Correction to: Perceived and actual risks of drought: household and expert views from the lower Teesta River Basin of northern Bangladesh

Natural Hazards - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04825-3     

Long-term trend analysis of water table using ‘MAKESENS’ model and sustainability of groundwater resources in drought prone Barind area,NW Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, agriculture plays a major role in the national economy. In the drought prone Barind area in NW Bangladesh, cropping intensity has increased almost double since late eighties of last century (from 1985) because of the introduction of groundwater irrigation. Long-term behavior of groundwater table (GWT) in the drought prone Barind area has been studied using MAKESENS model in the wake of massive installation of tube-wells. The study reveals that the maximum and minimum depths to GWT during 1991-2010 show on average declining trend of 4.51 m and 4.73 m. The long-term prediction for the period of 2020-50 assuming the current rate of groundwater withdrawal is that the declining trend will be 1.16 to 1.59 and 1.07 to 1.82 times more for maximum and minimum groundwater depths respectively in comparison to the present. The rigorous exploitation of groundwater for irrigation, decreasing rainfall and surface geological attributes lead towards declining trend of GWT. This will hamper the country’s food security and ultimately threaten its socio-economic sustainability. So the appropriate strategies for the management of groundwater resource on a sustainable basis should be the priority for maintaining agricultural productivity.     

Variation in the life-history traits of a Schilbid catfish,Clupisoma garua (Hamilton, 1822) in the coastal waters of southern Bangladesh

For the first time,the present study reports the life-history traits,comprising length-frequency distribution(LFD),sex ratio(SR),length-weight relationships(LWRs),condition factors(CFs),and relative growth(W_R),of Clupisoma garua in the coastal waters of Bangladesh.A total of 150 specimens ranging from 8.60 to 25.20 cm total length(TL)and 4.26 to 128.80 g body weight(BW)were collected using traditional fishing gear from August 2013 to July 2014.The overall sex ratio of males to females in the study did not dif fer significantly from the expected value of 1:1(χ~2=0.96,P0.05)but there were significant sex differences(P0.05)in the intercepts and slopes of graphs characterizing traits in C.garua.The calculated bvalues for the LWRs were 2.955,2.893 and 2.927 for males,females and combined sexes,respectively,and there was negative allometric growth in all cases(b3).The condition factors(K_A,K_F,K_R)and relative growth(W R)also did not differ significantly(P0.05)between the sexes.This study provides a useful tool for fi shery specialists to evaluate the relative condition of fish and to initiate early management strategies and regulations for the sustainable management of the remaining stocks of this species in the entire coastal region of southern Bangladesh.     

Salinization and arsenic contamination of surface water in southwest Bangladesh

To identify the causes of salinization and arsenic contamination of surface water on an embanked island (i.e., polder) in the tidal delta plain of SW Bangladesh we collected and analyzed water samples in the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 2012–2013. Samples were collected from rice paddies (wet season), saltwater ponds used for brine shrimp aquaculture (dry season), freshwater ponds and tidal channels (both wet and dry season), and rainwater collectors. Continuous measurements of salinity from March 2012 to February 2013 show that tidal channel water increases from ~0.15 ppt in the wet season up to ~20 ppt in the dry season. On the polder, surface water exceeds the World Health Organization drinking water guideline of 10 μg As/L in 78% of shrimp ponds and 27% of rice paddies, raising concerns that produced shrimp and rice could have unsafe levels of As. Drinking water sources also often have unsafe As levels, with 83% of tubewell and 43% of freshwater pond samples having >10 μg As/L. Water compositions and field observations are consistent with shrimp pond water being sourced from tidal channels during the dry season, rather than the locally saline groundwater from tubewells. Irrigation water for rice paddies is also obtained from the tidal channels, but during the wet season when surface waters are fresh. Salts become concentrated in irrigation water through evaporation, with average salinity increasing from 0.43 ppt in the tidal channel source to 0.91 ppt in the rice paddies. Our observations suggest that the practice of seasonally alternating rice and shrimp farming in a field has a negligible effect on rice paddy water salinity. Also, shrimp ponds do not significantly affect the salinity of adjacent surface water bodies or subjacent groundwater because impermeable shallow surface deposits of silt and clay mostly isolate surface water bodies from each other and from the shallow groundwater aquifer. Bivariate plots of conservative element concentrations show that all surface water types lie on mixing lines between dry season tidal channel water and rainwater, i.e., all are related by varying degrees of salinization. High As concentrations in dry season tidal channel water and shrimp ponds likely result from groundwater exfiltration and upstream irrigation in the dry season. Arsenic is transferred from tidal channels to rice paddies through irrigation. Including groundwater samples from the same area (Ayers et al. in Geochem Trans 17:1–22, 2016), principal components analysis and correlation analysis reveal that salinization explains most variation in surface water compositions, whereas progressive reduction of buried surface water by dissolved organic carbon is responsible for the nonconservative behavior of S, Fe, and As and changes in Eh and alkalinity of groundwater.     

Waste loading in shrimp and fish processing effluents: potential source of hazards to the coastal and nearshore environments

On average, only 30-40% of the global fishery production is consumed fresh and the rest 60-70% is processed for human consumption and other purposes. Although the proportion of the total fishery production that are processed remained relatively stable over the last decade, the total bulk of processed fishery commodity increased due to the steady increase in the total fishery production. Processing of large bulk of fish, shrimp and other aquatic organisms produces a corresponding large bulk of by-products and wastes. Although recent trend shows that much of these wastes are made into various value added products, considerable quantities are discharged as the processing effluents with large volume of waters used in processing. Reports suggest that fish and shrimp processing effluents are very high in biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), fat-oil-grease (FOG), pathogenic and other microflora, organic matters and nutrients, etc. Fish and shrimp processing effluents are, therefore, highly likely to produce adverse effects on the receiving coastal and marine environments. Although substantial reduction of the waste loads is possible by applying available simple techniques, this is not in practice in most part of the world due to lack of proper managerial and regulatory approach. The present paper reviews the characteristics of fish and shrimp processing effluents as a potential source of coastal and marine pollution and, using the existing data, analyzes the global production and discharge of waste loads from the processing plants and discusses available options for waste treatment and management.     

North Atlantic forcing of autumn drought in Southwest China

干旱持续时间长,因此往往和缓慢变化的海温异常相关.本文利用观测降水和NCEP-DOE再分析资料,探讨了北大西洋中高纬地区东北-西南走向的偶极子海温异常对我国西南地区秋季干旱的影响.结果 显示该偶极子海温异常可激发向东南方向传播的Rossby波,在印度北部和青藏高原西部引起正压气旋性环流和上升运动异常,并在我国西南地区引...     

Vulnerability assessment based on household views from the Dammar Char in Southeastern Bangladesh

Assessing vulnerability is vital for developing new strategies and improving the existing ones to fulfill contemporary demands toward achieving a disaster-resilient society. Dammar Char is situated in the southeastern (SE) coastal region of Bangladesh that has experienced frequent coastal hazards and disasters throughout the year. The present study has constructed a vulnerability index utilizing the quantitative and qualitative data based on household surveys to evaluate the vulnerability of the people and community of Dammar Char. Data were collected from 180 respondents during November–December 2018. The results demonstrate that, on average, the people living in the studied area have a high vulnerability (value of the vulnerability index 0.7015) to coastal hazards and disasters. The vulnerability level differs from individual to individual based on their gender, educational status, financial capacity, structural strength of houses, perception of the respective hazards and disasters, etc. Females have experienced more vulnerability than their adult male counterparts. The natural vulnerability was higher than socioeconomic and physical vulnerability due to the increase in unpredictable extreme climate-induced coastal events. To combat the adverse impacts of coastal hazards and disasters, the local Dammar Char inhabitants have adopted several adaptation measures. The adapted measures are homestead gardening, working in seasonal day labor, fish drying, rearing sheep, and ducks, constructing plinths for elevating the floor of the house, extensive banana cultivation, and storage of dry foods to reduce their vulnerability.

     

Co-metabolic decolorization of a textile reactive dye by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus fumigatus</Emphasis>

In the present study, a widely used reactive dye, Color Index (C.I.) Reactive Blue 268 was utilized for mycoremediation by Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from textile effluent. Complete decolorization of the test dye (0.1 g L^?1) was recorded within 6 days of static incubation at 27 °C in Czapek Dox broth (CDB). However, the isolate was unable to utilize the dye as a sole source of energy in Czapek Dox agar and CDB in absence of sucrose and obligate requirement of a labile carbon source, i.e., sucrose needed for induction of decolorization. Biosorption seems to play the pivotal role in decolorization as evident by coloring of the fungal biomass as that of dye color. The optimal conditions for the highest decolorization were found at 30 °C and pH 6.0 with 6-day-old inoculums supplemented with sucrose (10 g L^?1) and ammonium chloride (2 g L^?1) as a carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. The response of the isolate to increasing dye concentrations was found to be growth inhibitory. Surprisingly, about 65 % of dye decolorization was recorded with heat-inactivated biomass powder within 6 days of static incubation supporting the fact of fungal biosorption. Results of this study have established the candidature of the isolate for biotechnological removal of dyes from disreputable dying effluents.     

Isotope–geochemical characterization and geothermometrical modeling of Uttarakhand geothermal field,India

Uttarakhand geothermal area, located in the central belt of the Himalayan geothermal province, is one of the important high temperature geothermal fields in India. In this study, the chemical characteristics of the thermal waters are investigated to identify the main geochemical processes affecting the composition of thermal waters during its ascent toward the surface as well as to determine the subsurface temperature of the feeding reservoir. The thermal waters are mainly Ca–Mg–HCO₃ type with moderate silica and TDS concentrations. Mineral saturation states calculated from PHREEQC geochemical code indicate that thermal waters are supersaturated with respect to calcite, dolomite, aragonite, chalcedony, quartz (SI > 0), and undersaturated with respect to gypsum, anhydrite, and amorphous silica (SI < 0). XRD study of the spring deposit samples fairly corroborates the predicted mineral saturation state of the thermal waters. Stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O, δ²H) data confirm the meteoric origin of the thermal waters with no oxygen-18 shift. The mixing phenomenon between thermal water with shallow ground water is substantiated using tritium (³H) and chemical data. The extent of dilution is quantified using tritium content of thermal springs and non-thermal waters. Classical geothermometers, mixing model, and multicomponent fluid geothermometry modeling (GeoT) have been applied to estimate the subsurface reservoir temperature. Among different classical geothermometers, only quartz geothermometer provide somewhat reliable estimation (96–140 °C) of the reservoir temperature. GeoT modeling results suggest that thermal waters have attained simultaneous equilibrium with respect to minerals like calcite, quartz, chalcedony, brucite, tridymite, cristobalite, talc, at the temperature 130 ± 5 °C which is in good agreement with the result obtained from the mixing model.