Environmental quality and emissions guidelines are implemented due to their expected benefit for human and environmental health. However, implementation of such legislation requires knowledge of the behaviour and fate of the contaminants to be controlled. This thesis contributed to the overall understanding of atmospheric PAH deposition to remote lakes and the role atmospherically deposited contaminants play in site assessments which account for environmental pollution due to industry. In chapter 2, atmospheric PAH deposition derived from regional energy generation or industrial sources was found to be decreasing in recent sediments from Siskiwit Lake, Michigan, U.S.A. Considering that Siskiwit Lake is isolated from traffic and development, this supports recent theories which suggest that regional PAH deposition is being overprinting by local traffic sources in sub-urban or urban areas. This study also contributed to the understanding of perylene production in sediments by conclusively demonstrating increases in sedimentary perylene concentrations over a 20 year period. Moreover, kinetic modeling using 1st and 2nd order rate laws failed to accurately predict the concentration changes observed despite rate constants that were similar. This strongly suggested that perylene does not follow a simple concentration dependant kinetic reaction and is more likely controlled by complex kinetics perhaps involving biology. In chapter 3, the superiority of contaminant profiles in sediment cores over current dredge or grab sampling techniques was demonstrated. This was shown by successfully apportioning the source of contaminants to a northern lake as atmospheric deposition rather than point source release from the adjacent industrial facility. Contaminant profiles are able to constrain concentration changes with time and thus atmospheric deposition and point source contributions can be recognized. This is essential as chapter 3 also demonstrated that atmospheric deposition has the potential to produce sediment concentrations at or above current federal guidelines using standard dredge sampling techniques. Without the use of contaminant profiles these exceedences may be attributed incorrectly to industry which may face remediation costs or other fines associated with environmental contamination. This has implications for redefining sediment quality guidelines or currently accepted sampling methods. Moreover, remediation efforts for atmospherically deposited contaminants must differ from a point source release. Site remediation would be effective for a single release of contaminants however with a continuous source, as is the case with atmospheric deposition, remediation efforts must be focussed on the atmospheric contaminant emissions which can be a large distance from the site. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

The construction industry has deteriorated during the past 40 years. Up to 35 % of the production cost is from wastes. The manufacturing industry has had an opposite development, in many cases owing to the contributions of Lean Production and various assessment tools. The assessment tools evaluate manufacturing plants regarding their implementation of Lean, where from improvement strategies can be developed. The goal of the master thesis was to develop an assessment tool that could be used for evaluating Lean construction, which is emerging in the business. The assessment tool is called Rapid Site Assessment (RSA). The foundation of the RSA is the Rapid Plant Assessment (RPA) which is performed by taking a brief plant tour, in a team of expert researchers. 20 polar questions are coupled to eleven categories, evaluated to identify the plants potential and develop an improvement strategy. Five more assessment tools have been combined with the RPA and validated with Lean Construction and Lean references. The master thesis has been exploratory with a deductive approach, where qualitatively data was acquired. The assessment tool based on the literature review was tested at six different house- building sites. Validity has been obtained by triangulation, a reviewing supervisor, and six different site tests. Reliability was guaranteed by distinguishing the line of work with help of an experienced supervisor, meticulous documentation, and regular guidance meetings. The result is the RSA consisting of 32 statements coupled to eleven categories: customer satisfaction; safety, environment, cleanliness and order; visual management; scheduling system; levels of inventory, use of space, and movement of material; teamwork and motivation; Condition and maintenance of equipment and tools; management of complexity and variability; supply chain integration; commitment to quality; commitment to continuous improvements. The six site tests revealed that the house-building industry has development potential. The interviews and the RSA evaluations were generally similar. The analysis showed that the RSA tests grasped the sites but was not sufficiently rich for a complete understanding. The assessment needed to be developed, and additional interviews were added to the assessment tool. The categories were mostly relevant, but interviews needed to be added to decrease biases, though this would include the interpretations of more individuals in the project. Comparing different professions perceptions would increase credibility. This could solve the issue that most data were gathered by communication with few employees on site, and not observations. Further, some statements also suited to many categories and could be broken up. The master thesis was thoroughly planned but some issues needed to be discussed. The thesis was independently performed, and the assessor was inexperienced in plants and construction sites which aggravated the assessments. The issues were solved by experience feedback from the research group and supervisor. Finally, the RPA was considered repetitive, resulting in a repetitive RSA, but this was not considered a problem though the data was analysed differently in the categories. However, the repetitiveness could aggravate performing an efficient report, which could decrease the readers creditability comprehension. In the future the RSA should be developed for different types of construction projects, roadworks and industries etc, and tested by other researchers to increase credibility. The master thesis demonstrated that the RSA could be developed by combining assessment tools, although it could not be performed in a brief tour. By adding interviews, credible improvement strategies can probably be developed from the RSA.

California is experiencing a rapid increase in interest for the potential of converting ocean waves into clean electricity. Numerous applications have been submitted for the permitting of such renewable energy projects; however the profitability, practicability, and survivability have yet to be proven. Wave energy conversion technology has steadily matured since its naissance in the 1970’s, several wave energy power installations currently exist, and numerous plans for commercial power plant are in the works on the shores of multiple continents. This study aims to assess the economic viability of two proposed commercial wave energy power plant projects on the Central California Coast. A theoretical 25 MW capacity wave energy plant located at a site five nautical miles off of Point Arguello, in Santa Barbara County is compared to a site five nautical miles off of Morro Bay, in the County of San Luis Obispo. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Green Wave Energy Solutions, LLC have proposed full-scale commercial wave power plants at these sites, and are currently undergoing the federal permitting processes. Historical wave resource statistics from 1980 to 2001 are analyzed with performance specifications for the AquaBuOY, Pelamis P1, and WaveDragon wave energy converters (WECs) to calculate the annual electrical output of each device at each site. Sophisticated computer modeling of the bathymetric influence on the wave resource at each site is presented using the program Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) developed by the Delft University of Technology. The wave energy flux, significant wave height, and peak period are computed at each site for typical summer and winter swell cases, using seafloor depth measurements at a 90 meter rectangular grid resolution. The economic viability of commercial electricity generation is evaluated for each WEC at each site by the calculation of the net present value of an estimated 25-year project life-cycle, the internal rate of return, and the required cost of electricity for a 10-year project simple payback period. The lowest required price of electricity is $0.13/kWh and occurs at the Point Arguello site using the AquaBuOY WEC. The highest annual capacity factor is 18% using the Pelamis WEC. The net present value and internal rate of return calculations suggest that the AquaBuOY WEC is profitable at both sites for electricity prices above $0.14/kWh. Shallow water wave propagation SWAN modeling demonstrated favorable wave energy flux states for WEC operation and power generation at both sites, with typical winter energy fluxes of 30-37 kW/m.

This study presents detailed procedures for site assessment, remedial system design, and optimization of the remedial action operation (RAO) for the petroleum-hydrocarbons contaminated sites. In this work, a petroleum-hydrocarbons contaminated site located in southern Taiwan was selected. Contaminants of concerns (CoCs) from leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) and associated piping included mono-aromatics (e.g., benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, xylenes), naphthalene, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. The direct push (DP) technology was adopted for soil gas and soil samples collection. CoCs in the affected subsurface soils and the aquifers were determined by solid-phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and several other analytic instruments. Site investigation via various tests was conducted to evaluate the geology, hydrogeology, bioactivity and free product availability. Based on results of specific site characterization, successful hydraulic containment and substantial recovery of observed free-phase petroleum product were achieved. During the process of field-scale remediation, a test cell which was equipped with a subset of monitoring points and numerous different function active wells (injection well, extraction well, monitoring well, soil gas monitoring probe, reference well and recovery well) was used for remedial system evaluation. A treatment train consisting of the source control treatment and in situ groundwater treatment technology was employed in this study. The former included a vertical containment barrier (i.e., slurry wall) and three pumping wells, whereas the latter included some passive remedial activities. Approximately 87% to 95% decline of the CoCs concentration was observed in those monitor wells after 135 days of operation. Results show that the spilled light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) could be efficiently contained and removed using the treatment train system. The treatment train application could be successfully used to reduce the concentrations of CoCs in groundwater to satisfactory levels. Benzene was found to be the only compound in groundwater violating the groundwater pollution control standard. The risk assessment process including hazard identification and exposure assessment was conducted to assess the risk impact of benzene on the human health. Using the methodology approved by ASTM and American Petroleum Institute (API), the baseline carcinogenic risk (9.0E-07) and risk-based groundwater screening level for benzene (0.660 mg/L) were determined. The BIOPLUME III model was also applied to simulate the transport and fate of benzene in site groundwater. Results from this study indicate that site assessment coupled with the treatment train could be used to reduce the concentrations of CoCs in groundwater and soil to satisfactory levels efficiently and effectively.

The favorable wind recourses in many cold climate regions make them interesting for development of wind farms. However, with the cold climate come drawbacks due to icing. Production losses, fatigue loadings, ice throws and increased noise are some of the more severe issues that have to be addressed. Thus, wind power in cold climaterequires ice detectors both during the prospecting phase in the site assessment and during production for controlling of the turbines. This study aimed to evaluate six ice detector systems and their ability to detect time periods with ice and ice growth. The usability of the detector data for site assessment or controlling of the turbine was also discussed. The tested detectors were: the T 40 series from HoloOptics (HoloOptics), 0872F1 Ice Detector from Goodrich (Goodrich), LID-3300IP from Labkotec (LID), IceMonitor from SAAB Combitech (IceMonitor) and IGUS BLADcontrol from Rexroth Bosch Group (IGUS). Also a combination of the three anemometers Thies 4.3350.00.0000 from Adolf Thies GmbH & Co.KG (Thies), Vaisala WAA252 from Vaisala Oyj (Vaisala) and NRG Icefree3 from NRG Systems (NRG), used for wind measurements, has been analyzed for ice detection purposes. Data from field tests in Åsele municipality in the northern part of Sweden has been processed in MATLAB. Indications of ice and ice growth have been compared between the detectors to see how often they indicate concurrently. The measurements showed that the IceMonitor and the three anemometers indicated the occurrence of ice at the same time most of the time. The detectors with the ability to detect ice growth (Goodrich, LID, T44 and T41, IceMonitor) had a lot fewer concurrent indications. The correspondence between production loss time periods and the IGUS and T41 ice and ice growth indications were also low. Thus it was concluded that periods with ice were possible to find with a decent precision while ice growth and production loss periods were hard to find with any accuracy. The biggest limitation to the detectors’ functionality was the severe icing events that either hindered the detectors from working properly or broke them completely. None of the detectors were recommended for controlling of the wind turbines. If the reliability of the detectors during the more sever icing events could be increase they could however be used for site assessment to give a rough idea of the icing climate. / De gynnsamma vindar som finns i många regioner med kallt klimat gör dem intressanta för utveckling av vindkraftparker. Men med det kalla klimatet kommer nackdelar på grund av isbildning. Produktionsförluster, utmattningslaster, iskast och ökat buller är några av de mer allvarliga problem som måste åtgärdas. Således kräver vindkraft i kallt klimat isdetektorer både under prospekteringsfasen av området och under produktion, för styrning av turbinerna. Denna studie hade som syfte att utvärdera sex isdetektorsystem och deras förmåga att upptäcka tidsperioder med is och istillväxt. Detektorernas användbarhet vid projektering eller kontroll av vindturbiner diskuterades också. De testade detektorerna var: T 40-serien från HoloOptics (HoloOptics), 0872F1 Ice Detector från Goodrich (Goodrich), LID-3300IP från Labkotec (LID), IceMonitor från SAAB Combitech (IceMonitor) och IGUS BLADcontrol från Rexroth Bosch Group (IGUS). Även en kombination av de tre anemometrarna Thies 4.3350.00.0000 från Adolf Thies GmbH & Co.KG (Thies), Vaisala WAA252 från Vaisala Oyj (Vaisala) och NRG Icefree3 från NRG Systems (NRG), som används för vindmätningar, har analyserats för isdetektionsändamål. Data från fältstudier i Åsele kommun i norra delen av Sverige har behandlats i MATLAB. Indikationer på is och istillväxt har jämförts mellan detektorerna för att se hur ofta de visar samtidigt. Mätningarna visade att IceMonitor och de tre anemometrarna för det mesta indikerade förekomst av is samtidigt. Detektorerna med förmåga att detektera istillväxt (Goodrich, LID, T44 och T41, IceMonitor) hade mycket färre samtidiga indikationer. Överensstämmelsen mellan tidsperioder med produktionsbortfall, is (IGUS) och istillväxt (T41) var också låg. Således drogs slutsatsen att perioder med is var möjligt att hitta med en anständig precision emedan istillväxt och produktionsförlustperioder var svåra att hitta med någon större exakthet. Den största begränsningen av detektorernas funktionalitet var de svåra nedisningseventen som antingen hindrade detektorerna från att fungera ordentligt eller förstörde dem helt. Ingen av detektorerna rekommenderas för styrning av vindkraftverk. Om tillförlitligheten på detektorerna under de svårare nedisningseventen förbättras skulle detektorerna dock kunna användas vid projektering för att ge en ungefärlig uppfattning av isklimatet. / Vindforsk III: V-363 project

The energy of the tides represents one globally existent source of renewable energy, and has the potential to play a major role in a sustainable future. An assessment of the potential for tidal energy extraction using marine current turbines at a particular location in the Beaufort River near Parris Island, South Carolina is presented. The Marine Corps Recruit Depot located on Parris Island is situated between the confluence of the Broad and Beaufort Rivers. These rivers are tidally dominated, and experience some of the largest tidal ranges in the southeastern United States, between 2.5 and 3 meters during spring tide periods. Because Parris Island already has much of the necessary land-based infrastructure in place, there is logical potential for the extraction of kinetic energy from the nearby tidal streams using underwater turbines for power production. In order to evaluate the potential of a particular location to produce significant amounts of energy using these types of devices, extensive investigations must be conducted to determine important site characteristics such as water depth, current velocity, and water level fluctuations over time. This potential was investigated using in-situ measurements in the vicinity of the pump station on Parris Island, and by developing a numerical model of the region using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). This model was calibrated using the results from the in-situ measurements, and was then used to determine the impacts of tidal energy extraction on the local flow field. Results from in-situ measurements indicate that tidal currents along the portion of the Beaufort River analyzed in this study are driven primarily by the semi-diurnal M2 tidal constituent. The tidal range at the study site is approximately 2 meters on average, with a mean depth-averaged current velocity magnitude of 0.57 m/s predicted for a period of one year. A mean depth-averaged current velocity magnitude of 0.59 m/s was observed over the course of the longer-term ADCP deployment from November 12 to December 17, 2009. The maximum current speed at the site is approximately 1.2 m/s at the water surface. The ROMS model applied to the coastal areas surrounding Parris Island, SC produces results that closely resemble in-situ measurements collected previously during both the boat-based survey and the longer-term ADCP deployment. In the analysis of the effects of energy extraction from the system, four separate cases were considered in which 10, 20, 30, and 60% of the total kinetic energy contained in the flow was dissipated near the location of the longer-term ADCP deployment. Minimal impacts on the local hydrodynamics were observed across the four cases considered.

The concept of sustainability includes three dimensions: ecological-, economical- and social sustainability. Of these dimensions, social sustainability is the hardest to measure and define. Consequently, the social dimension is often ignored in urban development. Lack of social sustainability over time increases the risk of antisocial behaviour and crime. Socially ”failed” communities often show increased segregation and crime. These symptoms can today be traced in many Swedish places.  There are several methods for assessing the social sustainability of built environment. Two of these methods are Jan Gehl's twelve quality criteria and Social Life's building blocks. This study intends to combine Gehl's twelve quality criteria with Social Life's building blocks and then adapt the results to Swedish conditions.  The aim of this study is to highlight important factors for social sustainability through the development and implementation of an easy-to-use assessment method and investigate how these factors affect social sustainability. The assessment method strives for an increased understanding of social sustainability. The objective of the study is to develop an assessment matrix for social sustainability adapted to the Swedish context through previous theories and research. The assessment matrix shall be an easy-to-use tool for an on-site assessment of factors that affect social sustainability. The developed assessment matrix will then be used to highlight potential for improvement regarding social sustainability in central Kronoparken, Karlstad.  The study was conducted in three parts. The first part focuses on creating new assessment categories based on Jan Gehl's twelve quality criteria and Social Life's building blocks. Part 1 results in eight new assessment categories: Architecture & aesthetics, Places to meet, Social Infrastructure, Accessibility, Traffic, Security, Senses & experience and Development. The results in part 1 are then adapted to Swedish conditions in part 2. Part 2 results in a new assessment matrix for social sustainability uniquely adapted to Swedish conditions. The matrix contains a total of 40 questions evenly distributed over the assessment categories developed in Part 1. The adaptation of the assessment matrix to Swedish conditions makes it suitable for use in Swedish site assessments.  In part 3 the new assessment matrix for social sustainability is used to evaluate central Kronoparken. The results of the evaluation show that central Kronoparken is a place with great potential for improvement in terms of social sustainability. The categories with the largest potential for improvement are Architecture & aesthetics, Security and Senses & experience. Strengths of the site include the categories of accessibility and traffic. / I begreppet hållbarhet ryms tre dimensioner: ekologisk-, ekonomisk- och social hållbarhet. Av dessa dimensioner är social hållbarhet den som är svårast att mäta och definiera. Detta har fått följden att den sociala dimensionen ofta bortses ifrån vid stadsförändrande åtgärder vilket i sin tur kan få negativa följdeffekter. Bristande social hållbarhet över tid ökar risken för antisocialt beteende och brottslighet. Områden som har ”fallerat” socialt visar ofta upp ökad segregation och brottslighet. Dessa symtom går idag att spåra på många orter i Sverige. För att bedöma den sociala hållbarheten i byggd miljö finns flera metoder. Två av dessa är Jan Gehls tolv kvalitetskriterier och Social Lifes byggstenar. Det här examensarbetet ämnar kombinera Gehls tolv kvalitetskriterier med Social Lifes byggstenar för att sedan anpassa resultatet efter svenska förhållanden. Arbetets syfte är att genom framtagande och implementerande av en lättanvänd bedömningsmatris undersöka och belysa viktiga faktorer för social hållbarhet samt undersöka hur dessa faktorer påverkar den sociala hållbarheten. Bedömningsmatrisen eftersträvar en ökad förståelse för den sociala hållbarheten. Målet för arbetet är att genom tidigare teorier och forskning framta en bedömningsmatris för social hållbarhet anpassad efter svensk kontext. Bedömningsmatrisen skall vara ett lätthanterligt verktyg för en platsbedömning av faktorer som påverkar den sociala hållbarheten. Den framtagna bedömningsmatrisen skall sedan användas för att belysa förbättringspotential ur en social synvinkel för Kronoparkens centrum i Karlstad. Examensarbetet utförs i tre delar. Den första delen av arbetet fokuserar på att skapa nya bedömningskategorier baserat på Jan Gehls kvalitetskriterier och Social Lifes byggstenar. Del 1 resulterar i åtta nya bedömningskategorier: Arkitektur & estetik, Mötesplatser, Social infrastruktur, Tillgänglighet, Trafik, Trygghet, Upplevelse och Utveckling. I examensarbetets andra del anpassas resultatet i del 1 efter svenska förhållanden. Del 2 resulterar i en ny bedömningsmatris för social hållbarhet unikt anpassad efter svenska förhållanden. Matrisen innehåller totalt 40 frågor jämnt fördelat över de i del 1 framtagna bedömningskategorierna. Bedömningsmatrisens anpassning efter svenska förhållanden gör den lämplig att använda för platsbedömningar i Sverige. Den nya bedömningsmatrisen används sedan i del 3 för platsbedömning ur social aspekt av Kronoparkens centrum. Resultatet visar att Kronoparkens centrum är en plats med stor förbättringspotential i fråga om den sociala hållbarheten. Kategorierna med störst förbättringspotential är arkitektur & estetik, trygghet och upplevelse. Styrkor hos platsen inkluderar kategorierna tillgänglighet och trafik.

Deep slurry injection is a process of solid waste disposal that involves grinding the solid waste to a relatively fine-grained consistency, mixing the ground waste with water and/or other liquids to form slurry, and disposing of the slurry by pumping it down a well at a high enough pressure that fractures are created within the target formation. This thesis describes the site assessment criteria involved in selecting a suitable target reservoir for deep slurry injection. The main goals of this study are the follows: <ul> <li>Identify the geological parameters important for a prospective injection site</li> <li>Recognize the role of each parameter</li> <li>Determine the relationships among different parameters</li> <li>Design and develop a model which can assemble all the parameters into a semi-quantitative evaluation process that could allow site ranking and elimination of sites that are not suitable</li> <li>Evaluate the model against several real slurry injection cases and several prospective cases where slurry injection may take place in future</li> </ul> The quantitative and qualitative parameters that are recognized as important for making a decision regarding a target reservoir for deep slurry injection operations are permeability, porosity, depth, areal extent, thickness, mechanical strength, and compressibility of a reservoir; thickness and flow properties of the cap rock; geographical distance between an injection well and a waste source or collection centre; and, regional and detailed structural and tectonic setup of an area. Additional factors affecting the security level of a site include the details of the lithostratigraphic column overlying the target reservoir and the presence of overlying fracture blunting horizons. Each parameter is discussed in detail to determine its role in site assessment and also its relationship with other parameters. A geological assessment model is developed and is divided into two components; a decision tree and a numerical calculation system. The decision tree deals with the most critical parameters, those that render a site unsuitable or suitable, but of unspecified quality. The numerical calculation gives a score to a prospective injection site based on the rank numbers and weighting factors for the various parameters. The score for a particular site shows its favourability for the injection operation, and allows a direct comparison with other available sites. Three categories have been defined for this purpose, i. e. average, below average, and above average. A score range of 85 to 99 of 125 places a site in the ?average? category; a site will be unsuitable for injection if it belongs to the ?below average? category, i. e. if the total score is less than 85, and the best sites will generally have scores that are in the ?above average? category, with a score of 100 or higher. One may assume that for sites that fall in the ?average? category there will have to be more detailed tests and assessments. The geological assessment model is evaluated using original geological data from North America and Indonesia for sites that already have undergone deep slurry injection operations and also for some possible prospective sites. The results obtained from the model are satisfactory as they are in agreement with the empirical observations. Areas for future work consist of the writing of a computer program for the geological model, and further evaluation of the model using original data from more areas representing more diverse geology from around the world.

Deep slurry injection is a process of solid waste disposal that involves grinding the solid waste to a relatively fine-grained consistency, mixing the ground waste with water and/or other liquids to form slurry, and disposing of the slurry by pumping it down a well at a high enough pressure that fractures are created within the target formation. This thesis describes the site assessment criteria involved in selecting a suitable target reservoir for deep slurry injection. The main goals of this study are the follows: <ul> <li>Identify the geological parameters important for a prospective injection site</li> <li>Recognize the role of each parameter</li> <li>Determine the relationships among different parameters</li> <li>Design and develop a model which can assemble all the parameters into a semi-quantitative evaluation process that could allow site ranking and elimination of sites that are not suitable</li> <li>Evaluate the model against several real slurry injection cases and several prospective cases where slurry injection may take place in future</li> </ul> The quantitative and qualitative parameters that are recognized as important for making a decision regarding a target reservoir for deep slurry injection operations are permeability, porosity, depth, areal extent, thickness, mechanical strength, and compressibility of a reservoir; thickness and flow properties of the cap rock; geographical distance between an injection well and a waste source or collection centre; and, regional and detailed structural and tectonic setup of an area. Additional factors affecting the security level of a site include the details of the lithostratigraphic column overlying the target reservoir and the presence of overlying fracture blunting horizons. Each parameter is discussed in detail to determine its role in site assessment and also its relationship with other parameters. A geological assessment model is developed and is divided into two components; a decision tree and a numerical calculation system. The decision tree deals with the most critical parameters, those that render a site unsuitable or suitable, but of unspecified quality. The numerical calculation gives a score to a prospective injection site based on the rank numbers and weighting factors for the various parameters. The score for a particular site shows its favourability for the injection operation, and allows a direct comparison with other available sites. Three categories have been defined for this purpose, i. e. average, below average, and above average. A score range of 85 to 99 of 125 places a site in the ?average? category; a site will be unsuitable for injection if it belongs to the ?below average? category, i. e. if the total score is less than 85, and the best sites will generally have scores that are in the ?above average? category, with a score of 100 or higher. One may assume that for sites that fall in the ?average? category there will have to be more detailed tests and assessments. The geological assessment model is evaluated using original geological data from North America and Indonesia for sites that already have undergone deep slurry injection operations and also for some possible prospective sites. The results obtained from the model are satisfactory as they are in agreement with the empirical observations. Areas for future work consist of the writing of a computer program for the geological model, and further evaluation of the model using original data from more areas representing more diverse geology from around the world.