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1

Albian clastics in the western Arabian Gulf region: a sedimentological and petroleum-geological interpretation  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clastic sediments of Albian age provide hydrocarbon source rocks, reservoirs and seals. Major reservoirs occur in sandstones to the north, and have a limited reservoir potential in offshore Qatar. Distal shales are a major seal in offshore Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Local source-rock potential exists in the northern part of the Arabian Gulf and in the extreme SE of Saudi Arabia (in the Rub Al Khali Basin). (author)

1994-07-01

2

Possibilities for oil shale development in Morocco  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morocco is among the world's leading countries in terms of total indigenous oil shale resources. Following the 1973 oil crisis, Morocco has been determined to develop its oil shale energy resources. In the subsequent years following the crisis, a tremendous number and variety of studies and research efforts have resulted in an enormous amount of data, covering geological, hydrogeological, mining, physical and chemical aspects of the two main deposits, Timahdit and Tarfaya. This article represents a tentative analysis of oil shale development in Morocco and offers a few ideas on where it might be heading. 1 fig., 2 photos.

1992-01-01

3

Mutations in TPRN Cause a Progressive Form of Autosomal-Recessive Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss  

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We performed genome-wide homozygosity mapping in a large consanguineous family from Morocco and mapped the autosomal-recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) in this family to the DFNB79...Full Text Available

2010-03-12

4

EXPORTS AND PRODUCTIVITY: MOROCCAN MANUFACTURING 1985-1995  

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

ABSTRACT The relation between exports and productivity is analysed for the case of Morocco using annual panel data for the years 1985-1995 covering six large urban areas and 18 manufacturing sectors. In the empirical analysis two main features are distinguished, i.e. productivity differentials and export externalities. The former is the most dominant one for Morocco, i.e. sectors with low labour productivity export most and within-sectors exporting firms are more productive than nonexporting firms. Regarding the latter, only weakly significant evidence is found of both sector wide or within sector productivity externalities as a result of exporting.

2006-01-01

5

A New Landscape: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Universities Expanding in the Persian Gulf  

Science.gov (United States)

Dozens of universities--primarily from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia--are eyeing the Gulf region as a largely untapped reservoir of academic potential and economic opportunity. During the last few years, UAE states like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Ras al Khaymah have spent billions to entice top universities. And many colleges are responding--examples include New York University's campus in Abu Dhabi; Michigan State University's school in Dubai; and big names like Cornell, Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon that have set up shop in Qatar. Typically, Western universities begin their foray into the Gulf by teaming with local investors. The colleges oversee the academic infrastructure while the investors front all operational costs. The partnerships are complicated. Some investors are mining the UAE's educational zeal for profit. In other cases, schools join forces with the region's numerous royal families, who are mostly ...

2008-12-01

6

Morphological characteristics and medium-term evolution of the beaches between Ceuta and Cabo Negro (Morocco)  

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This work presents the results of a combined study on the beach morphology and the evolution at short- and medium-term of the littoral between Ceuta and Cabo Negro (Morocco). It is an interesting sector showing a great increase of human occupation and coastal structures. The monitoring program allowed for the reconstruction of the beach morphological behavior and the seasonal changes. The studied beaches presented reflective profiles recording little seasonality, with the most notable morphological changes being strictly related to storms. Surf Similarity and Surf Scaling parameters highlighted the existence of intermediate and reflective beach states, characterized by plunging breakers. Aerial photographs and a satellite image have been geo-referenced and elaborated with GIS tools to reco...

2007-01-01

7

Business-Government Relations and Industrial Change: The Politics of Upgrading in Morocco and Tunisia  

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

SummaryProcesses of upgrading and the promotion of industrial "clusters," which encompass multiple policies, institutions, and actors, necessarily vary from place to place. Based on the evidence from Morocco and Tunisia, this article contends that different patterns of business-government relations facilitate different elements of industrial upgrading and cluster promotion. State-dominated political economies may be more amenable to implementing macroeconomic and infrastructure-related measures, which are critical in the initial stages of upgrading. Political economies with more organized business communities may be better equipped to pursue the kinds of inter-firm linkages traditionally associated with later phases of upgrading, when the focus is on boosting innovation.

2007-01-01

8

Is the dollar peg suitable for the largest economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council?  

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The slumping of the GCC currencies against other major currencies and the ensuing rising imported inflation have sparked an ongoing debate about the viability of the dollar peg. This paper extends and applies the contribution of Berger et al. (2001) to the largest economies of the GCC, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, by introducing a foreign inflation dimension. Empirical estimations suggest little or no evidence supporting the suitability of a fixed exchange rate regime in any of the three analyzed economies. It is this paper's contention that policy makers ought to play an immediate and active role in identifying a suitable more flexible exchange rate regime as well as an achievable timeline and road map to effectively abandoning the dollar peg.

2011-01-01

9

International heliophysical year and basic space science in West Asia  

Science.gov (United States)

This paper summarizes the IHY and BSS activities in West Asia and their importance in many Arab countries, such as Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc. BSS future plans for some of these countries are as follows: It is proposed by the astronomers from the Arabian Gulf Region to build the Gulf Observatory on top of Jabal Shams (2980 msl) which will have a 2-3 m optical telescope. Libya signed a contract with a French company for building an observatory which will have a 2-m optical robotic telescope. It is also proposed to rebuild the Iraqi National Astronomical Observatory (INAO) which was destroyed during the two wars. It is planned to build a 5-6 m optical telescope and a small solar telescope on the top of Korek mountain, which has excellent observing conditions.

2007-12-01

10

The law of one price: an examination of price integration between Europe and regional markets in Africa  

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This study examines the degree of price-integration of equity indices between the major markets of Africa, namely Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa with the European markets of London and Paris. Vector Autoregressive and Autoregressive Distributed Lag methods reveal that African markets are largely price-segmented. The only markets that are price-integrated have shared economic and financial institutions, such as Namibia and South Africa, and Egypt, Tunisia and France. The evidence suggests that development policy should be focussed on enhancing existing institutions rather than embarking prematurely on regional integration.

2012-01-01

11

HVDC submarine power cables systems state of the art and future developments  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The paper begins with an introduction on the reasons that lead to the use of HVDC submarine cable links. The main aspects for the choice of direct current are presented as well as the advantages deriving from the utilization of submarine cables. The second part is dedicated to a discussion on the various type of insulation that could be used in power cables and their possible application to HVDC submarine cables. In the following there is a description of the main characteristics and technical details of some particular project that at present time (1995) are in progress. Two projects are briefly presented: Spain-Morocco, a 26 km long interconnection for the transmission, in a first phase, of 700 MW from Spain to Morocco at 400 kV a.c. by means of three cables, plus one spare, of the fluid filled type. The cables are designed for a future change to d.c. 450 kV, allowing a transmission of 500 MW each (i.e., 2 GW total). One of the peculiarities ...

1995-12-31

12

Isotopes and groundwater management strategies under semi-arid area: Case of the Souss upstream basin (Morocco)  

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This study concerns the Souss upstream basin. The objective is to investigate the characteristics of surface water and groundwater, to assess the impact of artificial recharge as reinforcement of the natural replenishment and assess the renewal of groundwater under semi-arid area. Two major water types are observed: (i) surface waters and upstream springs (least mineralized) and (ii) all groundwater samples (prevailing calcium and magnesium bicarbonate water type). Water isotopes show a low evaporation of precipitations during infiltration. Impoverishment in heavy isotopes is the characteristic of mountain rainfalls, or of a climate colder and wetter than present. Carbon-14 activities (34-94 pmc) indicate a long residence time. The artificial recharge is low compared to the reservoir volume, due to which the renewal rate is also low.

2011-07-01

13

Engaging the banks: financing small-scale renewables in the developing world  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article reports on the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP's) work in supporting the banking and financing sector by creating clean energy finance markets in developing countries. Details are given of the shifting of cash markets to credit, financing solar home systems in India, solar thermal lending in Tunisia, the financing of hotel based solar water heating in Morocco, and the Green Village Credit initiatives in the Yunnan province of China. The importance of providing banks with information needed to gain awareness and experience of renewable energy systems is stressed. The fundamentals of a bank engagement programme, financial catalysts, structuring market oriented approaches, and linking bank lending to policy making are discussed along with the need to shift to credit enhancements to help banks set up their first loan portfolios.

2006-05-15

14

Determination of the radon diffusion coefficient and radon exhalation rate in Moroccan quaternary samples using the SSNTD technique  

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Measurements have been made of radon ("2"2"2Rn), release from diverse quaternary samples collected from different sediment deposits in the Errachidia and Beni-Mellal areas (Morocco). The radon diffusion coefficient as one of some important parameters of radon transport in the soil has been measured using solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD). Radon #alpha#-activity, uranium content and radon exhalation rate have been determined in the studied samples. Uranium concentrations were found to vary from 0.14 to 9.52 ppm whereas the radon exhalation rate varied from 0.003 to 0.145 Bq x m"-"2 x h"-"1. A positive correlation has been found between radon exhalation rate and uranium content in the studied samples. The average radon diffusion coefficients were found to vary from (1.26 #+-# 0.09) x 10"-"6 m"2 x s"-"1 to (4.3 #+-# 0.36) x 10"-"6 m"2 x s"-"1. Furthermore, the correlation between "2"2"2Rn diffusion coefficient and porosity are also discussed. (author)

2003-06-01

15

Transfer of uranium and thorium from soil to different parts of medicinal plants using SSNTD  

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The uptake of "2"3"8U and "2"3"2Th in different parts of some selected plants used in traditional treatment of hypertension and diabetes in south-eastern Morocco (Errachidia area) has been studied using two different types of solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) LR-115 type II and CR-39. Plant uptake of radionuclides is one of many vectors for introduction of contaminants into the human food chain. Thus, it is critical to understand soil-plant relationships that control nuclide bioavailability. Soil concentrations of uranium ranged from 6.10 to 11.62 ppm, with a mean of 7.90 ppm. Soil concentrations of thorium ranged from 2.70 to 4.80 ppm, with a mean of 3.41 ppm. Mean uranium specific activities were 8.38 Bq kg"-"1 in root tissue, 5 Bq kg"-"1 in stem tissue and 6.02 Bq kg"-"1 in leaf tissue. Mean thorium specific activities were 2.53 Bq kg"-"1 in root tissue, 1.64 Bq kg"-"1 in stem tissue and 1.96 Bq kg"-"1 in leaf tissue. The transfer factors of "2"3"8U ...

2011-02-01

16

Oil shale perspectives  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The worldwide oil shale resources are extremely large. As an example, the calculated recoverable oil from just the Green River Formation in the tri-state area of Colorado-Utah-Wyoming is as large as the estimated ultimate total conventional oil production from the entire world. In addition there are significant resources in other parts of the USA and in other countries. Despite the great potential, the peace of western oil shale development took a general downturn in 1982 because of a combination of factors led by an uncertainty concerning short to intermediate term pricing for crude oil, a lesser demand for petroleum products, and increased projected costs for development. An example is Exxon's announcement that the Exxon/TOSCO multi-billion dollar project would be discontinued and most of its support equipment sold. In the eastern part of the country, Paraho decided not to move its project to Kentucky unless additional financial support could be obtained. On the ...

1983-03-01

17

Development of a neutron imaging facility at the CENM Al Maamora TRIGA  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The field of neutron imaging has a broad scope of applications and has played a pivotal role in visualizing and quantifying hydrogenous masses in metallic matrices. The field continues to expand into new applications with the installation of new neutron imaging facilities. In this scope, a neutron imaging facility for computed tomography and real-time neutron radiography is currently being developed around 2.0 MW TRIGA MARK-II Reactor at Maamora Nuclear Research Centre in Morocco (CENM). The neutron imaging facility consists of a neutron collimator, a real-time neutron imaging system and imaging process systems. In order to reduce the gamma-ray content in the neutron beam, the reactor tangential channel was selected. For power of 250 kW, the corresponding thermal neutron flux measured at the inlet of the tangential channel is around 3.10{sup 11} n*cm{sup 2}/s. This facility will be based on a conical neutron collimator with two circular diaphragms with diameters of ...

2009-07-01

18

Development of a neutron imaging facility at the CENM Al Maamora TRIGA  

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The field of neutron imaging has a broad scope of applications and has played a pivotal role in visualizing and quantifying hydrogenous masses in metallic matrices. The field continues to expand into new applications with the installation of new neutron imaging facilities. In this scope, a neutron imaging facility for computed tomography and real-time neutron radiography is currently being developed around 2.0 MW TRIGA MARK-II Reactor at Maamora Nuclear Research Centre in Morocco (CENM). The neutron imaging facility consists of a neutron collimator, a real-time neutron imaging system and imaging process systems. In order to reduce the gamma-ray content in the neutron beam, the reactor tangential channel was selected. For power of 250 kW, the corresponding thermal neutron flux measured at the inlet of the tangential channel is around 3.1011 n*cm2/s. This facility will be based on a conical neutron collimator with two circular diaphragms with diameters of 4 cm and 2 ...

2009-06-07

19

Activities and activity ratios of U and Ra radioisotopes in drinking wells, springs and tap water samples in Morocco  

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radiochemical results ("2"3"4U, "2"3"8U, "2"2"6Ra and "2"2"8Ra activities; "2"3"4U/"2"3"8U, "2"2"8Ra/"2"2"6Ra and "2"2"6Ra/"2"3"8U activity ratios) are reported for 31 drinking water samples collected from 8 wells, 12 hot mineral springs, 5 cold springs, and 6 tap water samples. Activities of the Ra isotopes were measured by gamma spectrometry using a low background and high efficiency well type germanium detector. The U isotopes were counted in an alpha spectrometer. The results show that "2"3"8U activity varies between 4.46 and about 308 mBq l"-"1 in wells, 0.59 and 17.88 mBq l"-"1 in hot springs, 2.19 and 3.21 mBq l"-"1 in cold springs, and between 2.5 and 15.70 mBq l"-"1 in tap water samples. "2"3"4U/"2"3"8U activity ratio is generally higher than 1 which is the equilibrium activity ratio value in closed systems. It varies in the ranges 0.79-2.11 in wells, 0.97-7.39 in hot springs, 2.53-8.30 in cold springs, and 1.14-3.35 in tap water. Unlike well waters, spring waters show low ...