Trends in major and minor meteorological variables and their influence on reference evapotranspiration for mid Himalayan region at east Sikkim,India

Estimation of evapotranspiration(ET) for mountain ecosystem is of absolute importance since it serves as an important component in balancing the hydrologic cycle.The present study evaluates the performance of original and location specific calibrated Hargreaves equation(HARG) with the estimates of Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO)Penman Monteith(PM) method for higher altitudes in East Sikkim,India.The results show that the uncalibrated HARG model underestimates ET_0 by 0.35 mm day~(-1) whereas the results are significantly improved by regional calibration of the model.In addition,this paper also presents the variability in the trajectory associated with the climatic variables with the changing climate in the study site.Nonparametric Mann-Kendall(MK) test was used to investigate and understand the mean monthly trendof eight climatic parameters including reference evapotranspiration(ET_0) for the period of 1985-2009.Trend of ET_0 was estimated for the calculations done by FAO PM equation.The outcomes of the trend analysis show significant increasing(p ≤ 0.05) trend represented by higher Z-values,through MK test,for net radiation(Rn),maximum temperature(Tmax) and minimum temperature(Tmin),especially in the first months of the year.Whereas,significant(0.01 ≥ p ≤0.05) decreasing trend in vapor pressure deficit(VPD)and precipitation(P) is observed throughout the year.Declining trend in sunshine duration,VPD and ET_0 is found in spring(March- May) and monsoon(June –November) season.The result displays significant(0.01≤ p ≤ 0.05) decreasing ET_0 trend between(June- December) except in July,exhibiting the positive relation with VPD followed by sunshine duration at the station.Overall,the study emphasizes the importance of trend analysis of ET_0 and other climaticvariables for efficient planning and managing the agricultural practices,in identifying the changes in the meteorological parameters and to accurately assess the hydrologic water balance of the hilly regions.     

In Situ Bioremediation of Toluene‐Polluted Vadose Zone: Integrated Column and Wetland Study

A vertical soil column setup integrated with wetlands is developed to study the biodegradation and transport of toluene, a light non‐aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL), in the subsurface environment. LNAPL‐contaminated water is applied to infiltrate from the top of the soil column. The observed and simulated breakthrough curves show high equilibrium concentration at top ports rather than at lower ports, indicating effective toluene biodegradation with soil depth. The observed equilibrium concentration of toluene is higher in the case of unplanted wetland, asserting an accelerated biodegradation rate in the planted case. A difference in the relative concentration of toluene between input and output fluxes at 100 h is found as 13.34% and 30.86% for planted and unplanted wetland setups, respectively. Estimated biodegradation rates show that toluene degradation is 2.5 times faster in the planted wetland setup. In addition, the difference in the observed bacterial count and dissolved oxygen prove that toluene degraded aerobically at a faster rate in the planted setup. Simulations show that as time reached 80–100 h, there is no significant change in concentration profile, thereby confirming the equilibrium condition. The results of this study will be useful to frame plant‐assisted bioremediation techniques for LNAPL‐contaminated soil–water resources in the field.     

High-speed solar wind streams of two different origins and cosmic-ray variations during 1980–1986

There are two types of high-speed solar wind streams classified in two categories:coronal-hole and solar-flare-generated streams. These two types are classified in two categories considering the bulk speed, proton density, temperature and magnetic field in the interplanetary medium. Their effects on cosmic ray intensity have been studied on a short-term basis during 1980–1986. Daily means of one middle and one low-latitude set of neutron monitor data have been taken for analysis using the Chree method of superposed epochs. The investigation indicates that the solar-flare-generated high-speed solar wind streams are more effective in producing cosmic ray decreases than are the coronal-hole generated streams.     

Application of machine learning techniques in groundwater potential mapping along the west coast of India

ABSTRACT

Groundwater potential mapping (GWPM) in the coastal zone is crucial for the planning and development of society and the environment. The current study is aimed to map the groundwater potential zones of Sindhudurg coastal stretch on the west coast of India, using three machine learning models: random forest (RF), boosted regression tree (BRT), and the ensemble of RF and support vector machine (SVM). In order to achieve the objective, 15 groundwater influencing factors including elevation, slope, aspect, slope length (LS), profile curvature, plan curvature, topographical wetness index (TWI), distance from streams, distance from lineaments, lithology, geomorphology, soil, land use, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and rainfall were considered for inter-thematic correlations and overlaid with spring and well occurrences in a spatial database. A total of 165 spring and well locations were identified, which had been divided into two classes: training and validation, at the ratio of 70:30, respectively. The RF, BRT, and RF-SVM ensemble models have been applied to delineate the groundwater potential zones and categorized into five classes, namely very high, high, moderate, low, and very low. RF, BRT, and ensemble model results showed that 33.3%, 35.6%, and 36.8% of the research area had a very high groundwater potential zone. These models were validated with area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve. The accuracy of RF (94%) and hybrid model (93.4%) was more efficient than BRT (89.8%) model. In order to further evaluate and validate, four different sites were subsequently chosen, and we obtained similar results, ensuring the validity of the applied models. Additionally, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technique was applied to predict the groundwater table and validated by measured wells. The mean difference between measured and GPR predicted groundwater table was 14 cm, which reflected the importance of GPR to guide the location of new wells in the study region. The outcomes of the study will help the decision-makers, government agencies, and private sectors for sustainable planning of groundwater in the area. Overall, the present study provides a comprehensive high-precision machine learning and GPR-based groundwater potential mapping.     

Observation of multiple sausage oscillations in cool post-flare loop

Using simultaneous high spatial (1.3 arcsec) and temporal (5 and 10 s) resolution Hα observations from the 15 cm Solar Tower Telescope at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), we study the oscillations in the relative intensity to explore the possibility of sausage oscillations in the chromospheric cool post-flare loop. We use the standard wavelet tool, and find the oscillation period of ≈587 s near the loop apex, and ≈349 s near the footpoint. We suggest that the oscillations represent the fundamental and the first harmonics of the fast-sausage waves in the cool post-flare loop. Based on the period ratio   P ₁/ P ₂∼1.68  , we estimate the density scaleheight in the loop as ∼17 Mm. This value is much higher than the equilibrium scaleheight corresponding to Hα temperature, which probably indicates that the cool post-flare loop is not in hydrostatic equilibrium. Seismologically estimated Alfvén speed outside the loop is  ∼300–330  km s⁻¹  . The observation of multiple oscillations may play a crucial role in understanding the dynamics of lower solar atmosphere, complementing such oscillations already reported in the upper solar atmosphere (e.g. hot flaring loops).     

Soil Carbon and Nutrient Accumulation under Forest Plantations in Jharkhand State of India

The decrease and degradation of the tropical forests affect not only the production of timber but also the global environment in a large scale. The ability of soil to sustain and its supply of nutrients to a growing forest are controlled by a complex of biogeochemical processes. The purpose of the present study aims to assess the degraded forest fringe areas, to promote plantations of various types and to evaluate their impacts on the soil nutrients and carbon content accumulation. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrient content were evaluated and compared between plantations of mixed native species (MNS), some native tree species as Shorea robusta, Dalbergia sissoo, Dendrocalamus spp., certain agro‐forestry species and some exotic varieties. The impacts of the plantations on the SOC and the nutrients were firstly analyzed through comprehensive chemical analyses and the results were compared with the soil samples collected prior to plantation forestry. Significant changes were observed in SOC content, in nutrients, and in amounts of exchangeable cations. Soil carbon levels were highest under the MNS, Dendrocalamus and Tectona grandis stands and lowest under D. sissoo and Terminalia arjuna. Total N showed highest levels under Dendrocalamus and Pongamia pinnata and significantly higher in stands of native species; lowest total N level was observed in D. sissoo plantations. The C/N ratios of the soil varied between 9.2 and 13.5 among the exchangeable cations. Ca²⁺ recorded the maximum levels and Na⁺ showed the lowest levels.     

Laboratory investigation of pullout behavior of hollow and solid shaft helical nail in frictional soil

Acta Geotechnica - Helical soil nails are passive elements installed in the soil which attains its bond strength through skin friction and bearing from helices. The present study examines the...     

Multiwavelength Study of a Solar Eruption from AR NOAA 11112 I. Flux Emergence, Sunspot Rotation and Triggering of a Solar Flare

We analyze the multiwavelength observations of an M2.9/1N flare that occurred in the active region (AR) NOAA 11112 in the vicinity of a huge filament system on 16 October 2010. SDO/HMI magnetograms reveal the emergence of a bipole (within the existing AR) 50 hours prior to the flare event. During the emergence, both the positive and negative sunspots in the bipole show translational as well as rotational motion. The positive-polarity sunspot shows significant motion/rotation in the south-westward/clockwise direction, and we see continuously pushing/sliding of the surrounding opposite-polarity field region. On the other hand, the negative-polarity sunspot moves/rotates in the westward/anticlockwise direction. The positive-polarity sunspot rotates ≈?70^° within 30 hours, whereas the one with negative polarity rotates ≈?20^° within 10 hours. SDO/AIA 94 Å EUV images show the emergence of a flux tube in the corona, consistent with the emergence of the bipole in HMI. The footpoints of the flux tube were anchored in the emerging bipole. The initial brightening starts at one of the footpoints (western) of the emerging loop system, where the positive-polarity sunspot pushes/slides towards a nearby negative-polarity field region. A high speed plasmoid ejection (speed ≈?1197 km?s^?1) was observed during the impulsive phase of the flare, which suggests magnetic reconnection of the emerging positive-polarity sunspot with the surrounding opposite-polarity field region. The entire AR shows positive-helicity injection before the flare event. Moreover, the newly emerging bipole reveals the signature of a negative (left-handed) helicity. These observations provide unique evidence of the emergence of twisted flux tubes from below the photosphere to coronal heights, triggering a flare mainly due to the interaction between the emerging positive-polarity sunspot and a nearby negative-polarity sunspot by the shearing motion of the emerging positive sunspot towards the negative one. Our observations also strongly support the idea that the rotation can most likely be attributed to the emergence of twisted magnetic fields, as proposed by recent models.     

Arsenic enrichment in groundwater in the middle Gangetic Plain of Ghazipur District in Uttar Pradesh,India

Groundwater with high geogenic arsenic (As) is extensively present in the Holocene alluvial aquifers of Ghazipur District in the middle Gangetic Plain, India. A shift in the climatic conditions, weathering of carbonate and silicate minerals, surface water interactions, ion exchange, redox processes, and anthropogenic activities are responsible for high concentrations of cations, anions and As in the groundwater. The spatial and temporal variations for As concentrations were greater in the pre-monsoon (6.4–259.5 μg/L) when compared to the post-monsoon period (5.1–205.5 µg/L). The As enrichment was encountered in the sampling sites that were close to the Ganges River (i.e. south and southeast part of Ghazipur district). The depth profile of As revealed that low concentrations of NO₃⁻ are associated with high concentration of As and that As depleted with increasing depth. The poor relationship between As and Fe indicates the As release into the groundwater, depends on several processes such as mineral weathering, O₂ consumption, and NO₃⁻ reduction and is de-coupled from Fe cycling. Correlation matrix and factor analysis were used to identify various factors influencing the gradual As enrichment in the middle Gangetic Plain. Groundwater is generally supersaturated with respect to calcite and dolomite in post-monsoon period, but not in pre-monsoon period. Saturation in both periods is reached for crystalline Fe phases such as goethite, but not with respect to poorly crystalline Fe phases and any As-bearing phase. The results indicate release of arsenic in redox processes in dry period and dilution of arsenic concentration by recharge during monsoon. Increased concentrations of bicarbonate after monsoon are caused by intense flushing of unsaturated zone, where CO₂ is formed by decomposition of organic matter and reactions with carbonate minerals in solid phase. The present study is vital considering the fact that groundwater is an exclusive source of drinking water in the region which not only makes situation alarming but also calls for the immediate attention.     

Clay Minerals in Soils as Evidence of Holocene Climatic Change, Central Indo-Gangetic Plains, North-Central India

Clay mineral assemblages of a soil chrono-association comprising five fluvial surface members (QGH1 to QGH5) of the Indo-Gangetic Plains between the Ramganga and Rapti rivers, north-central India, demonstrate that pedogenic interstratified smectite–kaolin (Sm/K) can be considered as a potential indicator for paleoclimatic changes during the Holocene from arid to humid climates. On the basis of available radiocarbon dates, thermoluminescence dates, and historical evidence, tentative ages assigned to QGH1 to QGH5 are <500 yr B.P., >500 yr B.P., >2500 yr B.P., 8000 TL yr B.P., and 13,500 TL yr B.P., respectively. During pedogenesis two major regional climatic cycles are recorded: relatively arid climates between 10,000–6500 yr B.P. and 3800–? yr B.P. were punctuated by a warm and humid climate. Biotite weathered to trioctahedral vermiculite and smectite in the soils during arid conditions, and smectite was unstable and transformed to Sm/K during the warm and humid climatic phase (7400–4150 cal yr B.P.). When the humid climate terminated, vermiculite, smectite, and Sm/K were preserved to the present day. The study suggests that during the development of soils in the Holocene in alluvium of the Indo-Gangetic Plains, climatic fluctuations appear to be more important than realized hitherto. The soils older than 2500 yr B.P. are relict paleosols, but they are polygenetic because of their subsequent alterations.