Bilal Aslam

Northern Arizona University | NAU · School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems

In mountainous regions subjected to landslides, susceptibility mapping of these geohazards is necessary for averting and alleviating perilous dangers. The present study applies an integrated methodology for assessing landslide susceptibility of northern Pakistan (Mansehra and Muzaffarabad districts). Three orthodox machine learning (ML) classificat...

Global climate has been radically affected by the urbanization process in recent years. Karachi, Pakistan's economic hub, is also showing signs of swift urbanization. Owing to the construction of infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and associated urbanization, Karachi's climate has been significantly affected....

The prediction of the earthquake has been a testing investigation field, where a prediction of the impending incidence of destructive calamity is made. In this research, eight seismic features are processed by utilizing seismological notions, such as seismic quiescence, the eminent geophysical specifics of Gutenberg–Richter’s inverse law, and disse...

Earthquake is one of the foremost perils that cause several damages in northern Pakistan. Numerous investigations have been put forward to recognize seismic behavior in the region for better disaster management. Earthquake data recorded from 1980 to 2019 are used in this study. The methodology used is an integrated study of seismology, statistical,...

The world's ecosystem is severely affected by the increase in the rate of soil erosion and sediment transport in the built environment and agricultural lands. Land use land cover changes (LULCC) are considered as the most significant cause of sediment transport. This study aims to estimate the effect of LULCC on soil erosion potential in the past 2...

This study presents a novel approach for forecasting the construction cost index (CCI) of building materials in developing countries. Such estimations are challenging due to the need for a longer time, the influence of inflation, and fluctuating project prices in developing countries. This study used three techniques—a modified Artificial Neural Ne...

Due to population growth and climate change, dependence on groundwater is expected to increase. This growth has put forth a major challenge of management for sustainable groundwater storage. This study illustrates a newly introduced bivariate statistical model with an ensembled data mining approach. Certainty factor (CF), evidential belief function...

In this research, the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) on debris flow was evaluated in the Gilgit to Khunjerab region. Two events have been done: (i) LULC stimulations for 2026 and 2030 using the MOLUSCE plugin and (ii) debris flow susceptibility mapping using linear aggression model. The evaluation of LULC on debris flow susceptibility is...

It is important to recognize the influence of terrain characteristics on the spatial distribution of settlements as it can aid poli-cymakers in sustainable urban planning. Landscape characteristics influence the decision of new settlements as well as the decision-making process related to existing settlement density. The surrounding environment inf...

One of the key functions of global water resource management authoritiesis river water quality (WQ)CODassessment. A water quality index (WQI) is developed for water assessments consideringnumerous quality-related variables. WQI assessments typically take a long time and are prone to errors during sub-indices generation. This can be tackled through...

Northern Pakistan, the center of major construction projects due to the commencement of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, is among the most earthquake-prone regions globally owing to its tectonic settings. The area has experienced several devastating earthquakes in the past, and these earthquakes pose a severe threat to infrastructure and life....

The change in the local climate is attributed primarily to rapid urbanization, and this change has a strong influence on the adjacent areas. Lahore is one of the fast-growing metropolises in Pakistan, representing a swiftly urbanizing cluster. Anthropogenic materials sweep the usual land surfaces owing to the rapid urbanization, which adversely inf...

Landslides are natural disasters deliberated as the most destructive among the others considered. Using the Muzaffarabad as a case study, this work compares the performance of three conventional Machine Learning (ML) techniques, namely Logistic Regression (LGR), Linear Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and two Multi-Criteria Decision M...

In landslide susceptible mountainous regions, the precondition for avoiding and alleviating perilous dangers is the susceptibility mapping of the landslide. In northern Pakistan, landslides due to vigorous seismic zones, monsoon rainfall, extremely sheer slopes, and unfavorable geological conditions present a considerable threat to the mountain are...

Landslides triggered in mountainous areas can have catastrophic consequences, threaten human life, and cause billions of dollars in economic losses. Hence, it is imperative to map the areas susceptible to landslides to minimize their risk. Around Abbottabad, a large city in northern Paki-stan, a large number of landslides can be found. This study a...

Earthquake risk in urban areas has recently taken quite a lot of attention. Risk is a cross-cutting combination of vulnerability and hazard. Abbottabad district, a rapidly growing district, is an earthquake-prone area in the north of Pakistan. In 2005, the region suffered enormous casualties due to a significant earthquake (Mw = 7.6). The various r...

Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the significant global issues that is more evident in developing nations. One of the key methods for disposing of the MSW is locating, assessing, and planning for landfill sites. Due to rapidly expanding global urbanization, associated lack of resources, and inadequate urban waste management, MSW is...

Owing to the extensive global dependency on groundwater and associated increasing water demand, the global groundwater level is declining rapidly. In the case of Islamabad, Pakistan, the groundwater level has lowered five times over the past five years due to extensive pumping by various departments and residents to meet the local water requirement...

This study maps the landslide susceptibility along the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route using multiple land-slide causative factors. A decisive statistical approach and the Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to map the route’s susceptibility. The study area comprises a 236km section of the Karakoram Highway, located in a re...

Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the significant global issues that is more evident in developing nations. One of the key methods for disposing of the MSW is locating, assessing, and planning for landfill sites. Faisalabad is one of the largest industrial cities in Pakistan. It has many sustainability challenges and planning proble...

Owing to the climatic dryness and shortage of surface water, Pakistani farmers have been forced to rely on groundwater resources to meet the irrigation demand for crops. Pumping an excessive amount of water from the aquifers is turning it brackish. Our study aims to select a suitable depth of freshwater for installing tube wells in a study area, Te...

This work evaluates the performance of three machine learning (ML) techniques, namely logistic regression (LGR), linear regression (LR), and support vector machines (SVM), and two multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, namely analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOP...

Landslide susceptibility study is a critically important topic throughout the globe owing to the social and fnancial catastrophes of landslides. The present research aims to evaluate as well as compare the profciencies of six advanced machine learning techniques (MLTs) for mapping the landslide susceptibility of northern parts of Pakistan. The cons...

Landslides are one form of geohazard that is crucial for risk assessment and mitigation. This study proposes machine learning methods to identify landslides using data collected from Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. We applied classification techniques including Random Forest, Decision Tree, Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), light gradient boosting machine (...

In the current times, anthropogenic activities and natural change in the processes cause much change in the world, causing multiple hazards and disturbing the natural flow. One such hazard is soil erosion, which is increasing day by day due to changes in climate and anthropogenic activities. Thus, identifying the soil erosion vulnerable zones and m...

Extraction of built-up area (BUA) is essential for proper city planning and management. It enables the concerned authorities to formulate better city development policies and manage emergent disasters. However, the traditionally used optical data present spectral confusion where BUAs are mixed with other features adding to management complexities....

Worker productivity is critical within construction projects as it is the measure of the rate at which work is performed and, more importantly, helps to know how to motivate them to perform at high levels. This research aimed to examine the impact of employee age and industry experience on the intrinsic workforce diversity factors influencing const...

Water scarcity has become a major problem for many countries, resulting in decliningwater supply and creating a need to find alternative solutions. One potential solution is rainwaterharvesting (RwH), which allows rainwater to be stored for human needs. This study developsan RwH assessment system through building information modeling (BIM). For thi...

Prediction of an extreme seismic event in any area has been a perplexing study area. Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan, and the whole province lies in a seismically active region which makes it vulnerable to earthquakes. In the current study, different aspects of seismology of Baluchistan, for instance, frequency content, recurrence t...

The ecosystem, biodiversity, and anthropological existence in the Chitral district are in danger due to the sediments and soil erosion stemming from the changes in the land-cover and climate. This research aims to practice the RUSLE model with the changes in the land-cover and climate in upcoming situations for 2030 and 2040 to evaluate soil erosio...

Groundwater is one of the primary sources for the daily water requirements of the masses, but it is subjected to contamination due to the pollutants, such as nitrate, percolating through the soil with water. Especially in built-up areas, groundwater vulnerability and contamination are of major concern, and require appropriate consideration. The pre...

The local climate of cities is changing, and one of the primary reasons for this change is rapid urbanization. The Lahore district is situated in the Punjab province of Pakistan and is mainly comprised of Lahore city. This city is among the fastest expanding cities in Pakistan. Due to this rapid urbanization, the natural land surfaces are being alt...

Groundwater contamination along with anthropogenic actions and land use forms are increasing threats in urbanized zones around the world. Additionally, water quality and quantity are declining due to urbanization development. DRASTIC parameters (depth to the water table, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone...

An earthquake is a natural event that causes serious intimidation to infrastructure and humans’ life in northern Pakistan. Environmental, physical, and social dimensions effectively add to seismic vulnerability. The current study deals with seismic susceptibility by integrating various decisive supporting methods to generate more accurate outcomes...

Concrete is an important construction material. Its characteristics depend on the environmental conditions, construction methods, and mix factors. Working with concrete is particularly tricky in a hot climate. This study predicts the properties of concrete in hot conditions using the case study of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. In this research, variable ca...

Vulnerability analysis in areas vulnerable to anthropogenic pollution has become a key element of sensible resource management and land use planning. This study is intended to estimate aquifer vulnerability using the DRASTIC model and using the vertical electrical sounding (VES) and electrical conductivity (EC) outcomes. The model allows for the id...

Health and Safety (H&S) is a professional approach to substitute harmless and vigorous work conditions for any industry. The construction industry is of utmost importance because it is associated with elevated accident rates compared to the other sectors. To some extent, cultural progression is also reliant on communication among all the groups ins...

This study maps the landslide susceptibility along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route using multiple landslide causative factors. A decisive statistical approach and the Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to map the route's susceptibility. The study area comprises a 236 km section of the Karakoram Highway, located in a reg...

Afghanistan has been subjected to many disastrous earthquakes in the past as it is situated in a seismically vigorous region. The converging edge of the Arabian, Indian, and Eurasian plates accounts for the high seismicity of the region. An Mw 7.5 earthquake hit northern areas of Afghanistan along with Pakistan on the October 26, 2015, with its epi...

The satellite remote sensing method is an important low-cost technique for the identification, mapping, and collecting information on potential areas of surface lithologies in areas of appropriate exposure. Multiple techniques have been developed which are utilized for the geological mapping from satellite data. This study is based on the band rati...

Soil erosion has serious threats to agricultural production, hydraulic structures, and the world’s ecosystem. The objective of this study is the delineation of soil erosion susceptibility zones in the Chitral district using spatial analyst tool in conjunction with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). This district is highly vulnerable to soil erosio...

The present research aims to investigate the association amid weather and the most recent pandemic of COVID-19 in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The source of COVID-19 surveillance data for the secondary data analysis was the Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination. The weather data obtained from the Pakist...

The present research aims to investigate the association amid weather and the most recent pandemic of COVID-19 in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The source of COVID-19 surveillance data for the secondary data analysis was the Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination. The weather data obtained from the Pakist...

The coastal area holds great importance as it sustains a large number of people in addition to various bio-networks that have economic as well as biological significance. However, these may be prone to environmental calamities such as tsunamis. In the coastal areas of Pakistan, numerous earthquakes have been triggered by the tectonic movement under...

Assessment of the vulnerability of groundwater can be defined as the area’s rate of incorporation capacity to the impurity from surface overlying the aquifer. This study is of profound importance with regard to natural resource management and land use planning. This study deals with determining shallow aquifer vulnerability by using a DRASTIC model...

Globally the researchers are identifying the new ways for better urban sustainability. One major issue in the current world is the lack of fresh water availability in cities due to rapid increase in the population. To meet water requirement, scientist are exploring different ways to enhance the groundwater recharge capacity. One such solution is th...

Land degradation caused by soil erosion is considered among the most severe problems of the 21stcentury. It poses serious threats to soil fertility, food availability, human health, and the world ecosystem. The purpose of the study is to make a quantitative mapping of soil loss in the Chitral district, Pakistan. For the estimation of soil loss in t...

Land use types and anthropogenic activities represent considerable threats to groundwater pollution. To effectively monitor the groundwater quality, it is vital to measure pollution levels before they become severe. In our research area, located in Gilgit Baltistan in northern Pakistan, groundwater supplies are diminishing due to urban sprawl. In t...

This research demonstrates the utilization of spatial arrangement investigation methods for earthquake series generated along Chaman Fault in Balochistan region to put an effort to identify clusters, discover local and global spatial configurations for the incident of earthquakes occurred from 1900 to 2017 with geographical information system (GIS)...

The seaside region is a valuable zone that sustains many people and numerous bionetworks of biological and financial significance. Conversely, bionetworks and anthropological expenditures in seaside regions can be susceptible to regular catastrophes such as tsunamis. Around Pakistan, tectonic movement under the Indian Ocean has triggered numerous e...

Unconventional reservoirs mostly consist of fine-grained wealthy with organic shales trapped gas are considered as source, seal, and the reservoir rock. Integration of well logs played an important contribution in evaluation of unconventional reservoirs in order to identify the shale deposited basinward on the basis of their position in Basin, Tota...

A two-dimensional seismic interpretation was carried out in the upper Indus Basin Meyal area to confirm the reservoir characteristics of Chorgali Formation and to define potential locations for test drilling. Time and Depth contour maps of Chorgali Formation helped us to confirm the presence of anticlinal structure in the given area. Surface contou...