Preliminary studies on the characterization of clay minerals in the Sundarban mangrove core sediments,West Bengal,India

Clay mineral found in rivers, estuaries, and marine sedimentary environments is an important group of minerals which is the by-product of chemical weathering. The main constituents of this fine-grained sediment include mudstones, clay stones, and shales. This is probably the first report of a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigation on the clay minerals to characterize them in the Sundarban mangrove core sediments of Moipith Matla and Belamati Island. This study was carried out in the selected stretch for FTIR and SEM analyses. The study reveals the dominant association of kaolinite with subordinate amount of quartz, illite, and chlorite. The abundance of kaolinite, illite, chlorite, and clay with quartz helps in increasing the sediment in the island region. The geochemical and mineralogical evolution of mangrove sediment results in the interaction of biotic and abiotic parameters, whose balance is conditioned by the climate that governs the hydrologic regime, the sedimentation dynamics, and of the organic matter. This study on the characterization of clay provides substantial impact in the water-holding capacity, productivity, and mineralogical and chemical transformation in order to establish much more and intermediate equilibrium between marine influence and continental contribution, as a part of the estuarine environment.     

Waste water management and water quality of river Yamuna in the megacity of Delhi

The present study aims at assessing water quality of river Yamuna in one of the world’s most polluted and populated megacities, Delhi. Conductivity, salinity and sodium content were within the permissible categories. Chloride concentration exceeded acceptable levels of drinking water guidelines. Water quality was poor at all locations with respect to heavy metal contamination, especially along the lower section of the Delhi stretch. Heavy metal concentrations were manifold higher than the acceptable limits of drinking water according to the BIS guidelines and reached ~29, 4.9, 10, 31, 27, 83, 7.3 and 27 times higher, respectively, for metals aluminum, copper, chromium, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese and nickel. The Najafgarh and the Shahdara drains are major point sources. Low oxidation–reduction potential reflected high organic loads and traces of eutrophication together with significant levels of nitrate and total phosphate. Discharges from agriculture, sewage and power plants could be important sources of high metal concentration. This calls for urgent measures to be taken for prevention of metal contamination in the river, through both, technology as well as implementation of regulations in order to sustain huge populations in megacities like Delhi. Waste water treatment from point sources needs tremendous improvement on the city. Treatment of the entire waste generated up to the tertiary level is required for minimizing dissolved solids, especially toxic metals, and rendering reuse in agriculture suitable. Treatment plants need proper operation, maintenance, uninterrupted power supply and regular monitoring. Various measure and programmes need to be undertaken to ensure safe reuse of wastewater.     

Application of kinematic vorticity and gold mineralization for the wall rock alterations of shear zone at Dungash gold mining,Central Eastern Desert,Egypt

The use of porphyroclasts rotating in a flowing matrix to estimate mean kinematic vorticity number (Wm) is important for quantifying the relative contributions of pure and simple shear in wall rocks alterations of shear zone at Dungash gold mine. Furthermore, it shows the relationship between the gold mineralization and deformation and also detects the orientation of rigid objects during progressive deformation. The Dungash gold mine area is situated in an EW-trending quartz vein along a shear zone in metavolcanic and metasedimentary host rocks in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These rocks are associated with the major geologic structures which are attributed to various deformational stages of the Neoproterozoic basement rocks. We conclude that finite strain in the deformed rocks is of the same order of magnitude for all units of metavolcano-sedimentary rocks. The kinematic vorticity number for the metavolcanic and metasedimentary samples in the Dungash area range from 0.80 to 0.92, and together with the strain data suggest deviations from simple shear. It is concluded that nappe stacking occurred early during the underthrusting event probably by brittle imbrication and that ductile strain was superimposed on the nappe structure during thrusting. Furthermore, we conclude that disseminated mineralization, chloritization, carbonatization and silicification of the wall rocks are associated with fluids migrating along shearing, fracturing and foliation of the metamorphosed wall rocks.     

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of TanDEM-X DEM over western Himalayan glaciated terrain

Glaciers have a high impact in the socio-economic sectors including water supply, energy production, flood and avalanches. A high precision digital elevation model (DEM) is required to monitor glaciers and to study various glacier processes. The present study deals with the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the DEM generated from the bistatic TanDEM-X data by comparing it with GPS, Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) data and standard global DEMs such as Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global DEM (ASTER GDEM). The study area consists of highly undulating glaciated terrain in western Himalaya, India. The results reveal that TanDEM-X is slightly better than SRTM both qualitatively and quantitatively, whereas ASTER GDEM showing maximum discrepancy among the three DEMs. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the TanDEM-X DEM with respect to GPS is 3.5 m at lower relief and 11.9 m at glaciated terrain, against 6.7 and 12.5 m for SRTM and 9.3 and 19.8 m for ASTER GDEM, respectively, for the same sites. On an average, for the whole study area, the RMSE of TanDEM-X is 7.9 m, SRTM is 9.3 m and ASTER GDM is 14.2 m. The RMSE of TanDEM-X, SRTM and ASTER GDEM with respect to ICESat are 16.3, 19.9 and 101.1 m, respectively. It is evident from the analysis that though SRTM is closer to TanDEM-X in terms of accuracy in the mountainous terrain, however, TanDEM-X will be more useful for studying glacier dynamics and topography.     

Organic carbon to Th ratios of marine organic matter

Uncertainties in the determinations of particulate organic carbon flux from measurements of the disequilibrium between ²³⁴Th and its mother isotope uranium depend largely on the determination of the organic carbon to ²³⁴thorium (OC : ²³⁴Th) ratio. The variability of the OC : ²³⁴Th ratio in different size fractions of suspended matter, ranging from the truly dissolved (< 3 or 10 kDa) fraction to several millimeter sized marine snow, as well as from sediment trap material was assessed during an eight-day cruise off the coast of California in Spring 1997. The affinity of polysaccharide particles called TEP (transparent exopolymer particles) and inorganic clays to ²³⁴Th was investigated through correlations. The observed decrease in the OC : ²³⁴Th ratio with size, within the truly dissolved to small particle size range, is consistent with concepts of irreversible colloidal aggregation of non-porous nano-aggregates. No consistent trend in the OC : ²³⁴Th ratio was observed for particles between 1 or 10 to 6000 μm. Origin and fate of marine particles belonging to this size range are diverse and interactions with ²³⁴Th too complex to expect a consistent relationship between OC : ²³⁴Th ratio and size, if all categories of particles are included. The relationship between OC and ²³⁴Th was significant when data from the truly dissolved fraction were excluded. However, variability was very large, implying that OC flux calculations using different collection methods (e.g. sediment trap, Niskin bottles or pumps) would differ significantly. Therefore a large uncertainty in OC flux calculations based on the ²³⁴Th method exist due to individual decisions as to which types or size classes of particles best represent sinking material in a specific area. Preferential binding of ²³⁴Th to specific substance classes could explain the high variability in the relationship between OC and ²³⁴Th. At 15 m, in the absence of lithogenic material, the OC : ²³⁴Th ratio was a function of the fraction of TEP or TEP-precursors in OC, confirming that acidic polysaccharides have a high affinity for ²³⁴Th and that TEP carry a ligand for ²³⁴Th. Preferential binding to TEP might change distribution patterns of ²³⁴Th considerably, as TEP may sink when included in large aggregates, or remain suspended or even ascend when existing as individual particles or microaggregates. In the presence of lithogenic matter, at depths below 30 m, the ratio between ²³⁴Th and OC was linearly related to the ratio between alumino silicates and C. The affinity of inorganic substances to ²³⁴Th is known to be relatively low, suggesting that a coating of acidic polysaccharides was responsible for the apparently high affinity between ²³⁴Th and lithogenic material. Overall, OC : ²³⁴Th ratios of all material collected during this investigation can best be explained by differential binding of ²³⁴Th to both TEP and TEP-precursors, as well as to lithogenic minerals, which were very abundant in an intermediate nepheloid layer between 50 and 90 m.     

On the Validity and Evolution of Assilina Species during the Ypresian–Lutetian: Example from Bir Dakhl, Eastern Desert, Egypt

The genus Assilina is a taxon within the Nummulitacea that appeared early in the Ypresian (Early Eocene) and continued until the end of the Lutetian (Middle Eocene). Thus, this taxon could be useful for the chronostratigraphy of this time interval. Lower Eocene rocks in southern Galala, Egypt are exposed at Bir Dakhl. This section includes marl sediments with debris flow shallow-marine facies deposits laid down during early Eocene times and includes fossils of large foraminifera: Assilina placentula Deshayes, 1838 and Nummulites burdigalensis de la Harpe, 1926. These are systematically treated, described and illustrated. Nummulites burdigalensis belongs to the N. burdigalensis group, and Assilina placentula belongs to the group of Assilina exponens. This assumption is based on qualitative morphology and quantitative measurements. Both species, together with Operculina libyca Schwager, 1883, enable the assignment of the Bir Dakhl (D5-40 Section) to the Early Eocene, Ypresian (SBZ10 of Serra- Kiel et al., 1998) supporting an earlier opinion that Assilina placentula belongs to that zone in the calibrated larger foraminiferal biostratigraphic zonation.     

Neutral aldoses as source indicators for marine snow

The chemical characteristics of aggregating material in the marine environment are largely unknown. We investigated neutral aldose (NA) abundance and composition in aggregation of marine snow and other organic matter (OM) size fractions in the field. Four sample sets were fractionated using membrane filtration and ultrafiltration into the following size fractions: particulate material, high-molecular-weight (HMW) material, and low-molecular-weight (LMW) material. We also collected three sample sets of marine-snow aggregates. Each sample set contained small, medium, and large aggregate size fractions and each size fraction consisted of 25–50 aggregates. For 7 marine-snow samples and for each water-sample size fraction, we determined monomeric and polymeric NA concentration, NA yield (amount of NA-C normalized to organic carbon), and composition; total organic carbon (TOC) concentration; transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) concentration, and TEP propensity (TEP concentration after inducing TEP formation in filtered samples). This is the first study to include compound-specific NA determinations on these four marine OM size fractions.The mass balances of organic carbon and NA indicated that there were no serious contamination or loss problems. Concentrations, yields, and NA mol fractions in water samples were similar to results from other studies. Glucose and galactose had the highest relative abundance in all size fractions. The NA yield increased with increasing molecular weight or particle size for all fractions except marine snow. The NA yield increased in the order: LMW< marine snow< HMW< particles. Marine snow had a higher average NA yield than the LMW fraction, but lower than particle and HMW-fractions. This indicates that OM in marine snow could have been diagenetically derived from particulate and HMW-fractions, that is, marine snow may include material from the particulate and the colloidal phase.TEP concentration or TEP propensity was positively correlated with concentrations of all individual NAs as well as the sum NA concentrations, indicating that TEP contains neutral sugars in addition to the acidic polysaccharides stained in the determination of TEP concentrations.Despite the relatively low NA yield in marine snow, marine snow was enriched in NA when compared with seawater, with enrichment factors of 34–225 (average 125). By combining data from this study with data from other studies, we estimate that < 10% of carbohydrates in marine snow comprise NAs.There was no clear correlation between marine-snow aggregate size and NA yield, that is, there appears to be no general age difference between small and large marine-snow aggregates. NA composition was similar among different marine-snow size fracions collected during the same day, indicating that aggregation/disaggregation reactions resulted in homogenizing NA composition in marine-snow aggregates of all sizes. The NA composition of marine snow was different from that of other OM size fractions, indicating either that bacterial degradation has modified the composition of marine snow to a larger extent than other OM size fractions or that marine snow is formed through the aggregation of selected subcomponents of OM.     

Hydrogeochemical zonation for groundwater management in the area with diversified geological and land-use setup

Despite its limited aerial extent, the National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, India, has diversified geological and topographical setup. A geochemical assessment of prevailing conditions of aquifer underlying the NCT was attempted and further classified into different hydrogeochemical zones on the basis of statistical and analyses and its correlation with land use, geological and climatic setting. Mineral phase study and isotopic analyses were used for the verification of performed clustering. Saturation indices (SI) calculated using the geochemical modelling code PHREEQC were used to distinguish the characteristics of four zones, as saturation states of the water does not change abruptly. Four different hydrogeochemical zones were statistically identified in the area: (1) intermediate (land-use-change-impacted) recharge zone, (2) discharge (agriculture-impacted) zone, (3) recharge (ridge) zone, and (4) recharge floodplain (untreated-discharge-impacted) zone. The distinctiveness of hydro-geochemical zones was further verified using stable isotopic (²H and ¹⁸O) signature of these waters. GIS-based flow regime in association with long-term geochemical evidences implied that these zones are being affected by different problems; thus, it necessitates separate environmental measures for their management and conservation. The study suggested that in a diversified urban setup where the complex interactions between anthropogenic activities and normal geochemical processes are functioning, hydrogeochmical zoning based on the integration of various techniques could be the first step towards sketching out the groundwater management plan.