GEOPHYSICAL RESISTIVITY SURVEY FOR THE EXPLORATION OF GROUND WATER STATUS OF SMALL DAMS SURROUNDING NAGARPARKAR, SINDH PAKISTAN

This study investigates the hydrogeological impacts of small dams on groundwater resources in Nagarparkar, Sindh, focusing on the Sehriyoon, Nim Aaro, Viksar, and Gordharo-2 dams. Groundwater recharge, aquifer depth and thickness, lithology, and water quality were assessed primarily within dam-influenced areas, while Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) surveys were employed to identify subsurface lithology and groundwater conditions in the surrounding areas. An integrated methodology combining hydrogeological, hydrological, and geophysical approaches was applied. VES surveys were conducted to depths of up to 100 m (300 ft) and supported by groundwater sampling at the dam sites to evaluate aquifer characteristics and water quality. The results show significant spatial variation in aquifer thickness, ranging from 1.36–100 m at Sehriyoon, 4.08–100 m at Nim Aaro, 1.24–100 m at Viksar, and 10.1–100 m at Gordharo-2. Groundwater recharge is mainly concentrated within the upper 10–30 m, indicating that small dams play a key role in enhancing recharge to shallow aquifers. Hydro chemical analysis reveals elevated electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, and concentrations of copper, Arsenic, nickel, selenium, fluoride, and chloride. Etc Groundwater from Sehriyoon and Viksar is partially suitable for drinking, while groundwater from all four dam sites is suitable for irrigation. The study emphasizes the need for integrated groundwater management within dam catchments, including regular monitoring and targeted water treatment measures. These findings provide valuable insights for sustainable groundwater development and small dam planning in arid and semi-arid regions such as Nagarparkar

EXPLORING PRICE VOLATILITY IN THE PAKISTAN STOCK EXCHANGE THROUGH SIMPLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), formed through the amalgamation of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE), and Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) on January 11, 2016, serves as a vital indicator of a country's economic stability and growth prospects as compared to others. The research work done in this study examines the price fluctuations of three prominent companies within the Textile Sector: Company 1, Company 2, and Company 3 (names kept confidential). These firms have consistently ranked among Pakistan's top exporters in the year 2021. The focus on the textile sector stems from its robust performance, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown since March 2020. This research predominantly employs technical analysis in the stock market, utilizing Simple Linear Regression Analysis (SLR) on the high stock price rates to deduce insights into the low stock price rates. Additionally, the descriptive statistical analyses incorporated, supported by informative graphs to unravel the trend of data over a 5-year period. By delving into this paper, readers can gain a fundamental understanding of stock markets (High and Low prices), equipping them to independently analyze market trends. Furthermore, this paper dispels common misconceptions, empowering readers to make more informed decisions when assessing stock market trends

UNREGULATED MARBLE MINING: A NEW POWERFUL DRIVER OF LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION IN THE MOUNTAINOUS REGION OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

This study focused on the impacts of haphazard marble mining on land use changes in district Buner, which is a highly mountainous region and severely affected by the law-and-order situation for the last three decades. Marble mining through blasting and other classical approaches is one of the major economic and business activities. The land use maps for the years 1988, 2002, and 2018 were developed using ArcGIS to monitor its impacts on the landscape level. The temporal analysis of land use maps showed that in the last 30 years, mining areas expanded by 5.69 Km2 destroying 4.88 Km2 of forest cover, while agriculture and built-up area expanded 63.77 Km2 and 26.98 Km2 respectively at the cost of some 90.97 Km2 forest cover. The built-up area increased mostly consuming agricultural land and agriculture has encroached on forests. The drastic decrease in forest cover of 97.30 Km2 is the highest rate of deforestation in this mountainous region having extremely adverse impacts on local flora and fauna. Land use changes in the second period were more profound as compared to the first because of new mines exploration and improvement in accessibility to marble mines (new roads and vehicles). The mining area increased in the second period by 4.70 Km2 and the agricultural area expanded by 50.47 Km2 at the expense of forests, leading to better socio-economic conditions for the locals however. It is concluded that mining activities and marble processing units signify the major land use transformations which alternatively caused environmental degradation. The study recommends regular inspection to be carried out to keep marble mining under threshold level and conduct environmental impact assessment, auditing, and mitigation studies

APPLICATION OF SALICYLIC ACID TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECT OF Cr and Cu HEAVY METAL TOXICITY IN SORGHUM

Pot experiment was conducted to find out the effect of foliar application of salicylic acid on three Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) varieties (Safaid, Indian and Sada Bahar). Six treatments To=Control, T1 = 25 ppm CrO, T2 = 25 ppm CuSO4, T3 = 25 ppm salicylic acid, T4 = 25 ppm CrO + 25 ppm salicylic acid, and T5 = 25 ppm CuSO4 + 25 ppm salicylic acid were foliar applied after 14 days of germination. The experiment comprised 72 pots arranged in a Completely Randomized Design, with 4 replicates for each of the 6 treatments across 3 sorghum varieties. Each pot contained 5 healthy plants, resulting in a total sample size of 360 individual sorghum plants. Different parameters such as morphological, physiological, biochemical, and yield attributes were examined by the foliar application of salicylic acid. Final results from this research study showed that different treatments of salicylic acid significantly increase by 17g shoot fresh weight the morphological attributes root length 13 cm and shoot length 55cm, root and shoot fresh weight 4.5g and 17g respectively, root and shoot dry weight(g), leaf area. Physiological parameters are chlorophyll a and b, biochemical attributes are estimation of total soluble proteins, total carbohydrate and antioxidant enzyme activities catalase and peroxidase, as well as yield parameters weight of spike(g) also increased with foliar application as compared to control. Maximum growth of morphological, physiological, biochemical and yield attributes were shown at T3 (25 ppm salicylic acid). Results were also justified by conducting three-way ANOVA with Tukey's test. It was concluded from this research experiment that foliar application of salicylic acid was more effective for the better growth and yield of Sorghum plant

TECTONIC FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF MUZAFFARABAD AND ADJOINING AREAS, AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR, PAKISTAN

In northwest Himalayas of Pakistan, the rocks of Sub Himalayas and Lesser Himalayas, which are separated by Main Boundary Thrust / Jhelum Fault, are folded around a regional scale antiformal structure called Hazara Kashmir Syntaxis (HKS). The earthquake of 8th October, 2005 ruptured Muzaffarabad Thrust across the western limb of HKS, emphasizing the need to better understand the tectonic setup and geological structures of Muzaffarabad and adjoining areas. An integrated approach was used in this study by combining results of satellite image analysis with field observations, lab analysis of structural data collected in the field, and published data. The Muzaffarabad thrust is categorized as a component of southwest-verging Kashmir thrust system which is dominant and actively propagating towards southwest with its frontal thrusts cutting up through the south-southeast-verging Pakistan thrust system. There were Two different structural domains identified. The majority of the structures in Domain 1 show the effects of Jhelum Fault. On the other hand, the region with Domain 2 structures is genetically associated with the Muzaffarabad Thrust and is affected by NE-SW shortening. Structures of the Domain 2 are generally considered to be older than the Domain 1 structures but the 2005 earthquake along the Muzaffarabad Thrust proved that the area is still observing the causative stresses of Domain 2. Accordingly, any major construction in the area should be properly designed and built

Models Forecasting and Evaluation of Karachi Rainfall: Array

Building up a model for hydrological forecasting from historical records is essential to powerful hydropower reservoir management, implementation, controlling, and discharging water. Conventionally, modelling and analysis through a time series approach have been used to build mathematical models for producing hydrologic records in water resources and hydrology. Recently artificial intelligence (AI) is used for forecasting and modelling hydrological data. By using AI, large-scale and long-series data can be analysed with reasonable accuracy. This paper is focused on assessing and forecasting rainfall in Karachi. For this purpose, the daily rainfall data are considered from the period 2006 to 2017. Three novel models Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA), Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) are employed. The statistical measure; Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) is used to evaluate the performance of these models. We have also determined the values for the Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian Schwarz information criterion (SIC), Hannan Quinn information criterion (HIC), and Durbin-Watson test (DW), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). Estimation of these parameters assisted in selecting the best-fitted model. Findings indicate that ANFIS and SARIMA outperform contrary to all evaluation criteria. This study implies researchers embrace ANFIS and SARIMA for predicting rainfall, hydrology, and water resources with high accuracy

CURVE DESIGNING USING NON-STATIONARY FOUR POINT SUBDIVISION TECHNIQUE

A non-stationary four-point subdivision technique has been depicted that generates the limiting curve of C4 continuity for a wide range of tension parameter. The continuity of the proposed technique has been investigated using an asymptotically equivalent method. The performance of the proposed technique has been illustrated geometrically

ASSESSMENT OF SOIL EROSION RISK INFLUENCING DIFFERENT AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF GILGIT-BALTISTAN, PAKISTAN

Soil erosion is a critical environmental problem affecting agrarian production, water quality, and mountain ecosystems in the Himalayan region. Accurate and timely assessment of erosion risk has turned into a dire undertaking considering recent changes in climate and land usage in this region. This paper focuses on predicting the soil erosion risk in different agro-ecologies of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and geoinformatics techniques. The findings of the study revealed soil erosion at an average rate of about 15.2 tons/ha/y in the study area. The risk of erosion was observed to be very low (<5 ton/ha/y) over 69.1% of the area, low (5–25 ton/ha/y) over 16.3%, and moderate (25–50 ton/ha/y) over 4.8% of the province area. High risk (50–100 tons/ha/y) and very high risk (>100 tons/ha/y) of erosion were predicted over 5.7% and 4.1% of the area, respectively. The average rate of erosion was about 20.7 tons/ha/y in the high mountain pastures, 18.6 tons/ha/y in the upper arid valleys, and 13.8 tons/ha/y in the cold desert zone, while it was found least, i.e., 6.7 tons/ha/y each, in the alpine plateau and moist valley zones. Sustainable restoration of the degraded lands can be achieved through promoting afforestation/reforestation, improving rangeland management, and effective soil conservation in different ecologies. Future land management initiatives should be supported with the provision of appropriate training, financial incentives, and technical support to the local communities and institutions for sustainable development in the region

GEOHAZARDS AND MITIGATION: LOWARI TUNNEL ACCESS ROAD, DIR UPPER, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

This study investigates geological hazards along the South Access Road to Lowari Tunnel, Pakistan, a critical transportation corridor within a complex tectonostratigraphic zone dominated by granodiorite and granite. The region faces high risks from earthquakes, mass movement, and flooding. Our comprehensive fieldwork identified prevalent landslide triggers including gravity, water saturation, slope failure, and seismic activity, alongside human impacts. Key findings reveal specific joint characteristics within the rock mass, with mean joint spacing of 30 cm and varying persistency and aperture (average 1-3 mm), significantly influencing rock stability. We also identified distinct flood zones and areas with extensive water-rock contact exhibiting increased rock failure potential. Based on these detailed geological and structural analyses, we propose tailored engineering techniques and preventive measures. These include targeted rock bolting, wire meshing, and grouting for unstable jointed zones, along with strategic retaining walls, vegetation, and improved water drainage systems for slope modification and flood control structures in identified high-risk areas. This research provides a precise geological hazard assessment and region-specific mitigation strategies crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of vital infrastructure development

GREEN SYNTHESIS OF CuO NPS UTILIZING EUPHORBIA MILII FOR ENHANCED CRYSTAL VIOLET DYE REMOVAL

This study reports the successful synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) through a simple and sustainable green route, employing Euphorbia milii (E. milii) leaf extract as a reducing agent for the effective degradation of crystal violet (CV) dye. The as-synthesized CuO NPs were systematically characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. A comparative analysis was performed to highlight the advantages of green synthesis by evaluating the photocatalytic performance of CuO NPs prepared via both green (CuO) and conventional chemical (CuO′) methods. XRD results confirmed the successful formation of monoclinic-phase CuO NPs, while UV–Vis analysis demonstrated their superior photocatalytic activity. Green-synthesized CuO NPs achieved 95.6% degradation of CV dye, outperforming their chemically synthesized counterparts (84.2%). The enhanced activity of the green-synthesized NPs may be attributed to their relatively lower stability and higher tendency for agglomeration, which can increase surface exposure and facilitate dye degradation. Overall, these findings establish eco-friendly CuO NPs as a promising and efficient photocatalyst for wastewater treatment applications