Geographic Information System and groundwater quality mapping in Panvel Basin,Maharashtra, India

Panvel Basin of Raigarh district, Maharashtra, India is the study area for groundwater quality mapping using the Geographic Information System (GIS). The study area is typically covered by Deccan basaltic rock types of Cretaceous to Eocene age. Though the basin receives heavy rainfall, it frequently faces water scarcity problems as well as water quality problems in some specific areas. Hence, a GIS based groundwater quality mapping has been carried out in the region with the help of data generated from chemical analysis of water samples collected from the basin. Groundwater samples show quality exceedence in terms of chloride, hardness, TDS and salinity. These parameters indicate the level of quality of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. Idrisi 32 GIS software was used for generation of various thematic maps and for spatial analysis and integration to produce the final groundwater quality map. The groundwater quality map shows fragments pictorially representing groundwater zones that are desirable and undesirable for drinking and irrigation purposes.     

构造解析、地质学研究范式与理论创新——藏东南侧向碰撞带构造演化研究实践

运用板块构造理论解释造山带地质演化是当前地质学研究的难点，也是地质学基础理论创新的可能方向。包括印度 欧亚大陆侧向碰撞带在内的国内、外造山带构造演化尚未取得共识，大多表现为“大量高质量数据与诸多充满争议的演化模型共存”。产生这些争议的主要原因包括“高质量数据”的时、空分布样式未受足够重视、以及部分关键地质体物理属性鉴别存在争议。这些问题为地质学发展与理论创新留下了巨大的空间。持续10多年西南三江造山带区域地质填图、构造解析揭示了侧向碰撞带构造格架、地壳变形历史，提出了印度 欧亚大陆碰撞新的三阶段模型。这一研究实践表明，严格按照 “构造解析方法”体现的“三步骤”研究范式开展区域地质填图是造山带理论创新的基础与保障。区域地质填图是造山带研究中难度最大的工作之一，要求填图人员必须具备广泛、坚实的地质学理论基础，以及运用基础理论解决实际问题的能力。     

中国化探走向2000年

总结了80年代中国化探的成就与不足之处。目的是更好的对中国化探走向2000年进行战略部署。中国的区域化探全国扫面计划在80年代取得了重大成就。已覆盖了400万km²的面积,发现了600余新的矿化产地,其中158个已成为新的有工业价值的矿床。研制了适用于乾旱、半乾旱、高寒山区、卡斯特及黄土覆盖地区的野外工作方法。研制了高效率低检出限的多元素分析系统及质量监控方案。所有这一切使得中国在系统进行地球化学填图工作方面在全世界居于领先地位,并带动了中国化探的全面发展。主要的不足之处是从80年代后半叶起,研究工作在指导整个这项计划的作用逐渐削弱,而整个计划逐渐变成纯生产性的例行工作。地球化学填图将成为地学及勘查地球化学新前沿已为国际上许多杰出科学家所承认。中国在填图技术以及信息累积上所占有的优势将给中国勘查地球化学家在90年代提供激动人心的新机会。简略的提出了一些新的研究方向。     

Identification and mapping of chromium (VI) plume in groundwater for remediation: A case study at Kanpur,Uttar Pradesh

With only twenty five percent population living in urban areas, India has cities amongst the biggest in the world. Urban growth in most of Indian cities is concomitant with rise in water demand for community, as well as, for industrial purposes. The complex situation resulting from indiscriminate disposal of waste and its severe impact on groundwater quality is set for continuous worsening mainly for want of sustained effort aimed at site-specific remediation. The study, a prerequisite for actual remediation in an industrial city of Kanpur, India, envisages detailed investigation about pollutant transport, evaluation of concept of Bio-remediation and a range of other options and finally full scale implementation of the best suited. Drilling of piezometers and resistivity survey indicates that the area is constituted of alluvial sands, gravels and their various admixtures. Chemical analysis of water samples collected from piezometers and hand pumps shows the presence of hexavalent chromium rich horizons at various depths. The alarming concentration of this carcinogenic heavy metal of the order of 16.3 mg/l against the permissible concentration (of 0.05 mg/l) for drinking water and high concentration within sediments of the area poses a major threat to the entire ecosystem. The projection of migration contaminant plume of hexavalent chromium as depicted in the paper is indicative of a concentrated extent of core zone existing in shallow alluvial aquifer, which may be targeted for interception by remedial measures. The present work, elaborating on the source, potential and monitoring the migration of the pollutant plume is the first field scale study of its kind in the country. The findings of these studies are of strong relevance in addressing the ground water pollution due to indiscriminate disposal practices of hazardous waste in areas located within the alluvial zones.     

Evaluation of sea water ingress into an Indian atoll

Groundwater is the prime source of fresh water in most part of world. The groundwater floats in the form of thin lens which is vulnerable to various stresses such as tide, cyclone, draught, abstraction, etc. The problem of getting this meager resource of fresh groundwater sustained for longer time, becomes more difficult task on tiny atoll with large population depending on it. In order to develop sustainable management scheme and identify vulnerable part of aquifer, systematic assessment of groundwater quality on such island have become imperative. Detailed hydrochemical study has been carried out to identify potential fresh groundwater resources on Andrott Island, UT of Lakshadweep, India. The analysis has given an early signal of deterioration in groundwater quality in some parts of the island during non-monsoon period, whereas the quality becomes slightly better during monsoon period. The study suggests immediate measures for arresting the deterioration in groundwater quality as well as augmentation for restoration of aquifer in some parts of the island.     

A survey of household domestic water consumption patterns in rural semi-arid village, India

In India, as a result of development, the demand for water is increasing both in urban and rural areas. This may increase tensions and disputes over sharing of water resources. For water demand management, it is crucial to know the details of actual water use on a household level. Therefore, this paper explores the pattern of domestic water consumption in semi-arid Dhani Mohabbatpur village of Hisar district in Haryana state of India, to improve the understanding of how local communities in the region relate to water, based on questionnaires and interview surveys of 763 households. The study has examined the households daily and activity wise water consumption, sources, quality, duration, frequency of water supply, distance of different sources and the level of awareness about rainwater harvesting. Results of the study revealed that the daily average water consumption for the village was found to be 117.0 l per person per capita per day (SD = 35.8). Washing of clothes consumes the highest amount of water, whereas 85 % of the households are using government water supplies with very safe water quality. However, 77 % households are not satisfied with duration of water supply and 86 % do not have awareness about rainwater harvesting technology. This needs to be addressed immediately by changing public perception through media and by organizing public awareness programs. It is hoped that the results of the study would benefit the policy and planning executives in India in optimizing the existing water resources for rural development.     

Combining neural network with fuzzy,certainty factor and likelihood ratio concepts for spatial prediction of landslides

The landslide studies can be categorized as pre- and postdisaster studies. The predisaster studies include spatial prediction of potential landslide zones known as landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ) mapping to identify the areas/locales susceptible to landslide hazard. The LSZ maps provide an assessment of the safety of existing habitations and infrastructural/functional elements and help plan further developmental activities in the hilly regions. Landslides are one of the natural geohazards that affect at least 15% of land area of India. Different types of landslides occur frequently in geodynamical active domains of the Himalayas. In India, various techniques have been developed and adopted for LSZ mapping of different regions. However, the technique for LSZ mapping is not yet standardized. The present research is an attempt in this direction only. In our earlier work (Kanungo et al. 2006), a detailed study on conventional, artificial neural network (ANN)- black box-, fuzzy set-based and combined neural and fuzzy weighting techniques for LSZ mapping in Darjeeling Himalayas has been documented. In this paper, other techniques such as combined neural and certainty factor concept along with combined neural and likelihood ratio techniques have been assessed in comparison with combined neural and fuzzy technique for the preparation of LSZ maps of the same study area in parts of Darjeeling Himalayas. It is observed from the present study that the LSZ map produced using combined neural and fuzzy approach appears to be the most accurate one as in this case only 2.3% of the total area is found to be categorized as very high susceptibility zone and contains 30.1% of the existing landslide area. This approach can serve as one of the key objective approaches for spatial prediction of landslide hazards in hilly terrain.     

Bovine biopolitics and the promise of monsters in the rewilding of Heck cattle

In the early 1980s the Dutch ecologist Frans Vera began an ambitious ecological restoration experiment on a polder in the Netherlands. He introduced herds of ‘back-bred’ Heck cattle and other large herbivores and encouraged them to ‘de-domesticate’ themselves and ‘rewild’ the landscape they inhabit. His intervention has triggered a great deal of interest and controversy. It is being replicated and adapted across Europe as part of a wider interest in ‘rewilding’ in nature conservation. This innovative approach rubs up against powerful and prevalent practices of environmental management. This paper examines these frictions by mapping the character and exploring the interface between different modes of nonhuman biopolitics – in this case the powerful ways in which modern humans live with and govern cattle. Focusing on the story of Heck cattle and the bovine biopolitics of their rewilding it attends in particular to the character, place and promise of monsters. It first outlines a conceptual framework for examining nonhuman biopolitics and teratology (the study of monsters), identifying fertile tensions between the work of Haraway, Derrida and Deleuze. It then provides a typology of four prevalent modes of bovine biopolitics – namely agriculture, conservation, welfare and biosecurity – and their associated monsters. This paper identifies rewilding as a fifth mode and examines frictions at its interfaces with the other four. Developing the conceptual framework the paper examines what these frictions tell us about the understandings of life that circulate in the ontological politics of contemporary environmentalisms. In conclusion the paper critically examines the monstrous promise of rewilding, in relation to tensions between the convivial aspirations of Haraway and Deleuze.     

Flood inundation mapping and hazard assessment of Baitarani River basin using hydrologic and hydraulic model

Frequent flood is a concern for most of the coastal regions of India. The importance of flood maps in governing strategies for flood risk management is of prime importance. Flood inundation maps are considered dependable output generated from simulation results from hydraulic models in evaluating flood risks. In the present work, a continuous hydrologic-hydraulic model has been implemented for mapping the flood, caused by the Baitarani River of Odisha, India. A rainfall time-series data were fed into the hydrologic model and the runoff generated from the model was given as an input into the hydraulic model. The study was performed using the HEC-HMS model and the FLO-2D model to map the extent of flooding in the area. Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) 90 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, Land use/Land cover map (LULC), soil texture data of the basin area were used to compute the topographic and hydraulic parameters. Flood inundation was simulated using the FLO-2D model and based on the flow depth, hazard zones were specified using the MAPPER tool of the hydraulic model. Bhadrak District was found to be the most hazard-prone district affected by the flood of the Baitarani River. The result of the study exhibited the hydraulic model as a utile tool for generating inundation maps. An approach for assessing the risk of flooding and proper management could help in mitigating the flood. The automated procedure for mapping and the details of the study can be used for planning flood disaster preparedness in the worst affected area.

     

Geotechnical evaluation of eastern Ghats bauxite deposits of India

India is endowed with more than 3000 million tons of bauxite resources. Out of total India reserves, about 70% reserves are concentrated in Eastern Ghats (Odisha and Andhra Pradesh) region. Majority of the Eastern Ghat bauxite deposits are located at high altitude (high level type) and have been developed on khondalite and charnockite group of rocks with different geomorphological conditions. These are formed at an elevation of about 900- 1400 meter above mean sea level (msl). The physico-mechanical and technological properties of these bauxite vary widely depending upon the parent rock composition, mode of origin, geomorphological position, duration and age of bauxite formation. In the Bayer process the most important parameter that decides the economic importance is the quality of bauxite which again decides the digestion parameters for alumina extraction. Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARRDC) is in process of evaluating the bauxite and laterite deposits of India for its suitability for commercial applications. The present paper highlights the geological and geomorphological features of Eastern Ghats bauxite deposits and their technological characteristics. These studies are required to evaluate the bauxite in terms of their suitability for metallurgical and non metallurgical applications.     

Outlines of New Global Geochemical Mapping Program

<正>Since 1988,great efforts and enthusiasm had been paid by applied geochemists in the implementation of global geochemical mapping through the International Geological Correlation Program's Projects 259 and 360,and the Task Group on‘Global Geochemical Baselines' established by the International Union of Geological Sciences(IUGS),in collaboration with the International Association of Geochemistry(IAGC).But how to use extremely low-density sampling to obtain a global picture of the distribution of most elements in the periodic table in a reasonably short time is still a great challenge faced by the applied geochemistry community.It will depend on the continuous development of new mapping concept,and the advisable and courageous innovation of methodology for searching other suitable sample media and sampling layout.Based on the encouragement results obtained from the representativeness study of delta sediments conducted at the mouth of Yangtze River,and at the mouths of its four major tributary,it is expected to broadly apply the geochemical fractal self-similarity nature to main rivers and their estuaries with catchments up to hundreds of thousands or over a million square kilometers in the world.With this new mapping concept,a new outlines of a Global Geochemical Mapping Program was advanced and the establishment of an International Research Center of Global Geochemical Mapping was also suggested to facilitate the programs implementations.     

日照茶叶生产基地绿茶品质评价分析

研究了日照茶叶生产基地BDC,BBSZ和BYQ3个茶园的福鼎大白、黄山群体和鸠坑3个绿茶品种主要生化成分的含量,并将其与浙江龙井、福建乌龙茶名种等南方优质绿茶的各生化成分进行对比分析。结果表明,3个绿茶品种中,鸠坑的品质最好,福鼎大白次之,黄山群体最差,但日照绿茶总体品质要．优于各南方绿茶。     

Age of the Vindhyan Supergroup: A review of recent findings

The Vindhyan Supergroup of India is one of the largest and thickest sedimentary successions of the world. Deposited in an intra-cratonic basin, it is composed mostly of shallow marine deposits. It is believed to have recorded a substantial portion of Proterozoic time and therefore, likely to contain valuable information on the evolution of the atmosphere, climate, and life on our planet. It also contains some of the most disputed fossils of earliest animal life. Despite their importance, the absolute age of these rocks had remained unknown until recently. In this work I evaluate all the recent chronological information and discuss their implications. From the present findings it appears that the issues surrounding the age of the Lower Vindhyans in the Son valley are now resolved, whereas problems with the age of the Upper Vindhyans and that with the stratigraphic correlations remain to be answered.     

Contrasting komatiite belts,associated Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposit styles and assimilation histories

The Agnew–Wiluna greenstone belt in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia is the most nickel-sulfide-endowed komatiite belt in the world. The Agnew–Wiluna greenstone belt contains two mineralised units/horizons that display very different volcanological and geochemical features. The Mt Keith unit comprises >500 m-thick spinifex-free adcumulate-textured lenses, which are flanked by laterally extensive orthocumulate-textured units. Spinifex texture is absent from this unit. Disseminated nickel sulfides, interstitial to former olivine crystals, are concentrated in the lensoidal areas. Massive sulfides are locally present along the base or margins of the lenses or channels. The Cliffs unit is locally >150 m thick and comprises a sequence of differentiated spinifex-textured flow units. The basal unit is the thickest, and contains basal massive nickel-sulfide mineralisation. The Mt Keith and Cliffs units display important common features: (i) MgO contents of 25–30% in inferred parental magmas; and (ii) Al/Ti ratios of ～20 (Munro-type). However, the Mt Keith unit is highly crustally contaminated (e.g. LREE-enriched, high HFSEs), whereas the Cliffs unit does not display evidence of significant crustal assimilation. We argue that the distinct trace-element concentrations and profiles of the two komatiite units reflect their different emplacement style and country rocks: the Mt Keith unit is interpreted to have been emplaced as an intrusive sill into dacitic volcanic units whereas the Cliffs unit was extruded as lava flow onto tholeiitic basalts in a subaqueous environment. The mode of emplacement and nature of country rock is the single biggest factor in controlling mineralisation styles in komatiites. On the other hand, evidence of crustal contamination does not necessarily provide information of the prospectivity of komatiites to host Ni–Cu–(PGE) mineralisation, despite being a good proxy for the style of komatiite emplacement and the nature of country rocks.     

Temporal transition analysis of coal mine fire of Jharia coalfield,India, using Landsat satellite imageries

Coal is dominant energy source of world at large and India in particular for several decades and expected to being continued for foreseeable future. However, fire in this fossils fuel is still a global catastrophe for the major coal-producing countries. There are several direct and cascading distress of coal mine fire has been encountered by environment, economy, safety and society. Without knowledge of actual status and extent of coal mine fire, any scope for its better managements may be futile. In India, the coal mine fire of well-known Jharia coalfield (JCF) has been continued since last ten decades and still spreading towards newer areas. The aim of this paper is to highlight the chronological net lateral spatial changes in coal mine fire areas of JCF using Landsat satellite thermal imageries. The mapping of coal mine fire area of JCF during 1988–2013 has been carried out with consecutive 5-year intervals. The lateral changes in surface and subsurface fire areas along with propagation towards new area have been studied. The study also included to evaluate changes of status and extent fire during this time span and effect of its management efforts. On the basis of aforementioned analysis, the study concludes a slow reducing trend in coal mine fire area during last 25 years.     

国际地球化学填图样品分析方法和数据对比

以中国和世界发达国家或地区(欧洲、北美、澳大利亚与日本)过去10年内完成的或目前正在开展的全球性或国家性地球化学填图项目为例,总结了国际地球化学样品分析技术的新进展,并以中国实验室与欧洲实验室的分析数据的对比结果,剖析国际地球化学填图样品分析技术面临的挑战。研究表明:分析组成地壳所有元素的构想已被越来越多国家性、全球性地球化学填图项目所采纳;中国是世界上唯一具有填图样品76元素分析能力的国家;高水平的分析实验室(欧洲与中国)取得的数据大部分可以实现对比,但仍有10余个元素的分析数据存在明显偏差。实现所有分析元素数据的全球可对比,应是今后国际地球化学填图样品分析技术的主要发展方向。     

Factors influencing willingness to comply with HIV/AIDS prevention measures by female college students in Kolkata,West Bengal,India

With a 2.4 million people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), India is among the countries in the world most vulnerable to the spread of HIV. This study focuses on understanding what makes female college students (ages 18–24) in Kolkata, India willing to comply with HIV/AIDS preventive measures; these students are widely believed to be at low risk of infection with HIV. Through a questionnaire survey, the data used in this study was collected from 232 female students attending five higher education institutes. Multiple regression analysis reveals that religion, household income, perception of whether preventive measures would hamper freedom, and respondents’ perception of the effectiveness of preventive measures all influence the students’ willingness to comply with preventive measures. Based on its findings, the study makes several recommendations to improve HIV/AIDS prevention in Kolkata and West Bengal, India.     

Earthquake risk assessment in NE India using deep learning and geospatial analysis

Earthquake prediction is currently the most crucial task required for the probability, hazard, risk mapping, and mitigation purposes. Earthquake prediction attracts the researchers' attention from both academia and industries. Traditionally, the risk assessment approaches have used various traditional and machine learning models. However, deep learning techniques have been rarely tested for earthquake probability mapping. Therefore, this study develops a convolutional neural network (CNN) model for earthquake probability assessment in NE India. Then conducts vulnerability using analytical hierarchy process (AHP), Venn's intersection theory for hazard, and integrated model for risk mapping. A prediction of classification task was performed in which the model predicts magnitudes more than 4 Mw that considers nine indicators. Prediction classification results and intensity variation were then used for probability and hazard mapping, respectively. Finally, earthquake risk map was produced by multiplying hazard, vulnerability, and coping capacity. The vulnerability was prepared by using six vulnerable factors, and the coping capacity was estimated by using the number of hospitals and associated variables, including budget available for disaster management. The CNN model for a probability distribution is a robust technique that provides good accuracy. Results show that CNN is superior to the other algorithms, which completed the classification prediction task with an accuracy of 0.94, precision of 0.98, recall of 0.85, and F1 score of 0.91. These indicators were used for probability mapping, and the total area of hazard (21,412.94 km²), vulnerability (480.98 km²), and risk (34,586.10 km²) was estimated.     

Local Site Effect Due to Past Earthquakes in Kolkata

Kolkata, capital of West Bengal, India, presently congested with moderate to high rise buildings, has undergone low to moderate damages due to past earthquakes. The city is situated on the world’s largest delta island with soft thick alluvial soil layer. In this study, an attempt has been made to study ground response due to a number of past earthquakes, 1897 Shillong earthquake, 1964 Calcutta earthquake and 2011 Sikkim earthquake, for the purpose of preliminary microzonation of the Kolkata city. For this, synthetic ground motions have been generated at bedrock level by stochastic method. By using 1D wave propagation technique, the synthetic ground motion has been computed at surface level for 144 borehole locations in the city. Contours of PGA, PGV and PGD parameters in the city have been drawn for these three earthquakes. Response spectra for these three earthquakes have also been computed and an optimum response spectrum has been determined. A good correlation has been obtained with predicted ground motion at surface level of the city with the reported intensity and damages occurred in buildings of Kolkata during past earthquakes. The scenario of simulated ground motion for the past three earthquakes depicts that Kolkata city is very much prone to damages even due to moderate far and near source earthquakes.     

Exploration for dimensional stone — implications and examples from the Precambrian of southern Finland

Dimension stone is a natural rock that must fulfil high qualitative standards defined by both geology-based factors and non-geological factors. The stone itself (appearance/soundness) and the market demand are the two most important aspects in the quality assessment. The process of geological dimension stone exploration is a systematic and stepwise procedure, including individual steps of desk study, field mapping, detailed examination, geo-radar survey, and core drilling. The location of all economically feasible dimension stone deposits is strictly controlled by geological factors. Knowledge of these factors is fundamental in identifying new sites with potential for dimension stone. In this work the geological constraint on the occurrence of dimension stone in three areas, in the Precambrian of southern Finland, has been investigated. The deposits are localized to part of an area in which different geological features in combination have produced rock of good dimension stone quality. The study shows that, for example, vertical movements in the crust, magmatic evolution of an intrusion, and metamorphic grade define the location of rocks suitable for dimension stone.