Climate Change Studies Using Space Based Observation

Climate change is associated with earth radiation budget that depends upon incoming solar radiation, surface albedo and radiative forcing by greenhouse gases. Human activities are contributing to climate change by causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere (greenhouse gases, aerosols) and biosphere (deforestation, urbanization, irrigation). Long term and precise measurements from calibrated global observation constellation is a vital component in climate system modelling. Space based records of biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere over more than three decades are providing important information on climate change. Space observations are an important source of climate variables due to multi scale simultaneous observation (local, regional, and global scales) capability with temporal revisit in tune with requirements of land, ocean and atmospheric processes. Essential climatic variables that can be measured from space include atmosphere (upper air temperature, water vapour, precipitation, clouds, aerosols, GHGs etc.), ocean (sea ice, sea level, SST, salinity, ocean colour etc.) and land (snow, glacier, albedo, biomass, LAI/fAPAR, soil moisture etc.). India’s Earth Observation Programme addresses various aspects of land, ocean and atmospheric applications. The present and planned missions such as Resourcesat-1, Oceansat-2, RISAT, Megha-Tropiques, INSAT-3D, SARAL, Resourcesat-2, Geo-HR Imager and series of Environmental satellites (I-STAG) would help in understanding the issues related to climate changes. The paper reviews observational needs, space observation systems and studies that have been carried out at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) towards mapping/detecting the indicators of climate change, monitoring the agents of climate change and understanding the impact of climate change, in national perspectives. Studies to assess glacier retreat, changes in polar ice cover, timberline change and coral bleaching are being carried out towards monitoring of climate change indicators. Spatial methane inventories from paddy rice, livestock and wetlands have been prepared and seasonal pattern of CO₂, and CO have been analysed. Future challenges in space observations include design and placement of adequate and accurate multi-platform observational systems to monitor all parameters related to various interaction processes and generation of long term calibrated climate data records pertaining to land ocean and atmosphere.     

Patterns of carbon sequestration in forests of western ghats and study of applicability of remote sensing in generating carbon credits through afforestation/reforestation

Satellite remote sensing is a proven tool for mapping landuse patterns and estimating vegetation biomass/carbon. Present study aims at estimating the potential of forests of Radhanagari WLS (Western Ghats, India) to sequester the atmospheric carbon-di-oxide, using ground based observations coupled with satellite remote sensing. The study area was stratified for dominant forest types based on the structure and composition of vegetation and elevation variations. Permanent sample plots were laid down in these homogeneous vegetation strata (HVS) to make different observations during time 1 and time 2. Carbon sequestration by plantations was also studied and compared with natural forests. Species and area-specific biomass equations were used for estimating carbon pool and sequestration. Among natural forests ‘mixed moist deciduous’ forests exhibited highest sequestration rate (8%), whereas, plantation as obvious had a comparatively higher sequestration rate than natural forests (20.27%). Total carbon sequestration by forests of the Radhanagari WLS between 2004 and 2006 is 78742.09 tons. Eligible land for reforestation activity under clean development mechanism (CDM) of Kyoto Protocol was identified using satellite remote sensing using 1989 and 2005 datasets and it was observed that the potential land that can be used for reforestation activity is 10080 ha.     

Silicate and carbonate weathering in the drainage basins of the Ganga-Ghaghara-Indus head waters: Contributions to major ion and Sr isotope geochemistry

The role of silicate and carbonate weathering in contributing to the major cation and Sr isotope geochemistry of the headwaters of the Ganga-Ghaghara-Indus system is investigated from the available data. The contributions from silicate weathering are determined from the composition of granites/ gneisses, soil profiles developed from them and from the chemistry of rivers flowing predominantly through silicate terrains. The chemistry of Precambrian carbonate outcrops of the Lesser Himalaya provided the data base to assess the supply from carbonate weathering. Mass balance calculations indicate that on an average ∼ 77% (Na + K) and ∼ 17% (Ca + Mg) in these rivers is of silicate origin. The silicate Sr component in these waters average ∼40% and in most cases it exceeds the carbonate Sr. The observations that (i) the⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Sr/Ca in the granites/gneisses bracket the values measured in the head waters; (ii) there is a strong positive correlation between⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the rivers and the silicate derived cations in them, suggest that silicate weathering is a major source for the highly radiogenic Sr isotope composition of these source waters. The generally low⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (< 0.720) and Sr/Ca (∼ 0.2 nM/ μM) in the Precambrian carbonate outcrops rules them out as a major source of Sr and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in the headwaters on a basin-wide scale, however, the high⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (∼ 0.85) in a few of these carbonates suggests that they can be important for particular streams. The analysis of⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Ca/Sr data of the source waters show that they diverge from a low⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and low Ca/Sr end member. The high Ca/Sr of the Precambrian carbonates precludes them from being this end member, other possible candidates being Tethyan carbonates and Sr rich evaporite phases such as gypsum and celestite. The results of this study should find application in estimating the present-day silicate and carbonate weathering rates in the Himalaya and associated CO₂ consumption rates and their global significance.     

Wet and dry spell analysis of Global Climate Model-generated precipitation using power laws and wavelet transforms

Climate model simulations for the twenty-first century point toward changing characteristics of precipitation. This paper investigates the impact of climate change on precipitation in the Kansabati River basin in India. A downscaling method, based on Bayesian Neural Network (BNN), is applied to project precipitation generated from six Global Climate Models (GCMs) using two scenarios (A2 and B2). Wet and dry spell properties of monthly precipitation series at five meteorologic stations in the Kansabati basin are examined by plotting successive wet and dry durations (in months) against their number of occurrences on a double-logarithmic paper. Straight-line relationships on such graphs show that power laws govern the pattern of successive persistent wet and dry monthly spells. Comparison of power-law behaviors provides useful interpretation about the temporal precipitation pattern. The impact of low-frequency precipitation variability on the characteristics of wet and dry spells is also evaluated using continuous wavelet transforms. It is found that inter-annual cycles play an important role in the formation of wet and dry spells.     

Late Cainozoic stratigraphy,palaeomagnetic chronology and vegetational history from Lake George,N.S.W.

The sedimentary record from Lake George provides the longest relatively continuous Quaternary continental sequence yet available from Australia, and may record one of the longest Upper Cainozoic lacustrine records in the world.

Palaeomagnetic analysis of a 36 m core from the lake floor identifies a sequence of deposition extending through the Brunhes and Matuyama, to the Gauss magnetic Chron. A longer core from the same site, but with incomplete recovery, extends to 72 m in lacustrine sediment; the age of the base of this core estimated by extrapolation is between 4.2 and 7 Ma. As there are still older and deeper sediments in the basin, extending to an estimated depth of 134 m, the age of the tectonic formation of the Lake George basin must be reckoned as Middle Miocene or older.

The pattern of facies organisation through time demonstrates a phase of deep water deposition extending from the base of the cored sequence (72 m) up to 51.5 m, at which time a major change took place. A disconformity developed at this level, associated with a period of deep weathering and a prolonged phase of slope mantle deposition (from 51.5 to 30.8 m). A gradual return to lacustrine environments, with diminishing proportion of slope wash detritus, resulted in increased rates of deposition coincident with the Jaramillo Subchron at 21.5 m. Thereafter, throughout the Brunhes magnetic Chron, lacustrine conditions dominated, varying from deep to lake dry conditions in a rhythmic fashion, and reflecting the major climatic oscillations of the past 700 000 years, becoming more regular in the past 400 000 years.

The pollen analytical record of the upper 8.6 m, covering the last 350 000 years, provides the main framework for the reconstruction of climatic history. The pollen and algal records indicate a sequence of vegetation and lake level changes, in which four major glacial/interglacial cycles are correlated with stages 1 to 10 of the ¹⁸0 marine record. This provides by far the longest continuous biostratigraphic framework for the Quaternary period in Australia.

Comparison between the palaeoclimatic record and the lake level evidence shows that there is no simple correlation between the lake level fluctuations and the glacial/ interglacial oscillations. In fact, major falls in the lake level occured both at the peak of cold glacials and during the warm interglacials. Though the falls in the lake levels during a warm period (interglacial) can be explained by high rates of evaporation, drying during maximum cold can be explained best in terms of a fall in precipitation. Permanent to deep‐lake conditions generally occurred during intermediate cool periods following warm intervals, when perhaps the seas were still warm and low rates of evaporation on land prevailed. On the other hand, short periods of shallow to deep lake levels also occurred during warm (interglacial) periods, showing that these were associated with reasonably high rates of precipitation.     

Cuttability assessment of hard coal seams

Summary A number of field and laboratory tests have been carried out on more than 15 coal seams of compressive strengths ranging from 19 MPa to 44 MPa to evolve methods which would help in the selection of suitable coaling machines for hard coal seams. The effect of physico-mechanical properties on cuttability were studied in the laboratory for all these coal seams to identify the relevant parameters affecting the specific energy of coal cuttability. These data were subjected to regression analysis to find the best fit for estimation of laboratory specific energy of coal samples on the basis of simple laboratory and field tests for the strength parameters. Field studies were also conducted over a large number of active mechanized coal faces to study in situ cuttability along with the geo-mining conditions of the site. The field and the laboratory data so generated were correlated and an attempt is made to establish a relationship for estimating the field specific energy for a particular capacity of coaling machines by considering the geo-mining domain of the field in totality.     

Malaria and related environmental issues in India: a case study of Aligarh city

Malaria is one of the most widespread diseases in the world. Endemic malaria no longer occurs in many temperate zones as a result of social and economic improvement. At present malaria is the Third World's most dreaded killer. It kills over 1 million people and causes 300–500 million episodes of illness. In India, malaria-reported deaths have shown an upward trend. In 1955, a drive to eradicate malaria was launched in India. But after initial success it failed and malaria made a comeback. Malarial mosquitoes generally prefer unpolluted natural breeding sites but now they have adapted to the changed urban environment. In this paper, an attempt has been made to examine the occurrence of malaria and related environmental issues in a small town of India. Aligarh city, lying in the shadow of the country's capital New Delhi, was selected as a case study. Data were collected mainly from household surveys with the help of questionnaire interviews. About 2,185 households belonging to different income groups were sampled. The differences in the occurrence of malaria in the different income households (in 87% low, 69% lower-middle, 65% middle, 14% upper-middle, and 5% upper) suggest that most of these differences are related to the environmental conditions existing inside and outside their homes, such as poor drainage system, poor sullage disposal, open blocked drains, waterlogging and indoor water storage in open containers. Commitment both by the Government and local residents is needed to improve the environmental conditions and eradicate malaria.     

Using spatial statistics to identify the uranium hotspot in groundwater in the mid-eastern Gangetic plain,India

The occurrence of uranium in groundwater is of particular interest due to its toxicological and radiological properties. It has been considered as a relevant contaminant for drinking water even at a low concentration. Uranium is a ubiquitously occurring radionuclide in the environment. Four hundred and fifty-six (456) groundwater samples from different locations of five districts of South Bihar (SB) were collected and concentrations of uranium (U) were analyzed using a light-emitting diode (LED) fluorimetric technique. Uranium concentrations in groundwater samples varied from 0.1 µg l^?1 to 238.2 µg l^?1 with an average value of 12.3 µg l^?1 in five districts of Bihar in the mid-eastern Gangetic plain. This study used hot spot spatial statistics to identify the distribution of elevated uranium concentration in groundwater. The hypothesis whether spatial distribution of high value and low value of U is more likely spatially clustered due to random process near a uranium hotspot in groundwater was tested based on z score and Getis-Ord Gi* statistics. The method implemented in this study, can be utilized in the field of risk assessment and decision making to locate potential areas of contamination.     

Evidence of gas hydrate accumulation and its resource estimation in Andaman deep water basin from seismic and well log data

2D and 3D seismic reflection and well log data from Andaman deep water basin are analyzed to investigate geophysical evidence related to gas hydrate accumulation and saturation. Analysis of seismic data reveals the presence of a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) in the area showing all the characteristics of a classical BSR associated with gas hydrate accumulation. Double BSRs are also observed on some seismic sections of area (Area B) that suggest substantial changes in pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions in the past. The manifestation of changes in P–T conditions can also be marked by the varying gas hydrate stability zone thickness (200–650 m) in the area. The 3D seismic data of Area B located in the ponded fill, west of Alcock Rise has been pre-stack depth migrated. A significant velocity inversion across the BSR (1,950–1,650 m/s) has been observed on the velocity model obtained from pre-stack depth migration. The areas with low velocity of the order of 1,450 m/s below the BSR and high amplitudes indicate presence of dissociated or free gas beneath the hydrate layer. The amplitude variation with offset analysis of BSR depicts increase in amplitude with offset, a similar trend as observed for the BSR associated with the gas hydrate accumulations. The presence of gas hydrate shown by logging results from a drilled well for hydrocarbon exploration in Area B, where gas hydrate deposit was predicted from seismic evidence, validate our findings. The base of the hydrate layer derived from the resistivity and acoustic transit-time logs is in agreement with the depth of hydrate layer interpreted from the pre-stack depth migrated seismic section. The resistivity and acoustic transit-time logs indicate 30-m-thick hydrate layer at the depth interval of 1,865–1,895 m with 30 % hydrate saturation. The total hydrate bound gas in Area B is estimated to be 1.8 × 10¹⁰ m³, which is comparable (by volume) to the reserves in major conventional gas fields.     

Use of SARAL/AltiKa Observations for Modeling River Flow

In the absence of many gauging stations in the major and mighty river systems, there is a need for satellite-based observations to estimate temporal variations in the river water storage and associated water management. In this study, SARAL/AltiKa application for setting up hydraulic model (HEC-RAS) and river flow simulations over Tapi River India has been discussed. Waveform data of 40 Hz from Ka band altimeter has been used for water levels retrieval in the Tapi river. SARAL/AltiKa retrieved water levels were converted to discharge in the upstream location (track-926) using the rating curve available for the nearby gauging site and using linear spatial interpolation technique. Steady state simulations were done for various flow conditions in the upstream. Validation of river flow model was done in the downstream location (track-367) by comparing simulated and altimeter retrieved water levels (RMSE 0.67 m). Validated model was used to develop rating curve between water levels and simulated discharge for the downstream location which enables to monitor discharge variations from satellite platform in the absence of in situ observations. It has been demonstrated that SARAL/AltiKa data has potential for river flow monitoring and modeling which will feed for flood disaster forecasting, management and planning.