Masood Ahsan | Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi (original) (raw)

Papers by Masood Ahsan

Watershed prioritization plays a key role in planning and management of sustainable development p... more Watershed prioritization plays a key role in planning and management of sustainable development programmes. The study area, Nun Nadi watershed, is located in Doon Valley which is prone to high erosion. The present study aims to identify the soil loss estimation, to prioritize the micro watersheds on the basis of mean soil loss values and to suggest best conservation measures for the Nun Nadi watershed employing Revised Universal Soil Loss Estimation (RUSLE) model. Approximately 23 km2 area comprising 7 micro watersheds was classified as very high and high priority risk zones. These micro watersheds demand immediate attention in terms of management and planning perspective. This micro level study provides accurate results in the context of soil loss prediction.

Environmental Pollution, 2021

Catalytic combustion of stabilized confined turbulent gaseous diffusion flames using Pt/Al 2 O 3 ... more Catalytic combustion of stabilized confined turbulent gaseous diffusion flames using Pt/Al 2 O 3 and Pd/Al 2 O 3 disc burners situated in the combustion domain under both fuel-rich and fuel-lean conditions was experimentally studied. Commercial LPG fuel having an average composition of: 23% propane, 76% butane, and 1% pentane was used. The thermal structure of these catalytic flames developed over Pt/Al 2 O 3 and Pd/Al 2 O 3 burners were examined via measuring the mean temperature distribution in the radial direction at different axial locations along the flames. Under-fuel-rich condition the flames operated over Pt catalytic disc attained high temperature values in order to express the progress of combustion and were found to achieve higher activity as compared to the flames developed over Pd catalytic disc. These two types of catalytic flames demonstrated an increase in the reaction rate with the downstream axial distance and hence, an increase in the flame temperatures was associated with partial oxidation towards CO due to the lack of oxygen. However, under fuel-lean conditions the catalytic flame over Pd catalyst recorded comparatively higher temperatures within the flame core in the near region of the main reaction zone than over Pt disc burner. These two catalytic flames over Pt and Pd disc burners showed complete oxidation to CO 2 since the catalytic surface is covered by more rich oxygen under the fuel-lean condition.

Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide, such as wind, with more than 400,000 documented cases as ... more The COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide, such as wind, with more than 400,000 documented cases as of March 24th, 2020. In this regard, strict lockdown measures were imposed in India on the same date to stop virus spread. Thereafter, various lockdown impacts were observed, and one of the immediate effects was a reduction in air pollution levels across the world and in India as well. In this study, we have observed approximately 40% reduction in air quality index (AQI) during one month of lockdown in India. The detailed investigations were performed for 14 major hotspot places where the COVID-19 cases were >1000 (as of 1st June 2020) and represents more than 70% associated mortality in India. We assessed the impact of lockdown on different air quality indicators, including ground (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, and AQI) and tropospheric nitric oxide (NO2) pollutants, through ground monitoring stations and Sentinel-5 satellite datasets respectively. The highest reductions were noticed in NO2 (-48.68%), PM2.5 (-34.84%) and PM10 (-33.89%) air pollutant (unit in μg/m3) post-lockdown. Moreover, tropospheric NO2 (mol/m2) concentrations were also improved over Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Thane, and Ahmedabad metro cities. We found strong positive correlation of COVID-19 mortality with PM10 (R2=0.145; r=0.38) and AQI (R2=0.17; r=0.412) pollutant indicators that significantly improved next time point. The correlation finding suggests that long-term bad air quality may aggravate the clinical symptoms of the disease.

Geocarto International, 2019

Abstract This work focuses on comparing results of flood susceptibility modelling in the part of ... more Abstract This work focuses on comparing results of flood susceptibility modelling in the part of Middle Ganga Plain, Ganga foreland basin. Following inclusivity rule, 12 major flood explanatory factors including a new one, geomorphology, have been utilized. Out of 1000 randomly generated flood-points from 2008 Landsat 5 TM image derived flood polygon, 70% have been utilized for the training purpose of Shannon’s entropy (SE) model and 30% for area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) method of validation of both, SE and frequency ratio (FR), models. Result from FR shows that the contributions of specific classes of different explanatory factors to flooding susceptibility vary whereas the SE model suggests that geomorphology is the most contributing factor. The AUROC curve for SE (0.90) was better than that for FR (0.85). Hence, the SE model predicts flood-susceptible areas more accurately than the multivariate statistical model FR in the study area.

GeoJournal, 2019

Sanitation is a multidimensional concept alluding primarily to provision of services for safe dis... more Sanitation is a multidimensional concept alluding primarily to provision of services for safe disposal of human excreta, provision of clean potable water as well as maintenance of hygiene through judicious means of wastewater and solid waste disposal. This paper aims at studying the accessibility to toilet facilities by 350 slum residents belonging to 308 households, majority of whom are women. These were drawn from 14 selected notified slum colonies of Lucknow city during a field survey conducted in 2017. It was found that 68.42% respondent used shared toilet facilities, followed by private facilities at 10.57%. 19.21% depended on community toilets while 1.8% assented to open defecation. The BMI of women slum residents was found to be positively correlated with usage of private toilets (0.38; p \ 0.01) and negatively correlated with open defecation (-0.24; p \ 0.01) both being considered as variables of sanitation conditions. Amongst the socio economic variables, the BMI of women slum residents was found to be positively correlated with median household income (0.64; p \ 0.01) and negatively correlated with labour as a means of occupation (-0.27; p \ 0.01). In addition, a composite index was devised in order to assess the level of sanitation and socio economic development in the surveyed city slums. The slums close to the city core were found to be better developed compared to the ones at the periphery. Keywords Sanitation Á Slums Á BMI Á Women Á Lucknow ''The day every one of us gets a toilet to use, I shall know that our country has reached the pinnacle of progress.''-Jawaharlal Nehru

The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 2014

The Nun Nadi watershed is close to the Dehradun city and some settlements are spread over the Mus... more The Nun Nadi watershed is close to the Dehradun city and some settlements are spread over the Mussoorie hills. Landsat TM images of the year 2000 and 2009 were used to analyze the changes in Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) data employing compound interest formula. The main reason to choose the time period is that Dehradun was declared capital of Uttrakhand state of India in the year 2001. We observed rapid changes in the LULC data in the time period studied. This is primarily due to urban growth that increased exponentially after 2001 near Dehradun city and Mussoorie hills. The highest positive change rate was observed in the built-up and agricultural land which increased 8.39 and 9.92 percent, respectively. Interestingly we noticed that the dense and sparse vegetation shrunk in terms of land coverage, on the other hand, drastic negative change was observed in the bare/barren soil class. Taken together, these results indicate significant changes in various land use categories.

Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 2011

Abstract The paper tries to estimate the rate of waste generation per head/per day, to identify s... more Abstract The paper tries to estimate the rate of waste generation per head/per day, to identify suitable sites for waste disposal, to find out optimal route for collection vehicles and to analyze the financial aspects of solid waste management in Moradabad City, India.The study is ...

Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2012

The present comparative study is multi-temporal in nature. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equati... more The present comparative study is multi-temporal in nature. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), remote sensing, and GIS were used to model the soil loss estimation for soil conservation and vegetation rehabilitation in Nun Nadi watershed for the years 2000 and 2009. The estimated mean soil loss for the year 2000 and 2009 is 3,283.11 and 1,419.39 Mgha −1 year −1 , respectively. The study finds that about 80 % area has low or least risk of erosion and about 7 % is exposed to high or very high risk which indicates the improvement in terms of soil loss if we compare the data of both the time periods. The findings show that the rainfall, LULC change, and elevation are the main responsible factors for the soil loss in Nun Nadi watershed. Conservation measures have been adopted; however, the problem still remains serious and demands urgent attention.

International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2015

The study identifies the extent of soil loss and proposes a method for prioritization of micro-wa... more The study identifies the extent of soil loss and proposes a method for prioritization of micro-watershed in the Nun Nadi watershed. The study used the Sediment Yield Index (SYI) method, based on weighted overlays of soil, topography, rainfall erosivity and land use parameters in 24 micro watersheds. Accordingly the values and thematic layers were integrated as per the SYI model, and minimum and maximum sediment yield values were calculated. The priority ranks as per the sediment yield values were assigned to all micro-watersheds. Then the values were classified into four priority zones according to their composite scores. Almost 14 percent area of three micro-watersheds (SW5b, SW6a and SW7b) showed very high priority; approximately 30.57 percent of the study area fell under the high priority zones. These areas require immediate attention. Conservation methods are suggested, and the locations of check dams are proposed after considering drainage, slope and soil loss.

Globally, wildfires have seen remarkable increase in duration and size and have become a health h... more Globally, wildfires have seen remarkable increase in duration and size and have become a health hazard. In addition to vegetation and habitat destruction, rapid release of smoke, dust and gaseous pollutants in the atmosphere contributes to its short and long-term detrimental effects. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a public health concern worldwide that primarily target lungs and respiratory tract, akin to air pollutants. Studies from our lab and others have demonstrated association between air pollution and COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. However, current knowledge on the impact of wildfire-mediated sudden outburst of air pollutants on COVID-19 is limited. In this study, we examined the association of air pollutants and COVID-19 during wildfires burned during August-October 2020 in California, United States. We observed an increase in the tropospheric pollutants including aerosols (particulate matter [PM]), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) by approximately 150%, 100% and 20%, respectively, in 2020 compared to the 2019. Except ozone (O 3), similar proportion of increment was noticed during the peak wildfire period (August 16-September 15, 2020) in the ground PM 2.5 , CO, and NO 2 levels at Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco, cities with largest active wildfire area. We identified three different spikes in the concentrations of PM 2.5 , and CO for the cities examined clearly suggesting wildfire-induced surge in air pollution. Fresno and Sacramento showed increment in the ground PM 2.5 , CO and NO 2 levels, while San Diego recorded highest change rate in NO 2 levels. Interestingly, we observed a similar pattern of higher COVID-19 cases and mortalities in the cities with adverse air pollution caused by wildfires. These findings provide a logical rationale to strategize public health policies for future impact of COVID-19 on humans residing in geographic locations susceptible to sudden increase in local air pollution.

Watershed prioritization plays a key role in planning and management of sustainable development p... more Watershed prioritization plays a key role in planning and management of sustainable development programmes. The study area, Nun Nadi watershed, is located in Doon Valley which is prone to high erosion. The present study aims to identify the soil loss estimation, to prioritize the micro watersheds on the basis of mean soil loss values and to suggest best conservation measures for the Nun Nadi watershed employing Revised Universal Soil Loss Estimation (RUSLE) model. Approximately 23 km 2 area comprising 7 micro watersheds was classified as very high and high priority risk zones. These micro watersheds demand immediate attention in terms of management and planning perspective. This micro level study provides accurate results in the context of soil loss prediction.

Landslide is recurrent phenomena in the Mandakini valley of Uttarakhand, India. This study concen... more Landslide is recurrent phenomena in the Mandakini valley of Uttarakhand, India. This study concentrates on the analysis of landslide susceptibility mapping using Frequency Ratio (FR) and Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) models in the lower Mandakini valley. The models are applied by integrating eleven causative factors and 160 past landslides. Both models are validated and compared using Receiver Operating Characteristics and Seed Cell Area Index method. The validation result shows that the FR model gives better success rate and prediction rate than AHP model. Seed cell index values of high and very high susceptibility classes are more in the case of the FR model than AHP model. Thus, the landslide prediction capability of the FR model is more reliable in the study area. The study will contribute to understand future landslide risk and help in disaster reduction planning in the region.

India enforced stringent lockdown measures on March 24, 2020 to mitigate the spread of the Severe... more India enforced stringent lockdown measures on March 24, 2020 to mitigate the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronovirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we examined the impact of lockdown on the air quality index (AQI) [including ambient particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), sulfur dioxide (SO 2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O 3), and ammonia (NH 3)] and tropospheric NO 2 and O 3 densities through Sentinel-5 satellite data approximately 1 d post-lockdown and one month pre-lockdown and post-lockdown. Our findings revealed a marked reduction in the ambient AQI (estimated mean reduction of 17.75% and 20.70%, respectively), tropospheric NO 2 density, and land surface temperature (LST) during post-lockdown compared with the pre-lockdown period or corresponding months in 2019, except for a few sites with substantial coal mining and active power plants. We observed a modest increase in the O 3 density post-lockdown, thereby indicating improved tropospheric air quality. As a favorable outcome of the COVID-19 lockdown, road accident-related mortalities declined by 72folds. Cities with poor air quality correlate with higher COVID-19 cases and deaths (r ¼ 0.504 and r ¼ 0.590 for NO 2 ; r ¼ 0.744 and r ¼ 0.435 for AQI). Conversely, low mortality was reported in cities with better air quality. These results show a correlation between the COVID-19 vulnerable regions and AQI hotspots, thereby suggesting that air pollution may exacerbate clinical manifestations of the disease. However, a prolonged lockdown may nullify the beneficial environmental outcomes by adversely affecting socioeconomic and health aspects.

This work focuses on comparing results of flood susceptibility modelling in the part of Middle Ga... more This work focuses on comparing results of flood susceptibility modelling in the part of Middle Ganga Plain, Ganga foreland basin. Following inclusivity rule, 12 major flood explanatory factors including a new one, geomorphology, have been utilized. Out of 1000 randomly generated flood-points from 2008 Landsat 5 TM image derived flood polygon, 70% have been utilized for the training purpose of Shannon's entropy (SE) model and 30% for area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) method of validation of both, SE and frequency ratio (FR), models. Result from FR shows that the contributions of specific classes of different explanatory factors to flooding susceptibility vary whereas the SE model suggests that geomorphology is the most contributing factor. The AUROC curve for SE (0.90) was better than that for FR (0.85). Hence, the SE model predicts flood-susceptible areas more accurately than the multivariate statistical model FR in the study area.

The paper tries to estimate the rate of waste generation per head/per day, to identify suitable s... more The paper tries to estimate the rate of waste generation per head/per day, to identify suitable sites for waste disposal, to find out optimal route for collection vehicles and to analyze the financial aspects of solid waste management in Moradabad City, India.The study is based on sample of 2,500 households and secondary data. The City generates about 318 tones of solid waste with an average per capita rate of 460 gram per day. Collection and disposal efficiency is nearly 64%. Sensitivity analysis of the present disposal site as per the norms of Central Pollution Control Board indicates that it is moderately suitable. Subsequently two new disposal sites were identified. Redefined routes and related issues were evaluated in financial terms. It is estimated that by adopting the proposed plan, the expenditure on waste management will increase by about 52%, but at the same time about 90% of city area and 95% of city population will be served.

Environmental Pollution, 2021

Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 2021

Geocarto International, 2019

GeoJournal, 2019

The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 2014

Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 2011

Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2012

International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2015

Watershed prioritization plays a key role in planning and management of sustainable development p... more Watershed prioritization plays a key role in planning and management of sustainable development programmes. The study area, Nun Nadi watershed, is located in Doon Valley which is prone to high erosion. The present study aims to identify the soil loss estimation, to prioritize the micro watersheds on the basis of mean soil loss values and to suggest best conservation measures for the Nun Nadi watershed employing Revised Universal Soil Loss Estimation (RUSLE) model. Approximately 23 km 2 area comprising 7 micro watersheds was classified as very high and high priority risk zones. These micro watersheds demand immediate attention in terms of management and planning perspective. This micro level study provides accurate results in the context of soil loss prediction.