ID: 51352
Title: Assessment of effects on general health due to motor vehicular emission in the city of Kokata
Author: Mrinal K Ghose, R. Paul and S. K. Banerjee
Editor: P.K.Bhattacharya
Year: 2009
Publisher: TERI, Vol 8, No 1, March 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: TERI Information Digest on Energy and Environment
Keywords: GDP,Urbanization, Sustainable development,EIA
Abstract: The air quality crisis in cities is often attributable in large measures (40% to 80%) to motor vehicular emissions. Urban air pollution from road traffic contains a vast array of organic and inorganic compounds, many of which are harmful to human health. Epidemiological studies conducted in the US and Europe have linked air pollution exposures to excess mortality from respiratory and cardivascular diseases. The adverse health effects include changes in airway cells, alterations of the immune system and abnormalities in platelets and leukocyte activities. Because of the source emissions of CO, O3, toxicants, and particulates the public health implications are substantial, in most cases, particulates with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometer (PM 10) and aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and benzopyrene adsorbed to these particles have been implicated as the causative agents. Most of the cities in India are growing at a faster rate than the national average, as subsistence workers migrate from rural areas to cities in search of disposable income. Existing cities are expanding, new cities are being created, and adjacent cities are merging. Urban India depicts a picture of metamorphosis. The feudal towns have changed into industrial cities, cities into metropolis, and metros into megalopolis. The economic statistics reveal the increased contribution of urban areas to the GDP (gross domestic product). It had contributed only 29% GDP in 1950/51, 47% during 1980/81,and increased to 60% by 2000/01. Transportation systems are increasing everywhere. The improved performance of technology is presently insufficient to counteract the growth of vehicles. Projections, therefore, consistently show worsening air quality in the cities of India. Rapid technologicla advancement is the real hope for fulfilling the legitimate aspiration of the people of India for a higher standard of living without severe deterioation of the urban environment. Overexploitaion of nature in the name of urbanization and development is causing degradation of our environment. At the same time, we do realize that we cannot stop development in the name of saving environment only. A balance between sustainable development and environment is the need of the hour. EIA (environment impact assessment) plays a crucial role in resolving the conflicts.Though air pollution levels in urban India are high, its impact on the health of people is relatively unknown. Similarly, less is known about benzene soluble matter exposure from urban air pollution and its health impact among the residents of the Indian cities despite the fact that benzene soluble matter is a Class I human carcinogen. It is important to mention in this context that the source, type and level of pollution are different in developing and developed countries, so are the nutritional and immunological status of the people. Therefore, the findings in developed countries may not represent the situation in India. With this background, the present study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the status of vehicular pollution in the city of Kolkata and to examine the effect of chronic exposure to air pollution on the functioning of lung and important systems of the body among the residents of Kolkata.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51351
Title: Hyper Spectral Remote Sensing & Spectral Signature Applications
Author: None
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 96, No 12, 25 June 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51350
Title: Evaluation of transplanted and ratoon crop for double cropping of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under organic input management in mid altitude sub-tropical Meghalaya
Author: G.C.Munda, Anup Das and D.P.Patel
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 96, No 12, 25 June 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Mid-altitude, mono and double cropping, organic production, ratooning, rice, subtropical wetlands
Abstract: In mid-altitude of the North Eastern Hill (NEH) region of India, a second crop of rice following the harvest of main kharif (July to mid-November) rice is not possible due to early onset of low temperature (< 15oC) from November onwards, which causes spikelet sterility in rice. A field experiment on double cropping of rice was conducted under mid-altitude subtropical wetland valley ecosystem of Meghalaya from 2004-05 to 2005-06 at Umiam (950 m amsl), Meghalaya. Out of the six varieties tested, IR-64 (43.2 q/ha), Aerobic rice IR 72176 (42.1 q/ha) and Krishna Hamsha (40.5 q/ha) performed well during pre-kharif season. Double cropping (main+ratoon) of IR-64 produced 75.4 q/ha of grain yield compared to 40.5 q/ha under improved monocropping of rice variety Sahsarang-1. Ratooning could save time (nursery and field preparation, transplanting, etc.), resources (labour, seeds, etc.) and gave higher productivity. The ratooning ability of Sahsarang -1 (33.0 q/ha) and IR-64 (32.2 q/ha) was found to be highly promising. The sequence IR-64 in pre-kharif followed by its ratoon also gave 86 and 202% higher productivity over improved (40.5 q/ha) and local practice (25.0 q/ha) of monocropping respectively. It was found equally good with the best combination of IR-64 in pre-kharif followed by late kharif transplanted crop of Vivek Dhan-82 (system productivity of 80.4 q grain/ha). Duration of main crop varied from 135 to 158 days, whereas in case of ratoon it varied from 70 to 95 days. Therefore, it was concluded that ratooning has ample opportunity, especially in the NER region of India, where climatic conditions and non-availability of resources restrict the double cropping of rice by the farmers. The practice of double cropping would not only add to the national food basket, but would also increase the farmers ' income and generate more employment in the region.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51349
Title: Classification of tropical trees growing in a sanctuary using Hyperion (EO-1) and SAM algorithm
Author: Binal Christian and N.S.R.Krishnayya
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 96, No 12, 25 June 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Hyperion (EO-1) data, MNF transformation, species-level classification, Spectral Angle Mapper, tropical forest
Abstract: Tropical forests are one of the richest sources of biodiversity and are well known for their ecosystem services.There is a pressing need to monitor the rate and extent of changes in forest cover of countries like India for efficient planning and management leading to sustainable development. Imaging spectroscopy is one of the newer techniques adopted for species-level discrimination. Of the available sensors, spaceborne ones are cost-effective and are more appropriate for monitoring in countries like India. The present study aims at classifying tropical trees using Hyperion (EO-1) and SAM (Spectral Angle Mapper) algorithm. The study was conducted in the Shoolpanneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS), Narmada District, Gujarat, India. Hyperion data were obtained during October 2006 when the vegetation was lush green. Field survey was done coinciding with data acquisition time. The tree species identified for discrimination were Tectona grandis L., Dendrocalamus strictus Nees., Mangifera indica L., Madhuca indica J.F. Gmel.and Ficus glomerata Roxb. Hyperion data were preprocessed. End-member spectra for each species were selected and used as library spectra for the classification. SAM was performed for the entire spectrum, VIS-NIR region (1-90 bands ), SWIR-I region (103-136 bands), SWIR-II region (159-195 bands), 1-10 MNF and 1-15 MNF bands. Overall accuracy assessment (OAA), kappa co-efficient and user ' s and producer ' s accuracy were calculated. SAM classification with 196 bands (full spectra) of Hyperion data gave 51% OAA for the five tropical trees selected. The obtained OAA was appropriate looking at the pattern of vegetal cover and also of the sensor used. Partition analysis of the spectrum indicated speriority of VIS-NIR region for classification.SWIR-I and II did not fare well because of the biophysical state of vegetal cover, SAM showed the highest accuracy (59.57%) for spectra of 1-10 MNF bands. Higher accuracy using MNF band combination indicated the potential of MNF transformation to increase classification accuracy of tropical trees by reducing data dimensionality. Our study indicates that homogeneity in the vegetal cover is a critical aspect for classification in the tropical areas. We conclude that SAM is an appropriate method for classifying Hyperion data of the tropics. With the reported densities for Tectona and Dendrocalamus, Hyperion is found to be an appropriate sensor for monitoring.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51348
Title: Estimation of replenishable groundwater resources of India and their status of utilization
Author: Rana Chatterjee and Raja Ram Purohit
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 96, No 12, 25 June 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Groundwater draft, rainfall infiltration factor, replenishable groundwater resources, specific yield, water-level fluctuation
Abstract: Dynamic groundwater resources of India have been estimated using groundwater resource estimation methodology - 1997. The methodology uses the water-level fluctuation technique and empirical norms for recharge estimation. The groundwater utilization is also estimated. The stage of groundwater development is worked out and assessment units are categorized based on the stage of groundwater development and long-term water-level trend. The annual replenishable groundwater resources of India is 433 billion cubic metre (bcm) and net annual groundwater availability is 399 bcm. The annual groundwater draft for 2004 was 231 bcm. Thus the overall stage of groundwater development is 58%. Out of 5723 assessment units in the country, 4078 are ' safe ' and 839 are ' over-exploited ' . The rest fall under ' semi-critical ' and ' critical ' category. Over-exploitation is more prevalent in northwestern, western and Peninsular India. Eastern India has good potential for future groundwater development. Considering the changing groundwater scenario, re-assessment of groundwater resources needs to be carried out at regular intervals. This would require further strengthening of the available database.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51347
Title: Rhizobia as biofertilizers for mushroom cultivation
Author: Gamini Seneviratne, Gholam-Ale Peyvast, Jamal-Ali Olfati, Armin Kariminia
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 96, No 12, 25 June 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51346
Title: Water first: Issues & challenges for nations & communities of South Asia
Author: Ashok Jaitly
Editor: R.K.Pachauri
Year: 2009
Publisher: TERI, Vol 6, Issue 1, March 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: None
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51345
Title: Mapping of Apple Orchards using Remote Sensing Techniques in Cold Desert of Himachal Pradesh, India
Author: Amit Kumar, K.N.Singh, Brij Lal, R.D.Singh
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Apple, Cold desert, Cash crop, Remote sensing, Indian Himalaya
Abstract: The present study was conducted to map Apple orchards in dry alpine Spiti region of Indian Himalaya using LISS III satellite image. The barren terrain with sparse woody vegetation helped in classification of apple orchards with 91.3% accuracy. The orchards were found in 154.6 ha of the study area and are anticipated to expand owing to its economic importance.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51344
Title: Application of Remote Sensing Technology for Impact Assessment of Watershed Development Programme
Author: U.K.Shanwad, V.C.Patil, H.Honne Gowda, G.S.Dasog
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Watershed, Monitoring and impact assessment, Remote sensing, GIS, Land use/land cover, NDVI
Abstract: The current study was taken up to investigate the utility of remote sensing and GIS tools for evaluation of Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) implemented during 1997-2001 in Katangidda Nala watershed, Chincholi taluk, Gulburga district, Karnataka. The study was carried out using IRS IC, LISS III data of December 11, 1997 (pre-treatment) and November 15,2002 (post-treatment) covering the watershed to assess the changes in land use/ land cover and biomass that have changed over a period of five years (1997-2002). The images were classified into different land use/land cover categories using supervised classification by maximum likelihood algorithm. They were also classified into different biomass levels using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) approach. The results indicated that the area under agriculture crops and forest land were increased by 671 ha (5.7%) and 1,414 ha (11.94%) respectively. This is due to the fact that parts of wastelands and fallow lands were brought into cultivation. This increase in the area may be attributed to better utilization of surface and ground waters, adoption of soil and water conservation practices and changes in cropping pattern. The area under waste lands and fallow lands decreased by 1,667 ha (14.07%) and 467 ha (3.94%), respectively. The vegetation vigour of th area was classified into three classes using NDVI. Substantial increase in the area under high and low biomass levels was observed (502 ha and 19 ha respectively). The benefit-cost analysis indicates that the use of remote sensing and GIS was 2.2 times cheaper than the conventional methods. Thus, the repetitive coverage of the satellite data provides an excellent opportunity to monitor the land resources and evaluate the land cover changes through comparison of images for the watershed at different periods.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51343
Title: Geomorphic Signatures of Active Tectonics in Bist Doab Interfluvial Tract of Punjab, NW India
Author: C.M.Bhatt, P.K.Litoria, P.K.Sharma
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Geomorphic signatures, Morphotectonics, Active tectonics, Remote sensing
Abstract: Bist Doab interfluvial tract in the north-western part of Punjab, India, has been investigated for geomorphic signatures of active tectonics using remotely sensed data and geographical information system (GIS). The anomalous river flow, abrupt changes in flow direction, angular drainage, compressed meanders, asymmetry of river bends, high channel sinuosity, abandoned channels, water-logged and marshy areas observed along the courses of Beas and Sutlej rivers and their tributaries indicate tectonically active nature of the terrain. The strong control exercised by the NE-SW and NW-SE trending lineaments on the drainage network is well evident in the form of long straightened slope deviatory courses, definite changes in channel pattern and sharp knee bend turns taken by the seasonal rivulets. The asymmetric and elongated nature of watersheds and straight to curvilinear mountain fronts quantified through morphotectonic analysis are characteristic of tectonically active settings and further corroborate the evidence of active tectonics.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51342
Title: Morphometry using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in the Sub-Basins of Kagna River Basin, Gulburga District, Karnataka, India
Author: M.Rudraiah, S.Govindaiah, S.Srinivas Vittala
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Morphometry, kagna river basin, Remote sensing
Abstract: The study area is a part of Kagna river basin in the Gulburga district of Karnataka, India. It covers an area of 1320 km2 and it has been subdivided into 4 sub-basins namely Wadi, Chitapur,Sedam and Kurkunta, which range in area from 184 to 537 km2. The drainage pattern of these sub-basins are delineated using Geo-coded FCC bands 2, 3, 4 of IRS IC and ID(LISS III+PAN merged) on 1:50,000 scale and Survey of India toposheets as reference. The morphometric parameters are computed using ArcInfo and ArcView GIS software. The drainage pattern of the study area is dendritic to sub-dendritic with stream orders ranging from IV to VII orders. Drainage density ranges from 1.40 to 1.86 km/km2 suggesting coarse to moderate drainage texture. The change in values of stream length ratio indicate their late youth stage of geomorphic development. The values of bifuration ratio ranging from 2.00 to 4.71 indicate that all the sub-basins fall under normal basin category. The values of form factor and circulatory ratio, suggest that the Kurkunta sub-basin is elongated and the remaining sub-basins are more or less circular in shape. Elongatio ratio indicates that the Wadi sub-basin is a region of very low relief whereas the other sub-basins are associated with moderate to high relief and steep ground slopes. It is concluded that remote sensing and GIS have been proved to be efficient tools in drainage delineation and updation. In the present study these updated drainages have been used for the morphometric analysis.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51341
Title: Flood Risk Analysis in the Kosi River Basin, North Bihar using Multi-Parametric Approach of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Author: R.Sinha, G.V.Bapalu, L.K.Singh, B.Rath
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Flood risk analysis, AHP, Flood management, River basin, GIS
Abstract: The Kosi river in north Bihar plains,eastern India presents a challenge in terms of long and recurring flood hazard. Despite a long history of flood control management in the basin for more than 5 decades, the river continues to bring a lot of misery through extensive flooding. This paper revisits the flooding problem in the Kosi river basin and presents an in-depth analysis of flood hydrology. We integrate the hydrological analysis with a GIS-based flood risk mapping in parts of the basin. Typical hydrological characteristics of the Kosi river include very high discharge variability, and high sediment flux from an uplifting hinterland. Annual peak discharges often exceed the mean annual flood and the low-lying tracts of the alluvial plains are extensively inundated year after year. Our flood risk analysis follows a multi-parametric approach using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and integrates geomorphological, land cover, topographic and social (population density) parameters to propose a Flood Risk Index (FRI). The flood risk map is validated with long-term inundation maps and offers a cost-effective solution for planning mitigation measures in flood-prone areas.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51340
Title: Delineation of Potential Sites for Water Harvesting Structures using Remote Sensing and GIS
Author: M.Girish Kumar, A.K.Agarwal, Rameshwar Bali
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Rain water harvesting site suitability, Remote sensing, GIS
Abstract: Availability of groundwater varies spatially and temporally depending upon the terrain. The scarcity of water affects the environmental and developmental activities of an area. Construction of small water harvesting structures across streams/watersheds is gaining momentum in recent years. In the present study, potential sites for construction of rainwater harvesting structures in the Bakhar watershed of Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh, India have been identified by using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Various thematic maps such as Landuse/Landcover, geomorphology and lineaments, etc. were prepared using remote sensing. These layers along with geology and drainage were integrated using GIS techniques to derive suitable water harvesting sites. Each theme was assigned a weightage depending on its influence on ground water recharge (for example weightages 20, 18, 15, 25, 25 and 0 were asssigned to geomorphology, landuse, geology, lineament, drainage and road and villages respectively). Each class or unit in the map was assigned a knowledge based ranking of one to four depending on its significance in storage and transmittance of groundwater, and these values were multiplied with layer weightage to form score. The average score for excellent region is greater than 200, for good 121 to 200, for moderate 81 to 121 and the other polygon having value less than 80 (excluding zero) were assigned to poor catergory. The final map showing different catergories of suitability sites for water harvesting structures such as Check dams, Contour bunding, Recharge pits, Wells and Contour trenching have been suggested.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51339
Title: Generation and Validation of DEM using SAR Interferometry and Differential GPS Supported by Multispectral Optical Data
Author: P.Jayaprasad, B.Narendra, S.K.Pathan, Ajai
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: SAR interferometry, DEM, DGPS, Validation
Abstract: Digital elevation model (DEM) and the derived terrain parameters e.g. contour, slope, aspect, drainage pattern, etc are required for natural resources management, infrastructure planning and disaster management. The present paper aims at generating DEM from ERS tandem pair using interferometric technique supported by differential GPS measurements (DGPS) and multispectral optical data. Validation of DEM has been carried out by DGPS measurements. Ground Control Points (GCP) established by DGPS measurements have been used to georeference the IRS-ID optical data that has finally been co-registered with SAR amplitude image.Optical data, co-registered with ERS - I SAR data has helped in locating the GCP ' s and check points, precisely, for refinement of DEM and its validation.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51338
Title: Fractal Compression of Satellite Images
Author: Jayanta Kumar Ghosh, Ankur Singh
Editor: Prof. B.L. Deekshatulu
Year: 2008
Publisher: Indian Society of Remote Sensing , Vol 36, No 4, December 2008
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Keywords: Fractal compression, IRS satellite images
Abstract: Fractal geometry provides a means for describing and analysing the complexity of various features present in digital images. In this paper, characteristics of Fractal based compression of satellite data have been tested for Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) images ( of different bands and resolution). The fidelity and efficiency of the algorithm and its relationship with spatial complexity of images is also evaluated. Results obtained from fractal compression have been compared with popularly used compression methods such as JPEG 2000, WinRar. The effect of bands and pixel resolution on the compression rate has also been examined. The results from this study show that the fractal based compression method provides higher compression rate while maintaining the information content of RS images to a great extent than that of JPEG. This paper also asserts that information loss due to fractal compression is minimal. It may be concluded that fractal technique has many potential advantages for compression of satellite images.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None