Hasanlar Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant are located on Küçük Melen Creek in the Western Black Sea Basin of Turkey. The dam was constructed in 1974 to provide domestic water needs of the Düzce Province, to supply irrigation water need, to control and mitigate floods and to produce hydroelectric power. This dam has been subjected to severe sedimentation since its construction in 1974. Therefore, bathymetric field survey studies were conducted to determine storage loss in the Hasanlar Dam reservoir by sedimentation. Bathymetric survey data from the reservoir site of the Hasanlar Dam were obtained in 1979, 1999 and 2014. Analysis of the bathymetric data, GIS and remotes sensing techniques showed that storage loss in reservoir active volume between 1974 and 1999 was 24% and between 1974 and 2014 storage loss was 26%. Analysis of the bathymetric maps also showed that sediment accumulation is severe near and around the dam body and the spillway whose discharge capacity was decreased by sediment accumulation. This is extremely critical because the flood of May 1998 caused the high risk of collapse of dam due to reduced capacity of the spillway. Remote sensing technique was used to determine the future deposition of sediment in the reservoir. For this purpose, 35 points in the reservoir area were determined by comparing the relative water depths and actual water depths using satellite image of the bathymetry in July 2017 and Lake Observation Station. High correlation (R 2 = 0.833) was calculated by using logarithmic nonlinear regression analysis between actual and relative water depths for those 35 control points. The average of absolute values of differences between the estimated and actual water depths was found as 1.06 m, and RMSE was calculated as 1.25 m. This analysis shows that in the future, remote sensing data can be used in the studies of determining the depth of water and the total sediment thickness. In addition, the volume of the entire reservoir can be predicted by measuring the actual water depth only at those 35 control points without making a bathymetric map of the whole dam reservoir.

Turkey lies in a critical region that is projected to be one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean region. In this study, climatic zones of Turkey were classified with respect to their climatic and meteorological characteristics. The Thornthwaite precipitation efficiency index was used to identify aridity and humidity characteristics. The index values were mapped to determine climate zones and associated climate classes and to evaluate change in time and space. Two distinct periods (1950–1980 and 1981–2010) were used to assess climatic conditions and evaluate historical changes. The Thornthwaite index indicated significant spatial variations of climate parameters across Turkey with varying degrees of vulnerability. The results indicate that during the 60-year time frame, no arid zones had been experienced in Turkey. On the other hand, an increase of semi-dry and dry humid zones and a decrease of semi-dry–less humid, semi-humid and humid zones had been experienced. In this context, it is important to note that semi-arid zones have increased substantially (approximately 14%) between the two 30-year periods.

The water quality of the Akyatan Lagoon was characterized using hydrochemical methodology. The lagoon is located on the Mediterranean coast and is the largest wetland ecosystem in Turkey. In addition, the lagoon is classified as a hyper-salinity wetland. Water samples were collected monthly between December 2007 and November 2008. Eleven stations within the lagoon were determined, and triplicate grab samples were obtained from each station to characterize water quality as follows: T °C, pH, total alkalinity (TAlk), dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, electrical conductivity (EC), and main anions, including chloride (Cl(-)), nitrates (NO3 (-)), and sulfate (SO4 (2-)). Results from selected stations indicated varying TDS, EC, salinity, and Cl(-) concentrations, from 20,892 to 175,824 mg/L, from 35.7 to 99.6 mS/cm, from 22.3 to 71.0 ppt, and from 14,819 to 44,198 mg Cl(-)/L, respectively. Data indicated that the spatial distribution of water quality parameters was significantly affected by freshwater input via the constructed drainage channels which collect water from a catchment area and discharge water into the lagoon as a point source, thus preventing drainage water to reach the lagoon as a nonpoint source.

The closure of a flow control mechanism at the end of a penstock may cause significant transient pressures. The governing equations of this unsteady flow phenomenon, the conservation of mass and conservation of momentum, are solved by the method of characteristics using various computational schemes. A study was carried out to compare the computational results of the transient pressures with measured prototype data for the Çatalan Power Plant in Turkey. Prototype data were collected during the closure of the wicket gates of a Francis turbine from the test procedures of "load rejection", "emergency shut down", and "quick stop". The numerical results for the transient pressures just upstream of the turbine are compared with the measured data. The general agreement between the theoretical and experimental results is found to be quite reasonable.Key words: transient pressure, water hammer, power plant, Francis turbine, penstock, method of characteristics.

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