An approximate projection of availability of the fresh groundwater resources in the South West district of NCT Delhi, India: a case study

The future availability and sustainability of fresh groundwater resources in the South West district of the national capital territory (NCT) Delhi, India, have been projected. Due to a rapid decline in groundwater level and quality, the district has been required by the Government of India to regulate development of groundwater resources. Shallow groundwater is mostly saline and water resources in the area are limited. The methodology applied here involves microzonation of the district in terms of thickness of fresh groundwater and then quantification of present and future availability of freshwater in different freshwater zones, including tentative timescales. The calculation method has been aided by data on historic trends in water level at representative groundwater monitoring stations, located either in fresh groundwater zones or near to them. It is estimated that the presently available 481 million m³ of resources will be reduced to 374 million m³ by year 2007 and to 303 million m³ by the year 2012, and by the year 2022 the district will have only 176 million m³ of available fresh groundwater resources.     

Characteristics, threats and opportunities of landfill scavenging: The case of Gaborone-Botswana

In Gaborone, as in other large cities in the developing world, individuals try to make a living by engaging in novel occupations such as landfill scavenging. This paper reports on a research conducted in the Gaborone landfill, the largest in Botswana. The study content-analyzed available literature from other countries. It also relied mainly on direct field observations. The discussions on and answers to closed and interview schedules by stakeholders, affected- and- interested – persons, provided the information on the threats and opportunities related to the landfill site and its informal management activities. This on-going case study lends credence to the potential of scavenging in sustaining livelihoods among those who cannot secure employment in the formal urban market. Scavenging tends to be useful although it may hazardous to the informal entrepreneurs. Taking all the threats into consideration, the decommissioning and closure of the landfill seems inevitable, in spite of the apparent short-term livelihood opportunities it provides to the informal sector.     

A new approach for the development and management of brackish karst springs

A new approach to the method of artificial upraising of the water outlet point, for management and development of brackish karst springs, uses the MODKARST model. Brackish karst springs simulation can be used to estimate the necessary upraising of the spring elevation, so that sea-water intrusion is blocked. The consequent freshwater loss to the sea, due to this upraising, can also be estimated. The method has been applied to the periodically brackish karst Almiros spring at Heraklion of Crete, Greece. The spring simulation showed that the sea-water intrusion could be prevented through an artificial upraising of the water-outlet point, realized by the construction of a dam. The exact upraising has been estimated. Freshwater loss to the sea because of this upraising has also been estimated. The model could also be used as a tool for the management of the spring. For example, it was used to assess management options for the spring during the depletion period of the year 1994. The best scenario for the development of the spring during this period has been estimated.     

Rights or Containment? The politics of Aboriginal cultural heritage in Victoria

Aboriginal cultural heritage protection, and the legislative regimes that underpin it, constitute important mechanisms for Aboriginal people to assert their rights and responsibilities. This is especially so in Victoria, where legislation vests wide-ranging powers and control of cultural heritage with Aboriginal communities. However, the politics of cultural heritage, including its institutionalisation as a scientific body of knowledge within the state, can also result in a powerful limiting of Aboriginal rights and responsibilities. This paper examines the politics of cultural heritage through a case study of a small forest in north-west Victoria. Here, a dispute about logging has pivoted around differing conceptualisations of Aboriginal cultural heritage values and their management. Cultural heritage, in this case, is both a powerful tool for the assertion of Aboriginal rights and interests, but simultaneously a set of boundaries within which the state operates to limit and manage the challenge those assertions pose. The paper will argue that Aboriginal cultural heritage is a politically contested and shifting domain structured around Aboriginal law and politics, Australian statute and the legacy of colonial history.     

Decision-support systems for groundwater protection: innovative tools for resource management

Governmental authorities are forced by law to make decisions within the framework of European, national and regional directives in the fields of spatial planning, groundwater and environmental protection. These tasks can be supported by a decision-support system, which integrates data from various sources and helps to make decision processes more effective and transparent. Basic work for such a decision support system has been done in a transnational and interdisciplinary project (Interreg II C: KATER), including metadata definition, metadata system, cartographic tools and GIS tools. The direct integration of these tools and information in the decision process will be implemented in the next few years (project KATER II).     

地质单位财务管理咨询刍议

地质单位对自身无力解决的重要财务管理问题应该寻求外部咨询机构的有效帮助，针对地质单位财务管理中存在的主要问题提出需要咨询课题，而咨询机构通过对地质单位的财务状况进行调查分析后，提出科学、合理有效的财务管理改善方案和指导实施方案。     

吾祠煤矿区构造特征及矿井生产布局探讨

通过对漳平市吾祠煤矿区的煤层地质构造特征分析，探讨了复杂构造条件下的矿井生产布局，主要是煤矿区段水平划分、煤炭采区的巷道布置、采煤方法及有关地质硐探等问题，对矿山开发有一定的指导意义。     

Avalanche Risk During Backcountry Skiing – An Analysis of Risk Factors

Skier-triggered avalanches are the main cause of avalanche accidents in backcountry skiing. The risk of accidents during backcountry skiing was analysed statistically and related to factors such as elevation level, aspect, stability rating and the time of the year. The analysis is based on a database about terrain usage and avalanche accidents from a large heli-skiing operator in Canada, which makes it possible to study the conditional probability of accidents given the recorded pattern of terrain usage. This study shows that the historical risk of accidentally triggering an avalanche greater than size 1 depends highly on the stability rating, with the highest risk occurring during “poor” stability. The risk is greater at high elevations, and it is lower during the late season than earlier on. Skier risk does not depend as much on aspect as may be indicated from avalanche data alone. However, it is relatively high in the N–NE–E sector. These factors are not independent of each other and therefore analyses of combined factors were also performed. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gain knowledge about the terrain selection of professional mountain guides. These results indicate that when selecting terrain, guides first look at the overall shape and size of the terrain, but avalanche history of terrain and inclination are also important factors. Finally, remarks in avalanche reports were analysed, and common human factors identified.     

Groundwater and highways interaction: past and present experiences of highway construction in Slovenia

During the planning, designing, construction, operation and maintenance of highways, groundwater can be of important environmental and constructional constraint that can significantly influence the safety operation of traffic and of big influence on the operational costs of highways. To classify and conceptualize the relation between groundwater and highways, three important groups of problems can be determined: groundwater protection from highway influences, protection of highway from groundwater and economic use of groundwater for highway operation. In the present study, groundwater management strategies are represented during all life cycles of highways. Greater emphasis is given to groundwater protection and field hydrogeological investigations for proper groundwater management related to the highway. The approach adopted in Slovenia and the role of hydrogeology is given as an illustration.     

基于asp的宏观前兆信息在线管理系统

本文经过对宏观前兆信息的报送、管理等有关事项的考察和分析,确立了宏观前兆信息管理系统的具体实现功能。并阐述了系统的体系结构和功能模块的设计,实现宏观前兆信息的在线添加和系统的在线管理。经过授权的用户可以通过Web浏览器,以人机交互式的客户端程序,实现对宏观前兆信息的在线添加、管理、查询和统计等功能。