Lead isotopic ratios in source apportionment of heavy metals in the street dust of Kolkata,India

Street dust from 29 locations, in some of the busiest parts of north and south Kolkata, was analysed for heavy metal composition. The decreasing order of average metal concentrations (mg kg^?1) found was Mn (390) > Pb (380) > Zn (300) > As (96) > Cu (61) > Cr (40) > Co (13) > Ag (2.1). The heavy metal composition of the Kolkata dust was compared with reported data for other cities. Enrichment factors of Pb and As were high. Multivariate statistical analysis of the heavy metals and analysis of lead isotopic ratios of the dust revealed a predominant anthropogenic influence in the contamination. The range of lead isotopic ratios found in the dust was between 0.8789 and 0.8998 with a mean Pb concentration of 383 mg kg^?1. The three Pb isotope plots of street dust, diesel and rainwater clustered linearly, while coal did not fit into this trend. The highest 207/206 lead isotopic ratio obtained was from diesel with a mean value of 0.9015, followed by the rainwater sample. The application of the binary mixing model showed that about 66.86% of lead contamination in the street dust was sourced from the atmosphere. The two components extracted by the principal component analysis explained 64.34% of the total variance. Vehicular and industrial emissions appeared to be an important contributor to the accumulation of heavy metals in the dust. The health risk assessment study of the dust indicated carcinogenic risk associated with As and Cr.     

Geochemistry and tectonic setting of Tuting metavolcanic rocks of possible ophiolitic affinity from Eastern Himalayan syntaxis

Geochemistry of Tuting metavolcanic rocks is being reported for the first time. Narrow slivers of mafic volcanic rocks, as those at Tuting, also occur in close association with slivers of more complete sections of ophiolites at the Tsangpo river section upstream of Tuting and skirt round the Namche Barwa antiform. These detached slivers of the mafic volcanic rocks and the ophiolites represent the easternmost components of the Yarlung Tsangpo Ophiolite, and also define the arcuate shape of the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis. The metavolcanic rocks exposed at the apex of the Siang river dome at Tuting (Tsangpo River named Siang down stream of Tuting) is the only exposure of such rocks from the Himalayan syntaxial area in India.The Tuting metavolcanic rocks correspond to andesite and basaltic andesite as per TAS diagram. The mobility of major elements possibly has affected their classification. As per Zr/TiO₂ — Nb/Y diagram of Winchester and Floyd (1977), proposed for classification of altered igneous rocks, the Tuting samples mainly correspond to ‘sub-akaline basalt’ and one sample plot as ‘andesite/basalt’. These have a flat chrondrite-normalised REE pattern. MORB-normalized multi-elemental plot shows enrichment in large ion lithophile (LIL) and the light rare earth elements (LREE), and depletion in several high field strength elements (HFSE). Based on these trace element patterns and a few discrimination plots, the Tuting metavolcanic rocks are inferred to have generated in supra-subduction zone environment in an intraoceanic arc, back arc setting, or in a mid-ocean ridge process that resembles the Chile Ridge spreading centre.     

A Hydrological Budget (2002–2008) for a Large Subtropical Wetland Ecosystem Indicates Marine Groundwater Discharge Accompanies Diminished Freshwater Flow

Water budget parameters are estimated for Shark River Slough (SRS), the main drainage within Everglades National Park (ENP) from 2002 to 2008. Inputs to the water budget include surface water inflows and precipitation while outputs consist of evapotranspiration, discharge to the Gulf of Mexico and seepage losses due to municipal wellfield extraction. The daily change in volume of SRS is equated to the difference between input and outputs yielding a residual term consisting of component errors and net groundwater exchange. Results predict significant net groundwater discharge to the SRS peaking in June and positively correlated with surface water salinity at the mangrove ecotone, lagging by 1 month. Precipitation, the largest input to the SRS, is offset by ET (the largest output); thereby highlighting the importance of increasing fresh water inflows into ENP for maintaining conditions in terrestrial, estuarine, and marine ecosystems of South Florida.     

Relationship of Sediment-Biochemistry,Bacterial Morphology,and Activity to Geotechnical Properties in the Central Indian Basin

Distribution of biochemical properties, morphological and functional characteristics of bacteria in the extreme sedimentary environment of the Central Indian Basin (CIB) was examined in relation to geotechnical properties and sediment texture. Interrelationships between these parameters in siliceous northern sediments were compared to southern pelagic clay to understand relationships and to appreciate mining implications. Clay impacted lipids negatively and silt positively in the south. Geotechnical properties had the opposite influence on the distribution of coccoidal and rod forms of bacteria. Rods were affected negatively by water content/porosity and positively by wet bulk density in the north suggesting their preference for deeper niches. Shear strength affected coccoidal distribution negatively in the south. Competition for labile substrates by coccoidal forms in the surface layers could also have restricted the rods to the deeper regions. Principal component analysis (PCA) further strengthened our inference that the distribution of rod forms increased with depth. Enzymatic properties of bacterial isolates also showed that the rods were able to degrade substrates like gelatin and DNA. These observations suggest that they are capable of degrading relatively more recalcitrant compounds in the deeper layers. The minor components, like the rod morphotypes and sand content, could wield a large influence on the variability of other parameters.     

Geomorphologic,stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidences of tectonic activity in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in Middle Ganga Plain,India

The basement of the Ganga basin in the Himalayan foreland is criss-crossed by several faults, dividing the basin into several sub-blocks forming horsts, grabens, or half-grabens. Tectonic perturbations along basement faults have affected the fluvial regime and extent of sediment fill in different parts of the basin during Late Quaternary. The East Patna Fault (EPF) and the West Patna Fault (WPF), located in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in the southern marginal parts of Middle Ganga Plain (MGP), have remained tectonically active. The EPF particularly has acted significantly and influenced in evolving the geomorphological landscape and the stratigraphic architecture of the area. The block bounded by the two faults has earlier been considered as a single entity, constituting a half-graben. The present investigation (by morpho-stratigraphic and sedimentologic means) has revealed the existence of yet another fault within the half-graben, referred to as Bishunpur–Khagaul Fault (BKF). Many of the long profile morphological characters (e.g., knick-zone, low width–depth ratio) of the Sone River at its lower reaches can be ascribed to local structural deformation along BKF. These basement faults in MGP lie parallel to each other in NE–SW direction.     

Post-2004 mega-earthquake temporal velocity variation at Andaman Islands from GPS measurements

Post-mega-earthquake velocity adjustment at Andaman region was found to vary with time. Coordinate repeatability for 5-year span shows changeover from post-seismic to inter-seismic period in between 900 and 1,000 days from the mega-earthquake. Excluding Havlock Island, all sites move from south to north and from east to west. Velocity vectors gradually rotated from the nearly perpendicular orientation after the mega-earthquake to parallel orientation with the subduction interface in later phase. Velocities in India 2005 reference frame indicate the presence of a structural discontinuity between Bedonabad and Chidiatapu at south Andaman, between Padmanavapuram and Kaushalyanagar at middle Andaman and between Aerial Bay and Radhanagar at north Andaman.     

Bianchi type VI cosmological models: a Scale-Covariant study

A model for an anisotropic Bianchi type VI universe in a Scale Covariant theory of gravitation (Canuto et al. in Phys. Rev. D 16:6, 1977a; Phys. Rev. Lett. 39:8, 1977b) is analyzed. Exact solutions to the corresponding field equations are found under some specific assumptions. A finite singularity is found in the model at the initial time t=0. All the physical parameters are studied and thoroughly discussed. The model behaves like a big bang singular model o f the universe.     

Evaluation of hydrogeochemical processes in arsenic-contaminated alluvial aquifers in parts of Mid-Ganga Basin,Bihar, Eastern India

The study region covers 1,650 km² of the Mid-Ganga Basin in Bihar, experiencing intensive groundwater draft. The area forms a part of the Gangetic alluvial plain where high incidence of arsenic groundwater contamination (>50 μg/l) has recently been detected. Seventy-seven groundwater samples have been collected and analysed for major ions, iron and arsenic. Arsenic contamination (max 620 μg/l) is confined in hand pump zones (15–35 m) within the newer alluvium deposited during Middle Holocene to Recent age. The older alluvial aquifers are arsenic-safe and recorded maximum concentration as 9 μg/l. Out of 12 hydrochemical facies identified, four have been found arsenic-affected: Ca–HCO₃, Mg–HCO₃, Ca–Mg–HCO₃ and Mg–Ca–HCO₃. The geochemical evolution of groundwater, as investigated by graphical interpretation and statistical techniques (correlation, principal component analysis) revealed that dissolution of detrital calcite, dolomite and infiltration of rainwater are the major processes shaping the groundwater chemistry in the newer alluvium. Arsenic and iron showed strong positive correlation. Rainfall infiltration, carrying organic matter from recently accumulated biomass from this flood-prone belt, plays a critical role in releasing arsenic and iron present in the sediments. Geochemical evolution of groundwater in older alluvium follows a different path, where cation-exchange has been identified as a significant process.     

Pre-onset land surface processes and ��internal�� interannual variabilities of the Indian summer monsoon

It is proposed that, land?Catmosphere interaction around the time of monsoon onset could modulate the first episode of climatological intraseasonal oscillation (CISO) and may generate significant ??internal?? interannual variation in the Indian summer monsoon rainfall. The regional climate model RegCM3 is used over Indian monsoon domain for 27?years of control simulation. In order to prove the hypothesis, another two sets of experiment are performed using two different boundary conditions (El Ni?o year and non-ENSO year). In each of these experiments, a single year of boundary conditions are used repeatedly year after year to generate ??internal?? interannual monsoon variability. Simulation of monsoon climate in the control model run is found to be in reasonably good agreement with observation. However, large rainfall bias is seen over Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The interannual monsoon rainfall variability are of the same order in two experiments, which suggest that the external influences may not be important on the generation of ??internal?? monsoon rainfall variability. It is shown that, a dry (wet) pre-onset land-surface condition increases (decreases) rainfall in June which in turn leads to an anomalous increase (decrease) in seasonal (JJAS) rainfall. The phase and amplitude of CISO are modulated during May?CJune and beyond that the modulation of CISO is quite negligible. Though the pre-onset rainfall is unpredictable, significant modulation of the post-onset monsoon rainfall by it can be exploited to improve predictive skill within the monsoon season.