Anthropogenic arsenic menace in Delhi Yamuna Flood Plains   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1  

Chandra S. Dubey  Bhupendra K. Mishra  Dericks P. Shukla  Ravindra P. Singh  M. Tajbakhsh  Purushottam Sakhare 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2012,65(1):131-139

Arsenic, one of the most poisonous chemical elements, was analyzed in the waters of the host of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, i.e., New Delhi. The study revealed shocking outcomes with arsenic concentrations well beyond the safe limits set by WHO, and a maximum concentration up to 180 ppb was found in the groundwater. Analysis of around 120 water samples collected extensively along the Yamuna Flood Plain showed that more than 55% had arsenic contamination beyond the WHO limit of 10 ppb. The maximum value of arsenic in coal and fly ash from Rajghat coal-based thermal power plant contained 200 and 3,200 ppb, respectively. Moreover, the ore petrography of coal samples shows the presence of arsenopyrite mineral. Maximum concentration of arsenic contamination is found within a 5-km radius from power plants. In the perspective of Delhi, arsenic contamination is purely anthropogenic due to coal-based thermal power plants, which had already shown toxic arsenic, fluorine and China-type coal effects. The presence of such power plants in coal field locations, e.g., West Bengal and Bangladesh, could release the arsenic due to combustion in superthermal power plants, thus accentuating the arsenic concentration besides the natural arsenic coming from the foreland basins of the Himalaya in Indian sub-continent.  相似文献   

A data-driven approach for analyzing dynamics of tide–aquifer interaction in coastal aquifer systems     

Amanpreet Singh  Madan K. Jha 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2012,65(4):1333-1355

Analysis of tidal effects on aquifer systems plays an important role in coastal aquifer management owing to various hydrological, engineering and environmental problems in coastal areas. Using the real-world data of unconfined and confined aquifers, a data-driven approach is presented in this study for the analysis of tide–aquifer interaction in coastal aquifers. Six analytical tide–aquifer interaction models were selected which take into account the effects of vertical beach, sloping beach, tidal loading, aquifer leakage, outlet capping, and combined leakage and outlet capping on tide-induced groundwater fluctuations. The tide–aquifer interaction datasets were obtained from the Konan groundwater basin (unconfined aquifer) of Japan and the Dridrate groundwater basin (confined aquifer) of Morocco. The analysis of the results obtained by the sloping beach model revealed that for a given beach slope, the amplitude of groundwater level increases with an increase in aquifer diffusivity and a decrease in aquifer thickness. However, no significant effect of beach slope was observed in this study at unconfined sites for all the datasets. The influence of tidal loading was found to be considerably less for all the three confined sites. Further, the analysis of the results of the leakage model indicated that with an increase in leakage into the aquifer, the amplitude of groundwater level as well as the phase shift (time lag) decreases. Of all the confined and unconfined datasets, only two confined sites were found to be affected by outlet capping. Overall, it is concluded that the coastal beach bordering the Konan basin is not significantly sloping, the contribution of tidal loading to tide-induced groundwater fluctuations in the Dridrate aquifer is not appreciable, and that the aquifer leakage and outlet capping do not exist at the unconfined sites under investigation.  相似文献   

A numerical simulation of landslide-prone slope in Himalayan region—a case study   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Kripamoy Sarkar  T. N. Singh  A. K. Verma 《Arabian Journal of Geosciences》2012,5(1):73-81

Stability of slope will always a problem due to its geodynamic nature of Himalayan region. The area investigated belongs to the Lower Siwalik formation, which is prone to failure due to presence of various weak planes or structures present in the rock mass. Frequent landslides causing loss of life, property, disturbance of morphological, surface and subsurface water flow pattern. A huge landslide in the Amiyan area occurred in 1999 and blocked the Gaula River which caused loss of agricultural land and other properties as well as waterlogged upstream side. The debris of Amiyan slope contains soil and sandstones of various types. This article deals with instability analysis of slopes of the Amiyan area, near Kathgodam, Nainital, Uttarakhand. This area experiences a number of local as well as regional slides. Extensive field surveys have been carried out to understand the geological detail. Laboratory experiments have been conducted to determine the various physicomechanical properties of rock mass. These properties have been used as input parameters for the numerical simulation. A number of researchers have used two-dimensional numerical models to simulate the slide area. Three-dimensional slope stability studies provide a better understanding of the mechanism of failure as well as zone of influence. The computed deformations and stress distribution, along the failure surface, have been compared with the field measurements and found to be in good agreement with field observations. In this case, finite difference method has been applied on the stability analysis of Amiyan slope. The study indicates that the slope is vulnerable and needs proper protection.  相似文献   

Glacial lakes and glacial lake outburst flood in a Himalayan basin using remote sensing and GIS   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Sanjay K. Jain  Anil K. Lohani  R. D. Singh  Anju Chaudhary  L. N. Thakural 《Natural Hazards》2012,62(3):887-899

Glacial hazards relate to hazards associated with glaciers and glacial lakes in high mountain areas and their impacts downstream. The climatic change/variability in recent decades has made considerable impacts on the glacier life cycle in the Himalayan region. As a result, many big glaciers melted, forming a large number of glacial lakes. Due to an increase in the rate at which ice and snow melted, the accumulation of water in these lakes started increasing. Sudden discharge of large volumes of water with debris from these lakes potentially causes glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in valleys downstream. Outbursts from glacier lakes have repeatedly caused the loss of human lives as well as severe damage to local infrastructure. Monitoring of the glacial lakes and extent of GLOF impact along the downstream can be made quickly and precisely using remote sensing technique. A number of hydroelectric projects in India are being planned in the Himalayan regions. It has become necessary for the project planners and designers to account for the GLOF also along with the design flood for deciding the spillway capacity of projects. The present study deals with the estimation of GLOF for a river basin located in the Garwhal Himalaya, India. IRS LISSIII data of the years 2004, 2006 and 2008 have been used for glacial lake mapping, and a total of 91 lakes have been found in the year 2008, and out of these, 45 lakes are having area more than 0.01?km². All the lakes have been investigated for vulnerability for potential bursting, and it was found that no lake is vulnerable from GLOF point of view. The area of biggest lake is 0.193, 0.199 and 0.203?km² in the years 2004, 2006 and 2008, respectively. Although no lake is potentially hazardous, GLOF study has been carried out for the biggest lake using MIKE 11 software. A flood of 100-year return period has been considered in addition to GLOF. The flood peak at catchment outlet comes out to be 993.74, 1,184.0 and 1,295.58 cumec due to GLOF; 3,274.74, 3,465.0 and 3,576.58 cumec due to GLOF; and 100-year return flood together considering breach width of 40, 60 and 80?m, respectively.  相似文献   

Near-field and far-field simulation of accelerograms of Sikkim earthquake of September 18, 2011 using modified semi-empirical approach     

A. Joshi  Pushpa Kumari  Sandeep Singh  M. L. Sharma 《Natural Hazards》2012,64(2):1029-1054

The semi-empirical approach for modeling of strong ground motion given by Midorikawa (Tectonophysics 218:287?C295, 1993) has been modified in the present paper for component wise simulation of strong ground motion. The modified approach uses seismic moment in place of attenuation relation for scaling of acceleration envelope. Various strong motion properties like directivity effect and dependence of peak ground acceleration with respect to surface projection of source model have been studied in detail in the present work. Recently, Sikkim earthquake of magnitude 6.9 (M _w ) that occurred on September 18, 2011 has been recorded at various near-field and far-field strong motion stations. The modified semi-empirical technique has been used to confirm the location and parameters of rupture responsible for this earthquake. Strong motion record obtained from the iterative modeling of the rupture plane has been compared with available strong motion records from near as well as far-field stations in terms of root mean square error between observed and simulated records. Several possibilities of nucleation point, rupture velocity, and dip of rupture plane have been considered in the present work and records have been simulated at near-field stations. Final selection of model parameters is based on root mean square error of waveform comparison. Final model confirms southward propagating rupture. Simulations at three near-field and twelve far-field stations have been made using final model. Comparison of simulated and observed record has been made in terms of peak ground acceleration and response spectra at 5?% damping. Comparison of simulated and observed record suggests that the method is capable of simulating record which bears realistic appearance in terms of shape and strong motion parameters. Present work shows that this technique gives records which matches in a wide frequency range for Sikkim earthquake and that too from simple and easily accessible parameters of the rupture plane.  相似文献   

Estimating tsunami potential of earthquakes in the Sumatra–Andaman region based on broadband seismograms in India     

S. K. Singh  J. F. Pacheco  M. Ordaz  R. S. Dattatrayam  G. Suresh  P. R. Baidya 《Natural Hazards》2012,64(2):1491-1510

In this paper, we report that the ratio of broadband energy (0.01?C2?Hz) to high-frequency energy (0.3?C2?Hz), E _r, estimated from regional seismograms of India, might be a useful parameter in estimating tsunami potential of earthquakes in the Sumatra?CAndaman region. E _r is expected to be sensitive to the depth as well as to the source characteristics of an earthquake. Since a shallow and slow earthquake has a greater tsunamigenic potential, E _r may be a useful diagnostic parameter. We base our analysis on broadband seismograms of the great earthquakes of Sumatra?CAndaman (2004, M _w?~?9.2) and Nias (2005, M _w 8.6), 41 of their aftershocks, and the earthquakes of north Sumatra (2010, M _w 7.8) and Nicobar (2010, M _w 7.4) recorded at VISK, a station located on the east coast of India. In the analysis, we also included the two recent, great strike-slip earthquakes of north Sumatra (2012, M _w 8.6, 8.2) recorded at VISK and three south Sumatra earthquakes (2007, M _w 8.5; 2007, M _w 7.9; 2010, M _w 7.8) recorded at PALK, a station in Sri Lanka. We find that E _r is a function of depth; shallower earthquakes have higher E _r values than the deeper ones. Thus, E _r may be indicative of tsunamigenic potential of an earthquake. As M _w and E _r increase so does the tsunami potential. In addition to the parameter E _r, the radiated seismic energy, E _s, may be estimated from the regional seismograms in India using empirical Green??s function technique. The technique yields reliable E _s for the great Sumatra and Nias earthquakes. E _r and E _s computed from VISK data, along with M _w and focal mechanism, may be useful in estimating tsunami potential along the east coast of India from earthquakes in the Sumatra?CAndaman region in less than ~20?min.  相似文献   

Theoretical Equations of Vertical and Radial Consolidation by Equating Degrees of Consolidation by Settlement Analysis and Dissipation of Pore Pressure     

Sudhir Kumar Tewatia  Asuri Sridharan  Mangu Singh  Sunanda Rath 《Geotechnical and Geological Engineering》2012,30(4):1037-1043

Degree of consolidation, U, is defined in two ways: (1) by settlement analysis and (2) by dissipation of pore pressure. Equations of vertical and radial consolidations are derived by equating the above two U. The new equations are compared with the existing equations of vertical and radial consolidations. It is shown that new equation of radial consolidation is exactly same as Barron’s equation of equal strain radial consolidation while in case of vertical consolidation it is similar to later part of Terzaghi’s equation of vertical consolidation. A few possible reasons and advantages of comparison are given. The theory of rapid loading methods is based on the equality of these two degrees of consolidations. It is concluded that in rapid loading methods the next load increment can be applied at any time in radial consolidation once the effects of initial compression are over. However, in vertical consolidation it can be applied only after 60% consolidation.  相似文献   

Benthic foraminiferal biofacies on the shelf and upper continental slope off North Kerala (Southwest India)     

N. R. Nisha  A. D. Singh 《Journal of the Geological Society of India》2012,80(6):783-801

This study examines benthic foraminifera (>63 μm) both qualitatively and quantitatively, from 19 closely spaced surficial sediment samples covering 30 to 200 m water depths across the shelf and upper continental slope off north Kerala (SW India). A total of 59 species are recorded. The major constituents of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the study area are fursenkoinids, bolivinids, nonionids, rotaliids, elphidiids, buliminids, miliolids, gavilinellids, amphestiginids, bagginids, vaginulinids, uvigerinids and various agglutinated taxa. Cluster analysis using Bray Curtis similarity index defines four sample groups, each typified by a characteristic assemblage representing a biofacies. The major benthic foraminiferal biofacies identified are: Biofacies I, Fursenkoina-Nonion-Ammonia beccarii s.l. (30–40 m); Biofacies II, Fursenkoina-Nonion (40–55 m); Biofacies III, Bolivina robusta-Hanzawaia-Cancris-Amphistegina and miliolids (55–115 m) and Biofacies IV, Bolivina persiensis-Uvigerina-Bulimina-Fursenkoina and agglutinants (115–200 m). Relict foraminifera, most commonly represented by shallow-water benthic taxa are concentrated on the outer shelf. The relict assemblage appears to be a product of late Pleistocene low sea level. The foraminiferal biofacies have a good correspondence with the bathymetrically distributed three major lithofacies across the shelf and the upper continental slope. We studied the distribution pattern of individual taxa constituting the biofacies. The study demonstrates a relationship between the pattern of distribution of major benthic fauna and the sediment-size and organic carbon content across the inner shelf to upper slope. Additionally, certain taxa appear to be sensitive to various hydrographic parameters, such as, Bulimina marginata to temperature and Fursenkoina complanata and Uvigerina ex gr. U. semiornata to dissolved oxygen level.  相似文献   

A fossil palm leaf impression from ∼11.2 Ma old,Siwalik deposits of Kangra Valley,Himachal Pradesh     

Ram Ratan Singh  Rajeev Patnaik 《Journal of the Geological Society of India》2012,79(1):85-88

We report here, a fossil palm leaf from Lower Siwalik sediments, tied to nearby palaeomagnetically dated 11.2 Ma old beds exposed in the Baner Khad, near Ranital, Himachal Pradesh. The palm fossil leaf impression has been placed in the genus Palmacites sp. (Family: Arecaceae) based on its diagnostic features such as large palmate leaf without hastula and costa (midrib), showing coriaceous texture, leaflets diverging from the base of the lamina with prominent midrib and parallel venation. This finding may indicate presence of tropical to subtropical climatic conditions in the Himalayan foothills around Kangra Valley in the Middle Miocene time.  相似文献   

2-D velocity structure in Kerala-Konkan basin using traveltime inversion of seismic data     

Praveen Kumar Singh  Kalachand Sain 《Journal of the Geological Society of India》2012,79(1):53-60

The existence of gas-hydrates in marine sediments increases the seismic velocity, whereas even a small amount of underlying free-gas reduces the velocity considerably. The change in velocities against the background (without gas-hydrates and free-gas) velocity can be used for identification and assessment of gas-hydrates. Traveltime inversion of identifiable reflections from large offset multi channel seismic (MCS) experiment is an effective method to derive the 2-D velocity structure in an area. We apply this method along a seismic line in the Kerala-Konkan (KK) offshore basin for delineating the gas-hydrates and free-gas bearing sediments across a bottom simulating reflector (BSR). The result reveals a four layer 2-D shallow velocity model with the topmost sedimentary layer having velocity of 1,680–1,740 m/s and thickness of 140–190 m. The velocity of the second layer of uniform thickness (110 m) varies from 1,890 to 1,950 m/s. The third layer, exhibiting higher velocity of 2,100–2,180 m/s, is interpreted as the gas-hydrates bearing sediment, the thickness of which is estimated as 100 to 150 m. The underlying sedimentary layer shows a reduction in seismic velocity between 1,620 to 1,720 m/s. This low-velocity layer with 160–200 m thickness may be due to the presence of free-gas below the gas-hydrates layer.  相似文献