Household vulnerability and resilience in flood hazards from disaster-prone areas of Punjab,Pakistan

Natural Hazards - An environmental variation has caused Pakistan an alarming portrait of vulnerability in flood disasters. The government has focused on a number of realistic actions, heartening...     

Socio-political and ecological stresses on traditional pastoral systems: A review

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Pastoralism is a viable socio-economic system-shaped by landless and agro-pastoral communities in many pastoral regions of the world. This system is mainly based...     

Toward an Ecological Explanation of Agricultural Unemployment in Bangladesh

Cultural ecology theoretical framework was found suitable to explain unemployment in agriculture in three villages in Bangladesh. Path analysis and multiple regression statistics were used to examine the direct, indirect, and total effects of eight independent human, social, environmental, and technology variables as well as their aggregate contribution on agricultural unemployment. The multiple regression model explains 86.2% of the total variation in unemployment in agriculture; they were followed by environmental constraints and labor saving technology variables.     

Effect of Shale Distribution on Hydrocarbon Sands Integrated with Anisotropic Rock Physics for AVA Modelling: A Case Study

Shales can be distributed in sand through four different ways; laminated, structural, dispersed and any combination of these aforementioned styles. A careful analysis of well log data is required for the determination of shale distribution in sand affecting its reservoir quality. The objective of this study is to characterize the effect of shale distribution on reservoir quality of sands using well log data. The correlation of well data in terms of lithology has revealed four sand and three shale layers in Lower Goru Formation acting as a major reservoir in the study area. Our results indicate that the laminated type of shale distribution prevails at the Basal sand level, which does not affect its reservoir quality greatly. The remaining layers of variable vertical extent show a variety of shale distribution models affecting their reservoir quality adversely. We also present anisotropic rock physics modelling for AVA analysis at Basal sand level.     

Comparative analysis of bacterial contamination in tap and groundwater: A case study on water quality of Quetta City,an arid zone in Pakistan

Water is an essential element on earth, which provides human a variety of services in domestic use, agriculture, or industries. However, some serious health risks of drinking water are associated with microbial contamination, particularly with fecal matter. Therefore, microbial quality assessment is considered to be a necessary component of water quality assessment. This study investigates microbial contamination of water distributary system around the city by comparing groundwater (GW) and tap water (TW) quality in Quetta city. 31 GW samples and 31 TW samples were collected in the study area during the months of September, October, and November. Fecal coliform test was carried out in laboratory and their average total coliform contamination was computed. Results showed that the TW sample were all contaminated by coliform except for Chiltan town, hence are not considered suitable for drinking without any treatment according to WHO drinking water quality standards. The average coliform concentrations were 12 in Quetta main city, 11.6 in Jinnah town, 5.3 in Satallite town, 10 in Shahbaz town and 5 in Brewery town (0/100 mL CFU) and the TW samples from the three towns were even more contaminated with E.coli. Whereas among the GW, average microbial concentrations were 1.8 in Quetta main city, 2 in Satallite town, 1.4 in Shahbaz town, and 0.4 in Chiltan town (0/100 mL CFU), respectively, which shows that the contamination is occurring within the water distributary pipeline system when the water flows through the pipelines. Moreover, this research will be valuable for researchers and administrative authorities to conduct elaborative studies, and develop new policies to prevent further deterioration of drinking water in the water distribution system by pathogenic microorganisms and ensure safe drinking water to the public of Quetta city.     

Provisional Elemental Values for IAEA‐Sewage Sludge by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organised a proficiency test (PT), IAEA‐CU‐2010‐02, for the determination of elements in sewage sludge. The PT sample was analysed by semi‐absolute standardless k₀‐instrumental neutron activation analysis (k₀‐INAA). Results for seven elements (As, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Se, Zn) were submitted to the IAEA by our laboratory. All of our results were scored ‘acceptable’ by the ‘result evaluation criteria’ adopted by the IAEA. The same analytical methodology produced quantitative results for twenty‐six additional elements. In total, thirty‐six elements were determined with uncertainty varying from 4 to 11%. This paper presents the provisional mass fractions of twenty‐six additional elements (Ag, Al, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Dy, Eu, Ga, Hf, I, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, V, U, W) not reported by the IAEA. The analytical methodology was discussed with important sources of spectral, nuclear and fission‐product interferences. It was shown that the important components of uncertainties were the k₀ factor, Q₀ factor, detector efficiency, mass and counting statistics. The methodology was validated by analysing the IAEA‐S7 reference material.     

Water sustainability model for estimation of groundwater availability in Kemuning district,Riau-Indonesia

There are rising interests in the utility of groundwater in various aspects,which is capable of triggering problematic issues.The excessive exploitation for anthropologic uses,without regards to aquifer capacity,will decreases the water table as well as capacity of groundwater in the aquifer.This research was aimed to provide aquifer model of underground water by consideration of various environmental factors,with the propensity of being modeled,in an attempt to predict groundwater conditions in subsequent years.The purpose of this research was to forecast water requirements,availability,as well as three-dimensional model of groundwater depth in Kemuning,Indragiri Hilir Regency-Indonesia between 2015 and 2022.Furthermore,various environmental factors,from aquifer profiles to anthropologic demand,are taken into account in the evaluated model,including water requirements,encompassing recharge and aquifer parameters,which consists of storativity and transmissivity.From anthropologic side are domestic requirements,trade,public facilities,agriculture,and livestock.The results show that groundwater availability in Kemuning is to be safe condition,and average difference is 1.06×108 m3/yr.The coefficient of storativity and transmissivity are 16.514 m2/day and 9897.26 m2/day,respectively,while the average depth was recorded as 2.8965 m to 10.4927 m.     

Performance of hemi-cylindrical and rectangular submerged breakwaters

A parametric experimental study is conducted to compare the reflection and transmission characteristics of submerged hemi-cylindrical and rectangular rigid and water-filled flexible breakwater models. The results show that, for the rigid breakwaters, rectangular models are more effective than hemi-cylindrical ones in terms of reduction of transmitted waves. As for the flexible breakwaters, the hemi-cylindrical models may give better wave reflection than rectangular ones. However, the energy loss induced by the rectangular breakwaters is much larger and more significant to result in an overall better efficiency in terms of reduction in wave transmission. The effects of internal pressure show that the lowest pressurized flexible models considered in this work are the most effective in the reduction of the transmitted wave height. Higher wave reflection, lower wave transmission and higher energy loss are obtained consistently at the lower submergence depth ratio.