Saha, Arnab

Project Title

Estimation of Arsenic Contamination in Agricultural Soils by Combining the Reflectance Spectroscopy of Soils and Plants

Abstract

Arsenic contamination in soil and water is of great concern in many parts of the world. In South and South-East Asia, millions of people are affected by high arsenic exposure due to consumption of arsenic-contaminated rice, which has led to an international health crisis. Arsenic is often supplied through water from shallow well used for irrigation of rice. Reduced soil conditions present in flooded rice fields enable the arsenic to be converted to a form that is easily taken-up by the plants. Arsenic levels causing injury to the rice plant may be detectable via remote-sensing methods. Hyperspectral image data can be processed to detect materials that may not typically be distinguished by multispectral remote sensing data, while plant canopy biophysical/ chemical properties can also more accurately be estimated via hyperspectral data, relative to multispectral data, which is useful for stress detection. This study will explore the feasibility for rapidly monitoring arsenic (As) contamination in agricultural soils with the reflectance spectra of agricultural plants with special emphasis on rice crops. For the purpose, Geographical Information System and Satellite Image Processing are used to identify, locate, map and analyze the existing data on the state for showing the hazard zones. The satellite images helps in identifying the various land use pattern and provided clue to identification of patterns and source with respect to its geological setup. Though arsenic mapping requires a broad zonal understanding of the whole dynamics to achieve a strategic mapping and remediation.

Supervisors

Professor Bhaskar Sen Gupta
Dr. Sandhya Patidar

Contact

Email: as2059@hw.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnab-dd/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arnab-Saha-14
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=VoLShOMAAAAJ&hl=en