A study on the consumptive use of water by kharif rice at Canning (West Bengal)

Based on the data for the period from 1977 to 1992 during the kharif season. mean weekly evapotranspiration (ET) and its contribution for different phases to total evaporative loss have been worked out for kharif rice at Canning. The evapotranspiration-evaporation ratio (ET/EP) and crop coefficient (Kc) have been round to attain peak values during the flowering stage. A relationship between ET/EP and number of days from transplanting has been developed and this relationship helps in detero\ining ET from a knowledge of EP and date of transplanting. Ratio of evapotranspiration to total shortwave radiation (ET/R2) which represents the combined effect of energy balance components. also reaches its peak value during the flowering stage. Among the four different energy summation indices. the potential evapotranspiration seems to be a better parameter for identification of growth stages of the crop. Water use efficiency of kharif rice shows significant year-to-year variations.

Conditions and extent of volatile loss from the Moon during formation of the Procellarum basin

Rocks from the lunar interior are depleted in moderately volatile elements (MVEs) compared to terrestrial rocks. Most MVEs are also enriched in their heavier isotopes compared to those in terrestrial rocks. Such elemental depletion and heavy isotope enrichments have been attributed to liquid–vapor exchange and vapor loss from the protolunar disk, incomplete accretion of MVEs during condensation of the Moon, and degassing of MVEs during lunar magma ocean crystallization. New Monte Carlo simulation results suggest that the lunar MVE depletion is consistent with evaporative loss at 1,670 ± 129 K and an oxygen fugacity +2.3 ± 2.1 log units above the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer. Here, we propose that these chemical and isotopic features could have resulted from the formation of the putative Procellarum basin early in the Moon’s history, during which nearside magma ocean melts would have been exposed at the surface, allowing equilibration with any primitive atmosphere together with MVE loss and isotopic fractionation.

Relationships between the material properties of silicone hydrogels: Desiccation, wettability and lubricity

Silicone hydrogels (SiHy), represent composite matrices composed of hydrophobic gas permeable silicone (Si) rich core and a surface enriched with hydrophilic polymer moieties. Their utilization in contact lens design requires number of SiHy properties (hydration, wettability, lubricity) to be optimized for the challenging conditions at the ocular surface. Typical limitations in literature are that (i) these properties are studied in isolation, monitoring only one parameter but not the rest of them, and (ii) measurements are performed with hydrated samples immediately after removal from storage solutions. Here we study the simultaneous evolution of critical material properties (evaporative loss of water, water contact angle, coefficient of friction) of different SiHy subjected to continuous blink-like desiccation/rehydration cycling. SiHy with wetting agents incorporated in their core (narafilcon A, senofilcon A) were particularly susceptible to extended desiccation. Stenfilcon A, a material with only 3% bulk Si content maintained its performance for 4 h of cycling, and delefilcon A (80% surface water content) resisted extended 8 h of desiccation/rehydration runs. Strong correlation exists between the evolution of SiHy wettability and lubricity at ≥4 h of blink-like cycling. Understanding the interplay between SiHy properties bears insights for knowledge based design of novel ophthalmic materials.

The effects of shallow saline groundwater on evaporation, soil moisture, and temperature distribution in the presence of straw mulch

Mitigating evaporative water loss from terrestrial surfaces is of central importance to water resources management in arid and semi-arid regions. This study was intended to experimentally address the effect of straw mulch layer on soil evaporation and temperature distribution in the presence of shallow saline groundwater. A factorial-based experiment with a completely randomized design was carried out in mini-lysimeters (MLs) with different concentrations of saline groundwater and soil types, with and without straw mulch. The lysimeters were placed on the soil surface in the field. Water table in MLs was kept at the depth of 60 cm, and evaporation rate, soil moisture content, soil salinity, and temperature were continuously monitored. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant differences in the soil evaporation rates due to the effects of soil types (i.e., loam and sand) and straw mulch (p < 0.01). The results showed that soil temperature fluctuations at the 5 cm depth in loamy soil with and without mulch were 11.5 and 17.5 °C, while in sandy soil the fluctuations rates were 15 and 18.5 °C, respectively. The application of a mulch layer was found to significantly reduce the evaporative loss by 27 and 8% in loamy and sandy soils, respectively.

Evaluation method for resource potential of shale oil in the Triassic Yanchang Formation of the Ordos Basin, China

The widely distributed, thick Chang 7 Shale is the richest shale oil formation in China. A calculation method for the evaporative hydrocarbon recovery coefficient based on formation volume factor is proposed considering the correction of heterogeneity-based total organic carbon differences to improve the adsorbed oil calculation method, and light hydrocarbon evaporative sampling losses, which can make mobile and total oil calculations more accurate. The adsorbed oil, S1 evaporative loss, total oil yield, and movable oil yield of 200 shale samples from the Chang 7 Member were calculated using the new methods. Results show that S1 evaporative loss accounts for 29% of S1, total oil yield is 3.5 times S1, and movable oil yield accounts for 37% of total oil yield. Based on the calculated total oil yield and movable oil yield results, the relationships among total oil yield, movable oil yield, and total organic carbon of the Chang 7 were established yielding total oil yield and movable oil yield estimates of 11.12 × 109 t and 4.01 × 109 t, respectively, revealing its tremendous shale exploration potential.