Generating Water Quality Maps of Klang River Based on Geographic Information System (GIS) and Water Quality Index (WQI)

Water quality index (WQI) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a critical role in managing and modelling a variety of water resource issues, including urban drainage, point and non-point source pollution. Historically, the evaluation of water quality has been a domain reserved for experts, necessitating laborious and time-consuming in situ sampling and laboratory analysis. However, the integration of WQI and GIS has democratized this information, making it accessible to non-experts, thereby enhancing the comprehension of Klang River's water quality. The objective is to employ WQI and GIS to create comprehensive water quality maps. While WQI offers a straightforward numerical evaluation, the incorporation of graphical data provides a nuanced understanding of river pollution. Therefore, hourly WQI data observed at every week in 2 months from October to November 2021 over four stations (Kampung Medan, Kampung Lombong, Taman Pengkalan Batu and Jeti Sungai Udang) in Malaysia was acquired from the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) website and the Malaysian National Water Quality Standard (NWQS). Adopting Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method, WQI parameters at unsampled locations were estimated based on values of nearby sampled points. Database was built to depict the water quality of the Klang River, particularly during the two-month monitoring. Mapping provides a clear indication of the river's water quality. The WQI mapping outcome fall between class II and class IV. The findings indicate varying water quality classes along the Klang River, revealing potential pollution sources in industrial and development areas. It was concluded from the study that the water pollution may be due to its proximity to industrial and development regions

Local Rice Production Trend Analyses and Consumption in Benue State, Nigeria: 1980 – 2016

The research examined local rice production trends and factors inhibiting the consumption of local rice from 1980 to 2016 in Benue State. Primary data were collected with the aid of questionnaire in Benue State, while secondary data were obtained from Benue Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (BNARDA) in 2017. Multistage random sampling method was employed in selecting respondents. Primary data were collected from one hundred and fifty six (156) respondents. Descriptive statistics, Z – test, Growth model and Kendal’s coefficient of concordance were used for the analysis. The results revealed that from 1980 to 2016, a total of 9.5mt of local rice was produced in Benue State. The result also shows that the respondents were all married (99%), with household size of 1 - 10 persons (95%) and mean household size of about 8 persons. The result further indicated that majority of respondents’ attained tertiary school level. The result also shows that the respondents had low income (40.3%).  The mean quantity of local rice production was 257,333.06mt per year. The instantaneous growth trends of local rice production and price were 0.00122 and 0.01103, and compound growth rate as 3.72 and 3.76 respectively. The result also indicated that many of the respondents were above the age of 41 years (49%) with the mean age of 47 and all respondents male. The presence of stones, poor aroma, impure rice and broken grain were some of the factors inhibiting consumption of local rice in Benue State. The study recommended that the policies that focus on increasing growth rate of local rice in Benue State should be intensified. Breeders and Scientists should make effort in breeding rice with aroma. The processors of local rice should use modern processing mills like rice polisher and des-stoners to mill quality local rice that will be acceptable to consumers

The Concept of Operational Near Real-Time GNSS Meteorology System for Atmospheric Water Vapour Monitoring over Peninsular Malaysia

The operational system from near real-time global navigation satellite system (NRT GNSS) meteorology is crucial for supplying information about climate and meteorological activities over Malaysia. As demonstrated by many researchers all over the world, the applicability of NRT GNSS meteorology has proved as a valuable tool for capturing high spatio-temporal resolution of atmospheric water vapour. This study discusses a design of NRT GNSS meteorology system for future development in Malaysia. There are three major components of this system which cover the architecture of GNSS meteorological station, the engine processor and data flow management. This paper provides the functional illustration for each component and discusses several challenges in the development of NRT GNSS meteorology system