Drinking Water Quality Characterization and Heavy Metal Analysis in Springs of Dewan Gorah, District Palandri, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan¤

In this study, water quality and microbial characterizations of fresh water springs of union council Dewangorah, Palandri, AJK have been studied. Sampling was done from January to October 2017, from fifteen different locations of study area, which are a drinking water source for natives of the area. Water samples were collected in sterilized glass bottles for physicochemical and microbial analysis and in clean plastic bottles for heavy metals analysis from various locations. Various physiochemical parameters including pH, Total dissolved solids (TDS), Conductivity, Chlorides (Cl-), Fluorides (F-), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), hardness and alkalinity were measured by standard methods. Heavy metals concentrations including Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb) and Nickel (Ni) were evaluated using atomic absorption spectroscopy. It was found that concentration of Pb and Cr were above permissible limits of WHO at all locations. Standard plate count (SPC) was used to determine total viable count and total coliform counts in water samples. Various bacterial colonies were isolated from water samples and characterized by performing different biochemical tests including Gram staining, Catalase, Oxidase and Citrate utilization tests. Results showed that various physicochemical parameter such as pH, TDS, Cl-, F-, COD and heavy metals including As, Cu, Fe were within World Health Organization (WHO) standards. While values for conductivity of few samples were above permissible limits of WHO. The calculations for human health risk showed that heavy metals at present levels are not posing a threat to the population. Microbial analysis showed that water samples contain different pathogenic bacteria like E. coli, Salmolella spp., shigella spp etc. and are not fit for drinking purposes. The quality of drinking water of Dewangorah must be monitored by regulatory authorities and further research is required to identify the sources of water contamination and its mitigation

Water Quality Assessment and Hydrochemistry of Shallow Groundwater in Bhara Kahu area, Islamabad, Pakistan

The groundwater quality of Bhara Kahu, Islamabad has been evaluated using water samples collected from 8 localities. The analysis has been performed to determine the drinking and irrigation groundwater quality. The standard procedures were adopted after the American Public Health Association (APHA) for sampling. The analysis revealed the concentration of the Ca, K, Mg, Na, NO3, HCO3, SO4, Cl, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), hardness, turbidity, pH, alkalinity and Electrical Conductivity (EC). The World Health Organization (WHO) standards were used to compare with the results for the determination of the quality of groundwater. It is concluded that the groundwater in the Bhara Khau area is not polluted and may be used for drinking purpose. The geochemical evolution of groundwater describes it to be of Ca-HCO3 type showing a single aquifer having a younger groundwater. The suitability of the groundwater determined by the EC and the sodium hazard determines the groundwater to be safe

Prevention and Reduction of Earthquake Disasters in Asia and the Pacific Region

地震は過去25年間で世界から1千万人以上の人命を奪った。とりわけ,アジア・太平洋地域の中国・日本・イラン・インド・パキスタン・アフガニスタン・トルコでは地震による被害が甚大である。これら地震多発国は地震を引き起こすプレート活動の活発な地域に位置している。地震波は自然災害であるので止めることは出来ないが,適切な防御策を講じることで被害を小さくすることができる。この防御策には,地震多発国の過去の地震災害の研究,危機アセスメントの準備,地震に弱い地域を示したハザードマップ,適切な建築基準の履行が必要であるEarthquakes have killed more than one million people during the past 25 years worldwide, and in Asia and the Pacific region, China, Japan, Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey suffered too much due to earthquake disasters. These earthquake-prone countries are situated in regions where plate tectonic activity is still going on to generate earthquakes. Earthquakes are natural hazards, which cannot be stopped but the hazards can be prevented from becoming disasters by taking appropriate preventive measures. These preventive measures include a complete analysis of the earthquake-prone areas for the past disaster events, preparation of risk assessment and hazard maps to delineate areas vulnerable to earthquakes and adopting and implementing appropriate building codes.国立情報学研究所『研究紀要公開支援事業』により電子化

Active Fault System and the Related Seismicity in Pakistan

Earthquakes in Pakistan are generated along the active fault system due to neo-tectonic process, emerged from the colliding plate boundaries of the Indian, Eurasian and Arabian plates. Based on this progression many active seismic zones in Pakistan, e.g., the Hindu Kush-Karakoram and Indus-Kohistan seismic zones emerged. Consequently, the 8th October 2005 earthquake occurred along the Indus-Kohistan active seismic zone that killed more than 80000 people. The subsequent studies revealed that he causative faults for earthquakes are mainly active thrust faults with a strike slip component and purely the strike slip faults. Based on the seismic hazard zones, prepared after 8th October 2005 earthquake, Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan has been up-graded from Zone 2 to Zone 3 having “g” factor between 0.1-0.3 with moderate to severe damage

Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of the Wadhrai Granite Stock of the Malani Igneous Suite in Nagar Parkar Area, SE Pakistan

The Wadhrai granite stock is a part of the Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex, an extension of the Neoproterozoic Malani Igneous Suite of western Rajasthan. It is occupied by a petrographically uniform granite comprising perthite, plagioclase, quartz, with small quantities of biotite, opaque oxides, titanite, and secondary minerals. The rocks are sparingly porphyritic and contain dykes of microgranite, aplite, and rare pegmatite. In the south-central part, parallel sheets and swarms of mafic dykes, and in the western part very fine-grained felsic sheets intrude the body. The granite is metaluminous to peraluminous and characterized by high silica (73–76 wt%), and alkalis (7–9 wt%), and low CaO (0.15–1.4 wt%), MgO (0.15–0.38 wt%), Th (7–12 ppm), and U (1–2 ppm). On geochemical discriminant diagrams, it classifies mostly as A-type (with rather high Y/Nb (8.6 to 2.4, average 5.2) and low Nb/Ga and Ce (typical of A2-type), but sparingly as I-type. Chondrite-normalized patterns show enrichment in LREE over HREE, and small negative Eu anomalies, whereas mantle-normalized spidergrams display higher LILE over HFSE, distinct troughs for Nb, Sr, P, Ti, and spikes for La, Ce, Nd, Sm and Tb. The granite magma was possibly derived from a tonalite-granodiorite-dominated crustal source. Based on the above-mentioned geochemical evidence, it is interpreted that the source rocks of the magma of the Wadhrai granite likely developed initially in a continental margin subduction setting and underwent partial melting in a continental extensional environment

Gem andradite garnet deposits demantoild variety

The objective of this short review and update is to present the state-of-the-art on the geology and gemology of demantoid garnet deposits. The different studies conducted over the last thirty years provide the opportunity to unravel the features of the gem andradite, a green variety of garnet through field and laboratory research, including geology, petrography, gemology, fluid inclusions and stable isotopes. The different features are compared in order to approach the question of the geological and geographical origins of the rare demantoid garnet