School Of Environment And Earth Sciences
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Item Chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fauna from the middle Miocene deposits of Palasava, Kutch, India: implication for paleoenvironment and paleobiogeography; [Faune de chondrichtyens et d�ost�ichtyens provenant des d�p�ts du Mioc�ne moyen de Palasava, Kutch, Inde: implication pour le pal�oenvironnement et la pal�obiog�ographie](Academie des sciences, 2022-12-13T00:00:00) Singh, Nongmaithem Amardas; Choudhary, Deepak; Singh, Y. Priyananda; Singh, Ningthoujam Premjit; Patnaik, Rajeev; Tiwari, R.P.; Sharma, K. MilankumarThe Neogene of Kutch, India is well known for its rich marine and terrestrial vertebrate assemblages. However, the data of piscean fauna from the middle Miocene of India is very scarce. We report here additional chondrichthyan and osteichthyan remains from the middle Miocene deposit of Chhasra Formation, Palasava site, Kutch, Gujarat, India. The elasmobranchs include Carcharhinus Blainville, 1816 (C. brevipinna (M�ller & Henle, 1839), C. falciformis (M�ller & Henle, 1839), C. cf. leucas, C. aff. perezi, Carcharhinus sp.), Negaprion Whitley, 1940 (Negaprion sp.), Aetobatus Blainville, 1816 (Aetobatus sp.), Myliobatis Cuvier, 1816 (Myliobatis sp.), Dasyatis Rafinesque, 1810 (D. probsti Cappetta, 1970, D. rugosa Probst, 1877), Himantura M�ller & Henle, 1837 (H. menoni Sahni & Mehrotra, 1981), Pastinachus R�ppell, 1829 (Pastinachus sp.), and Taeniurops Garman, 1913 (Taeniurops sp.). The teleosts of Palasava are represented by four families including Bagridae Bleeker, 1858, Channidae Fowler, 1934, Characidae Latreille, 1925 and Cyprinidae Cuvier, 1817. S�rensen-Dice coefficient data of Palasava elasmobranchs show a good similarity index with their counterparts in the Mediterranean Sea suggesting the existence of short-lived reopening of the marine pathway. However, a much higher faunal affinity with those of Eastern Pacific indicates a gradual shift in migration path through the Pacific Ocean to Indo-Pacific region after the permanent landbridge was formed. The vertebrate fauna from the Palasava suggests a coastal, marginal marine, near-shore littoral to neritic environment of deposition with the influence of freshwater riverine system. The integration of the floras and faunas from Palasava locality indicates the presence of warm, humid/ wet, tropical to sub-tropical environmental conditions during the middle Miocene. � 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.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, DeepakThe 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.Item Frontal Changes of Gangotri Glacier, Garhwal Himalaya, between 1935 and 2022(Springer, 2023-02-07T00:00:00) Bhambri, Rakesh; Sain, Kalachand; Chand, Pritam; Srivastava, Deepak; Tiwari, Sameer K.; Yadav, Jairam SinghGangotri Glacier is one of the most thoroughly investigated glaciers in the Indian Himalaya in terms of terminus monitoring. This study aims to update the frontal retreat of Gangotri Glacier between 1935 and 2022 using a large scale Geological Survey of India map, remote sensing images, and repeated photography. Gangotri Glacier�s retreat rate varied significantly during the study period. This glacier receded by 1727 � 51m (19.8 � 0.2 m a?1) between 1935 and 2022. The retreat of Gangotri Glacier decreased from 2001 to 2006 (7.0 � 4.0 m a?1) compared to the previous observation (1980�2001; 21.0 � 1.2 m a?1) but increased about three times between 2006 and 2017 (21.9 � 1.9 m a?1). Furthermore, from 2017 to 2022, the frontal retreat accelerated by about 1.5 times (33.8 � 6.7 m a?1) compared to the period between 2006 and 2017. The findings of the present study are consistent with ground based survey conducted by the Geological Survey of India. � 2023, Geological Society of India, Bengaluru, India.Item Spatiotemporal dynamics of urban green and blue spaces using geospatial techniques in Chandannagar city, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-10-12T00:00:00) Ghosh, Pritha; Singh, Kiran KumariGreen and blue spaces are important landscape elements in a city and there is strong literary evidence available regarding the ecological, social, cultural and recreational benefits of these spaces to people and urban sustainability. Comprehensive quantitative assessment of these spaces is gaining scientific recognition for their utility in sustainable urban planning and drafting greening policies. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal change in urban green and blue spaces in Chandannagar city, India through quantitative assessment for the years 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2020 using Landsat data of 30�m spatial resolution. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Normalised Difference Water Index was applied to extract information on urban green and blue spaces. The classified maps were validated through field observations and Google earth images. Spatio-temporal analysis was carried out at ward level to analyze the distribution of urban green spaces (UGS) at the micro level. The result indicated that there was a reduction in green and blue spaces in the central and eastern parts of the city while there was a good amount of UGS in the western part of the city. The findings of this study shed light on important policy implications for the UGS planning in the city. � 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.Item Hydrological Characteristics of 7th February 2021 Rishi Ganga Flood: Implication towards Understanding Flood Hazards in Higher Himalaya(Springer, 2021-08-07T00:00:00) Rana, Naresh; Sundriyal, Yaspal; Sharma, Shubhra; Khan, Firoz; Kaushik, Sameeksha; Chand, Pritam; Bagri, Dhirendra Singh; Sati, Saraswati Prakash; Juyal, NavinA flash flood that originated from Raunthi Gad-a tributary of the Rishi Ganga river, in Garhwal Himalaya, caused unprecedented loss to lives and damaged two hydropower projects on 7th Februray 2021. In order to asses the flood magnitude, the flow parameters of the flood were calculated using the super-elevation of the flood marks preserved in the flood affected valleys. The textural characteristics of the flood deposits in the upper reaches of the valleys indicate dominance of debris flows. The peak discharge upstream of the confluence of Rishi Ganga and Dhauli Ganga was around 1.1�105 m3/s, which was four order of magnitiude higher than the normal peak discharge (? 3 m3/s). The flow achieved a velocity of 30�3 m/s. An exponential reduction in the flow velocity (from ?37 to 2 m/s) with distance is observed. For which the river gradient and increase in sediment load is implied flow that along its entrained way downstream between Raini and Tapovan. Considering the sensitivity of paraglacial zones to climate change, the paper calls for detailed studies pertaining to the response of paraglacial zones to extreme weather events. Importantly, it is necessary to have more hydrological data covering multiple valleys for predictive model simulation of the nature and magnitude of such disasters in future. � 2021, GEOL. SOC. INDIA.Item Geospatial analysis of the distribution of urban green spaces: a study of four Indian cities(Routledge, 2021-07-27T00:00:00) Kaur, Navjotpreet; Kaur, Mandeep; Padhi, Saumya Sibani; Singh, Kiran KumariThe urban green spaces are immensely significant to ensure quality of life in a city. However, their spatial distribution is found to be inequitable. The study investigates spatial distribution of green space through remote sensing data at different times in four Indian cities. It further examines the distribution of urban parks with respect to the location of slums. The results demonstrate that green spaces in the study areas changed considerably in the last two decades. The public urban parks are far from slum areas, and their spatial distribution is inequitable. Urban green spaces should be considered a matter of environment justice. � 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item Urban to rural COVID-19 progression in India: The role of massive migration and the challenge to India's traditional labour force policies(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2021-09-15T00:00:00) Sahoo, Prafulla Kumar; Biswal, Suchismita; Kumar, Hemant; Powell, MikeThe coronavirus disease?2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a deadliest disease in the 21st century. Initially in India, this disease was concentrated in major urban cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, and Chennai, which were the national hotspots for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in subsequent months, returning migrants (mainly day labour) brought the disease back to their home; this vector triggered significant spread to semi-urban and rural areas. This highlighted serious concerns in rural India, where access to sophisticated healthcare and mitigation strategies were lacking. There is little data on this new pattern of disease spread. This article provides a short review for tracking the spread of COVID-19 into major rural states in India based on understanding urban-rural workforce migration relative to the growing proportion of the nation's COVID-19 caseload between May-September 2020. � 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Item Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Human Health in Indian Cities: A Brief Review(Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-08-13T00:00:00) Kaur, Rajveer; Pandey, PuneetaClimate change and air pollution have been a matter of serious concern all over the world in the last few decades. The present review has been carried out in this concern over the Indian cities with significant impacts of both the climate change and air pollution on human health. The expanding urban areas with extreme climate events (high rainfall, extreme temperature, floods, and droughts) are posing human health risks. The intensified heat waves as a result of climate change have led to the elevation in temperature levels causing thermal discomfort and several health issues to urban residents. The study also covers the increasing air pollution levels above the prescribed standards for most of the Indian megacities. The aerosols and PM concentrations have been explored and hazardous health impacts of particles that are inhaled by humans and enter the respiratory system have also been discussed. The air quality during COVID-2019 lockdown in Indian cities with its health impacts has also been reviewed. Finally, the correlation between climate change, air pollution, and urbanizations has been presented as air pollutants (such as aerosols) affect the climate of Earth both directly (by absorption and scattering) and indirectly (by altering the cloud properties and radiation transfer processes). So, the present review will serve as a baseline data for policy makers in analyzing vulnerable regions and implementing mitigation plans for tackling air pollution. The adaptation and mitigation measures can be taken based on the review in Indian cities to reciprocate human health impacts by regular air pollution monitoring and addressing climate change as well. Copyright � 2021 Kaur and Pandey.Item COVID-19 lockdown: a rare opportunity to establish baseline pollution level of air pollutants in a megacity, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-02-22T00:00:00) Sahoo, P.K.; Salom�o, G.N.; da Silva Ferreira J�nior, J.; de Lima Farias, D.; Powell, M.A.; Mittal, S.; Garg, V.K.This paper analyses air quality data from megacity�Delhi, India, during different periods related to the COVID-19, including pre-lockdown, lockdown and unlocked (post-lockdown) (2018�2020) to determine what baseline levels of air pollutants might be and the level of impact that could be anticipated under the�COVID-19 lockdown�emission scenario. The results show that air quality improved significantly during the lockdown phases, with the most significant changes occurring in the transportation and industrially dominated areas. A pronounced decline in PM2.5 and PM10 up to 63% and 58%, respectively, was observed during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period in 2020. When compared to 2018 and 2019, they were lower by up to 51% and 61%, respectively, dropping by 56% during unlock. Some pollutants (NOx and CO) dropped significantly during lockdown, while SO2 and O3 declined only slightly. Moreover, when compared between the different phases of lockdown, the maximum decline for most of the pollutants and air quality index occurred during the�lockdown phase 1; thus, this period was used to report the�COVID-19 baseline threshold values�(CBT; threshold value is the upper limit of baseline variation). Of the various�statistical methods used median + 2 median absolute deviation (mMAD)�was most suitable, indicating CBT values�of 143 and 75 ug/m3 for PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. This results although preliminary, but�it�gives a positive indication that temporary lockdown can be considered as a boon to mitigate the damage we have done to the environment. Also, this baseline levels can be helpful�as a first line of information�to set future�target limits�or to�develop effiective management policies for achieving better air quality in urban centres like Delhi. � 2021, Islamic Azad University (IAU).Item Taxonomical establishment and compositional studies of a new cordyceps (ascomycetes) species from the northwest himalayas (India)(Begell House Inc., 2016) Sharma, S.K.; Gautam, N.; Atri, N.S.; Dhancholia, S.During a frequent survey in the northwest Indian Himalayan region, a new species-Cordyceps macleodganensis-was encountered. This species is described on the basis of its macromorphological features, microscopic details, and internal transcribed spacer sequencing. This species showed only 90% resemblance to Cordyceps gracilis. The chemical composition of the mycelium showed protein (14.95 ? 0.2%) and carbohydrates (59.21 ? 3.8%) as the major nutrients. This species showed appreciable amounts of ?-carotene, lycopene, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides, and flavonoids. Mycelial culture of this species showed higher effectiveness for ferric-reducing antioxidant power, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion-chelating activity, and scavenging ability on superoxide anion-derived radicals, calculated by half-maximal effective concentrations. ? 2016 Begell House, Inc.