Estimation and spatial mapping of seismicity parameters in western Himalaya, central Himalaya and Indo-Gangetic plain

Abstract. Anthropogenic activities on the Indo-Gangetic Plain emit vast amounts of light-absorbing particles (LAP) into the atmosphere, modifying the atmospheric radiation scheme. With transport to the nearby Himalayan mountains and deposition to its surfaces the particles contribute to glacier and snowmelt via darkening of the highly reflective snow. The Central Himalayas have been identified as a region where LAP are especially pronounced in glacier snow, but still remain a region where measurements of LAP in the snow are scarce. Here we study the deposition of LAP in five snow pits sampled in 2016 (and one from 2015) from two glaciers in the Sunderdhunga valley, state of Uttarakhand, India, Central Himalaya. The snow pits display a distinct melt layer interleaved by younger snow above, and older snow below. The LAP exhibit a large vertical distribution in these different snow layers. For the analyzed elemental carbon (EC), the younger snow layers in the different pits show similarities, and can be characterized by a deposition constant of about 50 µg m−2 mm−1 while the old snow layers also indicate similar values, and can be described with deposition constant of roughly 150 µg m−2 mm−1. The melt layer, contrarily, display no similar trends between the pits. Instead, it is characterized by very high amounts of LAP, and differ in orders of magnitude for concentration between the pits. The melt layer is likely a result of strong melting that took place during the summers of 2015 and 2016. The mineral dust fractional absorption is slightly below 50 % for the young and old snow layer, whereas in the melt layer is the dominating light absorbing constituent, thus, highlighting the importance of dust in the region. Our results indicate the problems with complex topography in the Himalaya, but nonetheless, can be useful in large-scale assessments of LAP in Himalayan snow.

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Atmospheric carbonaceous aerosols from Indo-Gangetic Plain and Central Himalaya: Impact of anthropogenic sources

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.08.015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 148 ◽

pp. 153-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Kirpa Ram ◽

M.M. Sarin

Keyword(s):

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Carbonaceous Aerosols ◽

Central Himalaya ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

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Seasonal and trend analysis of TWS for the Indo-Gangetic plain using GRACE data

Geocarto International ◽

10.1080/10106049.2019.1573856 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (12) ◽

pp. 1343-1359

Author(s):

Saurabh Srivastava ◽

Onkar Dikshit

Keyword(s):

Trend Analysis ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Grace Data ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

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Severe air pollution and characteristics of light-absorbing particles in a typical rural area of the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-020-07618-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (10) ◽

pp. 10617-10628 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pengfei Chen ◽

Shichang Kang ◽

Lekhendra Tripathee ◽

Arnico K. Panday ◽

Maheswar Rupakheti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Rural Area ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

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Impact of Integrated Agronomic Practices on Soil Fertility and Respiration on the Indo-Gangetic Plain of North India

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020402 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 402

Author(s):

Rama Kant Dubey ◽

Pradeep Kumar Dubey ◽

Rajan Chaurasia ◽

Ch Srinivasa Rao ◽

Purushothaman Chirakkuzhyil Abhilash

Keyword(s):

Soil Respiration ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Block Design ◽

North India ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Agronomic Practices ◽

Soil Sustainability ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

Global agricultural production is accountable for the emission of ~30% of greenhouse gases. Therefore, the wide-scale adoptions of low-input, soil-friendly, and resource-conserving agronomic practices are imperative for the ‘planet healthy food production’ and also for reducing the carbon emissions from agricultural soil. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the impacts of integrated agronomic interventions i.e., the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) + reduced tillage (RT), biochar + RT, and AMF + biochar + RT, on spatiotemporal variations in soil-quality and soil-sustainability indicators, including microbial and soil respiration, in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of North India. For this, field experiments on the above-mentioned agronomic interventions were employed using three different staple crops (Zea mays, Vigna mungo, and Brassica juncea) growing in three different agro-climatic zones of IGP (Varanasi, Sultanpur, and Gorakhpur) in a randomized block design. Periodic data collection was done to analyze the changes in physiochemical, biological, and biochemical properties of the soil, and statistical analyses were done accordingly. Irrespective of the sites, the experimental results proved that the integrated application of AMF + biochar + RT in V. mungo resulted in the highest soil organic carbon (i.e., 135% increment over the control) and microbial biomass carbon (24%), whereas the same application (i.e., AMF + biochar + RT) in Z. mays had the maximum reduction in microbial (32%) and soil (44%) respiration. On the other hand, enhanced occurrence of glomalin activity (98%) was noted in Z. mays cropping for all the sites. Significant negative correlation between soil respiration and glomalin activity under AMF + biochar + RT (−0.85), AMF + RT (−0.82), and biochar + RT (−0.62) was an indication of glomalin’s role in the reduced rate of soil respiration. The research results proved that the combined application of AMF + biochar + RT was the best practice for enhancing soil quality while reducing respiration. Therefore, the development of suitable packages of integrated agronomic practices is essential for agricultural sustainability.

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