The present study is the first attempt to examine temporal and spatial characteristics of aerosol properties and classify their modes over Iran. The data used in this study include the records of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Angstrom Exponent (AE) from MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Aerosol Index (AI) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), obtained from 2005 to 2015. The high concentration of AOD and AI values (representing high-high cluster) have been observed in the southwest and east regions, while their low concentrations (representing low-low cluster) have been found in the high mountainous areas. Based on AE values, Iran has been divided into three distinct regions, including fine, mixture, and coarse aerosol modes in each season. Results show that the maximum/minimum area under fine aerosols mode has occurred in the autumn, covering an area of 84.15% and in the spring, covering an area of 40.5%. In the case of coarse mode, the maximum/minimum area has been found in the spring, covered area=53.5% / in the Autumn covered area=12. 5%. The different aerosol modes regions strongly coincide with the topographical structure. To analyze the relation between aerosol properties and topography, Aerosol Properties Index (API) has been developed by combining OMI and MODIS datasets. API is a simple indicator, capable of showing the degree of aerosol coarseness in each pixel. There is a negative correlation between API and topography over the studied region, meaning that aerosol concentrations are high in the lowlands, but low in the highlands. However, this relation differs in various geographic regions, as Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model shows a higher determination coefficient in all seasons, in comparison to Ordinary Least Squares (OLS).

The impact assessment method seeks to bring about a more ecologically, socio-culturally and economically sustainable and equitable environment. Determining the main factors affecting the attitudes of stakeholders is crucial for understanding the impacts of development plans. This approach helps planners and decision makers to identify the values and traits of stakeholders and accelerate the diffusion of innovations through designing proper incentives and removing available obstacles. The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting laser land levelling project impacts in Fars Province, Iran. The sample included 285 farmers who were selected using multi-stage random sampling. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were measured and revisions were made to improve measurement scales. The results of structural equation modelling indicated that reduction in water consumption was the most important variable which affected the recognition of impacts among laser land levelling adopters. Furthermore, laser land levelling impacts as dependent variables were influenced by the direct effect of the duration of adoption, attitude towards water and soil conservation, need perception and attitude toward prior projects. Based on the results, practical recommendations have been presented.

Lighvan hot spring and Toptapan mineral spring are located in the Eastern Azarbaijan, NW of Iran. The host rocks of Lighvan hot spring are dacite, andesite and Quaternary volcanic tuffs. Their main rock forming minerals are quartz, plagioclase, biotite and rarely amphibole. The host rocks of Toptapan mineral water spring are Cretaceous and Jurassic sandstone, shales and carbonate sedimentary rocks. Their main rock forming minerals are quartz, calcite, dolomite and clays. Due to the deposition of mineral water springs, travertine is the main Quaternary sediments around the springs. Water samples were collected from Toptapan mineral spring and Lighvan hot spring in July (dry season). The sampling method was according to standard methods for geochemical analysis. Field parameters such as PH, temperature, and EC were measured in situ, and samples were analyzed by ICP-OEC and ICP-MS in the laboratory of the Geological Survey of Iran. The measuring data showed that pH varies between 6.1 to 6.4. The surface temperature varies from 20.1˚C to 32.8˚C. The concentration of anions and cations in the Piper diagram show calcic bicarbonate type for Toptapan mineral spring and sodic bicarbonate type for Lighvan hot spring respectively. According to Lunglier – Ludwig diagram, the dissolution of carbonate and silicate minerals is the most important factor in increasing calcic cation. The Cl-Li-B diagram shows that the dissolution of sodic minerals and clays and ionic exchange are also the most important factors for increasing sodium in these springs. These data are in agreement to the host rocks, their mineralogy and their chemical composition. Based on the Ca-Mg-K geothermometer diagram, the geothermal reservoir temperature for Lighvan hot spring is 95-100 ˚C with a depth of about 2Km and for Toptapan mineral spring is 65-85 ˚C with a depth of less than 1Km. Also, high concentrations of chlorine show a deep geothermal primary reservoir in the Lighvan hot spring. These geochemical data show that these cold and hot springs are not polluted and not harmful for environmental point of views.

Due to the fish are often at the top of the aquatic food chain and may accumulate large amounts of heavy metals from the water, this study was conducted to determine of Cd, Cr, Pb and Ni contents in the muscle of imported tilapia fish marketed in the city of Hamedan in 2017. In so doing, totally, 27 muscle samples from nine different brands of tilapia fish were randomly collected from the market basket of the study area. After preparation and processing the samples in the laboratory, the concentration of metals, was determined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer. The results showed that the mean concentrations (mg/kg) of Cd, Cr, Pb, and Ni in samples were 0.26 ± 0.09, 1.54 ± 0.15, 0.55 ± 0.11, and 0.67 ± 0.20 respectively. Also, the mean contents of Cd and Pb were higher than the maximum permissible levels (MPL) established by the World Health Organization (WHO). The computed health risk index values showed that no potential health risk for adults and children via consuming the muscle of tilapia fish at the current consumption rate for the study area. Based on the results, due to the mean contents of Cd and Pb in the muscle samples of tilapia fish were higher than the MPL, therefore, serious attention to the reduction of the discharge of hazardous substances in the aquatic ecosystems and also periodic monitoring of chemical residue particularly toxic heavy metals in the high-demand food is recommended.

The present study aims at evaluating the risk of Mutagen X (MX) (3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2 (5H)-furanone) and adverse health effects, associated with direct ingestion of chlorinated drinking water in west of Tehran, supplied by chlorinated drinking water from surface and underground water sources. For one year, MX concentrations in tap water samples has been measured for consumers in four different zones in western Tehran. It has been found that average MX concentration in the whole study area is 24.16 ng/L, with the highest concentration being in Zone 1 with a value of 38 ng/L. Also, the role of water sources, seasonal changes, and effective factors such as Total Organic Carbon (TOC) have been evaluated on MX formation. The highest of excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR), estimated as 0.0037E-05, belongs to Zone 1, which uses surface water to supply drinking water, while the lowest can be seen in Zone 4, being 0.0021E-05. This latter zone utilizes underground water as the water source. In all zones, the highest risk of excessive cancer is related to winter, ranging from 0.0045E-5 in Zone 1 to 0.0023E-5 in Zone 4. The estimated number of cancer cases for Zones 1 to 4 have been 0.012, 0.016, 0.016, and 0.004, respectively, based on their population. The estimated average risk and the number of ELCR, caused by exposure to MX, through direct ingestion of drinking water have been 0.0030E-5 and 0.047, respectively, in the entire studied area for the duration of one year.

For the first time, sulfur dioxide concentration was monitored between 2005 and 2016 over Iran which is among the countries with a high SO2 emission rate in the world. To that end, SO2 column concentration at Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) was analyzed. OMI is a sensor onboard the Aura satellite which can measure daily SO2 concentration on the global scale. From OMI maps, 19 notable SO2 hotspots were detected over Iran. The results indicate that the most elevated level of SO2 among these 19 hotspots belong to Khark Island and Asaluye in Bushehr province, southwest of Iran. Annual trend analysis shows that SO2 concentration has been slightly augmented during 2005-2016 over this country. Distribution analysis of SO2 concentration over Iran showed that the most polluted provinces are Bushehr, Khuzestan and Ilam lied in the southwest of Iran. On the contrary, the lowest level of SO2 has observed over northwest of Iran at West and East Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces. The correlation coefficient between total energy production in Iran and SO2 concentration from 2005 to 2016 is as high as ~0.7. Hence, it can be derived that energy production, most notably production of crude oil, plays a pivotal role in SO2 concentration over Iran.

Filter cake is one of the main waste products of zinc processing industries and it contains a high amount of toxic heavy metals. In this research in order to reduce heavy metals leachability in filter cake, Portland cement, natural pozzolan, diammonium phosphate (DAP), triple superphosphate (TSP), lime, zinc oxide and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) have been used. This research’s results suggest that even though leachability of lead in the filter cake is quite low, it should be noted that limestone doubles the solubility level of Pb due to the mineralogical nature of the waste, by converting its sulphate form (PbSO4) to its carbonate form (PbCO3), which is more soluble. TSP was the only additive capable of reducing the leachability of metal elements in the filter cake as well as stabilizing the amounts of Pb and Cd in TCLP extracts within the limit. Although all additives were able to reduce Cd leachability, TSP and ZnO had the most remarkable efficiency. According to XRD results, the main factor in lead stabilization using TSP was a reduction in the amount of PbSO4 (with high Ksp) and an increase in PbS (with low Ksp), which ultimately reduced lead leachability. The Pozzolan which was used for the first time as a stabilizer demonstrated a good performance in reducing the leachability of Cd, Ni and Cu. In addition, due to the pseudo-cementitious properties of Pozzolan, it can reduce leachability of metal elements, along with other additives such as cement, by increasing the solidification efficiency.

Although complexity and vulnerability assessment of mountain landscapes is increasingly taken into consideration, less attention is paid to ecophronesis-based solutions so as to reduce the fragile ecosystem vulnerability. The main propose of this study is to provide an insight of mountain complex landscape vulnerability and propose ecophronesis-based solutions in strategic planning framework for reduction of vulnerability. The study has been carried out by following five steps in Chelgard Mountain landscapes (center of Iran): First, it determines the evaluation framework on basis of rapid literature review. Second, the vulnerability is assessed, using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), in accordance with experts’ opinion. In the third step, the results provide a zoning map of vulnerability. Afterwards, the study suggests a strategic plan to manage the area environmentally and, finally, the solutions are proposed, based on ecophronesis, in order to not only solve the plight but also reduce the vulnerability. Results from the vulnerability assessment indicate that anthropogenic stressors intensify the vulnerability. While local ecological wisdom is shaped over time in the area, its application faces challenges as a result of rapid and immense socio-economic changes. It seems that sustainability of mountain ecosystem needs to regenerate social structures on basis of socio-ecological capital. Main characteristics of these adopted social structures include their balance with the ecosystem and adoption with new lifestyles.

Wind erosion is considered a major global environmental problem. Dust storms from the migration of sand dunes can seriously damage civil, industrial, and agricultural areas and a method to stabilize these sand dunes is mulching. The present study investigates the feasibility of using organic wastes of Press mud and Dunder with clay for the production of environmentally-friendly mulches. Sandy soil from the Dejgah Region, Fars Province, has been used as bed treatment. The treatments have been prepared, using different ratios of the above mentioned materials and 250 ml of water has been added to the each mulch combination to be sprinkled on a plot of sand, 50 × 30 × 1 cm in size. The research has measured Mechanical parameters such as Compressive Resistance (CR), Abrasion Resistance (AR), and Impact Resistance (IR), created by mulches, along with Wind Erodibility (WE) of the treatments and has analyzed the resultant measured data by means of SPSS software. An increase in the fraction of organic wastes has significantly increased CR, IR, and AR values, thus reducing WE. Higher amounts of organic matter and clay increase the CR and the application of 100g Dunder plus 100g Clay has been considered the best composition of organic mulch for stabilization of sand dunes.

Although the vulnerability assessment of forest parks is used to determine the threats they face, a rapid and holistic framework has not been established well. The primary objective of this study is to adopt a framework for rapid assessment of forest parks vulnerability, examined in Lavizan forest park in Tehran (Iran) as the case study. The vulnerability assessment has been conducted, using the evaluation matrix on the basis of landscape and ecological values and threats. In this model, the most important values and threatening factors of the Lavizan forest park have been identified and assessed, based on the intensity of their effect as well as occurrence probability. Finally, this article proposes five strategies to reduce the vulnerability. Results from this research indicate that the most important values have been air purifcation, wildlife, flora and fauna species, environment regulation, mental health, and scientific resources and the most important threats have included reduction of habitat diversity, intensive exploitation of the resources, fire, woodcutting, and reduction of ecological connectivity. Based on these vulnerabilities, the most important strategies propose the use of affordance strategy formulation framework to preserve and enhance ecological and landscape values of the park.