Assessment of topsoil contamination in an urbanized interfluve region of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) using magnetic measurements and spectroscopic techniques.

The magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements are used for rapid and cost-effective soil surveys and for accessing heavy metal contamination worldwide. In the sub-Himalayan plains of India, nearly 6.05 × 10 km area of most the fertile land occurs as interfluve of Late Quaternary age between the two major glacier-fed rivers (Ganga and Yamuna).

Geochemistry and magnetic measurements of suspended sediment in urban sewage water vis-à-vis quantification of heavy metal pollution in Ganga and Yamuna Rivers, India.

Sewage water is becoming a key source of heavy metal toxicity in large river systems worldwide and the two major Himalayan Rivers in India (Ganga and Yamuna) are severely affected. The high population density in the river banks combined with increased anthropogenic and industrial activities is contributing to the heavy metal pollution in these rivers. Geochemical data shows a significant increase in the concentration of all heavy metals (Pb, 48-86 ppm; Zn, 360-834 ppm; V, 45-101 ppm; Ni, 20-143 ppm; Cr, 79-266 ppm; Co, 8.

Physical characterization, magnetic measurements, REE geochemistry and biomonitoring of dust load accumulated during a protracted winter fog period and their implications.

The winter fog in India is a recurrent phenomenon for more than a decade now affecting the entire Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions covering an area of nearly 500,000 km(2). Every winter (December-January), the air and surface transports in cities of northern India (Amritsar, New Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Allahabad) are severely disrupted with visibility reduced to <50 m at times. Since dust particles are known to act as nuclei for the fog formation, this study is aimed to carry out physicochemical characterization of the dust particulates accumulated during a protracted fog period from one of the severely fog affected cities of north India (Allahabad; 25°27'33.