Heavy metal pollution around the island city of Bombay, India. Part II: distribution of heavy metals between water, suspended particles and sediments in a polluted aquatic regime

The island city of Bombay is surrounded by Thane creek in the east and Ulhas river on the north. These two aquatic regimes act as receptacles of industrial waste and sewage discharges from the city and also lithogenic fluxes from the adjacent basaltic terrain.

Two consecutive sets of pre-monsoon and post-monsoon samples of water, suspended solids and sediments were collected from the intertidal zone of Thane Creek and along the Ulhas River. These were analysed for toxic heavy metals such as Fe. Mn, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Hg and Cd and the degree of metal contamination was determined. Using this data the pattern and mechanism of distribution of heavy metals in water, suspended solids and sediments were investigated. These are closely related to discharges of industrial effluents and domestic sewage and largely controlled by basic geochemical processes.     

Rapid eco-physical impact assessment of tropical cyclones using geospatial technology: a case from severe cyclonic storms Amphan

The tropical cyclones are very destructive during landfall, generating high wind speeds, heavy intensive rainfall, and severe storm surges with huge coastal inundations that have massive socioeconomic and ecological catastrophic effects on human beings and the economic well-being. The sizable ecological effects of cyclonic storms cannot be ignored because of the uncertainty of impact, intensity induced by a warming ocean, and sea level rise. The Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan which falls under the category five classifications under the scheme of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), on the basis the maximum sustained wind speeds gusting up to 168 km/h affected parts of West Bengal and Odisha in India, and south-west Bangladesh between May 16 and 20, 2020. In this work, we have focused on the coastal districts of Kendrapada, Bhadrak, Balasore in Odisha, Purba Medinipur, and South Twenty-Four Parganas in West Bengal, India and, Khulna, Barisal division of Bangladesh that have been seriously affected by the Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan. The objective of the study is to analyze the eco-physical assessment of tropical cyclone Amphan using geospatial technology. Therefore, shoreline change detection and enhance vegetation index have been used in this research work to systematically analyze the eco-physical impact parameters of Cyclonic Storm Amphan using ortho-rectified Landsat 8/OLI imagery and MODIS dataset of USGS with high spatial resolutions of 30–500 m. The result highlights that about 60.33% of the total transects of the study area was eroded, but only 24.99% of the total transects experienced accretion, and 14.68% of the total transects depicted stability. The scientific study will benefit coastal managers and policymakers in formulating action plans for coastal zone management, natural resilience, and sustainable future development.

     

Unusual optical quiescence of the classical BL Lac object PKS 0735+178 on intranight time-scale

We present the result of our extensive intranight optical monitoring of the well-known low-energy peaked BL Lac (LBL) object PKS 0735+178. This long-term follow-up consists of R -band monitoring for a minimum duration of ∼4 hours, on 17 nights spanning 11 years (1998–2008). Using the CCD as an N-star photometer, a detection limit of around 1 per cent was attained for the intranight optical variability (INOV). Remarkably, an INOV amplitude of  ≥3 per cent  on hour-like time-scale was not observed on any of the 17 nights, even though the likelihood of a typical LBL showing such INOV levels in a single session of  ≳4  hours duration is known to be high  (∼50 per cent)  . Our observations have thus established a peculiar long-term INOV quiescence of this radio-selected BL Lac object. Moreover, the access to unpublished optical monitoring data of similarly high sensitivity, acquired in another programme, has allowed us to confirm the same anomalous INOV quiescence of this LBL all the way back to 1989, the epoch of its historically largest radio outburst. Here, we present observational evidence revealing the very unusual INOV behaviour of this classical BL Lac object and discuss this briefly in the context of its other known exceptional properties.     

Study of star formation in NGC 1084

We present UBVRI broad-band, Hα narrow-band photometry of the star-forming complexes in the infrared bright galaxy NGC 1084. Results of medium-resolution spectroscopy of some of the brighter complexes are also discussed. Spectroscopic data are used to better estimate the internal reddening within the galaxy which is found to be highly variable and to calculate metallicity which is close to the solar value. A diagnostic diagram identifies the shocked regions within this galaxy. The narrow-band Hα flux and its equivalent width are used to determine the star formation rates of the complexes and the distribution of ages. Star formation rates for a few of the complexes are found to be as high as  0.5 M_⊙ yr⁻¹  . The star-forming complexes lie in the age range 3 to 6.5 Myr. A U − B versus V − I colour–colour mixed population model created using the Starburst99 model colours is used to estimate the ages of the stellar populations present within these regions. Using this technique, it is found that the star formation in NGC 1084 has taken place in a series of short bursts over the last 40 Myr or so. It is proposed that the likely trigger for enhanced star formation is merger with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy.     

Factor analysis of sphericity and roundness data of clastic quartz grains: Environmental significance

The first four sample statistics of two-dimensional projection sphericity and those of two-dimensional projection roundness of clastic quartz grains belonging to river, beach and eolian environments and to the three size grades 0.350 mm-0.297 mm, 0.297 mm-0.250 mm and 0.250 mm-0.210 mm were subjected to R-mode factor analysis. The results show that the particles of these size grades are carried largely as a traction carpet in the river and beach environments and are carried largely by saltation in the eolian environment. Sorting and abrasion are the causes of areal variation in the mean sphericity and mean roundness of a population, respectively. Selective sorting causes nonnormality in the sphericity distribution, whereas roundness distribution is originally nonnormal. Selective sorting is most effective in the eolian, less so in the beach and least so in the river environment, and consequently sphericity-nonnormality constitutes a valuable parameter for environmental discrimination. Intensity of rounding is highest in the beach, less in the eolian and least in the river environments. Due to its wide variation from environment to environment the mean roundness constitutes a valuable parameter for differentiating different environments. Sphericity variables contribute more to the discrimination of environments than roundness variables.     

Soil organic carbon mapping using remote sensing techniques and multivariate regression model

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important aspect of soil quality and plays an imperative role in soil productivity in the agriculture ecosystems. The present study was applied to estimate the SOC stock using space-borne satellite data (Landsat 4–5 Thematic Mapper [TM]) and ground verification in the Medinipur Block, Paschim Medinipur District and West Bengal in India. In total, 50 soil samples were collected randomly from the region according to field surveys using a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to estimate the surface SOC concentrations in the laboratory. Bare soil index (BSI) and normalized difference vegetation ndex (NDVI) were explored from TM data. The satellite data-derived indices were used to estimate spatial distribution of SOC using multivariate regression model. The regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between SOC and spectral indices (NDVI and BSI) and compared the observed SOC (field measure) to predict SOC (estimated from satellite images). Goodness fit test was performed to determine the significance of the relationship between observed and predicted SOC at p ≤ 0.05 level. The results of regression analysis between observed SOC and NDVI values showed significant relationship (R² = 0.54; p < 0.0075). A significant statistical relationship (r = ?0.72) was also observed between SOC and BSI. Finally, our model showed nearly 71% of the variance of SOC distribution could be explained by SOC and NDVI values. The information from this study has advanced our understanding of the ongoing ecological development that affects SOC dissemination and might be valuable for effective soil management.     

Zooplankton Distribution in Coastal Water off Gopalpur,North-Western Bay of Bengal

An interannual study on zooplankton abundance, biomass, and species composition was carried out during different seasons in two local coastal water types off Gopalpur, north-western Bay of Bengal. Although, Type-1 was observed with higher zooplankton abundance in comparison to Type-2, pattern of variation followed similar seasonal trends in both water types during individual years. Well pronounced seasonality was observed in zooplankton distribution. Zooplankton community was composed of 217 holoplankton and 22 meroplankton. The holoplankton community was predominated by copepod in terms of species diversity and abundance followed by hydrozoa, tintinnida, malacostraca, gastropoda, chaetognatha and chordata. The meroplankton were represented by larval forms viz. bivalve veliger, brachyuran zoea larvae, caridean larvae, copepod nauplii, fish egg and gastropod veliger. Dominance of copepod species viz. Acrocalanus longicornis, Paracalanus aculeatus and Paracalanus parvus were observed frequently in both water types. The species richness was higher in Type-1 in comparison to Type-2 during both the years. Salinity regimes and availability of phytoplankton prey influenced the distribution and species composition of zooplankton assemblage.     

In-orbit Performance of UVIT and First Results

The performance of the ultraviolet telescope (UVIT) on-board AstroSat is reported. The performance in orbit is also compared with estimates made from the calibrations done on the ground. The sensitivity is found to be within \(\sim \)15% of the estimates, and the spatial resolution in the NUV is found to exceed significantly the design value of \(1.8^{\prime \prime }\) and it is marginally better in the FUV. Images obtained from UVIT are presented to illustrate the details revealed by the high spatial resolution. The potential of multi-band observations in the ultraviolet with high spatial resolution is illustrated by some results.