Plea to to protect Sasthamcotta Lake

KOLLAM: The Parsthiti Samrakshana Ekopana Samithi has called for the immediate constitution of a statutory authority for the protection of the Sasthamcotta freshwater lake. In a statement, Samithi chairman R. Gangaprasad and general convener Odanavattam Vijayaprakash said Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran had been promising to set up such an authority for the past three years through the introduction of a Bill in the Assembly. Even though a lake protection society had been constituted, its performance was not effective, the Samithi leaders alleged.

Source: The Hindu, Dated: 05.03.2010

205 watershed projects cleared

KATTAPPANA: The District Planning Council has cleared 205 watershed projects to be implemented through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the 30 grama panchayats of the district. An official with the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), which is the implementing agency, said that about 30 projects, including digging of ponds in farmlands, weed clearance and construction of bunds to prevent soil erosion and rain water collection could be taken up under the scheme.

It is expected that projects under MGNREGS could be implemented in around 1,83,000 hectares of land in the district and the watershed projects will turn to be one of the major employment creating areas under the scheme, he said. Konnathady, Peruvanthanam, Nedumkandam and Adimaly grama panchayats will take up more than 10 watershed programmes, as per the list cleared by the council.

According to the official, MGNREGS will be implemented in a way to provide support to the farm sector in the High Range areas where labour shortage is a major problem. In Kanjikuzhy, Rajakumari, Vathikudy and Nedumkandam grama panchayats, where watershed projects have already started, focus will be on the completion of projects and spreading of them to more areas, he said.

Source: The Hindu
Online edition
Thursday, Feb 25, 2010

Work begins on water project for Vypeen

KOCHI: The drinking water augmentation project for the people in Vypeen Island started on Friday. This was the beginning of the much delayed Rs. 32-crore project that was planned at least three years ago for the islanders. With this project, Kerala Water Authority plans to augment water supply to Elamkunnappuzha, Njarackkal and Nayarambalam grama panchayats, where the shortage of water could not be solved even after a HUDCO project was completed. The Goshree Island Development Authority had sanctioned the funds to improve the water supply network to realise the full potential of the HUDCO project. The region has a severe supply-demand gap because of the poor network of pipes that are old and small in size. However, this project, expected to be completed by May 2011, will double the water supply.


The project is envisaged to cover the population growth for about 30 years with a supply potential of 10 million litres a day. GIDA has provided Rs. 5 crore to start the work. The work involves laying of pipes and construction of overhead tanks and it has been divided into three zones and sub-zones for easy implementation. Pipe laying has to be done in the zones of Fort Vypeen-Valappu; Valappu-Njarackkal and Njarackkal-Nayarambalam. Three overhead tanks with capacities 11.8 lakh litres, 13.8 lakh litres and 17.7 lakh litres would be constructed at Murikkumpadam, Malippuram and Njarackkal.

Source: The Hindu, Dated: 13.02.2010

De-silting begins in Malampuzha dam

Express News Service
First Published : 08 Feb 2010 01:47:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 08 Feb 2010 07:09:22 AM IST

PALAKKAD: The desilting of Malampuzha dam has begun from the Onaampuzha area, even as precautions were being taken by the Kerala Water Authority that the drinking water to the municipality and six adjoining panchayats is not affected.

A 10-metre bund has been created to prevent the water from polluting the other waters in the dam.

In a petition filed by the secretary of the Malampuzha Dam Protection Council P S Panicker in the High court, the Bench consisting of acting Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and judge P R Raman has directed that the Kerala Water Authority should ensure desilting of the reservoir should not affect the drinking water supply.

The petition demanded that the government not to permit desilting till a comprehensive environmental impact assessment study and cost benefit analyses by an independent agency is conducted.

The silt removal will also be done in Kalampuzha, Aanakal and Andazhi.

The dam satisfies the drinking water needs of the residences in the Palakkad municipal i ty and the panchayats of Malampuzha, Marutharoad, Pudussery, Pirayiri, Pudupparaiyaram and Akkathethara.

At present, the water in the dam is being tested at the Kerala Water Authority divisional centre at Kalamandapam.

The samples were earlier tested at the filter plant and also at the booster station.

The process of silt removal which began on Friday was being undertaken by the Kerala State Mineral Development Corporation Limited (KMDCL). Since mechanised machines cannot be used under the NREGS scheme, the work is being undertaken by KMDCL.

A large pit is created using a JCB and slurry pumps are used to flush out the water.

The silt is then washed and the river sand is separated from it.

Tractors and large number of pumpsets will be used from Monday.

The river sand will be distributed to the public by the district administration by issuing pass and under the Kalavara scheme for the poor.

Dhaka, New Delhi begin river water-sharing talks

DHAKA: Bangladesh and India on Monday began Secretary-level talks here on river water-sharing to lay the groundwork for the coming summit talks between their Prime Ministers. Bangladesh Water Resources Secretary Sheikh M. Wahiduzzaman, who leads the home side, said the sharing of the waters of the Teesta and Feni and the construction of embankments were on the agenda of the two-day discussion. The Indian team is led by Water Resources Secretary U.N. Panjiar. Even if the talks fail to arrive at a full-fledged agreement, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Sheikh Hasina could make decisions on signing a short-term Teesta deal, officials said.
Officials of the Ministries concerned said a full-fledged agreement on Teesta water sharing depended largely on the highest political levels. Dhaka is asking New Delhi to hold a ministerial-level meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), but it is learnt that India has expressed its inability to hold such meeting in the last six years. The talks will also include the sharing of water of six other common rivers — the Dharla, Monu, Muhuri, Dudhkumar, Khowai and Gomti. The dredging of the Isamoti may also come up for discussion. Newly-appointed Indian High Commissioner Rajeet Mitter told journalists that Ms. Hasina’s visit to India, scheduled for January 10, would usher in new areas of cooperation.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 5.01.2010

Quality flows out of Neyyar river

Thiruvananthapuram: Improper sanitation, salinity and human activities have impacted on the water quality in the Neyyar river basin in Thiruvananthapuram. An environmental monitoring programme, conducted by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), has reported poor quality of both surface and groundwater resources in the basin. Analysis of water samples collected from the Neyyar river revealed salinity intrusion in the downstream stretches. Most of the water samples were contaminated with faecal matter and microbes like E.Coli. Both the river water and groundwater samples showed acidity, indicating a major quality problem in the Neyyar basin. Poor quality groundwater was found in the Neyyatinkara municipality, Chenkal, Kulathoor, Poovar, Thirupuram, Amboori, Kallikadu, Ottasekharamangalam, Kattakada, Poovachal and Athiyannur. About 95 per cent of the samples collected during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons and 98 per cent collected during the monsoon were found to be unsuitable for drinking. Based on the results of biological analysis, the survey team concluded that sewage and other domestic waste pose a threat to the Neyyar river. With several feeder canals and streams carrying sewage, the river bed has a high organic load. Several species of worms like chironomus, tubifex and other oligochaetan worms were reported in the river bed near the Neyyatinkara township and at Poovar where the river enters the Lakshadweep Sea, indicating a high level of organic pollution. However, no industrial or chemical pollution was detected. Aquatic life was reported to be under serious threat in the river at locations like Koombichal, Neyyatinkara and Poovar. Several monitoring stations reported high content of iron in water during the pre-monsoon and acidity in the post-monsoon period. Assessment of samples collected from downstream revealed that the water is unsuitable for irrigation. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan released a report on the environmental monitoring programme conducted in the Neyyar, Periyar and Kabani river basins at a function organised by KSCSTE here on Friday in connection with the World Environment Day celebrations.

 

The Hindu, 7th June, 2009 
 

Right of way

On March 23, Greenpeace Inter' national issued full page
advertisements in the international press to draw attention to the
Olive Ridleys, which come annually to the beaches of Orissa's
Gahirmatha to nest . The advertisement drew on the hype around the
cheap car Nano by Tata, the company building the Dhamra port
along'wtth the L&T group, to raise alarm about the impact of an
upcoming port on the endangered turtles. The port at Dhamra is less
than five km from the Bhitarkanika National Park; it is 15 km from the
Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. The beaches are one of the world's
largest nesting sites for the turtles. The turtles didn't nest there
last year; this year's nesting season-from December to March-hadn't
seen any turtles. March 24 brought a surprise. Unaware of the
advertisement-and the talk of construction work driving the turtles
away from the beaches where they breed thousands of olive coloured,
heartshaped shells emerged from the waters off the Gahir' matha coast
They were seen floating in the inshore waters around sunset.
This cycle continued from March 24-30, and the Dhamra Port Company Ltd
said the event vindicated their stand that the port does not pose .any
threat to the turtles. The company argued there were occasions earlier
when the turtles did not visit the Orissa coast Mass nesting did not
happen in the early 1980s and the late 19OOs. "The port construction
started in late 2007," a company spokesperson said. So, why didn't the
turtles come to the beach in certain years? The answers are not
known;" there are only anecdotes. People in the Kend' rapara district,
under which the beach lies,' say missile tests on the Wheeler island,
close to the Gahirmatha sanctuary, and fishing ports could be the
reasons. But there are no scientific studies to back these
conjectures. The state government, port authorities and,
conservationist&-local and international""': who claim the port
disturbs the turtles have; possible impact on turtles. The port
company had invited activists for talks to allay the impact of the
port on the turtles, if any, but the, green groups are not ready to
meet till the, company stops construction.
With talks in limbo, the port is now half complete. Violations in the
clearances given to the port have not been debated publicly because of
the impasse on the impact on the turtles. Take the example of the
environmental impact assessment (EIA) report This raises interesting
questions even about other¬port projects.
The Dhamra Port Company claimed to have all the approvals before
starting the port's construction in 2007. A Pune-based consultant
wrote the EIA report for the Dhamra port in 1997, when it was to be
built by. Internal Sea Port. Then, the port was to come up on Kani ka
island off the coast, near the mouth ofpM~ river Dhamra. In 2004, the
state government moved the location of the port to the main .land,
close to the Gahirmatha sanctuary.
The new proposal envisaged a bigger port than previously planned-cargo
handling' capacity increased to 83 million tonnes per, year compared
to the 25 million tonnes per' year proposed earlier The EIA
notification, under which the port was cleared, does not allow such
expansion.
"The Orissa government did not get new studies done because it found
the new site' most suitable for a deep sea port. Besides, Dhamra is
the expansion of an old project, so the question of a new EIA does not
arise," said A K Panda, the state's deputy secretary of port
development. There is a distinct advantage in labelling a project an
expansion of an old one: it goes for clearance to the Union: surface
transport ministry, which is charged: with developing Infrastructure
like ports. A new project, however. must get the nod from' the Union
environment ministry, responsible, for safeguarding the environment. ;
A 2006 report, by the International Union, for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN), on the scoping mission of the Dhamra port project contradicts
Panda. It said: "The new port significantly dwarfs the old port in
terms of size and potential environmental Impacts. In our view the
port is really not an expansion of an old port, the two are not even
adjacent." It also said the port would see a growth in industry in the
area. "If the port becomes a net importer of raw materials, industries
would want to be as close to the port as possible. While the port
itself might be committed to may not be so." These concerns do not
find a mention in the ETA, which addresses the turtles in two of the
160 pages. The EIA says the port site is not the nesting ground for
turtles and hence won't affect them in any way. MCN disagrees:
"Turtle hatchlings are attracted to bright lights, and it is possible
the". hatchlings will be misguided and head inland towards the port
rather the"" offshore."
There is little mention of possible impact of erosion or dredging on
turtles in the EIA. Men asked for a comprehensive environmental
management plan. So the company commissioned in 2008 a study to the
National Institute of Oceanography in Goa to find out if dredging
would affect nesting beaches. The study would be complete in May 2009;
initial findings suggest erosion and accretion of the beaches is a
natural process and an annual cyclical phenomenon and cannot be
attributed to dredging at the port site. IUCN officials suggested
safeguard measures. Nicolas J Pilcher, co chair of IUCN's Marine
Turtle Specialist Group, said mitigation measures work well and the
company had taken a proactive stand in this regard. He added IUCN
brought the world's best science to the table, which would benefit the
project. But conservationists do not buy the explanation because the
mitigation measures are limited only to the Dhamra port site. "There
have been no impact studies on ancillary and downstream projects-ship
building yard, steel plant, fertilizer plant-as a result of port,"
said a report by Sudarshan Rodrigues and Aarti Shreedhar of ATREE. The
Orissa state government is planning 11 ports, including Dhamra. The
state wants to be on par with other maritime states and has proposed a
slngle window agency for development of ports and Inland waterways. At
this point, the Importance of regulations and safeguards cannot be
overstated.

The New Indian Express, 23rd May 2009

Indiscriminate sand mining creates water shortage in Kerala

Kochi, May 4 Drinking water shortage in several parts of Kerala, especially in the high and midland areas of many districts, has become so acute that the inhabitants have to depend on water supply by private operators for whom it has turned out to be a lucrative business.The sharp fall in the ground water table, even in the embankments of major rivers like Pampa, Manimala, Achankovil etc, following indiscriminate sand mining, has resulted in the wells drying up even in February, environment activists said."Ever increasing human intervention in several major rivers in Kerala in recent years has changed their physical structure in such a way that it might sound the death knell to these rivers, if the authorities continued to remain indifferent," they told Business Line.One of the major victims of these activities is the River Pampa. Sand mining has removed the sand bed, which used to remain as a carpet, exposing the clay soil in several parts.Indiscriminate sand mining during the past two decades has deepened the riverbed by an average three to four metres, while there are points where it has dropped by six metres.Consequently, the water table in the wells in the catchment areas and in the river basins also have fallen sharply to the surface water levels in the rivers, Mr N.K.S. Nair, General Secretary of an NGO, said.Sand mining, check dams across the rivers, separating a large part of the sand bed as an enclosure for other purposes by dividing the river using permanent construction and so on, have been pointed out as reasons for the degradation of the rivers.When the riverbed level falls, the hydraulic gradient increases leading to higher velocity. As a result, immediately after the monsoon the water that flows into the rivers is drained out quickly. Unlike in the past, rivers are filled during the rains but after a few days of dry weather they become skeleton, said Mr Nair, a retired engineer."In the absence of sand no natural retention of water takes place. Sediment deficient flow of 'hungry water' picks up more sediment from the stream below the mining site, furthering the degradation process," he claimed.Thickets have come up at many points in Bharathapuzha and Periyar rivers also, he said.Normal monsoon season in Kerala is from June 1 to November 30 and the State used to receive on an average 3,000 mm of rainfall. Until a decade ago, the water table used to remain at higher levels up to March.But the situation has totally changed now. Immediately after the southwest monsoon, the water level in the rivers falls drastically leading to drought conditions. The wells in the river basin and the catchment areas dry up fast following the drop in underground water table, he pointed out. Environmental degradation is held as the reason for this situation.According to a study of the Kozhikode-based Central Water Research, the water availability by 2050 in the rivers Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala would drop by 459 million cubic metres, 3,537 million cubic metres and 398 cubic metres, respectively. If all these activities were not controlled and regulated by the authorities the water scarcity in the State would acquire serious dimensions in the years to come; this is already experienced in mid and high lands in several districts of the State, they warned.

The Business Line, 5th May 2009  

Water as a human right

The passage of another World Water Day (March 22) is a painful reminder that the goal to make water a fundamental right under a global treaty remains elusive. In many countries, governments and international agencies are not expected to reduce by half the number of citizens without safe water access by 2015, as envisaged by the United Nations "Water for Life" programme. The Human Development Report 2007-08 puts the world average of people with an "improved water source" at 83 per cent in 2004, compared with 78 per cent in 1990. Citizens in the least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa fall far short of that mean. The Indian experience suggests that availability of an improved water source as defined by human development indices is no guarantee of regular, reliable supply. There are growing challenges: unsustainable exploitation of millennia-old deep aquifers to cater to growing populations; pollution of surface waters by untreated sewage, pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial chemicals; inefficient agricultural use; and the impact of climate change. Many water basins transcend national boundaries, and it will take a coordinated and sustained effort by the international community to address these issues.A global covenant that recognises access to water as a fundamental right, within the meaning of universal human rights, will provide signatory governments the basis to remove policy distortions affecting equitable access. It will also commit governments to making major investments in water supply and sanitation. The World Health Organisation proposed years ago that access to water must be made a basic human right, with a duty cast on governments to take targeted steps for its realisation. That would include legislative measures to make the right enforceable. A rights charter must have conservation of water — treating it as a commons — and an end to its commodification as its primary goals. Developing low cost and non-profit solutions to extend access through public utilities will be of vital importance. There has been a lot of debate on tapping the efficiencies of the private sector through partnerships as envisaged by the National Water Policy, 2002. The positive experience of projects such as the Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company of the Tata group (the water in the steel town is reputed to be fit to drink straight from the tap) may be drawn upon. In the final analysis, acceptance of water as a fundamental right assumes public ownership, free supply for basic needs, and efficient delivery systems.

 The Hindu, 23rd  March 2009

Dwindling catches

Ocean temperature is one of the primary environmental factors that determine the geographic range of a species. A paper published recently in the journal Fish and Fisheries has used computer modelling to project the global impact of climate change on biodiversity with reference to 1,000-odd fish species. The study has shown that the only way for the tropical fish, with their inability to regulate their body temperature, to survive in warming oceans would be to migrate to cooler waters at higher latitudes. The warming of the oceans would affect the sub-polar species differently. A two-to-four-fold limit to temperature tolerance compared to tropical species and a very limited species diversity would have a big impact in the polar regions. Local extinctions in the sub-polar, tropical, and semi-enclosed regions as well as migration of species to cooler latitudes would affect nearly 60 per cent of present fish biodiversity. Such a mass-scale disturbance is very likely to disrupt the marine ecosystem. Though warming oceans would affect fish whether they live at the surface level or at depths, the shift to an extent of 600-odd km would be seen in the case of surface-living species. Local extinctions in the tropics will have a great effect on food security of developing countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the direct impact of climate change on fisheries would be more pronounced in the developing and least developed countries where about 42 million people work directly in the sector. Two-thirds of the most vulnerable countries are in tropical Africa. It is a fact that reliance on fish protein is directly related to the level of development. In the developing countries, 2.8 billion people depend on fish products for 20 per cent of animal protein. The only way to reduce the magnitude of the impact is to take urgent measures to check the current trend of carbon pollution and limit the average global temperature rise to 2 degrees C by 2100, as against the anticipated 6 degrees. Dwindling fish catch will be one of the many adverse consequences of uncontrolled global warming. Several studies published since the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's 4th Assessment Report show that carbon emissions are rising faster than expected, and worldwide action to bring them down brooks no delay.

 

The Hindu, 11th March 2009

Palakkad reeling under drought

Palakkad is once again reeling under severe drought. With dams and waterbodies, including rivers such as the Baharathapuzha and Bhavani, drying up people are facing severe shortage of drinking water.The average temperature has crossed 40 degrees Celsius. The failure of the monsoons-there has been no rain in the district in the last four months-has compounded the problem.At a District Development Council (DDC) meeting on Mar1h 2, people's representatives criticised the government and the administration for failing to take steps to deal with the situation.M.Chandran, MLA, in a resolution urged the government and the sanction Rs.10 crore to take up urgent drought drought-relief measures.N.N.Krishnadas, MP, asked officials to assess the damage to agriculture and monitor the drinking water situation. He demanded that those taluks which faced shortage of water and loss of crops be declared drought-affected. The Principal Agriculture Officer said that crops in 859 hectares were destroyed and another 4,822 hectares were facing drought-like situation. The council urged the departments concerned to provide drinking water in tanks in drought-affected areas.V.Chenthamarakrishnan, MLA, demanded that the farmers whose crops were lost be given a compensation of Rs.15,000 a hectare. He said that large areas of crops in the ayacut areas of the Meenkara and Chulliyar dams were affected. The high ranges of the Mangalam dam were facing a heat wave due to the drying up of the dam. The Attappady tribal area is badly hit. The Bhavan, which flows through the area to Tamil Nadu, has almost dried up. Basheer Madala, 45 of Agali said he was seeing the river in such a state for the first time. "The tribes if Attappady mainly live on the banks of the river. This is their main drinking and irrigation water source", said. "Despite the calamity, the government has not allotted any fund for drought relief though some other districts have been allotted funds", K.Achuthan, MLA, said. He demanded long-term measures to tackle the situation. Faced with a severe drought in 2003-04, the then district administration headed by Sanjeev Kaushik prepared a master plan with the help of the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kerala   Water Authority and the departments of Water Resources, Agriculture and Groundwater. It suggested various measures to counter drought situations in the district. Theses included creation of more surface storages, construction of diversion structures, water quality management, creation of databank on hydro-climatic parameters, linking of reservoirs with water supply schemes, inter-basin transfer, protection of wetlands and paddy fields etc. the necessity of a river basin authority for the Bharathapuzha basin was also highlighted. But the master plan is yet to get a look-in while the district is under the grip of a severe drought yet again.

 

The Hindu, 8th March 2009

Make methane while the sun shines

Researchers have used sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water vapour into a range of fuels faster than ever before, thanks to  nanotube catalyst. Materials scientists Craig Grimes and his colleagues at Pennsylvania State University Park have used hollow titania (titanium dioxide) nanotubes around 135 nanometers wide and a tenth of a millimetre long to catalyze the reaction. Scientist have used titania nanoparticles to speed up this process before, but Grimes and his colleagues were able to generate hydrocarbons around 20 times faster  than that achieved in previous studies The researchers added a little nitrogen to their nanotubes and loaded copper and platinum nanoparticles onto the surfaces. On its own, titania works best as a catalyst for this reaction in ultraviolet light. But adding nitrogen and copper to the mix shifts the preference of the titania tubes to visible light, Grimes says. And the copper and platinum nanoparticles are thought to speed up the latter stages of the reaction.The reaction itself also takes place inside the nanotubes, which are hollow and have a large internal surface area thanks to their thin 20 nanometer-thick walls. The researchers filled steel tubes with carbon dioxide and water vapour, covered the end of the chambers with a film of their nanotubes, and capped the containers with a quartz window to let light in.The closed chambers were then set outside on the university campus in the university campus on sunny days from July to September 2008. When light falls on the nanotubes, they release energetic charge carriers, which split the water molecules inside them into two reactive components-hydroxide radicals and hydrogen ions.The hydrogen ions combine to form hydrogen gas. The researchers don't yet understand exactly what happens next, but they think that the carbon dioxide also splits to form oxygen and carbon monoxide, which then reacts with gaseous hydrogen to form methane and water. The devices generated roughly 160 microliters of the hydrocarbons per hour pergram of their titania nanotube, a rate at least 20 times higher than in previous studies done with ultraviolet light. The findings are published online in the journal Nano Letters.But the researchers argue that their process could be made continuous if carbon dioxide and water vapour could be passed though the nanotube film and the methane fuel collected form the other side.Even with their current nanotubes, Grimes calculated that a reflector that concentrates sunlight on a square meter of the nanotube film could yield 500 liters of methane over the course of eight hours.Grimes, however, agrees that the production rates are still quite low. But he hopes that depositing copper nanoparticles more evenly onto the surfaces of the nanotubes and making other improvements will help boost their conversion rates by a factor of several thousand.

The Hindu, 27th February 2009

14 % drop in coral growth seen in the Great Barrier Reef

The effects of global warming have shown up in a definite way in the
Great Barrier Reef of Australia. A paper in the latest issue of the
Science journal notes unprecedented effects of increased CO{-2} on the
Great Barrier Reef. Scientists found the rate at which corals were
able to build skeletons dropped by 14 per cent during the p eriod of
study — 1990 to 2005. Coral reefs are considered as the rain forests
of the ocean as they support great biodiversity. Any drop in growth of
the reefs of the Great Barrier Reef is hence worrying. What makes the
study significant is that scientists studied 328 colonies from 69
reefs, and the duration of study was 15 years. "…This study shows that
the effects are probably large-scale in extent and that the observed
changes are unprecedented within the past 400 years."The growth of
coral reefs depends on their ability to build skeletons. Skeletons are
built by calcification of calcium carbonate (CaCO{-3}). There are a
few things that may affect the calcification process. Though the
scientists note that the precise "causes of decline" in calcification
are not known, their study suggests that increased temperature stress
and increased acidity of sea water are the most likely causes. Coral
reefs are extremely sensitive to sea surface temperature. Any changes
beyond 1 degree C for extended periods of time affect the corals.
Increase in sea surface temperature affects and destroys the symbiotic
zooxanthellae algae that live on the corals. Any damage to the algae
leads to a loss of the symbionts and a rapid whitening of the coral
host (thus the term "bleaching"). Mass coral bleaching was not
documented in the scientific literature before 1979. 1998 saw a large
scale destruction of coral reefs all over the world.Since the oceans
act as sinks for carbon dioxide, increased uptake of CO{-2} by ocean
water will make them acidic. Supersaturation of tropical sea water
with calcium carbonate is crucial for reef calcification process.
Hence acidic water will compromise supersaturation. The pH of the
ocean has decreased by 0.1 unit (become acidic) since the beginning of
the industrial revolution. And this has affected the calcification
process.The researchers studied the Porites corals using X-rays and a
technique called gamma densitometry to measure annual growth and
skeletal density. Studying the skeletal density allowed them to
calculate the amount of calcification annually. They found that the
calcification rate rose 5.4 per cent between 1900 and 1970. It dropped
by 14.2 per cent between 1990 and 2005. The drop was mainly due to a
growth slowdown from 1.43 cm a year to 1.24 cm.How the sea surface
temperature and lower pH would affect the reefs and marine organisms
in the long run cannot be accurately predicted since living organisms
and ocean are dynamic."We may not see drastic changes in a short
period. And how the increased temperature, acidity and reduced
skeletal strength due to calcite erosion would affect marine life are
not known," said Dr. M. Wafar, Senior Scientist at the National
Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. "So this only calls for a more
cautious approach."

The Hindu, 8th January 2009

Coral reef recovery in Lakshadeep

The year 1998 saw a large scale destruction of coral reefs all over
the world. This was due to increased sea surface temperature. Coral
reefs are extremely sensitive to water temperature. Any change beyond
1 degree C for extended periods of time affects the corals.
Coral bleaching
Ten years ago saw a layer of warm water spreading from the south into
the tropical water. The warm water conditions persisted for as long as
one month in certain places.The mean maximum summer sea surface
temperature increased by 2 degree C. "About 40-50 per cent of corals
were lost in most of the reefs," said Dr. M. Wafar, Senior Scientist
at the National Oceanography Institute (NIO), Goa. "80-90 per cent of
corals in Lakshadeep were destroyed." Dr. Wafar has been involved in
coral research for nearly 25 years.
Scientists from NIO have recovered coral reef in Kavaratti island,
Lakshadeep through coral transplantation. "The recovery has been quite
good. In some places the live coral cover has increased by nearly 50
per cent," said Dr. Wafar. "The government now wants us to undertake
similar initiative in all the islands at Lakshadeep." Scientists will
soon start growing corals for transplantation work at Agatti and
Kadmat islands.
Coral transplantation
Pieces of corals broken naturally or otherwise are tied to slabs and
put in shallow water and allowed to grow. The coral are put in reefs
once they have grown well."We started the pilot exercise in Nov-Dec
2005. We used 100 coral tips, most of them belonging to fast growing
coral genera. "In 2 years' time the growth was up to 25 cm in the best
of the cases," Dr. Wafar said.
In all 4 fast growing coral species and 4-5 slow growing species were
grown and transplanted in the coral reefs in Kavaratti in 2008.
"We grew fast and slow growing coral species to offset a bias in the
natural species composition," he said. "We will do the same now as
well." Since reefs support many fishes, increased coral coverage has a
direct positive impact on fish population.

The Hindu, 8th January 2009

Fish in troubled water

Thanks to climate change and global warming, the typical fish species of the Kerala coast, sardline (mathi) and mackerel (ayala) are expanding their habitat to the northern and eastern coasts of the country. The mackerel, also showed a shift in the depth of distribution. Until many years ago, the sea surface-temperature (SST) along the Gujarat and Maharashtra coasts were slightly lower than along the Kerala coast, this being the reason as to why the two fish species were confined to the southern regions of the western coast. They were not seen in the eastern coast at all. Now, with warming of the sea surface, especially along the northern regions of the west coast and the whole of east coast, these fish are able to fine the temperature to its liking and try out new waters. This was observed by the scientists of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi, as part of their study on 'Impact, Adaptation and Vulnerability of Indian Marine Fisheries to Climate Change'."The problems for the fisheries sector, as a result of climate change is high. This is besides the issues such as depleting fish stocks and competition among stakeholders," said Principal Scientist E Vivekanandan, who is heading the project.A rise in temperature as small as one degree Celsius (1 C) can have rapid and important effects on the mortality of some organisms. The oil sardine, Sardinella Longiceps, and the Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger Kanagurta, are tropical fish preferring a temperature range of 27-29 degree Celsius. During 1961-1976, the catch of these two fish was predominantly from the southwest coast where the sea surface-temperature ranged between 27.7-28.0 degree Celsius. Oil sardine fishery did not exist before 1976 in the north and along the east coast as the resource was not available."The distributional shifts of these two species, which together contribute 15 percent of the marine fish catch along the Indian coast, are likely to result in considerable changes in species structure and function of the marine ecosystem," said Vivekanandan.

New Indian Express, May 25,  2008

Baffling giants in the ocean depths

Scientists investigating the icy waters of Antarctica said on Tuesday they had collected mysterious creatures including giant sea spiders and huge worms in the murky depths.Australian experts taking part in an international programme to take a census of marine life in the ocean at the far south of the world collected specimens from up to 2,000 m beneath the surface, and said many may of them have never been seen before. Some of the animals far under the sea grow to unusually large sizes, a phenomenon called gigantism that scientists still do not fully understand. "Gigantism is very common in Antarctic waters," Martin Riddle, the Australian Antarctic Division scientist who led the expedition, said in a statement. "We have collected huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates." The specimens were being sent to universities and museums around the world for identification, tissue sampling and DNA studies. The expedition is part of an international effort to map life forms in the Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean, and to study the impact of forces such as climate change on the undersea environment. Three ships — Aurora Australis from Australia, France's L'Astrolabe and Japan's Umitaka Maru — returned recently from two months in the region as part of the Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census. The work is part of a larger project to map the biodiversity of the world's oceans.

French and Japanese ships sought specimens from the mid- and upper-level environment. The Australian ship plumbed deeper waters with remote-controlled cameras. "In some places every inch of the sea floor is covered in life," Mr. Riddle said. "In other places we can see deep scars and gouges where icebergs scour the sea floor as they pass by." Among the bizarre-looking creatures spotted were tunicates, plankton-eating animals that resemble slender glass structures up to a metre tall "standing in fields like poppies," Mr. Riddle said. Others were equally baffling. "They had fins in various places, they had funny dangly bits around their mouths," said Mr. Riddle. "They were all bottom dwellers so they were all evolved in different ways to live down on the sea bed in the dark.

The Hindu, February 20, 2008

Excess fluoride in our water

Good drinking water should contain minerals necessary for our body. Fluoride, for example, is one such mineral, which in small proportions is excellent especially for our teeth. The same mineral in excess starts causing harm to the body. If fluoride is in excess of 1.5 mg a litre, consuming such water can cause dental fluorosis and if it is too much in excess, the body faces the problem of skeletal fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is the first visible sign of excess fluoride co nsumption and is shown as white or brown mottled teeth. Pitting of teeth may also occur.

Since most rural habitations and many urban habitations depend on deep groundwater, some method is necessary to check the presence of fluoride. The 11th Plan document recently finalised by the Planning Commission puts the issue in perspective. It says, "there are about 2.17 lakh quality affected habitations in the country with more than half of the habitations affected with excess iron (1, 18,088). This is followed by fluoride (31,306), salinity (23,495), nitrate (13,958) and arsenic (5,029) in that order. There are about 25,000 habitations affected with multiple problems." In Karnataka alone, more than 5,838 habitations report fluoride in excess of 1.50 mg/litre."

Removing fluoride from water

Various methods of de-fluoridation of water are available. These include household-level de-fluoridation using activated alumina to community-level de-fluoridation plants. While these work well under careful supervision and ownership, many have failed to survive the test of time simply due to apathy or difficulties in maintenance.

A recent programme funded by the Government of Karnataka in 60 villages in four taluks has shown promising results.

The programme being implemented by BIRD-K, a NGO, seeks to provide rooftop rainwater harvesting in 5,000- and 6,000-litre sumps in individual households. Further, treated catchments collect water and store them in underground tanks. Efforts are also being made to recharge the shallow aquifer as well as point recharge of deeper aquifers to dilute fluoride concentration in ground water.

People have accepted rainwater and anecdotal evidence suggests that even three months of drinking fluoride-free water mitigates the impact of fluoride on the body. More than 5,300 families are likely to benefit from the implementation of the scheme.

Tap water coming from surface-water sources is generally free from excess fluoride. If, however, a borewell is the source of water used or if water is bought from private tankers, it is a safe practice to check a sample of the water for excess fluoride. A certified water testing laboratory will do a quality test for you with a sample of about two litres. If excess fluoride is detected it must be removed before use for drinking or cooking. Boiling the water does not remove fluoride. A good reverse osmosis system – R.O. system as it is called – can remove fluoride. Check such a system for performance on a regular basis.

Rooftop rainwater harvesting in sump tanks can give us enough drinking and cooking water for the whole year which is free from chemical contaminants such as fluoride, arsenic and nitrates. Taking steps to recharge groundwater through rainwater harvesting methods is also wise. This is the long run measure to reduce fluoride. Shrinking ground water levels have been reported as one cause for the sudden increase in fluoride in ground water. Sustainable use of ground water resources, keeping the aquifers clean and charged and using the dynamic ground water are measures which will go a long way in ensuring water for all in a climate changing world. Water wisdom lies in realising the true ecological value of water and taking steps to protect this precious resource.

The Hindu, December 15th 2007

Clues from Antarctica aid in search for water on Mars

In recent years, scientists have examined images of several sites on Mars where water appears to have flowed to the surface and left behind a trail of sediment.Those sites closely resemble places where water flows today in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, a new study has found. Researchers have used the Dry Valleys as an analogy for Mars for 30 years, explained Berry Lyons, professor of Earth Science a nd director of the Byrd Tolar Research Center at Ohio State University.

 

Notion bolstered

 

Lyons is the lead principal investigator for the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network. The new study bolsters the notion that liquid water could be flowing beneath the surface of Mars.And since bacteria thrive in the liquid water flowing in the Dry Valleys, the find suggests that bacterial life could possibly exist on Mars as well.Scientists have thus gathered more evidence that suggests flowing water on Mars — by comparing images of the red planet to an otherworldly landscape on Earth, according to an Ohio State University press release.One of the LTER sites is in the Dry Valleys, a polar desert in Antarctica with year-round saltwater flowing beneath the surface. With temperatures that dip as low as negative 85 degrees Fahrenheit, it's as cold as the Martian equator, and its iron-rich soil gives it a similar red colour.

 

"If you looked at pictures of both landscapes side by side, you couldn't tell them apart," Lyons said. In the new study, LTER scientists did just that — they compared images of water flows in the Dry Valleys to images of gullies on Mars that show possible evidence of recent water flow.Team member Peter Doran of the University of Illinois at Chicago presented the results Tuesday, at the American Geophysical Union meeting at San Francisco.

 

High salinity

 

The water in the Dry Valleys can be very salty — it's full of calcium chloride, the same kind of salt we sprinkle on roadways to melt ice. That's why the water doesn't freeze.

 

Natural springs form from melted ground ice or buried glacier ice, and the saltwater percolates to the surface."Even in the dead of winter, there are locations with salty water in the Dry Valleys," Lyons said."Two months a year, we even have lakes of liquid water covered in ice." But after the water reaches the surface, it evaporates, leaving behind salt and sediment. The same thing would happen on Mars, he added.

 

Close resemblance

 

Because the suspected sediment sites on Mars closely resemble known sediment sites in the Dry Valleys, Lyons and his colleagues think that liquid saltwater is likely flowing beneath the Martian surface.Lyons, who has led many expeditions to Antarctica, said that his team will continue to compare what they learn on Earth to any new evidence of water uncovered on Mars.As they walk across the Dry Valleys, they can't help but compare the two."There's just something about that landscape, about being so far from civilization, that makes you think about other worlds," he said.The scientists' conclusion: the Martian sites closely resemble sites in the Dry Valleys where water has seeped to the surface

 

The Hindu, December 13^th 2007

Environment monitoring begins

The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has taken up a State-wide environment monitoring programme to keep a strict tab on pollution of air, soil and water sources. The project is expected to generate data for corrective action including legislation to check pollution. The monitoring of water resources has already commenced. The first phase of the programme has been taken up in the Kabani, Periyar and Neyyar basins re presenting three distinct agro -climatic regions of the State. The project involves complete chemical and biological analysis of surface and ground water samples collected from the three regions. Test stations will be set up at the river basins for periodic monitoring. Sources at the KSCSTE headquarters here said colleges in the respective areas would be involved in the massive data generation exercise. The council will equip college laboratories with modern testing equipment for analysis of samples. Sources said the project would also provide scientific exposure to teachers and students. The Valapattanam, Kannur and Chaliyar river basins have been selected for the second phase of the exercise.
Soil monitoring
The programme to monitor soil resources is slated to take off by December this year. The council has drawn up an action plan to ensure the participation of local self-government institutions in the effort. The test sites for the pilot project will represent the northern, central and southern regions of the State. The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kera la Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and the Soil Survey Department will coordinate the pilot project which aims at periodic monitoring of physical, chemical and biological parameters and the presence of pesticide residue in agricultural land.
The three coordinating institutions have been equipped with modern facilities for soil testing. Officials at the KSCSTE said the ultimate aim of the objective was to prepare GIS (Geographical Information System) survey maps on the soil and water resources in the target areas. The maps are expected to become key tools for decision-making on environmental issues. The air monitoring programme is scheduled to begin next year. The data generated by the monitoring of the three key natural resources would be included in the annual report on the State of the Environment in Kerala, published by the council.

The Hindu sep 26

Water detected on distant planet

Water detected on distant planet

 

British astronomers have detected water in the atmosphere of an enormous, fiery planet that circles a distant star far beyond our own solar system. The discovery raises hopes that the substance considered most vital for life may be ubiquitous throughout the galaxy and wider universe.

 

The finding, described in Nature on Thursday, proves scientists can overcome what has long been thought one of the greatest hurdles in the search for extraterrestrial life - the ability to analyse atmospheres of distant worlds for signs of living organisms.The planet, a Jupiter-like gas giant, circles a star identified by astronomers as HD189733, some 64 light years from our sun in the constellation of Vulpecula, or "little fox".It is slightly larger than Jupiter - itself more than 11 times wider than Earth - and passes so close to its parent star that surface temperatures soar from 700C to 1,000C when night turns to day.

 

Astronomers led by Giovanna Tinetti, at University College London, used NASA's Earth-orbiting Spitzer telescope to watch the planet as it passed directly in front of its star during its 2.2-day orbit. Cameras on the telescope picked up faint changes in starlight passing through the planet's atmosphere. The atmosphere absorbed infrared light at wavelengths that could only be explained by large quantities of water vapour."This planet cannot be considered habitable, it's extremely hostile, but the fact that we can see water on an extra-solar planet makes us think we might be able to use the same technique to spot water on other habitable planets that are more life-friendly and more similar to Earth," said Dr Tinetti. Scientists believe the most likely place to find a "second Earth" — a rocky planet capable of harbouring life as we know it — is in the "Goldilocks zone" of a distant solar system, where planets are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to form.Keith Horne, a planet hunter at St Andrews University, said: "The fact that this gas giant has been found to have water in the atmosphere is exciting. We're very interested in finding where water exists — is it so abundant that it will be present everywhere a planet forms or not?" —

 (The Hindu, 13^th July 2007)