SEM-EDX analysis of various sizes aerosols in Delhi India

Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) was used to understand the differences in morphology, elemental composition and particle density of aerosols in different five size ranges to further investigate the potential sources as well as transport of pollutants from/at a much polluted and a very clean area of Delhi. Aerosol samples were obtained in five different size ranges viz. > or = 10.9, 10.9-5.4, 5.4-1.6, 1.6-0.7 and < or = 0.7 microm from a considerably very clean and a much polluted area of Delhi. It was observed that at polluted area most of the particles irrespective of size are of anthropogenic origin. At clean area, in coarse size fractions particles are of natural origin while in fine size range the presence of anthropogenic particles suggests the transport of particles from one area to the other.     

Geo-spatial analysis of land–water resource degradation in two economically contrasting agricultural regions adjoining national capital territory (Delhi)

The present study was aimed at characterizing the soil-water resource degradation in the rural areas of Gurgaon and Mewat districts, the two economically contrasting areas in policy zones-II and III of the National Capital Region (NCR), and assessing the impact of the study area's local conditions on the type and extent of resource degradation. This involved generation of detailed spatial information on the land use, cropping pattern, farming practices, soils and surface/ground waters of Gurgaon and Mewat districts through actual resource surveys, standard laboratory methods and GIS/remote sensing techniques. The study showed that in contrast to just 2.54% (in rabi season) to 4.87% (in kharif season) of agricultural lands in Gurgaon district, about 11.77% (in rabi season) to 24.23% (in kharif season) of agricultural lands in Mewat district were irrigated with saline to marginally saline canal water. Further, about 10.69% of agricultural lands in the Gurgaon district and 42.15% of agricultural lands in the Mewat district were drain water irrigated. A large part of this surface water irrigated area, particularly in Nuh (48.7%), Nagina (33.5%), and Punhana (24.1%) blocks of Mewat district, was either waterlogged (7.4% area with 0.05 ppm). In fact, sub-surface drinking waters of some areas around battery and automobile manufacturing units in Gurgaon and Pataudi blocks were associated with exceptionally high (>0.1 ppm) Ni concentrations. In general, the ground waters of waterlogged or potentially waterlogged areas in the rural areas of Mewat were more contaminated than the ground waters in the rural areas of Gurgaon district with deeper (>5 m) water depths.Though Cr concentrations in the surface and sub-surface irrigation waters of both Gurgaon and Mewat districts were far above the maximum permissible limit of 1 ppm, their bio-available soil-Cr concentrations were well within permissible limit. Even bio-available Ni concentrations in agricultural lands of Gurgaon district associated with Ni contaminated sub-surface irrigations were well within desirable limit of 0.20 ppm. This was primarily attributed to the calcareous nature of the soils of the study area. About 35% of Gurgaon district and 59% of Mewat district irrigated with poor quality waters were salt-affected. These waterlogged/potentially waterlogged calcareous-salt affected soils of Mewat district were having acute zinc (Zn) deficiency (<0.6 ppm). Some areas with extremely high iron (Fe: 20-25 ppm) and Mn (10-25 ppm) concentrations were also noticed in the Gurgaon, Nuh and Punhana blocks. Generation of reduced conditions owing to paddy cultivation in areas with 3-3.5 m water depths appeared to be the main cause of such point contaminations. Extensive cadmium (Cd) contamination was also noticed in the waterlogged sodic agricultural lands of Nagina village in Mewat district associated with a large scale scrap automobile and battery business. The study could document the processes and provide spatially accurate information to the managers (e.g., National Capital Region Planning Board) and the concerned citizen groups. It could, in fact, clearly point out that dumping of industrial and domestic wastewaters especially from NCT-Delhi into river Yamuna and, to some extent, from NCT-Delhi re-located hazardous industrial units into Najafgarh drain tributaries at Delhi-Gurgaon boundary, and poor "off-farm" water management practices were the main reasons for extensive (point/non-point source) land-water degradation in Gurgaon and Mewat districts of NCR.     

Quantifying fluctuations in winter productive cropped area in the Central Indian Highlands

The Central Indian Highland landscape (CIHL) represents a complex, diverse, and highly human-modified system. Nearly half the landscape is cropland, yet it hosts 21 protected areas surrounded and connected by forests. Changing farming practices with increasing access to irrigation might alter this intensifying landscape in the near future particularly in light of weather variability. We analyzed a decade of remote sensing data for cropping patterns and climatic factors combined with census data for irrigation and demographic factors to understand winter cropping trajectories in the CIHL. We quantified ‘productive cropped area’ (PCA), defined as the area with planted crop that is green at the peak of the winter growing season. We find three primary trajectories in PCA—increasing, fluctuating, and decreasing. The most dominant trend is fluctuating PCA in two-thirds of the districts, ranging from ~2.11 million to ~3.73 million ha between 2001 and 2013, which is associated with village-level access to irrigation and local labor dynamics. In 58 % of all districts, clay soils were associated with winter cropping (p < 0.05). Increasing irrigation is associated with increased winter PCA in most (94 %) districts (p < 0.00001). We find strong negative association between PCA and land surface temperature (LST) in most (66 %) districts (p < 0.01). LST closely corresponds to daytime mean air temperature (p < 0.001) for available meteorological stations. Fine-scale meteorological and socioeconomic data, however, are needed to further disentangle impacts of these factors on PCA in this landscape.     

The relationship between staple food crops consumption and its impact on total factor productivity: does green economy matter?

The agriculture sector is a key driver of economic growth and provides employment opportunities across the globe generally. However, in today’s world, agricultural product demand is more influenced by taste, prices, and nutritional value due to climatic variation. The study has analyzed the current situation grain productivity by using the data of farm inputs and major grain crops of Pakistan from (1960–2020). The study consists of a two-stage analysis in the first stage, the total factor productivity (TFP) variable is obtained by using the parametric Tornqvisit-Theil index output-input-aggregation method separately for each crop; rice, maize, and wheat. After that, the unit root test is used to check the stationarity and trend of the variables in the long run. Subsequently, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is applied to check the existence of cointegration in the long run and short run among the variables. The results of the study disclosed that the consumption of rice has a positive relationship with its total factor productivity, but, wheat and maize have a negative long-run cointegration relationship with the respective productivities. The study results have shown that the consumption pattern of staple crops has substantially changed, due to climatic variation, and the current food consumption trend is revealing new dimensions and trends owing to variation in climate change and anthropogenic pressure which demands to adapt climate resilient farm practices.

     

Catalytic effect on hydrogen de/absorption properties of MgH2 − x wt% MM (x = 0, 10, 20, 30) nanomaterials

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Reversible hydrogen storage in MgH2 under specified conditions is a possible way for the positive reception of hydrogen economy, in which the...     

Population and development: impacts on environmental performance

Population growth and development patterns have a significant impact on the environmental performance. The issue of concern is whether population growth or the consumption/production patterns are responsible for environmental deterioration. This paper is an attempt to capture the impact of technological development, affluence, and population on environmental performance index, while previous studies had captured the impact of these three factors on environment only through CO₂ emissions. The analysis reveals that technological development and population size have a negative impact on environmental performance, whereas measures to improve affluence have a positive impact. Technological development has increased the production of energy efficient products but at the same time consumption of these products has increased manifold leading to environmental deterioration. Demographic attributes need specific attention to improve environmental performance. This paper concludes on some policy reflections on slowing the population growth as well as persuades individuals and economies to relook to their consumption and production patterns and channelize their efforts to protect the environment.     

Streamflow variability and hydroclimatic change at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM), USA

Seasonal variations in streamflow and the associated hydrologic extremes impart significant temporal structure to watershed-scale chemical fluxes. Consequently, a careful characterization of the episodic-to-seasonal and longer-term streamflow variations is a first step toward developing a comprehensive view of the temporal dynamics of watershed processes in a changing climate. Here we analyze a nearly two-decade-long streamflow record for the East Bear subwatershed within the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM) (USA) to understand the envelope of streamflow variability by season, with a particular focus on the high flow events that have a disproportionately large impact on the biogeochemical processes and fluxes. Interannual and longer-term variations in a number of derived statistical metrics of hydrologic variability are examined. Our analysis shows substantial interannual and longer-term variability in seasonal flow volumes and peak flows. Furthermore, a long, unimpaired streamflow record for the Narraguagus River (a proximate watershed to the BBWM) is examined with a view to understand the relative coherence in hydrologic variability, as well as quantifying the decadal and longer-term hydrologic variations in this region. We find that the streamflow variability in the two watersheds shows similarity in all seasons. A moving window analysis to assess the changing flood potential over time indicates upward trends in the recent decades. Spring season (March–May) flood estimates show a near-monotonic trend over the 1949–2008 record. Finally, empirical relationships between streamflow and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns highlight the regional and global climatic drivers of hydrologic extremes in this region, including impacts from remnants of Atlantic hurricanes.     

Simulation of Nitrogen Dynamics in Soil Using Infocrop Model

Nitrogen is the most widely used fertilizer nutrient, and it is a universally deficient nutrient too, which often severely restricts the growth and yield of crops. To improve N fertilizer management, soil–plant system models can be applied to simulate adequate N supply for both, optimal crop growth and minimal N losses. The likely impact of climate change on the cereal production is of paramount importance in the planning strategies to meet the future growing needs on sustainable grounds. In this scenario models are the effective tools to foresee the probable impacts and for choosing appropriate land use options. The study reported in this thesis, employs field experiments and use of simulation tools to understand the dynamics of soil N balance and relate growth and yield of rice under varying nitrogen inputs. The InfoCrop model was used in this study, which was calibrated with the historic data sets, and subsequently validated with the field experiment conducted at IARI Farm, New Delhi. Simulated results matched well with the observed values in terms of growth and yield of rice and seasonal nitrogen uptake. The components of soil nitrogen balance differed among varying nitrogen level treatments, which was also captured by use of InfoCrop. The model was then taken to climate change impact analysis. The results clearly revealed that when temperature increased, the soil N losses, like denitrification, volatilization, N2O emission increased, whereas grain and biomass yields decreased. The further scope of the study is to validate the study in contrasting agroenvironments.     

Connecting science,policy, and implementation for landscape‐scale habitat connectivity

We examined the links between the science and policy of habitat corridors to better understand how corridors can be implemented effectively. As a case study, we focused on a suite of landscape‐scale connectivity plans in tropical and subtropical Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, and Bhutan). The process of corridor designation may be more efficient if the scientific determination of optimal corridor locations and arrangement is synchronized in time with political buy‐in and establishment of policies to create corridors. Land tenure and the intactness of existing habitat in the region are also important to consider because optimal connectivity strategies may be very different if there are few, versus many, political jurisdictions (including commercial and traditional land tenures) and intact versus degraded habitat between patches. Novel financing mechanisms for corridors include bed taxes, payments for ecosystem services, and strategic forest certifications. Gaps in knowledge of effective corridor design include an understanding of how corridors, particularly those managed by local communities, can be protected from degradation and unsustainable hunting. There is a critical need for quantitative, data‐driven models that can be used to prioritize potential corridors or multicorridor networks based on their relative contributions to long‐term metacommunity persistence.     

Assessment of deterioration in water quality from source to household storage in semi-urban settings of developing countries

This study has investigated the common risks associated with the water quality changes from the source to the consumer households and the associated disease burden in the piped water supplies. Samples from the source to the household storage from Nagpur City were collected and analysed for heavy metals, nutrient and microbial parameters. Sanitary risks were identified at the households during the socio-economic and sanitary survey. The water quality deterioration was the most at household storage around 30.3 % indicating that measures need to be taken to safeguard the water quality at the consumer level. Then, 31.2 % of the samples collected from public standposts and handpumps were positive for faecal contamination which implies that it is the weaker sections of the society who suffer the consequences of drinking unsafe water the most. On the basis of the laboratory results, risk analysis by surveying the WTPs, point-of-use behaviour at households and sanitary status at different socio-economic strata, the Water Safety Plan for Nagpur City was structured. The aim was to ensure that safe and improved water is reached to the individual household.