Temporal Moment Analysis of Multi-Species Radionuclide Transport in a Coupled Fracture-Skin-Matrix System with a Variable Fracture Aperture

This paper presents an analysis using temporal moments to study multi-species radionuclide transport along a single fracture with variable fracture aperture in a fracture-skin-matrix system. In the present study, a decay chain having three elements is considered and transport of each member in the decay chain is modeled by solving a coupled system of partial differential equations for fracture, fracture-skin, and rock matrix using explicit finite difference method. Having obtained the concentration distribution, lower order temporal moments of radionuclide distribution are computed to analyze the effective velocity and macro-dispersion coefficient of radionuclides in the fracture. In the present study, effect of varying fracture aperture on transport characteristics of radionuclides is also analyzed. It is found that the fracture aperture variation profile has significant impact on radionuclide distribution along the fracture. Sensitivity analysis is carried out in a fracture-skin-matrix system with sinusoidal fracture aperture to study the effect of various parameters like fracture aperture thickness, fracture-skin porosity, fracture-skin diffusion coefficient, flow rate, radioactive decay constant, and Freundlich sorption isotherm exponent on transport characteristics of radionuclide. The results suggest that the above mentioned parameters significantly influence concentration, distribution, mobility, and effective macro-dispersion coefficient of radionuclides along the fracture.     

Effect of crude oil contamination on the chlorophyll content and morpho-anatomy of Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk

Chlorophyll plays a pivotal role in the plant physiology and its productivity. Cultivation of plants in crude oil contaminated soil has a great impact on the synthesis of chlorophyll pigment. Morpho-anatomy of the experimental plant also shows structural deformation in higher concentrations. Keeping this in mind, a laboratory investigation has been carried out to study the effect of crude oil on chlorophyll content and morpho-anatomy of Cyperus brevifolius plant. Fifteen-day-old seedling of the plant was planted in different concentrations of the crude oil mixed soil (i.e., 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 ppm). A control setup was also maintained without adding crude oil. Results were recorded after 6 months of plantation. Investigation revealed that there is a great impact of crude oil contamination on chlorophyll content of the leaves of the experimental plant. It also showed that chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll content of leaves grown in different concentrations of crude oil were found to be lower than those of the control plant. Further, results also demonstrated that chlorophyll content was lowest in the treatment that received maximum dose of crude oil. It also showed that chlorophyll content was decreased with increased concentration of crude oil. Results also demonstrated that there was a reduction in plant shoot and root biomass with the increase of crude oil concentration. Results also revealed that the shoot biomass is higher than root biomass. Morphology and anatomy of the experimental plant also show structural deformation in higher concentrations. Accumulation of crude oil on the cuticle of the transverse section of the leaves and shoot forms a thick dark layer. Estimation of the level of pollution in an environment due to oil spill is possible by the in-depth study of the harmful effects of oil on the morphology and anatomy and chlorophyll content of the plants grown in that particular environment.     

Monitoring of ocean surface algal blooms in coastal and oceanic waters around India

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) sensor MODIS-Aqua provides an important tool for reliable observations of the changing ocean surface algal bloom paradigms in coastal and oceanic waters around India. A time series of the MODIS-Aqua-derived OSABI (ocean surface algal bloom index) and its seasonal composite images report new information and comprehensive pictures of these blooms and their evolution stages in a wide variety of events occurred at different times of the years from 2003 to 2011, providing the first large area survey of such phenomena around India. For most of the years, the results show a strong seasonal pattern of surface algal blooms elucidated by certain physical and meteorological conditions. The extent of these blooms reaches a maximum in winter (November–February) and a minimum in summer (June–September), especially in the northern Arabian Sea. Their spatial distribution and retention period are also significantly increased in the recent years. The increased spatial distribution and intensity of these blooms in the northern Arabian Sea in winter are likely caused by enhanced cooling, increased convective mixing, favorable winds, and atmospheric deposition of the mineral aerosols (from surrounding deserts) of the post-southwest monsoon period. The southward Oman coastal current and southwestward winds become apparently responsible for their extension up to the central Arabian Sea. Strong upwelling along this coast further triggers their initiation and growth. Though there is a warming condition associated with increased sea surface height anomalies along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka in winter, surface algal bloom patches are still persistent along these coasts due to northeast monsoonal winds, enhanced precipitation, and subsequent nutrient enrichment in these areas. The occurrence of the surface algal blooms in the northern Bay of Bengal coincides with a region of the well-known Ganges–Brahmaputra Estuarine Frontal (GBEF) system, which increases supply of nutrients in addition to the land-derived inputs triggering surface algal blooms in this region. Low density (initiation stage) of such blooms observed in clear oceanic waters southeast and northeast of Sri Lanka may be caused by the vertical mixing processes (strong monsoonal winds) and the occurrence of Indian Ocean Dipole events. Findings based on the analyses of time series satellite data indicate that the new information on surface algal blooms will have important bearing on regional fisheries, ecosystem and environmental studies, and implications of climate change scenarios.     

GIS BASED LONG TERM HYDROLOGIC IMPACT EVALUATION FOR WATERSHED URBANIZATION1

ABSTRACT: To adequately manage impacts of ongoing or future land use changes in a watershed, the magnitude of their hydrologic impacts needs to be assessed. A grid based daily streamflow model was calibrated with two years of observed streamflow data, using time periods when land use data are available and verified by comparison of model predictions with observed streamflow data. Streamflow data were separated into direct runoff and baseflow to estimate the impacts of urbanization on each hydrologic component. Analysis of the ratio between direct runoff and total runoff from 30 years of simulation results and the change in these ratios with urbanization shows that estimated annual direct runoff increased from 49.2 percent (1973) to 63.1 percent (1984) and 65.0 percent (1991), indicating the effects of urbanization are greater on direct runoff than on total runoff. The direct runoff ratio also varies with annual rainfall, with dry year ratios larger than those for wet years. This suggests that the impact of urbanization on areas that are sensitive to runoff ratios, such as stream ecosystems, might be more serious during drier years than in wetter years in terms of water quality and water yield. This indicates that sustainable base‐flow is important to maintaining sound stream ecosystems.     

Evaluation of the groundwater quality feasibility zones for irrigational purposes through GIS in Omalur Taluk, Salem District, South India

The present work is employed in Omalur Taluk (study area 538.10 km²), Salem District, Tamil Nadu, India. Eighty-nine groundwater samples were collected during pre-monsoon (May) 2011 and were analyzed for major cations and anions. The irrigational parameters like; EC, Kelley’s ratio, sodium absorption ratio (SAR) values, Mg²⁺ hazards, HCO₃ ^? and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) have been worked out to know the suitability of the groundwater for irrigational purpose. Wilcox diagram indicates that out of 89 samples, 39 samples belong to good permissible category and Doneen diagram revealed that 98.88 % of the groundwater samples fall in Class I. The plotting of SAR values in USSL diagram indicates that all the samples have low SAR value. Out of 89 samples, 44 samples were in C₃-S₁ field. This implies that no alkali hazard is anticipated to the crops. In 44 locations (49.44 %), samples fall within C₃-S₁ category. This category is suitable for irrigation purpose. However, the concentration of bicarbonate was in significant amount showing 82 % of sites under “increasing problem” and the 4 % sites under “Severe Problem” zones. Finally, the above-said results are taken into a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. To understand the spatial distribution of unsuitable zones, ArcGIS was employed. The present work reveals that groundwater in the Omalur Taluk is of good quality and is suitable for all uses including interbrain water transfer in the region.     

Influence of residual surfactants on DNAPL characterization using partitioning tracers

The partitioning tracer technique is among the DNAPL source-zone characterization methods being evaluated, while surfactant in-situ flushing is receiving attention as an innovative technology for enhanced source-zone cleanup. Here, we examine in batch and column experiments the magnitude of artifacts introduced in estimating DNAPL content when residual surfactants are present. The batch equilibrium tests, using residual surfactants ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 wt.%, showed that as the surfactant concentrations increased, the tracer partition coefficients decreased linearly for sodium hexadecyl diphenyl oxide disulfonate (DowFax 8390), increased linearly for polyoxyethylene (10) oleyl ether (Brij 97), and decreased slightly or exhibited no observable trend for sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate (AMA 80). Results from column tests using clean sand with residual DowFax 8390 and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were consistent with those of batch tests. In the presence of DowFax 8390 (less than 0.5 wt.%), the PCE saturations were underestimated by up to 20%. Adsorbed surfactants on a loamy sand with positively charged oxides showed false indications of PCE saturation based on partitioning tracers in the absence of PCE. Using no surfactant (background soil) gave a false PCE saturation of 0.0004, while soil contacted by AMA 80, Brij 97, and DowFax 8390 gave false PCE saturations of 0.0024, 0.043, and 0.23, respectively.     

Significance of anion exchange in pentachlorophenol sorption by variable-charge soils

Sorption data and subsequent predictive models for evaluating acidic pesticide behavior on variable-charge soils are needed to improve pesticide management and environmental stewardship. Previous work demonstrated that sorption of pentachlorophenol (PCP), a model organic acid, was adequately modeled by accounting for pH-and pKa-dependent chemical speciation and using two organic carbon-normalized sorption coefficients; one each for the neutral and anionic species. Such models do not account for organic anion interaction to positively charged surface sites, which can be significant for variable-charge minerals present in weathered soils typical of tropical and subtropical regions. The role of anion exchange in sorption of ionizable chemicals by variable-charge soils was assessed by measuring sorption of PCP by several variable-charge soils from aqueous solutions of CaCl2, CaSO4, Ca(H2PO4)2 as a function of pH. Differences in sorption from phosphate and chloride electrolyte solutions were attributed to pentachlorophenolate interactions with anion exchange sites. Suppression of PCP sorption by phosphate ranged from negligible in a soil with essentially no positively charge sites, as measured by negligible anion exchange capacity, to as much as 69% for variable-charge soils. Pentachlorophenolate exchange correlated well with the ratio of pH-dependent anion exchange capacity to net surface charge. Sorption reversibility of PCP by both CaCl2 and Ca(H2PO4)2 solutions was also demonstrated. Results for PCP clearly demonstrate that sorption to anion exchange sites in variable-charge soils should be considered in assessing pesticide mobility and that phosphate fertilizer application may increase the mobility of acidic pesticides.     

Enhancement in combustion,performance, and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with diesel,biodiesel, and its blends by using nanoadditive

This article presents the results of investigations carried out to evaluate the improvement in combustion, performance, and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with neat petro-diesel (PD), soybean biodiesel (SB), and 50% SB blended PD (PD50SB) by using carbon nanotube (CNT) as an additive. The acid–alkaline-based transesterification process with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a catalyst was applied to derive the methyl ester of SB. A mass fraction of 100 ppm CNT nanoparticle was blended with base fuels by using an ultrasonicator and the physiochemical properties were measured based on EN standards. The measured physiochemical properties are in good agreement with standard limits. The experimental evaluations were carried out under varying brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) conditions in a single-cylinder, four-stroke, and natural aspirated research diesel engine at a constant speed of 1500 rpm. The results reveal that the SB and its blend promote shorter ignition delay period (IDP) that is resulting in lower in-cylinder pressure (ICP) and net heat release rate (NHR) compared to PD. The SB and its blend increase the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and reduce the brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) and exhaust gas temperature (EGT), due to lower heating value, and efficient combustion, respectively. As far as the emission characteristics are concerned, the SB and its blend promote lower magnitude of hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and smoke emissions compared to PD except for oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emission. The CNT nanoparticle inclusion with base fuels significantly improves the combustion, performance, and emissions level irrespective of engine load conditions.