Browsing by Author "Bhawana Sharma"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Application of GNSS in Earth System Sciences
(CRC Press, 2025) Bhawana Sharma; Leesh Ray; Damanti Murmu; Ayushi Gupta; Dileep Kumar Gupta
The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is extensively used to study numerous geodynamic processes consisting of tectonic plate movements, seismic activities, deformations in plate boundaries, deformations by surface loads, deformations due to volcanic events, and glacial isostatic adjustments. GNSS applications also extend to study forest dynamics as it is very cost-effective, more efficient, and accurate than many other approaches. Nowadays, multi-GNSS technology accelerates the real-time applications of GNSS in multiple Earth Science disciplines to accommodate highly reliable and accurate predictions. The applicability of GNSS to various dynamics of Earth System Sciences—such as meteorological, hydrological, ecological, hazards specific, crustal displacement, oceanography, glacial deformation, and Space weather phenomena—are discussed in this chapter. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Dileep Kumar Gupta and Abhay Kumar Singh; individual chapters, the contributors.
Assessing climate-driven phenological responses of tomato crops under future climate change trajectories: A Central India perspective
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Pashupati Nath Singh; Prashant Kumar Srivastava; Bhawana Sharma; R. K. Mall
Climate change poses a serious challenge to global agriculture, particularly by altering crop phenology and yield dynamics. This study investigates the phenological responses of tomato crops to anticipated climate scenarios by employing a Crop Simulation model, Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). Simulations were conducted for Central India under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP 4.5 and SSP 8.5) across three temporal windows: near-century (2010–2039), mid-century (2040–2069), and far-century (2070–2099). Historical climate data and calibrated genetic coefficients were used to project shifts in flowering and fruiting stages under varying climate conditions. The study assessed the impacts of projected changes in temperature (T), solar radiation (Srad), and precipitation (PPT) patterns on phenological development. Climate input datasets were sourced from IMD, IPCC, and six CMIP6- Global Climate Models. Results revealed a distinct phenological advancement, characterised by a reduction in days to flowering and fruiting, along with a concurrent decline in tomato yield (Ton/ha) across all future timeframes. Increased growing season temperatures and marginal reductions in Srad were observed to accelerate crop development, while altered rainfall patterns influenced spatial variability in production. Notably, enhanced evapotranspiration demand driven by warming trends may be partially moderated by decreased radiation levels. Spatial rainfall analysis indicated intensified PPT in central zones, whereas western and northwestern regions may experience monsoonal weakening and prolonged dry spells. Model performance showed robust agreement with observed yields (R = 0.78), with validation metrics—MAE = 5.9, RMSE = 6.93, and Bias = -1.43—demonstrating consistent predictive accuracy with slight underestimation. The Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE = 0.59) further affirms the model's applicability under future climate conditions. This research underscores the utility of process-based models in decoding climate–phenology–yield relationships and provides critical insights to inform climate-resilient agricultural strategies for sustainable tomato production in vulnerable agro-ecological regions. © 2025
Depth of soil compaction predominantly affects rice yield reduction by reproductive-stage drought at varietal screening sites in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal
(Springer International Publishing, 2017) Suresh Prasad Singh; Abhinav Jain; M.S. Anantha; Santosh Tripathi; Subarna Sharma; Santosh Kumar; Archana Prasad; Bhawana Sharma; Biswajit Karmakar; Rudra Bhattarai; Sankar Prasad Das; Shravan K. Singh; Vinay Shenoy; R. Chandra Babu; S. Robin; Padmini Swain; J.L. Dwivedi; Ram Baran Yadaw; Nimai P. Mandal; T. Ram; Krishna Kumar Mishra; S.B. Verulkar; Tamal Aditya; Krishna Prasad; Puvvada Perraju; Ram Krishna Mahato; Sheetal Sharma; K. Anitha Raman; Arvind Kumar; Amelia Henry
Aims: Drought is the major constraint to rainfed rice productivity in South Asia, but few reports provide detailed characterization of the soil properties related to drought stress severity in the region. The aim of the study was to provide a compilation of drought breeding network sites and their respective levels of drought stress, and to relate soil parameters with yield reduction by drought. Methods: This study characterized levels of drought stress and soil nutrient and physical properties at 18 geographically distributed research station sites involved in rice varietal screening in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, as well as at farmers’ fields located near the research stations. Results: Based on soil resistance to penetration profiles, a hardpan was surprisingly absent at about half of the sites characterized. Significant relationships of depth of compaction and yield reduction by drought indicated the effects of soil puddling on susceptibility to cracking, rather than water retention by hardpans, on plant water availability in this region. The main difference between research stations and nearby farmers’ fields was in terms of soil compaction. Conclusions: These results present an initiative for understanding the range of severities of reproductive-stage drought stress in drought-prone rainfed lowland rice-growing areas in South Asia. © 2017, The Author(s).
Is structural hybridization invoking new dimensions for antimalarial drug discovery research?
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023) Bhawana Sharma; Alka Agarwal; Satish Kumar Awasthi
Despite effective prevention methods, malaria is a devastating, persistent infection caused by protozoal parasites that result in nearly half a million fatalities annually. Any progress made thus far in the eradication of the disease is jeopardized by the expansion of malaria parasites that have evolved to become resistant to a wide range of drugs, including first-line therapy. To surmount this significant obstacle, it is necessary to develop newly synthesized drugs with multiple modes of action that may have a novel target in various stages of Plasmodium parasite development and this is made possible by the hybridization concept. Hybridization is the combination of at least two diverse pharmacophore units with some linkers bringing about a single molecule with a diverse mode of action. It intensifies a drug's physiological and chemical characteristics, such as absorption, cellular target contact, metabolism, excretion, distribution, and toxicity. This review article outlines the currently published most potent hybrid drugs against the Plasmodium species. © 2023 RSC.
New satellite missions and sensors for forest monitoring
(Elsevier, 2025) Prashant Kumar Srivastava; Bhawana Sharma; Ayushi Gupta; Srishti Gwal; Prem C. Pandey; Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava
Forests are vital for nature balance and act as sink for carbon emissions; therefore, regular monitoring of forest is crucial for uninterrupted ecosystem services and functioning. For the large-scale monitoring of forests, several advancements happened in the last few decades in the field of satellite designing and sensor development. This chapter will provide a review of older satellites as well as new satellites and sensors for monitoring and management of forests. The satellite that are used in the past and present for forest monitoring in the field of multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR, microwave (active and passive) are provided with their background. © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..
Scatterometers for leaf area index estimation: A review
(Elsevier, 2025) Damanti Murmu; Bhawana Sharma; Srishti Gwal; Ayushi Gupta; Prashant Kumar Srivastava
Scatterometers are active remote sensing instruments that emit and receive radio detection and ranging (RADAR) pulses backscattered from targeted features on the Earth's surface. Scatterometer-based leaf area index (LAI) estimation is demonstrated as a potential approach to understand ecosystem productivity, crop yields, vegetation health, etc., as LAI serves as an important variable in empirical, semi-empirical, and process-based models used in studying vegetation dynamics. Scatterometers are anticipated to facilitate large-scale, uninterrupted LAI monitoring as they penetrate dense vegetation canopies under varying weather conditions. LAI computation using a scatterometer demands backscattering signal strength measurement, which primarily depends upon the dynamics of vegetation structure, surface texture, and soil moisture. The water-cloud model estimates soil moisture of areas possessing vegetation using backscattering data. The model provides a precise estimation of LAI as it can explicitly distinguish between the soil and vegetation backscatter. Further enhancement of these estimations can be carried out by data fusion methods that incorporate the scatterometer data with optical or synthetic aperture radar data. With the aid of case studies, this chapter demonstrates versatile applications of scatterometer across a wide range of environmental aspects, including estimation of above-ground biomass, carbon sequestration, soil moisture, yield prediction, vegetation structure analysis, etc., for forest, agriculture, and grassland ecosystems. Scatterometer data in agricultural areas provides accurate production calculation and periodic crop growth monitoring. Because scatterometers provide a stable and scalable method of measuring LAI, they may be used to monitor vegetation dynamics, agricultural productivity, and environmental changes globally. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved..