Pakistan’s energy requirements are enormous, and chronic power shortages due to rapid urbanization and industrialization are one of the main issues for the government. Production of energy up to predictable requirement utilization of local resources, such as Thar coalfield, the world’s seventh-largest reserves of lignite coal, could be the feasible answer. In this study, Thar coal properties were studied in detail for the upcoming power plant in Pakistan, which helps to reduce numerous cost elements and environmental impacts. The quality of coal is important for coal burning in various capacities of the power plant process. This study is aimed to add new knowledge for the efficient utilization of Thar coal with minimum environmental impacts. In the current study, an enormous number (N=80) of coal samples from Block II were characterized for their physicochemical properties and ash contents. Thar lignite coal has a mean moisture content of 46.26%, volatile matter of 28.85%, fixed carbon of 18.47%, ash of 6.42%, and sulfur between 0.26 and 2.90%. The mean calorific value is 3030.0 kcal/kg, which shows their potential as a future fuel. Thar coalfield has the benefit of low-moderate sulfur marks it suitable for power generation. In the coal ash analysis, it can be realized that most ash contents are comprised of inorganic substances and the main compounds are SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, and CaO. Innovative tools with advanced efficiency and less environmental impact are essential to handle these low-rank coals and to transform them into energy, such as circulating fluidized bed combustors (CFBC) and clean coal technologies (CCT).

The present study focuses on the Samanasuk Formation, which is exposed in Chichali Gorge (Surghar Range), Nammal Gorge (Western Salt Range), and Sangar Gali (Hazara area). The study aims to analyze the lithofacies, petrographic characteristics, diagenetic features, ooid types, and depositional settings of the formation. Outcrop data revealed four distinct lithofacies have been identified: limestone facies (SF1), dolomitic limestone facies (SF2), oolitic limestone facies (SF3), and sandy limestone facies (SF4). In the Chichali Gorge and Nammal Gorge sections, the petrographic study further classified the formation into three facies: mudstone, wackestone, and packstone. This classification reveals a progradational stacking pattern, where the coarse-grained facies predominantly overlie the fine-grained facies. Additionally, the petrographic analysis indicates various depositional environments ranging from the beach to the inner ramp. The Samanasuk Formation in the studied sections exhibits five major diagenetic features, representing five significant diagenetic processes: micritic envelopes, cementation, hard ground surfaces, physical and chemical compaction, and dolomitization. Furthermore, two types of ooids have been identified within the formation, namely Radial Ooids and Concentric Ooids. Radial Ooids are formed in the beach-to-inner ramp environment, while Concentric Ooids are formed in the inner ramp environment. To assess the petrophysical properties, wireline logs from the Chanda deep-01 and Isakhel-01 wells were interpreted. The analysis and log interpretation aided in characterizing lithologic units of reservoir zones, determining reservoir properties, differentiating shale-bearing zones from non-shale-bearing zones, and understanding the depositional settings. The petrophysical evaluation of the Samanasuk Formation, conducted through outcrop and thin section studies, reveals shoaling upward cycles, indicating that the formation belongs to the High Stand System Tract (HST). The depositional model suggests that the Samanasuk Formation was deposited during the Middle Jurassic in a shallow marine environment extending from the beach to the inner ramp.

The behavior of rock under different loading conditions is very important for the stability analysis and safety measures taken in mining engineering. Rocks are generally inhomogeneous in nature and contain different minerals, cracks, and pores. This inhomogeneity in rock causes departure in their behavior from known theories of rock failure based on homogeneous assumption of rock. In the research presented in this paper, inhomogeneity present due to different mineral constituents is taken into account for their mechanical strength analysis. Digital image processing techniques are utilized to capture this inhomogeneous nature. Region segmentation method and edge detection method are two popular image processing techniques used for this purpose. The obtained image data is then vectorized and transformed so as to feed it into numerical and structural analysis software. Brazilian indirect test is used for stress analysis of rock specimen. The results obtained from numerical modelling software and from laboratory tests show that the weakest mineral present in rock specimen generally controls the overall failure phenomenon for Brazilian tensile test.

Nowadays, in order to sustainably manage surface and groundwater resources, it is crucial to have knowledge of groundwater levels. The Shabestar Plain is one of the plains with water stress that was selected as the study area in this study. A question arises regarding how models with hybrid properties can boost the capabilities of metamodels in light of the increasing development of models and their combination with optimization algorithms. In order to try to find the answer, in this study, the Harris hawk optimization (HHO) algorithm was combined with an artificial neural network (ANN) model and was evaluated with the aim of simulating the monthly GWL of Shabestar Plain during the period 2001–2019. Training and testing of the developed models are accomplish using 80% and 20% of the monthly data set, respectively. In addition, a variety of statistical indicators were used to evaluate the developed models, including coefficient of determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), root mean square error (RMSE), standard deviation ratio RMSE-observation (RSR), mean absolute error (MAE), uncertainty level (U95), and bias percentage (PBIAS). Analysis of the results shows that the hybrid model (ANN-HHO) produces accurate results. Based on testing phase, the ANN-HHO model shows a very good agreement with the measured data in scenario7 (R2 = 0.940, RMSE = 0.108(m), MAE = 0.081, NSE = 0.933, RSR = 0.256, U95 = 0.300, and PBIAS = 0.0009) and ANN (R2 = 0.798, RMSE = 0.232(m), MAE = 0.187, NSE = 0.697, RSR = 0.550, U95 = 0.602, and PBIAS = 0.004). Thus, ANN-HHO hybrid model is reasonable for predicting monthly groundwater levels. A hybrid model can provide water resources managers with a useful tool for future groundwater research and provide a reliable approach.

The present study addresses the application of weight of evidence (WoE) model (probabilistic approach) to identify the spatial distribution of landslide susceptibility (LS) in Darjeeling Himalaya, Eastern India. Fifteen triggering factors of landslide such as elevation, geology, slope angle, slope curvature, soil, slope aspect, drainage density, lineament density, distance to drainage, distance to lineament, topographic wetness index (TWI), normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), stream power index (SPI), land use land cover (LULC) and rainfall were considered as spatial database to perform WoE model using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) and to develop landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ) map. The relative importance of weights of each factor was calculated using the WoE method. The LSZ map depicted that very low (VL), low (L), moderate (M), high (H) and very high (VH) LS zones cover an area of 3.33%, 8.46%, 29.94%, 38.07% and 20.20% respectively. Two thousand seventy-nine landslide locations have been identified and considered to perform the accuracy of the study. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve resulted in 78.90% prediction accuracy with and area ratio of 0.7890 which recognised WoE model as a significant statistical model for LS mapping for Darjeeling Himalaya. Very low to very high LS zones registered with the frequency ratio (FR) of 0.00, 0.21, 0.36, 0.85 and 2.73 respectively, which is positively correlated to landslides. The outcome of the study will be very helpful to the planners and policy makers for implementing effective measures to mitigate landslides hazards in Darjeeling Himalaya.

Crude oil sorption by raw and esterified glycine max husks (RGMH and EGMH, respectively) which are cheaper and eco-friendly sorbents were applied for treatment of oil spilled water surfaces. The sorption of the petroleum was by batch method and the experiment performed at optimum conditions of sorbent dose (0.1 g), pH (3), oil concentration (8 g/L), temperature (303 K), and time (90 min). Equilibrium isotherm data were assessed by Langmuir, Temkin, Freundlich, and Scatchard models. The Langmuir suited best the experimental data based on their regression (R2), sum of squares of the errors (SSE), and chi square (χ2) values, and maximum monolayer sorption capacity of 3.47 g/g for RGMH and 4.65 g/g for EGMH were obtained. Kinetics was discussed by pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, liquid film diffusion, and intraparticle diffusion models, and showed that the removal would be best expressed using pseudo-second-order model at equilibrium sorption time of 70 min for RGMH and 60 min for EGMH. Thermodynamic quantities showed a sorption process that is endothermic, physicochemical, non-spontaneous for RGMH, and spontaneous for EGMH as well as increase in randomness of the crude oil-sorbent interface. Sorption (%) of total petroleum hydrocarbons from real oil spilled water for RGMH and EGMH (37–49) were lower than RGMH and EGMH (44–56), obtained from simulated oil spilled water. Regeneration of the sorbents was established using n-hexane as suitable stripping agent and subsequently the reusability. Furthermore, the sorbents were employed to remove oil not only from simulated but also real polluted waters. Therefore both RGMH and EGMH have shown great potential as sorbents for treatment of oil spilled water surfaces.

Khaf Al Laasif is a small (about 100-m long) old mine in the vicinity of Muscat, Oman, with traces of copper and lead. On the contrary to most of the copper mines in Oman developing in ophiolites, Khaf Al Laasif developed in Neoproterozoic metamorphosed dolomite of the Saih Hatat Dome. The copper and lead mineralization was plausibly formed during hydrothermal events that followed major tectonic events in the area. The mine was dug using fire-set mining and that crushing of the mined material was on the spot. The survey of the mine volume has made it possible to estimate the corresponding volume of woody fuel and the minimum forest area necessary for its excavation, which is considerable. Beyond the interest of a site allowing the study of fire-set mining techniques, this paper argues that the main limiting factor to the mine exploitation was the supply of woody fuel, wood or charcoal. It raises questions that could lead to future research on subjects that have been curiously little addressed until now: where did the woody fuel come from and what was the huge paleo-environmental impact of its massive exploitation, at what time does this exploitation go back and in what circuits and socio-economic contexts does it correspond? The main objective of this preliminary study is to reveal the interest of this site and the multidisciplinary issues associated with it.

An evaluation was done to better understand the utilization of empirical formulas and discrimination diagrams in the determination of sediment origin, frequently in Central Africa. For this purpose, a database was established for geochemical data (major and trace elements) collected from present-day environments or Mesozoic deposits with variable environments and source geologies from two countries of Central Africa (Cameroon and Nigeria). The plotting of modern sediments and ancient rocks in the same diagrams has revealed the low impact of diagenetic processes on the chemical compositions. The results suggest that the proximal provenance proposed by several authors that used empirical formulas and discriminant diagrams to infer the origin of sediments are not always appropriate for all types of sediments. This study shows that chemical index of weathering (CIW) and plagioclase index of alteration (PIA) derive from chemical index of alteration (CIA). It is therefore recommended that they should be used with caution while taking into account the regional geological settings, the location of source area, the paleoweathering of source rocks, and hydraulic-sorting effects. In addition, it is also recommended to use other diagrams such mobile alkaline earth metals versus chemical index of alteration (CIA).

A cutting-edge method for deep foundations is the helical pile. Since its creation, it has gained prominence due to its significant advantages over conventional foundation systems (quick installation, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and greater performance). After its promising performance in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake (USA) and the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake (New Zealand), the significance of helical piles is further increased. As a result, the cyclic/dynamic behaviour of helical piles became the focus of research. In order to determine the axial and lateral cyclic behaviour of helical piles, numerous full-scale and model tests were carried out. All of these experiments were constrained by the fact that cyclic loads were delivered at the pile head’s tip, which limited the pile’s ability to respond to dynamic loading. Full scale and moderate size shake table tests were carried out to more accurately analyse the seismic behaviour of helical piles. To examine the behaviour of helical piles under seismic conditions, however, more research should be performed. In this cutting-edge literature review, full-scale shake table testing and detailed analyses of cyclic/dynamic load tests are covered. Researchers’ work on further investigation of helical piles subjected to dynamic and seismic loading will be aided by this thorough literature review.

The present study was carried out in the basement aquifers of the Mayo Bocki catchment area in Cameroon. The main objective was to assess the level of contamination of waters by potentially toxic elements and their risks to human health. To achieve this, assessment methods based on the calculation of pollution indices and human health risk indices were used. The results show that the order of abundance of the elements was: Zn > Mn > Fe > Al > Co > Ni > Mo > Cu > U > Pb > As > Cr > Cd in well water and Al > Zn > Fe > Mn > Ni > Cu > Cr > Co > As > Pb > U > Mo > Cd in borehole water. Concentrations above the values recommended by the WHO (2017) were recorded in 20% of cases for Al and in 5% of the waters studied for Fe, Pb, Co, Mn and Zn. The pollution indices calculated showed that the waters analyzed (96%) have a low degree of contamination by potentially toxic elements. Only 4% of the waters have a high level of pollution. The health risk assessment showed that about 60% of the well waters and 10% of the borehole waters have non-tolerable non-carcinogenic risks for the adult population. For children, table non-carcinogenic risk was recorded in 70% of the well waters and 80% of the bore waters. The calculation of carcinogenic risk indices revealed that almost all the groundwater studied (96%) is likely to cause carcinogenic diseases in adult and child populations following long-term oral and dermal exposure. The study concluded that the metallic quality of the water in the basin is of concern and therefore a project to monitor and treat contaminated water in the region should be implemented.

Geothermal energy is one of the solutions for energy issues in sub-Saharan countries such as Cameroon, while addressing the environmental issues of the Paris Agreement. This study provides a new database on heat flow, radiogenic heat production, and geothermal gradient for the Adamawa region in Central Cameroon, which suffers from energy issues. This database serves as a framework for future research on geothermal energy for this region. Specifically, the study uses spectral analysis of Grid Earth Magnetic Anomaly (EMAG2) to present an overview of the thermal structure anomaly from surface events related to the volcanic activity of the Adamawa region. This spectral method has been applied to the magnetic data from the equator. The magnetic map was obtained from the correction of the reduction at the equator divided into 17 overlapping blocks of 100 × 100 km in order to estimate the Curie point depth (CPD), which allowed us to obtain the values for the heat flow, radiogenic estimate, and P-wave velocity (Vp). The depths vary from 16 and 41 km, while the heat flow varies from 91 to 98 mW m-2. The Adamawa region is characterized by low Curie point depth values due to the identified geothermal gradient regime that reveal the influence of near-surface mantle convection. In this region, the radiogenic heat production ranges from 0.024 to 0.303 μW m-3, with the low radiogenic heat values being related to heat flow. The seismo-tectonic activity in the region only involves high-intensity earthquakes produced along the Cameroon Volcanic Line as a subduction zone more precisely in the locality of Woulndé. The heat flow observed from the data may suggest the existence of an anomalous heat source in the crust due to radiogenic heat results.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging systems use pulse focusing techniques for achieving fine range resolution and large range detection. Stretch processing and correlation pulse focusing techniques are the most popular algorithms used in the radar signal processing stage. The architecture of the stretch processing technique makes it commonly used in frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar systems due to its simple architecture, low sampling rate, and inexpensive hardware. This paper discusses how the stretch range focusing approach can be used instead of the matched filter technique in the processing stage of the SAR Range-Doppler algorithm (RDA) to generate images of finer resolution and higher quality. In addition, validating the proposed algorithm and evaluating its performance according to some evaluation indices such as peak sidelobe ratio (PSLR), integrated sidelobe ratio (ISLR), and the impulse response width (IRW). Also, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis and hardware implementation of the two SAR algorithms, based on software-defined radio (SDR) architecture where it is characterized by less complexity, low cost, and high flexibility due to the usage of both software data processing and software waveform generation. Two Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP-2932) and NI-LabVIEW® software development environment are the platforms used for the hardware validation process. The transmitted waveform is a linear frequency modulated (LFM) signal generated by the first USRP (transmitter) which will hit a target located at a certain distance. The second USRP is used as a receiver for target’s echo processing and detection. This processing stage contains two architectures, which are the matched filter pulse compression architecture and the stretch range focusing approach. Finally, the validation process of the hardware results is performed based on the pre-mentioned evaluation indices.

The levelling network is arranged in separate lines that together form levelling polygons. When determining the vertical movements of the Earth’s surface based on the results of levelling measurements, the results are obtained only at the location of the geodetic network. During the compilation of the vertical movements of the Earth’s surface, a significant part of the studied area lacks measurement-based results, and the movement values are obtained by interpolation. Therefore, measurements of movement obtained inside levelling polygons are relatively inaccurate, and active centres of movement are concentrated only on the levelling lines. The present article introduces a methodology that allows determining the vertical surface movements in the entire area. The methodology holistically employs statistical methods, geoindexes, and levelling measurement data. Movement values are calculated for points evenly spaced throughout the entire area. The vertical movement map compiled based on this methodology is not subject to such significant influence by the interpretations of the interpolation algorithm, moreover, it avoids the concentration of movements in the levelling lines. During the study, three maps of vertical movements of the Earth’s surface are compiled: one is created on the basis of the levelling results, and two other maps — using the proposed methodology. The comparison of the maps reveals that the main rising/sinking tendencies of the Earth’s surface match, and simultaneously the concentration of movements in geodetic points is avoided.

The traditionally used stabilizers like hydrated lime, Portland cement, and bitumen are becoming costly and can produce shrinkage and cracking in treated soil. An alternative, enzyme-based stabilizer can be used in clayey soil where shrinkage and cracking would be an issue. Enzyme-treated soil is more hydrophobic, resulting in the reduction of pore voids and increases in the amount of free water. The enzyme-treated soil is very much case sensitive and depends on types of clay minerals. In this research, a laboratory investigation and a numerical simulation are carried out on enzyme-treated fine-grained soil. The primary objective of this research is to study the effectiveness of an enzyme-treated soil as a compacted subgrade. Geotechnical properties of treated and untreated soil were determined at a curing period of 7 days, 28 days, and 60 days at varying enzyme dosages. The microstructure and elemental composition of soils and bio enzyme-treated soils were studied using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is observed that the agglomeration and bonding between the particles in enzyme-treated soil are less effective at higher confining pressure. A mathematical expression has been proposed to predict the peak deviator stress of an enzyme-treated soil at various confining pressure. Numerical analysis was carried out using commercial software ANSYS. A five-layer pavement section was modeled as a 3D axisymmetric finite element section to determine the vertical permanent deformation and rebound (recoverable deformation) at different pavement layers under cyclic loading. Due to the enzyme treatment, the stabilized subgrade layer observed about a 33% reduction in permanent deformation.

Groundwater quality assessment is an important aspect of groundwater studies in arid environments such as Sharourah in Saudi Arabia. Sharourah governorate is located in the south of Saudi Arabia in the Empty Quarter desert. It suffers from water scarcity, and groundwater is the main source for the domestic water use. The researchers collected the samples from groundwater wells of different places in Sharourah governorate in May to august 2019. They used eighteen physical and chemical parameters to investigate the quality of the groundwater. The results showed that all parameters were below the maximum allowed according to the specifications to SASO and WHO for drinking water. The effective weight percentage and water quality index for all parameters in the samples studied were calculated according to the standards of SASO. The largest effective weights were for the parameters of Mg2 + , pH, Cl-, EC, and TDS compared to other parameters; and their mean percentage was 32.19%, 21.53%, 8.44%, 7.68%, and 6.73%, respectively. WQI values range from 38 to 70; the nine samples of the groundwater wells were classified into two categories: four wells of good water, and five of poor water. All the groundwater samples showed that the groundwater in Sharourah governorate is suitable for domestic uses, and safe for obtaining drinking water therefrom according to WQI used in this study.

Image segmentation is an important part of the standard digital rock physics (DRP) workflows. In this paper, we present ground-truthing of digital rock images using texture analysis. We propose a deep learning–based approach for automated segmentation which is validated using the extracted ground-truth. To generate the ground-truth, we utilize the a priori knowledge of minerals and pores. We perform texture based iterative intensity thresholding to calculate the porosity and mineral composition. The ground-truth is generated for the berea sandstone image dataset and the grosmont carbonate image dataset. Results obtained from the experiments conform to the porosity and composition ranges provided in the literature. For the purpose of automated segmentation, we use a SegNet deep network which performs pixel-wise segmentation of digital rock images into pores and minerals. We train and test the SegNet using 1024 images of berea sandstone dataset ground-truthed using iterative intensity thresholding. We utilize a split of 90% and 10% for training and testing, respectively. Experimental outcomes show that the SegNet-based segmentation results for the minerals such as clay, ankerite, and zircon are better than the existing methods.

Groundwater is one of the most important sources of water supply in arid and semi-arid regions, but its availability with sustainable quantity and quality is threatened by various factors, among which climate and land-use change have the most important role. Therefore, it is essential to achieve reliable methods for predicting changes in aquifer storage to plan for the sustainable use of groundwater resources. This study aimed to estimate the potential impact of climate change and land use on the groundwater level of Hashtgerd plain for sustainable use of groundwater resources. In this regard, groundwater supply and demand for 2020 as the base year was simulated to forecast the trends until 2050 by considering climate and land-use changes. Five General Circulation Models under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, and RCP8.5) were used to project future rainfall and temperature. The LARS-WG model was used to downscale the climatic data. Classification of land-use was performed using Landsat satellite images of 1990, 2005, and 2020 in ENVI 5.3 software. Then, by these maps, the Markov chain method implemented in TerrSet software was used to model land-use change for 2050. The indexes used to evaluate the model were the overall accuracy of prediction and the kappa coefficient. The overall accuracy of 94.34% and kappa coefficient of 0.92 were in the calibration stage and 86.34 and 0.82 in the validation stage, respectively. Finally, the effect of climate and land-use change on the decrease of groundwater level was simulated using the MODFLOW model for the period 2020–2050. RMSE and MAE values of steady-state calibration were 0.91 and 0.75, respectively. These values were estimated to be 0.97 and 0.8 in the calibration step for the unsteady-state and 1.01 and 0.91, respectively, in the validation step. The results of climate change showed a decrease in the average annual precipitation and an increase in the average annual temperature. The annual temperature increased by 1.4 °C and 3.2 °C for RCP 4.5 and 8.5 respectively, by 2050. The annual precipitation decreased by 2.45% and 4.47% for both scenarios. The results of land-use change show an increase of residential, barren, and agricultural lands by 105, 41, and 8%, respectively, and a decrease of 94% in pastures lands. The future land-use change reduced aquifer reserve by up to 41%. The combined impacts of climate and land-use change in the most critical state reduced aquifer reserve by 61%.

This study was performed in major habitats of Gundelia tournefortii L. in the Central Zagros region, Iran, to pursue the two following objectives: (a) analyzing the percentage of canopy cover and density per unit area (m2) of the plant in controlling runoff and reducing the soil loss amount and (b) investigating some soil physicochemical properties and their impact on reducing the amount of runoff generation and sediment yield. The vegetation parameters of G. tournefortii L. were measured by completely randomized design using transect quadrat sampling method. It used a portable rainfall simulator apparatus. The highest amount of efficacy of the vegetation parameters of G. tournefortii L. in controlling runoff generation and sediment yield occurred during the first fifteen minutes of the rainfall continuity times in comparison to the second fifteen minutes of ones. As a result, in relation to runoff generation, the study sites No. 5 (1.73), No. 4 (1.85), No. 8 (1.90), and No. 1 (1.96) mm were allocated the largest contribution, respectively. Meanwhile, in relation to sediment yield, the following results were obtained. The study sites No. 5 (10.87), No. 4 (10.55), No. 8 (11.23), and No. 1 (11.35) g had the largest contribution, respectively. The findings showed that G. tournefortii L. has a prominent role in controlling runoff generation and sediment yield, and because of its high compatibility and deployment, it can be introduced as a suitable cover plant for soil conservation in natural fields.

To reconstruct the paleoclimate in North Africa during the Paleocene, the calcareous nannofossils were quantitatively analyzed at higher resolution from the stratigraphic succession of Gebel Nezzazat (west central Sinai, Egypt). The studied interval extends from NP4 to NP8. Zone NP4 can be subdivided into four subzones from base to top: NTp7B, NTp8A, NTp8B, and NTp8C. The base of the Selandian age is located at the base of NTp8B (Second Radiation of Fasciculithus). The Selandian/Thanetian boundary (S/T) is tentatively placed at the base of Zone NP7/8. The identified nannofossil zones were compared with that of the Tethyan region for the Danian/Selandian boundary. The calcareous nannofossil assemblages were used as indicators for medium-term climatic fluctuations. The pre-Danian (LDE) is dominated by the cool-water Zeugrhabdotus sigmoides and Neochiastozygus modestus, while the post-Danian interval is dominated by Coccolithus pelagicus and Ericsonia subpertusa. Before the onset of the Selandian-Thanetian boundary, a marked shift in the nannofossil species was observed, where Fasciculithus increased significantly, while marker Danian-Selandian genera (e.g., Lithoptychius Neochiastozygus, Chiasmolithus, and Cruciplacolithus) decreased dramatically. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (nMDS) and permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) in addition to the Temperature and Nutrient indices (TI and NI) indicated a marked difference between the warm eutrophic nannofossil assemblages at the Danian/Selandian (D/S) and the Selandian/Thanetian (S/T) transitions and the eutrophic cold-water assemblages during the background sedimentation. A sharp increase in sea surface temperature and decrease in nutrients was observed at D/S and represents the Latest Danian Event (LDE), while the second warming event was started prior to the Selandian and may represent the Early Late Paleocene Event “ELPE.” The sea-level lowstand may have limited water circulation, where surface water fertility decreased significantly. Consequently, nannofossil diversity decreased. The rapid recovery after the LDE was attributed to the radiation of warm-water taxa.

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes are one of the most important elements that shaped the global environmental setting. Day by day, the number of migrants from all over the country is increasing in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA), thus forcing pressure on the surrounding environment. The objectives of the study are to identify the LULC changes along with urban growth and LULC prediction in the study area. ERDAS Imagine 2015 and ArcMap 10.4 were used for data management, analysis, and presentation. Urban growth and LULC change prediction are calculated by using Shannon’s entropy and the CA-Markov model. The study observed that urbanization resulted in a considerable rise in the built-up area as well as a significant decline in agricultural land, vegetation, and water bodies in the study area. It is projected that the expansion of the built-up area will continue in the upcoming days while waterbody, agricultural land, and the vegetated cover area will decrease after 41 years. The study summarized that 59.27% area of DMA will be converted to built-up area by 2030, and it is expected to rise up to 70.86% by 2060. It is noted that less than 4% area will remain a waterbody in 2060. The study will serve as a guideline for government and non-government organizations, policymakers including urban planners, and scientific communities to assure sustainable urban land use planning and management.