Response of streamflow to climate variability in the source region of Jhelum River Basin in Kashmir valley,India

Natural Hazards - Successful management of the water resources directly depends on our understanding of the heterogeneity of changing climate and consequent response of annual and seasonal...     

Annual pattern of zooplankton communities and their environmental response in a subtropical maritime channel system in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Zooplankton plays an important role in aquatic food webs by fluxing of energy from primary producer to subsequent trophic levels in the food chain. The annual pattern of zooplankton communities and potential environmental drivers were studied in the Kohelia channel, Bangladesh from summer 2014 to spring 2015. Samples were collected using net at a depth of 1 m. A total of 32 species belonged to 18 orders, 27 families and 15 taxonomic groups were identified. Of these species, 22 distributed in all four seasons of which 8 were dominant and highly contributing to the total communities. Species number peaked in summer next to winter and fall in spring while maximum abundance was in summer and minimum in spring. Multivariate analyses showed that there was a clear annual pattern in the zooplankton communities. Species diversity and evenness peaked in spring but fall in autumn while the high value of species richness was found in winter. Biological-environmental best matching (BIO-ENV) analyses conformed that community pattern of zooplankton was mainly driven by transparency salinity, and temperature individually or combined with water nutrients. These results demonstrate that annual pattern of the zooplankton community shaped by channel environmental factors in subtropical channel ecosystems, thus might be used for community-based subtropical coastal water bioassessment.     

Evaluation of alternatives for lowering the groundwater table in a village in upper Egypt affected by the construction of the New Naga Hammadi barrage

The Egyptian government is replacing the existing Naga Hammadi barrage, located across the Nile River some 450 km south of Cairo, with the New Naga Hammadi barrage (NNHB) to incorporate a hydropower plant and to improve conditions for river traffic. The new structure will lead to an increase in river water levels, both locally near the new barrage and upstream. The rise in river water levels will in turn result in changes in groundwater levels in the aquifer system up and downstream of the barrages. In this paper, an area is chosen, which is expected to suffer from a high groundwater table after the construction of the NNHB, to investigate the problem and propose alternatives for lowering the groundwater levels. The study area is a village called Bakhaness, with an area of 588 ha. It is located some 1.5 km upstream of the NNHB. A computer model (MicroFEM) has been used to simulate the groundwater conditions before and after construction of the NNHB. Alternatives for lowering the groundwater table are proposed, simulated and evaluated. The systems, which are assessed are a municipal sewer system, a system of perforated pipes in urban areas, and tile drainage with different values of efficiency in agricultural areas.     

Evidences of Holocene transgression on Domingos Petrolini Swamp, southern coastal plain, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The Domingos Petrolini Swamp, located on the Southern Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul, near the town of Rio Grande, constitutes an ample holocene lagoonal deposit. Events related to the holocene transgression and their diverse phases of glacial-eustatic ocillations were found through palynological analysis. Bases on these palynological data, four distinct phases to the paleoenvironmental evolution of the ecosystem were identified. It has also shown a transgressive restricted marine sequence on the base, which suggests the existence of a coastal brackish lagoon or a marisme type of environment. Later, there was a gradation for continentality conditions along with a scarce pollinical record. The third phase is characterized by the presence of marine components and halophyte vegetation, showing another transgressive event in that place. Lastly, the end of direct marine influence over the swamp was recorded and also the vegetation development as it appears these days.     

On the calculation of cumulative strain around full‐flow penetrometers in steady‐state conditions

An approximate solution for the effects of high strain rates, and gradual strength degradation, on the penetration resistance of penetrometers can be obtained by combining the strain‐path method with the classical upper bound theorem. The stream path calculations require the integration of the material constitutive equation along the streamlines. Unless the geometry is simple so that the integration can be evaluated analytically, numerical procedures are required to backtrack streamlines. The strain at any location is calculated by finding the streamline that passes through the given point and integrating the strain rate along that streamline from its inlet boundary. Thus, the calculations can be complicated, and errors can be accumulated during the calculation procedure. This paper presents an efficient approach for evaluating cumulative strains around penetrometers without the need to backtrack individual streamlines. In this approach, the strain components are treated as field variables. The global solution is obtained using the streamline upwind Petrov–Galerkin method. The new method together with an Eulerian‐based finite element formulation was used to study the cone penetration test and evaluate the effect of strain softening on the cone resistance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of shallow sediments of Sonargaon, Bangladesh and implications for arsenic dynamics: Focusing on the role of organic matter

Mineralogy and geochemistry of modern shallow sediments (up to 5 m thick) within the zone of water table fluctuations were studied to determine the likely sources and processes responsible for releasing As into groundwater. Samples were collected from different geological settings with varying groundwater As concentrations during dry (December 2005) and wet (September 2006) seasons at Sonargaon, Bangladesh. Stratigraphic sequences of the studied sediments showed three distinct lithofacies, viz. clayey-silt, silty-clay, and silty-very fine sand, corresponding to fine-grained overbank associations. Total As concentrations of shallow sediments ranged from <1 to 16 mg/kg without a significant difference in the range of As concentrations between the seasons. Sequential chemical extraction analysis of As revealed that >80% of the As was fixed in insoluble and organic phases, while the amount of As in reducible and acid-soluble phases was very low (<20%) and varied inversely with total As content. Total As concentration varied with mica content (muscovite and biotite) and its related elements (Al, Mg and Fe), but not with total organic C, suggesting that biotite is the major host phase of As. Arsenic appears to be liberated from biotite and/or other As-bearing minerals via chemical weathering (i.e., hydration-decomposition), either from the near-surface sediments which are subject to seasonal cycling of the redox conditions, or from within the aquifer sediments. Once released, progressive diagenesis to form As-bearing organic matter may be responsible for controlling As distribution in the sediments and coexisting groundwater of the study area.     

Heavy metals accumulation in plants growing in ex tin mining catchment

The degree of contamination by heavy metals (arsenic, copper, lead, tin and zinc) in soil and transfer to plants has been studied. Specimens of plant species from five locations in an area of 10 × 10 m were sampled with their corresponding soils. Thirty six plant species including two shallow water aquatic plants were identified. Soil and plant specimens were analyzed by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. It was found that metal concentration in soil was highly variable while concentration of metals in plants directly depends on the concentration of metals it was rooted. Roots showed highest metal concentration followed by leaves, shoots and flowers. Bioconcentraion factor and translocation factor were calculated, representing Cyperus rotundus L. as a potential tin-hyperaccumulator plant, previously not reported in literature. Plant Species Imperata cylindrica, Lycopodium cernuum, Melastoma malabathricum, Mimosa pudica Linn, Nelumbo nucifera, Phragmites australis L., Pteris vittata L. and Salvinia molesta, were metal accumulator while Acacia podalyriaefolia G. Don, Bulb Vanisium, Dillenia reticulate King, Eugenia reinwardtiana, Evodia roxburghiania Hk. f. clarke, Gleichenia linearis, Grewia erythrocarpa Ridl., Manihot esculenta Crantz, Paspalum conjugatum Berguis, Passiflora suberosa, Saccharum officinarum, Stenochlaena palustris (Burm.) Bedd. and Vitis trifolia Linn. were tolerated plant species. All other studied plants were excluders. Identified plant species could be useful for revegetation and erosion control in metals contaminated ex-mining sites. Morphological changes such as reduction in size, change in color and deshaping have also been observed in plant species with high metal values.     

Long-term impacts of coral bleaching events on the world's warmest reefs

The southern Arabian Gulf houses some of the most thermally tolerant corals on earth, but severe bleaching in the late 1990s caused widespread mortality. More than a decade later, corals still dominated benthos (mean: 40 ± 3% cover on 10 sites spanning > 350 km; range: 11.0-65.6%), but coral communities varied spatially. Sites to the west generally had low species richness and coral cover (mean: 3.2 species per transect, 31% cover), with Porites dominated communities (88% of coral) that are distinct from more diverse and higher cover eastern sites (mean: 10.3 species per transect, 62% cover). These patterns reflect both the more extreme bleaching to the west in the late 1990s as well as the higher faviid dominated recruitment to the east in subsequent years. There has been limited recovery of the formerly dominant Acropora, which now represents <1% of the benthos, likely as a result of recruitment failure. Results indicate that severe bleaching can have substantial long-term impacts on coral communities, even in areas with corals tolerant to environmental extremes.     

Implications of design philosophies for seismic response of steel moment frames

During a severe earthquake, steel moment resisting frames are expected to experience significant inelastic deformation in their members and joints. This behaviour is dependent upon several design parameters such as member sizes, frame's overstrength, member deformation capacities and the detailing of components. In this study, the influence of such aspects on the inelastic response of frames is investigated. Inelastic static and dynamic analyses were performed on four frames of different designs for a typical six-storey building. The frames were designed and detailed in accordance with current North American code requirements. The computed response of each frame was compared with the behaviour expected by the codes. Recommendations for a design procedure are suggested for improving the structural performance of low-rise steel frames subjected to strong earthquake excitation.