Groundwater arsenic contamination and its health effects in India

During a 28-year field survey in India (1988–2016), groundwater arsenic contamination and its health effects were registered in the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the Ganga River flood plain, and the states of Assam and Manipur in the flood plain of Brahamaputra and Imphal rivers. Groundwater of Rajnandgaon village in Chhattisgarh state, which is not in a flood plain, is also arsenic contaminated. More than 170,000 tubewell water samples from the affected states were analyzed and half of the samples had arsenic >10 μg/L (maximum concentration 3,700 μg/L). Chronic exposure to arsenic through drinking water causes various health problems, like dermal, neurological, reproductive and pregnancy effects, cardiovascular effects, diabetes mellitus, diseases of the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, and cancers, typically involving the skin, lungs, liver, bladder, etc. About 4.5% of the 8,000 children from arsenic-affected villages of affected states were registered with mild to moderate arsenical skin lesions. In the preliminary survey, more than 10,000 patients were registered with different types of arsenic-related signs and symptoms, out of more than 100,000 people screened from affected states. Elevated levels of arsenic were also found in biological samples (urine, hair, nails) of the people living in affected states. The study reveals that the population who had severe arsenical skin lesions may suffer from multiple Bowens/cancers in the long term. Some unusual symptoms, such as burning sensation, skin itching and watering of eyes in the presence of sun light, were also noticed in arsenicosis patients.     

Dynamics of shoreline and land reclamation from 1985 to 2015 in the Bohai Sea,China

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Extraction and analysis of the shoreline and land reclamation patterns are important for studies on topics such as the dynamics of coastal wetland ecological...     

Legitimacy of Different Knowledge Types in Natural Resource Governance and Their Functions in Inter-Institutional Gaps

Abstract

This study expands the Inter-Institutional Gaps (IIGs) framework to conceptualize the legitimacy associated with different types of ecological knowledge (e.g., scientific, traditional and local) used in natural resource governance. We draw on primary qualitative data, and document analysis to examine a case of inland fisheries management in the north-eastern floodplain of Bangladesh. We posit that the pragmatic, moral, cognitive, and regulative legitimacy for different types of ecological knowledge are repeatedly reevaluated by rule-makers and resource users in the process of rule-devising. Results show that inter-institutional gaps may be perpetuated when formal rules do not sufficiently consider traditional and local ecological knowledge. While it is widely proposed that systematically incorporating different knowledge types can better address local-national policy problems, this study underscores that the source of legitimacies for different knowledge types often differs across formal and informal institutional actors. Recognizing the differences is critical to fishers’ resource management.     

Groundwater Governance in a Water‐Starved Country: Public Policy,Farmers' Perceptions,and Drivers of Tubewell Adoption in Balochistan,Pakistan

Pakistan faces the challenge of developing sustainable groundwater policies with the main focus on groundwater management rather than groundwater development and with appropriate governance arrangement to ensure benefits continue into the future. This article investigates groundwater policy, farmers' perceptions, and drivers of tubewell (groundwater bore) adoption and proposes possible pathways for improved groundwater management for Balochistan, Pakistan. Historical groundwater policies were mainly aimed at increasing agricultural production and reducing poverty, without consideration of adverse impact on groundwater availability. These groundwater policies and governance arrangements have resulted in a massive decline in groundwater tables. Tubewell owners' rankings of the drivers of groundwater decline suggest that rapid and widespread installation of tubewells, together with uncontrolled extraction due to lack of property rights, electricity subsidy policies, and ineffective governance, are key causes of groundwater decline in Balochistan. An empirical “tubewell adoption” model confirmed that the electricity subsidy significantly influenced tubewell adoption decisions. The article proposes a more rational electricity subsidy policy for sustaining groundwater levels in the short‐run. However, in the long run a more comprehensive sustainable groundwater management policy, with strong institutional support and involvement of all stakeholders, is needed.     

Seasonal Shift in Community Structure of Periphytic Ciliates in Estuarine Waters in the Northern Bay of Bengal,Bangladesh

To investigate the seasonal heterogeneity of the periphytic ciliate communities, a 1-year baseline survey was conducted in the Karnaphuli River estuary, northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. A total of 54 ciliate species were recorded, including seven common and 14 dominant species. Maximum species number was in autumn whereas maximum abundance was in winter; the minimum for both occurred in summer. Multivariate analyses, i.e., canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) and principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA), revealed a clear seasonal heterogeneity of community structure and environmental variables. Multivariate correlation analysis (RELATE) demonstrated that the community structure of the periphytic ciliate communities was significantly correlated with environmental variables, and best matching analysis (BIOENV) indicated that heterogeneity of community patterns was mainly driven by water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids and nutrients. Species richness and diversity peaked in autumn whereas species evenness peaked in summer. These results suggest that environmental conditions shape periphytic ciliate community structure, which is a potentially useful bio-indicator of estuarine water quality.     

利用Landsat TM和IRS P6 LISS III卫星影像及GIS对耕地和耕种模式的时空动态分析(英文)

The study of the spatial patterns and temporal changes of cropland is important to understand the underlying factors and the functional effects of the agricultural landscape. On the other hand, crop dynamics mapping is essential to know the overall agro-spatial diversity of the area. Therefore, this paper addressed a spatio-temporal analysis of cropland and cropping pattern change in the Bogra district of Bangladesh over the last 16 years (between 1988/89 and 2004/05). In this paper, crop mapping from multi-temporal and multi-sensor satellite images was described. Landsat TM and IRS P6 LISS III satellite images were used with GIS for spatial dynamics of cropland and cropping pattern change analysis. First, seasonal cropland maps were derived from object-based classification of satellite images, then two-date classified image differencing with GIS overlay technique and decision rules were applied. Cropping pattern change was analyzed in a spatial and quantitative way for the 16 years and for this, Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) and Land Change Modular (LCM) of IDRISI Andes were used. The results showed that in the area, mono crop cultivation was found in summer, but in winter, areas under different crop cultivation had changed dramatically. Change analysis showed that the changes mainly occurred in the north northwest and southwest of the areas, and during the time the highest change area was found under the rice-potato pattern.      

Petrology, geochemistry and remote sensing data of island arc assemblage along Wadi Abu Marawat, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt

The basement rocks of Abu Marawat area comprise serpentinites (oldest), metavolcanics and their equivalent pyroclastics, intrusive metagabbro–diorite complex, synkinematic granitoids, Hammamat sediments and basic intrusion (youngest). Remote sensing ETM+ data of Abu Marawat area were analyzed, and band ratios technique was applied to discriminate between different varieties of these basement rocks. Serpentinites are represented by lensoidal bodies tectonically incorporated in the metavolcanics. On band ratio 5/7 image, they are characterized by very bright image signature. The metavolcanics comprise basalts, andesite and subordinate dacites together with their equivalent pyroclastics. They were regionally metamorphosed up to the greenschist facies and exhibit dark grey image signatures on band ratio 5/7 image. The metagabbro–diorite complex is made up of metagabbros, diorites and quartz diorites, whereas the synkinematic granitoids are formed of tonalites and granodiorites. The band ratio 5/7 image illustrates tonalites with dark image signature, whereas metagabbro–diorites and granodiorites exhibit grey image signature. The metavolcanic suites are of island arc setting, where metabasalts are of tholeiitic affinity, while the meta-andesites and metadacites are of calc-alkaline character. The metagabbroic and granitoid rocks are of I-type, calc-alkaline affinity and were formed in arc tectonic setting. They are enriched in LIL elements and depleted in Nb and HFS elements, a characteristic feature of subduction-related magmatism. The regular variation trends among the major and trace elements as well as the coincidence of the plotted samples favor the assumption that they are comagmatic and formed by processes such as fractional crystallization.