Environmental Forensics & Modelling

Representative projects

In capacity of a research intern, our modelling personnel have worked with Washington State Department of Ecology, WA, US on river quality modelling of a small river (121 km).

Objective

To model the fate of nutrients released along with domestic wastewater discharge from towns/ cities located along the river & the impact on pH of the river due to photosynthetic activity

Location

White river, WA, US

Project Description

WA state Department of Ecology, is a state regulatory agency responsible for identifying and controlling the impact of wastewater discharge on the ecology of the state. In that regard, the department has to conduct detailed Total maximum Discharge Limit or TMDL survey for stipulating the cap on wastewater discharge in any particular river. This is carried out with the help of advanced Water Quality Models like Qual2kw. Our modelling expert worked on the various tasks like sensitivity analysis, model calibration, interpretation &documentation of the results. Our experts had the privilege to work directly under the co-author of the Qual2kW model Dr. Greg Pelletier

The modelling involved following aspects:

• Assimilating all the inputs like effluent discharge inventory, river water quality data, meteorological data, vegetation morphology along the river, physical properties of the river, and other critical data for creating a mode representative model
• Critical analysis of all input data for their veracity and discrepancies
• Auto-calibration of the model with measured data using an in-built ‘Genetic Algorithm’
• Sensitivity analysis of the model using various tools like Monte-Carlo Simulation- Log normal and normally distributed data

In capacity of an independent consultant with an Environmental consulting firm in Mumbai(Prasad Modak& Associates), our modelling experts have worked a complex environmental impact of emissions of a 4500 MW ultra-mega power plant (UMPP) (name protected under non-disclosure agreement) in Mundra, Gujarat.

Objective

To quantify & assess the PM10 contribution of a power plant in 10 km radius air-shed

Location

Mundra, Gujarat

Project Description

In response to the local resentment over PM emissions, Asian Development Bank commissioned an environmental impact study of a UMPP located in Mundra, Gujarat. Prasad Modak& Associates (PMA) were deployed as primary consultants & our team member worked on the project as an independent consultant with PMA.

The modelling involved following aspects:

• Site reconnaissance
• Detailed statistical analysis of 7-year of meteorological data, manual & automatic monitoring station data for correlations & discrepancies
• Comparison of advanced Gaussian dispersion model (ADMS, AERRMOD etc.) applicable for the site- Costal
• Using ADMS for modelling the impact by simulating the emission and dispersion, taking into consideration all morphological complexity of site such as ‘building wake effects’
• Estimating the area/ fugitive emissions from coal yard, with the help of rigorous literature review
• Reporting and documentation of report to be presented at Asian Development Bank

Innovative approaches:

• Circumventing the model limitations of simulating the area source, by approximating it as many point sources and calibrating the configuration to match the area source
• Developing advanced pollutant source locator application in MATLAB based on non-parametric wind rose algorithm (Henry, R.C. et al)

In the capacity of an independent consultant to the Prasad Modak& Associate, our modeling expert has worked on a salt water intrusion assessment of a coastal aquifer.

Objective

To assess the extent of groundwater quality degradation & identifying sources causing the degradation within 10 km radius of a thermal power plant

Location

Cuddulore, TN

Project Description

This project involved collection of groundwater quality and level data and analysis of the data for correctness, assessing the extent of contamination and the source of contamination. The study was commissioned by a large infrastructure and power company under its CSR initiative (name protected under non-disclosure agreement).

The specific outputs which were produced by our modelling expert in collaboration with other consultants were as follows:

• Identified the discrepancies in the collected data
• Prioritizing the GW data collection wells and formulating a GW data collection program, based on scientific distribution of wells
• Identifying the hotspots and categorizing the influence zones in the aquifer
• Identifying the impact of estuarine influx of salt water and consequential intrusion in groundwater
• Documentation, reporting & presentation of the results