The use and re-use of unsustainable groundwater for irrigation: A global budget

Depletion of groundwater aquifers across the globe has become a significant concern, as groundwater is an important and often unsustainable source of irrigation water. Simultaneously, the field of water resource management has seen a lively debate over the concepts and metrics used to assess the downstream re-use of agricultural runoff, with most studies focusing on surface water balances. Here, we bring these two lines of research together, recognizing that depletion of aquifers leads to large amounts of groundwater entering surface water storages and flows by way of agricultural runoff. While it is clear that groundwater users will be impacted by reductions in groundwater availability, there is a major gap in our understanding of potential impacts downstream of groundwater pumping locations. We find that the volume of unsustainable groundwater that is re-used for irrigation following runoff from agricultural systems is nearly as large as the volume initially extracted from reservoirs for irrigation. Basins in which the volume of irrigation water re-used is equal to or greater than the volume of water initially used (which is possible due to multiple re-use of the same water) contain 33 million hectares of irrigated land and are home to 1.3 billion people. Some studies have called for increasing irrigation efficiency as a solution to water shortages. We find that with 100% irrigation efficiency, global demand for unsustainable groundwater is reduced by 52%, but not eliminated. In many basins, increased irrigation efficiency leads to significantly decreased river low flows; increasing irrigation efficiency to 70% globally decreases total surface water supplies by backsim600 km3 yr−1. These findings illustrate that estimates of aquifer depletion alone underestimate the importance of unsustainable groundwater to sustaining surface water systems and irrigated agriculture

A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are 'protected' from sociocultural pressure to be thin

Heterosexual women in Western cultures are known to experience body image concerns, dieting and disordered eating as a result of intense social pressures to be thin. However, it is theorised that lesbian and bisexual women belong to a subculture that is ‘protective’ of such demands. Fifteen non-heterosexual women were interviewed about their experiences of social pressure. Thematic analysis of their accounts suggests that such theorising may be inaccurate, because these lesbian and bisexual women did not feel ‘protected’ from social pressures and experienced body dissatisfaction. While they might attempt to resist thin idealisation, resistance is not centred around their sexuality

Adaptability of Irrigation to a Changing Monsoon in India: How far can we go?

Agriculture and the monsoon are inextricably linked in India. A large part of the steady rise in agricultural production since the onset of the Green Revolution in the 1960’s has been attributed to irrigation. Irrigation is used to supplement and buffer crops against precipitation shocks, but water availability for such use is itself sensitive to the erratic, seasonal and spatially heterogeneous nature of the monsoon. Most attention in the literature is given to crop yields (Guiteras, 2009; Fishman, 2012; Auffhammer et al, 2011) and their ability to withstand precipitation shocks, in the presence of irrigation (Fishman, 2012). However, there remains limited evidence about how natural weather variability and realized irrigation outcomes are related. We provide new evidence on the relationship between monsoon changes, irrigation variability and water availability by linking a process based hydrology model with an econometric model for one of the world’s most water stressed countries. India uses more groundwater for irrigation than any other country, and there is substantial evidence that this has led to depletion of groundwater aquifers. First, we build an econometric model of historical irrigation decisions using detailed crop-wise agriculture and weather data spanning 35 years from 1970-2004 for 311 districts across 19 major agricultural states in India. The source of agricultural data comes from the Village Dynamics in South Asia database at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Weather data is sourced from the only long term continental scale daily observationally gridded precipitation and temperature dataset called APHRODITE (Asian Precipitation- Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of the Water Resources), that captures the spatial extent of the monsoon across the Himalayas, South and South-East Asia, and the Middle East in great detail. We use panel data approaches to control for unobserved and omitted variables that can confound the true impacts of weather variability on irrigation. Exploiting the exogenous inter-annual variability in the monsoon, our multivariate regression models reveal that for crops grown in the wet season, irrigation is sensitive to distribution and total monsoon rainfall but not to ground or surface water availability. For crops grown in the dry season, total monsoon rainfall matters most, and its effect is sensitive to groundwater availability but differentially so for shallow dug wells and deep tube wells. The historical estimates from the econometric model are used to calculate future irrigated areas using three different bias-corrected climate model projections of monsoon climate for the years 2010 – 2050 under the strongest warming scenario ( business as usual scenario) RCP-8.5 from the CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) models. These projections are then used as input to a physical hydrology model, such as the Water Balance Model, that tracks water use and exchange between the ground, atmosphere, runoff and stream networks. This enables us to quantify supply of water required to meet irrigation needs from sustainable sources such as rechargeable shallow groundwater, rivers and reservoirs, as well as unsustainable sources such as non- rechargeable groundwater. Preliminary results show that the significant variation in monsoon projections lead to very different results. Crops grown in the dry season show particularly divergent trends between model projections, leading to very different groundwater resource requirements. By combining the strengths of the economic and hydrology components, this work highlights potential sustainable or unsustainable water use trajectories that different regions within India will face

Men's Accounts of Reactions to Two Sources of Information on Negative Effects of UV Exposure: Facial Morphing and a Health Promotion Fact Sheet.

This study explored young men’s experiences of two sources of information designed to encourage UV protection and investigated which of these was perceived as having the most potential to impact on future UV protection/exposure. Eight men aged 18 to 35 years were shown an information sheet on health-related effects of UV exposure, and images of their own faces aged with and without UV exposure using ageing software. Participants were interviewed to explore reactions to these sources of information, and current and predicted sun protection and exposure. Men found both sources of information interesting and influential, and thematic analysis revealed three master themes: ‘gendered health and appearance attitudes’, ‘UV exposure as a risky health behaviour’, and ‘taking future preventative measures’. Implications for research and health care practice are discussed

Invisible water, visible impact: How unsustainable groundwater use challenges sustainability of Indian agriculture under climate change

India is one of the world’s largest food producers, making the sustainability of its agricultural system of global significance. Groundwater irrigation underpins India’s agriculture, currently boosting crop production by enough to feed 170 million people. Groundwater overexploitation has led to drastic declines in groundwater levels, threatening to push this vital resource out of reach for millions of small-scale farmers who are the backbone of India’s food security. Historically, losing access to groundwater has decreased agricultural production and increased poverty. We take a multidisciplinary approach to assess climate change challenges facing India’s agricultural system, and to assess the effectiveness of large-scale water infrastructure projects designed to meet these challenges. We find that even in areas that experience climate change induced precipitation increases, expansion of irrigated agriculture will require increasing amounts of unsustainable groundwater. The large proposed national river linking project has limited capacity to alleviate groundwater stress. Thus, without intervention, poverty and food insecurity in rural India is likely to worsen

Achieving sustainable irrigation water withdrawals: global impacts on food security and land use

Unsustainable water use challenges the capacity of water resources to ensure food security and continued growth of the economy. Adaptation policies targeting future water security can easily overlook its interaction with other sustainability metrics and unanticipated local responses to the larger-scale policy interventions. Using a global partial equilibrium grid-resolving model SIMPLE-G, and coupling it with the global Water Balance Model, we simulate the consequences of reducing unsustainable irrigation for food security, land use change, and terrestrial carbon. A variety of future (2050) scenarios are considered that interact irrigation productivity with two policy interventions— inter-basin water transfers and international commodity market integration. We find that pursuing sustainable irrigation may erode other development and environmental goals due to higher food prices and cropland expansion. This results in over 800 000 more undernourished people and 0.87 GtC additional emissions. Faster total factor productivity growth in irrigated sectors will encourage more aggressive irrigation water use in the basins where irrigation vulnerability is expected to be reduced by inter-basin water transfer. By allowing for a systematic comparison of these alternative adaptations to future irrigation vulnerability, the global gridded modeling approach offers unique insights into the multiscale nature of the water scarcity challenge

Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy: the modified total neuropathy score in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, potentially reversible side effect of some chemotherapeutic agents. CIPN is associated with decreased balance, function and quality of life (QoL). This association has to date been under-investigated. AIMS: To profile patients presenting with CIPN using the modified Total Neuropathy Score (mTNS) in this cross-sectional study and to examine the relationship between CIPN (measured by mTNS) and indices of balance, quality of life (QoL) and function. METHODS: Patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy regimens were identified using hospital databases. Those who did not have a pre-existing neuropathy were invited to complete mTNS, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), timed up and go (TUG), and FACT-G QoL questionnaire. mTNS scores were profiled and also correlated with BBS, TUG and FACT-G using Spearmans correlation coefficient. RESULTS: A total of 29 patients undergoing neurotoxic chemotherapy regimens were tested. The patients mTNS scores ranged between 1 and 12 (median = 5), indicating that all patients had clinical evidence of neuropathy on mTNS. No significant correlations were found between mTNS and BERG (r = -0.29), TUG (r = 0.14), or FACT-G (r = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study found a high prevalence of CIPN in patients treated with neurotoxic chemotherapy regimens. The mTNS provided a clinically applicable, sensitive screening tool for CIPN which could prove useful in clinical practice. mTNS did not correlate with BBS, TUG or FACT-G in this sample, possibly due to relatively mild levels of CIPN and consequent subtle impairments which were not adequately captured by gross functional assessments

How Observations of Circumstellar Disk Asymmetries Can Reveal Hidden Planets: Pericenter Glow and its Application to the HR 4796 Disk

Recent images of the disks of dust around the young stars HR 4796A and Fomalhaut show, in each case, a double-lobed feature that may be asymmetric (one lobe may be brighter than the other). A symmetric double-lobed structure is that expected from a disk of dust with a central hole that is observed nearly edge-on (i.e., close to the plane of the disk). This paper shows how the gravitational influence of a second body in the system with an eccentric orbit would cause a brightness asymmetry in such a disk by imposing a "forced eccentricity" on the orbits of the constituent dust particles, thus shifting the center of symmetry of the disk away from the star and causing the dust near the forced pericenter of the perturbed disk to glow. Dynamic modeling of the HR 4796 disk shows that its 5% brightness asymmetry could be the result of a forced eccentricity as small as 0.02 imposed on the disk by either the binary companion HR 4796B, or by an unseen planet close to the inner edge of the disk. Since it is likely that a forced eccentricity of 0.01 or higher would be imposed on a disk in a system in which there are planets, but no binary companion, the corresponding asymmetry in the disk's structure could serve as a sensitive indicator of these planets that might otherwise remain undetected.Comment: 61 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (scheduled for January 10, 2000

RESONANT STRUCTURE IN THE KUIPER DISK: AN ASYMMETRIC PLUTINO DISK

In order to develop a dynamical model of the Kuiper disk, we run numerical integrations of particles originating from source bodies trapped in the 3 : 2 external mean motion resonance with Neptune to determine what percentage of particles remain in the resonance for a variety of particle and source body sizes. The dynamical evolution of the particles is followed from source to sink with Poynting-Robertson light drag, solar wind drag, radiation pressure, the Lorentz force, neutral interstellar gas drag, and the effects of planetary gravitational perturbations included. We find that the number of particles in the 3 : 2 resonance increases with decreasing � (i.e., increasing particle size) for the cases in which the initial source bodies are small (� 10 km in diameter) and that the percentage of particles in resonance is not significantly changed by either the addition of the Lorentz force, as long as the potential of the particles is small (� 5 V), or the effect of neutral interstellar gas drag. The brightness of the entire Kuiper disk is calculated using a model composed of 500 lm diameter particles and fits well with upper limits to the Kuiper disk brightness and previous estimates. A disk with a size-frequency distribution weighted toward large particles, which are more likely to remain in resonance, may have a stronger, more easily identifiable resonant signature than a disk composed of small particles

'It's bit of an eye opener' - A qualitative study of women's attitudes towards tanning, sun protection and a facial morphing intervention.

OBJECTIVE: Skin cancer is to a large degree behaviourally preventable, meaning that evidence-based interventions have scope to make a difference. Previous research indicates that appearance-based interventions such as facial morphing may be more effective than health-based interventions, and that it can personalise the issue of skin cancer. METHOD: This study examined attitudes to UV exposure, as well as reactions to a facial morphing intervention, through interviews with 25 women aged 35 years and older. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed four themes; two regarding attitudes to UV exposure (confusion and contradiction, and change and continuity), and two relating to the facial morphing intervention (negative reactions to UV-exposed photo and positive outcomes of the intervention). Women experienced a number of barriers to adopting safer behaviour in the sun; their current attitudes to UV exposure had been shaped by available information sources throughout their ageing. They expressed negative evaluations of the UV photo, which fed directly into motivation to reduce UV exposure. CONCLUSIONS: These results can be interpreted along the lines of goal-directed behaviour. This type of intervention has the potential to reduce UV exposure among this participant group, something that needs to be further investigated with randomised control trials