Seyed Masoud Monavari

Macroinvertebrate communities have been influenced by chemical substances, originated from petrochemical developments, that caused many problems in the marine biota. This study investigated the surface sediments of Nayband National Park and Bay (northern Persian Gulf) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in terms of their distribution, source, and impacts on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. To this end, a total of 180 surface sediment samples from 20 stations were collected using Van-Veen grab sampler during winter 2018. The concentration of PAHs, TPHs, total organic carbon (TOC). and total organic matter (TOM) were evaluated, and grain size measurements were conducted on sediment samples in this study. Benthic macroinvertebrates were then identified in terms of presence and distribution. The results indicated that coarse granulometric fractions of sands were prevalence in all samples stations. The total concentration of PAHs ranged from 47.57 to 657.68 ng/g and TPHs 5.72 to 42.16 µg/g dw. The risk of ΣPAHs and TPHs in the sediments was relatively low to moderate according to the sediment quality guidelines. Analysis of the results revealed a significant negative correlation between ΣPAHs (R-value = − 0.917; P < 0.01), TPHs (R-value = − 0.849; P < 0.01) and macrofaunal abundance. Findings demonstrated that the species richness and abundance were at the lowest levels in stations where concentrations of PAHs, TPHs, TOC, and TOM were in the highest values, suggesting that these contaminants could negatively influence the benthic organisms in Nayband National Park and Bay. The results of correspondence analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) analysis showed that sedimentary habitats in Nayband National Park and Bay are being negatively affected by PAHs and TPHs, released from Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ). Moreover, the marine biotic index (AMBI) and Shannon-Weiner Diversity (H′) results suggest that Nayband National Park and Bay can be classified as slightly to moderate polluted area. In conclusion, Northern Persian Gulf is significantly affected by oil industry developments and petrochemical activities. The unique ecosystem like Nayband National Park and Bay has been in a cautious status in terms of the PSEEZ pollutants and the levels of PAHs and TPHs concentration, warning that urgent environmental programs should be considered to protect the diversity and ecology of this valuable marine systems.

The present study provides a framework for assessing the environmental risk associated with fire and explosion of gasoline storage tanks in oil depots. The proposed framework includes three main steps: problem formulation, risk analysis, and risk description. The necessary basic details were identified and collected in formulating the problem. The source, pathway, receptor (SPR) model was employed in the risk analysis process. Each part was analyzed using tools that provide appropriate results and maintain the model integrity; additionally, the findings can be used in the whole process. The Dow Fire and Explosion Index (F&EI) was deployed to scrutinize the source, the pollutant dispersion and transmission path characteristics were measured to inspect the pathway, and the vulnerability indicators of the receptor and the degree of impact were determined to scrutinize the receptor. Finally, the risk assessment results were presented in the form of risk description tables. The purpose of this integration was to develop a framework thoroughly evaluating the risk associated with fire and explosion to the point of environmental consequences and providing a better understanding of the outcomes. This study, conducted for the first time specifically for an oil depot, provides an exhaustive view highly contributing to managers and decision makers.

Due to the increasing construction of clay and marl hills in most areas of Tabriz (Iran), its characteristics in terms of resistance, and its tendency to liquefy during earthquakes, this city is at risk of landslides. This paper studies the landslide vulnerability of Tabriz using visual and statistical evidence. The evaluation of landslide susceptibility was performed using the evidential belief function model (EBF) and the index of entropy. The environmental impact assessment of landslides was carried out using the Promethean II model in three environmental, economic, and social phases. Finally, a landslide strategy plan for decision-makers was developed. The results of the analysis using the EBF model showed that 89.81% of the total area of Tabriz is located in a direct landslide vulnerability zone. The output of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showed 83.3% accuracy of the EBF model. The impact assessment showed that for the environment, the geological criterion had an output weight of 0.396; for the economy, the road criterion had a weight of 0.477; and for the society, the commercial criterion had a weight of a 0.452; all were the most affected by landslides. The results of monitoring studies of the largest landslides in Tabriz in 1957, 1984, and 2020 showed approximately 41.65 m of land sliding over a period of 63 years. To our knowledge, this study is the first in the world to predict the environmental impact assessment and provide a strategy plan for Tabriz.

The trends of climate change and consequently global warming have put pressure on the urban environment and have led to serious environmental damages. The main objective of this study is to make a ten-year prediction of climatic parameters in Tehran in order to identify the impacts of climate change on urban environments and provide adaptation strategies to be used in future studies. For this purpose, artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms were employed. For the first time, a 30-year mean data of 'wind speed', 'dry-bulb temperature', 'wet-bulb temperature', 'mean daily temperature', 'dew point temperature', 'relative humidity' and 'precipitation' were investigated for their ten-year prediction using feed-forward ANN and back propagation algorithm. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the mentioned parameters in optimisation model was obtained to be 0.0307, 0.0625, 0.0566, 0.0382, 0.0214, 0.0758 and 0.0466, respectively. Annual temperature rise of 0.04°C and annual precipitation increase of 3.4 mm were also found to be likely to occur in Tehran by 2021.

Sustainable development is an interaction between different aspects of economic, social and environmental features, which is purposed to improve the quality of the human life. The purpose of this research is a comprehensive study of six urban areas of Kermanshah city-Iran based on 44 indicators. Kermanshah is an important city in the west of Iran that is being faced with many social, economic and environmental problems, confirming the requirement of this study. This study were done using multi criteria decision making methods including SAW, ELECTRE, and TOPSIS. The results of three methods showed that urban areas of Kermanshah city have different sustainability levels. Area 4 placed in the first priority and areas 1, 3, 2, 5 and 6 have the next priorities respectively. Based on the outcomes of this research, the equal urban services and facilities were not seen in the different urban areas. Therefore, providing correlation between the six urban areas is necessary to achieve sustainability. Also, the result of three methods were compared with each other. The findings of Friedman test showed that, there is no meaningful difference between the applied methods.