High accuracy monitoring system to estimate forest road surface degradation on horizontal curves.

Well-maintained pavements reduce occurring severe accidents on horizontal curves. For this reason, the monitoring and evaluation of pavement conditions are important. This study evaluates pavement conditions considering volumetric degradation or displacement on 11 horizontal curves in forest roads, depending on meteorological conditions, traffic effects, and curve parameters. Within this context, pavement displacement (degradation) was investigated and measured with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for a year on a monthly basis. In this study, two multiple regression models were developed to estimate the degradation values of a forest road. According to model 1, which was developed to estimate the loss volume values, the adjusted R2 was 0.658. For model 2, which was developed to estimate the gain volume values, the adjusted R2 was 0.490. Validations of models were evaluated with different statistical tests. In conclusion, volumetric degradation can be calculated with TLS-based data. Forest road designers should determine horizontal curve characteristics, taking into consideration the pavement degradation and traffic safety.

Causes of the 1998 Bartin river flood in Western Black Sea region of Turkey.

A vast flood in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey in May 1998 caused great loss of life and significant damage. Communication network, transportation, and construction cost of the disaster was estimated around US $500 million. Since flood area was relatively large, only Bartin river watershed were analysed and investigated within the scope of this study. It is very common having intense summer showers, which results in floods and landslides in the region. Land use changes in Turkey are rapid; therefore, actual land use format and its recent change were determined using remote sensing. Geographic Information System (GIS) was employed to evaluate the data collected in the area. Prolonged rainfall on saturated soil by antecedent rainfall; misuse of land both in upper and lower watersheds are main reasons affecting the formation of such a flood in Bartin river watershed.