A Study on the Surface Wettability of Clastic Rocks with Potential Application for CO2 Storage Sites

Natural Resources Research - There have been many studies carried out in the past decades attempting to develop strategies for a safe injection of CO2 into storage sites without leakage and...     

Geology, Geochemistry and Tectonic Significance of Mafic-ultramafic Rocks of Mesoproterozoic Phulad Ophiolite Suite of South Delhi Fold Belt, NW Indian Shield

A thick sequence of mafic-ultramafic rocks, occurs along a major shear zone (Phulad lineament), running across the length of Aravalli Mountain Range for about 300 kms. It has been suggested, that this sequence may represent a fragment of ophiolite or a rift related metavolcanic suite made up of basalts and fractionated ultramafics. The geological and tectonic significance of the complex is assessed using field relationships, petrography and geochemistry. Structurally, the lowest part of the complex comprises a discontinuous band of plastically deformed harzburgite (mantle component) followed by layered cumulus gabbroic rocks (crustal component). A complex of non-cumulus rocks comprising hornblende schists, gabbros, sheeted dykes and pillowed basalts structurally overlies layered gabbros. Huge bodies of diorite intrude volcanics.

Geochemical classification suggests that all non-cumulus mafic rocks are sub-alkaline basalts except one variety of dykes which shows mildly alkaline character. The sub-alkaline rocks are tholeiite to calc-alkaline with boninite affinity. Tectono-magmatic variation diagrams and MORB normalised patterns suggest a fore arc tectonic regime for the eruption of these rocks.

The mafic rocks of Phulad Ophiolite Suite are zoned across the strike in terms of their distribution from west to east. The hornblende schists and basalts are exposed at the westernmost margin followed by gabbros and dykes. The alkaline dyke occurs at the easternmost part. The rocks of Phulad suite are juxtaposed with shallow water sediments in the east followed by platformal sediments and then continental slope sediments in the further east indicating gradual thickening of the crust from west to east and an eastward subduction. The geochemical interpretation presented in this study, together with discussion of lithological association is used to decipher the tectonic evolution of the Mesoproterozoics of NW Indian shield.     

Isolation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus cereus</Emphasis> from botanical soil and subsequent biodegradation of waste engine oil

Waste engine oil causes a vital environmental pollution when it spill during change and transportation and products of waste engine oil causes lethal effects to the living systems. Thus, abiotic and biotic approaches are being extensively used for removal of waste engine oil pollution. Therefore in present study, waste engine oil degradation was accomplished by a new bacterial culture, isolated from the soil by an enrichment technique. Morphological, biochemical and gene sequence analysis revealed that isolate was Bacillus cereus. Subsequently, biodegradation potential of B. cereus for waste engine oil was studied. Experimental variables, such as pH, substrate concentration, inoculum size, temperature and time on the biodegradation, were checked in mineral salt medium. The biodegradation efficiency of B. cereus was determined by gravimetry, UV–visible spectrophotometry and gas chromatography. In addition, waste engine oil was also characterized by GC–MS and FTIR for its major constituents, which showed total 38 components in waste engine oil, including hopanes, benzopyrene, long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, dibenzothiophenes, biphenyl and their derivatives. Results of successive biodegradation indicated that B. cereus was capable to degrade 1% of waste engine oil with 98.6% degradation potential at pH 7 within 20 days. Hence, B. cereus presents an innovative tool for removing the engine oil from the contaminated area.     

2019年马六甲地区红色精灵观测及母体雷暴分析

红色精灵是一种发生于闪电放电活跃的雷暴云上空的中高层大气瞬态发光现象,它们通常由中尺度对流系统层状云降水区内的强地闪回击产生,是对流层和中间层之间的一种能量耦合过程。目前,有关中国南海及东南亚地区的红色精灵观测鲜有报道。为了进一步了解热带地区产生红色精灵事件的沿海性雷暴特征,于2019年利用低光度光学观测系统和低频磁场天线在马来西亚马六甲地区开展了地基观测。实验于11月9日、12月11日和12月15日三次在沿海雷暴上空共捕捉到7例红色精灵事件,其中包括4例圆柱型、2例胡萝卜型和1例舞蹈型。结合闪电定位、云顶亮温和低频磁场信号等同步数据,分析表明所有事件均由正极性地闪回击产生,且母体闪电回击位于雷暴对流区附近（云顶亮温≤ 210 K处）,这可能是该地区产生红色精灵的沿海性雷暴的共同特征。此外,红色精灵生成期并不是闪电活动最强期,而是发生于闪电频数短暂降低后,这表明红色精灵的发生可能是该地区成熟雷暴中对流减弱的一个信号。     

MULTI-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF COASTAL MARINE SEDIMENT, AN IAEA PROPOSED REFERENCE MATERIAL (IAEA-356)

Proposed standard reference material, coastal marine sediment (IAEA-356) recently released under the IAEA Analytical Quality Control Services programme, has been analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis technique. Up to 32 elements have been measured using the multi-element analysis approach. The precision of measurements varied from 1.3 to 12.5% with median value of 4.9%. The quality control of the data has been validated by analysing IAEA reference material of similar matrix which shows excellent agreement with IAEA values.     

Valuation of socio-economic indicators for progressing urban sustainability under distinctive rubrics

The key objective of the study is to collect the factors which play an important role in the city's sustainability and implementation advantages for the development of cities in future. This article develops an urban sustainability assessment framework by giving GIS-based decision support tools to guide cities toward sustainability. Multicriteria analysis was used as the decision support system and provides an analytical framework for assessing differences in the level of criteria and ranking decision options. It has the capability for assessment of urban sustainability because it brings sustainability criteria from three pillars of sustainability, environmental, social, and economic, which provide an integrated approach for assessment of urban sustainability. The GIS-based multicriteria analysis serves as a sustainability support system that maps urban sustainability and the underlying environmental, social, and economic conditions. The results from the study show that the four cities - Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujranwala, and Multan - have better economic conditions while only Lahore and Faisalabad showed social progress and the remaining cities showed less suitability. For the environmental index, none of the cities attained high suitability. Lahore, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi showed better conditions than Gujranwala and Multan. It is demonstrated that Punjab cities have made progress in economic condition and improvement in social condition but have poor environmental condition. In the study, the environmental dimension has indicators which have more impact on the urban sustainability. Environmental degradation is observed in all selected regions and not a single region showed suitability toward its environmental condition and due to this none of the cities gained suitable scores for urban sustainability. Consequently, urban sustainability is a multidimensional and dynamic process that needs regular evaluation and monitoring. Thus, this article contends that the tools help to highlight and emphasize those areas that need guidance in achieving urban sustainability.     

Impact of rangeland enclosure and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected rangelands in Chakwal region,Pakistan

Scrub rangelands support livestock grazing and provide ecosystem services to their inhabitants.The present study was conducted in Chakwal,an important tract of ...     

On rising temperature trends of Karachi in Pakistan

Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan. The temperature change in Karachi is studied in this research by analyzing the time series data of mean maximum temperature (MMxT), mean minimum temperature (MMiT) and mean annual temperature (MAT) from 1947 to 2005 (59 years). Data is analyzed in three parts by running linear regression and by taking anomalies of all time periods: (a) whole period from 1947–2005; (b) phase one 1947–1975 and (c) phase two 1976–2005. During 1947 to 2005 MMxT has increased about 4.6°C, MMiT has no change and MAT has increased 2.25°C. During 1947–1975, MMxT increased 1.9°C, in this period there is − 1.3°C decrease in MMiT and MAT has raised upto 0.3°C. During 1976–2005, the MMxT, MMiT and MAT increased 2.7°C, 1.2°C and 1.95°C, respectively. The analysis shows significantly the role of extreme vulnerability of MMxT in rising the temperature of Karachi than the MMiT.