GMIT eLibrary
Repository of German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology (GMIT):
- Master Thesis
- Bachelor Thesis
- eBooks
Communities in DSpace
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Numerical Modeling Study on the Effects of Urban Greening on Microclimate
(German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology, 2026-05) Erdenechuluun, Ariuntsetseg; 1st Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Gantuya Ganbat; 2nd Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Jambajamts Lkhamjav
Urban greening is widely promoted as a nature-based remedy for urban overheating, yet its microclimate response in cold, semi-arid, mountain-bounded capital cities such as Ulaanbaatar differs fundamentally from the linear cooling reported in humid climates. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to the Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model was configured in four nested domains down to 1 kilometer over Ulaanbaatar, driven by ERA5 reanalysis. Four scenarios were simulated for 22 June 2025 by modifying the urban impervious-area fraction (FRC_URB) at 1.0, 0.9, 0.5, and 0.1, corresponding to greening levels of 0, 10, 50, and 90 percent. The 0.9 case was retained as the control. The control reproduced the tropospheric temperature profile with a root-mean-square error of 1.2°C and a nocturnal urban heat island of 2.5°C, matching the long-term observed summer mean. The daytime response was moisture-dominated: a shift from 0 to 90 percent greening lowered the 2 m air temperature by only 0.3°C but raised the surface dew point by 1.8°C. The nocturnal urban heat island declined monotonically with greening fraction and reversed sign at the strongly greened limit, falling from 3.5°C through 0.6°C at moderate greening to −2.9°C at 90 percent greening, driven by reduced heat-storage release and weakened surface roughness that allowed katabatic drainage to ventilate the basin. The −2.9°C value is an upper bound sensitive to the model soil-moisture treatment. Intermediate rather than maximum greening minimizes the nocturnal urban heat island in a basin-confined city, and the full cooling potential is realized only when greening is combined with irrigation, permeable surfaces, and rainwater harvesting.
Optimization and Evaluation of Operational Performance for Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)
(German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology, 2026-05) Dagdangonchig, Undarmaa; 1 st Supervisor: Dr. Ariuntuya Tserendorj; 2 nd Supervisor; Dr. Tamir Puntsag; Advisor: Ms. Dagiisuren Badamkhatan
This study evaluates the operational performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system at the Khaanzaa Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), operated under subcontract with the Oyu Tolgoi mining project in the Gobi region of Mongolia. The assessment is based on laboratory experiments and statistical analysis of long-term operational data collected between 2024 and 2025. The results demonstrate that the MBR system achieves high treatment efficiency, with effective removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia under the studied conditions. A key finding is the strong inverse relationship between sludge wasting rate (Qw) and sludge retention time (SRT). Insufficient or irregular sludge wasting resulted in excessively high SRT, leading to aged biomass, increasing MLSS, poor sludge settleability, and unstable process performance. Statistical analysis further showed significant variability in MLSS and dissolved oxygen (DO), with frequent deviations from optimal ranges. Excessive DO levels contributed to unnecessary energy consumption, while low DO conditions risked reduced nitrification efficiency. Membrane performance analysis demonstrated that permeability was strongly affected by fouling and operational conditions. Although periodic cleaning temporarily restored performance, rapid fouling recurrence indicated the need for more stable biological control. Based on these findings, optimization of sludge wasting and aeration control is recommended to maintain stable MLSS and SRT conditions. Maintaining an SRT of approximately 20 days and DO within the optimal range (1.5–2.5 mg/L) is essential for improving system stability, reducing fouling, and enhancing long-term MBR performance.
Temporal and Spatial Trends of Forest Fires and Carbon Dynamics in Tujiin Nars
(German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology, 2026-06) Enkhjargal B.; 1 st Supervisor/Examiner: Prof. Dr. Gantuya Ganbat; 2 nd Supervisor/Examiner: Dr. Batsaikhan Vanchindorj; Advisor: Ms. Enkhjin Enkhbold
Wildfires are one of the most important disturbances in boreal and forest steppe ecosystems, and are of great importance to biodiversity, carbon cycling and ecosystem resistance. In this study, a spatiotemporal analysis of wildfire dynamics, risks, emissions and post-fire carbon uptake in Selenge Province and the Tujiin Nars State Special Protected Area of northern Mongolia from 2001–2025 were performed. Wildfire occurrence and area burned are derived from the MCD64A1 burned area product processed by Google Earth Engine with verification data from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of Mongolia. LST, precipitation, wind speed, NDVI, slope, elevation and aspect were incorporated for fire risk and carbon calculation. During the period of this study (2001-2025) 605 fire detections and 7,809.29 km² of burned area are detected in Selenge Province with maximum in 2009 (1,566.46 km²) which shows peak fire year. Fire season is dominantly in Spring (March-May, 53% of total area burned) followed by Summer (37%). While in Tujiin Nars, fire occurs in three years of 2005, 2007 and 2025 with maximum burned area occurring in 2005 (83.633 km²) followed by 2025 (41.383 km²) and 2007 (36.684 km²). Most fires were observed in north and northeast of the protected area, which coincides with distribution of forest steppe vegetation and environmental gradients. Wildfire risk was evaluated using multi criteria Wildfire Risk Index (RI) considering combustibility index, topomorphological index, human occupation index, and MaxEnt approach modeling species distribution. For provincial scale, prediction performance of MaxEnt model is highly satisfactory; LST becomes dominant factor in May (43.22%), and wind speed in October (42.88%), while precipitation is consistently important throughout the study season. Locally in Tujiin Nars the main contributing environmental variables controlling fire ignition varied with fire years, moisture and topographic factors controlled the fire in 2005 fire season; extreme thermal environment was a direct driver in 2007 fire season; while wind becomes the direct dominant driving factor for fire in 2025 fire season, which contributes 62.81% of the model and has permutation importance of 72.41%. All of the MaxEnt models have high performance in predicting fire occurrences with AUC values ranged from 0.836 to 0.966. The calculation of CO2 emission from the fire events in Tujiin Nars was based on IPCC 2006 Guidelines, and despite that the cumulative burned area is mainly grasslands/steppes (160.37 km² of 166.39 km² in total, which accounts for 96.38% of total burned area), forest fire contribution to total CO2 emission was 88.8% (5,706.96 out of 6,426.57 tons), which was 2,000,000 kg/km² of fuel load compared with grassland (2,940 kg/km²) of fire. And, the results of ecosystem recovery and carbon sequestration over years (from 2005 to 2025 based on MODIS GPP data) suggest a great recovery potential of Tujiin Nars ecosystem, where mean C sequestration over year increases from 4.80 t C/ha to 6.26 t C/ha, and the total sequestration increased from 340,251.89 ton to 443,327.84 ton in 2025. These findings highlight the importance of fire prevention and ecosystem-based management for the carbon sequestration function and integrity of the Tujiin Nars State Special Protected Area under the context of climate change.
TRACER-BASED INVESTIGATION OF GROUNDWATER FLOW AND CONNECTIVITY IN FRACTURED AQUIFERS
(GMIT, 2026-06-20) TEMUULEN Delgersuur; 1st Supervisor: Dr. Ariuntuya Tserendor; 2nd Supervisor: Dr. Prof. Traugott Scheytt
The fluorescence tracer uranine is frequently applied to groundwater studies, but its behavior in fractured crystalline aquifers is still not well constrained since apparent tracer losses may be due to actual sorption on rock surfaces or changes in fluorescence intensity with temperature. The purpose of this study was to measure the temperature dependency of uranine in solution within water-groundwater mixtures as well as in batch contact with crushed gneiss from the fractured aquifer system of Freiberg (Germany), to separate the true sorption behavior of uranine onto the rock from apparent uranine concentration changes induced by temperature-dependent fluorescence quenching. Batch reactor experiments were performed with aqueous solutions of groundwater only, groundwater and uranine, and groundwater, uranine, and gneiss at initial uranine concentrations of 0.5, 5, 20, and 50 µg/L and at temperatures of 10, 25, and 55 °C. Triplicate reactors were quantified using temperature-specific calibration curves prepared in the same groundwater matrix as the samples. For each temperature, calibration standards consisted of Freiberg groundwater containing known uranine concentrations but no gneiss, so that both matrix effects and temperature-dependent fluorescence quenching were incorporated into the concentration calculation. Correcting for this fluorescence–temperature dependence, uranine exhibits no detectable sorption at concentrations of 0.5 and 5 µg/L at any temperature within the limits of analytical detection. Weak sorption is detectable at concentrations of 20 µg/L, and higher still at 50 µg/L, with up to several tens of percent sorption observed in some cases. Temperature showed only a modest and non-systematic effect on sorption, with some datasets even showing higher sorption at 10 °C relative to 25 °C or 55 °C. Overall, these data suggest that uranine is likely to behave as a conservative tracer under the chemical conditions presented here at concentrations commonly applied in the field, but that non-conservative behavior may be important at higher concentrations and should
be considered in tracer tests in crystalline aquifers.
APPLICATION OF SEED ZONE MAPPING IN MONGOLIA: A CASE STUDY FOR MINE REHABILITATION;
(GMIT, 2026-06-20) Nomin-Erdene G.; 1 st Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Gantuya Ganbat; 2 nd Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Yong Ho Lee
Land degradation from mining activities represents a critical environmental challenge in Mongolia, where the lack of a systematic framework for native plant material selection has limited the effectiveness of mine rehabilitation. This study addresses this gap by developing the first comprehensive GIS-based seed zone map for Mongolia, delineating 44 discrete seed zones through the integration of natural vegetation zones, plant hardiness zones derived from January minimum temperature, and precipitation zones derived from long-term annual precipitation data. The delineation followed a hierarchical, ecoregion-first approach implemented in ArcMap 10.8, with statistical validation performed using PERMANOVA, pairwise environmental distance matrix analysis, and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). PERMANOVA results confirmed statistically significant environmental differentiation among the six ecoregion
groups (F = 4.808, R² = 0.388, p = 0.001), with LDA accounting for 72.8% of between-group variation along the first discriminant axis. The framework was applied to the Energy Resource LLC (Ukhaa Khudag coal mine) in Umnugovi province as a case study. The mine was identified within seed zone MZ7 (Dundgovi Desert zone, H5, Semi-dry), and evaluation of current practices revealed that distant seed sourcing introduces a measurable risk of maladaptation. Native species such as Haloxylon ammodendron and Caragana spp. were identified as the most ecologically suitable for MZ7 conditions. The developed framework provides a scientifically grounded spatial decision-support tool for guiding seed sourcing in mine rehabilitation and ecological restoration across Mongolia.