Four decades of glacier mass balance observations in the Indian Himalaya

Understanding the glacier mass balance is necessary to explain the rate of shrinkage and to infer the impact of climate change. The present study provides an overview of the glacier mass balance records by glaciological, geodetic, hydrological and accumulation-area ratio (AAR) and specific mass balance relationship methods in the Indian Himalaya since 1970s. It suggests that the mass balance measurements by glaciological methods have been conducted for ten glaciers in the western Himalaya, four glaciers in the central Himalaya and one in the eastern Himalaya. Hydrological mass balance has been conducted only on Siachen Glacier from 1987 to 1991. Geodetic method has been attempted for the Lahaul–Spiti region for a short time span during 1999–2011 and Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya region from 2003 to 2008. We compared in situ specific balance data series with specific mass balance derived from AAR and specific mass balance relationship. The results derived from existing and newly presented regression model based on AAR and specific mass balance relationship induced unrealistic specific mass balance for several glaciers. We also revised AAR0 and ELA0 based on available in situ AAR and specific mass balance data series of Indian Himalayan glaciers. In general, in situ specific and cumulative specific mass balance observed over different regions of the Indian Himalayan glaciers shows mostly negative mass balance years with a few positive ones during 1974–2012. On a regional level, the geodetic studies suggest that on the whole western, the central and the eastern Himalaya experienced vast thinning during the last decade (2000s). Conversely, Karakoram region showed slight mass gain during almost similar period. However, the glaciological, hydrological and geodetic mass balance data appear to exhibit short time series bias. We therefore recommend creation of benchmark glaciers network for future research to determine the impact of climate change on the Himalayan cryosphere.     

Gas/particle partitioning of atmospheric PCDD/Fs in a satellite town in Eastern China

Gas/particle partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in ambient air was investigated in a satellite town in Eastern China from April 2007 to January 2008 comprehending large temperature variations (from 3 to 34 °C, daily average). Molecular weight, molecular structure and ambient temperatures are the three major factors that govern the gas/particle partitioning of atmospheric PCDD/Fs throughout the year. Generally, good agreements were obtained (except for winter) between measured particulate fractions and theoretical estimates of both the Junge–Pankow adsorption model and Harner Bidleman absorption model using different sets of subcooled liquid vapor pressure and octanol–air partition coefficient (K_oa), respectively. Models utilizing estimates, derived from gas chromatographic retention indices (GC-RIs), are more accurate than that of entropy-based. Moreover, during winter, the K_oa-based model using the GC-RIs approach performs better on lower chlorinated PCDD/Fs than that of -based. Furthermore, possible sources of mismatch between measured and predicted values in winter (3–7 °C) were discussed. Gas adsorption artifact was demonstrated to be of minor importance for the phenomena observed. On the other hand, large deviations of slopes (m_r) and intercepts (b_r) in logK_p vs. plots from theoretical values are observed in the literature data and these are found to be linearly correlated with ambient temperatures (P<0.001) in this study. This indicates that the non-equilibrium partitioning of PCDD/Fs in winter may be significantly influenced by the colder temperatures that may have slowed down the exchange between gaseous and particulate fractions.     

The study on the dechlorination of OCDD with Pd/C catalyst in ethanol-water solution under mild conditions

Dechlorination of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) was carried out in ethanol-water (v/v=1:1) solution of NaOH in the presence of Pd/C catalysts with the use of H(2). The substrate was dechlorinated with Pd/C under mild conditions (atmospheric pressure and <100 degrees C) to give a chlorine-free product, dibenzo-p-dioxin (DD), in high yields. After reaction of 3h at 50 degrees C, 95.9% OCDD was degraded to low dechlorinated congeners and the yield of DD was 77.4%. We have also studied the dechlorination selectivity of chlorine atoms on the different substituted positions and postulated the dechlorination pathway of OCDD. For OCDD, the 2-position has higher reactivity than 1-position, but the difference is very small. From the distribution statistics of the intermediates during the reaction, we postulate that the steric effect plays an important role during the reaction and affect the dechlorination pathway of OCDD.     

Development of a test method against hot alkaline chemical splashes.

High temperature alkaline chemical liquids have caused injuries and hazardous situations in Finnish pulp manufacturing mills. There are no requirements and/or test method standards concerning protection against high temperature alkaline chemical splashes. This paper describes the test method development process to test and identify materials appropriate for hot liquid chemical hazard protection. In the first phase, the liquid was spilled through a stainless steel funnel and the protection performance was evaluated using a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film under the test material. After several tentative improvements, a graphite crucible was used for heating and spilling the chemical, and a copper-coated K-type thermometer with 4 independent measuring areas was designed to measure the temperature under the material samples. The thermometer was designed to respond quickly so that peak temperatures could be measured. The main problem was to keep the spilled amount of chemical constant, which unfortunately resulted in significant variability in data.     

Occurrence of phenols in leachates from municipal solid waste landfill sites in Japan

The concentrations of 41 phenols in leachates from 38 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill sites in Japan were measured. The main phenols detected in leachates were phenol, three cresols, 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-tertoctylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and some chlorophenols. The concentration levels of phenols were affected by the pH values of the leachates and the different types of landfill waste. The origins of phenol and p-cresol were considered to be incineration residues, and the major origin of 4-tert-butylphenol, bisphenol A, and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol was considered to be solidified fly ash. In contrast, the major origins of 4-tert-octylphenol and 4-nonylphenol were considered to be incombustibles. The discharge of leachates to the environment around MSW landfill sites without water treatment facilities can cause environmental pollution by phenols. In particular, the disposal of incineration residues including solidified fly ash and the codisposal of solidified fly ash and incombustibles might raise the possibility of environmental pollution. Moreover, the discharge of leachates at pH values of 9.8 or more could pollute the water environment with phenol. However, phenol, 4-nonylphenol, and bisphenol A can be removed to below the con centration levels that impact the environment around landfill sites by a series of conventional water treatment processes.     

Extended alloparental care in the almost solitary bee Exoneurella eremophila (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The possibility of extending brood care via the overlapping presence of relatively short lived adults could generate advantages that may have been among the selective forces at the origin of eusociality. In this paper we provide evidence for extended brood care through sib-rearing in the arid-zone allodapine bee, Exoneurella eremophila. Solitary females of the overwintered generation generally die before all their offspring have become independent. In a relatively high proportion of nests, a newly eclosed female invests in her siblings while producing her own offspring in the maternal nest. The sex ratio of the first offspring produced by the overwintered female is highly female biased, but the overall sex ratio of the brood is unbiased. This finding supports the prediction of Bull's 'insurance by protogyny' model of a female bias in the first-produced offspring as a strategy by the mother to ensure extended brood care.     

Improve Compliance with Limited Resources by a Three-Group Inspection Regime

Frequent monitoring and relatively high fines are usually necessary to bring about improvements in environmental quality, but more challenging for many countries with limited human, material, and financial resources is to put them into practice. This paper developed a three-group model of a state-dependent enforcement in a repeated game to improve the policy implementation under limited inspection capacities. A certain number of firms are grouped (group 1, group 2, group 3) for different supervision intensity (e.g., the order of inspection probability corresponding to each group is p ₁?<?p ₂?<?p ₃) based on their environmental performance. The optimal policy parameters, such as inspection probability of each group and the probability that a firm found in compliance is moved to a better reputation group, were obtained as the basis for regulator’s policy making. Numerical simulations indicated that the three-group inspection regime can significantly increase compliance rate as compared with static enforcement with the same monitoring probability. Among the number of firms in each group under steady state conditions, group 2 had the most, group 1 was the second, and group 3 had the smallest. Analysis and prediction of a three-group reputation example provided a good experiment for the model. The results give a practical reference for the policy makers with inspection capacity constraints to achieve higher compliance rate.     

Modeling of Cr contamination in the agricultural lands of three villages near the leather industry in Kasur,Pakistan, using statistical and GIS techniques

Kasur is one of the hubs of leather industry in the Punjab, Pakistan, where chrome tanning method of leather processing is extensively being used. Chromium (Cr) accumulation levels in the irrigation water, soil, and seasonal vegetables were studied in three villages located in the vicinity of wastewater treatment plant and solid waste dumping site operated by the Kasur Tanneries Waste Management Agency (KTWMA). The data was interpreted using analysis of variance (ANOVA), clustering analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Interpolated surface maps for Cr were generated using the actual data obtained for the 30 sampling sites in each of the three villages for irrigation water, soil, and seasonal vegetables. The level of contamination in the three villages was directly proportional to their distance from KTWMA wastewater treatment plant and the direction of water runoff. The highest level of Cr contamination in soil (mg kg^?1) was observed at Faqeeria Wala (37.67), intermediate at Dollay Wala (30.33), and the least in Maan (25.16). A gradational variation in Cr accumulation was observed in the three villages from contaminated wastewater having the least contamination level (2.02–4.40 mg L^?1), to soil (25.16–37.67 mg kg^?1), and ultimately in the seasonal vegetable crops (156.67–248.33 mg kg^?1) cultivated in the region, having the highest level of Cr contamination above the permissible limit. The model used not only predicted the current situation of Cr contamination in the three villages but also indicated the trend of magnification of Cr contamination from irrigation water to soil and to the base of the food chain. Among the multiple causes of Cr contamination of vegetables, soil irrigation with contaminated groundwater was observed to be the dominant one.