Ground Water Pollution and Emerging Environmental Challenges of Industrial Effluent Irrigation: A Case Study of Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamilnadu

Industrial disposal of effluents on land and the subsequent pollution of groundwater and soil of surrounding farmlands – is a relatively new area of research. The environmental and socioeconomic aspects of industrial effluent irrigation have not been studied as extensively as domestic sewage based irrigation practices, at least for a developing country like India. The disposal of effluents on land has become a regular practice for some industries. Industries located in Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamil Nadu, dispose their effluents on land, and the farmers of the adjacent farmlands have complained that their shallow open wells get polluted and also the salt content of the soil has started building up slowly. This study attempts to capture the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of industrial effluent irrigation in different industrial locations at Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamil Nadu, through primary surveys and secondary information. This study found that the continuous disposal of industrial effluents on land, which has limited capacity to assimilate the pollution load, has led to groundwater pollution. The quality of groundwater in shallow open wells surrounding the industrial locations has deteriorated, and the application of polluted groundwater for irrigation has resulted in increased salt content of soils. In some locations drinking water wells (deep bore wells) also have a high concentration of salts. Since the farmers had already shifted their cropping pattern to salt-tolerant crops (like jasmine, curry leaf, tobacco, etc.) and substituted their irrigation source from shallow open wells to deep bore wells and/or river water, the impact of pollution on livelihoods was minimized. Since the local administration is supplying drinking water to households, the impact in the domestic sector has been minimized. It has also been noticed that in some locations industries are supplying drinking water to the affected households. However, if the pollution continues unabated it could pose serious problems in the future

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) survey which publicly releases infra-red spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the sub-survey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey (SPIDERS) sub-survey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated Value Added Catalogs (VACs). This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), Local Volume Mapper (LVM) and Black Hole Mapper (BHM) surveys

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar, and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey that publicly releases infrared spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the subsurvey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey subsurvey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated value-added catalogs. This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper, Local Volume Mapper, and Black Hole Mapper surveys