Advanced approach for degradation of recalcitrant by nanophotocatalysis using nanocomposites and their future perspectives

Industrial effluents containing persistent pollutants play a significant role in environmental pollution. Classical techniques such as chlorination, coagulation, ion flotation, membrane process and sedimentation that have been used to decontaminate polluted water are incapable of efficient degradation due to the generation of secondary pollutants. Photocatalysis, an advanced oxidation process in which the photoreaction is accelerated by the irradiation of catalyst, has shown efficient degradation of recalcitrant in water system. Usage of nanoparticles as homogenous photocatalyst has become prevalent due to their improved properties such as large surface-to-volume ratio, controlled uniform particle size and its composition which enhances the degradation rate. The recombination of holes and electron pair which is considered to be the limitation in homogenous system can be overcome by nanocomposites or heterogeneous photocatalysts. This system decreases the rate of recombination, leading to effective degradation of individual pollutants because of their enhanced physicochemical and structural properties. In recent years, heterogeneous nanophotocatalytic processes employing titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and zinc oxide (ZnO) composites have gained immense research interest as an effective wastewater treatment method because of its efficacy in decomposing and mineralizing the hazardous organic and inorganic pollutants utilizing the UV and visible photons. This paper reviews about the process, synthesis and parameters influencing photocatalytic reaction and their kinetics with much emphasize on types of nanoparticles and nanocomposites and its application in wastewater treatment.     

Vegetation damage assessment due to Hudhud cyclone based on NDVI using Landsat-8 satellite imagery

Developing nations are abandoned against tropical cyclones because of climatic changeability; the atmosphere is probably going to expand the recurrence and extent of some outrageous climate and calamity occasions. Urban areas and towns arranged along the coastline front belt in Visakhapatnam region experienced serious harm because of Hudhud cyclone, which happened on October 12, 2014. The fundamental motivation behind this exploration was to distinguish the vegetation damage in Visakhapatnam and neighbouring towns. In this analysis, Landsat-8 satellite datasets procured prior and then afterward the cyclone have been utilized; image processing techniques have been completed to evaluate the progressions of pre- and post-disaster condition. Vegetation index strategy was utilized to assess the damage to vegetation. Arrangement results and land utilize land cover change investigation demonstrate that 13.25% of agriculture Kharif and 31.1% of vegetation was damaged. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) maps were produced for the previously, then after the cyclone circumstance, and vegetation biomass damage was evaluated in Visakhapatnam and Bhimunipatanam. General loss of vegetation in both the spots was 30.67 and 43.37 km². The result of this review can be utilized by decision makers for the post-disaster support for rebuilding of influenced regions.     

A note on disturbances in a certain type of visco-elastic solid deformed by a magnetic field

Summary The present note is an attempt to study the propagation of disturbances in a semiinfinite visco-elastic rod which is of three-parameter type, and which is subjected to a static magnetic field.     

Oxidative–reductive photodecomposition of perfluorooctanoic acid in water

This article aims to elucidate on usefulness of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) for photoreductive degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a representative perfluorinated compound (PFC), in water for the first time. Bench-scale tests were conducted on oxidative and reductive (with aquated electron: e _aq ^? ) mineralization of PFOA using low-pressure UV (LPUV) lamps and potassium iodide. Unlike with 254 nm wavelength (UVC), the reductive mineralization with VUV was very inefficient compared to the corresponding oxidative mineralization. The inefficiency is attributed to low reactivity of e _aq ^? with PFOA and its fluorinated products than that of 185 nm photons. Direct VUV photolysis of PFOA and its products in reductive reaction conditions was not apparent due to a very big difference in reactivity of 185 and 254 nm photons with iodide. The results demonstrated that highly energetic VUV photons are not suitable for photoreductive degradations of PFCs involving e _aq ^? , but they can be best used for oxidative degradations. These findings should serve as an important reference on VUV usage to decompose refractory micropollutants.     

Pseudo-dynamic methods for seismic passive earth pressure behind a cantilever retaining wall with inclined backfill

The designing of retaining walls requires the complete knowledge of earth pressure distribution. Under earthquake conditions the design needs special attention to reduce the devastating effect, but under seismic conditions, the available literature mostly uses the pseudo-static analytical solution as an approximate to the real dynamic nature of the complex problem. This paper shows a detailed study on the seismic passive earth thrust behind a cantilever retaining wall with inclined backfill surface by pseudo-dynamic analysis. A planar failure surface has been considered. The effect of variation of parameters such as soil friction angle, wall friction angle and back fill inclination have been explored. A complete analysis shows that the time dependent non-linear behaviour of the pressure distribution obtained in the present method results in more realistic design values of earth pressures under earthquake conditions. Results are provided in tabular and graphical non-dimensional form and compared thoroughly with the existing values in the literature.     

Causes of the Regional Variability in Observed Sea Level,Sea Surface Temperature and Ocean Colour Over the Period 1993–2011

We analyse the regional variability in observed sea surface height (SSH), sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean colour (OC) from the ESA Climate Change Initiative datasets over the period 1993–2011. The analysis focuses on the signature of the ocean large-scale climate fluctuations driven by the atmospheric forcing and do not address the mesoscale variability. We use the ECCO version 4 ocean reanalysis to unravel the role of ocean transport and surface buoyancy fluxes in the observed SSH, SST and OC variability. We show that the SSH regional variability is dominated by the steric effect (except at high latitude) and is mainly shaped by ocean heat transport divergences with some contributions from the surface heat fluxes forcing that can be significant regionally (confirming earlier results). This is in contrast with the SST regional variability, which is the result of the compensation of surface heat fluxes by ocean heat transport in the mixed layer and arises from small departures around this background balance. Bringing together the results of SSH and SST analyses, we show that SSH and SST bear some common variability. This is because both SSH and SST variability show significant contributions from the surface heat fluxes forcing. It is evidenced by the high correlation between SST and buoyancy-forced SSH almost everywhere in the ocean except at high latitude. OC, which is determined by phytoplankton biomass, is governed by the availability of light and nutrients that essentially depend on climate fluctuations. For this reason, OC shows significant correlation with SST and SSH. We show that the correlation with SST displays the same pattern as the correlation with SSH with a negative correlation in the tropics and subtropics and a positive correlation at high latitude. We discuss the reasons for this pattern.     

Spatial Patterns of Sea Level Variability Associated with Natural Internal Climate Modes

Sea level rise (SLR) can exert significant stress on highly populated coastal societies and low-lying island countries around the world. Because of this, there is huge societal demand for improved decadal predictions and future projections of SLR, particularly on a local scale along coastlines. Regionally, sea level variations can deviate considerably from the global mean due to various geophysical processes. These include changes of ocean circulations, which partially can be attributed to natural, internal modes of variability in the complex Earth’s climate system. Anthropogenic influence may also contribute to regional sea level variations. Separating the effects of natural climate modes and anthropogenic forcing, however, remains a challenge and requires identification of the imprint of specific climate modes in observed sea level change patterns. In this paper, we review our current state of knowledge about spatial patterns of sea level variability associated with natural climate modes on interannual-to-multidecadal timescales, with particular focus on decadal-to-multidecadal variability. Relevant climate modes and our current state of understanding their associated sea level patterns and driving mechanisms are elaborated separately for the Pacific, the Indian, the Atlantic, and the Arctic and Southern Oceans. We also discuss the issues, challenges and future outlooks for understanding the regional sea level patterns associated with climate modes. Effects of these internal modes have to be taken into account in order to achieve more reliable near-term predictions and future projections of regional SLR.     

Interannual Sea Level Variations in the South China Sea Over 1950–2009

Spatial patterns of interannual sea level variations in the South China Sea (SCS) are investigated by analyzing an EOF-based 2-dimensional past sea level reconstruction from 1950 to 2009 and satellite altimetry data from 1993 to 2009. Long-term tide gauge records from 14 selected stations in this region are also used to assess the quality of reconstructed sea levels and determine the rate of sea level along the coastal area. We found that the rising rate of sea levels derived from merged satellite altimetry data during 1993–2009 and past sea level reconstruction over 1950–2009 is about 3.9 ± 0.6 mm/yr and 1.7 ± 0.1 mm/yr, respectively. For the longer period, this rate is not significantly different from the global mean rate (of 1.8 ± 0.3 mm/yr). The interannual mean sea level of the SCS region appears highly correlated with Niño 4 indices (a proxy of El Niño-Southern Oscillation/ENSO), suggesting that the interannual sea level variations over the SCS region is driven by ENSO events. Interpolation of the reconstructed sea level data for 1950–2009 at sites where tide gauge records are of poor quality (either short or gapped) show that sea level along the Chinese coastal area is rising faster than the global mean rate of 1.8 mm/yr. At some sites, the rate is up to 2.5 mm/yr.     

A comprehensive study of surface and upper-air characteristics over two stations on the west coast of India during the occurrence of a cyclonic storm

While qualitative information from meteorological satellites has long been recognized as critical for monitoring weather events such as tropical cyclone activity, quantitative data are required to improve the numerical prediction of these events. In this paper, the sea surface winds from QuikSCAT, cloud motion vectors and water vapor winds from KALPANA-1 are assimilated using three-dimensional variational assimilation technique within Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) modeling system. Further, the sensitivity experiments are also carried out using the available cumulus convective parameterizations in WRF modeling system. The model performance is evaluated using available observations, and both qualitative and quantitative analyses are carried out while analyzing the surface and upper-air characteristics over Mumbai (previously Bombay) and Goa during the occurrence of the tropical cyclone PHYAN at the west coast of Indian subcontinent. The model-predicted surface and upper-air characteristics show improvements in most of the situations with the use of the satellite-derived winds from QuikSCAT and KALPANA-1. Some of the model results are also found to be better in sensitivity experiments using cumulus convection schemes as compared to the CONTROL simulation.