Geochemistry and mineralogy of coal mine overburden (waste): A study towards their environmental implications.

Open-cast mining of coal generates waste material, including rock and soil with different minerals, and traditionally dumped as waste over the valuable lands worldwide. Overburden (OB) is devoid of actual soil characteristics, low micro and macronutrient content, and a sufficient amount of rare earth elements, silicate, sulphate, and clay minerals. This study aimed to determine the geochemistry and mineralogy of OB samples collected from Makum coalfield, Margherita of Northeast (NE) India.

Mechanism for epeirogenic uplift of the Archean Dharwar craton, southern India as evidenced by orthogonal seismic reflection profiles.

Plateaus, located far away from the plate boundaries, play an important role in understanding the deep-rooted geological processes responsible for the epeirogenic uplift and dynamics of the plate interior. The Karnataka plateau located in the Dharwar craton, southern India, is a classic example for the plateau uplift. It is explored using orthogonal deep crustal seismic reflection studies, and a mechanism for the epeirogenic uplift is suggested.

Geochemistry of large benthic foraminifera Amphisorus hemprichii as a high-resolution proxy for lead pollution in coastal environments.

Anthropogenic lead (Pb) contamination resulting from the rapid growth of industrialization in coastal environments poses significant challenges. In this study, we report a novel approach utilising the large benthic foraminifera Amphisorus hemprichii as a biogeochemical archive for monitoring Pb pollution in tropical to warm-temperate coastal waters. Live juvenile specimens of A.

Source identification and management of perennial contaminated groundwater seepage in the highly industrial watershed, south India.

Perennial contaminated groundwater seepage is threatening the downstream ecosystem of the Kazipally Pharmaceutical industrial area located in South India. The sources of seepage are unknown for the last three decades that challenging the regulatory authorities and industries. In general, water quality monitoring and geophysical techniques are applied to identify the sources.

Arsenic enrichment and its natural background in groundwater at the proximity of active floodplains of Ganga River, northern India.

Arsenic contaminated groundwater is seen as one of the most critical routes of human exposure to geogenic pollutants. Recently around 40 million inhabitants of the world are living in the hazardous zone having groundwater As level >50 μg/L. As problem of groundwater in Bhagirathi-Ganga deltaic plain is well-known for over the last three decades.

Export of particulate organic carbon by the mountainous tropical rivers of Western Ghats, India: Variations and controls.

Transport of organic carbon by small mountainous rivers is essential, but the poorly constrained component of the global carbon cycle. In the current research, we sampled and analyzed particulate organic carbon (POC) contents from 70 sizeable tropical coastal rivers, draining the Western Ghats (WG) of India. This study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal variability in POC contents, to estimate flux and to identify environmental controls on POC sources and transport characteristics across the region.

Risk assessment via oral and dermal pathways from heavy metal polluted water of Kolleru lake - A Ramsar wetland in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The Kolleru Lake, India is a famous wetland of international significance. Analyses of certain potentially toxic heavy metal ions in water indicate that this freshwater lake is characterized by highly heterogeneous distribution of chromium (Cr; 4.5‒80 μg/L), copper, iron (Cu, Fe; below detection limit), manganese (Mn; 1‒313 μg/L) and zinc (Zn; below detection limit).

Data for the evaluation of groundwater quality using water quality index and regression analysis in parts of Nalgonda district, Telangana, Southern India.

The main focus of this study is to evaluate the groundwater quality through drinking water quality index and regression analysis in semi-arid region and the results are examined with reference to the drinking water quality standards laid down by WHO. Water quality index (WQI) was determined from fourteen physicochemical parameters like pH, EC, TDS, total hardness, total alkalinity, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, bromide, nitrate, sulphate and fluoride. The drinking water quality index values range from 32.

Data on fluoride concentration profile in groundwater of rural habitats in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana, India.

Fluoride is an undesirable chemical in drinking water that can have dreadful concerns on health. The objective of this study is to establish the concentration profile of fluoride in groundwater used as drinking water in 31 rural habitats in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana State, India. Drinking water samples from bore wells/hand pumps were collected from different locations in the study area and analyzed for fluoride levels using a spectrophotometer.

Apparent scaling of virus surface roughness-An example from the pandemic SARS-nCoV.

This paper investigates the scaling of the surface roughness of coronavirus, including the SARS-nCoV based on fractal and spectral analyses of their published electron microscopy images. The box-counting fractal dimensions obtained are subjected to ANOVA tests for statistical significance. Results show that the SARS-nCoV particles could not statistically be resolved by their shape on the basis of the fractal dimension values, but they could be distinguished from the earlier SARS-CoV particles.

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution in surface soils in a typical urban region of south India: An application of health risk assessment and distribution pattern.

The pollution level of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in surface soils is detrimental to the ecosystem and human health. In this research, various indices such as an index of geo-accumulation (I), contamination factor (CF), degree of contamination (DC), and principal component analysis (PCA) were implemented to identify and evaluate the soil PTEs pollution; and then human health risk assessment model used to establish the link between heavy metals pollution and human health in the urban region of south India. Results exhibited that the mean concentration of Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn were found to be 1.

Groundwater chemistry integrating the pollution index of groundwater and evaluation of potential human health risk: A case study from hard rock terrain of south India.

Groundwater is an important resource for drinking and irrigation purposes and also the significant route of human exposure in most of the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In view of this, 43 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for various physico-chemical parameters. Particularly, this study integrates the groundwater contamination by comparing it to national guidelines and the impact of fluoride and nitrate on health risk were quantified through the model recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

Water quality index and GIS-based technique for assessment of groundwater quality in Wanaparthy watershed, Telangana, India.

A comprehensive study of 58 groundwater samples collected in the virgin area of Wanaparthy watershed (1600 km), Telangana, India, to assess the hydrochemistry, quality, water types and potability using hydrogeochemical characterization, WQI and GIS technique. Major ions concentration of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, F, NO and SO in groundwater were analysed using ion chromatography (IC). Physicochemical values of the potential of hydrogen (pH), total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity (EC) were determined using Hanna portable meters, while total hardness (TH), alkalinity and bicarbonates are estimated by titrimetric methods.

Assessment of hydrochemical backgrounds and threshold values of groundwater in a part of desert area, Rajasthan, India.

Natural background levels (NBLs) and threshold values (TVs) are crucial parameters for identification and the quantification of groundwater pollution, and the evaluation of pollution control measures. The cumulative probability distribution technique was used for the evaluation of NBLs for 36 samples collected during two climate conditions in the part of the desert area from Rajasthan, India. The NBLs for Na, Cl, SO, HCO NO and F ions were assessed and compared with the natural and anthropogenic processes.

Low geomagnetic field strength during End-Cretaceous Deccan volcanism and whole mantle convection.

Knowledge about long-term variation of the geomagnetic dipole field remains in its nascent stage because of the paucity of reliable experimental data over geological periods. Here, we present the first robust experimental data from the largest Cretaceous flood basalt province on Earth, the ~65-66 Ma Deccan basalt within a thick (1250 m) unbiased stratigraphic section down to the basement, recovered from a drill hole of the Koyna Deep Scientific Drilling Project in the Western Ghats, India. Critical analysis of the result along with similar results of the Cretaceous age find that (i) the dipole moment during the end Cretaceous Deccan eruption is the lowest in whole of Cretaceous (ii) dipole moment at the onset/termination of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron is apparently lower relative to that in mid-superchron, however, such differences cannot be deciphered in shorter polarities probably because of insufficient time to develop recognizable variations (iii) inverse relation between dipole moment and reversal rate is lacking and (iv) a cause and effect relation between core-mantle boundary heat flux and low dipole moment that appears to be the principle governing factor in forming the Large Igneous Provinces on the surface of earth.

Mio-Pliocene piracy, relict landscape and drainage reorganization in the Namcha Barwa syntaxis zone of eastern Himalaya.

The presence of unique elevated low relief relict landscape in the transient Dibang catchment, at the orographic edge of Tibet-Himalaya in the tectonically active Namcha Barwa syntaxial zone, is modelled to understand evolving regional landscape, drainage reorganization and tectonics. This elevated low relief landscape represents a Mio-Pliocene abandoned paleo-channel of the Yarlung river, which was captured by the headward eroding Siang river owing to >600 m base level advantage. The river capture caused isolation of the Dibang river, which evolved as a transient parched catchment since 3-6 Ma after loss of ~17 times drainage area and 4-17 times discharge.

Hydrogeochemical and mixing processes controlling groundwater chemistry in a wastewater irrigated agricultural system of India.

In many parts of the world, wastewater irrigation has become a common practice because of freshwater scarcity and to increase resource reuse efficiency. Wastewater irrigation has positive impacts on livelihoods and at the same time, it has adverse impacts related to environmental pollution. Hydrochemical processes and groundwater behaviour need to be analyzed for a thorough understanding of the geochemical evolution in the wastewater irrigated systems.

Contrasting controls on hydrogeochemistry of arsenic-enriched groundwater in the homologous tectonic settings of Andean and Himalayan basin aquifers, Latin America and South Asia.

High groundwater arsenic (As) across the globe has been one of the most well researched environmental concerns during the last two decades. Consequently, a large scientific knowledge-base has been developed on As distributions from local to global scales. However, differences in bulk sediment As concentrations cannot account for the As concentration variability in groundwater.

Storage of Methane Gas in the Form of Clathrates in the Presence of Natural Bioadditives.

Methane (CH) and carbon dioxide (CO), the important greenhouse gases, are capable of forming clathrate hydrates under some suitable thermodynamic conditions. The gas storage capacity of these materials is high, and therefore they are often useful in gas storage applications. Certain expensive and toxic chemicals are employed to accelerate/decelerate the process.

Archaeal Communities in Deep Terrestrial Subsurface Underneath the Deccan Traps, India.

Archaeal community structure and potential functions within the deep, aphotic, oligotrophic, hot, igneous provinces of ∼65 Myr old basalt and its Archean granitic basement was explored through archaeal 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing from extracted environmental DNA of rocks. Rock core samples from three distinct horizons, basaltic (BS), transition (weathered granites) (TZ) and granitic (GR) showed limited organic carbon (4-48 mg/kg) and varied concentrations (<1.0-5000 mg/kg) of sulfate, nitrate, nitrite, iron and metal oxides.

Mechanism of rift flank uplift and escarpment formation evidenced by Western Ghats, India.

The Western Ghats is one of the largest escarpments on earth, containing Reunion plume derived Deccan Traps, it is an excellent example to probe epeirogenic uplift, extension and subsidence in volcanic continental margins. The most continuous unbiased stratigraphic section of basalt down to the basement within a 1250 m drill hole of the Continental Scientific Deep Drilling Project is a valuable resource to investigate the above aspects. The flows across the entire drill core are geologically subaerial in character with basement exposed ~300 m below the mean sea level; they clearly display more evolved compositions from primary melts of mantle in terms of petrology, and only a single geomagnetic polarity transition in palaeomagnetic data.

Self-preservation and Stability of Methane Hydrates in the Presence of NaCl.

Gas hydrate, a solid transformed from an ensemble of water and gaseous molecules under suitable thermodynamic conditions, is present in marine and permafrost strata. The ability of methane hydrates to exist outside of its standard stability zone is vital in many aspects, such as its utility in gas storage and transportation, hydrate-related climate changes and gas reservoirs on the planet. A systematic study on the stability of methane hydrates divulges that the gas uptake decreased by about 10% by increasing the NaCl content to 5.

Large Scale Mapping of Fractures and Groundwater Pathways in Crystalline Hardrock By AEM.

In hardrocks that cover about 20% of the Earth's surface, it is difficult to locate steady sources for groundwater due to inadequate understanding of the fracture networks. A comprehensive knowledge of fracture distribution at the regional scale is necessary to delineate sustainable aquifers and manage them efficiently. The resistivity maps derived from the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey over the Ankasandra watershed in Karnataka, India, reveal sharp and deep zones of low formation resistivity, which indicate groundwater-bearing zones.