Abstract

The land use, land-use changes, and forestry (LULUCF) sector plays a significant role in increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the current climate change scenario. The present study assessed the longterm CO2 emissions within the LULUCF sectors across India’s climatic zones as described by Köppen. The continuous combustion of fossil fuels has led to a rise in CO2 levels by 53 parts per million (ppm), increasing from 372 to 425 ppm in the Indian region between 2002 to 2022. The investigation reveals a consistent upward trend in CO2 levels across Köppen climatic zones. The semi-arid (steppe) climate zone shows an increasing trend of 2.18 ppm year−1, whereas Tundra exhibits a trend of 2.32 ppm year−1. The rate of change of atmospheric CO2 for India is 2.20 ppm year−1. A regional correlation exists between CO2 concentration and elevated anthropogenic emissions activities in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). Settlements growth has occurred across various climatic zones, with the Subtropical Highland zone showing the most significant rise at 54.84%. The findings underscore the urgent requirement for sustainable land use practices. This study utilized multivariate linear regression analysis to investigate different CO2 sources across LULUCF classes, using these as independent variables within Köppen climatic zones. The evaluation focused on identifying the classes with the highest and lowest contributions to CO2 emissions throughout the study period. Further training was carried out on different models for India as a whole and by climatic zone, revealing that the settlement class is a significant source of CO2 emission. In contrast, the forest class acts as a substantial sink for CO2.

Abstract

A significant task that municipalities or equivalent government organizations across the world perform is street addressing including naming of roads. Due to unstructured ways in which towns and cities grow, this process needs significant thought and effort which in reality results in major delays in terms of action taken on these issues. Meanwhile, the local populace which needs some naming convention for practical needs may take the initiative to arrive at reasonable names for the roads within their vicinity based on their local knowledge. This can result in significant sections of the road network without an official name or named after a landmark or a famous personality in many places across the world. The past 2-3 decades have seen an increasing digitisation of government activities. However, a lot of the street addressing and road naming systems and conventions were derived before the digitisation era, which in most cases means that computational parsability of the addresses or road names that would be important for digital processing would not be accounted for. There has been a significant increase in importance and usage of location-based geocoding services like what3words, Zippr and plus codes in recent times. However, these services provide alphanumeric code-based addressing which is not intuitive for human understanding, lacks directionality, does not account for existing address information nor the geometric relations of road topology. In this paper, we propose usage of (modified versions of) well known AI search algorithms for automated road numbering and evaluate them based on spatial proximity and connectivity on roadmaps of three different cities.

Abstract

Infinite terrain generation is an important use case for computer graphics, games and simulations. However, current techniques are often procedural which reduces their realism. We introduce a learning-based generative framework for infinite terrain generation along with a novel learningbased approach for level-of-detailing of terrains. Our framework seamlessly integrates with quad-tree-based terrain rendering algorithms. Our approach leverages image completion techniques for infinite generation and progressive super-resolution for terrain enhancement. Notably, we propose a novel quad-tree-based training method for terrain enhancement which enables seamless integration with quad-tree-based rendering algorithms while minimizing the errors along the edges of the enhanced terrain. Comparative evaluations against existing techniques demonstrate our framework’s ability to generate highly realistic terrain with effective level-of-detailing.

Abstract

Atmospheric methane (CH4) is a potent climate change agent responsible for a fraction of global 20 warming. The present study investigated the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric column-averaged (X) CH4 (XCH4) concentrations using Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) and TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument onboard the Sentienl-5 Precursor (S5P/TROPOMI) data from 2009 to 2022 over the South Asia region. During the study period, the long-term trends in XCH4 increased from 1700 ppb to 1950 ppb with an annual growth rate of 8.76 ppb year-1 25 . Among all natural and anthropogenic sources of CH4, the rate of increase in XCH4 was higher over the Mundra thermal power station and Mundra ultra mega power plant at about 9.62 ppb year-1 , followed by the coal site at about 8.76 ppb year-1 (Korba). With a growth rate of 8.61 ppb year-1 , the Sundarbans natural wetland competes with coal sites, producing over 30 MT, indicating an equivalent anthropogenic source. For the 15 Indian Agroclimatic zones, 30 significant high emissions of CH4 were observed over the Middle Gangetic Plains (MGP), Trans Gangetic Plains (TGP), Upper Gangetic Plains (UGP), East Coast Plains & Hills (ECPH), Lower Gangetic Plains (LGP) and East Gangetic Plains (EGP). Further, the bottom-up anthropogenic CH4 emissions data are mapped against the XCH4 concentrations and found high correlation in the Indo Gangetic Plains (IGP) region, indicating the hotspots of anthropogenic CH4. The present study 35 highlighted the impact of natural and anthropogenic sources of XCH4 and quantified the spatiotemporal changes in XCH4 at each study site over the Indian region

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes on atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) concentrations over the sub-urban region of India (Shadnagar) using continuous decadal CO2 and CH4 in-situ data measured by the greenhouse gas analyser (GGA). Data was collected from 2013 to 2022 at a 1 Hz frequency. Analysis of the current study indicates that during pre-monsoon, the seasonal maximum of CO2 was 409.91 ± 9.26 ppm (μ ± 1σ), while the minimum during monsoon was about 401.64 ± 7.13 ppm. Post-monsoon has a high seasonal mean CH4 concentration of 2.08 ± 0.06 ppm, while monsoon has a low seasonal mean CH4 concentration of 1.88 ± 0.03 ppm. The primary classes, such as forest, crop, and built-up, were considered to estimate the effect of LU/LC changes on atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations. Between 2005 and 2021, the study's results show that the built-up area at radii of 10 km, 20 km, and 50 km increased by 0.17 %, 0.10 %, and 0.4 %, respectively. While other LU/LC categories declined by 30 %, agriculture areas increased by 30 % on average. As a result, the CO2 and CH4 concentrations at the study site are increased by 6 % (26 ppm) and 6.5 % (140 ppb), respectively. The present study utilised the fire-based carbon emissions data from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) to understand the impact on atmospheric CO2 and CH4. Analysis of the present work investigated the influence of transported airmass on CO2 and CH4 during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons using the HYSPLIT trajectories and found emissions were from the northwest, southeast, and northeast of the study site. Further, in-situ CO2 and CH4 records are compared against the MIROC4-ACTM simulation, and strong agreement was found with bias of 1.80 ppm and 0.98 ppb for CO2 and CH4, respectively.

Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) is a critical air pollutant with severe health implications, yet existing stationary monitoring networks often fail to capture its complete spatial and temporal variability in urban environments. This paper presents a novel approach to city-wide air quality monitoring using low-cost sensors mounted on mobile platforms. To validate this method, a six-month field study was conducted in Hyderabad, India, deploying IoT-enabled devices on four college buses. These mobile devices capture PM concentrations, temperature, relative humidity, GPS coordinates, and vehicle speed twice daily across different parts of the city. The primary objective was to demonstrate the necessity of mobile air pollution monitoring to identify PM variability across diverse urban areas. The data revealed significant variations in PM concentrations across different parts of the city and seasons, highlighting the impact of local activities on air quality. The study examines seasonal trends, area-specific variations, and temporal patterns of PM concentrations, identifying pollution hotspots within the city. It shows how important it is to provide up-to-date, location-specific air quality information to people with pollution-related health issues.

Abstract

Local activities have a significant impact on the air quality in every region. A study for two consecutive years (2021-2022) has been conducted in the Gachibowli region of Hyderabad, India, which employs spatially distributed low-cost IoT-based air quality monitors across residential and at traffic junctions and main roads measuring particulate matter (PM), temperature, and humidity. The study shows the observations during three seasons, aiming to establish correlations between the PM spikes and specific events that triggered these spikes. Detailed discussions focus on the variations in PM levels linked to traffic patterns over six months and the Diwali festival in 2021 and 2022. PM concentrations increased 2-3 times the normal range during Diwali and decreased post-Diwali. In the case of traffic-related pollution, 1.5 times higher PM levels were observed during morning and evening peak traffic hours, with significant reductions in afternoons across all months with variations in range depending on the season.

Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) is considered the primary contributor to air pollution and has severe implications for general health. PM concentration has high spatial variability and thus needs to be monitored locally. Traditional PM monitoring setups are bulky, expensive, and cannot be scaled for dense deployments. This paper argues for a densely deployed network of IoT-enabled PM monitoring devices using low-cost sensors, specifically focusing on PM10 and PM2.5, the most health-impacting particulates. In this work, 49 devices were deployed in a region of the Indian metropolitan city of Hyderabad, of which 43 devices were developed as part of this work, and six devices were taken off the shelf. The low-cost sensors were calibrated for seasonal variations using a precise reference sensor and were particularly adjusted to accurately measure PM10 and PM2.5 levels. A thorough analysis of data collected for 7 months has been presented to establish the need for dense deployment of PM monitoring devices. Different analyses such as mean, variance, spatial interpolation, and correlation have been employed to generate interesting insights about temporal and seasonal variations of PM10 and PM2.5. In addition, event-driven spatio-temporal analysis is done for PM2.5 and PM10 values to understand the impact of the bursting of firecrackers on the evening of the Diwali festival. A web-based dashboard is designed for real-time data visualization.

Abstract

The understanding of spatio-temporal variation in land use and land cover (LULC) patterns is crucial for managing catchment land use planning, as it directly influences of tropical reservoir water quality and the subsequent Nutrient Contamination (NC) of unmonitored water bodies. The current research attempts to accurately measure the influence of LULC and its associated determinants on the quantities of NC loads by using Chl-a as a proxy, within tropical reservoirs, i.e. Bhadra and Tungabhadra, located in same river catchment. This Chl-a spread calculated by the Maximum Chlorophyll Index (MCI) derived from Sentinel 2 satellite data products covering the period from July 2016 to June 2021 were done using Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The validation analysis confirms the robustness of the methodology with a strong correlation between MCI-calculated values and EOMAP (Earth Observation and Environmental Services Mapping) Chl-a (μg/L) data points for both reservoirs, Bhadra (R2 = 0.64) and Tungabhadra (R2 = 0.68). The findings reveal that, Tungabhadra reservoir consistently exhibits an excessive spatial distribution of Chl-a spread area (17 km2 to 335 km2 ), reflecting nutrient-rich water inflows, particularly evident during the post-monsoon period. This notable rise could be linked to harvesting the Kharif crop, resulting in elevated nutrient concentrations. In contrast Bhadra reservoir, dominated by forested areas, maintains relatively lower Chl-a spread areas (<20 km2 ), highlighting its pivotal role in maintaining water cleanliness and serves as a riparian boundary. In addition, the changes in LULC classes show a strong relationship with variation in Chl-a during the studied period, for the Bhadra Reservoir R2 = 0.51 (F- statistics = 3.983, p = 0.021), and the Tungabhadra Reservoir R2 = 0.802 (F- statistics = 7.489, p = 0.0143). This highlights how changes in land use significantly shape contamination dynamics, deepening our understanding of nutrient inputs and contamination drivers in tropical reservoirs.

Abstract

Solar absorption spectra collected using a ground-based Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer were used to retrieve the column-averaged concentrations (X) of CO2, CH4, CO, and N2O during the years 2016–2019 in the Suburban region of Shadnagar, Telangana, India. For the research period, the diurnal mean amplitudes of XCO2, XCH4, XCO, and XN2O are ∼ 13 ppmv, ∼50 ppbv, ∼13 ppbv, and ∼ 19 ppbv respectively. Strong seasonality at the study site is indicated by the seasonal variations of XCO2 and XCO of 18.3 ppmv and 39.2 ppbv, respectively. Additionally, we compared FTIR data to XCO2 detected by Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) and CO columns from Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT). For the XCO2 and CO columns, the comparison research shows a mean relative bias between FTIR data and satellite data of 0.92 % and 0.71 %, respectively. The FTIR and satellite data show a Pearson correlation coefficient (r) of 0.71 (XCO2, N = 26 co-located) and 0.60 (CO columns, N = 44), respectively. The findings demonstrate a good agreement between our data and satellite data.