Climate change 2014 - Synthesis Report

[1] This study was part of the international field measurement Campaigns of Air Quality Research in Beijing and Surrounding Region 2006 (CAREBeijing-2006). We investigated a new particle formation event in a highly polluted air mass at a regional site south of the megacity Beijing and its impact on the abundance and properties of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). During the 1-month observation, particle nucleation followed by significant particle growth on a regional scale was observed frequently (~30%), and we chose 23 August 2006 as a representative case study. Secondary aerosol mass was produced continuously, with sulfate, ammonium, and organics as major components. The aerosol mass growth rate was on average 19 μg m -3 h -1 during the late hours of the day. This growth rate was observed several times during the 1-month intensive measurements. The nucleation mode grew very quickly into the size range of CCN, and the CCN size distribution was dominated by the growing nucleation mode (up to 80% of the total CCN number concentration) and not as usual by the accumulation mode. At water vapor supersaturations of 0.07-0.86%, the CCN number concentrations reached maximum values of 4000-19,000 cm -3 only 6-14 h after the nucleation event. During particle formation and growth, the effective hygroscopicity parameter κ increased from about 0.1-0.3 to 0.35-0.5 for particles with diameters of 40-90 nm, but it remained nearly constant at ~0.45 for particles with diameters of ~190 nm. This result is consistent with aerosol chemical composition data, showing a pronounced increase of sulfate.

Rapid aerosol particle growth and increase of cloud condensation nucleus activity by secondary aerosol formation and condensation: A case study for regional air pollution in northeastern China

Flood susceptibility assessment in Hengfeng area coupling adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system with genetic algorithm and differential evolution.

article i nfo No glacial lake census exists for the Third Pole region, which includes the Pamir-Hindu Kush-Karakoram- Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Therefore, comprehensive information is lacking about the distribution of and changes in glacial lakes caused by current global warming conditions. In this study, the first glacial lake in- ventories for the Third Pole were conducted for ~1990, 2000, and 2010 using Landsat TM/ETM+ data. Glacial lake spatial distributions, corresponding areas and temporal changes were examined. The significant results are as follows. (1) There were 4602, 4981, and 5701 glacial lakes (N0.003 km 2 ) covering areas of 553.9 ± 90, 581.2 ± 97, and 682.4 ± 110 km 2 in ~1990, 2000, and 2010, respectively; these lakes are primarily located in the Brahmaputra (39%),Indus (28%), and AmuDarya (10%) basins. (2) Small lakes (b0.2 km 2 ) are more sensitive to climate changes. (3) Lakes closer to glaciers and at higher altitudes, particularly thoseconnected to glacier ter- mini, have undergone larger area changes. (4) Glacier-fed lakes are dominant in both quantity and area (N70%) and exhibit faster expansion trends overall compared to non-glacier-fed lakes. We conclude that glacier meltwa- ter may play a dominant role in the areal expansion of most glacial lakes in the Third Pole. In addition, the pat- terns of the glacier-fed lakes correspond well with warming temperature trends and negative glacier mass balance patterns. This paper presents an important database of glacial lakes and provides a basis for long-term monitoring and evaluation of outburst flood disasters primarily caused by glacial lakes in the Third Pole.

An inventory of glacial lakes in the Third Pole region and their changes in response to global warming

Land use and land cover (LULC) change has been one of the most immense and perceptible transformations of the earth’s surface. Evaluating LULC change at varied spatial scales is imperative in wide range of perspectives such as environmental conservation, resource management, land use planning, and sustainable development. This work aims to examine the land use and land cover changes in the Kashmir valley between the time periods from 1992–2001–2015 using a set of compatible moderate resolution Landsat satellite imageries. Supervised approach with maximum likelihood classifier was adopted for the classification and generation of LULC maps for the selected time periods. Results reveal that there have been substantial changes in the land use and cover during the chosen time periods. In general, three land use and land cover change patterns were observed in the study area: (1) consistent increase of the area under marshy, built-up, barren, plantation, and shrubs; (2) continuous decrease in agriculture and water; (3) decrease (1992–2001) and increase (2001–2015) in forest and pasture classes. In terms of the area under each LULC category, most significant changes have been observed in agriculture (−), plantation (+), built-up (+), and water (−); however, with reference to percent change within each class, the maximum variability was recorded in built-up (198.45%), plantation (87.98%), pasture (− 71%), water (− 48%) and agriculture (− 28.85%). The massive land transformation is largely driven by anthropogenic actions and has been mostly adverse in nature, giving rise to multiple environmental issues in the ecologically sensitive Kashmir valley.

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Using Landsat satellite data for assessing the land use and land cover change in Kashmir valley

The combined effects of midlatitude westerlies lying in the lower troposphere over the Kashmir Valley and low-pressure systems originated from the Bay of Bengal and Saurashtra and Kutch regions caused torrential rainfall, which in turn produced devastating floods in the valley, during the first week of September 2014. The total actual flooded area was ~488.2 km2 during September 10 to October 12, 2014. In this study, we utilized multispectral images of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensors along with the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) to derive the flood hazard and elements at risk. The linear combination of normalized flood depth, mean turbidity, and locational probability of flood parameters was taken to map the flood hazard. The flood risk, on the other hand, was computed as the product of flood hazard and vulnerability. Overall, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was reduced by ~50 % during postflood as compared with preflood image. Therefore, NDVI change in natural vegetation, cropped, and built-up areas was taken as proxy for vulnerability. Estimated land-use-specific hazard and risk mapping revealed that standing crops (rice and maize) were badly damaged in Bandipore, Baramula, Pulwama, and Bagdam Districts due to submergence and siltation by turbid flood water. Since natural vegetation stood above the flood level, it may have been affected least. Overall, Bandipore, Baramula, and Pulwama Districts showed relatively high flood hazard and risk to natural vegetation. Over the built-up area, Srinagar and Bagdam Districts were highly affected by turbid flood water. The estimated flood hazard and risk showed that Bandipore, Baramula, Bagdam, Pulwama, and Srinagar were the most severely affected districts in the valley.

Flood hazard and risk assessment of 2014 floods in Kashmir Valley: a space-based multisensor approach

Glacial Lake Dynamics and Lake Surface Temperature Assessment along the Kangchengayo-Pauhunri Massif, Sikkim Himalaya, 1988–2014

The present study investigates the debris flow occurred in July 2017 at the terminal moraine of the Meru glacier, Bhagirathi basin, Garhwal Himalaya. This event has changed the geomorphology of the...

Causes and geomorphological effects of large debris flows in the lower valley areas of the Meru and Gangotri glaciers, Bhagirathi basin, Garhwal Himalaya (India)

This study investigates seasonal variability in black carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentrations at New Delhi, a monsoon-influenced urban agglomeration located at the edge of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Aravalli hills. Incessant measurement of BC has been carried out using Aethalometer AE-42 with the PM2.5 selective inlet. The BC concentrations show significant seasonal, diurnal and hourly variations. The hourly concentrations show a persistent peak distribution during the observation period with different magnitudes. There are two sharp peaks; first one in the morning between 8:00 and 11:00 h and the second one at night between 21:00 to 23:00 h. The morning high concentration peaks are more pronounced in all the observed months. The hourly and weekly analysis of BC concentrations indicates a significant contribution of vehicle emission, showing a definite pattern with the volume of traffic flow. Though, seasonal variation reveals that the local meteorological conditions directly influence it. Mean BC concentrations during summer; monsoon and post-monsoon seasons are 6.33, 4.95 and 17.4 μg mˉ3, respectively. The correlation coefficient of BC concentrations with temperature and relative humidity (RH) indicates that temperature and RH influence the boundary layer dynamics which in turn result into diurnal and seasonal variability in BC concentrations at the ground level.

Rajesh Kumar

Papers

Flood hazard and risk assessment of 2014 floods in Kashmir Valley: a space-based multisensor approach

Glacial Lake Dynamics and Lake Surface Temperature Assessment along the Kangchengayo-Pauhunri Massif, Sikkim Himalaya, 1988–2014

Causes and geomorphological effects of large debris flows in the lower valley areas of the Meru and Gangotri glaciers, Bhagirathi basin, Garhwal Himalaya (India)

Seasonal characteristics of black carbon aerosol mass concentrations and influence of meteorology, New Delhi (India)

Flood hazard assessment of August 20, 2016 floods in Satna District, Madhya Pradesh, India