Evaluation and augmentation of safe drinking water supply schemes in Salur Mandal,Vizainagaram district,Andhra Pradesh

In order to assess the groundwater potentiality and augmentation of water supply schemes, estimation of the safe yield, well loss, formation loss, horse power of pump, depth of pump installation and duration of the pumping are essential. These parameters are estimated either by means of in-situ test or laboratory test. But the applicability of result from the laboratory test has limitations while in-situ tests give real representation of individual well of aquifer. The most common in-situ test is pumping test performed on well, which involves measurement of the fall and rise of water level with respect to time. The changes in water level (drawdown/recovery) and its quality are caused due to pumping of water from the well. Such study was carried out in Salur Mandal, Vizainagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of pyrophyllite deposit of Madrangjodi,Keonjhar district,Orissa

Pyrophyllite deposit at Madrangjodi is a large lensoidal massif overlain unconformably by Dhanjori quartzite and underlain by the parent Singhbhum granite (Phase — II). Pyrophyllite and quartz are the major minerals with minor to trace amounts of muscovite, chloritoid opaques and tourmaline. It is broadly divisible into lamellar, granular and schistose varieties. SiO₂ (66.90–74.36%) and Al₂O₃ (20.80–27.54%) are the major oxides. The major elements data indicate its derivation from Singhbhum granite with depletion of SiO₂ and increment of Al₂O₃. Trace and REE data are discussed to corroborate its genesis.     

Sediment and hydro biogeochemistry of Lake Nainital, Kumaun Himalaya, India

The picturesque Nainital Lake, in the Uttarakhand state of India, is one of the major tourist attractions in the northern part of India. The increasing tourism and population around these lakes are a major concern for the ecology and good sustenance of the lakes. The present study is aimed to understand the behaviour of nutrients and metals in the sediment and their association with chemical forms in the lake. The study was accomplished by studying the water, interstitial water and sediments for major oxides, nutrients and metals in the lake. The different chemical forms of phosphorus and metals in the sediments were done using sequential extraction procedures. The water chemistry (Ca + Mg:Na + K) and the sediment chemistry (CIA and Al₂O₃/K₂O) show that the rocks in the catchment area play an important role in the geochemistry of the lake. The metals in the water also show that the Tallital basin is more polluted than the Mallital basin, may be due to the influence of Bus station. The high concentration of chloride, NH₄, SO₄ and metals in the sediment water interface and the interstitial water shows denitrification, sulfidisation and sulfide oxidation in the anoxic bottom water. The sediment composition shows that the phosphorus in the water is sequestered as carbonate flour apatite, and the metals precipitate as carbonate. The geo- accumulation index shows that the metals zinc, cobalt and nickel show moderate polluted nature than other metals. In general, the lake is less affected by anthropogenic activities. The chemical processes undergoing within the lake, like sulfidisation and sulfide oxidation, oxide dissolution and denitrification and organic matter degradation play an important role in the remobilization of the metals from the lake sediments.     

Understanding of the biochemical events in a chemo-bioreactor during continuous acid mine drainage treatment

Spent mushroom compost (SMC) is widely used as reactor matrix in passive bioreactor involving sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) for acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment. Follow-up our previous report, recent work has been established the extent of activity, sustained organic carbon availability, and the biochemical events of successive alkalinity producing system-based chemo-bioreactor for continuous performance using SMC. Removal of iron and sulfate from influent was over 77 and 90%, respectively, for first 13 weeks, while sulfate removal efficiency suddenly dropped down to 31% thereafter. Ahead of 13th week, process failure was beginning to be noticed when available dissolved organic carbon (DOC) value dropped down to 50 mg/L. SRB population was mostly affected with DOC drought at this stage. Sulfur was one of the major elements found with other tested metals in blackish green effluent precipitate. Sulfide compounds of the tested metals were formed on both exhausted chemo-bioreactor bed and precipitate. FTIR analysis indicated that SMC was responsible for metal binding and available nutrients supply. The present study revealed the feasibility of SMC as a host for treating AMD by this chemo-bioreactor that will assist in designing the continuous treatment practice.     

Actualizing the role of morphometry in riverine hazards in an Eastern Himalayan river

Phosphorus (P) plays an important role in the eutrophication of river and marine environments. The adsorption-desorption processes of P by estuarine sediment were studied to better understand the P behaviour in the Loughor Estuary in Carmarthen Bay, UK. Three types of models were used to estimate the P adsorption isotherm for five sediment samples from the Loughor Estuary. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm showed a good fit with the linear (data) isotherm. The P desorption from bed sediment was measured as the easy exchangeable P (MgCl₂ extractable). A negative correlation was found between adsorbed P in bed sediment and median particle size. A positive correlation was also found between P adsorbed and metals such as iron (Fe), aluminium (Al) and calcium (Ca) as well as the total organic carbon (TOC).

     

Relationship of Sediment-Biochemistry,Bacterial Morphology,and Activity to Geotechnical Properties in the Central Indian Basin

Distribution of biochemical properties, morphological and functional characteristics of bacteria in the extreme sedimentary environment of the Central Indian Basin (CIB) was examined in relation to geotechnical properties and sediment texture. Interrelationships between these parameters in siliceous northern sediments were compared to southern pelagic clay to understand relationships and to appreciate mining implications. Clay impacted lipids negatively and silt positively in the south. Geotechnical properties had the opposite influence on the distribution of coccoidal and rod forms of bacteria. Rods were affected negatively by water content/porosity and positively by wet bulk density in the north suggesting their preference for deeper niches. Shear strength affected coccoidal distribution negatively in the south. Competition for labile substrates by coccoidal forms in the surface layers could also have restricted the rods to the deeper regions. Principal component analysis (PCA) further strengthened our inference that the distribution of rod forms increased with depth. Enzymatic properties of bacterial isolates also showed that the rods were able to degrade substrates like gelatin and DNA. These observations suggest that they are capable of degrading relatively more recalcitrant compounds in the deeper layers. The minor components, like the rod morphotypes and sand content, could wield a large influence on the variability of other parameters.     

Cyclic sedimentation of the Barren Measures Formation (Damuda Group), Talchir Gondwana basin: Statistical appraisal from borehole logs

The succession of lithofacies of a part of the Barren Measures Formation of the Talchir Gondwana basin has been studied by statistical techniques. The lithologies have been grouped under five facies states viz coarse-, medium-, and fine-grained sandstones, shale and coal for statistical analyses. Markov chain analysis indicates the arrangement of Barren Measures lithofacies in the form of fining upward cycles. A complete cycle consists of conglomerate or coarse-grained sandstone at the base sequentially succeeded by medium-and fine-grained sandstones, shales and coal at the top. The entropy analysis puts the Barren Measures cycles into A-4 type cyclicity, which consists of different proportions of lower, upper and side truncated cycles of lithologic states. Regression analysis indicates a sympathetic relationship between total thickness of strata (net subsidence) and number of cycles and an antipathic relationship between average thickness and number of sedimentary cycles. The cyclic sedimentation of the Barren Measures Formation was controlled by autocyclic process which occurred due to the lateral migration of streams triggered by intrabasinal differential subsidence. In many instances, the clastic sediments from the laterally migrating rivers interrupted the cyclic sedimentation resulting in thinner cycles in areas where the number of cycles are more. Principal component and multivariate regression analyses suggest that the net subsidence of the basin is mostly controlled by the thickness of sandstones, shale beds and coal stringers.     

Biogeochemistry and paleoclimate variability during the Holocene: a record from Mansar Lake,Lesser Himalaya

Investigation of biogeochemistry and amino acids on a 30-m-long core from Mansar Lake has thrown light on palaeoclimate variability during the Holocene period. The C/N ratio between 6 and 10 with some deviations and δ13C mostly between −20 and −22‰ in the shallow core, as well as a C/N ratio greater than 13 reaching from 19 to 20 and correspondingly lower δ13C of –28‰ in the deeper core suggest an aquatic source of carbon in the former and a cellulose-rich land plant source in the latter. This is supported by the abrupt increase in organic carbon content in the deeper core compared to the shallow core, which indicates a hot and wet climatic regime during the early Holocene and dry and cold during the late Holocene period. The amino acid data AA-C/C% and AA-N/N% are higher in shallow sediments compared to deeper sediments, indicating an aquatic plant source in the shallow core and greater supply of land plant sources in the deeper core. The lower percentage of the non-protein amino acids β-alanine (ALA) and γ-amino-butyric acid in the shallow core compared to the deeper core indicates different sources of organic matter in the lake basin. The higher amino acid ratio Asp/β-Ala (16.99 av.) and Glu/γ-Aba (18.18 av.) in the shallow core and lower ratios (10.32 and 12.41 av.) in the deeper core, and Asp/Glu (1.52 av.) and β-Ala/γ-Aba (1.61 av.) ratios in the former, which are potential indicators of the nature of the organic matter, are higher in the shallow core relative to the deeper core (1.33 and 1.23 av.), indicating relative biodegradation of organic matter in deeper sediments. It has been observed that the organic matter associated with the dry season is relatively less biodegraded, as evidenced from their higher ratios, and is more biodegraded in the wet season as their ratios are lower in the river sediments. In the absence of a bacterial contribution of organic matter from the soil source in this lake, since Mansar Lake is a non-drainage type, it is envisaged that the climatic variation may be responsible for biodegradation in the deeper core sediments. Therefore, the C/N ratio and δ13C values supported by amino acid data, the latter being significant in revealing primary productivity and a terrestrial source of organic matter, suggest a hot and wet climatic regime during the early Holocene (ca. 7580 bp) and a dry and cold in the late Holocene period (ca. 4050 bp).     

Bimodal stable isotope signatures of Zildat Ophiolitic Mélange, Indus Suture Zone, Himalaya: implications for emplacement of an ophiolitic mélange in a convergent setup

Zildat Ophiolitic Mélange (ZOM) of the Indus Suture Zone, Himalaya, represents tectonic blocks of the fragmented oceanic metasediments and ophiolite remnants. The ZOM is sandwiched between the Zildat fault adjacent to a gneissic dome known as Tso Morari Crystalline (TMC) and thin sliver of an ophiolite called as the Nidar Ophiolitic Complex. The ZOM contain chaotic low-density lithologies of metamorphosed oceanic sediments and hydrated mantle rocks, in which carbonates are present as mega-clasts ranging from 100 meters to few centimeters in size. In this work, calcite microstructures, fluid inclusion petrography and stable isotope analyses of carbonates were carried out to envisage the emplacement history of the ZOM. Calcite microstructure varies with decreasing temperature and increasing intensity of deformation. Intense shearing is seen at the marginal part of the mélange near Zildat fault. These observations are consistent with the mélange as a tectonically dismembered block, formed at a plate boundary in convergent setup. The δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C isotope values of carbonates show bimodal nature from deeper (interior) to the shallower (marginal, near the Zildat fault) part of the mélange. Carbonate blocks from deeper part of the mélange reflect marine isotopic signature with limited fluid–rock interaction, which later on provide a mixing zone of oceanic metasediments and/or hydrated ultramafic rocks. Carbonates at shallower depths of the mélange show dominance of syn-deformation hydrous fluids, and this has later been modified by metamorphism of the adjacent TMC gneisses. Above observations reveal that the mélange was emplaced over the subducting Indian plate and later on synchronously deformed with the TMC gneissic dome.