Browsing by Author "Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Analysis of Subsurface Soil Radon with the Environmental Parameters and Its Relation with Seismic Events
    (Springer, 2023-06-26T00:00:00) Jaishi, Hari Prasad; Singh, Sanjay; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad; Tiwari, Ramesh Chandra
    This study reports continuous measurements of subsurface soil radon as well as environmental parameters for a period of three years. The survey was carried out along the active fault area in the Indo-Myanmar subduction zone in the north-eastern part which lies in the highest seismic zone of India. The wavelet-based decomposition of the environmental parameters was done using discrete wavelet transformation technique. The denoised environmental parameters by discrete wavelet transformation technique was fed as the inputs to the MLR (multiple linear regression) and MLP (multilayer perceptron) models. Residual radon was calculated and correlated with nearby seismic events. Many events of magnitude greater than or equal to 5 have occurred in the investigation area. It was possible to successfully correlate one event with the anomalous variation in soil radon. The correlated event was the only one with the shallow epicentral depth indicating that the investigated area has undergone a shallow rock fracturing due to the stress generated before the occurrence of the seismic event. � 2023, Geological Society of India, Bengaluru, India.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Collective Affirmation in Action: Understanding the Success of Lockdown in India During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    (Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, 2022-08-29T00:00:00) Tiwari, Gyanesh Kumar; Kashyap, Anil Kumar; Rai, Pramod Kumar; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad; Pandey, Ruchi
    Background: This study explores the role of collective affirmation in attracting mass cooperation to motivate people to observe preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using a qualitative research design, a heterogeneous sample (n=32) comprising postgraduate (n=10) and doctorates (n=22) was chosen and the data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interview contents were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed via the thematic analysis method. Results: Five themes were generated in this study: perceived psychological distress, pandemic as a serious challenge to the national interest and human existence, the Janata curfew as a positive faith of the government in the abilities of Indians, lockdown as a strong faith of the government in the unshakable support of the Indians and strong affinity and pride of the Indians in their cultural heritage. The novelty, suddenness, and incurability of COVID-19 caused a set of perceived psychological distress and danger to individual and collective life. The Janata (public) curfew was perceived as a curfew of the people, by the people, and for the people. The lockdown denoted a strong faith of the Indian government in the positive virtues of the Indian people and vice versa. The mass support and adherence to the suggested preventive government measures were facilitated by collective affirmation of the well-known positive Indian cultural values (e.g. humanism, interdependence, collective pride, compassion, universal brotherhood, and so on) to the world. Conclusion: Collective affirmation inherent in the Indian cultural values catalyzed mass behavior change in the form of adherence to the essential restrictions and recommendations. Collective affirmation may have occurred because of the perceived faith of the government in the virtues of the Indians and their perceived administrative capability of the government. A culture-specific collective affirmation seems to emerge which initiated mass behavior changes leading to a successful lockdown. � 2022, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Evolution of the Permo-Triassic Satpura Gondwana Basin, Madhya Pradesh, India: Insights from geochemical provenance and palaeoclimate of the siliciclastic sediments
    (John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2022-10-19T00:00:00) Singh, Yumlembam Priyananda; Kingson, Oinam; Sharma, Kongrailatpam Milankumar; Ghosh, Prosenjit; Patnaik, Rajeev; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad; Pattanaik, Jitendra Kumar; Kumar, Pankaj; Thomas, Harel; Singh, Ningthoujam Premjit; Singh, Nongmaithem Amardas
    Geochemical study in the siliciclastic sediments of a basin provides an understanding of palaeoclimate, provenance and subsequently, it can be used to reconstruct the palaeo-tectonics and evolution of the basin. Sedimentation in the Gondwana basins, worldwide, generally provides a record of climatic fluctuations and evidences of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. In spite of its global importance, our knowledge about the nature of sedimentation, basin development and conceptual regional tectonic model in the Satpura Basin, one of the Gondwana basins of India is limited. Major and trace element concentrations of the mudstones from the Denwa Formation along with the existing geochemical data of other formations are studied here for establishing a comprehensive idea about the palaeoclimate, tectonic settings, provenance and basin evolution. The composition of the sediments in the lowermost Talchir Formation revealed cold and dry climatic conditions at the sources, whereas the sources of the sediments for the overlying formations have experienced warm, humid and semiarid climates. The contributions of the mafic rock-derived sediments are relatively higher in the Talchir, Barakar and Motur formations compared to the overlying formations. Approximately 60% of the sediments in the overlying Bijori, Pachmarhi and Denwa formations were derived from the felsic volcanic rocks and granites of the Sausar Mobile Belt and Betul-Chindwara Mobile Belt (BCMB) with minor inputs from mafic volcanic rocks of the BCMB. Furthermore, the sediments of the Talchir Formation were derived from the BCMB when they became tectonically active, whereas the sediments in the younger formations have been derived from a passive tectonic setting. � 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Hydrochemical characteristics and human health risk assessment of groundwater in the Shivalik region of Sutlej basin, Punjab, India
    (Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-05-10T00:00:00) Mittal, Sunil; Sahoo, Prafulla Kumar; Sahoo, Sunil Kumar; Kumar, Ravishankar; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad
    Shivalik region is one of the agri-intensive regions in Punjab, India, wherein groundwater quality is a major human health concern. In this study, a total of 57 groundwater samples were collected from the Rupnagar district of this region (one sample per 36 km2) to evaluate its quality, the role of hydrogeochemical processes in its contamination, and further their potential human health hazards. The results indicate that the major water chemistry is governed by carbonate weathering followed by silicate weathering. The Fe, Mg, Mn, Se, and HCO3- concentrations exceeded the BIS drinking water standards in 86, 51, 11, 9, and 79% of the samples, respectively. Piper and Durov plots indicated the dominance of Ca-HCO3- water types, followed by Ca-Mg-Cl- and Ca-Cl-. Furthermore, multivariate analyses indicated the geogenic origin for Fe, Mg, Mn, Se, SO42-, and anthropogenic sources (agrochemicals, cement factories, and fly ash) for NO3-, Cu, and Cr. The estimated carcinogenic risk of As and Cr falls under the very low (10-6) to low (10-5) risks category. Furthermore, the cumulative risk of non-carcinogenic contaminants (F-, U, NO3-) (HI-0.93) is at an alarming level and also close to the boundary line of USEPA limits (HI-1). There is an urgent need to undertake suitable policy measures for sustainability of groundwater quality. � 2021, Saudi Society for Geosciences.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Lepidosauromorphs and associated vertebrate fauna from the Late Triassic Tiki Formation, South Rewa, Gondwana basin, India: implication for paleoenvironment and paleobiogeography
    (Springer Nature, 2023-03-27T00:00:00) Singh, Y. Priyananda; Sharma, K. Milankumar; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad; Patnaik, Rajeev; Singh, Nongmaithem Amardas; Singh, Ningthoujam Premjit
    Tiki Formation is well known for the presence of rich vertebrate fossil assemblages including archosaurians, cynodonts, xenacanthids, hybodonts and actinopterygians in the Gondwana succession of India. Here, we report indeterminate Sphenodontia and indeterminate Lepidosauromorpha from the Late Triassic Tiki Formation. The presently reported early diverging lepidosauromorphs might have fed on small invertebrates and small vertebrates/insects. The presence of early diverging lepidosauromorphs from the Tiki Formation extends their geographic range from Europe, N. America and S. America to the Indian sub-continent during the Late Triassic Period. Further, the reports of archosauromorph assemblages and the aquatic vertebrates from the Tiki Formation have strengthened the idea of affinities of vertebrate assemblages between Laurasia and Gondwana sub-continents of the Pangea. � 2023, Indian National Science Academy.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Meta-analysis of uranium contamination in groundwater of the alluvial plains of Punjab, northwest India: Status, health risk, and hydrogeochemical processes
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-11-23T00:00:00) Sahoo, Prafulla Kumar; Virk, Hardev Singh; Powell, Mike A.; Kumar, Ravishankar; Pattanaik, Jitendra Kumar; Salom�o, Gabriel Negreiros; Mittal, Sunil; Chouhan, Lokesh; Nandabalan, Yogalakshmi Kadapakkam; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad
    Despite numerous studies, there are many knowledge gaps in our understanding of uranium (U) contamination in the alluvial aquifers of Punjab, India. In this study, a large hydrogeochemical dataset was compiled to better understand the major factors controlling the mobility and enrichment of uranium (U) in this groundwater system. The results showed that shallow groundwaters (<60 m) are more contaminated with U than from deeper depths (>60 m). This effect was predominant in the Southwest districts of the Malwa, facing significant risk due to chemical toxicity of U. Groundwaters are mostly oxidizing and alkaline (median pH: 7.25 to 7.33) in nature. Spearman correlation analysis showed that U concentrations are more closely related to total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, Na, K, HCO3?, NO3? Cl?, and F? in shallow water than deep water, but TDS and salinity remained highly correlated (U-TDS: ? = 0.5 to 0.6; U-salinity: ? = 0.5). This correlation suggests that the salt effect due to high competition between ions is the principal cause of U mobilization. This effect is evident when the U level increased with increasing mixed water species (Na-Cl, Mg-Cl, and Na-HCO3). Speciation data showed that the most dominant U species are Ca2UO2(CO3)2? and CaUO2(CO3)3?, which are responsible for the U mobility. Based on the field parameters, TDS along with pH and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) were better fitted to U concentration above the WHO guideline value (30 ?g.L?1), thus this combination could be used as a quick indicator of U contamination. The strong positive correlation of U with F? (? = 0.5) in shallow waters indicates that their primary source is geogenic, while anthropogenic factors such as canal irrigation, groundwater table decline, and use of agrochemicals (mainly nitrate fertilizers) as well as climate-related factors i.e., high evaporation under arid/semi-arid climatic conditions, which result in higher redox and TDS/salinity levels, may greatly affect enrichment of U. The geochemical rationale of this study will provide Science-based-policy implications for U health risk assessment in this region and further extrapolate these findings to other arid/semi-arid areas worldwide. � 2021 Elsevier B.V.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Miocene fossil lizards from Kutch (Gujarat), India: A rare window to the past diversity of this subcontinent
    (Cambridge University Press, 2021-09-06T00:00:00) ?er?ansk�, Andrej; Singh, Ningthoujam Premjit; Patnaik, Rajeev; Sharma, K. Milankumar; Tiwari, Raghavendra Prasad; Sehgal, Ramesh Kumar; Singh, Nongmaithem Amardas; Choudhary, Deepak
    The Miocene beds of Kutch in India are well known for their mammalian assemblages, including the extinct ape Sivapithecus, but far less is known about the fossil squamates from this area. Although India with its over 800 reptile species is recognized as one of the global biodiversity hotspots, knowledge of past diversity and paleobiogeography of squamates on this subcontinent is very limited. We here report on new lizard finds, which have been recovered from two stratigraphic levels: the older Palasava locality (dated to the middle Miocene, ca. 14 Ma) and the younger Tapar site (late Miocene, ca. 11-10 Ma). Although fragmentarily preserved, the material described here sheds important light on the composition and paleobiogeography of squamates during the Miocene in South Asia. The older Palasava locality contains cf. Uromastyx s.l. and Varanus sp., the latter representing the oldest record of this taxon in the region of India south of the Himalayas and its occurrence here suggests a mean annual temperature not less than 15�C. The material from the younger Tapar locality consists of an unidentified acrodontan lizard, here questionably placed in agamids, and a skink. The latter shows a resemblance to mabuyines, however, the fragmentary nature of the material does not allow a precise allocation without doubts. The cosmopolitan mabuyines have been suggested to have their origin in Asia, so the potential presence of mabuyines in the Tapar locality might represent the first, but putative, Asian evidence of the occurrence of this group in the Miocene. Copyright � The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Paleontological Society.