Impacts of metal mining on river systems: a global assessment.

An estimated 23 million people live on floodplains affected by potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic waste derived from past and present metal mining activity. We analyzed the global dimensions of this hazard, particularly in regard to lead, zinc, copper, and arsenic, using a georeferenced global database detailing all known metal mining sites and intact and failed tailings storage facilities. We then used process-based and empirically tested modeling to produce a global assessment of metal mining contamination in river systems and the numbers of human populations and livestock exposed.

Effects of land use and climate change on water scarcity in rivers of the Western Ghats of India.

This paper assesses the long-term combined effects of land use (LU) and climate change on river hydrology and water scarcity of two rivers of the Western Ghats of India. The historical LU changes were studied for four decades (1988-2016) using the maximum likelihood algorithm and the long-term LU (2016-2075) was estimated using the Dyna-CLUE prediction model. Five General Circulation Models (GCMs) were utilized to assess the effects of climate change (CC) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used for hydrological modeling of the two river catchments.

Organic contaminants in Ganga basin: from the Green Revolution to the emerging concerns of modern India.

The Ganga basin includes some of the most densely populated areas in the world, in a region characterized by extremely high demographic and economic growth rates. Although anthropogenic pressure in this area is increasing, the pollution status of the Ganga is still poorly studied and understood. In the light of this, we have carried out a systematic literature review of the sources, levels and spatiotemporal distribution of organic pollutants in surface water and sediment of the Ganga basin, including for the first time emerging contaminants (ECs).