of the amplification (in the center of the basins) in 2D to 1D analysis was 1.4 for the rectangular basin, 1.28 for the trapezoidal basin, 1.22 for the elliptical basin, and 1.15 for the triangular basin.
 

---

Maximum surface settlement (MSS) is an important parameter for the design and operation of earth pressure balance (EPB) shields that should determine before operate tunneling. Artificial intelligence (AI) methods are accepted as a technology that offers an alternative way to tackle highly complex problems that can’t be modeled in mathematics. They can learn from examples and they are able to handle incomplete data and noisy. The adaptive network–based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and hybrid artificial neural network (ANN) with biogeography-based optimization algorithm (ANN-BBO) are kinds of AI systems that were used in this study to build a prediction model for the MSS caused by EPB shield tunneling. Two ANFIS models were implemented, ANFIS-subtractive clustering method (ANFIS-SCM) and ANFIS-fuzzy c–means clustering method (ANFIS-FCM). The estimation abilities offered using three models were presented by using field data of achieved from Bangkok Subway Project in Thailand. In these models, depth, distance from shaft, ground water level from tunnel invert, average face pressure, average penetrate rate, pitching angle, tail void grouting pressure and percent tail void grout filling were utilized as the input parameters, while the MSS was the output parameter. To compare the performance of models for MSS prediction, the coefficient of correlation (R²) and mean square error (MSE) of the models were calculated, indicating the good performance of the ANFIS-SCM model.

---

Introduction
This work intends to apply ASTER images to discriminate hydrothermal alteration zones in Kerman Cenozoiic Magmatic Belt (KCMB). Band ratio, principal component analysis, Crosta and color composite images are important methods to analyze satellite images. Previous researches showed that these techniques are not able to discriminate hydrothermal alteration zones and they usually detect vegetation covering as alteration zones. The reason is found in the spectral signature of vegetation and alteration minerals. It means that they present the same interaction when face with electromagnetic energy in different wavelengths. Hydroxyl-bearing minerals are the important products of hydrothermal alteration. Clays, which contain Al-OH- and Mg-OH-bearing minerals and hydroxides in alteration zones, are distinguished by absorption bands in the 2.1–2.4 µm range of ASTER data. Solving these problems is difficult when using standard image-processing techniques such as band rationing, principal component analysis, or spectral angle mapper. In recent years, several attempts were made to extract altered regions in the areas covered with vegetation. To overcome this problem, this research uses ASTER data by applying support vector machine (SVM) algorithmn. SVM is a new technique for data classification in remote sensing application. This paper aims to investigate the potential of SVM algorithm in mapping of hydrothermally altered areas. In many applications, SVM has been shown to provide higher performance than traditional learning machines and has been introduced as powerful tools for solving classification problems. The adopted dataset contains three ASTER scenes using SWIR and VNIR bands, covering the Meiduk porphyry copper deposit, Kader, Abdar and Iju occurrences located in Kerman Province, southeast Iran.
Material and methods
This work has been prepared on three ASTER level 1B scenes. Two scenes were acquired on 18^th April 2000 and another scenes on 15^th June 2007. These scenes were georeferenced by using an orthorectified ETM ⁺  image,  in  UTM projection and WGS-84 ellipsoid as a datum.  The first two data sets were corrected for Crosstalk. Atmospheric corrections were also performed by using Fast Line of Sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH). The data sets were then mosaicked.­­ Internal Average Relative Reflectance (IARR) correction was also applied. In this part, the training and test samples of the ASTER data are presented. The adopted image is a multispectral satellite image that contains 2204 training pixels which 516 pixels are related to arjillic zone, 1278 pixels are related to phyllic zone and 500 pixels are pertinent to propylitic zone (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Training pixels for learning SVM algorithm; Red pixels: arjillic; Green pixels: phyllic; Blue pixels: propylitic
Results and discussion
ASTER bands 4, 6, 7 and 8 were applied for determination of phyllic and arjilic zones and 9 bands of ASTER for propylitic alteration. In order to evaluate the developed algorirhm, confusion matrix was used and validation showed that discrimination of phylic and arjilic is not possible but propylitic zone could be identified by SVM. Also, the present research introduced a new error function, so called blind error, which is calculated using confusion matrix. Based on blind error, SVM did not classify 73.6 percent of the alteration pixels. But the remained pixels were classified with accuracy of 66.06%. Honarmand et al. (2011) and Mojedifar et al. (2013) studied the field samples of the present study area. Their studies showed that sericitization is the most widespread form of hydrothermal alteration at the Iju, Serenu, Chahfiroozeh, Meiduk, Parkam, Kader and Abdar porphyry copper deposits. Two types of phyllic alteration could be found in the study area including ferric-iron-rich and iron-oxide poor phyllic alteration. ASTER images were also analyzed by band rationing and principal component analysis (PCA) in order to compare their results with the SVM classified image. A comparison of the field data with altered areas mapped by PCA reveals errors in the classified map. Vegetation cover and sedimentary rocks are enhanced, which are erroneously identified as areas of alteration. The band ratio approach yields similar errors to those produced by the PCA method. These problems are less evident in the classified image obtained by SVM. The qualitative assessment of the accuracy of these methods indicates that SVM algorithm could be a reliable technique for alteration mapping, provided that the nature of the training areas is well known.
Conclusion
A comparison of the results obtained from traditional classification methods and support vector machine algorithm was performed in order to map hydrothermal alteration. Since the known occurrence of mineralization in the study area is consistent with the mapped distribution of hydrothermal alteration using SVM, this method is suggested to apply in exploring for hydrothermal alteration in other parts of the Iranian Cenozoic magmatic belt../files/site1/files/132/6Extended_Abstracts.pdf
 

---

Introduction
Past research studies have demonstrated that seismic ground motion can vary significantly over distances comparable to the dimensions of long span engineering structures. The accurate determination of earthquake ground motion at the base of long span structures such as dams and bridges whose piers are located on the valleys surface is one of the most important issues in earthquake engineering. In this paper, the spatially variable earthquake ground motions are generated at stations located on the valley slopes, considering the topography effect of a triangular valley. To this end, the simplified geometry of the valley of Masjed Soleyman embankment dam has been used for numerical modeling. The spatially varying ground motions are simulated by using spectral representation method. According to this methodology, the generated time histories are compatible with prescribed response spectra reflecting the wave passage and loss of coherence effects. This method assumes that the response spectrum is identical for all stations i.e., they have the same amplitudes and frequency content. This assumption is not valid for stations located on valley surface in which the amplitude and frequency content of the seismic waves are changed considerably by topography features. It is concluded that the proposed method in this study can lead to artificial spatially variable earthquake ground motions which can be readily reflect the amplification pattern of 2D triangular valleys.
Material and methods
In the first part of this paper, seismic response of a triangular valley is investigated through time history analysis conducted by using FLAC2D computer program. The geometry of the valley analyzed in this paper is chosen close to the valley of the Masjed Soleyman embankment dam. Dynamic analysis is conducted using an artificial earthquake generated by spectral representation method. The material properties are obtained based on the results of a comprehensive study carried out to identify the dynamic characteristics of two large embankment dams in Iran. Spectral amplification functions of seismic waves are calculated by dividing the response spectra of stations located on the slope of the valley to that in base of the valley. These functions are then used as target quantity for generation of spatially variable ground motions at points located on the valley. In this study, spectral representation method, the most widely accepted method for generation of spatially variable ground motions, is developed to take into account the topography effect. According to this methodology, the generated time histories are compatible with prescribed spectral amplification functions reflecting the wave passage and loss of coherence effects. The Harichandran-Vanmarcke coherency model is used to simulate spatially variable seismic ground motions.
Results and discussion
Based on the obtained results the maximum and minimum values of peak acceleration are yielded at the base and at the edge of the valley, respectively. The results indicate considerable increase of the acceleration RMS at points near the edge of the valley. Maximum spectral amplification is also observed at the edge of the valley. For all points located on the valley, the first peak spectral amplification occurred at frequency of 1.15Hz, which can be readily interpreted as the natural frequency of the valley. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method, the RMS and spectral amplification functions of artificial earthquakes are compared to target quantities. A very good consistency between the spectral amplification of artificial earthquakes and target spectral amplifications was observed in terms of both amplitude and frequency content.
Conclusion
The following conclusions were drawn from this paper.
- Artificial earthquakes generated using proposed method of this paper are in a very good agreement with the amplification pattern of the valley.
- The results of this study can be readily used to investigate the influence of spatial variability of earthquake ground motion on structures like bridges and dams whose supports are located inside the valley and are subjected to multi-support earthquake excitation.
- The proposed method of this paper is not limited only to the valley topography, but it can be effectively used in the generation process of non - uniform artificial earthquakes for stations located on other topography features. The latter can be carried out by establishing the spectral amplification functions of other topography features such as slopes and hills resulted from field or numerical studies.

---

Because of the diversity in petrography, peridotites have variable physical and mechanical properties. For this reason, knowledge of resistance properties and their deformation will help with the prediction of engineering behavior of these rocks. Due to the large spread of igneous rocks, especially peridotite, in Zagros, northeastern and central Iran, special attention has been paid to their petrographic, physical and mechanical characteristics. The construction of the structure within or on the peridotites and the choice for the purpose of the stone borrow depends on the recognition of its engineering geology characteristics. In this paper, in addition to the field and laboratory study, the geological characteristics of peridotite engineering has been investigated.                                    
Material and methods                    
In order to study the geological characteristics of the peridotites of Harsin region, 15 suitable blocks were selected and transferred to the laboratory. Accordingly, from collected rock samples, 150 cylindrical cores of diameter 54 mm were prepared and physical and mechanical tests were performed according to (ISRM, 2007) and (ASTM, 2001) guidelines. In this research, after sampling of the study area and preparing the core for the lithological characteristics of the samples by providing thin sections of them with polarizing microscopy was studied.
Results and discussion
By considering the results of laboratory tests and analysis from Harsin peridotites in Kermanshah province, we can acclaim that with increasing the percentage of minerals in olivine and pyroxene in rock, the strength was decreased and the levels weaknesses, which is due to the weak structure of the mineral-olivine and pyroxene. According to the physical properties test and Anon classification, the porosity percentage in porosity percentage is low and as a result the amount of water absorption index is low. Based on the Gamble classification, all peridotites are very resistant to durability and based on the Franklin and Chandra classification, all samples are extremely resistant. The results of this study showed that the single axial compressive strength, elasticity modulus, point load index and tensile strength were decreased with an increase in humidity content of peridotite samples. This is due to the fact that with the increase of humidity pore pressure of water increases. According to the Anon classification, the peridotites are very high in terms of the length of the longitudinal passage through the rock. The highest compliance between the Brazilian Tensile strength test (BTS) and Schmidt hammer (SHV) was achieved in the dry condition and the determination coefficient (R²) equals to 0.95 was obtained. Also there is an acceptable relation between the Brazilian Tensile Strength Test (BTS) and the dry volume unit weight (γ_d) with the determination coefficient (R²) of 0.93. In addition, there is an admissible relationship between durability test and single-axial compressive strength, with a coefficient determination (R²) of 0.94. Regarding the obtained regressions in this study, the physical and mechanical properties show good agreement and most of the equations have an acceptable coefficient determination.

---

Introduction
Landslide is known as one of major natural hazards. Landslide susceptibility mapping is known as efficient approach to mitigate the future hazard and reduce the impact of landslide hazards. The main objective of this research is to apply GIS spatial decision making systems for landslide hazard mapping in the 5^th segment of Ardebil-Mianeh railroad. Evaluation of the landslide criteria mapping and their relevancy for landslide hazard can be also considered. To achieve the research objectives, an integrated approach of Fuzzy-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Fooler Hierarchical Triangle and Fuzzy logic methods were employed in GIS Environment.
Material and methods
Within this research, we also aimed to apply GIS spatial decision making systems and in particular GIS multi criteria decision analysis which are available in Arc GIS and Idrisi softwares. We have identified 8 casual factors (including: density of vegetation, land use, faults desistance, distance from rivers, distance from roads, slope, aspect, geology) based on literature review. Accordingly, these layers were prepared in GIS dataset by means of applying all GIS ready, editing and topology steps. The criterion weighting was established based F-AHP approach. The criteria weights was derived and rank of each criterion was obtained. Accordingly, the landslide susceptible zones were identified using GIS-MCDA approaches.
Results and discussion
Finally the functionality of each method was validated against known landslide locations. This step was applied to identify most efficient method for landslide mapping. According to the results and based on the values derived from Qs, P, and AUC, the accuracy of fuzzy method was accordingly about 0.33, 0.74 and 0.76, respectively. In context of Fuzz-AHP the accuracy of 1.08, 0.88 and 0.94 were obtained. While, the accuracy of Fooler Hierarchical Triangle were obtained 0.78, 0.84 and 0.91, accordingly.
Conclusion
As results indicated integration of Fuzzy-AHP represented more accurate results. Results of this research are great of important for future research in context of methodological issues for GIScience by means of identifying most efficient methods and techniques for variety of applications such landslide mapping, suitability assessment, site selection and in all for any GIS-MCDA application.

---

In Yazd Darreh-Zereshk copper deposit geophysical data containing magnetic, resistivity and induced polarization have been surveyed and 25 boreholes have been drilled in the area. In the present research, inversion and processing of geophysical data as well as their qualitative and quantitative accordance with boreholes assay data have been carried out. To achieve the goal first, total magnetic intensity map after applying necessary filters and processing, was mapped to identify surface and deep expansion of anomalies on it. Drawing the anomaly profile of magnetic stations surveyed along 4 geoelectric profiles shows that most of the magnetic anomaly zones have high chargeability and low resistivity that indicates the qualitative compatibility of magnetic and geoelectric data, as a result increasing the probability of mineralization in the area. Afterward  on the basis of qualitative interpretation of geoelectrical sections, optimal locations of drilling on the each profile were proposed. Plotting mineral deposit cross-section along the geoelectrical profiles using the boreholes assay data, revealed that drilling of some boreholes located on the geophysical profiles haven’t been based on the results of geophysical operation, carried out without any right logic, purpose and design. In general, the qualitative accordance of the results of geoelectrical operation with the boreholes assay data showed a pretty good qualitative accordance. Also investigation of linear correlation coefficient value between inverted geophysical data and borehole assay in a specific same range after a same definite gridding and interpolation of their values, overall indicated a relatively good quantitative accordance (between 0.4 and 0.7)../files/site1/files/151/1.pdf

---

---

---

---