bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bangalore: Divided City under the Impact of Globalization
Authors: Dittrich Christoph
Published: November 2024

The meteoric rise of the South Indian megacity of Bangalore to a globally integrated location of software development and other modern service industries produces profound changes in the metropolitan landscape, creating aggravating disparities and a highly fragmented and polarized urban society. Bangalore is becoming what is called a multiply divided city where both social and geographical barriers are reinforced. While a relatively tiny stratum of an affluent urban elite takes benefit from these transformations, the living conditions of the urban poor will be further marginalized. The recent internationalization of Bangalore has had mainly negative effects on the urban poor.
Paleoclimate of the Yangtze River's Lower Reaches for the Past	14,000 Years
Authors: Zhang Qiang , Hartmann Heike , Becker Stefan , Zhu Cheng
Published: November 2024

The paleoclimate of the Yangtze River's lower reaches for the past 14,000 years is investigated by sediment records from the Linfengqiao section, a location near Nanjing. Therefore grain size and geochemical analyses as well as $^{14}$ C and biostratigraphical dating were carried out.

The authors have come to the conclusion that the Holocene at the lower Yangtze was not characterized only by a warm and humid climate. In fact, the warm and humid climate was interrupted by two periods of extreme coldness and aridity with temperature and humidity pessima at about 2500 yr B.P. and 8200 yr B.P. There were also two extremely warm and humid periods recorded in which heavy precipitation led to the occurrence of several floods. The temperature and humidity maxima were dated at about 2000 yr B.P. and about 8000 yr B.P. Moreover, large amounts of gravel-grade sedimentary material indicates that the last deglaciation happened at about 11,000 yr B.P.
Impact of Imidacloprid on Soil Fertility and Nodulation in Mung	bean (Vigna radiata)
Authors: Kaur Amrit , Kaur Amarjeet
Published: November 2024

An experiment was conducted at the research farm of Delhi University to study the impact of imidachloprid (chloronicotinyl insecticide) on the physico- chemical and microbial parameters of soil fertility along with nodulation in mung bean while using it as a seed treatment @ 140 ga.i./100 kg of mung seeds. Soil samples were collected from the control and imidachloprid treated mung bean field on the day of sowing (0 days) and after every 30 days till the time of harvesting (90 days) of the crop. Soil pH and organic carbon was not found to be significantly different for the control and treated field throughout the experimental period. Dehydrogenase activity was also not impaired owing to imidacloprid application in treated mung field. Soil microbial community structure studied through classical plate count method showed temporary inhibition of bacterial and actinomycetes population at the 60 days after the treatment. However, the fungal and Azotobacter population was not found to be impaired due to imidachloprid application. Furthermore, the nodulation was also found to be severely inhibited in the treated field as compared to control one and this inhibitory effect was irretrievable.
The Comparative Distribution of Volatile Aromatic Hydrocarbons in	Ambient Air of Hamadan (West of Iran) with Gasoline Stations
Authors: Bahrami Abdul Rahman
Published: November 2024

Transportation sources create a major pollution problem with hydrocarbons in the ambient air of cities and petrol locations. The objective of this study was comparative distribution of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (VAH) in the ambient air of Hamadan city and petrol stations. For this purpose, 74 samples of large size were obtained with charcoal tube and pump sampling. Samples were taken at eight sites in Hamadan at which traffic flow varied between 100 to 1200 vehicles per hour. Samples were analyzed with gas chromatography equipped with flame ionizing detector.

The mean concentrations of benzene, toluene, m- and p-xylene and o-xylene in gasoline stations were 89.9, 128.6, 61.8 and 25.5μg/m $^3$ respectively. The concentrations depend on density of vehicular traffic per hour. The results of data analyses showed a significant difference between concentration of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline locations and ambient air of Hamadan city (P = 0.005). The mean concentrations of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air during the spring and the summer were more than during autumn and winter (P = 0.005).

The concentrations of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline stations and ambient air are high as compared to other cities in the world that made potential effort to citizens' health. The authorities must decrease the amount of benzene in consumption of gasoline in Iran.
Municipal Waste Management and Environmental Hazards in	Bangladesh
Authors: Hasan G.M. Jahid , Chowdhury Md. Aktarul Islam
Published: November 2024

Municipal solid waste is a serious environmental hazard and social problem in Bangladesh. Currently a gigantic volume of solid waste is generated every day in the district towns of Bangladesh and unfortunately solid waste management is being deteriorated day by day due to the limited resources to handle the increasing rate of generated waste. In order to check the waste management situation a detailed survey in different cities of Bangladesh has been done in this study. Although a significant amount of municipal waste is collected by community based organizations, conservancy wings of the cities can not dispose more than 50% of the generated wastes. This study reflects the adverse impacts of pollution through solid waste and deteriorating situation of municipal solid waste management in capital city Dhaka, divisional city Sylhet, greater district town Tangail and Rangamati and new district town Gazipur.
An Alternative for Sustainable Domestic Wastewater Treatment in	Bangkok
Authors: Giri Rabindra Raj , Ozaki Hiroaki , Takeuchi Junichi
Published: November 2024

Concerns have been raised on sustainability of conventional linear domestic wastewater treatment system in developing countries where Bangkok is not an exception. This paper aimed to unveil basic facts on characteristics and organic degradation potential of domestic wastewater in Bangkok with simple laboratory experiments and wastewater quality survey of two typical treatment plants considering existing local traditions. The results showed greywater-like qualities of domestic wastewater in Bangkok as a result of continued use of septic tanks and tradition of using water in defecation instead of toilet paper, and high organic degradation potential in tropical condition. The domestic wastewater characteristics, climatic conditions and existing local traditions in Bangkok can be better utilized by introducing low-cost, closed-loop natural treatment system with source separation instead of continuing the conventional linear system for sustainability.
Environmental Assessment of Tannery Wastes from Chittagong,	Bangladesh
Authors: Das Pranab , Das Biplob , Khan Yusuf Sharif Ahmed
Published: November 2024

The present paper deals with the study of different physico-chemical parameters as well as metal concentration in the effluents discharged by a leather processing industry, Madina Tannery, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Industrial effluents were collected from every section of the leather-processing unit (viz., preliminary soaking, soaking, dehairing, re-liming, bating, pickling, chrome tanning, neutralization, colouring and fat liquoring). The pH value and concentrations (mg.l $^{-1}$ ) of TDS, TSS, Cl $^-$ , BOD, COD and Cr were found in the range of 3.4–12.8, 570–85,340, 68–2384, 69–23,125, 1148–8875, 2068–16,231 and 26–6853 respectively. Levels (mg.l $^{-1}$ ) of BOD, COD, Chloride (Cl $^-$ ), Electric Conductivity (EC), Total Alkalinity (TA), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) were found in the range of 4768–5798, 6636–7859, 1978–2215, 2900–5600, 745–1358, 7068–9068 and 1003–2307 respectively. Metal concentrations (mg.l $^{-1}$ ) of Cr, Mn, Fe and Cd were found in the range of 69–74, 0.07–0.09, 2.5412–2.8796 and 0.0257–0.0325 respectively. The study reveals that tannery effluents play a key role in environmental contamination.
Air Pollution Control in Iran with Special References to Iranian	Oil Industry
Authors: Dahaghin A.R. , Kazemi H. , Tasharrofi S.
Published: November 2024

In this paper reference has been given to the national bodies involved in environmental pollution, with especial emphasis on air problems. The scope of work of some of these organizations and the governing Acts are also explored. Specific attention has been paid to the previous and current activities of Iranian Oil Industry with respect to safeguarding the environment.

The annual means of some of the measured pollutants in the vicinity of Tehran Refinery for the period of 1993 to 1998 are given. Even though the sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxidants do not exceed the standards, the soiling index, suspended particulate matter, dust fall and hydrocarbons do.
The Effect of Climate on the Growth of Paddy
Authors: Swain Trilochan
Published: November 2024

There is no doubt that climate has affected our agricultural system and the growth of plants in different fields. The climate is continuously changing due to changes in the chemical composition of our atmosphere caused by the emission of different pollutants from different sources. The presence of pollutants in our atmosphere is increasing the global warming which directly affects the change of climate. Here this article will show how the change of climate affects the paddy in their growth.
Role of Electrical Conductivity as an Indicator of Pollution in	Shallow Lakes
Authors: Das Rajib , Samal Nihar Ranjan , Roy Pankaj Kumar , Mitra Debojyoti
Published: November 2024

A major portion of water based recreational activity of human race centres around the thousands of lakes, reservoirs and other small, relatively quiescent bodies of water, which has drawn the attention of the researchers to a great extent during the recent times. Water quality is closely linked to many physical and chemical aspects of lake. Control on various physical, thermophysical and chemical properties of lake water has to be maintained so that their values remain within permissible limits. Electrical Conductivity (EC) is such a thermophysical property of lake water, which has strong interrelationship with pollution level. Experiments carried out at Subhas Sarovar (lake) and Rabindra Sarovar (lake), Kolkata, indicates that EC has a linear relationship with Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), which is validated by the findings at various other lakes throughout the world. Since EC increases with temperature, the values are corrected to a standard value of 25°C and then are technically referred to as specific electrical conductivity. It is also observed that EC increases with increase in TDS, which in turn indicates increased concentration of sulphates and other ions. Therefore, measured value of EC indirectly indicates the level of pollution in lake waters and further studies on the sources of pollutants and possible remedies can then be made. Moreover, measurement of EC is much easier than direct measurement of TDS, thus showing an easier path for pollution monitoring in shallow lake waters.
An Appraisal of Globalization and Sustainable Development for	European Countries
Authors: Vaziri Manouchehr , Rassafi Amir Abbas
Published: November 2024

The contemporary issues of sustainable development and globalization for a subset of European countries are addressed. The paper evaluates these two issues at the national level when some development specialists argue that there is often a trade-off between them. The study database consisted of last two decades' relevant national indicators extracted from centralized information sources of international agencies. Due to incomplete and missing data, only 22 countries were selected for detailed analysis for the ten-year period of 1985 to 1995. The globalization indicators reflect cross-border flow and exchange of products, people, resources, and information. The sustainable development indicators reflect human and ecosystem well-beings. They consisted of measures reflecting economic, environmental and social development characteristics. The univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of the database showed interesting results and relations between globalization and sustainable development for the period of study. Elasticities of sustainable development indicators with respect to globalization indicators were studied. For some countries, the elasticity appraisal showed sustainable development parallel with globalization. For others, the evaluation did not indicate a promising period. The study confirmed the significance of the globalization and sustainable development balancing challenges of the 21st century.
Threatened Groundwater Resources in Rural India: An Example of	Monitoring
Authors: Maréchal J.C. , Ahmed S. , Engerrand C. , Galeazzi L. , Touchard F.
Published: November 2024

In the absence of available surface water in semi-arid areas, groundwater has become the main water resource for various purposes. In many places in southern India, groundwater even is the only source of drinking water in rural areas. Therefore, quality and quantity aspects of groundwater management constitute acute issues for the well-being of Indian rural populations. This study proposes to use borewells drilled by farmers for irrigation purposes in order to assess the quality and quantity of available groundwater. A very accurate map of the water table and its variations was drawn and zones of water table depletion were compared to water pumping locations. Overexploitation is quantified at the watershed scale. Quantity is associated with quality. A groundwater electrical conductivity map reveals highly mineralized groundwater near the villages, and pollution plumes downgradient of the main inhabited areas. The absence of sewage or solid waste collection and treatment facilities threatens groundwater quality by increasing its chloride content, even in such small rural villages. The overall analyses indicate increasing risk for sustainability of groundwater resources. At the regional scale, salinisation of groundwater due to irrigation practices is suspected.
Mitigation of Methane Emission from Solid Waste Disposal Site in	the Tropics by Vegetated Cover Soil
Authors: Chiemchaisri Chart , Chiemchaisri Wilai , Sawat Anuchit
Published: November 2024

Development of a mitigation technique for methane emission from a solid waste disposal site using biological activity in cover soil was investigated. Methane emission rates through clay, sandy loam and vegetated sandy loam (with Sporobolus virginicus) cover soil laid on existing waste pile at a dumpsite in Thailand were studied by using closed flux chamber method. Over 275 days of monitoring, average methane emission rates measured through clay, sandy loam and vegetated sandy loam were 1.31, 1.79 and 0.95 g/m $^2$ /d, respectively. Though methane emission rates fluctuated significantly with time, higher emission rates were detected during the dry period than the high intensity rainfall period. Significant reduction of methane emission was observed in cover soil employing vegetated sandy loam where methane oxidation reaction could be promoted. The application of leachate onto the vegetated cover soil could also enhance plant growth and methane oxidation. The results of this study suggest that methane emission from solid waste disposal sites could be mitigated through application of appropriate topsoil as a bio-filter.
Sustainable Development of Urban Water Resources: An Appraisal for	Asian Monsoon Region
Authors: Vaziri Manouchehr
Published: November 2024

The challenges of water resources sustainable development are enormous in the Asian monsoon region. Meteorological behaviour in this region is signified by its warm and moist winds, northwest monsoon, blowing from the sea to the land during summer and bringing heavy rains in India and South East Asia. On the contrary, the northeast monsoon occurs when cold and dry winter air flows out of the interior of Asia from the northeast and bring the cool and dry winter season. This unique cyclic behaviour often results in several months of drought followed by a period of flooding, demanding robust water resources management at regional as well as local scales. The objective of this study was to assess water resources sustainable development for selected urban areas in the Asian monsoon region during the last decade. Using centralized databases of international agencies, for the period of 1993 to 1998, urban information pertinent to water resources were collected, analyzed and modelled. The study database consisted of information regarding urban water accessibility, consumption, price, wastewater treatment, and other pertinent social, environmental and economic indicators. Due to data inaccessibility, incompleteness and missing, less than 20 cities from Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam were selected for detailed analysis. The statistical analyses for the selected cities showed interesting results and relations in connection with urban water resources sustainable development of Asian monsoon region. For the period of 1993 to 1998, elasticity of database indicators were developed. Using elasticities, a composite urban water resources sustainability index was suggested. The elasticities and index were used in taxonomy of the selected cities, and reflected considerable variations in urban water demand and supply development. The study confirmed the significance of urban areas water resources sustainability challenges of the 21 $^{st}$ century for the Asian monsoon region.
TXRF Technique in Trace Level Analysis of Environmental	Samples
Authors: Olise F.S. , Owoade O.K. , Olaniyi H.B.
Published: November 2024

Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) technique capability in the multi-elemental analysis of samples of diverse matrices is reported. This technique has been used in the simultaneous assay of geological, environmental and biological samples. The TXRF technique having an advantage over the conventional Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) technique in detecting elements at trace concentrations, 10 ppb, is demonstrated. The IAEA Soil 7 reference standard was analysed to attest to the accuracy and precision of the technique. The measured results and the reference or certified values of the reference standard were in good agreement. For most analysed elements, the precision in this work was better than 1.20%.
Assessment of Recirculation Ratio Impacts on Mixed Liquor	Suspended Solids in the Activated Sludge Process
Authors: Mohan S. , Ramesh S.T.
Published: November 2024

Control of the bacterial environment through efficient solid/liquid separation and operation of the biological processes with high biomass concentrations are likely to affect cell metabolism and limit the bacterial growth, and in turn the sludge production. This paper presents a simulation study with the objective to study the effect of recirculation ratio on Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) in plant design and operation strategy of activated sludge process. The simulation results indicated that an optimal combination of recirculation ratio and operation strategy, the performance in terms of MLSS and efficiency improves significantly when compared to current operational practice. The use of simulations, rather than experiments, to compare combinations of plant design and operation strategy excludes erroneous conclusions due to arbitrary events. Moreover, it would be practically impossible to make a fair experimental comparison between all the combinations of design and operation, which are compared in these simulations. The simulation results were verified by operating a bench scale reactor in the laboratory operated in the continuous mode with the recirculation ratio (R) varied in the range of 0.25 to 1.
Impact of the Diatom Asterionella glacialis (Castracane) Bloom on	the Water Quality and Phytoplankton Community Structure in Coastal Waters of	Gopalpur Sea, Bay of Bengal
Authors: Mishra Sangeeta , Sahu Gouri , Mohanty A.K. , Singh S.K. , Panigrahy R.C.
Published: November 2024

Occurrence of mono-species bloom of the diatom Asterionella glacialis (Castracane) in the coastal waters of Gopalpur sea, north-western Bay of Bengal and its impact on the water quality and phytoplankton community structure is reported in this paper. The bloom period persisted for about two weeks, from third week of March to 4 $^{th}$ April 2004. Population density of phytoplankton discerned manifold increase from 4.63 × 10 $^4$ cells l $^{-1}$ on 22 $^{nd}$ February 2004 to 3.96 × 10 $^7$ cells l $^{-1}$ on 26 $^{th}$ March 2004. An overwhelming dominance of Asterionella contributing about 99.5% of the total phytoplankton count was observed during peak bloom period. Chlorophyll-a contents also showed an exponential increase that rose to 237.5 mg m $^{-3}$ during peak bloom period from its pre-bloom concentration of about 3.26 mg m $^{-3}$ . The stable hydrographic conditions coupled with increased nutrient concentrations have triggered the blooming of this diatom species. Termination of bloom occurred with the depletion of nitrate and silicate in the medium water. Phytoplankton community structure in terms of their species diversity, species richness and evenness showed distinct variations during the pre-bloom, bloom and post-bloom periods.
Bacterial Respiration, Growth Efficiency and Protist Grazing Rates	in Mangrove Waters in Cape Rachado, Malaysia
Authors: Lee Choon-Weng , Bong Chui-Wei
Published: November 2024

This study was carried out at an inter-tidal site at Cape Rachado (02°24′48N, 101°51′31E, Fig. 1) from April 2003 until April 2004. A small mangrove forest populated with Sonneratia and Rhizophora trees was located nearby. Bacterial respiration ranged 0.818–3.208μM O $_2$ h $^{-1}$ , and the amount of carbon respired was 9.80–38.44μg C L $^{-1}$ h $^{-1}$ . Concurrent bacterial production during the incubation was 1.23–3.28μg C L $^{-1}$ h $^{-1}$ . Using both these respiration and production values, we calculated the bacterial growth efficiency, and it ranged 4.0–11.1%. The low growth efficiency indicated the lower substrate quality here. However adding nutrients did not significantly increase bacterial growth rates (Student's t-test for matched pairs: t=1.883, df=2, p>0.10). In this study, protists consumed 0.49–5.72×10 $^4$ bacterial cells mL $^{-1}$ h $^{-1}$ or 22 ± 15% of bacterial production. In carbon equivalents, grazing ranged 0.15– 1.81μg C L $^{-1}$ h $^{-1}$ . Annual bacterial production at this site is 42.7 g C m $^{-3}$ yr $^{-1}$ , and carbon consumed by the bacteria was estimated at 585 g C m $^{-3}$ yr $^{-1}$ . Of this, only 8 g C m $^{-3}$ yr $^{-1}$ was channeled onto protists. These calculations showed that effectively only 1% of the carbon consumed by bacteria was passed onto protists. The role of bacteria here was essentially that of a remineralizer, and as a sink for carbon.
Arsenic, Chromium and Mercury in Surface Sediment of Songkhla Lake	System, Thailand
Authors: Sompongchaiyakul P. , Sirinawin W.
Published: November 2024

Songkhla Lake, a tropical estuarine lagoon system in southern Thailand, is located between latitudes 7°08′ and 7°50′ N and longitudes 100°07′ and 100°37′ E. The system has four interconnected water bodies, namely Thale Noi, Inner Lake, Middle Lake and Outer Lake, ranging from fresh to saline water. The system receives runoff, wastewater and sediments from surrounding watershed and drains into the Gulf of Thailand. Seventy-four surface sediment samples from the whole lake system were determined for As, Cr, Hg, Fe, Mn, Al, organic carbon and textural characteristics. Total concentration of As in Thale Noi, Inner & Middle Lake, and Outer Lake are 8.2 ± 1.7 (5.7–10.8), 5.9 ±; 1.5 (3.7–10.8) and 10.7 ± 5.5 (5.1–25.7) mg kg $^{-1}$ , respectively. Total concentration of Cr in Thale Noi, Inner & Middle Lake, and Outer Lake are 45.2 ± 5.0 (36.0–55.2), 36.6 ± 9.2 (23.7–73.3) and 29.6 ± 9.2 (7.9–48.2) mg kg $^{-1}$ , respectively. Total concentration of Hg in Thale Noi, Inner & Middle Lake, and Outer Lake are 89.1 ± 14.9 (63.4–113.1), 38.4 ± 11.1 (24.3–68.0) and 49.3 ± 15.2 (26.6–110.3) μg kg $^{-1}$ , respectively. In most part of the lake, As and Cr concentrations are at or near natural levels, except at station 57. The concentration of Hg may be natural or influenced to some degree by anthropogenic sources. Thale Noi, the most natural part of the lake system which contains high organic content, has the highest concentrations of Cr and Hg. Diagenetic processes involving iron oxides and aluminosilicate appear to be the most important factor controlling the behaviour of As, Cr and Hg in sediments. Organic matter and clay size particles seem to have less direct influence on the geochemistry of the metals.
Biogeochemical Variability of Vietnamese Coastal Waters Influenced	by Natural and Anthropogenic Processes
Authors: An Nguyen Tac , Thu Phan Minh
Published: November 2024

The paper focuses on an analysis of the main characteristics of Vietnamese coastal zones and their biogeochemical cycles. Spatial and temporal variability in the distribution of chlorophyll, primary production, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are discussed. Biogeochemistry depends on hydrodynamics, especially on the upwelling from the seas, and on anthropogenic processes from the land.
Arsenic Pollution in the Ground Water in Bangladesh: An	Overview
Authors: Safiullah Syed
Published: November 2024

Arsenic contents of surface sediments vary in the range 6–40 mg/kg; fine sand and sediments tend to have higher levels of arsenic than coarser fractions. From the mapping done so far about 60% of area in Bangladesh is affected by the arsenic problem. Of all the tried and tested methods of arsenic removal, adsorption-filtration seems to be more cost effective and user-friendly. Comparative studies indicate that filters made of hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) based porous materials are by far the most efficient filters and also the safest. Since Bangladesh has very large number of rivers, arsenic is likely to show up its presence in environment where rivers are very active.
Salinity Studies for Evaluation of Irrigation Suitability Status	of Tsunami Affected Regions of South India
Authors: Babu S. Madhan , Pradeep S. , Shyamala A. , Das Ashutosh
Published: November 2024

Tsunami affected coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, India, were investigated for soil salinity to estimate their suitability for irrigation. Due to the tsunami of December 26, 2004 and subsequent submergence of coastal regions of India the resultant salt water intrusion there has led to a significant increase in salinity in both soil and waterbodies in the regions. The present research is aimed at exploring the current status of water and soil salinity, and their possible effect on the yield of the irrigation crops. Studies were carried out between Nagapattinam to Vedaranyam, the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu (India) and the region which is reported to have one of the maximum casualties, due to the recent tsunami. The results show a variable concentration of sodium level in the salinity indicating the different degree of irrigation suitability. Contours of water salinity, soil salinity, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and yield percentage of crop were drawn using ArcGIS 8.0; thus generated digitized maps provide a clearer picture of the above parameters.
Use of Wetland for Dye-house Waste Waters Purifying Purposes
Authors: Parac-Osterman Durdica , Sutlovic Ana , Durasevic Vedran , Griessler-Bulc Tjasa
Published: November 2024

Textile finishing processes produce waste waters burdened by high amounts of dyestuff, which has not been chemically bonded to the fiber in the process of fixation. Also, a great threat to the inlet water ways and the environment itself are high quantities of salt (e.g. NaCl or Na $_2$ SO $_4$ ), used in the processes of cotton dyeing. Although, recently more and more new physical and chemical purifying methods are being developed, with the emphasis on membrane processes, this paper revises an alternative solution to the problem, which is adapting and constructing a purifying system similar to the processes which have been occurring in the nature forever.

Efficiency of such constructed wetland will depend on selection and mass relation of natural adsorbents, which should correlate to the natural geological profiles. In this paper wetland was optimized within laboratory investigations and then used as an only method employed in order to purify dye-house wastewater. Optimized combination of purifying media along with Phragmites Australis achieved reduction of measured biological parameters (COD, BOD $_5$ , TOC, AOX, el. conductivity, pH, NH $_4^+$ , NO $_3^-$ , NO $_2^-$ , total P and the amount of Cl $^-$ ions). In order to significantly reduce SAC values, another purifying method (e.g. chemical) should be employed.
Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia Contamination in Ground Water: A Case	Study from Gümüþhacýköy Plain, Turkey
Authors: Ersoy Arzu Firat , Ersoy Hakan , Gültekin Fatma
Published: November 2024

Ground and surface water quality can be affected by three different forms of pollution, which are chemical, biological and physical pollution. These polluting factors can influence natural environment and human health. Nitrates in soil and ground water generally moves relatively slow and there is approximately 20 years lag time between the detection of the pollutant and the pollution activity in ground water. For that reason, it is assumed that nitrate concentration can continue to affect current polluting activities for several decades. In this study, groundwater pollution originated from agricultural activities were investigated in Gümüþhac;ýköy urban area. The concentrations of nitrate (NO $_3^-$ ) in groundwater of Gümüþhacýköy Plain range from 0–15.61 mg/l, nitrite (NO $_2^-$ ) 0–0.007 mg/l and ammonium (NH $_4^+$ ) 0–0.5 mg/l. However other chemical parameters such as pH, EC, TH, Ca $^{+2}$ , Mg $^{+2}$ , Na $^+$ , K $^+$ , HCO $_3^ -$ , Cl $^-$ , SO $_4^{-2}$ and F $^-$ were measured.
Sensitivity Analysis of the Framework for Measuring the	Physiological Effects of Inappropriate Waste Disposal
Authors: Udeorji C.I. , Oke S.A.
Published: November 2024

Today waste disposal presents a significant problem and an environmental challenge to communities and governments. Consequently there is a growing environmental awareness among governments and consumers of the consequences of unfriendly environments on future generations. As a result there is a huge investment of human intelligence and capital resources in the management and control of waste problems. In recent times researchers have called for papers outlining both the physiological and psychological effects of waste disposal. This work attempts to address this problem by considering the sensitivity analysis of the physiological effects of inappropriately disposed wastes. Improperly disposed wastes have strong influences on human beings. It reveals itself in the form of physical reactions of the human beings to his environment. This research hopefully stimulates further studies in an area that is attracting empirical investigations.
Assessment of Genetic Biomarkers with Special Reference to	Micronucleated and Binucleated Erythrocytes in Two Fish Species Grown at	Industrial Vicinity of Thermal Power Plants, Kolkata, India
Authors: Talapatra Soumendra N. , Ganguly Payel , Mukhopadhyay Aniruddha , Banerjee Sudip K.
Published: November 2024

Assessment of biological marker at gene level in fish, micronucleus test as well as the study of abnormal shape of nucleus is a suitable measure, in which the presence or absence of genotoxins can be detected in water. In this study, frequencies of micronucleated (MN) and binucleated (BN) erythrocytes were scored in gill (peripheral) and kidney (renal) blood of two fishes, Labeo bata and Oreochromis mossambica inhabited in the pond located at industrial vicinity of thermal power plant, Kolkata, India. Two experimental sites were chosen, which were compared with pond located in non-industrial vicinity (far away from this area) as control area. Highly significant differences (P<0.001) were noticed for MN frequencies in gill and kidney erythrocytes of experimental fishes, where kidney erythrocytes showed increased value than gill erythrocytes. The comparison between gill and kidney erythrocytes also showed highly significant differences (P<0.001). The frequencies of BN were also counted separately for gill and kidney erythrocytes, in which significantly increased values (P<0.001) were obtained in comparison to control populations. These results confirmed that micronucleation and binucleation in erythrocytes of fish could provide valuable information regarding water quality status and also the health risk as biomarkers at genetic level of particular test models.
Energy Recovery from Wastewater Treatment Plant
Authors: Nouri J. , Naddafi K. , Nabizadeh R. , Jafarinia M.
Published: November 2024

Energy recovery in wastewater treatment plant is one of the ways to lowering operation costs. For energy conservation in wastewater treatment plants, it is helpful to outline briefly the main processes which consume most of the energy required in conventional wastewater treatment facilities. The research is conducted in Tabriz wastewater treatment plant, at the north west of Iran which has a design capacity of 1.5 m $^3$ /s wastewater. The main focus of the work is on methane production potential of domestic wastewater. During this study which lasted six months, energy consumer units of plant were reviewed. Wastewater flow rate (Q), BOD $_5$ and bCOD of wastewater in three points – plant influent, primary settling effluent and plant effluent – were tested. The potential of methane production was also estimated and converted to electrical energy. The results showed that by optimization of methane production and energy consumption in different units of plant, it is possible to provide 97% of plant electrical energy and all of another form of energy as heat.
BRISS: A Web-Based Dynamic Decision Support Tool for Brahmaputra	River Basin
Authors: Barua Pankaj , Mandal Purnendu
Published: November 2024

A web-based dynamic DSS tool for water resources policy planning for Brahmaputra River Basin (named as BRISS: Brahmaputra River Information and Simulation System) has been discussed. The complexities associated with dynamics of water consumption and availability on basin scale has been addressed in BRISS through use of predictive and analytic capabilities of system dynamics model. The model component has been integrated with a RDBMS-based information system to enhance its applicability. BRISS has been presented as a web-based DSS using thick client and thin server approach and some examples of policy analysis have been carried out and presented. Water availability and consumption scenario for the year 2025 and 2050 have been generated for Brahmaputra Basin. The results show that over the years the total water consumption for the basin has gone up substantially whereas supply remained the same. Wide seasonal fluctuations in river flow due to monsoon driven hydrological regime for the river have been observed. Simulated results show that the basin will face water shortage during the months of December to February before the year 2050 if necessary corrective measures are not taken. Constructions of flood storage reservoir i.e. that stores water during high flood and augment flow during lean flow, may be considered as a policy option.
Metal Mine Waste and Phytoremediation: A Review
Authors: Das Manab , Maiti S.K.
Published: November 2024

Phytoremediation is a group of technologies that use plants to reduce, remove, degrade, or immobilize environmental toxins, primarily those of anthropogenic origin, with the aim of restoring area sites to a condition useable for private or public applications. The poor physical structures, acidity, lack of nutrients, presence of toxic heavy metals are the common characteristics of mine tailings. Bare tailings are prone to erosion, resulting in further environmental degradation as the very young soils develop on unstable materials with low cohesion. Appropriate vegetative cover of such bare tailings can overcome the adverse physical and chemical properties of them. Collecting naturally growing plant species on such tailings and the evaluation of plant metal concentrations can be used to get information about specific plant behaviour in this environment. Thus considering the diversity of plant responses in contaminated sites having different metal and toxicity levels, at various levels, it is important to study the composition of plant community that was established on metal enriched tailings that would serve as a basic approach for phytoremediation. In this paper, general aspects of phytoremediation processes, plant response to soil heavy metals, the pathway of metal in plants, different extraction methods used for prediction of plant availability of metals in soil and outcome of various studies regarding trace metal contents and their accumulation in plant species growing on metal enriched spoils/tailings are reviewed.
Water Quality and Dissolved Heavy Metal Concentrations in Surface	Water Collected from Kelana Jaya Lakes
Authors: Yap C.K. , Ismail A. , Chiu P.K.
Published: November 2024

Kelana Jaya lakes are public attraction for its recreational value. However, urban runoff and industrial wastes into these urban lakes could contaminate the environmental quality of the lakes. In this study, water samples from the five lakes of Kelana Jaya were monitored for temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate and dissolved concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn, at four different sampling periods on 5 May, 5 June, 13 Oct and 1 Nov 2003. These physico-chemical parameters indicated that Lakes 1, 2, 4 and 5 were classified under 'Class III' (slightly polluted, recreational use, need treatment) while only Lake 3 was under 'Class II' (clean, recreational use with body contact) according to Malaysian DOE water quality classification (2002). Therefore, the overall poor water quality of Kelana Jaya Lakes indicated anthropogenic impact and future water quality monitoring and control of the wastes into the lakes are strongly recommended.
Assessment of Aquifer-Land Use Composite Vulnerability in Walawe	River Basin, Sri Lanka
Authors: Ranjan Priyantha , Gupta Ashim Das , Kazama So , Sawamoto Masaki
Published: November 2024

In the present study, DRASTIC model has been used as a feasible methodology to assess the groundwater vulnerability in the Walawe river basin, Sri Lanka. Geographical Information System (GIS) has been used to develop vulnerability maps, explaining the relative vulnerability of the area. The DRASTIC output concluded that the upper and western parts of the basin show very low vulnerability while the lower part shows higher vulnerability. The groundwater vulnerability maps are compared with the agricultural land-use pattern of the area and it is noticed that the intense agricultural areas and high DRASTIC index areas are overlapped. To emphasise the natural state of the aquifer media as well as the potential pollution of extensive land use, a new indicator has been introduced as Aquifer-Land use Composite Vulnerability Index. This indicator further concludes that the lower part of the Walawe River basin depicts a higher risk for future groundwater quality and hence more attention should be focused to establish monitoring network for adequate groundwater quality control in the area.
The Role of Iron-Rich Sylhet Sand in Removing Arsenic from	Water
Authors: Hoque M.A. , Sarkar M.S.K.A. , Shakil R.J. , Mahmud H.
Published: November 2024

Arsenic in ground water was first detected in Bangladesh at Chapai Nawabgonj district in 1993. In the context of prevalence of high concentrations of arsenic in tube-well water, a wide range of technologies has been developed but most of them have limitations. In the quest, naturally available iron-rich Sylhet sand was selected in this study as filter bed material to observe the effectiveness in removing arsenic from water. Experiment shows that the Sylhet sand contains a significant quantity of iron (29.4 mg/g), which may play a vital role in removing arsenic through adsorption. Laboratory column tests were conducted using synthetic trivalent arsenic concentration of 200 μg/L and maintaining a constant pH of 8.0 and the experiment was performed on three different forms of sand bed such as normal, burnt and extracted sand bed. Observation shows that the normal and burnt sand bed readily able to remove arsenic and bed volume of 255 and 315 are found respectively up to 50 μg/L arsenic level whereas extracted shows zero bed volume. Hence the iron-rich Sylhet sand bed may be a promising option for arsenic removal and proper design will ease the pavement to make the technology more effective.
Response of Membrane Bioreactor to Feed Starvation Shock	Load
Authors: Yogalakshmi K.N. , Joseph Kurian , Visvanathan C.
Published: November 2024

The impact of feed starvation condition on the biological characteristics and the performance of an aerobic submerged Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) system was investigated. The synthetic wastewater treated in MBR under steady-state condition showed 95% removal of COD, 98% removal of TOC and suspended solids, 88% of TKN removal and 30% removal of phosphate. The system was subjected to a feed starvation shock load for five days and the response of the system in the process of recovering back to pre-shock steady-state condition was studied. After five days of shock loading, the effluent quality deteriorated showing traces of substrate leakage in effluent, large fraction of biomass wash off and reduction in microbial activity inside the reactor. The biological solids in the reactor reduced gradually from 15 g/L to 6 g/L, which took around a month for the biomass to revert back to its normal growth phase. The system required seven days to recover back to steady condition. Overall, the study showed a faster recovery of organic, solid, nutrients removal; however, the system took a month to regain the amount of biomass lost during feed starvation shock load.
Monthly Frequency Distribution of Severe Tropical Cyclones –	A Statistical Approach
Authors: Chaudhuri Sutapa , De Sarkar Anindita
Published: November 2024

Tropical cyclones are one of the nature's most violent manifestations and potentially the deadliest of all meteorological phenomena. The casualty associated with major cyclones in the Indian sub-continent in the recent past give an idea about its enormous destructive capability. Purpose of the present paper is to identify the months of maximum possibility of occurrence of severe tropical cyclones over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The methodology adopted in this study is based upon the process of "Statistical Hypothesis Testing". The statistical procedure is applied to fit a Poisson distribution to the monthly frequency distribution of occurrence of severe tropical cyclones over the coasts of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. It is observed that Poisson distribution is a good fit to the monthly frequency distribution of severe tropical cyclones over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The concept of Shannon entropy is then applied to distinguish the months in accordance with the measure of vulnerability. It is identified that the month of May in the pre-monsoon season and the months of October and November in the post-monsoon season are highly susceptible for the occurrence of severe tropical cyclones over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
Water Supply and Sanitation Condition of Slum Areas in Dhaka	City
Authors: Sarkar Md. Shahjahan Kaisar Alam , Rahman Md. Mafizur
Published: November 2024

About 19.4% of the total population of Dhaka city live in the slum and squatter areas. Therefore, the environmental condition of these areas significantly affects the environment of entire Dhaka city. The water supply, sanitation, wastewater and solid waste disposal practices of these areas are very unhygienic. In the context of environmental pollution, newly established slums are of more concern than well established slums.
Interaction of Polychlorinated Biphenyls with Dissolved Humic Acid	from Azraq, Jordan
Authors: Alawi Mahmoud A. , Khalili Fawwaz , Elgani Jafar Abd
Published: November 2024

Humic acid is an important component of soil which was the subject of several environmental studies. Humic acid interact widely with environmental pollutants, such as chlorinated pesticides. Until now, the mechanism of interaction of humic acid with chemicals in the environment is not well defined. In this work the interaction behaviour of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with humic acid (HA) which was isolated from the Azraq Oasis (Jordan) was studied at different HA concentrations, pH and temperature. The amounts of the remaining PCBs were determined by extraction and analyzed on a capillary gas chromatograph equipped with a $^{63}$ Ni-electron capture detector (ECD). Generally the interacted amount of PCBs is directly proportional to the increase of soluble humic acid and inversely proportional to the increase of pH. The changes in temperature have no significant effect on the interacted amount of PCBs. The more chlorinated the PCBs are, the more the interaction is and the less the sensitivity for the changes in pH and HA concentration.
Assessing Radiometric Parameters at a Continental Global	Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Station, Nagpur, in India
Authors: Sarkar Jayanta
Published: November 2024

Several radiometric parameters viz. direct solar irradiance, long wave radiation, Angstrom turbidity and transmission coefficient for Nagpur have been analyzed and discussed based on data for the period of 1989–1998. Solar irradiance at Nagpur is the highest in winter and amongst the winter months in January due to cloudless sky and good transparency of the atmosphere. It is the least during the monsoons due to increased moisture content of the atmosphere and extended cloudiness. Diurnal variation in direct solar irradiance shows that for all the months the peak is reached between optical air masses 1.5 FN and 1.5 AN with a maximum value of about 700 W/m $^2$ in January. Turbidity values show fluctuations on yearly basis. During the study period, the lowest value was observed to be 0.082 in 1990 and the highest was 0.108 in 1996. In a year, winter season experiences lowest turbidity while the post-monsoon season witnesses the highest. Diurnal variation of turbidity indicates that optical air mass 3.0 FN is less turbid for all the months in a year while the peak is reached in between air masses 1.5 FN and 1.5 AN. It is seen that transparency of the atmosphere over Nagpur decreases from winter till May. This is to be attributed to the increasing dust content of the atmosphere over Nagpur. The atmosphere transmits only 65% of the incident energy. At early morning and late afternoon hours, transparency is found to be higher when compared to higher solar elevations. Rather, the transparency decreases from morning till noon and later increases. This could be attributed to convective activity during the maximum temperature epoch of the day. Net long wave radiation is found to be the highest in pre-monsoon (64–65 W/m $^2$ ). With the monsoon onset, it goes on decreasing, with the lowest value of 42.6 W/m $^2$ in August. This is mainly due to the extensive cloud cover and high humidity conditions. After the monsoon withdrawal again it starts rising.