scholarly journals Water Food Energy Nexus: Changing Scenarios in India during recent Decades

Author(s):  
Beas Barik ◽  
Subimal Ghosh ◽  
A. Saheer Sahana ◽  
Amey Pathak ◽  
Muddu Sekhar

Abstract. Meeting the growing water and food demands in a densely populated country like India is a major challenge, requiring extensive investigations into the changing patterns of the checks and balances behind the maintenance of food security at the expense of depleting groundwater, along with high energy consumption. Here we present a comprehensive set of analyses which assess the present status of the water-food-energy nexus in India, along with its changing pattern, in the last few decades. We find that with the growth of population and consequent increase in the food demands, the food production has also increased and this has been made possible with the intensification of irrigation. However, during the recent decade (after 1996), the increase in food production has not been sufficient to meet its growing demands precipitating a decline in the per-capita food availability. We also find a statistically significant declining trend of ground water storage in India during the last decade, as derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite datasets. Regional studies reveal contrasting trends between Northern and West-Central India. North-Western India and the Middle Ganga Basin shows a decrease in the groundwater storage as opposed to an increasing storage over West-Central India. Comparison with well-data reveals that the highest consistency of GRACE derived storage data with available well measurements, are in the Middle-Ganga basin. After analysing the data for the last two decades, we further showcase that after a drought, the groundwater storage drops but is unable to recover to its original condition even after good monsoon years. The groundwater storage reveals a very strong negative correlation with the electricity consumption for agricultural usage, which may also be considered as a proxy for groundwater pumped for irrigation in a region. The electricity usage for agricultural purposes has an increasing trend and interestingly, it does not have any correlation with the monsoon rainfall as computed with the original or de-trended variables. This reveals an important finding that the irrigation has been intensified irrespective of rainfall. This also resulted in a decreasing correlation between the food production and monsoon rainfall revealing the increasing dependency of agricultural activities on irrigation. We conclude that irrigation has now become essential for agriculture to meet the food demand; however, it should be judiciously regulated and controlled, based on the water availability from monsoon rainfall, specifically after the drought years, as it is essential to recover from the deficits suffered previously.

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 3041-3060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beas Barik ◽  
Subimal Ghosh ◽  
A. Saheer Sahana ◽  
Amey Pathak ◽  
Muddu Sekhar

Abstract. Meeting the growing water and food demands in a densely populated country like India is a major challenge. It requires an extensive investigation into the changing patterns of the checks and balances behind the maintenance of food security at the expense of depleting groundwater, along with high energy consumption. Here we present a comprehensive set of analyses which assess the present status of the water–food–energy nexus in India, along with its changing pattern, in the last few decades. We find that with the growth of population and consequent increase in the food demands, the food production has also increased, and this has been made possible with the intensification of irrigation. However, during the recent decade (after 1996), the increase in food production has not been sufficient to meet its growing demands, precipitating a decline in the per-capita food availability. We also find a statistically significant declining trend of groundwater storage in India during the last decade, as derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite datasets. Regional studies reveal contrasting trends between northern and western–central India. North-western India and the middle Ganga basin show a decrease in the groundwater storage as opposed to an increasing storage over western–central India. Comparison with well data reveals that the highest consistency of GRACE-derived storage data with available well measurements is in the middle Ganga basin. After analysing the data for the last 2 decades, we further showcase that, after a drought, the groundwater storage drops but is unable to recover to its original condition even after good monsoon years. The groundwater storage reveals a very strong negative correlation with the electricity consumption for agricultural usage, which may also be considered as a proxy for groundwater pumped for irrigation in a region. The electricity usage for agricultural purposes has an increasing trend and, interestingly, it does not have any correlation with the monsoon rainfall as computed with the original or de-trended variables. This reveals an important finding that the irrigation has been intensified irrespective of rainfall. This also resulted in a decreasing correlation between the food production and monsoon rainfall, revealing the increasing dependency of agricultural activities on irrigation. We conclude that irrigation has now become essential for agriculture to meet the food demand; however, it should be judiciously regulated and controlled, based on the water availability from monsoon rainfall, specifically after the drought years, as it is essential to recover from the deficits suffered previously.


MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-338
Author(s):  
M. MOHAPATRA

A study is undertaken to find out characteristic features of relationship of the low pressure system (LPS) over the Bay of Bengal and adjoining land regions with the rainfall over different meteorological sub-divisions of India during summer monsoon season (June-September). For this purpose, rainfall over 35 meteorological sub-divisions in India and LPS days over west central (WC) Bay, northwest (NW) Bay, northeast (NE) Bay, Bangladesh (BDS), Gangetic West Bengal (GWB), Orissa, north coastal Andhra Pradesh (NCAP), east Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh (EMPC) and Jharkhand (JKD) during different monsoon months and the season as a whole over a period of 18 years (1982-1999) are analysed. There is large month to month variation in the impact of the LPS on the sub-divisional monsoon rainfall over India. However, the results presented in the study including developed correlation maps may be helpful to predict 24 hours rainfall based on the location of the LPS and associated monsoon trough.   The frequent development and persistence of LPS over NW Bay are favourable for higher seasonal monsoon rainfall over east central India. The development and persistence of LPS over WC Bay adversely affect the seasonal rainfall over this region. On the other hand, the frequent development and persistence of LPS over WC Bay and its subsequent westward movement across NCAP are favourable for higher seasonal rainfall over the peninsular region excluding west coast. The seasonal rainfall over northwest India decreases with increase in LPS days over EMPC. The seasonal rainfall over west central India, northeast India and west coast are not significantly related with the number of LPS days over the regions under consideration.


2017 ◽  
Vol 444 ◽  
pp. 209-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drasti Gandhi ◽  
K.A. Chavare ◽  
S.P. Prizomwala ◽  
Nilesh Bhatt ◽  
N.Y. Bhatt ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-244
Author(s):  
Satish Pande ◽  
Reuven Yosef ◽  
Prashant Deshpande ◽  
Rajkumar Pawar ◽  
Murlidhar N. Mahajan

2021 ◽  
pp. SP515-2020-206
Author(s):  
Prabhin Sukumaran ◽  
Hong-Chun Li ◽  
Jih-Pai Lin ◽  
Parth R. Chauhan

AbstractThe formal beginning of geoarchaeology in India can be traced back to 1863 when the first Palaeolith was documented and collected by Robert Bruce Foote in Tamil Nadu and later described in a detailed geological context. Today, various geological tools such as geospatial analytical tools are available to provide extra mileage to geoarchaeological investigations. They supplement field evidence and enable researchers to display, manipulate, and model geological data and the associated archaeological evidence. The present paper attempts to summarise the current status of understanding the Quaternary geoarchaeology of the Tapi River basin in west-central India. The aspects considered include geomorphology, landform evolution, morphometric parameters, relationships between climate and basin evolution, and Palaeolithic and Mesolithic evidence. This present study uses Landsat imagery, locational data, Survey of India (SOI) topographic sheets and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data in ArcGIS software. The study is the first comprehensive attempt to summarise the issue of prehistoric human adaptations (dominated mainly by Late Pleistocene evidence) through changing environments, with an assumption that the two occurred in synchronisation. Another assumption is that the reported lithic and fossil sites and the surrounding areas have preserved signatures of original landforms and sedimentary contexts.Through these perspectives and visual integration of topography, drainage networks and Landsat image parameters in a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, along with other variable field inputs, a testable hypothetical model of the Quaternary evolution of Central Tapi valley is proposed. Additionally, an AMS date of 47,145 cal BP for a newly-discovered ostrich eggshell fragment from Sakegaon near Bhusawal is presented and its palaeoanthropological implications are discussed. Altogether, our observations from the study area, such as an expansion of land use from the Acheulean onwards, signatures of arid phases and the oldest reported ostrich eggshell (OES), warrant further detailed multidisciplinary research. An in-depth understanding of the first-to-last occurrences of ostriches in the region and comprehensive picture of their pan- South Asian distribution, in general, will help address the issue of prehistoric human adaptations through changing environments.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 588
Author(s):  
Indrani Mukherjee ◽  
Mihir Deb ◽  
Ross R. Large ◽  
Jacqueline Halpin ◽  
Sebastien Meffre ◽  
...  

The Vindhyan Basin in central India preserves a thick (~5 km) sequence of sedimentary and lesser volcanic rocks that provide a valuable archive of a part of the Proterozoic (~1800–900 Ma) in India. Here, we present an analysis of key sedimentary pyrite textures and their trace element and sulfur isotope compositions in the Bijaigarh Shale (1210 ± 52 Ma) in the Vindhyan Supergroup, using reflected light microscopy, LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP-SI, respectively. A variety of sedimentary pyrite textures (fine-grained disseminated to aggregates, framboids, lags, and possibly microbial pyrite textures) are observed reflecting quiet and strongly anoxic water column conditions punctuated by occasional high-energy events (storm incursions). Key redox sensitive or sensitive to oxidative weathering trace elements (Co, Ni, Zn, Mo, Se) and ratios of (Se/Co, Mo/Co, Zn/Co) measured in sedimentary pyrites from the Bijaigarh Shale are used to infer atmospheric redox conditions during its deposition. Most trace elements are depleted relative to Proterozoic mean values. Sulfur isotope compositions of pyrite, measured using SHRIMP-SI, show an increase in δ34S as we move up stratigraphy with positive δ34S values ranging from 5.9‰ (lower) to 26.08‰ (upper). We propose limited sulphate supply caused the pyrites to incorporate the heavier isotope. Overall, we interpret these low trace element signatures and heavy sulfur isotope compositions to indicate relatively suppressed oxidative weathering on land during the deposition of the Bijaigarh Shale.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Håkansson

Emulsion formation by homogenization is commonly used in food production and research to increase product stability and to design colloidal structures. High-energy methods such as high-pressure homogenizers and rotor–stator mixers are the two most common techniques. However, to what extent does the research community understand the emulsion formation taking place in these devices? This contribution attempts to answer this question through critically reviewing the scientific literature, starting with the hydrodynamics of homogenizers and continuing by reviewing drop breakup and coalescence. It is concluded that although research in this field has been ongoing for a century and has provided a substantial amount of empirical correlations and scaling laws, the fundamental understanding is still limited, especially in the case of emulsions with a high-volume fraction of the disperse phase, as seen in many food applications. These limitations in the current understanding are also used to provide future perspectives and suggest directions for further investigation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Parker ◽  
Maria Svantemark

Abstract Background Growing population and affluence coupled with climate change puts pressure on the supply of food, water and energy. The three are interconnected, conceptualised in the food-energy-water nexus. In this article, two innovative proposals for food production based on recirculating, multiloop systems are analysed in terms of risk and resilience to illuminate how such industrial symbiotic systems might contribute to food supply resilience, within nexus constraints. Method The proposals encompass greenhouses using waste heat and carbon dioxide combined with recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) with water, nutrient and energy loops between the two. The two cases are discussed in comparison with the existing major alternatives for production of the respective foodstuffs, using an inventory of global risks as a structure for the discussion. The analysis is relevant to understanding current and emerging risks posed by the unsustainable and interlinked supply of food, energy and water, particularly in the perspective of continued climate change. Results Based on the cases, the concept of distributed, symbiotic food production is discussed in comparison with centralization, i.e. the economies of symbiosis vs economies of scale, focusing especially on how these different economies affect risk and resilience. The discussion centres on a comparative risk analysis between food production in industrial symbiosis and conventional forms. Conclusions The results indicate that distributed symbiotic food production can contribute to resilience to the most threatening of the relevant risks identified and that, therefore, more in depth investigations of how symbiotic systems can contribute to resilience are merited. These, in turn, would warrant an informed discussion on food-production policy.


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