The source and fate of sediment and mercury in Hunza River basin,Northern Areas,Pakistan

This article presents results of mercury in surface waters from Hunza River basin, Northern Areas, Pakistan. Small‐scale gold mining activities along the Hunza and Gilgit rivers are long known to be discharging mercury in the amalgamation and roasting processes. Previous studies reported high mercury concentrations in soils close to mining operations as well as serious health problems for miners. However, none of the studies have focused on the level of contamination in aqueous environments. This is the first study on the investigation of source and fate of sediment and river‐borne mercury in the Hunza River. The samples collected near gold panning sites showed higher mercury concentrations than critical levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The observed dissolved mercury concentrations ranged from 5.10 to 25.25 ng/l, whereas particulate‐bound mercury ranged from 4.85 to 154.62 ng/l. Particulate‐phase mercury corresponded to more than 75% of the total observed mercury concentrations for all of the sampled rivers. Thus, suspended sediments represented the major pathway of the riverine mercury transport. A mass balance calculation suggested an annual mercury flux of 48.6 g/km² into the Hunza River basin. The samples collected from the most affected river, the Shimsal River, averaged to have 108 ng/l total mercury. This amount was close to the average soil mercury data of 151 ng/l as reported by the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation in 2001. The dominant source of contamination was shown to be the leaching of large quantities of mercury from the mercury‐rich sediment and flood plain soil into the rivers, rather than the direct release from mining activities. Significant decrease in both dissolved and particulate‐bound mercury concentration downstream of Attabad Lake suggested that mercury is being accumulated or consumed in the lake. Although minimization or elimination of mercury loses from the mining process seems important for the well‐being of the miners, preventing the remobilization of accumulated mercury is equally important in mercury control in this region. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in the frequency of tropical cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

Summary  Changes in the frequency of tropical cyclones developing over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal have been studied utilizing 122 year (1877–1998) data of tropical cyclone frequency. There have been significant increasing trends in the cyclone frequency over the Bay of Bengal during November and May which are main cyclone months. During transitional monsoon months; June and September however, the frequency has decreased. The results have been presented for five months, i.e., May-November which are relevant as far as tropical cyclone frequency over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are concerned. The tropical cyclone frequency in the Arabian Sea has not shown any significant trend, probably due to small normal frequency. The frequency time series has been subjected to the spectral analysis to obtain the significant periods. The cyclone frequency over the Bay of Bengal during May has shown a 29 year cycle. A significant 44 year cycle has been found during November. Over the Arabian Sea significant cycles of 13 and 10 years have been observed during May-June and November, respectively. The tropical cyclone frequency in the North Indian Ocean has a prominent El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) scale cycle (2–5 years) during all above five months. The annual cyclone frequency exhibits 29 year and ENSO scale (2–4 years) oscillations. There is a reduction in tropical cyclone activity over the Bay of Bengal in severe cyclone months May and November during warm phases of ENSO. Examination of the frequencies of severe cyclones with maximum sustained winds ≥ 48 knots has revealed that these cyclones have become more frequent in the North Indian Ocean during intense cyclone period of the year. The rate of intensification of tropical disturbances to severe cyclone stage has registered an upward trend. Received June 7, 1999/Revised March 20, 2000     

Long-range forecasting of forest fire danger based on the SLAV model seasonal ensemble forecasts

Developed is a scheme of the long-range forest fire danger (FD) forecasting based on the computation of the Nesterov??s index and on hydrodynamic forecasts of air temperature and precipitation of the SLAV model. The satellite information on the climatic distribution of the snow cover was taken into account for the forecast issuance. It is proposed to express the FD index not using traditional classes of fire danger but in ??above the norm,?? ??norm,?? and ??below the norm?? gradations. Presented are the results of author??s trials of the method based on the retrospective model data for six years. Discussed are the approaches to the improvement of the method of long-range fire danger forecasting.     

Multimodel approach to seasonal prediction

Multimodel forecast fields of temperature at 850 hPa and seasonal precipitation are combined using a procedure of two-step averaging. It is shown that the resulting forecasts averaged over the multimodel ensemble outperform the forecasts of individual models. The verification of forecast production has been carried out on cross-validated hindcasts according to WMO requirements. The simulation of spatiotemporal variability of atmospheric variables is assessed. The results indicate that the combined models are rather skillful in the tropical oceans, while the accuracy in the extratropics is poor.     

The Effects of Diagenesis on the Reservoir Characters in Ridge sandstone of Jurassic Jumara dome,Kachchh, Western India

Ridge sandstone of Jurassic Jumara dome of Kachchh was studied in an attempt to quantify the effects of diagenetic process such as compaction, cementation and dissolution on reservoir properties. The average framework composition of Ridge sandstone is Q₈₀F₁₇L₃, medium-to coarse grained and subarkose to arkose. Syndepositional silty to clayey matrix (3% average) is also observed that occurs as pore filling. The diagenetic processes include compaction, cementation and precipitation of authigenic cements, dissolution of unstable grains and grain replacement and development of secondary porosity. The major cause of intense reduction in primary porosity of Ridge sandstone is early cementation which include silica, carbonate, iron, kaolinite, illite, smectite, mixed layer illite-smectite and chlorite, which prevents mechanical compaction. The plots of COPL versus CEPL and IGV versus total cement suggest the loss of primary porosity in Ridge sandstone is due to cementation. Cements mainly iron and carbonate occurs in intergranular pores of detrital grains and destroys porosity. The clay mineral occurs as pore filling and pore lining and deteriorates the porosity and permeability of the Ridge sandstone. The reservoir quality of the studied sandstone is reduced by clay minerals (kaolinite, illite, smectite, mixed layer illitesmectite, chlorite), carbonate, iron and silica cementation but on the other hand, it is increased by alteration and dissolution of the unstable grain, in addition to partial dissolution of carbonate cements. The potential of the studied sandstone to serve as a reservoir is strongly related to sandstone diagenesis.     

Pottery glaze—An excellent adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution

In the present study,pottery glaze was investigated as an excellent adsorbent for the removal of Cu(Ⅱ) ions from aqueous solution.Effect of concentration,contact time,pH,and effect of electrolyte concentration,adsorbent doses and temperature were studied by using batch process to optimize conditions for maximum adsorption. Equilibrium isotherm data were analyzed using Langmuir,Freundlich and Temkin isotherms at 30,40 and 50℃. Thermodynamic parameters such as standard enthalpy change(ΔH0),free energy change(ΔG 0)and entropy change (ΔS0)were also evaluated.These parameters indicated that adsorption process is endothermic and spontaneous in nature.The mean energy calculated from Dubinin-Radushkeuich(D-R)isotherms showed chemical nature of adsorption.The kinetic data were evaluated using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second order kinetic equations and it was found that data best fitted pseudo-second-order model over a wide range of initial Cu(Ⅱ)concentrations supporting that chemisorption process was involved.The adsorption and desorption studies carried out by batch process suggested 100% desorption of Cu(Ⅱ)ions with 0.1 N HCl solution.     

Geochemistry and origin of Mn-deposits in the Waziristan ophiolite complex, north Waziristan, Pakistan

The Waziristan ophiolite complex is located along the western margin of the Indian plate in northwestern Pakistan. The Mn-deposits in the Saidgi and Shuidar areas are part of this ophiolite complex. These deposits, both banded and massive in nature, are hosted by metachert and are generally overlying metavolcanics. Braunite and cryptocrystalline quartz are the main constituents of the manganese ores in both areas. Hematite occurs in the Shuidar deposits as a minor phase. Metacherts are microcrystalline aggregates of microcrystalline quartz, chalcedony, and lesser hematite. Chemically, the studied Mn-deposits and associated metacherts are very similar to those formed by submarine hydrothermal effusive processes. The deposits originated along sea-floor spreading centers (mid-ocean ridges) within the Neo-Tethys Ocean and were later obducted as part of the Waziristan ophiolite complex. Received: 9 January 1998 / Accepted: 10 March 1999     

Source and origin of glacial paleovalley-fill sediments (Upper Ordovician) of Sarah Formation in central Saudi Arabia

A study was carried out on the combination of petrographies, geochemistry (major and trace), weathering and the digenesis of 31 sandstones samples to determine their provenance and depositional tectonic setting of sedimentary basins. Based on the composition of Detrital grains (point counting), most of the Sarah sandstones were classified as quartz arenites types (99% on an average). The petrographic data indicated that the resultant mature sandstones are derived from recycled and craton interior tectonic provenance. Tectonic setting discrimination diagrams based on major elements suggest that sandstones were deposited in a passive margin and polycyclic continental tectonic setting. The relationship between K₂O/Na₂O ratio and SiO₂ showed that the Sarah sandstone samples fall into the passive margin field. The chemical index of alteration (CIA?=?63.84%) of sandstones suggested moderate weathering or reworking in the area. The concentration of trace elements indicates that the sediments were probably derived from the mixed sedimentary-meta sedimentary provenance and changes in sedimentary process due to climatic variations. The main diagenetic events were in the form of cements, which occur as grain coats and as pore fillings. An integrated approach showed that the parent area of paleovalley-fill sediment is probably a complex of granite, metasedimentary and pre-existing sedimentary rocks.     

Strong spherical magnetogasdynamic shock waves in rotating stellar atmosphere

An analytic expression for the velocity of magnetogasdynamic shock wave, propagating in rotating inter stellar atmosphere has been obtained by using the method of characteristics and considering the effect of coriolis force. It has been shown that in the outer convective layer of the star Coriolis force and magnetic field both have significant effect on the shock velocity.