eChapters

One of the most significant natural resources is water. The water cycle sustains hydrological systems, which give rise to rivers and lakes and a range of aquatic habitats, through evaporation and precipitation. Only 3% of the water on Earth is freshwater, although making up 70% of the planet’s surface. Just 1% of this is useable water found in rivers, lakes, and subsurface aquifers, while 2% of it is represented by polar ice caps. Approximately 25% of water is used for industry globally, 70% of it for agriculture, and only 5% for residential consumption. In India, 7% is used for industry, 90% is used for agriculture, and 3% is used for household use. World Water Day is on March 22nd.
There are five oceans on Earth. oceans: the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Arctic, and Southern. One of the main saltwater bodies in the hydrosphere is called an ocean. The average salinity of the ocean is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt), or 3.5%. A river is a naturally occurring waterway that is longer than 18 meters (60 feet), usually freshwater, that flows toward one or more rivers, lakes, seas, or oceans. A component of the hydrological cycle are rivers.
A steam is a current-filled body of water that is contained between the banks of a stream and a bed. Typically, the watercourse’s width is under eighteen meters. It reunites disparate environments. Creeks are tributaries of streams that join rivers or other streams but do not flow into the ocean.
A lake, derived from the Latin lacus, is an inland body of water that receives waterfrom a river and is deeper and larger than a pond.

Abstract

In South India, tanks system is quiet ancient, meant for storing and supplying water towards multifunctional needs of the people. In Tamil Nadu, there are around 39,000 tanks with varying size and types. Over past few decades, irrigation rely on stable and reliable groundwater resources like dug and deep bore wells, consequently tanks lost their significance. Moreover, excessive siltation, improper maintenance and illegal encroachment further degraded the system. The deterioration factors are broadly categorised into problems in catchment, feeder channels and head works which eventually resulted in loss of storage capacity. The present study chiefly narrates an indirect method of estimating the loss in storage capacity of tanks and the catchment problem, especially soil erosion and its induced siltation of tanks in the downstream using geoinformatics technology. Using remotely sensed satellite data, by measuring surface area of tank loss in storage capacity was estimated through a linear model. Using Digital Elevation Model derived topographic wetness indices data, the catchment problem especially, soil erosion areas were identified and remedial measures were suggested. Under prevailing water crisis, it is essential to rehabilitate the tanks through which the surface water potential can be improved along with quality as well.

A rock is the home for minerals. In other words, naturally occurring coherent aggregate of minerals (or glassy mass) will constitute a rock. Like in a family, more often, there are several members(minerals) within a rock but occasionally just one mineral also makes a rock( olivine in dunite, quartz in quartzite and calcite in marble). The root word petros is of Greek origin, meaning rock and a petrologist is one who specializes in the study of rocks. The three main categories of rocks are distinguished on the basis of their origin. Igneous rocks are the ones that have solidified from a molten state in deep seated conditions, as also on the surface while Sedimentary rocks are formed from the erosion of preexisting rocks and subsequent re-deposition or precipitation of the resulting material at or near the surface. Metamorphic rocks on the other hand, are formed by the action of heat or pressure or both on preexisting rocks.

The theme of rocks is split into five chapters. The first chapter introduces the theme of petrology, petrography and petrogenesis., presents rocks as the storehouses of minerals and their grouping into three classes. The second chapter presents all the important aspects of igneous rocks( plutonic, hypabasal and volcanic) including their forms, texture, structure, chemistry and classification and variation diagrams. It also presents a somewhat sufficient description of different kinds of igneous rocks under the categories of ultrabasic, basic, intermediate acid and alkalic rocks. The chapter ends with an introduction to some of the peculiar kinds of igneous rocks and also presents a brief account of causes of diversity among igneous rocks.

Chapter III is devoted to the study of sedimentary rocks beginning with nature and categories of sediments and general factors that affect sedimentary process. Sequence of breakdown, sedimentary minerals, depositional environment , classification of sediments and sedimentary rocks is the next theme followed by primary and secondary and biogenic structures. The next theme is a description of important sedimentary rocks under different categories ( rudaceous, arenaceous, asrgillaceous and rocks of biogenic origin). The chapter ends with introducing sedimentary rocks as the home for natural resources.

Chapter IV dwells on metamorphic rocks distinguishing between metamorphism and metasomatism. Metamorphic minerals and naming metamorphic rocks is the next theme. Next, agents and types of metamorphism is followed by grade, zones, index minerals and metamorphic facies. Textures, structures and the description of metamorphic rocks comes next. The use of triangular plots in metamorphic petrology is introduced and ends with considering metamorphic process in the light of global tectonics.

The last chapter is a short but important chapter- The Rock Cycle which combines the three important geo-processes of igneous activity, sedimentary process and metamorphism while presenting a birds eye view of them. It considers the movement, not only of matter but also the energy that drives the rock cycle. The chapter closes with introducing the rock-cycle-mineral deposits relationship.

Introduction
Human activity on the environment is the root cause of many environmental issues. The standard of the environment we live in must be each of our own concerns. The quality of our surroundings can be enhanced or degraded by our individual actions. As a result, people must feel obligated to preserve the environment by leading ethical and ecologically conscious lives.
Conservation
best possible use of human, environmental, and cultural resources in national development programs. The Latin terms “servare” (keep watch) and “con” (together) denote this.
Conservation Goals
1. Preservation of the environment’s quality.
2. Assure a steady supply of valuable material. Role of Individuals in Conserving Resources
The Diversity of Life
1. Gain an appreciation for all living things.
2. Make regular efforts to plant trees.
3. Cut back on the amount of wood and paper goods you use, recycle paper goods, and purchase recycled goods.

Introduction
The rapid advancement of information technology in recent years has led to an explosion in the awareness of environmental concerns and issues pertaining to human health. UNEP created UNEP net, the green global Internet, as well as the satellite communication system.
Information technology is necessary for environmental management.
The general population, especially in developing nations, and decision- and policymakers still have limited or no access to this information in a readily comprehensible format. Politicians and the general public have not yet been able to personally experience the effects of ozone layer depletion, climate change, or biodiversity loss. These are all new challenges, and scientists strongly advise taking more immediate action than legislators are able to. Thus, it is more crucial than ever to close the knowledge gap between scientists and decision-makers in order to formulate environmental policy.
UNEP created the Global Resource Information Database in 1985 in an effort to close this information gap and give the world’s population access to current, trustworthy environmental data. Telecommunications and geographic information technology were used as strategic tools to do this, with the former being used for information exchange and analysis and the latter for information distribution.

ABSTRACT

54 foraminiferal species belonging to 29 genera, 23 families, 17 superfamilies and 5 suborders have been identified from Nagaland. Of the total species 16 are planktic and 38 are benthic forms. The age for the Upper Disang Group of Nagaland is assigned as Late Eocene, based on the presence of Late Eocene markers i.e. Globigerinatheka semiinvoluta, Cribrohantkenina inflata, Hantkenina alabamensis and Turborotalia cerroazulensis. As per the present study the Disang succession in Nagaland can be grouped into five biofacies. The Uvigerina dominated biofacies consisting Uvigerina cocoaensis, U. continuosa, U. eocaena, U. glabrans, U. jacksonensis and U. cf. steyeri. In some samples even up to 100 % Uvigerina were present. The localized occurrence of thick “Uvigerinids” in high percentage with pyritized test in this section indicates anoxic conditions, suggestive of possible source rock for oil.

Introduction

The Rispana river is a order of stream forming a tributary of Ganga. Its watershed covers an area of approximately 53.6 Km in the northern part of Dehradun city lies between 78^º30’ to 78^º15⁰’ longitude and 30^º15’ to 30^º 30’ latitude in top sheet No is 1/3. The area is covered in IRS - IC Pan of 13 Jan 1998 and LISS-III of 7 March 1997.

The Doon Valley is enriched with numerous seasonal and perennial streams. Which forms the lifetime or the inhabitants . The Rispana river is the part of the Ganga system of Drainage of the valley. The river originates from the Mussoorie hills, which are full of natural springs. The droplets from the springs collect and form numerous streamlets and these streamlets are joined to be these and they form the famous Shekhar Falls (north of Shahanshai Ashram about 5 Km away). Then the Rispana flows along Rajpur road over the Doon Gravels and then river passes through the tiny hamlets Nalapani, Raipur, Chanderroad, Defence colony, Amwala, Tapowan, Dandadhoran Adohiwala, Dalanwala, Gujram, Ajabpur and finally its contribute the water to the suswa River which intern joins the Ganga.

3.1 Runoff

Runoff is one of the important parameter of hydrologic cycle. It is defined as that portion of precipitation which is not absorbed by the deep soil strata but finds its way into the stream after meeting the demands of evapotranspiration, interception, infiltration, surface storage, and surface as well as channel detention. It includes surface runoff received into the channels after precipitation occurs, delayed runoff that enters the stream after passing through the land surface, and other delayed runoff from the temporarily detained pits, depressions, swamps or detained as snow fall. It is thus the flow collected from the drainage basin and appearing at the outlet of the basin. The runoff process is demonstrated in Fig. 3.1 as flow chart. Details of the runoff process are discussed as below.

Abstract

A very strong shallow focus submarine earthquake (of magnitude 9.0) occurred off the west coast of Sumatra Island due to the movement of Indian Plate and Burma Plate on 26th December 2004 at 06:18:53 IST. A vast area around its epicentre was rocked including Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of the eastern and western coasts of the Indian mainland. This earthquake had generated a global tsunami, which had also pounced on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and caused severe damage to the coastal population and infrastructure. Considering the devastation of this tsunamigenic earthquake, the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India has launched a coordinated programme for imparting S & T inputs with futuristic approach to support rehabilitation programme in the affected areas on a sustainable manner. The main objective of the programme is to generate geospatial databases on damages and risk zonation using pre and post-tsunami remote sensing (RS) data along with collateral attribute data in GIS platform. This paper speaks on the damage assessment (both natural / physical resources and human resources) caused by the earthquake and tsunami covering parts of Andaman Islands along with strategies for risk management and constraints and alternatives for micro level planning.

Keywords: Tsunamigenic earthquake, Damage Assessment, Remote Sensing and GIS, Andaman - Nicobar.

Introduction

The need for water for human consumption and the industry keeps spiraling up in the cities in the wake of rural diaspora and urban sprawl. Groundwater is exploited at an unsustainable rate leading to depletion of aquifers. Worse still is the intrusion of salt water from adjoining coast into the aquifers leading to total wastage of remaining water.

Digital image processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital images. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has many advantages over analog image processing. It allows a much wider range of algorithms to be applied to the input data and can avoid problems such as the buildup of noise and signal distortion during processing. Since images are defined over two dimensions (perhaps more) digital image processing may be modeled in the form of multidimensional systems. Introduction to image processing 
Image processing is a method to convert an image into digital form and perform some operations on it, in order to get an enhanced image or to extract some useful information from it. It is a type of signal dispensation in which input is image, like video frame or photograph and output may be image or characteristics associated with that image. Usually image processing system includes treating images as two dimensional signals while applying already set signal processing methods to them.
Image processing is a method to perform some operations on an image, in order to get an enhanced image or to extract some useful information from it. It is a type of signal processing in which input is an image and output may be image or characteristics/features associated with that image. Now-a-days, image processing is among rapidly growing technologies. It forms core research area within engineering and computer science disciplines too.

Data collection is a tedious and time consuming work, particularly from remote places. So many times the collected data is noisy. But data is the base for future planning and management of water resources. Planning based on noisy data could lead to failure. The modern data collection and subsequent control system i.e. telemetry and SCADA, are introduced in this chapter.

1. The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the Earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants. - Soil Science Society of America

Abstract

Sabatayn basin is one of the two mature basins producing oil and gas in Yemen. Due to the recent decline in oil production, the exploration activities have been extensively concentrated mainly on these two basins (Sabatayn and Sayun-Masilah). So, this present study has been conducted to evaluate the exploration potential of the remaining trap areas within these mature basins. Fractured basement of reservoir becomes very attractive exploration target in Yemen recently, after the recent discoveries of basement fractured oil fields. As the evaluation of basement traps needs time and fund, to reduce the same, this research study uses a new technique which was devised with the help of Geoinformatics by analyzing the surface and subsurface lineaments effectively. In this study, a satellite image Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+7) based analysis was conducted for extracting surface lineaments, and for the subsurface lineaments, the basement lineaments were extracted from seismic, magnetic and gravity data. An orientation analysis of these surface and subsurface linear features was performed to detect the basic structural grains of the study area. The correlation between these structural grains and subsurface oil and gas traps was performed to understand the connectivity to the reservoirs. This paper discusses in detail about the same and the importance of using surface and subsurface lineament analysis for delineating hydrocarbon reservoirs in the study area.

Modeling is heart of hydroinformatics. Simulation modeling became integrated part of modern science to justify feasibility of selected option among various competitive alternatives. Simulation modeling is a tool to evaluate the performance of a system, existing or proposed, under different configurations of interest and over long periods of real time. This chapter describes basic concepts, model simulation, model variables, modeling process, model performance etc. in brief.

ABSTRACT

The disposal of industrial effluents in rivers causes groundwater contamination. It is necessary to assess how these contaminants are likely to migrate in the groundwater system. In the present study, an attempt is made to study the migration of contaminants in the groundwater of Palar River basin in Tamil Nadu. Simulation of the contaminants was carried out by using numerical methods. The finite difference computer code MODFLOW (Modular 3-d finite difference flow) and MT3D (Mass transport 3-d) with Groundwater Modelling System (GMS) as pre and post processor was used to simulate the groundwater flow and transport in this study. The simulation was done in transient state for a time period of one year. It predicted the migration of plume of chlorides in groundwater. The changes in the distance and concentration rate of chlorides are identified for a particular period. Modelling provides a useful basis for contaminant transport studies, as well as in the evaluation of the hydrogeologic parameters relevant in the context of the transport problem.

Abstract

The present study deals with the slope instability analysis of a vulnerable stretch of 16 km between Pratapgarh road intersection and Mahabaleshwar town, which is a part of the state highway-72, Satara district, Maharashtra, India. The highway remains closed during the monsoon seasons, due to the recurrent instances of cut slope failures. So the present research work was conducted with an aim to study the reasons, extent and mechanism of the cut slope failures along the road sections as well as optimization of tools for the assessment of road cut stability of the area. The 16 km stretch was divided into seven vulnerable sections (M1; near Mahabaleshwar - M7; near Poladpur) based on the geological, geometrical and structural attributes. The slope forming mass primarily consists of laterite, weathered basalt and fresh jointed basalt, which are interbedded with red bole at some sections. Limit equilibrium, finite difference and finite element simulation were performed for seven cut slope sections, using similar geometries and material strength attributes for all the analyzing techniques. The assessment was carried out for both dry and saturated conditions to emulate the monsoons. The factor of safety yielded through the limit equilibrium method was the most conservative of all the tools; while the finite element method gave the least conservative figures in terms of factors of safety, being close to the field observations, the safety factor results of finite difference methods were between the limit equilibrium and finite element methods. The cut slope sections composed of weathered basalts and laterites (M1, M2, M3, M6) were found most vulnerable to failure during rains, while the sections composed of fresh jointed basalts (M4 & M5), though overall stable, are susceptible to planar and wedge failures.

Abstract

The Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh is prone to landslides due to inherent geodynamic conditions, rainfall and anthropogeny. Besides multi-variate studies on the landslides of Himachal Pradesh, instrument based early warning system was attempted by taking Jhakri landslides as the test site. Various instruments viz; piezometer, vertical inclinometer, Rain gauge, etc. were installed and the paper discusses about the methodology adopted in the installation of the instruments and the observations made from the instruments. While Piezometer did not reveal much information, the Tiltmeter showed minor movements.

Sustainable Development A social cause is a problem that influences a considerable number of individuals within a society. There are many environmental issues the India like pollution, waste management sustainable development, rain water harvesting etc.