Tight carbonate reservoirs represent a key target for hydrocarbon exploration in structurally complex foreland basins such as the Potwar Basin of northern Pakistan. This study aims to characterize fracture networks and in-situ stress fields within the Eocene Sakesar Limestone and Chorgali Formation. A multidisciplinary approach was adopted, integrating high-resolution Formation MicroImager (FMI) logs, core observations, borehole breakout analysis, and regional structural data. Results show that the fracture network is dominated by high-angle NE-SW trending sets, with secondary NW-SE orientations reflecting local structural complexities. Fracture densities range from 3 to 12 fractures per meter, with the highest intensities occurring near fault-bounded structural highs. Stress analysis indicates a strike-slip to transpressional regime, with maximum horizontal stress (Shmax) oriented NE-SW (~045°). Estimated magnitudes are Sv = 22-24 MPa/km, Shmin = 18-20 MPa/km, and Shmax = 26-30 MPa/km. These findings identify favorable zones for horizontal well placement and hydraulic fracturing, reducing drilling risks and improving completion design. The study provides a novel, integrated framework for optimizing the development of tight carbonate reservoirs in the Potwar Basin and offers insights applicable to similar foreland fold-and-thrust belt settings.

One of the major challenges facing many nations is the lack of reliable access to an adequate water supply, particularly in areas where people struggle to obtain water for domestic use, agriculture, and industry. Because of this, it is essential to develop dependable methods that can accurately identify and allocate groundwater resources. In this study, we used integrated approaches to map the groundwater prospect zones in the Ibadan metropolis of Oyo State, Nigeria. Eleven distinct thematic parameters were formulated to demarcate areas with groundwater potential: slope (S), proximity to the water table (PSWT), geomorphology (G), drainage density (DD), landuse/landcover (LU/LC), elevation (E), lineament density (LD), soil types (ST), land-surface temperature (LST), geology (GE), and rainfall (R). Each of these eleven layers was assigned a weight through Saaty’s Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) before being combined and processed within the ArcGIS platform to produce a comprehensive groundwater potential zoning model. The groundwater potential map that was produced was divided into five distinct recharge zones. Areas classified as “very high” and “high” potential were found primarily in the southwestern, northwestern, and part of the northern sections of Ibadan. A “moderate” potential zone stretched across the study area from the southeastern corner up to the northeastern side. The southeastern and northeastern portions of the investigated region exhibited “low” and “very low” potential, respectively. Because the underlying bedrock lacks primary porosity, overall groundwater occurrence in the study area tends to be limited. Nonetheless, the zones identified as having very high to moderate potential can serve as valuable guides for individuals, institutions, governments, and policymakers as they plan sustainable groundwater exploration and management strategies.

This study assesses the effectiveness of satellite gravity methods in disaster risk mapping for the West Coast of Aceh, focusing on fault detection through variations in rock density. The collected data were processed to determine the complete Bouguer anomaly, with terrain corrections using an assumed density of 2.67 g/cm³. Local anomaly values ranged from -32.2 mGal to 27.2 mGal, with higher values in the northeast and lower values in the southwestern coastal areas. Spectral analysis was employed to separate regional and residual anomalies, enhancing the identification of local faults and deeper tectonic features. Gradient analysis was used to delineate geological boundaries, which were validated using geological maps. Horizontal derivatives revealed strong correlations with fault structures, while vertical derivatives highlighted major fault boundaries but were less effective at detecting smaller-scale features. The findings are expected to contribute to disaster risk reduction efforts and support sustainable development planning in West Coast of Aceh. Additionally, these results offer valuable insights for future research and decision-making in disaster mitigation.

Gypsum represents a major strategic resource, widely used in plaster production and its derivatives, serving as a fundamental construction material. Given its important role in the industry, it is imperative to ensure efficient and sustainable management of this raw material in order to meet growing market demands while preserving natural resources. This study is based on data obtained‎ from core drilling conducted in Djebel Djira, located 24 km southeast of Oran. 425 gypsum samples were collected, including 413 for chemical analysis, 10 for physical tests, and 2 for a mineralogical study. This study provides, for the first time, a comprehensive characterization of the chemical and lithological properties of gypsum, offering critical insights into its potential valorization. The analyses reveal that the main oxides are CaO (33.46%) and SO₃ (43.58%), meeting the standards for plaster production. The MgO (0.30%) and K₂O (0.07%), remain within the limits in compliance with industrial requirements.‎ The average chloride content (0.011%) and the low Na₂O concentration (0.09%) promote the setting time of the plaster. These results classify the gypsum in category I according to ISO 1587 certification and the European standard NF EN 520 +A1. 3D models generated using Rockworks software indicate that the eastern and southeastern regions of Djebel Djira are characterized by a minimal overburden, not exceeding 10 meters, whereas gypsum deposits are well developed at greater depths. It is recommended to prioritize the extraction activities in the eastern part of the deposit or in its south-eastern section. In contrast, the western portion of the site should be avoided during early mining works. In this area, the overburden is particularly thick. Gypsum is generally reached only at an average depth of 50 meters, which significantly complicates exploitation operations and increases extraction costs.

A negative carbon isotopic excursion (CIE), typically overlaid atop a long term positive pattern, and significant environmental and climatic shifts are two characteristics that identify the Coniacian–Santonian, according to a variety of sedimentary records. But there is still no evidence to support the theory that variations in oceanic deoxygenation and continental weathering input in shallow seas could contribute to carbonate-platform crisis at low latitude. Here, carbonate content and carbonate-hosted elements from the Tanuma carbonate platform in Central Iraq (East Baghdad Oilfield; EB10 well) are analyzed for the Coniacian–Early Santonian transitional phase. The OAE3 boundary is marked by a clear increase in the elements that are most water insoluble (such as Al, Sc, Th, Ti, and all of the rare earth elements), which is followed by a modest increase or comparatively high-level values throughout the OAE CIE's negative phase. This implies that the improved terrigenous input may be connected to the rapid global warming that occurred throughout this time period. The increase in the abundance of these water-insoluble elements is immediately followed by an increase in the Mn, Ce, and Ce anomaly, which are then better values throughout the negative CIE interval. These data suggest that throughout this time period, shallow water experienced the process of deoxygenation and the growth in Mn (suboxic) condition. These events were probably related to increased nutrient input and continental weathering, which favored oxygen consumption as well as primary productivity. In CIE's recovery phase, the stratigraphically elevated insoluble in water elements exhibit a gradually declining trend in parallel to heightened redox proxy values, indicating a drop in the intensity of continental weathering and associated second the deoxygenation at shallow seas. In this case, increased recycling in bioessential nutrients or a slowing of the ocean's circulation could have contributed to deoxygenation. The interdependent connection among carbonate content, geochemical data, and biotic changes indicates that:1- the Tanuma carbonate platform probably noticed a minor degradation around the OAE3 boundary period due to the beginning of increasing terrigenous input and the deoxygenation at shallow seas.2- during the CIE's negative phase, the heightened terrigenous input and deoxygenation probably contributed significantly to the more serious situation facing benthic carbonate producers.

The present study seeks to constrain the clastic source, depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy of the mixed carbonate-clastic sequences of the Oligocene Nari Formation exposed in the Hundi anticline of Karachi Embayment, Indus Basin, Pakistan, with the help of petrographic and microfacies studies. Six different lithofacies were identified during the field observations, which include arenaceous limestone, calcareous sandstone, argillaceous sandstone, laterite/oxidized sandstone, arenaceous shale and calcareous mudstone. Seven microfacies of packed biomicrite, sparse biomicrite, Sub-arkose sandstone and quartz-arenite are identified on the basis of petrographic analysis. The minerals identified during the petrographic analysis indicate that clasts present in the studied samples are supplied by the Indian Craton. Nari Formation in the studied section show a general progradational facies pattern, deposited in a variety of environments from shallow-marine outer ramp to fluvial environment. Two depositional sequences with eight phases of regression and seven transgression phases are interpreted during sequence stratigraphic analysis. The progradational facies pattern of mixed carbonate-clastic rocks is interpreted to be deposited in the continually shrinking realm of Neo-Tethys as a result of plate collision and mountain building process of Himalaya and associated fold belts in the Indian Sub-continent. This study will bring new perspectives that can be used to refine the interpretations of sedimentary processes in mixed carbonate-clastic environments in the region thereby advancing our understanding to geological history of the study area.

Alluvial gold mining has been a longstanding economic activity in the municipality of Ayapel, Córdoba, dating back to the colonial era, as noted by historians. However, most of this mining has occurred outside legal frameworks, often facilitated by the presence of lawless groups. This illegality complicates efforts to monitor and implement ecological restoration plans in the area. Additionally, the municipality of Ayapel is home to a significant natural asset: La Ciénaga de Ayapel. Designated as a RAMSAR site since 2018, this wetland holds international recognition for its ecological importance. However, it faces the threat of contamination from the nearby mining activities. Therefore, monitoring this mining activity becomes a crucial point to ensure, among other components, the care of La Ciénaga de Ayapel. The objective of this study is to analyze land cover changes in areas affected by alluvial mining between 1985 and 2020, using Landsat images, digital image processing techniques, unsupervised classification, and sequential pattern mining for the multitemporal analysis. Regarding the analysis conducted for the study area, encompassing the Quebradona microbasin in the municipality of Ayapel, for the years 1985 to 2020, there was an increase in mining activity of 503 ha, equivalent to 12 times that of 1985, with a peak in 2010, 54 times the 1985 levels. Bare soil, on the other hand, increased by 96% by 2020. As for vegetation cover, dense or high vegetation remained relatively constant over time, going from 2434 ha in 1985 to 2446 ha in 2020. Low vegetation, typically corresponding to grasslands, increased from occupying 3855 ha in 1985 to 5859 ha by 2020. Medium vegetation decreased by 25% compared to 1985, going from 7588 ha to 5674 ha by 2020. Finally, compared to 2010, there was a 14% increase or recovery in medium vegetation, and high vegetation saw a 5% recovery. It is important to highlight that the images from 1989 and 2013 exhibited a significant presence of cloud cover, which led to an underestimation of the area classified for each type of land cover.

The large irrigation Areas of the Mitidja plain are areas that are frequently prone to flooding, resulting in significant losses for farmers and the agency managing the hydraulic infrastructures. The objective of this study is to develop a model for identifying, evaluating and mapping the flood-prone areas of these LIAs, in order to allow optimal management of hydraulic infrastructures and natural resources. To this end, we have used GIS tools and remote sensing to create a geodatabase of flood-control factors such as lithology, morphopedology, slope, altitude, natural drainage, artificial drainage and land use.

A single precursor is not usually an accurate, precise, and adequate measure to predict earthquake parameters. Therefore, it is more appropriate to combine multiple precursors and exploit parameters extracted from them to reduce the uncertainty of the prediction. The assumption in this study is based on the fact that most Earthquakes happen in active fault zones. The study is about the estimation of Earthquake parameters such as date and magnitude. In this study, remote sensing observations (such as electron and ion density, electron temperature, Total Electron Content (TEC), Land Surface Temperature (LST), Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), and Surface Latent Heat Flux (SLHF)) in different modalities acquired several days before impending earthquakes have been investigated to extract earthquake parameters. In this study, three methods: median, support vector regression (SVR), and random forest (RF) have been used to detect anomalies. Then, by estimating the amount of anomaly deviation from the normal state, the magnitude of the impending earthquake is estimated. The final earthquake parameters (such as date and magnitude) can be obtained by integrating the earthquake parameters extracted from different earthquake precursors using the mean square error (MSE) method.

This study offers a comprehensive scientometric analysis of global developments in water management, with a particular emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions, which collectively possess approximately one-third of the world’s water resources. However, these regions are confronted with significant challenges, including scarcity, pollution, and inequitable distribution. The specific case of LAC is examined in order to explore these dynamics in greater depth. Notwithstanding the region’s high per capita water availability, LAC continues to grapple with persistent challenges in water management and distribution, particularly in the context of agriculture and its associated vulnerable populations. The analysis demonstrates the impact of these challenges on agriculture and the livelihoods of vulnerable populations, underscoring the necessity for enhanced integrated water resource management (IWRM) practices to address pivotal sustainable development goals (SDGs), including access to clean water, agricultural sustainability, and climate action. The study employs scientometric analysis and the Tree of Science tool, supported by R-based analytics, to draw on data from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). This approach offers a nuanced view of the field’s evolution and identifies influential publications and collaborations. Furthermore, the study underscores the potential shortcomings of relying on selective databases, which could influence the depth of the findings. The graphical analyses provide insights into sustainable practices and policy frameworks and culminate in actionable recommendations aimed at improving water governance. By presenting specific insights pertinent to LAC, this research contributes to the advancement of integrated water resource management (IWRM) practices aligned with sustainable development goals (SDGs), including clean water access, agricultural sustainability, and climate resilience.