eChapters

Abstract

The major subduction of the Indian plate and the related high magnitude earthquake (>9M) occurred in Sumatra region, triggered a major tsunami on 26, Dec 2004 which caused massive disasters in many coastal regions of South Asian countries including India, killing tens of thousands of life and causing property loss of several million rupees. Duly realizing the credentials of Geospatial / Geomatics technology and the expertise of NRDMS, an all India coordinated programme was conceived by NRDMS on tsunami disaster assessment and got it executed through six specialized institutions working on geomatics technology in the country. In the programme, the tsunami disaster in terms of natural, physical and human resources were assessed using geomatics technology and village wise digital databases were generated which will form a potential baseline information in coastal area.

Keywords: Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, DST Initiatives, Disaster Assessment, Mitigation.

Introduction

Spatial datasets always exhibit two common features (i) the occurrence of a few very large concentrations (hot-spots) and (ii) the presence of data below the detection limit (black spots). Extreme values can strongly affect the characterization of spatial patterns, and subsequently the prediction. Several approaches exist to handle strongly positively skewed histograms (Saito and Goovaerts 2000). One common approach is to first transform the data (e.g. normal, Box Cox or lognormal), perform the analysis in the transformed space, and back-transform the resulting estimates. Such transform, however, does not solve problems created by the presence of numerous black spot data, since either it yields a spike of similar transformed values or, in the case of the normal-score transform, it requires a necessarily subjective ordering of all equally-valued observations. Moreover, except for the normal score transform (Deutsch and Journel 1998), it does not guarantee the normality of the transformed histogram, which is required to compute confidence intervals for the estimates. Last, the back-transform of estimated moments is not straightforward and can introduce bias if not done properly (Saito and Goovaerts 2000); for example, lognormal kriging estimates cannot simply be exponentiated. Another way to attenuate the impact of extreme values is to use more robust statistics and estimators. The non-parametric approach of indicator kriging (IK) falls within that category (Journel 1983, Goovaerts 2001). The basic idea is to discretize the range of variation of the environmental attribute by a set of thresholds (e.g. deciles of sample histogram, detection limit, regulatory threshold) and to transform each observation into a vector of indicators of non-exceedence of each threshold. Kriging is then applied to the set of indicators and estimated values are assembled to form a conditional cumulative distribution function (ccdf). The mean or median of the probability distribution can be used as an estimate of the concentration of the material in question (Barabas et al. 2001, Cattle et al. 2002, Goovaerts et al. 2005).

Introduction
Following our comprehensive exploration of scientific crop modeling and the rigorous processes of model assessment, we now pivot to an equally vital, yet distinct, realm of understanding weather in agriculture: Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK). This chapter, Indigenous Technical Knowledge for Weather Forecasts and Its Validity,” delves into the profound and often overlooked wisdom embedded within local communities worldwide, knowledge systems accumulated over generations that offer unique insights into anticipating future weather patterns.
In the upcoming sections, we will embark on an in-depth examination of the diverse forms that ITK related to weather forecasting takes. This includes detailed discussions on:
• Observational Indicators: How traditional communities keenly observe subtle changes in the natural world, such as specific patterns in animal behavior (e.g., bird migration patterns, insect activity, animal calls), plant phenology (e.g., early or late flowering, unusual fruiting patterns of wild plants), and the behavior of flora and fauna as harbingers of upcoming weather shifts.
• Atmospheric and Astronomical Signs: The interpretation of sky conditions (e.g., cloud formations, specific colors of sunrise/sunset, halos around the sun or moon), wind patterns, atmospheric pressure changes (often perceived through bodily sensations or changes in local sound travel), and celestial phenomena (e.g., star brightness, moon phases) as indicators for short-term or seasonal forecasts.
• Traditional Ecological Calendars and Proverbs: The role of traditional calendars that map out expected seasonal weather based on historical observations, and folk proverbs or sayings that encapsulate generations of empirical weather wisdom in concise, memorable forms, guiding agricultural practices.

Abstract

Indigenous water saving technologies in arid and semi-arid environment is a local traditional practice for effective use of the limited water supply. These technologies can be used as a base for future development that can be made on these technologies through incorporating the current industry tools. The importance of studying the indigenous knowledge and practices is that it can help to develop enhanced versions of these technologies, and to understand the ability of local communities to adopt the newly developed technology. In Sudan, several indigenous water saving approaches has been used by local societies at various scales. An insight for these technologies, their strength and weaknesses are given here. On “Haffir” (water ponds), Wadi control, and water diversion methods were used for a long time of history for water collection and conservation. At farm scale, terraces, mulching, intercropping, low tillage, fallow, low-water consumption crops and fast maturing crops are common indigenous water saving technologies. Traditional water storage in trees such as Baobab and water-melon is an indigenous proactive along the history in western Sudan to store rain water for long dry season.

INTRODUCTION

Edible mushrooms are higher fungi occurring seasonally all over the world in various habitats varying from sandy plains to thick forests. About 2000 fungal species in the world have been identified as edible, of which, only a few (20) are cultivated commercially (Chang and Miles, 1991). These mushrooms are generally considered as the good source of protein, vitamins and minerals in addition to their flavour and condiment value. About 3.

Introduction

Disasters are the natural and man made extreme events which exceeds the tolerable magnitude of any event, where adjustment is difficult. These events are catastrophic and results in the loss of life and property on a huge scale. These abnormal events form the headlines to the newspapers and media a world and national level.

These processes are beneficial to the human beings because they form the earth and habitable planet for the evolution of life. However, these processes within a short time limit forms, hazardous and such activities adversely affect the human beings and human related activities on a very large scale.

Amongst the three important types of disasters viz. natural, anthropogenic and technological, the first and the foremost natural disaster mainly includes the geological atmospheric and other related natural types viz. floods, earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis etc.

INTRODUCTION

The weather conditions during the growing season of crops influences the onset and development of disease. The relationship between weather and plant disease development is the basis for meteopathological forecasting. On the basis of observed or forecast weather conditions, the incidence of plant disease is likely to be predicted.

Such predictions are designed to warn growers of expected significant developments in the manifestation of a particular plant disease. Such disease forecasts, if sufficiently accurate, permit efficient and competent counter measures to be adopted. A short range or medium range of disease forecast, issued at short intervals during the growing of crops, can give guidance to the farmers on the best remedial measures. Growers can decide whether a chemical control measure is needed or not, and if needed then optimum date on which to be applied and similar day to day decisions to fight against disease to minimize the losses to be caused.

The result, of adopting such a plan of weather based control measures, is to reduce the number of chemical sprays to a well timed few, thus giving an equal or even better protection at a lower cost in chemical and labour, and simultaneously reduces losses caused by phytotoxic and mechanical damage to the crop. The reduction in the use of potentially toxic chemical is a matter to be welcomed in the present world, considering the consequences of the widespread use of toxic chemicals.

For nations where agriculture is intrinsically linked to the rhythms of the monsoon, the need for effective climate guidance and resilient farming practices is particularly acute. The preceding chapters have likely underscored the profound impact of climate variability, especially the unpredictable nature of monsoon patterns, on agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of millions. This chapter turns its attention to the essential infrastructure development and enabling policy frameworks required to empower farmers in monsoon-dependent countries to navigate the uncertainties of their climate and build lasting prosperity. Given the unique challenges and opportunities presented by monsoon climates, this chapter will specifically explore the development of infrastructure that supports climate-resilient agriculture in these regions. This includes a focused examination of:
• Specialized Weather Observation and Forecasting Infrastructure for Monsoon Monitoring: Emphasizing the need for advanced systems dedicated to accurately monitoring monsoon onset, intensity, spatial distribution, and predicting extreme events like heavy rainfall and prolonged dry spells, which are critical for timely agricultural decisions.
• Communication and Dissemination Infrastructure Tailored for Monsoon-Related Risks: Focusing on effective and accessible channels to deliver critical monsoon forecasts, advisories on managing water excesses and deficits, and information on appropriate cropping strategies during and between monsoon seasons, reaching even remote agricultural communities.
• Infrastructure for Enhanced Water Management in a Monsoon Context: Addressing the dual challenges of managing excess water during intense monsoon periods (including flood mitigation and drainage systems) and ensuring water availability during dry spells through efficient irrigation, water harvesting, and groundwater management infrastructure.
• Data Management and Analysis Focused on Monsoon-Driven Agricultural Systems: Highlighting the importance of analyzing historical and real-time data related to monsoon patterns and their impact on specific crops and regions to generate localized and timely agricultural guidance.
The chapter will also critically analyze the enabling policies necessary to support climate-resilient agriculture within the specific context of monsoondependent nations. This will involve exploring:

The professor of English Language, a figure known for their insightful questions and ability to illuminate the intricacies of the English lexicon, stood before the class. Their gaze swept across the eager faces of the students, finally settling on one in particular. With a gentle smile, they posed a seemingly simple yet profoundly layered question: “Can you tell me a single letter word that holds significant meaning within the vast realm of English literature?” A moment of thoughtful silence descended upon the classroom. Some students furrowed their brows in contemplation, others shifted in their seats, and one young scholar, feeling the weight of the query, offered an honest but perhaps unwittingly ironic response: “I don’t know, Sir.” The teacher’s smile widened ever so slightly. The very word the student used to express their lack of knowledge contained the answer itself – the solitary, yet immensely powerful, letter “I.” This single stroke of the pen, this lone character, stands as a fundamental pillar in the construction of narratives, the expression of self, and the exploration of individual consciousness throughout the entirety of English literature. From the simplest declaration to the most complex introspections, “I” remains an indispensable element. Just as this seemingly unassuming letter carries such profound weight in the world of language and storytelling, there exists a singular concept that serves as the indispensable foundation for any endeavor aspiring to achieve true and lasting success: Innovation. Think of innovation as the “I” of achievement. While it may appear as a single, core idea, much like the single letter, it encompasses an entire universe of possibilities, driving progress, shaping outcomes, and ultimately defining the trajectory towards triumph.

The extreme weather events being experienced at a greater frequency now a days are due to accelerated climate change caused mostly due to global warming. Global warming is basically a change in the climatic conditions of the Earth, brought about by a considerable rise in the near-surface temperature of the planet. Earth’s surface and the troposphere become warmer due to absorption of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface by Green House Gases(GHGs). The important green house gases include carbon dioxide(CO₂),methane(CH₄) nitrous oxide(N₂O), chloro-?uoro-carbons(CFCs), ozone(O₃) and water vapour(H₂O). Various climate models predict major changes in our weather patterns, environment, and way of life in absence of efforts for substantial reductions in GHG emissions. The CO₂ gas concentration of atmosphere has increased to 385 ppm as against the normal concentration of 300 ppm. The atmosphere contains only 1 % of the total global carbon pool. The undesirable changes can be reversed by increasing soil and eco system carbon pools, increasing mean resident time(MRT) of sequestered carbon and decreasing GHG emission to atmosphere.

As we draw the threads of “Droughts through the Ages” together, we are left with a profound understanding of the cyclical yet evolving nature of drought. From the earliest whispers of human history to the stark realities of our modern world, the absence of life-sustaining water has cast a long shadow, shaping civilizations, sparking innovation, and at times, triggering societal upheaval. This book has journeyed through millennia, examining the historical accounts, scientific understandings, and societal responses to these arid interludes. Yet, the true value of this historical lens lies not merely in recounting the past, but in illuminating a path towards a more resilient future. • The preceding chapters have underscored several crucial insights. We have witnessed the devastating impacts of prolonged dry spells on ancient empires, the ingenuity displayed in developing early irrigation systems, and the growing scientific understanding of the complex interplay between atmospheric conditions, land surface processes, and human activities in driving

Introduction

Groundwater resources are under stress globally due to various reasons including increasing water demand, impending climate change, industrialization, land use/land cover changes, etc. Adequate sustainable development strategies have to be adopted for the management of groundwater resources. Irrespective of the developmental status of countries all over the world, groundwater serves as a crucial resource for meeting fundamental needs. However, increasing population, water demand, surface water contamination, and recent patterns of climate unpredictability have caused increasing reliance on groundwater as reported by several researchers (Adimalla and Taloor 2020; Aladejana et al. 2020; Cuthbert et al. 2019; Green 2016; Hamed et al. 2018; Jasrotia et al. 2019; Khalaj et al. 2019; Li 2016; McGill et al. 2019; Morsy et al. 2017; Taloor et al. 2020).

Even in India, water scarcity has been reported in many parts, though the country receives relatively higher rainfall. However, the rainfall pattern has changed over the last few years. The country has been experiencing significant spatiotemporal changes in rainfall patterns, leading to fewer rainy days and more extreme rainfall, which many studies have attributed to global climate change and anthropogenic influences. The rainfall variability has substantial impacts on water availability, agricultural productivity, and welfare of the 1.2 billion people in India because agriculture in India feeds about 17.2% of the global population and more than 56% of the agricultural land is rain-fed. Rapid and heavy patterns of rainfall result in the draining of most of the rainfall as surface runoff particularly on higher slopes, and reaches the surface water bodies, thereby reducing the infiltration and subsequent groundwater recharge. These variations in rainfall have ultimately affected the groundwater behavior and availability in many river basins.

Insolation is a term that might sound abstract but is fundamentally the driving force behind nearly all physical processes on Earth, including those within our precious aquatic environments. In this chapter, we will unravel the journey of solar energy from the vast expanse of space to the surfaces of our oceans, lakes, and rivers, and understand its profound influence on the life within. For you, as future professionals in fisheries and aquaculture, grasping the concept of insolation is paramount. The amount of solar radiation reaching a water body dictates its surface temperature, influences the rate of photosynthesis by aquatic plants and algae (the base of many aquatic food webs), affects water stratification, and even plays a role in phenomena like ice formation and melting. Think about it: the warmth of a lake on a sunny day, the intensity of light penetrating the surface waters, the seasonal changes in algal blooms – all are directly linked to the amount and intensity of solar radiation received. Understanding insolation allows us to begin to explain why some aquatic environments are more productive than others, why water temperatures vary geographically and seasonally, and how changes in solar energy input (whether natural or human-induced) can ripple through entire aquatic ecosystems.
In this chapter, we will delve into
• What insolation is: Defining the term and understanding its measurement.
• Factors affecting insolation: Exploring how latitude, time of year, time of day, and atmospheric conditions (like clouds) influence the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface and water bodies.
• The fate of insolation upon reaching water: Examining how solar energy is absorbed, reflected, and transmitted within aquatic environments.

Since meteorology and climatology are primarily observational sciences, adequate care has to be taken for getting most representative and accurate observations of weather parameters for their efficient application. This depends on site of observatory, maintenance of observatory, accuracy of instruments, timely measurements of weather parameters, knowledge and responsibility of the observer.

Monitoring of weather conditions, in a country like India, which is climatologically so diverse because of its unique geographical situation is a challenging task. It is done through a large network of observatories of different types. India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, is entrusted with the collection and keeping the record of weather data collected from different stations and also to train the man power in this specialized area. Weather stations installed in different parts of the country are of different types.

9.1. Balance and Weighing

9.1.1. Principle of Functioning of a Balance

It is one of the important tools used in the laboratory and one should have thorough knowledge about its assembly, use and care, otherwise it may be the initial step for introducing error in any physical or chemical analysis. Every balance has its maximum load limit and sensitivity depending upon its construction.

Essentially balance may be regarded as a rigid beam, BC having a central fulcrum, O and two arms of equal length, d₁, d₂ (Fig.9.1). The both ends of beam have prism edges upon which the balance pans are suspended by means of suitable suspension.

Although Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) is widely used technique for pesticide residue analysis, it has some limitations. It can analyze of volatile and thermo stable type of pesticides only because it operate at high temperature. These problems have overcome in HPLC. Although HPLC can analyze both polar as well as non-polar type of compounds but it has less sensitivity than GLC.

Chromatography is a physical method of separation in which components to be separated is distributed between two phases, one of which is stationary while other moves in a definite direction. By separating the sample into individual components, it is easier to identify (qualitative) and measure the amount (quantitative) of the various sample components. There are numerous chromatographic techniques and corresponding instruments.

Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) is the most widely used analytical technique for estimation of volatile and thermo stable type of pesticides with speed, accuracy, reproducibility and sensitivity.

The analytical work in a soil-testing laboratory mainly involves standard chemical methods, suitably modified to permit handling of a large number of soil samples with the required degree of accuracy and speed. Many of the analytical operations are carried out more conveniently with help of common as well as sophisticated instruments.

The various instrumental measurements followed in soil and water-testing work in the laboratory can be broadly divided into two groups:

1) Determination of pH and electrical conductivity

2) Colorimetric, spectrophotometric

Abstract

In the present study an integrated remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) based methodology is adopted for demarcating the groundwater prospective zones and identification of artificial recharge sites in the Peddavanka watershed, Andhra Pradesh. In this study Shuttle Radar Topograhic Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) with spatial resolution of 90 m and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-1A), Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS- III) satellite data along with other field and collateral data on geology and well inventory have been utilized to generating the Drainage, Slope, Lineaments and Hydro geomorphology of the study area, which are an essential prerequisites for demarcating water resources and identification of recharge sites. Spatial data integration and analyses are carried out in GIS environment.

Keywords : DEM, Drainage, Hydrogeomorphology, Groundwater prospective zones, Remote sensing, GIS

1.0 Introduction

Groundwater is an important natural resource in arid and semi- arid regions, because most of the places surface water resources are scarce and some places it’s totally absent particularly in hard rock areas. Because in hard rock terrains availability of groundwater is of limited extent and its occurrence is essentially confined to fractured and weathered zones (Saraf and choudhury 1998, Sankar 2002). In these areas groundwater recharge depends on rainfall only. For understanding rainfall recharge mechanism and groundwater management in the watersheds level, first we have to understand the morphometric parameters in the watershed level.