Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
14
result(s) for
"Failaka Island"
Sort by:
Geochemical Study of Bitumen Residues on Potsherds from the al-Qusur Monastery (7th–9th c. CE): Composition and Origin
Geochemical and isotopic analysis of bitumen lining potsherds from the al-Qusur monastery (second half of the 7th c. CE and the middle of the 9th c. CE), at the central part of Failaka Island (Kuwait Bay), confirms the presence of two distinct compositional categories that can be matched to contemporary sources from two different areas of Iran: the Kermanshah province on one side, and the Khuzestan–Fars–Busher provinces on the other side. Potsherds comprise different types: TORP-S amphorae, TORP-C amphorae, SPORC storage jar, turquoise alkaline-glazed jar (TURQ.T), and CREAC jar. There is no relationship between the type of potsherd and the origin of bitumen. The bitumen coating SPORC jar, first identified as a kind of juice strainer to filter the «garum-like juice», was examined in greater details to try to identify traces of fish sauce mentioned in the Arabic kitchen books as ‘murri’, and quite similar to the Roman garum. The mineralogical analysis exhibits the classical minerals of archaeological mixtures (quartz, calcite, dolomite) and no halite. Hydrocarbons, alcohols, and methyl esters show a typical biodegraded bitumen signature but no fatty acids and terpenoids. It seems that the bitumen matrix has not adsorbed any molecules from the presumed «garum» filtered in the basin.
Journal Article
Environmental Urban Plan for Failaka Island, Kuwait: A Study in Urban Geomorphology
Failaka Island, located in the far east of Kuwait Bay about 20 km from the State of Kuwait’s coast, represents a focal point for regional geography and history, including natural wonders and archaeological sites dating to the Bronze, Iron, Hellenistic, Christian and Islamic periods. According to environmental data and in coordination with local authorities to develop an urban plan, the island is set to become the first tourist destination for the State of Kuwait. To achieve the Vision of Kuwait 2035, one of the planning objectives centers on Urban Planning for the Establishment of Environmental Cities that Achieve (UPEECA) environmental sustainability criteria. The article then, aims to propose the environmental urban plan for Failaka Island. Based around Environmental Analytical Hierarchical Processes (EAHP) and using the Field Calculator and ModelBuilder functions in ArcGIS, this research centers on the feasibility of carrying out an urban plan using suitability modeling that incorporates 4 factors and 13 criteria covering the island’s ecological and human composition. This study utilizes both remote sensing (Unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs for 3D imaging) and field study (ground truthing) to identify changes in land use and land cover—such as using sample analysis of the historical sites and soils for tracing evidence and creating/updating a soil map—and create the first geographic information systems (GIS) database for the island that can lead capable of generating a suitability model.
Journal Article
Radiation hazard indices and excess lifetime cancer risk in sand from the northern and eastern regions of Kuwait
The radionuclide activity data of sand samples collected from the northern and the eastern regions of the state of Kuwait were implemented to evaluate the radiological safety of these two geographical areas. The northern area covered an approximate stretch of distance of 100 km spanning from northern Kuwait City to the border between Kuwait and Iraq. During the Gulf War, back in 1991, fierce sabotage and combat activities were carried out at this stretch of highway, consequently this highway was known as “Death’s Highway” or “Hell’s Highway.” The eastern region consisted of Failaka island (39 m
2
), a Kuwaiti territory, located 27 km to the east off the coast of Kuwait City in the northern part of the Arabian Gulf. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides were determined using gamma (γ)-ray spectrometry. The sand samples believed to be undisturbed, were collected from a number of locations at a depth of 5–20 cm from the surface. In the northern region, the mean activity concentrations for the radionuclides utilized to conduct the calculations were as follows;
232
Th at 30 Bq/kg,
226
Ra at 12 Bq/kg, and
40
K at 397 Bq/kg. While in the eastern region, the means were;
232
Th at 10 Bq/kg,
226
Ra at 15 Bq/kg, and
40
K at 333 Bq/kg. To evaluate the radiological hazards of the natural radioactivity at the studied regions, the radium equivalent activity, the annual gonadal dose equivalent, the representative level index, the external hazard index, the internal hazard index, the absorbed dose, and the effective dose rate were calculated and compared with international approved values. In addition, the measured activity concentrations were used to calculate the excess lifetime cancer risk. The calculated indices indicated that the radiation hazards from the primordial radionuclides at both regions are not significant; furthermore, the potential carcinogenic risk from the gamma radiation doses absorbed by the population is low.
Journal Article
Kuwaiti consumers’ willingness to pay for environmental protection in Failaka island: a contingent valuation analysis
Purpose
Evidence suggests that a growing number of consumers across the world are becoming more environmentally responsible in terms of their personal habits and lifestyles. In this paper, the authors aim to use both parametric and non-parametric econometric models to estimate Kuwaiti consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection in Failaka island.
Design/methodology/approach
Contingent valuation methods based on log-logistic and log-normal regression models revealed that consumers in Kuwait are willing to pay a price premium of approximately 40 Kuwaiti dinars for environmental protection in Failaka island based on the double-bound dichotomous choice model.
Findings
Socio-economic variables have no significant influence on the respondent’s WTP. As expected income has a positive relationship with WTP and bid price has negative relationship with WTP to protect the environment in Failaka island.
Originality/value
This study highlight the fact that understanding consumers’ environmental-friendly behaviors may play an important role in formulating environmental policy changes to face complex problems as diverse as environmental pollution or environmental degradation.
Journal Article
Insularity and Religious Life: The Case of Hellenistic Ikaros/Failaka Island
This paper explores the notion of insularity and religious life in the sacred landscape of Ikaros/Failaka with a particular focus on the Hellenistic period. The little island of Ikaros/Failaka in the Persian Gulf had a long pre-Hellenistic religious history and was occupied by Alexander, explored by his officials and became part of the Seleucid kingdom. From the mid-20th century, archaeological missions working on the nesiotic space of the Persian Gulf have revealed material evidence that has altered our view of this remote part of the Hellenistic world. Research revealed a flourishing network of cultural communication and contacts between the indigenous population of the East and Greco-Macedonians. These interactions mirror the landscape of the Hellenistic East. Thus Ikaros/Failaka, an island on the periphery of the Seleucid kingdom, situated at a strategic point (near the mouth of the River Euphrates and close to the shores of the Persian Gulf) appears to be part of a chain of locations that possessed political/military, economic, and religious importance for the Seleucids. It became a fruitful landscape, where the Seleucids pursued their political and religious agenda.
Journal Article