Evaluation of an interrill soil erosion model using laboratory catchment data

Physically based soil erosion simulation models require input parameters of soil detachment and sediment transport owing to the action and interactions of both raindrops and overland flow. A simple interrill soil water transport model is applied to a laboratory catchment to investigate the application of raindrop detachment and transport in interrill areas explicitly. A controlled laboratory rainfall simulation study with slope length simulation by flow addition was used to assess the raindrop detachment and transport of detached soil by overland flow in interrill areas. Artificial rainfall of moderate to high intensity was used to simulate intense rain storms. However, experiments were restricted to conditions where rilling and channelling did not occur and where overland flow covered most of the surface. A simple equation with a rainfall intensity term for raindrop detachment, and a simple sediment transport equation with unit discharge and a slope term were found to be applicable to the situation where clear water is added at the upper end of a small plot to simulate increased slope length. The proposed generic relationships can be used to predict raindrop detachment and the sediment transport capacity of interrill flow and can therefore contribute to the development of physically‐based erosion models. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrochemistry in coastal aquifer of southwest Bangladesh: origin of salinity

In the coastal region of Bangladesh, groundwater is mainly used for domestic and agricultural purposes, but salinization of many groundwater resources limits its suitability for human consumption and practical application. This paper reports the results of a study that has mapped the salinity distribution in different aquifer layers up to a depth of 300 m in a region bordering the Bay of Bengal based on the main hydrochemistry and has investigated the origin of the salinity using Cl/Br ratios of the samples. The subsurface consists of a sequence of deltaic sediments with an alternation of more sandy and clayey sections in which several aquifer layers can be recognized. The main hydrochemistry shows different main water types in the different aquifers, indicating varying stages of freshening or salinization processes. The most freshwater, soft NaHCO₃-type water with Cl concentrations mostly below 100 mg/l, is found in the deepest aquifer at 200–300 m below ground level (b.g.l.), in which the fresh/saltwater interface is pushed far to the south. Salinity is a main problem in the shallow aquifer systems, where Cl concentrations rise to nearly 8000 mg/l and the groundwater is mostly brackish NaCl water. Investigation of the Cl/Br ratios has shown that the source of the salinity in the deep aquifer is mixing with old connate seawater and that the saline waters in the more shallow aquifers do not originate from old connate water or direct seawater intrusion, but are derived from the dissolution of evaporite salts. These must have been formed in a tidal flat under influence of a strong seasonal precipitation pattern. Long dry seasons with high evaporation rates have evaporated seawater from inundated gullies and depressions, leading to salt precipitation, while subsequent heavy monsoon rains have dissolved the formed salts, and the solution has infiltrated in the subsoil, recharging groundwater.     

Characterization of underground tunnel water hydrochemical system and uses through multivariate statistical methods: a case study from Maddhapara Granite Mine,Dinajpur, Bangladesh

A quality study of the drained water from Maddhapara Granite Mine underground tunnel was undertaken to study their hydrochemical variations and suitability for various uses employing chemical analysis, basic statistics, correlation matrix (r), cluster analysis, principal component/factor analyses, and ANOVA as the multivariate statistical methods. The results of chemical analysis of water show the modest variation in their ionic assemblage among different sampling points of the tunnel where Ca–HCO₃ type of hydrochemical facies is principally dominated. The correlation matrix shows a very strong to very weak positive, even negative, correlation relationship, suggesting the influence of different processes such as geochemical, biochemical processes, and multiple anthropogenic sources on controlling the hydrochemical evolution and variations of water in the mine area. Cluster analysis confirms that cluster 1 contains 68.75% of total samples, whereas cluster 2 contains 31.25%. On the whole, the dominated chemical ions of first cluster groups are Ca and HCO₃, suggesting a natural process similar to dissolution of carbonate minerals. The second cluster group consisted of Cl^? and SO₄ ^2? ions representing natural and anthropogenic hydrochemical process. The results of PCA/FA analysis illustrate that different processes are involved in controlling the chemical composition of groundwater in the mine area. The factor 1 loadings showed that pH, EC, TDS, Na, Mg, chloride, and sulfate which have high loading in this factor are expected to come from carbonate dissolution to oxidation conditions. One-way ANOVA describes the significance of dependent variables with respect to independent variables. ANOVA gives us the idea that EC, K⁺, Fe^total, SO ₄ ² , As, and Pb are the most important factors in controlling spatial differences in water quality in this tunnel. But different results have been encountered for different independent variables which might be due to dissimilar sources of water. From the qualitative analysis, it is clear that water quality is not very favorable for aquatic creatures as well as for drinking purposes. The water can be used for irrigation purposes without any doubt as SAR and RSC analysis provides good results. Moreover, the results of this research confirmed that the application of multivariate statistical analysis methods is apposite to inferring complex water quality data sets with its possible pollution sources. At the end, this research recommends (1) as water becomes more and more important, water treatment plants should be built before the water being used; (2) a detailed water step utilization plan should be set beforehand to guarantee tunnel water being used effectively; and (3) after the water being used for agriculture, elements in crops should be monitored continuously to ensure that ions and compounds that come from the tunnel water are lower than guideline values for human beings health.     

Spatiotemporal meteorological drought assessment: a case study in south-east Australia

Natural Hazards - An understanding on different aspects of droughts is crucial for effective water resources management. Australia has experienced notable droughts in recent years. The present...     

Homogeneity and trend analysis of rainfall and droughts over Southeast Australia

Natural Hazards - This study investigates rainfall and drought characteristics in southeastern Australia (New South Wales and Victoria) using data from 45 rainfall stations. Four homogeneity tests...     

Geological and soil engineering properties of shallow landslides occurring in the Kutupalong Rohingya Camp in Cox’s Bazar,Bangladesh

Landslides - The Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN), historically known as ‘Rohingya’ who fled the 2017 ethnic atrocities and genocide in the Northern Rakhine State of Myanmar,...     

New insights into the occurrence of the catastrophic Zhaiban slope debris flow that occurred in a dry valley in the Hengduan Mountains in southwest China

Landslides - In 2019, the catastrophic Zhaiban slope debris flow (ZSDF) crushed an open road tunnel in Ganluo County, Sichuan Province, China, causing seven deaths and interrupting traffic flow for...     

Modelling undrained behaviour of sand with fines and fabric anisotropy

Acta Geotechnica - Fabric anisotropy and fines content (fc) in sands modify significantly their mechanical behaviour, particularly as related to static liquefaction under undrained conditions. The...     

Re‐examining green revolution diffusion and factor/input markets in Bangladesh after market liberalization

This paper re‐examines the effect of green revolution (GR) diffusion on factor/inputs demand in Bangladesh using an empirical model that allows for simultaneous determination of factors influencing adoption of GR technology at the current mature stage, as well as access to irrigation. Results reveal some alignments with conventional wisdom as well as few surprises. For example, while an increased demand for major inputs is expected, an increased demand for organic manure is an unexpected positive outcome. The GR adoption rate is significantly higher in villages with access to irrigation and fertile soils and, surprisingly, in infrastructurally underdeveloped villages. Together with other expected findings of GR technology uptake with higher cereal prices and irrigation use encouraged by access to credit, tenurial status and fertile soils, our findings suggest that investment in irrigation and soil conservation, as well as implementing measures to improve cereal prices and provide agricultural credit, could boost GR technology adoption.     

Comparison of NCEP turbulent heat fluxes with in situ observations over the south-eastern Arabian Sea

Turbulent surface heat fluxes (latent and sensible heat) are the two most important parameters through which air–sea interaction takes place at the ocean–atmosphere interface. These fluxes over the global ocean are required to drive ocean models and to validate coupled ocean–atmosphere global models. But because of inadequate in situ observations these are the least understood parameters over the tropical Indian Ocean. Surface heat fluxes also contribute to the oceanic heat budget and control the sea surface temperature in conjunction with upper ocean stratification and ocean currents. The most widely used flux products in diagnostic studies and forcing of ocean general circulation models are the ones provided by the National Centres for Environment Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis. In this study we have compared NCEP reanalysed marine meteorological parameters, which are used for turbulent heat fluxes, with the moored buoy observation in the south-eastern Arabian Sea. The NCEP latent heat flux (LHF) and sensible heat flux (SHF) derived from bulk aerodynamic formula are also compared with that of ship and buoy derived LHF and SHF. The analysis is being carried out during the pre-monsoon and monsoon season of 2005. The analysis shows that NCEP latent as well as sensible heat fluxes are largely underestimated during the monsoon season, however, it is reasonably comparable during the pre-monsoon period. This is largely due to the underestimation of NCEP reanalysis air temperature (AT), wind speed (WS) and relative humidity (RH) compared to buoy observations. The mean differences between buoy and NCEP parameters during the monsoon (pre-monsoon) period are ~21% (~14%) for WS, ~6% (~3%) for RH, and ~0.75% (0.9%) for AT, respectively. The sudden drop in AT during rain events could not be captured by the NCEP data and, hence, large underestimations in SHF. During the pre-monsoon period, major contribution to LHF variations comes from WS, however, both surface winds and relative humidity controls the LHF variations during the monsoon. LHF is mainly determined by WS and RH during the monsoon and, WS is the main contributor during the pre-monsoon.