Fluxes of material in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal — Sediment trap studies

In order to investigate how monsoons influence biogeochemical fluxes in the ocean, twelve time-series sediment traps were deployed at six locations in the northern Indian Ocean. In this paper we present particle flux data collected during May 1986 to November 1991 and November 1987 to November 1992 in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal respectively. Particle fluxes were high during both the SW and NE monsoons in the Arabian Sea as well as in the Bay of Bengal. The mechanisms of particle production and transport, however, differ in both the regions. In the Arabian Sea, average annual fluxes are over 50gm^-2y^-1 in the western Arabian Sea and less than 27gm^-2 y^-1 in the central part. Biogenic matter is dominant at sites located near upwelling centers, and is less degraded during peak flux periods. High particle fluxes in the offshore areas of the Arabian Sea are caused by injection of nutrients into the euphotic zone due to wind-induced mixed layer deepening. In the Bay of Bengal, average annual fluxes are highest in the central Bay of Bengal (over 50gm^-2y^-1) and are least in the southern part of the Bay (37gm^-2y^-1). Particle flux patterns coincide with freshwater discharge patterns of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system. Opal/carbonate and organic carbon/carbonate carbon ratios increase during the SW monsoon due to variations in salinity and productivity patterns in the surface waters as a result of increased freshwater and nutrient input from rivers. Comparison of S years data show that fluxes of biogenic and lithogenic particulate matter are higher in the Bay of Bengal even though the Arabian Sea is considered to be more productive. Our results indicate that in the northern Indian Ocean interannual variability in organic carbon flux is directly related to the strength and intensity of the SW monsoon while its transfer from the upper layers to the deep sea is partly controlled by input of lithogenic matter from adjacent continents.     

Soil erosion risk assessment of the Keiskamma catchment,South Africa using GIS and remote sensing

This paper examines the soil loss spatial patterns in the Keiskamma catchment using the GIS-based Sediment Assessment Tool for Effective Erosion Control (SATEEC) to assess the soil erosion risk of the catchment. SATEEC estimates soil loss and sediment yield within river catchments using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and a spatially distributed sediment delivery ratio. Vegetation cover in protected areas has a significant effect in curtailing soil loss. The effect of rainfall was noted as two pronged, higher rainfall amounts received in the escarpment promote vegetation growth and vigour in the Amatole mountain range which in turn positively provides a protective cover to shield the soil from soil loss. The negative aspect of high rainfall is that it increases the rainfall erosivity. The Keiskamma catchment is predisposed to excessive rates of soil loss due to high soil erodibility, steep slopes, poor conservation practices and low vegetation cover. This soil erosion risk assessment shows that 35% of the catchment is prone to high to extremely high soil losses higher than 25 ton ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ whilst 65% still experience very low to moderate levels of soil loss of less than 25 ton ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. Object based classification highlighted the occurrence of enriched valley infill which flourishes in sediment laden ephemeral stream channels. This occurrence increases gully erosion due to overgrazing within ephemeral stream channels. Measures to curb further degradation in the catchment should thrive to strengthen the role of local institutions in controlling conservation practice.     

A comparative study of nutrient transfer via surface runoff from two small agricultural catchments in north China

A field study was conducted to determine the effect of landscape spatial pattern and micro-topography on nutrient transfer via runoff from two catchments into Yuqiao Reservoir in north China. The surface runoff discharge was measured during rainfall events and water samples were analyzed in 2004 and 2005. The mean annual total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) exports per unit area from Caogezhuang catchment (C catchment) were 1.048 and 0.561 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, respectively, while the TN and TP exports from Taohuasi catchment (T catchment) were 0.158 and 0.027 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. In both catchments, village and vineyard shared the highest nutrient export ability due to the accumulated animal waste and heavy application of fertilizer and manure. In T catchment, the distance of village and vineyard was about 1,500 m away from the receiving water and in between were woodland and cropland. In the hydrological pathway, there were sink landscape structures of small stone dams, roadside swale, vegetated filter strip and dry ponds, which could detain water and nutrients. In C catchment, the distance between the village and the receiving water was about 200 m, and the hydrological pathway was compacted roads and ditches with no sink structures. It is suggested that the distance between the pollution source area and the receiving water and the micro-topographical features were the main factors to control the great difference in nutrient export rates.     

Temporal and spatial variations in water discharge and sediment load in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers in Himalaya, India

The Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers originate in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas (Garhwal) and result in high sediment yields causing flood hazards downstream of the Ganga River and high sediment flux to the Bay of Bengal. The rivers are perennial, since runoff in these rivers is controlled by both precipitation and glacial melt. In the present study, three locations in the upper reaches of the Ganga River were monitored for 1 yr (daily observations of, more than >1000 samples) for suspended sediment concentrations. In addition, more than one hundred samples were collected from various locations of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers at different periods to observe spatial and temporal variations in river suspensions. Further, multi-annual data (up to 40 yrs) of water flow and sediment concentrations were used for inferring the variations in water flow and sediment loads on longer time scales. In most previous studies of Himalayan Rivers, there has been a general lack of long term water flow and sediment load data. In the present study, we carried out high frequency sampling, considered long term discharge data and based on these information, discussed the temporal and spatial variations in water discharge and sediment loads in the rivers in the Himalayan region. The results show that, >75% of annual sediment loads are transported during the monsoon season (June through September). The annual physical weathering rates in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi River basins at Devprayag are estimated to be 863 tons km⁻² yr⁻¹ (3.25 mm yr⁻¹) and 907 tons km⁻² yr⁻¹ (3.42 mm yr⁻¹) respectively, which are far in excess of the global average of 156 tons km⁻² yr⁻¹ (0.58 mm yr⁻¹).     

Source of a freshwater influx at the last glacial maximum in the Indian Ocean: An alternative interpretation

Recent analysis of a sediment core in the eastern Arabian Sea revealed a negative pulse of about 1% in the δ¹⁸O value of the planktonic Foraminifera around the last glacial maximum (LGM). This pulse has been attributed to (i) increased runoff into the Bay of Bengal from the east-flowing south Indian rivers due to enhancement of the northeast winter monsoon, and (ii) an increase in Arabian sea-surface temperature caused by the weakening of the southwest monsoon at the LGM. We show that the speculation on which the latter hypothesis is based, is not supported by observational data and cannot fully account for the observed magnitude of the spike. With a view to assessing the validity of the first mechanism, we have modelled the mixed layer of the Bay of Bengal as a well-mixed box. The model calculations show that to account for the pulse requires a change of about 10% in either the annual rate of river input or its isotopic composition. For the northeast monsoon to account for the pulse it would mean that the rainfall should have increased by a factor of five to ten during the LGM. No evidence for such an increase is indicated in the available palaeoclimatic data. We explain the freshwater spike by invoking increased discharge of glacial meltwater from the Tibetan plateau into the Bay of Bengal. We show that the proxy climate data from the Indo-Tibetan region that has become available recently provides substantial evidence for the occurrence of a warming event around the LGM, which supports our mechanism.     

Late Holocene (~ 2 ka) East Asian Monsoon variations inferred from river discharge and climate interrelationships in the Pearl River Estuary

A sediment core from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) was analyzed for grain size and organic geochemistry parameters (TOC and δ¹³C_org). The results showed that high mean grain-size value and increased sand content were correlated with the high TOC and negative δ¹³C_org. These results indicated high river runoff in the PRE area. Peak river discharge occurred during the periods 1900–1750, 1500–1600, 1400–1200, 1000–900 and 750–600 cal yr BP. The main changes recorded in grain-size distributions, TOC contents, and δ¹³C_org variations appear to be directly related to monsoon precipitation in the sediment source area. An increased East Asian summer monsoon rainfall (EASM) and/or an enhanced East Asian winter monsoon rainfall could result in the increasing of monsoon rainfall. Typhoon related rainfalls could act as positive influence on precipitation levels. The study of the correlations between the rainfall records and ENSO activities revealed a close relationship between the monsoon rainfall in the PRE and the tropical Pacific variations. The frequent occurrence of ENSO might result in the southern migration of the EASM rain belt and lead to more typhoon-derived rainfall in the PRD during the late Holocene.     

Monsoon control on trace metal fluxes in the deep Arabian Sea

Particulate fluxes of aluminium, iron, magnesium and titanium were measured using six time-series sediment traps deployed in the eastern, central and western Arabian Sea. Annual Al fluxes at shallow and deep trap depths were 0.47 and 0.46 g m^-2 in the western Arabian Sea, and 0.33 and 0.47 g m^-2 in the eastern Arabian Sea. There is a difference of about 0.9–1.8 g m^-2y^-1 in the lithogenic fluxes determined analytically (residue remaining after leaching out all biogenic particles) and estimated from the Al fluxes in the western Arabian Sea. This arises due to higher fluxes of Mg (as dolomite) in the western Arabian Sea (6–11 times higher than the eastern Arabian Sea). The estimated dolomite fluxes at the western Arabian Sea site range from 0.9 to 1.35gm^-2y^-1. Fe fluxes in the Arabian Sea were less than that of the reported atmospheric fluxes without any evidence for the presence of labile fraction/excess of Fe in the settling particles. More than 75% of Al, Fe, Ti and Mg fluxes occurred during the southwest (SW) monsoon in the western Arabian Sea. In the eastern Arabian Sea, peak Al, Fe, Mg and Ti fluxes were recorded during both the northeast (NE) and SW monsoons. During the SW monsoon, there exists a time lag of around one month between the increases in lithogenic and dolomite fluxes. Total lithogenic fluxes increase when the southern branch of dust bearing northwesterlies is dragged by the SW monsoon winds to the trap locations. However, the dolomite fluxes increase only when the northern branch of the northwesterlies (which carries a huge amount of dolomite accounting 60% of the total dust load) is dragged, from further north, by SW monsoon winds. The potential for the use of Mg/Fe ratio as a paleo-monsoonal proxy is examined.     

Environmental geochemistry of Damodar River basin, east coast of India

 Water and bed sediment samples collected from the Damodar River and its tributaries were analysed to study elemental chemistry and suspended load characteristics of the river basin. Na and Ca are the dominant cations and HCO₃ is the dominant anion. The water chemistry of the Damodar River basin strongly reflects the dominance of continental weathering aided by atmospheric and anthropogenic activities in the catchment area. High concentrations of SO₄ and PO₄ at some sites indicate the mining and anthropogenic impact on water quality. The high concentration of dissolved silica, relatively high (Na+K)/TZ⁺ ratio (0.2–0.4) and low equivalent ratio of (Ca+Mg)/(Na+K) indicate that dissolved ions contribute significantly to the weathering of aluminosilicate minerals of crystalline rocks. The seasonal data show a minimum ionic concentration in the monsoon season, reflecting the influence of atmospheric precipitation on total dissolved solids contents. The suspended sediments show a positive correlation with discharge and both discharge and suspended load reach their maximum value during the monsoon season. Kaolinite is the mineral that is possibly in equilibrium with the water. This implies that the chemistry of the Damodar River water favours kaolinite formation. The concentration of heavy metals in the finer size fraction (<37 μ m) is significantly higher than the bulk composition. The geoaccumulation index values calculated for Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni and Cr are well below zero, suggesting that there is no pollution from these metals in Damodar River sediments. Received: 21 January 1998 · Accepted: 4 May 1998     

The fluvial geochemistry, contributions of silicate, carbonate and saline-alkaline components to chemical weathering flux and controlling parameters: Narmada River (Deccan Traps), India

The Narmada River in India is the largest west-flowing river into the Arabian Sea, draining through the Deccan Traps, one of the largest flood basalt provinces in the world. The fluvial geochemical characteristics and chemical weathering rates (CWR) for the mainstream and its major tributaries were determined using a composite dataset, which includes four phases of seasonal field (spot) samples (during 2003 and 2004) and a decade-long (1990-2000) fortnight time series (multiannual) data. Here, we demonstrate the influence of minor lithologies (carbonates and saline-alkaline soils) on basaltic signature, as reflected in sudden increases of Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺ and Na⁺ contents at many locations along the mainstream and in tributaries. Both spot and multiannual data corrected for non-geological contributions were used to calculate the CWR. The CWR for spot samples (CWR_spot) vary between 25 and 63 ton km⁻² year⁻¹, showing a reasonable correspondence with the CWR estimated for multiannual data (CWR_multi) at most study locations. The weathering rates of silicate (SilWR), carbonate (CarbWR) and evaporite (Sal-AlkWR) have contributed ∼38-58, 28-45 and 8-23%, respectively to the CWR_spot at different locations. The estimated SilWR (11-36 ton km⁻² year⁻¹) for the Narmada basin indicates that the previous studies on the North Deccan Rivers (Narmada-Tapti-Godavari) overestimated the silicate weathering rates and associated CO₂ consumption rates. The average annual CO₂ drawdown via silicate weathering calculated for the Narmada basin is ∼0.032 × 10¹² moles year⁻¹, suggesting that chemical weathering of the entire Deccan Trap basalts consumes approximately 2% (∼0.24 × 10¹² moles) of the annual global CO₂ drawdown. The present study also evaluates the influence of meteorological parameters (runoff and temperature) and physical weathering rates (PWR) in controlling the CWR at annual scale across the basin. The CWR and the SilWR show significant correlation with runoff and PWR. On the basis of observed wide temporal variations in the CWR and their close association with runoff, temperature and physical erosion, we propose that the CWR in the Narmada basin strongly depend on meteorological variability. At most locations, the total denudation rates (TDR) are dominated by physical erosion, whereas chemical weathering constitutes only a small part (<10%). Thus, the CWR to PWR ratio for the Narmada basin can be compared with high relief small river watersheds of Taiwan and New Zealand (1-5%) and large Himalayan Rivers such as the Brahmaputra and the Ganges (8-9%).     

Analysis of seasonal and annual rainfall trends for Ranchi district,Jharkhand, India

The aim of this study was to investigate temporal variation in seasonal and annual rainfall trend over Ranchi district of Jharkhand, India for the period (1901–2014: 113 years). Mean monthly rainfall data series were used to determine the significance and magnitude of the trend using non-parametric Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator. The analysis showed a significant decreased in rainfall during annual, winter and southwest monsoon rainfall while increased in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon rainfall over the Ranchi district. A positive trend is detected in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon rainfall data series while annual, winter and southwest monsoon rainfall showed a negative trend. The maximum decrease in rainfall was found for monsoon (? 1.348 mm year^?1) and minimum (? 0.098 mm year^?1) during winter rainfall. The trend of post-monsoon rainfall was found upward (0.068 mm year^?1). The positive and negative trends of annual and seasonal rainfall were found statistically non-significant except monsoon rainfall at 5% level of significance. Rainfall variability pattern was calculated using coefficient of variation CV, %. Post-monsoon rainfall showed the maximum value of CV (70.80%), whereas annual rainfall exhibited the minimum value of CV (17.09%), respectively. In general, high variation of CV was found which showed that the entire region is very vulnerable to droughts and floods.     

Supply limited sediment transport in a high-discharge event of the tropical Burdekin River, North Queensland, Australia

Interactions between catchment variables and sediment transport processes in rivers are complex, and sediment transport behaviour during high‐flow events is not well documented. This paper presents an investigation into sediment transport processes in a short‐duration, high‐discharge event in the Burdekin River, a large sand‐ and gravel‐bed river in the monsoon‐ and cyclone‐influenced, semi‐arid tropics of north Queensland. The Burdekin's discharge is highly variable and strongly seasonal, with a recorded maximum of 40 400 m³ s^?1. Sediment was sampled systematically across an 800 m wide, 12 m deep and straight reach using Helley‐Smith bedload and US P‐61 suspended sediment samplers over 16 days of a 29‐day discharge event in February and March 2000 (peak 11 155 m³ s^?1). About 3·7 × 10⁶ tonnes of suspended sediment and 3 × 10⁵ tonnes of bedload are estimated to have been transported past the sample site during the flow event. The sediment load was predominantly supply limited. Wash load included clay, silt and very fine sand. The concentration of suspended bed material (including very coarse sand) varied with bedload transport rate, discharge and height above the bed. Bedload transport rate and changes in channel shape were greatest several days after peak discharge. Comparison between these data and sparse published data from other events on this river shows that the control on sediment load varies between supply limited and hydraulically limited transport, and that antecedent weather is an important control on suspended sediment concentration. Neither the empirical relationships widely used to estimate suspended sediment concentrations and bedload (e.g. Ackers & White, 1973) nor observations of sediment transport characteristics in ephemeral streams (e.g. Reid & Frostick, 1987) are directly applicable to this river.     

Temporal and spatial variability of sediment flux into the sea from the three largest rivers in China

The Yellow, Yangtze and Pearl Rivers supply over 90% of the sediment flux from China to the western Pacific Ocean. Trends and abrupt changes in the water discharge and sediment load of the three rivers were examined and compared based on data updated to the year 2011 at the seasonal and annual scales. The total water discharge from the three rivers shows a statistically insignificant decreasing trend with a rate of 0.62 × 10⁹ m³/a, and the total sediment load shows a statistically significant decreasing trend at a rate of 31.12 × 10⁶ t/a from the 1950s to 2011. The water discharge of the entire Yellow River and the upstream portion of the Yangtze River shows significant decreasing trends, and that of the mid-lower stream of Yangtze River and the entire Pearl River shows insignificant trends. The sediment loads in the three river basins all show significant decreasing trends at the annual and seasonal scales, and a dramatic decrease in the 2000s resulted in a more obvious decreasing trend over the studied period. From the 1950s to the 2000s, the contribution of sediment flux from the Yellow River to the ocean decreased from 71.8% to 37.0%, and the contributions of the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers increased from 24.2% and 4.0% to 53.0% and 10.0%, respectively. Inter-annual variations in water discharge and sediment load were affected by climate oscillations, such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, and the long-term decreasing trend in sediment load was primarily caused by human activities. Dam constructions and soil conservation projects were the major causes of sediment reduction. From the 1970s to the 2000s, the decrease in total sediment load from the three rivers caused by climate change and human activities was 2.24 × 10⁸ t/a (23.0%) and 7.5 × 10⁸ t/a (77.0%), respectively. In the coming decades, the sediment flux from the three rivers into the sea will decrease further with intensifying human activities, resulting in many challenges for the management of river basins and river deltas.     

Circulation and water masses of the Arabian Sea

The dynamics and thermodynamics of the surface layer of the Arabian Sea, north of about 10N, are dominated by the monsoon-related annual cycle of air-sea fluxes of momentum and heat. The currents in open-sea regime of this layer can be largely accounted for by Ekman drift and the thermal field is dominated by local heat fluxes. The geostrophic currents in open-sea subsurface regime also show a seasonal cycle and there is some evidence that signatures of this cycle appear as deep as 1000 m. The forcing due to Ekman suction is an important mechanism for the geostrophic currents in the central and western parts of the Sea. Recent studies suggest that the eastern part is strongly influenced by the Rossby waves radiated by the Kelvin waves propagating along the west coast of India. The circulation in the coastal region off Oman is driven mainly by local winds and there is no remotely driven western boundary current. Local wind-driving is also important to the coastal circulation off western India during the southwest monsoon but not during the northeast monsoon when a strong (approximately 7 × 10⁶m³/sec) current moves poleward against weak winds. This current is driven by a pressure gradient which forms along this coast during the northeast monsoon due to either thermohaline-forcing or due to the arrival of Kelvin waves from the Bay of Bengal. The present speculation about flow of bottom water (deeper than about 3500 m) in the Arabian Sea is that it moves northward and upwells into the layer of North Indian Deep Water (approximately 1500–3500m). It is further speculated that the flow in this layer consists of a poleward western boundary current and a weak equatorward flow in the interior. It is not known if there is an annual cycle associated with the deep and the bottom water circulation.     

Hydroclimatic fluctuations of the Upper Narmada catchment and its association with break-monsoon days over India

In this paper, hydroclimatic fluctuations of the Upper Narmada catchment (upto Narmadasagar damsite) have been studied by examining the time series (1901–80) of (i) 1-to 10-day annual extreme rainfall; (ii) seasonal total rainfall between May and October; (iii) the precipitation concentration index (PCI); (iv) a modified version of PCI(MPCI); and (v) parameters of the periods contributing specified percentages of rainfall to annual total. Most of these parameters followed the normal distribution and did not show any significant long-term trend. However, some dominant long period oscillations have been noticed in extreme rainfall, seasonal rainfall, PCI and MPCI series. Influence of break-monsoon days over India during July and August on the rainfall activities of the Upper Narmada catchment has also been investigated and salient findings discussed.     

黄河的输沙量：过去、现在和将来——距今15万年以来的黄河泥沙收支表

黄河于150 ka BP切穿三门峡，东流入海。黄河泥沙90%来自黄土高原。黄土高原土地利用和植被的变化对黄河输沙有决定性的影响。15万年以来，黄河进入华北平原的泥沙约70 000×108 t，其中10 ka BP以前占80%。10 ka BP以后的输沙量中，最后1040年黄土高原滥垦时期占60%。黄河泥沙的归宿，建造华北大平原占73%，流入海洋占26%。现在，黄河每年流入北黄海的泥沙不足0.2×108  t，其输运主要受海洋环流系统的影响。现在黄海每年向东海输运悬浮沉积物0.2×108~0.3×108 t，主要为废黄河三角洲及水下三角洲受侵蚀再悬浮的黄河泥沙。1996—2000年黄河下游连年断流，利津站的年径流量和输沙量只有1950—1979年30年平均的19%左右。今后20~30年内，由于气候变暖、工业、城市等引黄水量增加，黄河的入海泥沙量仍将偏少。     

Unprecedented rates of landslide and surface erosion along a newly constructed road in Yunnan, China

Field measurements conducted 4 years after the construction of a new portion of the Weixi?CShangri-La road in Yunnan, China, reveal that unprecedented rates of mass wasting occurred along the road with much of this sediment directly impacting the headwaters of the Mekong River. Landslide erosion (including dry ravel) exceeded 33,000 t ha^?1 year^?1 along the most severely eroded sections of the road and averaged more than 9,600 t ha^?1 year^?1 along the surveyed 23.5 km of road; these values are the highest ever reported for road-related landslides. While surface erosion was only about 7% of the total erosion from the road, it is still more than an order of magnitude higher than typical surface erosion rates from disturbed lands in Southeast Asia. Combined landslide and surface erosion from this road delivered an estimated 19 times more sediment to the river than the remaining 99.6% of the contributing catchment. These sediment inputs are aggrading local channels, promoting downstream sediment transport, degrading aquatic habitat, and creating the possibility for a future debris flood or hyperconcentrated flow.     

Sediment records as archives of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene hydrological change in the alluvial Narmada River basin, western India

The rivers of western India are monsoon dominated and have been so throughout the late Quaternary. Sediment accumulation in these river basins has been controlled by climatic and tectonic changes over a time span from the Late Pleistocene to the recent. The lithofacies assemblages associated with the various sediment archives in the Narmada basin range from the boulders of the alluvial fans to overbank fines on the alluvial plains. Estimates, based on clast size, of stream power and competence, bed shear stress and discharge reveal that hydrological conditions during the Late Pleistocene (∼90 ka) were comparable to the present day. The size of the transported clasts and the thickness of the accumulated sediment indicate the influence of basin subsidence rather than an increase in discharge. Discharge estimates based on sedimentary structures preserved in the alluvial-plain facies suggest that the channel had a persistent flow, with a low width-depth ratio and large meander wavelength. The hydrological changes during the Holocene are more pronounced where the early Holocene is marked by a high-intensity hydrological regime that induced erosion and incision of the earlier sediments. The mid-Holocene stream channel was less sinuous and had a higher width-depth ratio and a higher meander amplitude in comparison with the present-day channel. Palaeo-fluvial reconstructions based on the sediment archives in the alluvial reach of the river basin are important tools in understanding the long-term hydrological changes and the intricate fluvial architecture preserved in the Narmada River basin ensures scope for detailed studies to identify phases of weak and enhanced hydrological regimes.     

Changes of δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O and δD along the Dousitu River,Inner Mongolia,China, and their evidence of river water evaporation

On the basis of the hydrogeology of the Dousitu River drainage basin, the changes of water flow rate, δ¹⁸O and δD along the Dousitu River are discussed according to measured and analytical results. Changes of flow rate along the Dousitu River agree well with groundwater level contours and the recharge and discharge of groundwater to the river. When compared with other types of water in the area, it is obvious that the ¹⁸O and D of river waters have experienced evaporation. The changes of δ¹⁸O and δD along the Dousitu River are mainly caused by combined effects of groundwater recharge and river water evaporation. The recharge of groundwater makes δ¹⁸O and δD of the river water decrease. Evaporation makes δ¹⁸O and δD of the river water increase. The evaporation fractions of the river water are calculated using the kinetic fractionation theory. Results showed as much as 10–30% of water was evaporated in different segments of Dousitu River.     

Air-sea exchange of CO2 in the Gulf of Kutch,northern Arabian Sea based on bomb-carbon in corals and tree rings

Radiocarbon analyses were carried out in the annual bands of a 40 year old coral collected from the Gulf of Kutch (22.6°N, 70°E) in the northern Arabian Sea and in the annual rings of a teak tree from Thane (19°14′N, 73°24′E) near Bombay. These measurements were made in order to obtain the rates of air-sea exchange of CO₂ and the advective mixing of water in the Gulf of Kutch. The Δ¹⁴C peak in the Thane tree occurs in the year 1964, with a value of ∼630‰, significantly lower than that of the mean atmospheric Δ¹⁴C of the northern hemisphere (∼ 1000‰). The radiocarbon time series of the coral was modelled considering the supply of carbon and radiocarbon to the gulf through air-sea exchange and advective water transport from the open Arabian Sea. A reasonable fit for the coral data was obtained with an air-sea CO₂ exchange rate of 11–12 mol m⁻² yr⁻¹, and an advective velocity of 28 m yr⁻¹ between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Kutch; this was based on a model generated time series for radiocarbon in the Arabian Sea. The deduced velocity (∼ 28 m yr⁻¹) of the advective transport of water between the gulf and the Arabian Sea is much lower than the surface tidal current velocity in this region, but can be understood in terms of net fluxes of carbon and radiocarbon to the gulf to match the observed coral Δ¹⁴C time series.     

Spatial and temporal variations of physicochemical and heavy metal pollution in Ramganga River—a tributary of River Ganges,India

The River Ganges being the most sacred river and lifeline to millions of Indians in serving their water requirements is facing excessive threat of pollution. Under various river management and conservation strategies for its protection, the assessment of water quality of its main tributary Ramganga River is lacking. This study focuses on assessment of physicochemical and heavy metal pollution of the Ramganga River by application of multivariate statistical techniques. Sampling of Ramganga River at sixteen sampling sites was carried out in three seasons (summer, monsoon and winter) of 2014. The collected water samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters and heavy metals. Results from cluster analysis (CA) of the data divided the whole stretch of the river into three clusters as elevation from 1304 to 259 m as less polluted, from 207 to 154 m as moderately polluted and from elevation 154 to 139 m as high-polluted stretches with anthropogenic as main sources of pollution in high-polluted stretch. Principal component analysis of the seasonal dataset resulted in three significant principal components (PC) in each season explaining 72–8% of total variance with strong loadings (>0.75) of PC1 on fluoride (F^?), chloride (Cl^?), sodium (Na⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), bicarbonate (HCO₃ ^?), total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity. Temporal variation by one-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) showed significant seasonal variation was in the pH, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, turbidity, HCO₃ ^?, F^?, Zn, cadmium (Cd) and Mn (p < 0.05). Turbidity showed approximately a twofold increase in monsoon season due to rainfall in the catchment area and subsequent flow of runoff into the river. Concentration of HCO₃ ^?, F^? and pH also showed similar increase in monsoon. The concentration of Zn, Cd and Mn showed an increasing trend in summers compared to monsoon and winter season due to dilution effect in the monsoon season and its lasting effect in winters.