Phosphorus fractionation in sediments of the Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem,south-eastern coast of India

Present study examined phosphorus dynamics through delineation of source as well as availability of phosphorus and its fractionation within the intertidal sediments of Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem. Twelve sediment samples and two cores were collected from the mangrove forest along with estuarine area (Vellar-Coleroon) during January 2005. Sediments were analyzed for total phosphorus and its fractionation using operationally defined chemical sequential extraction scheme (SEDEX). Dissolved phosphorus (in water) and total phosphorus (in sediments) concentrations were high in the Vellar region of Pichavaram mangrove area due to pollution load from nearby villages and agricultural fields. However, the spatial variation in dissolved phosphorus were insignificant (at significance level = 0.05). The results for the phosphorus fractionation (post-tsunami) were compared with earlier studies (pre-tsunami). It was observed that all phosphorus fractions (except adsorbed-phosphorus) showed a highly significant (at significance level = 0.05) increase in concentration after the tsunami event. There was significant decrease in the adsorbed phosphorus concentration as a result of tsunami. The changes were more pronounced for organic phosphorus which increased by almost twofold following the event. These variations were attributed to change in salinity, increase in dissolved oxygen as well as the retreat of tsunami water carrying the waste load. The vertical distribution of phosphorus through core sediments showed that mixing after tsunami had altered the different phosphorus fraction and its availability. Overall, the study indicated that the fluvial weathering along with litter degradation and anthropogenic sources controlled the biogeochemistry of phosphorus in this mangrove ecosystem. Observed changes in the concentrations are a result of altered physico-chemical characteristics caused by tsunami.     

Regional-scale landslide activity and landslide susceptibility zonation in the Nepal Himalaya

Landslide susceptibility zonation mapping is a fundamental procedure for geo-disaster management in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Recently, various landslide susceptibility zonation models have been introduced in Nepal with diverse approaches of assessment. However, validation is still a problem. Additionally, the role of various predisposing causative parameters for landslide activity is still not well understood in the Nepal Himalaya. To address these issues of susceptibility zonation and landslide activity, about 4,000 km² area of central Nepal was selected for regional-scale assessment of landslide activity and susceptibility zonation mapping. In total, 655 new landslides and 9,229 old landslides were identified with the study area with the help of satellite images, aerial photographs, field data and available reports. The old landslide inventory was “blind landslide database” and could not explain the particular rainfall event responsible for the particular landslide. But considering size of the landslide, blind landslide inventory was reclassified into two databases: short-duration high-intensity rainfall-induced landslide inventory and long-duration low-intensity rainfall-induced landslide inventory. These landslide inventory maps were considered as proxy maps of multiple rainfall event-based landslide inventories. Similarly, all 9,884 landslides were considered for the activity assessment of predisposing causative parameters. For the Nepal Himalaya, slope, slope aspect, geology and road construction activity (anthropogenic cause) were identified as most affective predisposing causative parameters for landslide activity. For susceptibility zonation, multivariate approach was considered and two proxy rainfall event-based landslide databases were used for the logistic regression modelling, while a relatively recent landslide database was used in validation. Two event-based susceptibility zonation maps were merged and rectified to prepare the final susceptibility zonation map and its prediction rate was found to be more than 82 %. From this work, it is concluded that rectification of susceptibility zonation map is very appropriate and reliable. The results of this research contribute to a significant improvement in landslide inventory preparation procedure, susceptibility zonation mapping approaches as well as role of various predisposing causative parameters for the landslide activity.     

Influence of physicochemical parameters on surface water quality: a case study of the Brahmani River,India

This investigation is intended to evaluate the surface water quality of Brahmani River in order to determine its uses for different purposes. The water samples were collected from the strategic locations of the river from February 2014 to July 2015 and analyzed for physicochemical parameters such as water temperature; pH; electrical conductivity (EC); dissolved oxygen (DO); total dissolved solids (TDS); major cations, e.g., Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺; and major anions, e.g., F^?, Cl^?, \( {\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-} \), \( {\mathrm{NO}}_3^{-} \), \( {\mathrm{PO}}_4^{2-} \), and alkalinity. The water quality index (WQI) being a valuable and unique rating scale to depict the overall water quality status in a single term has been employed to determine the feasibility of using the river water as a source for various activities. The parameters with higher impact on water quality were selected to derive WQI of each selected sampling station. Results showed significant deterioration in quality of water at some of the sampling stations. WQI of Brahmani River ranged from 37.87 to 62.36 which falls in the range of good to poor quality of water. Pearson’s correlation matrix was derived to find possible interrelations among water quality parameters.     

Scattering Properties and Composition of Cometary Dust

Composition of the Comet dust obtained by the dust impact analyzer on the Halley probes indicated that the comet dust is a mixture of silicate and carbonaceous material. The collected interplanetary dust particles (IDP's) are fluffy and composite, having grains of several different types stuck together. Using discrete dipole approximation (DDA) we study the scattering properties of composite grains. In particular, we study the angular distribution of the scattered intensity and linear polarization of composite grains. We assume that the composite grains are made up of a host silicate sphere/spheroid with the inclusions of graphite. Results of our calculations on the composite grains show that the angle of maximum polarization shifts, and the degree of polarization varies with the volume fraction of the inclusions. We use these results on the composite grains to interpret the observed scattering in cometary dust.     

Secondary geochemical dispersion in the Precambrian auriferous Hutti–Maski schist belt, Raichur district, Karnataka, India. Part II. Application of factorial design in the analysis of secondary dispersion of As

The study uses the technique of factorial design for analysis of factors governing secondary dispersion of As in an auriferous Archean greenstone belt. Details of the sampling procedure and analytical techniques used for As in groundwater and soil of the Hutti–Maski schist belt are discussed in Part I of the paper in this issue. The main effects and interactions of topographic slope, drainage texture, proximity to lineament, depth of water table and soil types have been considered. The study shows that secondary dispersion of As is governed by proximity to lineament and factors that govern drainage and ground water movement. The factors retained were used to predict As values using a response surface model obtained by least square fitting using orthogonal polynomials. The goodness of fit of the model shows that the factors identified explain the secondary dispersion of As adequately.     

Initiatives for earthquake disaster risk management in the Kathmandu Valley

Situated over the Himalayan tectonic zone, Kathmandu Valley as a lake in geological past has a long history of destructive earthquakes. In recent years, the earthquake risk of the valley has significantly increased due mainly to uncontrolled development, poor construction practices with no earthquake safety consideration, and lack of awareness among the general public and government authorities. Implementation of land use plan and building codes, strengthening of design and construction regulations, relocation of communities in risky areas, and conduction of public awareness programs are suitable means of earthquake disaster risk management practice. Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is still lacking earthquake disaster risk management plans. So, this paper highlights some initiatives adopted by both governmental and nongovernmental organizations of Nepal to manage earthquake disaster risk in the Kathmandu Valley. It provides some comprehensive information on recent initiatives of earthquake disaster risk management in the valley and also highlights the outcomes and challenges.     

Confronting scale in watershed development in India

The issue of scale is examined in the context of a watershed development policy (WSD) in India. WSD policy goals, by improving the natural resource base, aim to improve the livelihoods of rural communities through increased sustainable production. It has generally been practiced at a micro-level of less than 500?ha, as this was seen to be a scale that would encourage participative management. There has been some concern that this land area may be too small and may lead to less than optimal hydrological, economic and equity outcomes. As a result there has been a move to create guidelines for meso-scale WSD of above 5,000?ha in an endeavour to improve outcomes. A multidisciplinary team was assembled to evaluate the proposed meso-scale approach. In developing an adequate methodology for the evaluation it soon became clear that scale in itself was not the only determinant of success. The effect of geographical scale (or level) on WSD is determined by the variation in other drivers that will influence WSD success such as hydrological conditions, land use and available institutional structures. How this should be interpreted at different levels in the light of interactions between biophysical and socio-economic scales is discussed.     

Prediction of load displacement response of single piles under uplift load

Load displacement response and ultimate resistance of piles in sand under uplift load are predicted by load transfer approach. The pile is divided into number of segments and assigned geometrical and material properties according to actual soil pile situation. The shaft resistance is obtained analytically in accordance with existing studies. The proposed method takes into account the length, diameter and relevant surface characteristics of pile and soil properties. The load displacement characteristics and the value of uplift capacity of vertical piles from field test have been predicted. Reasonable agreement has been found out between predicted and observed values of uplift capacity. Load transfer mechanism is capable of predicting the nonlinear variation of load-displacement response of piles.     

Performance of Counterfort Walls with Reinforced Granular and Fly Ash Backfills: Experimental Investigation

Experimental investigations on model counterfort retaining walls have been carried out to study the lateral movement of the walls and the nature of the failure modes. Mild steel plates of size 1,000 × 900 × 8 mm were used as model retaining walls and were placed in a tank of size 900 × 900 × 670 mm. Ennore sand, obtained from Madras India, and Fly ash, obtained from Panki Thermal Power Plant, India were used as backfill material. Tests were carried out both with and without reinforced backfill. Two types of loading conditions were applied: (i) line load and (ii) uniform surcharge. The shape and size of the failure wedge was studied by observing displacement of bands of colored through a Perspex plate fixed on one side of the tank. Plots of overturning moment against the rotation of a wall top show that with the increase in rotation of wall, the overturning moment decreases. The minimum value of overturning moment is taken as the limiting value. The failure surfaces obtained in different cases are linear and parabolic in shape.