In geochemical studies of water it is a general practice to filter the water samples through a 0.45 ?m membrane. Filtered samples are then acidified with a mineral acid (mostly nitric acid) to a pH

Heavy metal (Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni ) concentration in water sediments and fish was analysed from Madivala lake in the month of June 2008. There was an appreciable increase in metal concentrations in going from the water to the sediment samples.The Heavy metal concentration, in water was in the order Pb > Cr > Cd > Ni , in sediments Pb > Cr > Cd > Ni.

The breach of the Kosi embankment in Nepal in August 2008 marked the failure of conventional ways of controlling floods. After discussing the physical characteristics of the Kosi River and the Kosi barrage project, this paper suggests that the high sediment content of the Kosi River implies a major risk to the proposed Kosi high dam and its ability to control floods in Bihar.

Hydro power plants located on the Himalayan rivers, typically, have had to endure high silt content in the water passing through the turbines causing enormous damages to the under-water parts of the turbine. The hydro power generating companies are engaged in mitigating this menance and optimizing generation and profits.

The paper presents an account of the Kusaha breach of the Kosi river which has been widely perceived as a flood event in the media and scientific circles. It is true that a large area was inundated after this event but it is important to appreciate that this inundation was different from a regular flooding event. It is argued that this event marked a mega-avulsion of the Kosi river.

Antarctic sediments dating from 30 million to 145 million years ago (a time during which the vast Antarctic ice sheet is thought to have formed and the Transantarctic mountains pushed up) have been a valuable source of information about the forces that changed the climatic conditions of the Antarctic continent.

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