Volume 23 - 2021

When the whole earth is considered as a geographic place, it is clearly seen that the physical and social processes in the Earth’s crust have a direct or indirect connection with geography. In this century named information era, it is vital to find new solutions to people’s problems by getting different results from gathering, providing, and querying information.

Geographic information systems are frequently used in the preparation and implementation stages of environmental impact assessment (EIA) projects. However, the failure to use spatial data effectively during the monitoring phase, which is the final step of the assessment process, causes the inability to determine whether the activities undertaken in the report are implemented. This situation causes EIA reports and activities to be questioned or even not accepted by the public.

By inter-organizational data sharing, geographical data needs can be met and duplicate data productions can be avoided.  However, the problem of updating the geographical data provided always comes out as the real problem.  At this point, there are approaches that are defined as Crowdsourcing which refers the way of solving the problems of the institutions by utilizing the knowledge and experience outsourced. The most important institutional concern regarding crowdsourcing and geographical data extraction reveals itself as data consistency and accuracy.

With the system developed within the scope of this study, the status of EIA projects in implementation with the development of the project will be effectively controlled with the participation of the administration and the public. A crowdsourcing-based system has been prepared and introduced to ensure the participation of the public. With this study, the development of the project and the problems experienced during the monitoring phase can be controlled. Thus, it will be ensured that any negative situation that could be experienced will be prevented or minimized in a way that will not harm the environment.  

The current study explores the capacities of Moringa oleifera (L), to overcome and/or tolerate oxidative stress induced by a saline substrate as a constraining factor. For this, Moringa seeds have been treated for 15 days after germination in vitro with increasing concentrations of NaCl, and specifically at 0 (control), 5; 7.5; 10; 12.5 and 15g l-1. Morpho-physiological and biochemical aspects were evaluated which were considered as probable indicators of tolerance or sensitivity to this stress. Our results reveal an increased synthesis of proline, lipids, proteins, CAT, GPX, APX, flavonoids, condensed tannins and a decrease in total polyphenols (-29.97%), mainly due to their high carbon cost. The state of degradation of the cell membranes was evaluated by the MDA assay, which increased by 91.25%. On the other hand, the evaluation of the oxidative damage caused by Reactive Oxidative Species (ROS) was detected by H2O2, which decreased by 37.89%. Additionally, our results revealed a disturbance of the germinative power of the seeds indicating moderate resistance to stress as it was manifested by the development of epicotyledonary axes, even under 15 g l-1 of NaCl without showing symptoms of stress or sensitivity. This result supports our hypothesis of the ability of the species to maintain or even improve its oxidative status.

In this study, water-soluble disperse dyes [Disperse Violet 93 (DV93); Diffused Blue 79 (DB79); Disperse Orange 30 (DO30)] color removal by ozonation, which is one of the advanced treatment methods of synthetic dye waste solutions containing and whose decolorization conditions have not been investigated before, were investigated and the most suitable parameter criteria were determined. The experiments were carried out using a semi-batch reaction. The decolorization process of the reactive dye was carried out by bubbling ozone at the bottom of a bubble column reactor containing the dye solution. The effects of the ozonation time (0-120 min), the initial dye concentration (150-600 mg/L), ozone concentration (4.21-24.03 g/m3), the initial pH (2-12), and decolorization time was studied. As a result, COD values obtained from color measurements determined by the spectrophotometric method of disperse dye wastewater prepared synthetically after optimum conditions were achieved in experiments decreased by 61.05%, 72.88%, and 77.43%, respectively, and a significant color removal occurred under basic conditions (pH: 10 for DV93 and DB79; pH: 12 for DO30). For each dye processed separately, decolorization occurred within 16 minutes, 12 minutes, and 9 minutes, respectively. Ozonation kinetics were studied and it was found that decoloring showed first-order kinetics for the three dyes. The study showed that the apparent rate constant increased both at the applied ozone dose and under basic conditions, and decreased logarithmically with respect to the initial dye concentration. As a result of the study, it was determined that ozonation is a usable method for the treatment of azo dyes in textile wastewater; optimum conditions were determined for parameters such as the shortest time, optimum ozone dose, and appropriate pH range.

In the present investigation, marine biomass (Posidonia Oceanica) (PO), in both its unmodified PO and basic-modified (Na-PO) forms, was studied for its possible utilisation as a cheap biosorbent for the retention of amoxicillin (AMX). Biosorption studies were carried out in a batch system and the effects of solution pH, biosorbent dose, initial AMX concentration, contact time and temperature were studied in detail. Characterization of the biosorbent was performed using Fourier transforms infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and pHPZC. The biosorption of AMX was adjusted by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, equilibrium isotherms were applicable with maximum monolayer biosorption capacity of 51.33 mg g-1 and 75.33 mg g-1 for PO and Na-PO, respectively. Kinetics investigations showed that both biosorbents followed the pseudo-second order. Thermodynamics studies indicated that the biosorption of AMX onto PO and Na-PO was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. These results proved that chemical modification of Posidonia Oceanica surface improved the biosorption properties of AMX.