Thriving depletion of groundwater resource in the present era of green revolution and industrialization requires sustainable development and management through precise quantitative assessment-based ...scientific principles and modern techniques. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model as a popular method of multi-criteria decision-making technique is applied to determine the importance of groundwater influencing factors. Geographic information system (GIS) as a part of geospatial technology has also been used to integrate the groundwater influencing spatial dataset. In this study nine groundwater influencing thematic layers, viz. geology, drainage density, aquifer thickness, pond frequency, soil texture, lineament density, land use/land cover and rainfall, have been selected to assess groundwater potential. In this article, Birbhum district of West Bengal has been chosen as the area of case study. On the basis of AHP model and GIS technology, five groundwater potential zones have been extracted in the study area comprising very low, low, moderate, high and very high groundwater potential zones. It has been estimated that an area of 212.27 km
2
has very high potential, which is only 4.77% of the total study area. However, the areas having high, moderate, low and very low groundwater potential are about 23.33, 47.84, 25.16, and 3.65%, respectively. Finally, the validation of the groundwater potential map has been done with the data of 41 drilled boreholes which are present in a scattered manner throughout the district. The results depict that the prediction of groundwater potential zone of the area has 76.1% accuracy.
The worldwide spread of COVID-19 caused a nationwide lockdown in India from 24 March 2020 and was further extended up to 3 May 2020 to break off the transmission of novel Coronavirus. The study is ...designed to assess the changes in air quality from the pre-lockdown period to the during lockdown period in Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporation, West Bengal, India. GIS-based techniques include the spatial and temporal distribution of pollutants using interpolation method, and on the other hand, statistical methods like analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to determine the mean differences two phases and correlation matrix helps to understand the changing association of the pollutants in pre- and during lockdown phases. Significant correlations have been found among the pollutants, ANOVA (Two-Way) has shown the significant mean difference of NAQI between the two phases,
F
(1,611) = 465.723,
p
< 0.0001; pairwise comparison for Ballygunge has shown the highest mean difference 108.194 at
p
< 0.0001 significant level between lockdown and pre-lockdown phase. Significant positive correlation has been found between PM
2.5
, PM
10
(0.99*); PM
2.5,
NO
2
(0.81*); PM
10
, NO
2
(0.81*); CO, NO
2
(0.77*) and some negative correlations have also been found between O
3
, NO (− 0.15); O
3
and NH
3
(− 0.36) in the pre-lockdown phase. The reduction amount of mean concentration from the pre-lockdown phase to during lockdown of the main pollutants like PM
2.5
, PM
10
and NO
2
are ~ 58.71%, ~ 57.92% and ~ 55.23%. Near Rabindra Bharati University constant emission of PM
2.5
, 10 and NO
2
have been recorded due to the nearby Cossipore thermal power station.
Ajodhya hill is an extended part of Chota Nagpur Granite Gneissic Complex located in Puruliya district, western part of West Bengal, Eastern India. This uplifted plateau is primarily composed of ...Archean granite and gneissic rock with the sharp break at the plateau fringe. Ground water comes out as spring through the fractures of the granitic rock base situated beneath the permeable red soil. Waterfalls are prominent along the steep slope of the plateau fringe. Thirteen springs and four waterfalls have been identified as important Geomorphosites to analyse their Geotourism potential of Ajodhya hill in response to its geologic and geomorphic background. SWOT analysis has been used for estimating the Geotourism potentialities of Ajodhya hill. To analyse the potentiality, weight and score has been given under each factors and weighted score has been calculated. Few strategies have been suggested for enriching the Geotourism potential of the region with the help of TOWS matrix. Prioritization of the strategies has been ascertained by QSPM (quantitative strategies planning matrix) method through which the Ranking of Total Attractiveness Score (RTAS) has been estimated.
Soil erosion (SE) creates several environmental problems in fragile tropical watersheds, such as channel degradation, reservoir sedimentation, and flash flood. Therefore, identification of erosion ...susceptible areas at the sub-watershed level is necessary for the sustainable management of available resources. Previous studies on sub-watershed prioritization are based on a particular method, which leads to uncertainty because other methods may produce different results. Therefore, in the present work, a novel MCDM (multi-criteria decision-making)–based ensemble approach has been used for the prioritization of sub-watersheds of the Dwarkeswar River basin. Five MCDM models were used in the present study, namely simple additive weighting (SAW), complex proportional assessment (COPRAS), additive ratio assessment (ARAS), technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA). The non-parametric Spearman rank correlation method was used to determine the best model and measure the degree of similarity among the results obtained from different models. Rank correlation indicated that the COPRAS model has the highest accuracy in the prediction of erosion susceptibility. But the final ranks were given to the sub-watersheds by averaging the ranks obtained from different MCDM models. The TOPSIS model was not included for averaging because TOPSIS shows a negative correlation with the SAW (− 0.082) and ARAS (− 0.179) models and a very low positive correlation with the COPRAS (0.181) model. This combined ensemble method placed sub-watersheds 10 and 11 in first and second ranks, respectively, on the basis of susceptibility to SE.
Benzodiazepine-positive overdoses increased between 2019 and 2021 in Tennessee. We sought to determine the changes in the number and characteristics of prescription and illicit ...benzodiazepine-positive fatal drug overdoses during this period.
A statewide study was conducted to determine changes in the number and characteristics of benzodiazepine-positive drug overdose decedents using 2019-2021 data from the Tennessee State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. The analyses were limited to Tennessee residents aged ≥ 18 years. A benzodiazepine-positive overdose was defined as any benzodiazepine on toxicology, regardless of the presence of other substances. Frequencies were generated to compare demographics, circumstances, prescription history, and toxicology between 2019 and 2021 for illicit and prescription benzodiazepine-positive fatal overdoses.
Between 2019 and 2021, 1666 benzodiazepine-positive unintentional or undetermined fatal drug overdoses out of 5916 total overdoses that occurred among adult Tennessee residents with available toxicological information. Prescription benzodiazepines were identified in 80.7% of deaths, whereas illicit benzodiazepines were identified in 12.0% of deaths. Many decedents had an anxiety disorder (45.5%), while over half of all decedents had a history of substance use disorder (52.3%). Most benzodiazepine-positive overdoses involved fentanyl (71.3%).
This analysis can inform local and regional public health workers to implement focused prevention and intervention efforts for people with co-occurring mental health conditions and substance use disorders to curb overdose epidemics among persons using benzodiazepines in Tennessee. Public health campaigns should focus on educating people on appropriate prescription medication use and the dangers of obtaining substances illicitly. Given the high proportion of opioids in this population, further education also is needed on the dangers of polysubstance drug use. The differences between prescription and illicit benzodiazepine-positive fatal overdoses indicate the need to develop substance-specific prevention and treatment strategies.
College age persons experienced unique disruptions to their regular lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes resulting in negative coping mechanisms. We examined changes in the number of and ...characteristics of college age fatal drug overdoses before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
We conducted a statewide cross-sectional study to determine the changes in the number and characteristics of college age fatal drug overdose decedents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using 2019–2020 data from the Tennessee State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. We defined college age as 18–24 years. Frequencies and rates were generated to compare demographics, circumstances, and toxicology between 2019 and 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, 336 college age persons experienced an unintentional or undetermined fatal drug overdose in Tennessee. Characteristics of college age decedents: mean age 21.7 years, 68.5% males, and 71.4% White. Rates of fatal overdoses among college age persons increased 50.0% overall, 150.1% for female decedents, and 141.7% for Black decedents. Fewer people were treated for substance use disorder or mental health conditions (p = 0.0243) in 2020.
This analysis can inform local and regional public health workers to implement focused prevention and intervention efforts to curtail the overdose epidemic among college age persons in Tennessee.
•College age overdoses increased 50% between 2019 and 2020.•Rates increased the most for female and Black demographic groups.•In 2020, fewer decedents were treated for substance use disorder or mental health.•Naloxone training and education should occur early in schools.•Prevention strategies for this age group should be examined for cultural relevancy.
The progressive and sequential shifting of the banklines and centerlines (thalweg) due to bank erosion and channel bar formation, as well as channel planform changes and avulsion of the Dwarkeswar ...river of West Bengal during the last 100 years, have been studied. For this purpose, police station maps, Survey of India topographical maps, and satellite images were used along with extensive field surveys. The channel was divided into reaches and segments for measuring the amount of migration and quantifying planform indices. Four types of changes have been observed: (1) channel planform change due to meander development and migration, (2) avulsion and consequent alteration in the flow direction, (3) thalweg shifting as a consequence of mid-channel bar formation, and (4) widening of the channel due to bank erosion. The study reveals that the alluvial plain upper (APU) is the most dynamic reach due to the meandering nature of the river. The thalweg shifted up to 1.71 km in this reach. An avulsion occurred in the lower course of the river during a large flood in 1978. The Jhumjhumi Nala became the main course of the river, and the earlier channel had become completely abandoned due to this avulsion. The sinuosity index of the entire study reach has been increasing since 1920, whereas the braiding index has decreased at most of the segments. Therefore, the channel planform is transforming into the meandering pattern from the braided pattern.
Channel bars are common, striking fluvio-geomorphic depositional features of alluvial rivers. The study of this article has aimed to investigate the formation, migration, and morphodynamic alteration ...of channel bars (n = 50) in gravel braided alluvial rivers in Darjeeling Himalayan Piedmont zone. Dynamics of micro to meso bar deposition is mainly accomplished by the channel gradient, huge upstream landslide, and variation of discharge. Multi-criteria analysis method has been used to explain the variation of principal component analysis (PCA1, PCA2, and PCA3), both monsoon to post-monsoon. Bridge scouring, empirical aggradation, and degradation values are 0.1 to 1.05 m and 200kgm2s−3 -2500kgm2s−3 -2500kgm2s−3. Migration, re-generation, and degradation of the micro bars with their optimum morphology show changes during the rainy season. In the upper (δuA), middle (δmA), and lower (δ1A) piedmont region, the bar dynamic area are 0.12 to 0.71, 0.12 to 2.83, and 0.10 to 5.43 km2, respectively. In total, 58% to 72% stability of the channel bars is observed in the upper piedmont region. The coefficient of determination (R²) of channel bar area and width shows positive (0.63) relation.
Floods are recurrent events in the floodplains of Coochbehar district inundating and damaging considerable quantities of standing crops and hampering the livelihoods of thousands of peoples. This ...paper addresses an efficient and reliable methodology for preparing flood risk map for the Coochbehar district based on two essential concepts of hazard and vulnerability. With the aid of analytical hierarchy process, a variety of hazard and vulnerability defining criteria have been weighted according to their contributions and were further processed in the geographical information system environment to observe and assess spatial characters of flood hazard index (FHI) and flood vulnerability index (FVI) that collectively have defined the flood risk index (FRI). Accordingly, the eastern, southeastern, southern, central and north-central parts of the district are prone to frequent floods while vulnerability levels are higher at areas locating particularly along the India-Bangladesh international border in the south, southeast and southwest and in some isolated clusters in the central and north-central parts. The influences of these FHI and FVI in shaping the FRI distribution were observed to be varying at places. The Tufanganj subdivision is found to be the least safe administrative unit followed by the Coochbehar Sadar, Mathabhanga and Dinhata subdivisions. The rest, i.e., the Mekliganj subdivision is observed to be relatively safe but is not immune at all. The flood risk distribution yielded the information of 58 (4.91%) settlements with higher FRI scores followed by 145 (12.29%) villages/towns with moderate and 456 (38.64%) villages/towns under low flooding risks.
Exploration of geoheritage sites is a new venture in tourism studies. The objective of the study is centred around the Geoheritage site conservation for geological and geomorphological interpretation ...and introduction of Geotourism involving the local people in Puruliya district. The main litho-unit of Puruliya district belongs to Chhotanagpur Granite Gneissic Complex of Archean era. Nine geological/geomorphological important sites are chosen for assessing their geoheritage values and analysing the Geotourism potential. A modified model of Kubalikova (2013) is adopted for the evaluation of the selected nine important sites, where five important criteria i.e. scientific (intrinsic) values, educational values, economical values, conservation values and added (cultural, ecological and aesthetic) values are considered. The result reveals that sites like Durgabera dam, Bhanratongri hill, Garpanchakot and Jaychandi hill can be assumed as top potential Geotourism site occupying highest geoheritage values, whereas Jabar hill, Poradih hill and Tamakhun old mine are quite low in the context of Geoheritage values. Based on the result, few strategies are suggested which can help to develop Geotourism in the study area and raise awareness about the geoheritage values among the students, general visitors and the local residents of the area.
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