Glacial episodes have been linked to Ordovician–Silurian extinction events, but cooling itself may not be solely responsible for these extinctions. Teratological (malformed) assemblages of fossil plankton that correlate precisely with the extinction events can help identify alternate drivers of extinction. Here we show that metal poisoning may have caused these aberrant morphologies during a late Silurian (Pridoli) event. Malformations coincide with a dramatic increase of metals (Fe, Mo, Pb, Mn and As) in the fossils and their host rocks.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is formed when water and air come in contact with pyrite (FeS2) present in coal and exposed rocks, to form sulphuric acid. The process of pyrite oxidation further leads to the formation of Fe3+ and some or all of this Fe3+ precipitates to cause red, orange or yellowish colour of the water. The coal deposits in Meghalaya, India along the southern fringe of Shillong plateau are distributed in Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills .

Road dusts contribute a large fraction of air pollution in urban environment of India. In the present work, contamination assessment of ions and elements i.e. F−, Cl−, NO3 − , 2 SO4 − , NH4 + , Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, As, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg in the road dusts of the most industrialized area of central India: Raipur (capital, Chhattisgarh state) is described during year: 2008-2013.

Original Source

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) affects the earth’s radiation balance and global climate. High-elevation areas are sensitive to global climate change. However, at present, SOA origins and seasonal variations are understudied in remote high-elevation areas.

Original Source

Heavy metals are found naturally in micro quantities in all aquatic systems. In fact, some of them are essential micronutrients for living organisms. However, they became highly toxic to the organisms when present in higher concentrations. These metal concentrations have been altered in the ecosystem by indiscriminate anthropogenic activities and dispersed into the water as well as sediment column . The metal contaminants in aquatic systems usually remain either in soluble or suspension form and are taken up by the organisms living in them.

Several traditional rice varieties are considered in folk medicine to have high nutritive and therapeutic value. Some of these land races are known in indigenous cultures to cure anaemia in women during and after pregnancy9 , and many of them (e.g. Kalabhat, Navara, Norungan, etc.) are now known to contain high levels of iron . Thousands of folk rice landraces are yet to be screened for their micronutrients content and therapeutic potential.