Study of variation of aerosol optical properties over a high altitude station in Indian Western Himalayan region,palampur using raman lidar system

A Raman lidar system was operated along with the Microtops sunphotometer measurements to carry out the study of the variation of the optical properties of aerosols over Palampur (32.11° N and 76.53° E), India from 17th April to 11th May 2019. The lidar system is furnished with Raman (N₂) channel and depolarization channel allowing independent measurement of Lidar Ratio (LR) and linear depolarization ratio. The study reveals that the majority of the aerosols approximately were restricted within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and very less loading was present in the free troposphere over the study location. The particle loading over the study period was found to be very less with aerosol backscatter coefficient (at 355 nm) ranging from ～0.13 Mm^?1sr^?1 to ～7.25 Mm^?1sr^?1 with mean value of 2.67?±?0.82 Mm^?1sr^?1 and it is well supplemented by the mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.37?±?0.13 obtained from Microtops Sunphotometer. The average lidar ratio values for 0-1 km altitude (L1) 72?±?13sr, for 1-2 km (L2) altitude 55?±?8sr, for 2-3 km (L3) 54?±?15sr were observed as suggesting dominance of the biomass burning aerosols and anthropogenic aerosols. The particle depolarization ratio (355 nm) values were found from approximately 4.8?±?2.7% to 11.5?±?1.9% with the mean value of 7?±?1.3% suggesting the presence of non-spherical particles. To trace the sources of the pollution, we derived the HYSPLIT trajectory which shows the majority of the movement was from local sources.

     

A proposed new approach for groundwater resources assessment in India

Assessment of groundwater resources in India is guided by National Water Policy (1987, 2002) which states that groundwater resources can be exploited only up to its recharge limit. The methodology for groundwater resources assessment in India is broadly based on Ground Water Resources Estimation Methodology, 1997 and it involves assessment of annual replenishable groundwater resources (recharge), annual groundwater draft (utilization) and the percentage of utilization with respect to recharge (stage of development). The assessment units (blocks/watersheds) are categorized based on stage of groundwater development (utilization) and the long term water level trend. The present methodology though useful in identification and prioritization of areas for groundwater management, falls short of addressing several critical issues like spatial and temporal variation of groundwater availability within the aquifer, accessibility of groundwater resources and quality of groundwater. This paper introduces a new categorisation scheme considering the above issues. The proposed scheme takes into account four criteria, viz. (i) stage of exploitation, (ii) extractability factor, (iii) temporal availability factor and (iv) quality factor. In comparison to the existing method used for categorisation, the proposed approach is more inclusive. The methodology is also equally suitable for both alluvial and hard rock terrain since it takes into consideration the variable characteristics of different types of aquifers and convergence of quantitative and qualitative assessment. The categorisation proposed here involves GIS based integration of different parameters/ themes. This allows better representation of spatial variability. The proposed methodology is demonstrated in this paper taking a case study from a hard rock terrain in central India.     

Evaluation of groundwater resources in wide inundation areas of the Mekong River basin

Severe floods can have disastrous impacts and cause wide ranging destruction in the Mekong River basin. At the same time groundwater resources are significantly influenced and extensively recharged by flood water in inundation areas of the basin. This study determines the variation of groundwater resources caused by flooding over inundated areas located in lower part of the Mekong River basin using numerical modeling and field observations. The inundation calculations have been evaluated using satellite image outputs. Comparing large, medium and small flood events, we conclude that flood control which reduces the area of inundation, results in a reduction of groundwater resources in the area. In 1993, a 19% reduction in inundation areas resulted in a 31% reduction in groundwater storage. In 1998, a 44% reduction in inundation areas led to a 42% reduction in groundwater storage. Thus, while flood control activities are vital to reduce negative flood impacts in the Mekong River basin, they also negatively impact groundwater resources in the area.     

Estimation of lateral force contribution of boundary elements in steel plate shear wall systems

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are used as lateral force‐resisting systems in new and retrofitted structures in high‐seismic regions. Various international codes recommend the design of SPSWs assuming the entire lateral load to be resisted by the infill plates. Such a design procedure results in significant overstrength leading to uneconomical and inefficient use of materials. This study is focused on the estimation of contribution of boundary elements in resisting the lateral force considering their interaction with the web plates of SPSW systems. Initially, the relative contribution of web plates and boundary frames is computed for a single‐bay single‐story frame with varying rigidity and end connections of boundary elements. Nonlinear static analyses are carried out for the analytical models in OpenSees platform to quantify this contribution. Later, this study is extended to the code‐based designed three‐story, six‐story, and nine‐story SPSWs of varying aspect ratios. Based on the results obtained, a new design procedure is proposed taking the lateral strengths of the boundary frames into account. Nonlinear time‐history analyses are conducted for 40 recorded ground motions representing the design basis earthquake and maximum considered earthquake hazard levels to compare the interstory and residual drift response and yield mechanisms of SPSWs designed as per current practice and the proposed methodology. Finally, an expression has been proposed to predict the lateral force contribution of the infill plate and the boundary frame of SPSWs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic strengthening of RC columns using external steel cage

Steel caging technique is commonly used for the seismic strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) columns of rectangular cross‐section. The steel cage consists of angle sections placed at corners and held together by battens at intervals along the height. In the present study, a rational design method is developed to proportion the steel cage considering its confinement effect on the column concrete. An experimental study was carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed design method and detailing of steel cage battens within potential plastic hinge regions. One ordinary RC column and two strengthened columns were investigated experimentally under constant axial compressive load and gradually increasing reversed cyclic lateral displacements. Both strengthened columns showed excellent behavior in terms of flexural strength, lateral stiffness, energy dissipation and ductility due to the external confinement of the column concrete. The proposed model for confinement effect due to steel cage reasonably predicted moment capacities of the strengthened sections, which matched with the observed experimental values. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wavelet-ANFIS models for forecasting monsoon flows: Case study for the Gandak River (India)

WANFIS, a conjunction model of discreet wavelet transform (DWT) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was developed for forecasting the current-day flow in a river when only available data are historical flows. Discreet wavelet transform decomposed the observed flow time series (OFTS) into wavelet components which captured useful information on three resolution levels. A smoothened flow time series (SFTS) was formed by filtering out the noise wavelet components and recombining the effective wavelet components. WANFIS model is essentially an ANFIS model with SFTS hydrograph as the input, while ANFIS and autoregression (AR) models, developed for comparison purpose, use OFTS hydrograph as input. For performance evaluation, the developed models were utilized for predicting daily monsoon flows for the Gandak River in Bihar state of India. During monsoon (June–October), this river carries large flows making the entire North Bihar unsafe for habitation or cultivation. Based on various performance indices, it was concluded that WANFIS models simulate the monsoon flows in the Gandak more reliably than ANFIS and AR models. The best performing WANFIS model, with four previous days’ flows as input, predicted the current-day Gandak flows with 80.7% accuracy while ANFIS and AR models predicted it with only 71.8 and 51.2% accuracies.     

厦门西港甲藻孢囊种类和数量分布特征

采用超声波分离、网筛（28μm和95μm）过滤、重液（CdI-KI)浮选等方法，对采自厦门西港的7份沉积物样品进行了分析鉴定。结果表明，厦门西港有甲藻孢囊5属10种，其中小型亚历山大藻（Alexandrium minutum)为中国沿海首次记录。沉积物中甲藻孢囊数量范围为18.2-138ind/g沉积物（湿重），高数量密集区主要分布在内湾水域；表层至表层以下2cm沉积物中的孢囊数量明显多于3-5cm底层的。孢囊数量的分布格局与本港的地形、水交换条件密切相关，不同的养殖类型对孢囊的沉降和积累也有重要影响。     

Study of substrate and physico-chemical base classification of the rivers of Nepal

The rivers in Nepal are classified in terms of geographical regions but a more scientific classification such as on the ba-sis of morphology is clearly lacking. This study was done in 9 rivers namely Jhikhukhola of the Koshi system, Aandhikhola, Arungkhola, East Rapti, Karrakhola, Seti and main channel Narayani of the Gandaki system, and two independent systems within Nepal, Bagmati and Tinau. Among the morphologies, river bed or the substratum was taken as the main variable for the analysis which was categ...