Transience of seawater intrusion and retreat in response to incremental water‐level variations

This paper provides for the first time an experimental study where the impact of sea‐level fluctuations and inland boundary head‐level variations on freshwater–saltwater interface toe motion and transition zone dynamics was quantitatively analysed under transient conditions. The experiments were conducted in a laboratory flow tank where various (inland and coastal) head changes were imposed to the system and the response of the key seawater intrusion parameters was analysed with high spatial and temporal resolution. Two homogeneous aquifer systems of different grain size were tested. The numerical code SEAWAT was used for the validation. The results show that in cases of sea‐level variations, the intruding wedge required up to twice longer time to reach a new steady‐state condition than the receding wedge, which thereby extend the theory of timescale asymmetry between saltwater intrusion and retreat processes in scenarios involving sea‐level fluctuations. The intruding and receding rates of the saltwater wedge were respectively similar in the scenario involving sea‐level and the freshwater‐level changes, despite change in transmissivity. The results show that, during the intrusion phase, the transition zone remains relatively insensitive, regardless of where the boundary head change occurs (i.e., freshwater drop or sea‐level rise) or its magnitude. By contrast, a substantial widening of the transition zone was observed during the receding phase, with almost similar amplitude in the scenario involving a rise of the freshwater level compared with that caused by a drop of the saltwater level, provided that an equivalent absolute head change magnitude was used. This transition zone widening (occurring during saltwater retreat) was greater and extended over longer period in the low hydraulic conductivity aquifer, for both freshwater‐level rise and sea‐level drop scenarios. The concentration maps revealed that the widening mechanism was also enhanced by the presence of some freshwater sliding and into the wedge during saltwater retreat, which was thereafter sucked upward towards the interface because of density difference effects.     

In Situ Time Series Estimation of Downwelling Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient at Southern Bay of Bengal

The present study is aimed to determine the bio-optical characteristics of oceanic waters during South west monsoon in Bay of Bengal using hyperspectral radiometer. The variability of diffuse attenuation coefficient, K_d(λ), with chlorophyll a showed a good relation at shorter wavelengths, indicating the effect of phytoplankton on K_d(λ). The determination coefficient, R² at 412, 443, 490 and 555 nm were greater than 0.931. A good linear relation between K_d(490) and K_d(λ) was observed at shorter wavelengths. These relationships of K_d(λ) provides a platform to study the underwater light field during Southwest monsoon in Bay of Bengal.     

Geochemical assessment of Paleocene limestones of Sinn El-Kaddab Plateau,South Western Desert of Egypt,for industrial uses

The present work assesses the potential industrial uses of Paleocene limestone deposits, Garra Formation in Sinn El-Kaddab Plateau, South Western Desert of Egypt, based on their mineralogy and geochemical characteristics. Eighty-six limestone samples collected from ten stratigraphic columnar sections were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques. Petrographically, Garra limestone deposits consist dominantly of benthic foraminiferal wackestone and packstone microfacies. The XRD data revealed dominance of low-Mg calcite as essential carbonate mineral in the studied limestone. The bulk rock XRF results revealed CaO (29.28–55.75%) with an average of 52.74%. The CaO exhibits a strong negative correlation with MgO, SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, and moderate negative correlation with Fe₂O₃ which indicates that the contribution of these elements is mainly due to detrital input. On the other hand, Al₂O₃ and Na₂O contents exhibit significant negative correlation with loss of ignition (LOI) wt% indicating their incorporation within terrigenous matrix. The average Sr content attains 1297 ppm indicating deposition in temperate marine environment. The average molar CaCO₃% values of bulk samples have been computed for individual columnar sections to determine the purity status of Garra limestone deposits. They range from impure (CaCO₃%?=?79.92%) to high-pure (CaCO₃%?=?97.76%) limestone. Therefore, Garra limestone deposits have extremely valuable uses in a wide spectrum of industrial applications including Portland cement, steel, ceramics, whiting, chemical uses, paper, and feed stuff.     

Determinants of farmers’ choice of coping and adaptation measures to the drought hazard in northwest Balochistan,Pakistan

This study identifies the coping and adaptation behavior of the farm households and also examines the factors that influence farmers’ choice for drought-induced adaptation strategies. The study employs a multivariate probit model on 215 farm households’ survey data from northwest Balochistan, Pakistan. The findings reveal that the farmers have shown considerable fortitude in coping with the impacts of drought on their agro-based practices and employed several adaptation initiatives both at on-farm and off-farm levels. These include crop management, water management, adjustment in agricultural inputs, income diversification, economization of expenditure and consumption smoothing, migrating to other places to seek alternative sources of income, assets depletion, and borrowing. Empirically, it is depicted that landholding, annual income, livestock ownership, credit access, farmer-to-farmer extension, GOs/NGOs support increase the probability of farmers’ decision to cope and adapt better with drought hazard. This study implies for specific policy and practice-oriented solutions in order to cope with and adapt in drought situation.     

Rise and Fall of an Egyptian Oasis: Artesian Flow,Irrigation Soils,and Historical Agricultural Development in El‐Deir,Kharga Depression,Western Desert of Egypt

The present study examines the geoarchaeological history of an oasis in Kharga Depression in central Egypt. El‐Deir is renowned for its Ptolemaic temple and Roman fortress on the road from former Hibis (Kharga) to the Nile Valley. During the survey, spring mounds and irrigation soils belonging to an ancient agricultural zone were discovered, and further documented by ceramics found on the site. Our methodology combines the geomorphological interpretation of landforms (especially yardangs) with ceramics and ¹⁴C‐dated charcoal to distinguish and date former agricultural areas in El‐Deir. The results show that the oasis experienced several phases of soil accretion and destruction through time. Playa sediments were deposited in the humid early Holocene and severely eroded by deflation before the onset of irrigated agriculture between Pharaonic and Persian times. Very fast vertical soil accretion occurred in the Ptolemaic period, but irrigation soils were later destroyed during the Roman period by a combination of wind deflation and flash floods (second to fourth century A.D.), suggesting a period of climate instability. The case of El‐Deir invites reevaluation of constructive agencies for the development of irrigated land and destructive agencies as limiting factors for the sustainability of agricultural practices in late antiquity.     

Monitoring cryosphere and associated flood hazards in high mountain ranges of Pakistan using remote sensing technique

Knowledge of Himalayan cryosphere seems to be an outstanding requirement for assessment of glacier storage, water balance analysis, planning of water resources and flood hazard monitoring. A stepwise approach through mapping glaciers and glacial lakes using satellite remote sensing data and investigating potential glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) hazards was adopted for the three Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalayan (HKH) ranges of Pakistan. The findings of the study revealed 5,218 glaciers in the cryosphere of HKH ranges. The cumulative glacial cover of over 15,000 km² contains ice reserves of about 2,738 km³. About 46 % of the Karakoram glaciers are contributing 77 % to the total glacial cover and 87 % to the cumulative ice reserves of the country. The 33 % Himalayan glaciers and 21 % Hindukush glaciers contribute only 3 and 10 % ice reserves, respectively. Among 2,420 glacial lakes identified in the three HKH ranges, 52 were classified as critical lakes that can pose GLOF hazard for the downstream communities. Most of the potential hazardous lakes lie in the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges, the monitoring of which is crucial to reduce high risk of future floods hazard in this fragile mountain ecosystem of the Himalayan region.     

Influence of water stress and exogenous glycinebetaine on sunflower achene weight and oil percentage

The study was carried out to assess whether exogenously applied glycinebtaine has any role in reducing the adverse effects of water stress on sunflower achene yield and oil contents. Two sunflower lines, Gulshan-98 and Suncross were subjected to water stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages of plant growth. Three levels of glycinebtaine (0, 50 and 100 mM) were applied before sowing (seed treatment) and at the time of initiation of stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages. A marked adverse effect of water stress on 100-achene weight and achene oil contents were observed in both sunflower lines. Exogenous supply of glycinebtaine was not effective in alleviating the adverse effects of water stress on achene oil percentage. Foliar spray of glycinebtaine, however, significantly reduced the negative effects of water stress on achene weight. Seed treatment with either level of glycinebtaine was not effective in increasing the 100-achene weight and achene oil percentage under both normally irrigated and water stress conditions. The sunflower line, Suncross produced higher oil yield than that of Gulshan-98.     

Location-allocation modeling for emergency evacuation planning with GIS and remote sensing: A case study of Northeast Bangladesh

This work developed models to identify optimal spatial distribution of emergency evacuation centers(EECs) such as schools, colleges, hospitals, and fire stations to improve flood emergency planning in the Sylhet region of northeastern Bangladesh.The use of location-allocation models(LAMs) for evacuation in regard to flood victims is essential to minimize disaster risk.In the first step, flood susceptibility maps were developed using machine learning models(MLMs), including: Levenberg–Marquardt back propagation(LM-BP) neural network and decision trees(DT) and multi-criteria decision making(MCDM) method.Performance of the MLMs and MCDM techniques were assessed considering the area under the receiver operating characteristic(AUROC) curve.Mathematical approaches in a geographic information system(GIS) for four well-known LAM problems affecting emergency rescue time are proposed: maximal covering location problem(MCLP), the maximize attendance(MA), p-median problem(PMP), and the location set covering problem(LSCP).The results showed that existing EECs were not optimally distributed, and that some areas were not adequately served by EECs(i.e., not all demand points could be reached within a 60-min travel time).We concluded that the proposed models can be used to improve planning of the distribution of EECs, and that application of the models could contribute to reducing human casualties, property losses, and improve emergency operation.     

Prediction of river bank erosion and protection works in a reach of Chenab River,Pakistan

The impacts of floods on river bank erosion are generally significant in the alluvial river reaches. This paper presents the prediction of the river bank erosion along the right bank in the reach of Chenab River (starting from downstream of Marala Barrage) where excessive erosion had been reported. The bank erosion is predicted due to flow/flood events of 2010 by coupling the output from the two-dimensional numerical model to the excess shear stress approach. The predicted bank erosion was compared with the one estimated from Landsat images. The Landsat ETM+ images were processed in the ArcGIS software to assess the external bank erosion. The results show that the excess shear stress approach underpredicts the bank erosion. Therefore, the erodibility coefficient was modified by forcing the best agreement between predicted and estimated (i.e., from Landsat images) bank erosion which was used for further analysis. The results reveal that coupling the output from the numerical model to the excess shear stress approach (by modifying the erodibility coefficient) predicts the river bank erosion with a reasonable level of accuracy, thus helpful to identify the locations for the protection works. The predicted river bank erosion presents good coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.82 when compared with the estimated bank erosion from Landsat images. The findings of the present study will help to implement the river protection works at the identified locations in the selected reach of River Chenab and will also act as a guideline for similar river reaches.