Anthropogenic arsenic menace in Delhi Yamuna Flood Plains

Arsenic, one of the most poisonous chemical elements, was analyzed in the waters of the host of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, i.e., New Delhi. The study revealed shocking outcomes with arsenic concentrations well beyond the safe limits set by WHO, and a maximum concentration up to 180 ppb was found in the groundwater. Analysis of around 120 water samples collected extensively along the Yamuna Flood Plain showed that more than 55% had arsenic contamination beyond the WHO limit of 10 ppb. The maximum value of arsenic in coal and fly ash from Rajghat coal-based thermal power plant contained 200 and 3,200 ppb, respectively. Moreover, the ore petrography of coal samples shows the presence of arsenopyrite mineral. Maximum concentration of arsenic contamination is found within a 5-km radius from power plants. In the perspective of Delhi, arsenic contamination is purely anthropogenic due to coal-based thermal power plants, which had already shown toxic arsenic, fluorine and China-type coal effects. The presence of such power plants in coal field locations, e.g., West Bengal and Bangladesh, could release the arsenic due to combustion in superthermal power plants, thus accentuating the arsenic concentration besides the natural arsenic coming from the foreland basins of the Himalaya in Indian sub-continent.     

Hisslers observed during daytime in a low latitude ground station

The observation of hisslers during daytime at low latitude station Jammu, India, is reported. The hissler elements are quasi-periodic falling tones observed during the period of hiss activity and appear in minutelong sequences with average spacing between individual elements of the order of 0.15 s. Hissler elements exhibit almost no dispersion and no complex internal structure in slope and intensity, and successive hissler elements do not overlap in time. It seems that the reported hisslers might have propagated in prolongitudinal mode.     

Influence of Atmospheric Water Vapour on IRS NIR Measurements for Detecting Vegetation Signal. Part I: A Simulation Study Using MODTRAN

Quantitative remote sensing involving accurate estimation of vegetation properties relies greatly on the measurements of the near infrared (NIR) channel because of unique interaction property between light and leaf. It is generally assumed that the NIR measurements are made in the absence of atmospheric absorption. However, relatively weak water vapour absorption features still persist in the NIR channel, which has bearing on the quantitative estimates of the vegetation properties and long-term data series. This paper reports the results of a study that was carried out to infer the possible influence of the atmospheric water vapour (WV) on the NIR measurements (0.77–0.86 μm) of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite sensors through radiative transfer simulations using MODTRAN model. The study also suggests and evaluates the alternate band-positions for the NIR channel to improve the IRS NIR measurements. It was observed that the water absorption features present around 0.810 μm reduces the WV transmission of IRS NIR channel from 1 to 0.91 when atmospheric WV content increased from 0 to 6 g/cm² and thus hampered the NIR reflectance by 14% as compared to reference signal. A significant improvement of the order of 6.5 to 12% in the NIR reflectance and 4.2 to 7% in NDVI was observed, when IRS NIR channel was split into NIR1 (0.775–0.805 μm) and NIR2 (0.845–0.875 μm) channels by avoiding the WV absorption features. The companion paper in this issue (Pandya et al. 2011) will support results of this simulation study through the EO1-Hyperion data analysis.     

Multi-criteria GIS modeling for optimum route alignment planning in outer region of Allahabad City,India

A route alignment planning has various stages. At different stages, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is required. This paper integrates geographical information system (GIS) and MCDA for designing the optimum route alignment. A GIS-based model using the multi-criteria decision analysis for finding the optimum route alignment to design major road from a source to a destination within two locations is proposed. Three different levels of analysis were performed in this study such as criteria map analysis, surface cost analysis, and least-cost path analysis. The optimum route has the least cost and satisfies other environmental, technical, social, and economic criteria. The proposed model is implemented to design optimum route alignment between two locations in the outer area of Allahabad City, India. Four route alignments are created, and one of the best routes is chosen.     

Finite volume approach for finite strain consolidation

The paper presents the finite volume formulation and numerical solution of finite strain one‐dimensional consolidation equation. The equation used in this study utilises a nonlinear continuum representation of consolidation with varying compressibility and hydraulic conductivity and thus inherits the material and geometric nonlinearity. Time‐marching explicit scheme has been used to achieve transient solutions. The nonlinear terms have been evaluated with the known previous time step value of the independent variable, that is, void ratio. Three‐point quadratic interpolation function of Lagrangian family has been used to evaluate the face values at discrete control volumes. It has been shown that the numerical solution is stable and convergent for the general practical cases of consolidation. Performance of the numerical scheme has been evaluated by comparing the results with an analytical solution and with the piecewise piecewise‐linear finite difference numerical model. The approach seems to work well and offers excellent potential for simulating finite strain consolidation. Further, the parametric study has been performed on soft organic clays, and the influence of various parameters on the time ate consolidation characteristics of the soil is shown. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three dimensional dynamo theory in the magnetosphere

We have solved in this paper the three dimensional dynamo equation consistent with the conditions in the magnetosphere. The conductivity we have adopted here is that for a fully ionised but highly rarefied gas in a magnetic field. The velocity field is based on the measurements of the convection patterns made by different satellites. The solution obtained of the dynamo equation is presented here in the most general form so that it can be used when the various parameters are known to a higher degree of accuracy in future. We have then made a model calculation based on the particular solution of the inhomogeneous differential equation and have computed the components of the current as well as the isointensity curves in the midday-midnight meridional plane. as well as on the dawn-dusk meridional plane. These theoretical results have then been matched with observations.The passing away on December 30, 1971 of Professor Sarabhai prevented his seeing this final write up.     

Hydrological sensitivity of a large Himalayan basin to climate change

The present study sets out to investigate the sensitivity of water availability to climate change for a large western Himalayan river (the Satluj River basin with an area of 22 275 km² and elevation range of 500 to 7000 m), which receives contributions from rain, snow and glacier melt runoff. About 65% of the basin area is covered with snow during winter, which reduces to about 11% after the ablation period. After having calibrated a conceptual hydrological model to provide accurate simulations of observed stream flow, the hydrological response of the basin was simulated using different climatic scenarios over a period of 9 years. Adopted plausible climate scenarios included three temperature scenarios (T + 1, T + 2, T + 3 °C) and four rainfall scenarios (P ? 10, P ? 5, P + 5 and P + 10%). The effect of climate change was studied on snowmelt and rainfall contribution runoff, and total stream flow. Under warmer climate, a typical feature of the study basin was found to be reduction in melt from the lower part of the basin owing to a reduction in snow covered area and shortening of the summer melting season, and, in contrast, an increase in the melt from the glacierized part owing to larger melt and an extended ablation period. Thus, on the basin scale, reduction in melt from the lower part was counteracted by the increase from melt from upper part of the basin, resulting in a decrease in the magnitude of change in annual melt runoff. The impact of climate change was found to be more prominent on seasonal rather than annual water availability. Reduction of water availability during the summer period, which contributes about 60% to the annual flow, may have severe implications on the water resources of the region, because demand of water for irrigation, hydropower and other usage is at its peak at this time. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological importance of an unusual hazard in a mountainous basin: flood and landslide

The Bhagirathi River, a proglacial melt water stream of the Gangotri Glacier, is the principal source of the Ganges river system. The upper part of the basin lies in the high altitude region of the Garhwal Himalayas and is extensively covered by glaciers. We provide hydro‐meteorological insight into a severe storm that produced unusual high rains in June 2000 in the uppermost part of the Bhagirathi River. This storm was concentrated upstream of Gangotri town and triggered landslides/rockslides at several locations between the glacier snout and Gangotri town. One of the major rockslides blocked the Bhagirathi River at Bhujbas, about 3 km downstream of the Gangotri Glacier snout, creating an artificial lake at this location. High stream flow in the river, generated by rapid runoff response from mountain slopes along with melt runoff from the glacier, quickly increased the level of water stored in the artificial lake. Daily rainfall in this region rarely exceeds 10 mm, while total rainfall during this 6‐day storm was 131·5 mm. This unusual rain event occurred during the tourist season in June, consequently trapping a large number of tourists and vendors in this area. Sudden release of stored water generated floods that created havoc downstream of the artificially created lake. This paper presents the hydrological and meteorological information related to such an unusual and devastating event observed in the high altitude region of the Himalayas. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.