Mustafa Kemal EmilWestern Michigan University | WMU · Geological and Environmental Sciences
Mustafa Kemal Emil
Doctor of Philosophy
About
53
Publications
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Introduction
Postdoc Scholar @WesternMichU | PhD in Geosciences | #InSAR #SAR #RemoteSensing #geospatial #geohazards |transitioning to #OpenScience
Additional affiliations
January 2012 - present
Publications
Publications (53)
During the last decade (2011-2022), the frequency of extreme precipitation events (> 100 mm) over the Arabian Peninsula (area: 3082,982 km2) increased by some 40% compared to the preceding decade (2000 – 2010), an increase attributed to the climate change. We examined the temporal and spatial distribution of extreme events over five major watershed...
The Suez rift in Egypt is commonly cited as an example of a failed continental rift aborted in the late Miocene. We present evidence (InSAR, field observations, and structural and morphotectonic analyses) from the northern tip of the Suez rift (Ataqa fault block) supporting the continuation of the extension till the present. We characterize the str...
The frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones over the Arabian Sea increased over the past three decades, possibly due to the warming of the Arabian Sea. Fourteen cyclones (wind speed ≥ 63 km/h) were reported in the 1990s, 16 in the 2000s, and 18 in the 2010s. During this period, 12 cyclones hit the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, three...
The focus of this study is to locate shallow groundwater (SGW) occurrences in arid lands using the Western Desert (WD; area: ∼680,000 km²) of Egypt as a test site. The SGW in the study area originated from paleo-precipitation during previous wet climatic periods. In wet periods, fossil groundwater was at higher levels, ascended along high-angle fau...
We assessed the nature and spatial and temporal patterns of deformation over the Miami Park bluffs on the eastern margin of Lake Michigan and investigated the factors controlling its observed deformation. Our approach involved the following steps: (1) extracting bluff deformation rates (velocities along the line of sight of the satellite) using a s...
Understanding the effects of snowmelt in terms of large slope deformation in high mountainous areas could come from the use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques. In this work, we investigate a slow moving, extremely large landslide (~20 km2) in the Chitral region in Northern Pakistan, which threatens several villages. Our...
The rapid increase in the population of many of the older major cities within the countries of the Saharan-Arabian Desert is steering vast and disorganized urban expansion and in many cases introducing adverse environmental impacts such as soil erosion, rise in groundwater levels, and contamination of shallow aquifers, as well as development of def...
Over the past few decades the country of Qatar has been one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East; it has witnessed a rapid increase in its population, growth of its urban centers, and development of its natural resources. These anthropogenic activities compounded with natural forcings (e.g., climate change) will most likely introduce...
Using integrated Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) datasets (Envisat: 2003–2009; Sentinel-1: 2014–2018), local gravity surveys, and passive seismic data, we investigated the environmental hazards associated with the rise of the Miocene Jazan salt diapir (JZD; ~ 2 km²) within Jazan city, Saudi Arabia, and identified areas at risk in i...
Analysis of temporal CSR monthly GRACE RL05/RL06 solutions and Sentinel-1 SAR data is underway over selected areas in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (LP) to assess the distribution, nature, and factors causing observed land deformation in the Lower Peninsula (LP). The secular trends in GRACETWS and GRACEGWS revealed two general patterns across the...
The sinking of the Nile Delta presents a challenge to the Egyptian government because of its projected adverse economic, environmental and social impacts on the country. Previous studies have indicated that the Nile Delta is vulnerable to high rates of land subsidence, sea level rise, inundation, beach erosion, and salinization. In this study, we i...
The main focus of this research project is to apply radar interferometric techniques to Sentinel-1 SAR data to detect and monitor unstable bluffs along the Lake Michigan coastline at St. Joseph City, Michigan where failures along the bluff have been recently reported. Using a stack of 56 Sentinel 1A radar imagery in ascending acquisition geometry a...
Exhumed Paleozoic glacial deposits and landforms of the North Gondwana are reported here for the first time from the South Eastern Desert (SED) of Egypt. Using field observations and remote sensing datasets (Advanced Land Observing Satellite [ALOS], Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar [PALSAR] radar, multispectral Landsat TM datasets, and...
Construction of intensity–duration (ID) thresholds and
early-warning and nowcasting systems for landslides (EWNSLs) are hampered by
the paucity of temporal and spatial archival data. This work represents
significant steps towards the development of a prototype EWNSL to forecast
and nowcast landslides over the Faifa Mountains in the Red Sea Hills. T...
An integrated approach was developed to assess the sustainability, origin, age, evolution, and groundwater potential of large fossil aquifers using the Mega Aquifer System (MAS) (area: 2 × 106 km2) in the Arabian Peninsula as a test site. A two-step exercise was adopted, the sustainability of the MAS was first investigated through the analysis of G...
There is a general agreement that deep aquifers experience significant lag time in their response to climatic variations. Analysis of Temporal Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission (SMOS), satellite altimetry, stable isotopic composition of groundwater, and precipitation and static global geopoten...
Sukari Gold Mine (SGM) is located at 23 km from southwest of the Red Sea coastal town of Marsa Alam, South Central Eastern Desert and is considered as the largest and modernized gold mine in Egypt. About 90 percent of gold mines around the world use
cyanidation (sodium cyanide compound) to separate the gold from finely ground rock. This study integ...
Ground deformation is observed in many locations around the world with a potential to cause significant damage over urban environments. The recent increase in the frequency of acquisition of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) scenes, the availability of the radar data at no cost to users, and the continuous refinement of radar processing algorithms, is...
Over the past two decades, reports of rise in groundwater levels have been recorded from many areas within the greater Mecca Region (area: 153,128 km²), within the Asir mountainous region in western Saudi Arabia. Areas within the Asir region receive relatively high precipitation (from 500 to 1000 mm/yr). The areal extent of this phenomena, and the...
Landslide, slope instability, and bluff recession along Lake Michigan coastal bluffs have, and continue to pose a threat to private property and infrastructure in these areas. These features were reported from steep (>34 º) bluffs and canyons that bound channels, crosscut bluffs, and drain in the lake. A three-fold exercise was conducted to address...
Over the years landslide-related losses in residential, commercial and governmental properties were reported along the coastal bluff of Lake Michigan. These have been attributed to one or more of these factors: wave action, fluctuation in groundwater levels, and storm events. In this project, we compare findings from radar interferometric studies w...
Persistent scatterer interferometric analyses were conducted on a stack of 84 Envisat ASAR scenes spanning 7 years (2004 to 2010) over the entire Nile Delta of Egypt and surroundings (area: 40,416 km2) to monitor the ongoing spatial and temporal land deformation, identify the factors controlling the deformation, and model the interplay between sea...
Over the past three to four decades ground deformation-related features (e.g., sink holes, fissures, subsidence) that resulted in losses in property and lives were reported from the City of Riyadh and from its surroundings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The recent advances in InSAR time series analysis techniques and availability of SAR imag...
An integrated research approach (remote sensing, field, geophysics) was conducted to investigate the structural control on groundwater flow in large aquifers using the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) of NE Africa as a test site. The aquifer extends over 2.2 x 106 km2 in Egypt, Libya, Chad, and Sudan and consists of thick (> 3 kms), water-bea...
A salt diapir (dome) structure, hereafter referred to as the Jazan salt dome (JSD), crops out within the Jazan City in the Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. The JSD occupies an area of 6 km2 and stands approximately 20-40 meters above the surrounding coastal plain. The JSD is seemingly undergoing uplift, creating uneven topography, and is compromising...
Remote sensing data sets are providing opportunities to investigate aquifers in arid and semi-arid areas worldwide including the following: (1) hydrologic setting and aquifer connectivity, (2) distribution of structures in the surface and subsurface, (3) structural control (e.g., impediments and preferred pathways) on groundwater accumulation and f...
An integrated research approach (remote sensing, field, geophysics) was conducted to investigate the response of large aquifers to dry and wet periods, using the less studied Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) of NE Africa as a test site. The aquifer extends over 2.2 x 106 km2 in Egypt, Libya, Chad, and Sudan and consists of thick (> 3 km), wat...
Over the past two decades, land deformation phenomena and related losses in public and private property were reported from the northern part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Al Jowf region (100,212 km²; from lat: 29.25°N to 30.90°N, from long: 37.60°E to 40.70°E). We applied an integrated approach (geotechnical, geology, remote sensing, geodesy, h...
The Jazan city in the Jazan Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a vibrant and rapidly growing economic center and port. The old city of Jazan is centered over a salt dome (diaper) that crops out over an area, 3-4 km wide and 20 to 40 m above surroundings. The intrusion of the diaper into the overlying cap rock causes uneven surfaces, comprom...
The Nile delta region of Egypt is the economic and social hub of Egypt. Throughout the Holocene period, the delta landscape evolved due to flooding, sediment accumulation and compaction, recent tectonics, and re-distribution of Nile Delta channels and distributaries. We monitored the current deformation of the Nile delta landscape and identified th...
The wet climatic periods in the Quaternary in north Africa and in Arabia were traditionally attributed to intensification of paleo-monsoons during interglacial periods and progressive northward migration of monsoonal front. In N Africa, the monsoonal model could not account for: (1) progressive W to E depletion (Morocco: -20 to -40‰; ; Libya: -70 t...
Radar interferometric techniques including Persistent Scatterer (PS), Small BAseline Subset (SBAS), and two and three pass (differential interferometry) methods were applied to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) datasets. These include the European Space Agency (ESA) ERS-1, ERS-2, Environmental satellite (Envisat), and Phased Array type L-band Syntheti...
Recent land subsidence incidences in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) resulted in loss in life and property. In this study, an integrated approach is adopted to accomplish the following: (1) map the spatial distribution of areas that are witnessing land subsidence, (2) quantify the rates of land subsidence, and (3) identify the factors causing the...
Jazan City is a growing (in size and population) industrial city in the Jazan Province and an important port on the Red Sea coastline of Saudi Arabia. Parts of the city are built on sabkha deposits and others on a salt plateau (diaper) that intrudes overlying sedimentary sequences. Both areas are reported to experience various degrees of ground def...
The Quaternary wet climatic periods in north Africa and Arabia have been traditionally attributed to intensification monsoons and progressive south to north migration of the monsoonal front during interglacial periods. The intensification of the paleo-westerlies during glacial periods, not the monsoons, can account for the following observations: (...
Numerous land subsidence events have been recently reported from central and northern parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Hail, Al Qassim, Al Jowf, and Buraydah Provinces. In some cases, these incidences resulted in losses in life and property. In this study, an integrated (field, geologic, remote sensing) approach is applied to accomplish the...
The Rub Al Khali (RAK), encompasses one of the World's largest (area: 650,000 km2) aquifer systems, the Rub Al Khali Aquifer System (RAKAS) of the Arabian Peninsula. In this study, we develop and apply an integrated and cost-effective approach, involving geophysical, geochemical, isotopic, field, and remote sensing investigations to understand the...
In arid and semiarid regions of the world, the demand for freshwater resources is increasing due to increasing populations and the scarcity of freshwater supplies. This chapter utilizes the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data in conjunction with other readily available remote sensing data sets, as well as field and geochemical data...
An integrated approach was adopted over Faifa Mountain and its surroundings,
in Saudi Arabia, to identify landslide types, distribution, and controlling
factors, and to generate landslide susceptibility maps. Given the
inaccessibility of the area, we relied on remote sensing observations and
GIS-based applications to enable spatial analysis of data...
The Traverse Group-Squaw Bay interval is a poorly understood set of units in the subsurface of the Michigan basin. The interval these cores span has been described extensively in outcrop, but subsurface investigation has been limited. Selected cores came from both the northern and southern portions of the Michigan basin. Both cores were provided by...
An integrated approach was adopted over Faifa Mountain and its
surroundings, Saudi Arabia, to identify landslide types, distribution,
and controlling factors, and to generate landslide hazard maps (HMs).
Given the inaccessibility of the area, we relied on remote sensing
observations and GIS-based applications to enable spatial analysis of
data and...
Underlying the vast deserts of the Rub Al Khali (RAK) is one of the largest aquifer systems of the arid world, the Rub Al Khali Aquifer System (RAKAS) of the Arabian Peninsula. This aquifer extends for some 650,000 km2 in the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in southern Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and United Arab Emirates. With the exception...
The Rub Al Khali (RAK) region of southern Saudi Arabia is underlain by a large aquifer system having three main aquifer groups. Large-scale groundwater flow is recharged mainly from precipitation falling on higher elevations in the southwest Red Sea Hills and flows toward the Arabian Gulf. The average annual precipitation was estimated at 55 x109 m...
BODY: We are analyzing ERS-1 and ERS-2 and ENVISAT data to measure the spatial and temporal variations in three tectonically active areas near Izmit, Duzce and Van provinces in Turkey. We are using ERS-1 and ERS-2 data sets, which provide a longer time period of coverage (1992 to 2001). In addition, we will extend this forward to the present with E...
We adopted an integrated (field and remote sensing) approach to map the distribution of landslides and to identify their controlling factors in the Jazan area, Red Sea Hills, Saudi Arabia. Our approach depends on: (1) Identification and characterization of known landslide locations using field and/or high resolution remote sensing data sets, (2) ex...
Surface mining activities, exploitation of ore, and stripping and dumping of the overburden cause changes in the land cover and land use of a mine area. The area of land disturbance can be very large in the case of surface coal mining, due to the nature of the coal extraction process. Sustainable mining requires continuous monitoring of changes in...
Determination of the level of pollution at contaminated sites can be costly due to the number of samples required to identify the areas with higher contaminant concentrations. Yet, if pollution transport pathways can be found, then contamination level can be detected with fewer samples. In this case study, pollution levels at an abandoned coal mine...
Surface mining activities, exploitation of ore and stripping and dumping overburden, cause changes on the land cover and land use of the mine area. Sustainable mining requires continuous monitoring of these changes to identify the long-term impacts of mining on environment and land cover to provide essential safety measures. In this sense, digital...
Projects
Projects (6)
The understanding the mechanisms of the land deformation and precursors of the slope failure has become major challenge for the science community in terms of the occurrence, duration and intensity. To address this issue we have used apply radar interferometric techniques and sfm drone surveys to detect the historical and ongoing slope failure and develop monitoring system for future prediction.
The objective of the study is to assess the land deformation velocities in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan using Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) analyses and conducting spatial and temporal correlation of the deformation velocities with relevant data sets (e.g., extraction of oil, gas, and groundwater).
