فصلنامه محیط شناسی
سال سی و نهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 66، تابستان 1392)

Introduction Urban landscape is experiencing rapid changes which put all urban domains under pressures. These processes revolutionize urban landscape into spaces without ecologic values. The sustainability of green patches and corridors has been scathed by lack of ecological approaches in planning and design. Therefore, urban green spaces structures and functions have been damaged. Green spaces have been changed into isolated, fragile and unsustainable areas. Controlling green spaces changes process, decrease fragility and improvement of sustainability are vital for green spaces in urban contexts. Utilizing and wide use of ecological frameworks in planning and design is compulsory and inevitable in these conditions. A framework to establish protective and conservative principles in urban context is required. Ecological approach establishment in urban forest parks planning and design will improve green spaces function and will have positive impact on green patches and urban ecology overall. Urban forests are main green patches in cities in which trees are main vegetation cover. Normally Green patches are form main part of ecological system and matrix. They are formed different systems of green spaces that may be called parks, green fringe, urban forest etc. Among green spaces, ecological urban forest functions are totally obvious. The functions are related to the definition of urban forests. Any country has its own definition of urban forest, but in a quite simple way, urban forest parks could be defined as: compressed tree and shrub planted areas combined with open spaces, open and semi open woodlands. It may contain some water bodies and is located in urban or pre-urban areas. The ecological and sustainability issues are immensely considered in the design and management of forest parks in the world. International organizations such as FAO and the USFS (Organization of American plantations) studied extensive research on forest areas. Landscape designers have been considered as forest ecological issues. Existence of forest park samples in different countries such as England, United State and China shows the attention paid to urban forest and forest parks ecological issues. The pattern of ecological planting design, checking up the parks ecological design challenges, paying attention to the tourism and tourism issues in the design of forest parks and the impact of tourism development on the extinction of native species and development of ecological forest parks in order to attract tourists, are among the studies carried out about forest parks and ecological forest parks development. In Iran, the construction of forest parks was developed after the movement of forests and pastures nationalization. These spaces were constructed mainly in the suburban cities of Iran, with the goal of improving ecological and environmental status of the city, and also recreational requirements of citizens. Today, these spaces not only do not meet environmental and ecological requirements due to lack of proper planning and design, but also their social and leisure functions decrease daily due to poor management. Therefore, planning is necessary to: - Create ecosystem balance in these large patches, - Prevent fragmentation, - Establish connection to the city, - Give the characteristics of recreation and tourism spaces, - And finally preserve urban environment quality and sustainability. We could strengthen forest parks by proper environmental design, by emphasis on natural and environmental values conservation and preparing suitable context for appropriate use. In addition, these efforts will motivate tourists to use forest parks, encourage local community to preserve the natural resources of parks for future generations. Proper design along with great emphasis on forest park context to natural based recreation will provide suitable conditions for the protection of natural resources and functions associated with tourism and other healthy and environmental usages. Indeed we could decrease forest parks damages by changing people’s perception of environmental values of forest parks and encouraging them to respect environmental wealth and assets provided by urban forest ecosystems. Formation of rich ecosystems makes them as tourist attractions. Local community activities will be developed by tourists’ presence. Tourist's interest in environmental values, simultaneously communities dependent on forest parks, provide an appropriate environment for the protection of these spaces. Ecological functions of forest parks offer healthier environment for urban community. Ecological forest parks design could act as a solution, leading to the strengthening and restoration of parks ecological processes and help them to recover their natural complex structure, in connection with other urban green spaces. It also enhances the urban ecological networks in natural and artificial corridors. Ecological design aim is to prepare a support system for urban sustainability. Materials and methods In this article, analysis and design has been carried out based on ecological design framework. Ecological design is an approach based on a comprehensive understanding of environmental layers, their interaction and design based on minimal destructive effects on the environment in ecological interaction framework. Different principles of ecological design have been presented by researchers. But the emphasis here is on four design principles that have been presented by Ryn and Cowan (1996). Design principles could be stated as: 1-Solution grows from place 2-Ecological accounting informs design 3-Design by nature 4-Everyone is a designer Based on these principles, Shahid Beheshti forest park of Brojerd has been analyzed and designed. At the beginning, a basic analysis of resources has been presented. Information layers and ecological features have formed the basis of analysis to clarify the ecological characteristics of the urban park and its functions. Thereafter, guidelines of forest park improvement have been developed based on the analysis of framework. Activity locations are selected according to the principles. Finally, master plan of forest park is designed in the context of ecological design. Results and discussion City of Brojerd is located in the north of Silakhor fertile plain, in the broad valleys of the central Zagros ranges. Shahid Beheshti forest park is situated on the north of Brojerd city. The Forest Park altitude varies between 1609 to 1649 meters. The park slope varies between zeros to three percent. The park has a medium clay soil, with no salt restriction. Based on the ecological structure of landscape ecology, this area could be divided into four parts as follows: A. Irreconcilable and incompatible patch that require strengthening, B. Weak patches that require to be improved, C. patches that require design and rehabilitation, D. patches that are capable to develop. According to the ecological and geomorphologic structures and processes around and within the Shahid Beheshti forest park, it could be described as an area with a combination of natural and non-native planted tree species. This space is going to be changed by the urban development pressure and processes. These conditions make ecological planning and design obligatory. Master plan of ecological park development based on all conditions and practical implementation of this plan has been presented. Conclusion Using ecological design pattern and combining its integration with the aesthetics aspects, while maintaining the ecological function of landscape, respond to different needs of the community. Futurism that lies in the heart of this pattern, first of all will create a suitable relationship between man and environment, secure health of community and viable environmental and ecological conditions that is necessary for future generations. Sustainable urban development will be achievable in ecological framework. For this purpose, the following principles are recommended for the design of ecological forest park: - Considering ecological aspects of sustainable design with an emphasis on natural, social and economical aspects and at the same time, paying attention to the ecological patches, corridor and footprints - protecting natural environment - Emphasizing on the sequence, maintenance and enhancement of existing plant and animal species - Utilizing natural and morphological features for ecological integrity, - Creating buffer zones around the edges, - Preventing people from entering the fragile formed ecosystems, - Protecting natural passage and - Designing a rich ecosystem, rather than an environment for human leisure.

Introduction Nowadays, landscape recounts the land components, elements and components which each alone and together have a key role in building and shaping the natural environment and consequently the natural landscape and eventually the built environment and landscape. Although humans connection with its surrounding is achieved through different senses, but still more than 80% of its connection is achieved by observing. Therefore, landscape observation and its perception by human, plays an important role in environment recognition and perception and also determining whether a landscape is aesthetically appropriate or not. The aim for assessing visual quality of landscape and environment in archaeological sites are to define and determine certain criteria and factors that can be used for conservation, rehabilitation and renovation of landscapes as well as determining whether a landscape is aesthetically appropriate or not. Through this way, landscapes with aesthetic values are conserved and the rest are amended. Archaeological sites and their cultural landscapes because of providing information about the past are considered with great importance around the world. These landscapes and sites are historical documents that reflect the diversity of their communities and express their life style and culture and indeed make up the country’s cultural heritage. Due to the expansion and development of construction around ancient region of Bishapour and also considering that the mentioned region is geographically located in a suitable location which is very rich in vegetation and ecological diversity and on the other hand, consists of beautiful and open landscapes, makes it a suitable case study for research. In this research, it is tried to suggest and provide strategies using formal aesthetic approach and check list method in order to extend and develop visual quality of Bishapours landscape and environment and also to identify landscapes with the highest visual quality and special characteristics. Materials and methods The method in this research is a combination of studying and analyzing documents, maps and aerial photographs and also site survey. In the process of site survey, the information required in order to describe and determine visual factors, vegetation type and quality, quality of landscapes and ancient artifacts, natural attractions and their visual characteristics are collected. In this study, firstly, landscape layers and components of ancient region of Bishapour are identified through interpretation of achieved images and site survey and then general site characteristics including physical, biological and cultural (human made) factors were studied. In each part, the following are studied: - Physical factors including climate, hydrology, geology and topography. - Biological factors including flora and fauna. - Cultural factors including land use, built environment and historical elements. Zoning of ancient region of Bishapour is fulfilled through the use of aerial photographs, existing condition map and also information obtained from analyzing natural, historical and cultural layers of landscape. Thereafter, parts of the region with more similarity in vegetation, land use, morphology, historical artifacts, visual qualities and activities were put in one zone and through this, the region was divided into five zones including mountain zone, river zone, historical zone, garden and rural zone and agricultural zone. Evaluating visual qualities of bishapour landscape and environment was fulfilled through formal aesthetic approach and by using the check list method. All listed variables (Physical, Biological and Cultural/Social) are separately studied and evaluated numerically (from +3 to -3) in each of 4 zones and the results were listed in separate tables. Then the average score for environmental factors and their components in each of the zones were obtained and taken on the graphs. The charts indicate which of the listed variables in each zone require amendment in order to improve visual quality of them. At the end, suggestions and strategies are provided for each zone in order to improve and promote the factors effective on shaping regions landscape and environment. Results and discussion In this research, zone number 1 with the highest average score of 1/45 is selected as the best zone compared to other zones, meanwhile, zones 2, 3, and 4 with an average score of 1/12, 1/08 and 0/16 are considered respectively as other zones with the highest landscape and environment quality (Figure 1). Also, having observed and studied achieved charts, biological variables are considered as the most effective and basic variables in shaping Bishapours ancient landscape and variables such as physical and cultural/social are considered as the next two variables with great influence on Bishapor landscape. Suggestions and solutions for each of the five zones according to research findings are listed below: - In zone number 1, biological and cultural variables have the greatest role in shaping the landscape. What strengthens this zones landscape is improving and strengthening physical variables (such as increasing the presence of water). Considering that natural factors have the highest effect on shaping the landscape, thus, the dominant landscape type in this zone is natural. - In zone number 2, all three variables have positive role in shaping the landscape of this zone. Due to many undiscovered historical artifacts in this zone, human intervention should be banned. In order to improve visual quality of landscape and environment, conservation is considered as the best way. - In zone number 3, biological variables have the most influence in shaping the landscape and environment. Unnecessary human intervention should be banned in order to promote the visual quality. - In zone number 4, human intervention is necessary in order to strengthen physical, biological and cultural variables. Conclusion In this research, in order to evaluate visual quality of bishapour landscape and environment, formal aesthetic approach and check list method were used. Each of the four zones was evaluated numerically from +3 to -3. According to the findings, these results can be cited: - zone number 1 with an average sum score of 1/45 is considered as the best zone in term of visual values. - According to achieved charts, biological variables (flora and fauna) are considered as the most vital and effective variables in shaping the landscape of Bishapour. In the present article, by applying the suggested strategies and solutions for ancient region of Bishapour, it is possible to provide ecological and aesthetical balance between listed variables (biological, physical and cultural). In total, it can be concluded that landscapes with the best visual quality are shaped through three basic variables which are biological, physical and cultural. Finally, in order to progress any further studies and complete the study, further research in the following fields are suggested: 1- Considering planting design principals and selection of suitable vegetation compatible to the climate of regions. 2- Defining and determining cultural landscape zoning in order to provide more conservation for visual characteristics of the regions.

Introduction Nowadays, the main environmental economy subject, which is almost publicly accepted, is the fact that the environment is inseparable from the economy and any changes in one may affect directly the other one. In other words, no economic decision is made without influencing the natural and artificial environment and no environmental change occurs without economic influences. United States and Europe countries focus on CV method to determination of recreation values. Lee has determined recreation values of South Korea national park 10.54$ per year. Applying CVM, calculated the recreation values of ecosystem service 67.44 $ per year of family for Bursa State in Turkey. Baral et al (2008) determined recreation value by using CV. Given this backdrop, the main purpose of this research is the determination of recreation values of Jamshidieh Park in Tehran by Using Contingent Valuation Method and SHAZAM software on 2011. Partial goals are including: 1- Determination of Demographic characteristics of Jamshidieh Park visitors. 2- Determination of effective Factors on willingness to pay for Jamshidieh park visitors. 3-Determination of recreation values of Jamshidieh Park and estimation of WTP as Park admission fee.

Introduction The chemical characteristic of groundwater as a major source of water supply for human life is an important factor in determining the usage of it for agriculture, industry and drinking. Useful techniques and different methods of studying the chemical composition of groundwater such as correlation coefficient, descriptive statistics, factor analysis and cluster analysis provide an understanding of the main factors that contribute to groundwater salinity and also sources of contamination. Shannon proposed entropy as a measure of uncertainly, a theory recently applied in various fields. Although the ability of the entropy theory has quantified to evaluate uncertainty for hydrological variables and parameters in models of water resources systems, studies have not fully explored its application for describing and evaluating large-scale characteristics of groundwater quality. The three objectives of this study included: (1) applying cluster analysis and GIS technique to recognition of spatial classification of groundwater resources; (2) using factor analysis to interpret major factors that affect groundwater quality in Lenjanat, and (3) investigating the stability and spatial variation of influential factors.

Introduction One of the most vulnerable water resources against contamination is ground water table. These resources are exposed to contamination in various forms. Identifying and controlling contamination in these resources are more difficult and costly than surface waters. Also because of the persistence of contamination in these resources, the best way to prevent their contamination is to identify contaminant sources and vulnerable media, providing vulnerability zoning maps and adopting perfect managerial policies. Providing the maps that characterize the vulnerable or sensitive zones to contamination is the best way to manage ground water. For the first time, the concept of “ground water vulnerability” was put forward, in late 1960 in France, to warn about water contamination. The need for the maps of aquifer vulnerability against contamination increase each day,. because ground water is the main resource of drinking water supply on one hand, and on the other, it is the main resource for human and economic activities, such as industrial, agricultural, household, as the main or potential factors affecting ground water contamination. Assessment of ground water vulnerability is carried out in various methods. In all methods, the aquifer vulnerability is estimated according to the transferring rate of contamination from an earth surface to an aquifer. The differences between these methods are the number of parameters used in evaluating the contamination potentials and privileges of each one. In south Spain assessment of ground water vulnerability was carried out by four AVI, GODS, DRASTIC, and COP methods. The comparison of results indicates that the vulnerability zonings of DRASTIC and GODS methods are very close to each other. Assessment of aquifer vulnerability in south of Italy was carried out by GODS, DRASTIC, EPIK and SINTACS methods. In DRASTIC method, the range has low and mainly moderate vulnerability zonings. In GODS method, all zones are located in the range of low vulnerability. In south of Jordan, the ground water of the zone was evaluated by DRASTIC index, in combination with chemical analysis and leaching tests, resulting from the ashes caused by the burning of oil wells. Accordingly, most of the zones are located in the range of moderate vulnerability. Researchers have carried out a research based on the aquifer vulnerability zoning of Juin plain in Iran by DRASTIC and GODS methods. Comparison of the results indicates that vulnerability is located in low and moderate groups in both methods. The comparison of these two methods indicates that DRASTIC method estimates aquifer vulnerability less than GODS method. Researchers evaluated the contamination potential of Baghmalek plain by AVI, GODS, and DRASTIC methods. In this research, the results of the three mentioned methods are compared with each other, and defined that DRASTIC method precisely characterized the various ranges of contamination potential. Researchers evaluated ground water of Zayandehrod drainage basin based on DRASTIC method, and presented the maps of vulnerability index. In this survey, the net recharge is considered in three states of minimum, maximum and average. 50% of the basin has been located in low vulnerability range. Also, west of the basin is the most sensitive zone to net recharge parameter, while east and center of the basin is free of great changes in vulnerability index, versus recharge parameter. The goal of this study is to present the groundwater vulnerability map in Meymeh aquifer by the three methods of DRASTIC, GODS and AVI methods, comparing the results and choose the best method. Considering the importance of groundwater resources, in the zone under study, which is used for drinking, agriculture and industrial activities, better management of groundwater resources, is of great importance. Materials and methods Meymeh aquifer is located in the northern zone 39 and the range of latitudes of 3718051/059 and 3675650/104 and longitudes of 503201/963 and 534775/334. Meymeh is the northernmost zone of Esfahan province and is located at the distance of 85 kilometers from country town and next to the Esfahan-Tehran highway. It is known to be the highest plateau plain in Esfahan province. DRASTIC method is a numerical classification model presented for the first time in 1987, by (USPEA) and (AWWA), to evaluate groundwater vulnerability potential of the United States. This method is based on the concept of hydrological state. This model is a combination of seven measurable hydrologic and effective parameters in transferring contamination to ground water, including depth of water, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, unsaturated zone and hydraulic conductivity. These seven parameters appear as seven layers in GIS software media, and essential analyses have been applied on them. A weight, from one to ten, is considered for each factor to determine the relative importance of each factor. The weight represents the relative effect of each parameter on the contamination transferring rate in ground water. Also, a rate from one to ten is considered for intervals of each parameter in this model and allows the user to unify it with the zone under study. Finally, for providing the vulnerability map, after collecting and digitizing the information of these seven parameters, they are combined with each other and form a new layer called DRASTIC index, based on Equation (1): DRASTIC index = DrDw + RrRw + Ar Aw + SrSw + Tr Tw + IrIw + Cr Cw (1) In this Equation, D, R, A, S, T, I and C are effective parameters in the model, and r and w, respectively are the rating and weight of each parameter. So, the intrinsic vulnerability index is formed by weight product of each parameter in its rating. Some researchers believe that they can achieve results equivalent to DRASTIC model, using less number of parameter, more accuracy and less cost. In respect to this view, GODS method was presented. This model is a very simple, practical and empirical method for fast evaluating contamination potentials. In the method, there exist three parameters including groundwater confinement, overlying strata and depth of water. The primary method of GODS has not considered the soil layer, which is one of the most important factors for reduction and elimination of contaminants. Thus, GODS method was presented by considering parameters (presenting the sensitivity of soil leaching). In this method, the value of various classes of parameters changes from zero to one, and is considered to be of the same weight for all the parameters. The vulnerability index of GODS method is formed by the parameters product, according to Equation (2): GODS index = G.O.D.S (2) In this Equation, G is the rating of the aquifer type, O is the lithology rating of zone on the aquifer, D is the rating of water table depth and S is the rating of soil covering type. In the method for groundwater vulnerability index (AVI), two parameters are used to measure the vulnerability rate. These two parameters are the thickness of each deposit on the aquifer and the estimated hydraulic conductivity of each layer. The value of the aquifer hydraulic conductivity is calculated according to Equation (3): (3) In this Equation, c is the aquifer hydraulic conductivity, di is the thickness of layers on the aquifer per m, and Ki is the estimated hydraulic conductivity per m/d. The hydraulic conductivity parameter has a time dimension which indicates the time duration of groundwater movement through the porosity of the upper surface of saturation part to the lower layers. Discussion of Results The results of DRASTIC method indicate that Meymeh aquifer is exposed to two ranges of low and moderate vulnerability, that are respectively 44/76%, 55/24%. The results of GODS model indicate that Meymeh aquifer is exposed to two low and moderate vulnerability classes that are respectively 71/58% and 28/42%. The results of AVI indicate that 54/32% of aquifer has low and 45/68% of it has moderate contamination potential. Conclusion The results of DRASTIC model indicate that southern, northern and central zones of the aquifer have moderate vulnerability. The reason of vulnerability increase in these zones can be found in the unsaturated zones within these ranges that are less than alluvium with coarse sand. Also, the moderate to high permeability of these ranges increase the net recharge. It should be mentioned that the minimal slope of the central zone of aquifer is also an effective factor in increasing the vulnerability potential of these zones. The results of the GODS model indicate that central, northern and western zones have low, and the edges of the aquifer have moderate vulnerability. Comparing the three methods, one can say that Meymeh plain aquifer is located in two groups of low and moderate vulnerability zones, but the expanding limit of vulnerability ranges in these zones are different. In GODS and DRASTIC methods, the vulnerability zones are more in accordance with each other, but the ranges of vulnerability in DRASTIC method are decreased, and it can estimate the aquifer vulnerability better than GODS method. In DRASTIC and AVI methods, the moderate vulnerability zonings in south of the aquifer are well in accordance with each other. In comparing DRASTIC method with the two other ones, more percentage of the aquifer is located in the moderate vulnerability zone. DRASTIC model precisely characterized various vulnerability ranges. The reason is that there are more parameters and different weights of parameters, based on their role in determining the contamination. The effect of uncertainty of some parameters is neutralized because too many parameters exist in this method. Thus, in DRASTIC method, if uncertainty is increased in one of the parameters, its effect will be covered by the other ones, while in the two other methods, the uncertainty in each one changes the result of zoning. But vulnerability zoning in DRASTIC method is more time-consuming and costly than the two other ones, because of the existence of many parameters. Specially, in Iran, there is a lack of initial statistics and information. Providing the required information for evaluating vulnerability in GODS method is easier and cheaper than that of the other ones. GODS method doesn’t mention the rate of surface recharge, and that is the main deficiency of this method, because the rate of surface recharge of the aquifer is very effective in determining the vulnerability. There are just two parameters in AVI method. Thus, this method has less accuracy than the two other ones, and can present a general evaluation of contamination potential. Since the insaturated zone and depth to water table are just the same in all three methods, these two are the most important and effective parameters in evaluating the contamination.

Introduction Oil storage tanks are one of the most important industrial facilities that are exposed to risks of toxic substances release, fire and explosion. Fire is a common risk and explosion is the most important risk at the oil storage tanks and petroleum products. In research with applications in chemical risk assessment that was published in 2007, Causes risk in the hands of the industries affected by three factors: human error, equipment failure and other factors (natural and intentional acts of terrorism) is enumerated and evaluated. Materials and methods In this study, Environmental risk assessment methods have been carried out in two parts: Reviewing and evaluation of environmental characteristics and technical aspects of the study area (identification and risk assessment activities) were carried out. Also, in this study, Arc GIS software was used to analyze and identify regional environmental conditions. After the library studies and reviewing articles, in order to collect basic information and identify the environmental risks Yazd oil storage was visited and experts and relevant authorities were interviewed. Then using the results of the situation, brain storming and reviewing the causes of fires in oil storage at the national level, Environmental risk were identified and evaluated. In this study, FTA method was used to investigate and identify roots of the most important environmental risk based on three factors: human error, equipment failure, and other factors (natural and intentional acts of terrorism) and FMEA techniques were used for risk assessment. The main reason for using FMEA risk assessment was high flexibility and openness and parameters in the assessor's assessment according to project requirements while the probability and severity of the FTA only two parameters can be used to assess. The risk identification method based on a tree diagram of the FTA (1) was defined. Thereafter, the risks were identified. The risk assessment based on the analysis of failure modes and effects on the environment For each of the parts warehouse was completed worksheet EFMEA potential failure modes, failure causes and potential effects of the potential malfunction is also entered in the worksheet EFMEA and RPN was calculated. Results and Conclusions In this study, the scoring rate and severity of the pollution on the environment of GIS software was used and the distance to the assessment criteria were used for oil storage. Based on the laws in Iran's oil ministry 35 meters of oil storage buffer should be considered. Also given that distance of oil storage to the close park at about 0.640 km, and the nearest are administered by the Department of Environment in Yazd province is about 18km. Therefore, fire will not impact on the areas. According to ancient cities and historical city of Yazd, making this position among the top 14 most important monuments of the city of Yazd face of fire in oil warehouse was studied. The closest distance from oil Depo is about 3.5km. It seems unlikely that the radius of the fire reach to these areas. Also, the population density in the radius of 2 km from the warehouse was assessed. This population density around the oil storage is 50 to 80 people per hectare. This raises the potential risk of oil storage. In addition, the old tissue was studied in the same radius. 35 meters buffer of oil storage for investigating the existence of different users were specified and evaluated. In the buffer, 20 households and a mosque are located inside the danger zone. Note that users such as chemical and industrial users that may exacerbate the risk of privacy are not included in that. In addition, there are different types of users as industrial factories, population centers such as mosques, schools, railroads, military centers and tourist centers in terms of influences and the influence of oil storage to four-kilometer radius were studied. Such industrial users like mosques and health centers and residential homes are at the tanks section, seven risks were ranked as moderate risks, Including: dredging reservoirs by traditional methods, lack of time and accurate level of size of the tanks, welded tanks in insecure conditions, seal loss due to corrosion and poor maintenance on the roof, lightning and earthing system is out of performance or interrupted. Transmission lines operating part three, the vehicle line, broken lines, lack of safety during repairs and seismic lines were of moderate risk. The loading bay of the 10 risks identified seven risk categories as moderate risks, including: Taking tankers to the platforms, drawing a bucket with the bottom of earth, smoking and the using mobile phones during loading, lack of safety during maintenance, electrical failure, technical failure cache of oil, failure to use proper lighting (explosion proof). Based on fault tree drawn in the section tank, equipment failures with 41.67% were identified as the most important cause of environmental risk and human error with 33.33% as the second factor was identified. In part of transmission lines and loading bay, with 45.46% and 40% of human error as the main factor and 36.36% and 20% of equipment failures respectively were identified as the second risk factor. 36.36% and 20% of equipment failures respectivelywere identified as the second risk factor. Other factors in the storage tank, transmission lines and loading with 18.18%, 40% and 25% are in the next category causing environmental and safety risks in the oil storage of Yazd. After identifying the risks and the risks surrounding environment from oil storage activities, in this study, GIS software was used for crisis management planning. Given that response time and response in emergency situations (when creating the event) is due to certain conditions that oil stock (proximity to residential areas) is very important position of sensitive facilities such as hospitals, emergency centers, fire access roads to oil storage and it was marked for disaster management. After the identification and prioritization of risks and risk response plan require that appropriate ways to deal with risks and opportunities before they occur. The following corrective recommendations are derived from the results of this study. The following corrective recommendations derived from results of this study to improve the unit's performance under review and reduce the incidence of causative agents of environmental risks in the oil reservoir of Yazd. Considering that the oil stock was located within the city of Yazd and is in proximity to residential areas. The following fire prevention and risk control seems to be necessary: Management system implementation of five S (sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain) Fail Safe Division (FSD), Strengthening of engineering controls and safety devices, such as making use of the Fail Safe Devision (FSD), running the risk of exchange programs, The use of safety signs at places with high risk, the use of CCTV cameras, especially in high-risk activities. Implementation and strengthening of early warning systems and fire fight and employing passive defense criteria, because of the importance of earthquake risks. Therefore,the following terms are necessary to deal with the earthquake risk in the oil storage: - Design and retrofit of earthquake equipments (tanks and pipelines and other industry related equipments) - The use of separators in different parts of oil storage -The use of insurance cover canals to reduce the economic losses to some extent Due to the narrow streets of the adjacent warehouse and the risks of oil in storage, improving external conditions in warehouses, street at widening and also in other parts of the warehouse doors emergency recommended, if accident to the streets around the store can also be used. Traffic load and street cars to be moved around and better conditions for relief and rescue operations to be created to manage the incident in the shortest time. In general, it is important after accidents, managers and related experts be present at the scene and take the necessary measures to prevent accidents do next and a written report about the accident and its causes, and also provide for damages Damage created until Corrective measures need to be. Preparing procedures and specific guidelines to reduce and minimize damage from accidents, will be very useful. Guidelines and administrative procedures could include: Experts and technicians specialized in oil stock holding periods of periodic, Emergency response plan, Plans to deal with incidents and the external and internal exercises. Also, compile responsibilities and powers of each of the managers and experts are concerned about the duties of each one of them during the occurrence of specified events to monitor events and take necessary measures as soon as possible.

Introduction Energy and environmental issues are two common concerns of modern societies. Fossil fuels consumption is believed to be the primary factor contributing to severe environmental problems, such as global warming, climate change and acid rain, which are a serious threat to the world’s ecosystems. In order to stabilize the earth’s climate and prevent further global warming, the earth requires a 70% cut in present carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. In the executive summary of IEA (2006), it claims “Beyond 2020, the role of renewable energy in global energy supply is likely to become much more important”. Among these, biomass can be defined as all the biological materials produced and existing within an ecological system and as sources of renewable energy can be converted directly into energy or energy carrier materials. Regarding to biomass assessment, researchers estimated the sustainable energy potential of biomass resources in Thailand including: (i) agricultural residues, (ii) animal manure, (iii) fuel-wood saving potential through improvement of efficiency, (iv) possibility of fuel-wood saving through substitution by other fuels, (v) municipal solid wastes, and (vi) wastewater. The potential of each source was estimated for the reference year 1997 and for the years 2005 and 2010. The total energy potential of these sources in 1997, 2005 and 2010 were 525, 702 and 821 PJ, respectively. In Iran, Khorasan Razavi province is known as an important region of biomass production in the country including: crops, livestock and poultry. Hence, in this study the potential of biomass and its distribution were evaluated.

Introduction Population growth, increasing consumption of natural energy sources, the increasing use of fossil fuels, especially the oil and gas industry in recent years with the energy imbalance management has led to emergence of global energy crisis. Moreover, rapid urbanization and industrialization have substantially increased the amount of high-strength wastewater being produced, which in turn increases the amount of pollution in receiving waters. Dairy industries which have a high percentage of organic substrates in their wastewater are considered to be one of the most contaminated food industries. Organic compounds existing in milk as (proteins, carbohydrates and fats) account for a large amount of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) found in dairy industries wastewaters and can have important effects on municipal waste treatment plants. With regard to the discharge of dairy industries wastewater in the environment, as a result of the presence high level of nitrogen and phosphor, the eutrophication occurs in receiving waters especially in lakes and rivers with small waves. Usually, different biological systems such as activated sludge system, anaerobic pond, oxidation pond, trickling filter and combined trickling filter/activated sludge system are used in order to treat the wastewater of these industries. But these systems have weaknesses such as the consumption of a high level of energy, the production of much of a biomass, the requirement of vast land and substantial expenses. As compared to common processes of treatment, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a new concept in the biological treatment technology of wastewater. Using it, it is possible to treat wastewater and generate electricity simultaneously. MFCs are bio-electrochemical transducers which are capable to converting stored energy in chemical bonds in organic compounds to electrical energy by the catalytic actions of microorganisms. In light of the fact that dairy industrie's wastewater is rich in biodegradable organic substrates, the purpose of this study is to investigate the treatability of this industry's wastewater and determining the amount of electricity generation using the dual chamber microbial fuel cell technology without catalyst and mediator. Materials and methods Dairy industries wastewater was collected from the equalization basin of Pegah dairy factory in Kerman’s and maintained until the time of usage at a temperature of 4 C in refrigerator. In order to provide required microorganism in MFC reactor, an amount of active sludge being treated by active sludge system was collected from wastewater's treatment of Kerman. In the study, the dual chamber microbial fuel cell (model H) which made of methyl methacrylate was used. MFC reactor was built having two anode and cathode chambers with equal volume (1/5 liter) which are separated from each other by proton exchange membrane. To increase porosity before using, the membrane were placed into the distilled water, Sulfuric acid solution 0.5 molar and Hydrogen Peroxide 30%. Two electrodes made of carbon graphite (12×4×0.5cm) were placed in each of the two chambers and connected to digital multimeter by a copper wire with 8 cm long and 100 ohm of external resistance. Before using, the electrodes were placed into Deionized water within a period of 24 hours. The cathode chamber was loaded with phosphate buffer 100mM (Na2Hpo4.H2o:2.75gl-1, NaH2Po4.H2o:4.2gl-1) as catalyst. The anode chamber was anaerobic and contained the wastewater as substrate. Wastewater was continuously injected into it through a peristaltic pump with 40 ml min-1. First, the reactor was set to work by the injection of active sludge only. After 12 hours, the dairy industry wastewater was injected gradually to the chamber, in such a way that after 24 hours, more than 90 percent of the anode chamber contained dairy wastewater. The fixed amount of COD and produced voltage showed that when the reactor got to the stable condition, the Anode chamber's wastewater must be replaced with fresh one. Substrate degradation rate and current output parameters were considered to assessment the performance of MFC according to the treatment efficiency. Open circuit voltage (mV, V) and current intensity (mA, I) (in 100 ohm of external resistance) were read by digital multimeter for 1 hour interval. COD, turbidity and PH of treatment wastewater were analyzed at the beginning and end of each cycle in accordance with standard method. Results The Maximum voltage and current intensity were obtained as 503.7mV and 2.02mA respectively. Maximum current density and power density were obtained in 100 ohm of resistance as 291.67mA/m2 and 81.43mW/m2. The experimental data showed that the highest percentage of COD removal and substrate degradation rate occurred in cycle 3 and were equal to 77.25% and1.63 kg COD/m3.Also, there's a good relationship between the substrate degradation rate and power generation (R2=0.7412) and the amount of organic loading and power generation (R2=0.6467). This shows that generating electricity is done through substrate degrading. Also, the highest power generation is observed in cycle 1. (0.7946w). During the operation of MFC reactor, with COD removal also observed the removal of carbohydrate that the efficiency of carbohydrate removal was variable between 69.37 to 89.39 %.A good relationship was observed between carbohydrate removal and power generation (R2=0.7396).The minimum percent of protein removal (70.8%) was observed in second cycle and loading OLR=2.095 and the maximum removal (78.93%) in the first cycle and loading OLR=2.28.The turbidity removal shows a good relationship with COD removal (R2=0.8965). Discussion andconclusion After the injection of active sludge to the MFC reactor, the microorganism entered the lag phase and the voltage reached 344.3 MV during 12 hours. This could be due to the difference of the potential between the two electrodes in accordance with the biological and chemical factors and the presence of component that are easily utilized by existing microorganism in the wastewater. Similar sudden increase in voltage has been reported for microbial fuel cell with different sources of substrate. The results showed that according to previous studies, the active sludge was a suitable biocatalyst for generating electricity.. In the first stage, the maximum voltage generation started from 12th hours and remained fixed until 58 hours. After that, because of degrading substrate and decreasing carbon source in the anode chamber, the voltage and current generation decreased. Because of the enrichment and forming processes of electrically active bacteria biofilms on the anode surface, the ascending phase in its first cycle was longer as compared to its other cycle. The second cycle was started by the replacement of wastewater to the reactor. In this stage we observed the rapid increasing of voltage and current in reactor. These rapid increasing showed that the attached Bactria on anode as compared to suspended Bactria had a more effective role in generating electricity. This procedure was continued in the third and fourth cycle by injecting fresh wastewater. The reason for small differences which are observed in the amounts of produced voltage and current in different studies can be attributed to factors such as used electrode surface, the distance between electrodes, the microbial fuel cell's construction and proton exchange membrane. In order to determine the effects of resistance on microbial fuel cell's performance and determining the optimum resistance for maximum power density, the polarization curve is used. In one stage, when the reactor's voltage reaches to a fixed amount, the polarization Curve is obtained by changing the external resistance From 100 ohm to 30 kilo ohm and recording the voltage. According to the V=IR equation, by the increasing of resistance the produced current intensity decreases and the fixing Of voltage is observed relatively in higher resistances. The fixing of voltage at one point shows that the reactor gets to a stable condition and can generate electricity from treating of wastewater. The experimental data showed that anode chamber of reactor, like common anaerobic treating systems could Perfectly remove the wastewater COD and besides generating electricity, had good substrate degradation rate. This showed that the function of existing wastewater's microorganism in metabolizing the carbon source as electron donors. Decreasing in the carbohydrate concentration shows the effective functioning of microbial collection as electron donor, in dairy industries wastewater. The dairy industries wastewater contains high concentration of protein that during the operation of MFC a good reduction was observed in its concentration. With increasing the amounts of loading in each cycle and following it increasing the amount of carbon in reactor, the efficiency of protein removal also increases. Because of the presence of proteins, lipids and insoluble organic matters, the dairy industries wastewater contains turbidity. The turbidity removal might be as a result of colloidal organic matters like casein and other milk's compositions that are biologically degraded. Result of this study show that electricity generation is possible by using dual chamber microbial fuel cell technology without mediator and catalyst and dairy industries wastewater as the substrate and the reactor operation showed that it was perfectly used in order to treating dairy industries wastewater.

Introduction Because of population growth, human needs to produce raw materials have increased. Different industries have developed that discharge pollutants into the environment. One type of the contaminants is heavy metals that are abundant in municipal and industrial waste waters. These compounds aren’t capable of biological degradation and in certain quantities are considered toxic to many aquatic animals. Heavy metals may be accumulated in the various parts of the ecosystem and organism tissues along the food chain. Transfer of these pollutants may eventually lead to human health threat. Petroleum consists of considerable amounts of heavy metals especially lead, nickel and vanadium. While loading and mining, amounts of petroleum intentionally and unintentionally enter the marine environment and besides pollution, the concentration of heavy metals like nickel increases. Most of the petroleum constituents which enter the marine environment are either volatile or dissolvable by the microorganisms, while the metals cannot be disintegrated and last more. Methods should be considered to eliminate these metals from the environment in order to prevent pollution. Nickel due to its wide application in metal planting industry is concerned. These are various methods for nickel metal removal from aqueous environment including oxidation and reduction, ion exchange and metal deposits. However these methods may also impose high costs and low metal concentrations have little efficiency. Biosorption is a relatively newer method in which the absorption ability of microorganisms to remove pollutants from the environment is used. Fungi, algae and bacteria are among the microorganisms which are capable of biological degradation and are used frequently in studies of biosorption. Various species such as Aspergillus, Pseudomonas, Sporpophyticu, Bacillus and Phanercheate are reported as nickel biosorbents. Bacteria are preferred due to high adaptation and quick growth. The cell wall of these microorganisms has lipo-polysaccharide which contains active groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl and amine that enabled bacteria to adsorb metal cations. The objective of this study was to isolate and identify nickel-resistant bacteria from contaminated sediments in the Khor Mousa and determine its ability to remove nickel from the environment. Materials and methods Sediment samples from the surface layer of Khor Mousa contaminated sediment were taken using a grab. For isolation of bacteria, initially one gram of each sample was added to 10 ml of a %0.85 salt solution and was diluted to 10 -3. 0.1 ml on nutrient agar medium containing nickel concentrations of 50 and 100 mg/l were cultured. Thereafter, the prepared mediums were incubated at 30° C for 4 days. After colonies growth on medium, the largest colony was selected and cultured frequently on solid media to get a purified bacterium. Bacterium identification was carried out through biochemical tests for example oxidase, catalase, TSI, citrate, VP, phenylalanine, macConkey, indole, MR, lactose, motility and decarboxylase. To measure the bacterial growth, first LB broth culture was used to prepare suspensions. The isolated colony was cultured into 50 ml of LB broth and incubated for 24 hours at 150 rpm. Afterwards, 10 ml of the solution was extracted and centrifuged at 7000 rpm for 20 minutes. The upper phase was extracted, washed and centrifuged and eventually the bacterial suspension was prepared. Three ml of the suspension medium was added to LB broth containing concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/l of nickel and the assay was performed with a spectrophotometer for 12 days. The primary step is to use 3 ml LB broth as a blank sample. After that 0.6 ml of medium containing bacteria were mixed with 2.4 ml of fresh LB broth to measure the optical density at 600 nm wave length. The nickel solutions at concentration of 50, 100 and 200 mg/l were used for evaluating the bacterial potential for biosorption of nickel. Thereafter, 1 ml of the bacterium suspension was added to metal samples and incubated at 30˚C for 2 hours. Moreover, solutions without bacteria were considered for comparison with other samples. Five ml of each solution was centrifuged at 4000 rpm in 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes. Finally the amount of nickel remained into the solutions was measured by Atomic Absorption Savant AAS in concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/l at 30 minutes intervals for 150 minutes. Results and discussion Three colonies of bacteria were observed on nutrient agar medium containing 100 mg/l nickel and the largest colony was selected for further experiments. The isolated bacterium was a kind of gram-positive rod bacterium that was identified as Bacillus anthracis using biochemical tests. Growth curve in the first 24 h after inoculation in LB broth, in all three concentrations showed a similar trend, but in the days after, the bacteria at concentrations of 50 mg/l had a better performance compared to other concentrations. The maximum growth rate at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/l nickel was 0.331, 0.199 and 0.161, respectively. The sample without nickel showed the maximum optical density (0.633). Also study the maximum growth of B. anthracis depicted that bacterial growth was reduced along with increase of metal concentration. There was a significant different between the highest optical density of the bacterium in the media without nickel and the maximum bacterial growth in the presence of nickel. Moreover, a significant different was not observed between the maximum growth of B. anthracis in concentrations of 100 and 200 mg/l (P>0.05). The isolated bacterium in the duration of 150 minutes reduced the amount of nickel from 50 mg/l to 15.7 ± 0.99 mg/l. The reduction of nickel metal at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg/l was respectively 52.8 ± 0.99 and 118.2 ± 0.71 mg/l. Meanwhile % 68.6 nickel metal concentration of 50 mg/l of solution was absorbed by the bacterium B. anthracis which was compared to other concentrations won the highest percentage of absorption. The ANOVA test also revealed the significant difference in nickel percentage at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/l. Furthermore, the percentage of nickel absorption is reduced with increasing Ni concentration. Many studies have been carried out on Bacillus that proved the bacterial potential in heavy metal absorption. Bacillus due to a high stability in the terrestrial and marine ecosystems can be distributed in various environments. The purpose of this study is to isolate the native bacterial species which is nickel resistant and is able to eliminate nickel from the environment. B. anthracis isolated from Khor Mousa sediments and it's capability to eliminate nickel from the environment was studied. In the same field strain Bacillus sp. SJ-101 and Bacillus cereus were respectively isolated from contaminated soil and Anzali wetland sediments. Another study reported the isolation of 4 kinds of marine bacillus which had a great ability in absorbing nickel, from the polluted waters in Egypt. The results of isolation step showed that the isolate could grow in nickel concentration of 100 mg/l. Thus, a range of nickel concentrations (50, 100 and 200 mg/l) was considered in growth and absorption steps. Evaluating the growth of B. anthracis in different concentrations of nickel metal showed that this bacterium has the maximum growth in a concentration of 50 mg/l and with increasing the concentrations of the metal in the culture, the growth decreased and this is probably due to increased toxicity of metal and its inhibition of bacterial growth. There is also a 24 hour delay in bacterial growth in each of three concentrations of bacteria due to capability with the new medium. In 2007, scientists reported the isolation and identification of the species Bacillus Sp. CPB4 from the pollutant sediments of heavy metals in Korea. The ability of the bacterium in the presence of lead, cadmium, copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, chromium and zinc was studied in 20-40 ˚C and 40-400 mg/l concentration after 24 hours. More than 90% of absorption was done by the outer membrane of the bacterium cell because metal ions attach to the outer membrane proteins of cell. The results showed high capability of this species in biological absorption of heavy metals. Comparison of nickel absorption by B. anthracis displayed that it is able to remove % 68.6 of the metal in a concentration of 50 mg/l and % 40.9 in a concentration of 100 mg/l. The ability of nickel absorption in the presence of two bacterial species Bacillus Subtilis 117S and Pseudomonas Cepacia showed that the Bacillus strain could absorb 351/1 mµ/ml nickel from the medium. The nickel removal showed a remarkable increase during 1 to 8 hours after the bacterium inoculation and it reached to a balance after 24 hours. As the concentration of biomass increased, the nickel's adsorption increased too. In the field of pH effect on metal absorption we can say that the biological absorption of nickel increases by the increase in the amount of pH from 2 to 7. The report in 2010 also showed that Bacillus sp. is able to remove % 50.5 of nickel in a concentration of 200 mg/l. Another study was carried out on the ability of Bacillus sp. MG-75 in nickel absorption. The mentioned strain in a concentration of 140 mg/l was able to absorb % 70 of the nickel metal. Most nickel removal occurred in the early 30 minutes of the measurement. The amount of nickel at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 decreased to 31.65±0.63, 80.50±0.282 and 182.25±0.494 mg/l in the first 30 minutes after the inoculation, respectively. In the primary hour of measurement the bacterium had more active sites to absorb the metal but as the time passes and these sites are occupied so the amount of absorption remains constant. With increasing metal concentrations in the media, the percentage of absorption will decrease so the maximum percent of biosorption (68.8%) was observed in a concentration of 50 mg/l and the minimum percent (40.9%) was in a nickel concentration of 200 mg/l. Other scientists argued that in lower concentrations, there are fewer amounts of metal ions in comparison with the active sites on the cell wall of bacteria. Therefore, more percentage of the metal will be up taken by non-occupied sites, while with increasing the concentration of the metal in the media, the percent of absorption will decrease. Conclusions B. anthracis isolated from Khor Mous sediments and its growth was studied in various nickel concentrations. Although the bacterium had the highest growth in 50 mg/l, it could survive in 200 mg/l concentration. B. anthracis removed 68/8% nickel from the culture. Thus, with regard to the ability of bacterium to grow in medium containing nickel and the biological uptake of this heavy metal, it can be recommended as an appropriate organism to reduce the nickel-metal pollution.

Introduction Persian Gulf is a warm, hypersaline, shallow and semi-enclosed sea with low hydrodynamic energy and ideal conditions for deposition of particle materials. Qeshm Island is the largest island of Persian Gulf, in the mouth of strategic Hormoz Strait. Every day, many tankers and ships that transport oil production of Persian Gulf throughout the world, cross near this island. Thus, Qeshm and Mangrove forests located on northwest of it, are continually subjected to oil contamination. Mangrove ecosystems because of their natural characters have the highest sensitivity to oil contamination relative to other costal environments. Mangroves are highly productive intertidal ecosystems. These forests are well known for its suitable sedimentation environment and therefore these forests behave like a reservoir for non-polar suspense load. Oil contamination has been established as one of the most serious health hazards to coastal environments, essentially mangrove ecosystems due to having anoxic and saturated sediments. As a result, Mangrove ecosystems have become interesting local ecosystems for checking the type and origin of pollutants and organic matters. Tracing organic matter in sediment samples is important to understand the input sources in organic matter cycling in aquatic environments. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). PAHs are listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as priority pollutants. Due to toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic properties of some of these compounds, studying their levels, sources and impacts on environment is interesting. Petroleum and petroleum products are main origins for entering these compounds to marine environments. PAHs discharged to the environment are present in complex mixtures and include both low and high molecular weight PAHs. In this research, the profile and the characteristic ratios of different individual PAHs in sediments such as phenanthrene/anthracene and fluoranthene/pyrene, have been used to determine origins of PAHs. In the recent years, Straight chain alkanes (n-alkanes) have been applied to assess the petroleum pollution in the marine environments. Significant difference in chain lengths n-alkanes of petroleum products, marine and terrestrial plants could be utilized for recognizing sources of organic matter in environmental samples. Distribution of hydrocarbons could be varied in different environments. In order to determine source of organic matters some of hydrocarbonic indices have been proposed. We used them to assess organic inputs of Qeshm mangrove forests and geochemical conditions of this valuable ecosystem. Materials and methods Our study area is within the mangrove forests in the northwest of Qeshm Island which form a vast area of the Hara Protected Area. This forest is the largest marine protected area in Iran and designated as a Protected Area in 1972, the entire area was designated as a Ramsar Site in 1975 as well as a Biosphere Reserve in 1976. The surface sediment samples were collected from 18 stations of the mangrove forest nearby the Qeshm Island and were analyzed for PAHs and normal alkanes. Sampling was carried out randomly at low tides with four replicate samples, from nearest sediments of mangrove aerial roots by boat, using solvent-cleaned stainless steel spoons. The sediments were transferred in aluminum foils to reduce any contamination and after being labeled, were placed in icebox and transported to the laboratory for further analysis. Upon reaching the laboratory, the samples were stored in the Cold Room (-20°C) until further analysis. Firstly, 10 g freeze-dried sediments were used from each sample. Sediment samples were extracted with 320 ml distilled dichloromethane for 10 h with a Soxhlet apparatus. After soxhlet extraction, immediately 100µl of deuterated PAH surrogate internal standard mixture (naphthalene-d8, anthracene-d10, chrysene-d12 and perylene-d12) was added to the sample extracts for quality control of PAH analyses, and activated copper pieces were also added to DCM that were contained extracted organic fraction of each sediment sample, after extraction, for removal of sulphur from samples. Thereafter, two stages of silica gel column chromatography were applied. In first stage a range of hydrocarbons containing aliphatic and aromatic ones were eluted by means of 20 ml hexane/dichloromethane (3:1). In the next stage, the aliphatic hydrocarbon fraction was isolated from the aromatic lipids by fully activated silica gel column chromatography using 4ml hexanes. Also, hexane/dichloromethane (3:1) was used to get PAHs fraction. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was carried out with Agilent Technologies instrument model 7890 A gas chromatograph, coupled to a 5975 C quadrupole mass spectrometer. A 30 meter fused silica capillary column with 0.25 mm i.d. and 0.25 µm film thickness with helium was used as gas carrier in the analyses. GC-MS operating conditions were 70eV ionization potential with the source at 200°C and electron multiplier voltage at ~2000 eV.A selected ion monitoring method was employed after a delay of 3 min for analyzing PAHs and scan method for n-alkanes. Twenty- three of PAH compounds that including EPA PAH compounds were analyzed. Results and discussion Mean value of PAHs concentration in Qeshm sediment samples were 1344±306 ng g-1 dry weight which was moderate relative to other marine environments. The analyzed sediment samples had higher percentages of lower molecular weight PAHs. Naphthalene were predominant compound in all of the PAH profiles which constitutes a significant fraction of crude oils and petroleum products with lighter fractions. Therefore, it can be used as an authentic indicator of petrogenic source of PAH contamination. In addition, lower molecular weight PAHs were dominant ones. This is another proof of petrogenic source for PAHs in surface sediment samples. The sources of PAHs, whether from pyrolytic or from petrogenic contamination, may be identified by ratios of individual PAH compounds based on peculiarities in PAH composition and distribution pattern. Ratios value of specific PAH compounds such as phenanthrene/anthracene (Phe/Ant), fluoranthene/pyrene (Flu/Pyr), benzo(a)anthracene/chrysene (BaA/Chr), fluoranthene to fluoranthene plus pyrene (Fl/Fl+Py), benzo(a)anthracene to the sum of benzo(a)anthracene and chrysene, (BaA/BaA+Chr), methylphenanthrene/phenanthrene (MP/P), were calculated to evaluate the possible source of PAH contamination in sediment samples. These ratios obviously suggest that the surface sediments of Qeshm mangrove have a petrogenic input of PAHs. The mean of total n-alkanes concentrations (ΣHC) were 2766.40±1782.20 µg/g in surface sediment samples of the study area. GC-MS chromatograms of analyzed Qeshm samples showed two different distribution patterns of n-alkanes. Three predominant components (n-C23, n-C25, n-C27) were obviously identified. In the sediments of these stations, long chain n-alkanes strongly outweighed short chain ones, with strong odd-to-even preference, suggesting a predominant contribution from recent higher plant sources. Stations that are located just near the Qeshm Island have received terrigenous contribution from the mangrove covers. Therefore, mangrove leaves are the major sources of organic matters in surface sediments of Qeshm mangrove forests. High CPI, providing good evidence for a major contribution of epicuticular waxes from higher plants and also indicating negligible petroleum inputs. TAR index for sediments samples of Qeshm stations, similar to CPI is valuable index for source identification of organic matters. High CPI and TAR for some of sediment samples, clearly show dominance of higher plant-derived organic material. Presence of UCM in chromatograms for Qeshm samples which indicate that stations far from Qeshm Island have high amounts of petrogenic compounds beside biogenic hydrocarbon inputs of higher plant. However, UCM was minor in the sediments of costal Qeshm Island. Also, Pristane and phytane present in high concentrations confirm petroleum contamination in Qeshm mangrove sediments. In addition, low values for n-C17/Pr and n-C18/Ph could suggest relative petroleum contamination in surface sediments of Qeshm mangrove forests. Distribution pattern of n-alkanes and the diagnostic hydrocarbonic ratios in analyzed sediment samples such as CPI, TAR and U/R, all revealed that n-alkanes have dominant biogenic source in Qeshm mangrove mudflat that origin of mangrove covers. However, some samples which have more distance from the island have shown a combined condition of petrogenic and biogenic origins. On the other hand, observed values for U/R, Pr/Ph, n-C17/Pr, n-C18/Ph and UCM in all of the analyzed samples demonstrates that Qeshm mangrove forests was contaminated by a background oil contamination as a result of continuous oil spills and past wars in Persian Gulf. In summary, PAHs and n-alkanes have not shown the same origin for sedimentary organic matters of Qeshm surface sediments. The reason of this consequence could attribute to this fact that PAHs compound, unlike n-alkanes, cannot display natural source of organic matter in environmental samples. In this study case, deduction is only based on PAHs due to navigation of these compounds, so that we distinguish dominant petrogenic source for organic matters of Qeshm samples, wrongly. However, n-alkanes biomarkers showed biogenic source as the dominant source of organic matters in studied mangrove forest truly. Therefore, combined application of various molecular biomarkers covered such insufficiency of special biomarkers to revealing real source of organic matters in environmental samples and getting a complete and reliable viewpoint of geochemical conditions. This could be important for having a successful management on valuable ecosystems.

Introduction Suitability of groundwater for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes depends upon its quality. Changes in groundwater quality are due to variation in climatic conditions, residence time of water with aquifer materials and inputs from soil during percolation of water. Multivariate statistical methods are one of the common and important methods for hydro geochemistry study. Saturation index (SI) of minerals in order to get an explanation of the chemical evolution of groundwater. Saturation index can be used to predict responses to groundwater subsurface mineralogical reactions, without rock and soil samples collection and petrographic analysis. This research tries to investigation of this method and makes use of it for hydrochemical studding of groundwater resources of Khoy Plain. Materials and methods Khoy plain is situated in the north of West Azerbaijan province, northwest on Iran. The study area has a cold and arid climate with the annual mean precipitation about 344 mm. Qhotur and Aland Rivers are mainly surface water resources of the area (figure 1). In this study it has been tried to use the PHREEQC software for calculate saturation indices of Khoy plain formations mineral. Groundwater samples were collected from 36 groundwater wells that sampling procedures and chemical analysis were carried out as per the standard methods. Unstable hydrochemical parameters including pH and EC were measured during sampling on site and also with major ions (Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Sulfate, Carbonate and bicarbonate), minor ions (nitrate and fluoride) were analyzed in hydro geological laboratory of Tabriz University. Groundwater samples have two types, Ca-HCO3 water type and Na-Cl. Generally, groundwater type is Na-Cl in the south and east area and Ca-HCO3 in west and north (figure 2). Results and discussion According to Piper diagram the majority of samples (recharge area) are fresh water with a temporary hardness (figure 3). EC investigation in area shows that electrical conductivity increase from Southwest to Northeast and East which coincided is in the direction of groundwater flow. In the EC values in east and northeast (output of groundwater) are higher than the other parts of the plain, due to the discharge, evaporation of groundwater, evaporative formations and pumping water from the wells. Totally, three main effective factors were found on study area hydrochemicaly (figure 4). The first and second factors show the effect of geological formations and general groundwater trend on hydrochemistry of the area. The third factor is influence of human activities. Dissolution of evaporative and carbonate minerals have a main role in groundwater hydrochemistry in addition weathering of minerals controls the concentration of major ions such as calcium and magnesium. Calculation of main minerals saturation index in groundwater also show the rock-water interaction and defined the effect of geological formation minerals such as Miocene and Pliocene on increase of water anions and cations (figure 5). Conclusion First and second factors show the effect of geological formations and general groundwater trend on hydrochemistry of the area. The third factor is influence of human activities. Calculation of main minerals saturation index in groundwater also show the rock-water interaction and defined the effect of geological formation minerals such as Miocene and Pliocene on increase of water anions and cations.

Dust is a significant environmental medium that can provide information about the level, distribution and fate of contaminants present in the surface environment. Dust could be an indicator of pollutants such as heavy metal in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the elemental composition and concentrations in dust reflects the characteristics of short and long term activities in the area. Atmospheric dust is investigated as an important source of heavy metals in urban and industrial areas. Heavy metals can accumulate in dust and disperse in large scale. Thus, in these areas dust contains considerable amount of heavy metals. Both dust and heavy metals may cause human health issues and adverse environmental effects. Various and conventional methods have been used to determine heavy metal contamination in soil, dust, water, and sediment. Almost all of these methods are based on chemical analysis and particularly acid digestion. In recent years, researchers have used magnetic susceptibility (MS) technique as an acceptable approach to identify pollution sources. Magnetic measurements are fast, cost-effective, non-destructive, sensitive and informative. Strong correlation between heavy metal concentration and magnetic susceptibility in dust can be used for fast assessment of heavy metals contamination and their spatial distribution. Studies have shown that magnetic susceptibility is a useful tool to identify industrial pollutants, traffic pollutants and other atmospheric pollutants.