scholarly journals Quaternary Development of the United Arab Emirates Coast: New Evidence from Marawah Island, Abu Dhabi

GeoArabia ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-458
Author(s):  
Graham Evans ◽  
Anthony Kirkham ◽  
Robert A. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Eolian Sand ◽  
Coralline Limestone ◽  
A Chain

ABSTRACT Marawah is one of a chain of barrier islands off the coast of Abu Dhabi that separates the Khor Al Bazm lagoon from the open waters of the Arabian Gulf. The island consists of several rocky cores of Pleistocene limestone linked by areas of unconsolidated Holocene carbonates. It has the most complete Quaternary outcrop sequence in the region and the lowest exposed unit, a coralline limestone, had not been recorded previously. The Pleistocene deposits accumulated partly in a shallow-marine environment and partly under eolian conditions. The Marawah sections have revealed new data about the history of the southern Gulf in the late Pleistocene, a time interval of which little was known. The survey has shown that there were periods when sea level was close to present-day levels and other times when it was approximately 4 to 5 m higher than today. A phase of deflation and the development of a field of eolian sand dunes separated these two sea-level highstands. The unconsolidated sediments have accumulated around the Pleistocene rock cores since about 4,500 years BP to give the island its present form. Accumulation occurred because of wave action driven by the northwesterly ‘Shamal’ winds during periods of slightly falling or almost stationary sea level.

Distribution and Temporal Trends of Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) Populations along the Arabian Gulf Coast of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Waterbirds ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junid N. Shah ◽  
Salim Javed ◽  
Shakeel Ahmed Shahid B. Khan ◽  
Abdullah Ali Al Hammadi ◽  
Eissa Ali Al Hammadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Abu Dhabi

scholarly journals GIS-BASED WIND FARM SITE SELECTION MODEL OFFSHORE ABU DHABI EMIRATE, UAE

2016 ◽  
Vol XLI-B8 ◽  
pp. 437-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Saleous ◽  
S. Issa ◽  
J. Al Mazrouei
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Heavy Traffic ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Marine Ecology ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Seabed Topography

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has declared the increased use of alternative energy a strategic goal and has invested in identifying and developing various sources of such energy. This study aimed at assessing the viability of establishing wind farms offshore the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE and to identify favourable sites for such farms using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) procedures and algorithms. Based on previous studies and on local requirements, a set of suitability criteria was developed including ocean currents, reserved areas, seabed topography, and wind speed. GIS layers were created and a weighted overlay GIS model based on the above mentioned criteria was built to identify suitable sites for hosting a new offshore wind energy farm. Results showed that most of Abu Dhabi offshore areas were unsuitable, largely due to the presence of restricted zones (marine protected areas, oil extraction platforms and oil pipelines in particular). However, some suitable sites could be identified, especially around Delma Island and North of Jabal Barakah in the Western Region. The environmental impact of potential wind farm locations and associated cables on the marine ecology was examined to ensure minimal disturbance to marine life. Further research is needed to specify wind mills characteristics that suit the study area especially with the presence of heavy traffic due to many oil production and shipping activities in the Arabian Gulf most of the year.

Hydrodynamic and Environmental Impact of Constructing a Closure Dam Near Seawater Intakes of a Power and Desalination Plant

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled A. Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Hydrodynamic Study ◽  
Desalination Plants ◽  
Temporary Closure ◽  
The Impact

Power and desalination plants are very important in the Arabian Gulf region to provide water and electricity. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates has a number of power and desalination plants. One of these plants is Umm Al Nar plant. It is located inside a lagoon north of Abu Dhabi Island, which is the North Lagoon. Hydrodynamic study was carried out to investigate the impact of constructing a temporary closure dam in the tidal water near the plant intake on the flow pattern and the recirculation of effluent discharges from the outfall to the intake of the plant. The effect of the proposed dam on the mangroves in the vicinity of the plant was investigated. Two dimension hydrodynamic numerical flow model simulates the study area was used in the study. The hydrodynamic and environmental impact of the proposed dam was evaluated by comparing the results of the model computations with and without the dam simulation.

A Fog Climatology at Abu Dhabi International Airport

2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-236
Author(s):  
Michael Weston ◽  
Marouane Temimi ◽  
Roelof Burger ◽  
Stuart Piketh
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Sea Breeze ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
International Airport ◽  
Dense Fog ◽  
Nocturnal Inversion ◽  
Fog Days

AbstractFog has a significant effect on aviation and road transport networks around the world. The International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, experiences dense fog during winter months that affect operations at the airport. We describe the fog climatology at the airport using 36 years of aviation routine weather reports (METAR), an important long-term data source, and report on the number of fog days per year, the seasonal cycle, the diurnal cycle, and the duration of fog events. Fog days per year vary from 8 to 51, with a mean of ~23.91 days (standard deviation of 9.83). Events are most frequent from September until March, with December and January being the most active months. November, unexpectedly, has a low number of fog days, which appears to be due to a decrease in aerosol loading in the atmosphere. The most fog days experienced in one month is 13 (March 2004). Fog occurs any time from 1900 to 1100 local time, and the frequency increases as night progresses, peaking around sunrise. Fog events most frequently last 1 h or less. Events of 9 h or more were recorded in January and December, with the longest event lasting 16 h. Events are strongly dependent on the land–sea breeze and seldom form when the wind is blowing from the Arabian Gulf. The thickness of the nocturnal inversion layer increases up to about 500 m AGL on fog days as compared with 273 m AGL on clear-sky days. This study is the first to use the 36-yr dataset to characterize fog climatology at Abu Dhabi Airport.

Optical dating of arid coastline deposits – the challenge of dating evaporitic sediments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Lang ◽  
Mohammad Alsuwaidi ◽  
Barbara Mauz
Keyword(s):  
Dose Rate ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Open Systems ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Optical Dating ◽  
Sedimentary Environments ◽  
Marginal Sea

<p>The Arabian Gulf is a small shallow marginal sea of the Indian Ocean. Its Pleistocene-Holocene sea-level history is of great interest for reconstructing human migration routes into Mesopotamia as well as for better understanding the recent convergence rate between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. For establishing the sea-level history, the ages of past shoreline deposits must be known.</p><p>Here we present the optical dating procedure of intertidal carbonate deposits sampled in the coastal area south of Abu Dhabi city (United Arab Emirates). We focus on the challenge of determining a reliable dose rate of samples that are in secular disequilibrium and compare our results with age data obtained from AMS <sup>14</sup>C dating.</p><p>For optical dating quartz grains of 90-150 mm were extracted and the equivalent dose was determined from 1 mm aliquots using a standard single-aliquot regenerative dose protocol. Data analysis employed statistical analysis to approximate the palaeodose assuming that all grains measured were sufficiently bleached at time of deposition. For determining the dose rate the radionuclide activities were first quantified by simulating the radiation field of the chemically and physically described samples using gamma spectrometry. These modern activities were then taken to back calculate the activities using well-described double differential equations for open systems. This approach leads to multiple solutions.</p><p>We show details of the approach and discuss on the basis of the solutions reasonable open-system assumptions for various sedimentary environments.</p>

scholarly journals GIS-BASED WIND FARM SITE SELECTION MODEL OFFSHORE ABU DHABI EMIRATE, UAE

2016 ◽  
Vol XLI-B8 ◽  
pp. 437-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Saleous ◽  
S. Issa ◽  
J. Al Mazrouei
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Heavy Traffic ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Marine Ecology ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Seabed Topography

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has declared the increased use of alternative energy a strategic goal and has invested in identifying and developing various sources of such energy. This study aimed at assessing the viability of establishing wind farms offshore the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE and to identify favourable sites for such farms using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) procedures and algorithms. Based on previous studies and on local requirements, a set of suitability criteria was developed including ocean currents, reserved areas, seabed topography, and wind speed. GIS layers were created and a weighted overlay GIS model based on the above mentioned criteria was built to identify suitable sites for hosting a new offshore wind energy farm. Results showed that most of Abu Dhabi offshore areas were unsuitable, largely due to the presence of restricted zones (marine protected areas, oil extraction platforms and oil pipelines in particular). However, some suitable sites could be identified, especially around Delma Island and North of Jabal Barakah in the Western Region. The environmental impact of potential wind farm locations and associated cables on the marine ecology was examined to ensure minimal disturbance to marine life. Further research is needed to specify wind mills characteristics that suit the study area especially with the presence of heavy traffic due to many oil production and shipping activities in the Arabian Gulf most of the year.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document