This study uses a multi-criteria decision analysis approach based on geographic information system (GIS) to identify suitable sites for rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures (such as farm dam, check dam and contour bund) meet irrigation demand in Greater Western Sydney region, New South Wales, Australia. Data satellite image, soil, climate, digital elevation model (DEM) were stored GIS layers m...

Background: Irrigation practices have impact on the distribution of schistosomiasis; so, identifying newly established schistosomiasis transmission foci allows for designing prevention and control strategy. Objective: To establish schistosomiasis prevalence and intensity in relation to development of water bodies for irrigation. Methods: A survey of stool specimens of 2000 school children using...

As climate change is projected to impose profound global variations in the freshwater resources, assessing the impacts of the former on the latter is a fundamental task for improving the water management, namely, in arid and semiarid areas, as there a plenty of in countries like Iran. Such is the objective of the present paper, where the impacts of climate change on the water availability in th...

Although evolutionary change within most species is thought to occur slowly, recent studies have identified cases where evolutionary change has apparently occurred over a few generations. Anthropogenically altered environments appear particularly open to rapid evolutionary change over comparatively short time scales. Here, we consider a Pacific salmon population that may have experienced life-h...

Following the principles and priorities outlined by the World Commission on Dams, managers are increasingly considering a greater variety of impacts in their decision making regarding dams. However, many challenges remain in evaluating the biophysical, socioeconomic and geopolitical impacts of dams, including the potential diversity of stakeholder perspectives on dam impacts. In this analysis, ...

Flood disasters from dam breaks cause serious loss of human life and immense damage to infrastructure and economic stability. The application of Geographic Information System technology integrated with hydrological modeling for mapping flood-inundated areas and depth can play a momentous role in further minimizing the risk and possible damage. In the present study, base terrain data, hydrologic...

The Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) (GRD) is classified as one of the most endangered of all cetaceans in the world and the second scarcest freshwater cetacean. The population is estimated to be less than 2,000 individuals. In Nepal's Narayani, Sapta Koshi, and Karnali river systems, survival of GRD continues to be threatened by various anthropogenic activities, such as da...

At least 13 times during the Pleistocene Epoch lava flowed into the inner gorge of the Grand Canyon and formed lava dams, as high as 600 m, that temporarily blocked the flow of the Colorado River. K-Ar ages on these lava dams indicate that the seven youngest formed within a short period of time between about 0.6 and 0.4 mega-annum (Ma). The physiography of the lava dam remnants within the canyo...