Morphometric analysis of Usri River basin,Chhotanagpur Plateau,India, using remote sensing and GIS

A geomorphic unit Usri drainage basin (latitude: 24° 04′00″ N to 24° 34′00″ N and longitude 86°05′00″E to 86°25′00″E) lies in north-eastern parts of Chhotanagpur Plateau, India, has been selected for morphometric analysis. Digital elevation model (DEM) has been generated by Cartosat stereo pair data at 10-m resolution. The morphometric parameters considered for the analysis includes the linear, areal, and relief aspects of the basin. Morphometric analysis of the river network and the basin revealed that the Usri Basin has sixth-order river network with a dendritic drainage pattern. The dendritic drainage pattern indicates that the basin has homogeneous lithology, gentle regional slope, and lack of structural control. The bifurcation ratio between different successive orders varies but the mean ratio is low that suggests the higher permeability and lesser structural control. The low drainage density, poor stream frequency, and moderately coarse drainage texture values of the basin indicate that the terrain has gentle slope, is made up of loose material, and hence has good permeability of sub-surface material and significant recharge of ground water. The shape parameters indicate that the basin is elongated in shape with low relief, high infiltration capacity, and less water flow for shorter duration in basin. The 50 % of the basin has altitude below 300 m and gently sloping towards the southeast direction. All the morphometric parameters and existing erosional landforms indicated mature to early old stage topography.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113001084

We report here for the first time the composition and mineralogical studies on a new meteorite,which fell in Dhayala ki Chappar(24°58'N,73°48'27"E) 5 km NW of Nathdwara in south Rajasthan,India,on Dec.25 th,2012.Mineralogical and compositional studies were carried out on a representative piece of the Nathdwara meteorite sample.The mineralogical composition of the meteorite has been found to be olivine(42-45 vol.%),feldspar(10-15 vol.%),orthopyroxene(23-25 vol.%),troilite(6-8 vol.%),and titanium bearing minerals(6-8 vol.%).Our investigations show that the Nathdwara meteorite belongs to H6 group of ordinary chondrites.     

Drainage morphometry of upper Vaigai river sub-basin, Western Ghats, South India using remote sensing and GIS

The study area is a one of the sub-basin of Vaigai River basin in the Theni and Madurai districts, Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. The Vaigai sub-basin extends approximately over 849 km² and it has been sub-divided into 48 watersheds. It lies between 09°30′00″ and 10°00′00″N latitudes and 77°15′10″ and 77°45′00″ E longitudes in the western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It originates at an altitude of 1661m in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu in Theni district. The drainage pattern of these watersheds are delineated using geo-coded Indian remote sensing satellite (IRS) ID, linear image self-scanning (LISS) III of geo-coded false colour composites (FCC), generated from the bands 2, 3 and 4 on 1:50,000 scale in the present study. The Survey of India (SOI) toposheets 58G/5, 58 G/6, 58G/9 and 58G/10 on a scale of 1:50,000 scale was used as a base for the delineation of watershed. In the present study, the satellite remote sensing data has been used for updation of drainages and the updated drainages have been used for morphometric analysis. The morphometric parameters were divided in three categories: basic parameters, derived parameters and shape parameters. The data in the first category includes area, perimeter, basin length, stream order, stream length, maximum and minimum heights and slope. Those of the second category are bifurcation ratio, stream length ratio, RHO coefficient, stream frequency, drainage density, and drainage texture, constant of channel maintenance, basin relief and relief ratio. The shape parameters are elongation ratio, circularity index and form factor. The morphometric parameters are computed using ESRI’s ArcGIS package. Drainage density ranges from 1.10 to 4.88 km/km² suggesting very coarse to fine drainage texture. Drainage frequency varies from 1.45 to 14.70 which is low to very high. The bifurcation ratio ranges from 0.55 to 4.37. The low values of bifurcation ratios and very low values of drainage densities indicate that the drainage has not been affected by structural disturbances and also that the area is covered under dense vegetation cover. Elongation ratio ranges from 0.11 to 0.57. Drainage texture has the minimum of 1.63 and maximum of 11.44 suggesting that the drainage texture is coarse to fine. It is concluded that remote sensing and GIS have been proved to be efficient tools in drainage delineation and updation. In the present study these updated drainages have been used for the morphometric analysis.     

Detection and delineation of glacial lakes and identification of potentially dangerous lakes of Dhauliganga basin in the Himalaya by remote sensing techniques

Glaciers are retreating and thinning in the high altitude of the Himalayas due to global warming, causing into formation of numerous glacial lakes. It is necessary to monitor these glacial lakes consistently to save properties and lives downstream from probable disastrous glacial lake outburst flood. In this study, image processing software ArcGIS and ERDAS Imagine have been used to analyse multispectral image obtained by Earth resource satellite Landsat for delineating the glacial lakes with the help of image enhancement technique like NDWI. Landsat data since 1972 through 2013 have been used and maximum seven glacial lakes (L1–L7) have been detected and delineated in Dhauliganga catchment, they are situated above 4000 masl. The Glacial Lake L2 (Lat 30°26′45″E and Long 80°23′16″N) is the largest whose surface area was 132,300 m² in Sept 2009, and L6 (Lat 30°23′27″E and Long 80°31′52″N) is highly unstable with variation rate ?55 to +145 % with increasing trend. Additionally, glacial lakes L2 (Lat 30°26′45″E and Long 80°23′16″N) and L6 (Lat 30°23′27″E and Long 80°31′52″N) have been identified as potentially hazardous. These lakes may probably burst; as a result, huge reserve of water and debris may be released all on a sudden. This may transform into hazardous flash flood in downstream causing loss of lives, as well as the destruction of houses, bridges, fields, forests, hydropower stations, roads, etc. It is to note that Dhauliganga river considered in this study is a tributary of Kaliganga river, and should not be confused with its namesake the Dhauliganga river, which is a tributary of Alaknanda river.     

The Braunschweig meteorite − a recent L6 chondrite fall in Germany

On April 23rd 2013 at 2:07 a.m., a 1.3 kg meteorite fell in the Braunschweig suburb Melverode (52° 13′ 32.19″ N. 10° 31′ 11.60″ E). Its estimated velocity was 250 km/h and it formed an impact pit in the concrete fall site with a diameter of 7 cm and a depth of 3 cm. Radial dust striae are present around the impact pit. As a result of the impact, the meteorite disintegrated into several hundred fragments with masses up to 214 g. The meteorite is a typical L6 chondrite, moderately shocked (S4) – but with a remarkably high porosity (up to 20 vol%). The meteorite was ejected from its parent body as an object with a radius of about 10–15 cm (15–50 kg). The U,Th-He gas retention age of ∼550 Ma overlaps with the main impact event on the L-chondrite parent body ∼470 Ma ago that is recorded by many shocked L chondrites. The preferred cosmic-ray exposure age derived from production of radionuclides and noble gas isotopes is (6.0 ± 1.3) Ma.     

孟加拉湾晚第四纪浮游有孔虫及其古海洋学意义

对北印度洋孟加拉深海扇远源区水深约３８００ｍ的ＭＤ７７１９０岩心进行了有孔虫定量统计,ＣａＣＯ３质量分数分析和敏纳圆幅虫壳体氧、碳同位素分析,结果表明,该区近１３０ｋａ来的浮游有孔虫组合面貌、表层海水古温度、ＣａＣＯ３质量分数变化的总体趋势与各大洋资料可以对比。ＣａＣＯ３质量分数曲线表现为间冰期升高而冰期降低,反映了研究区陆源碎屑物质对ＣａＣＯ３浓度具有明显的稀释效应。溶解度曲线也表现出相同的变化趋势,同样与陆源物质输入量的变化有关。研究区氧同位素３期各种沉积特征与北印度洋区的季风活动有关,表现出明显的高频气候旋回变化特点。     

Thermochronological constraints of the exhumation and uplift of the Sierra de Pie de Palo,NW Argentina

The Sierra de Pie de Palo located between 67°30′–68°30′ W and 31°00′–32°00′ S in the Argentine Western Sierras Pampeanas in Argentina is a distinct basement range, which lacks thermochronological data deciphering its exhumation and uplift history below 200 °C. Integrated cooling histories constrained by apatite fission-track data as well as (U–Th)/He measurements of zircon and apatite reveal that the structural evolution of this mountain range commenced during the Late Paleozoic and was mainly controlled by tectonically triggered erosion. Following further erosional controlled exhumation in a more or less extensional regime during the Mesozoic, the modern topography was generated by denudation in the Paleogene during the early stage of the Andean deformation, whereupon deformation propagated towards the west since the Late Mesozoic to Paleogene. This evolution is characterised by a total of 3.7–4.2 km vertical rock uplift and by 1.7–2.2 km exhumation with a rate of 0.03–0.04 mm/a within the Sierra de Pie de Palo since ca. 60 Ma. Onset of uplift of peak level is also referred to that time resulting in a less Pliocene amount of uplift than previously assumed.     

Quantitative studies of weathering in saprolitized charnockites associated with a landslip zone at the porthimund dam,India

Studies on saprolitized charnockites associated with a landslip observed in the Blue Mountains in close proximity of the Porthimund Dam (11°22'E 76°34′30″N), Nilgiris District, Tamilnadu State, South India, are reported.Laboratory investigations of the geotechnical properties were carried out to evaluate the nature and degree of weathering quantitatively for estimating the soundness of the charnockites constituting the slip zone. The results of per cent decomposed product of the crest, scarp and toe portions of the slip denote positive correlations with porosity and compressibility; and negative correlations against density, wave velocity, Young's modulus, compressive strength and tensile strength. It is also seen that in the absence of the information on decomposed product, weatherability could still be evaluated considering the per cent change of any physical parameter.Such studies should prove valuable in the mapping of weatherability zones and the assessment and determination of foundation conditions.     

Variations of Stable Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes in the Ice Core of the Pingo (Southern Part of Gydan Peninsula)

Doklady Earth Sciences - The vertical isotopic profile of the ice core of a Messoyakha-1 bulgunniakh (pingo)—was obtained. The pingo is situated at 68°30′32″ N,...     

Seismo-Tectonic Characteristics of the North Anatolian Fault Zone Between Akyazi and Duzce (Bolu,Turkey)

The active North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) presents very complex seismotectonic activity. The occurrence of the Abant earthquake in 1957 (Ms = 7.1) and the Mudurnu earthquake in 1967 (Ms = 6.8) are only two examples of several seismic events associated with intense tectonic activity of the NAFZ. Statistical analyses of earthquakes in an area extending between 30° 30′ to 31° 30' E Long. and 40° 15′ to 41° 00′ N Lat. reveal that epicenters generally were shallow. However, a few deep epicenters also were located, some of which reached a depth of 30 km. The epicenters were found to concentrate in a zone lying between the Duzce and Akyazi Plain to the north of Almacik Mountain and in the Adapazari Plain. The Northern Anatolian fault displays an en echelon character in the area, except for the eastern part, where it extends as a single segment. The en echelon character of the NAFZ is interpreted as a structure distributing the potential energy and consequently reducing the intensity of earthquakes, giving rise to micro-earthquakes of magnitudes less than 4.2.     

A new Early–Middle Weichselian palaeoenvironmental record from a lacustrine sequence at Svirkanciai,Lithuania

The Middle Weichselian (OIS 4‐3) and the transition from Early to Middle Weichselian are the most problematic and disputed time intervals of the Late Pleistocene with regard to the palaeogeography of the Fennoscandian glaciations. The number of sites with sediments of Middle Weichselian age in the Baltic region is very limited. An extensive area (77 km²) of lacustrine sediments (sand, clay, silt with humus and interlayers of peat), under the relief‐forming Upper Weichselian till, was discovered in the vicinity of the Venta settlement, northwestern Lithuania, and named the Venta Palaeolacustrine Basin. The Svirkanciai outcrop (56°18′05″N, 22°53′00″E) (15 m in height) of this palaeobasin is composed of two sediment complexes of different genesis and age. The lower part consists of silt and very fine‐grained sand of lacustrine origin. According to palynological data, the lacustrine sediments accumulated under boreo‐arctic climatic conditions. The pollen records suggest that local vegetation was sparse forest with open areas. An Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) date of the lacustrine sand yielded an age of >79±6 ka, which indicates that lacustrine conditions may have occurred during part of the Early Weichselian Odderade Interstadial (Jonionys 2). However, the palynological data from Svirkanciai suggest a Middle Weichselian age, possibly correlating with the Oerel Interstadial (Jonionys 3) 55 ka ago. No traces of early Middle Weichselian Schalkholz (Nemunas 2a) stadial glacial advance have been found in the Venta sections. This also suggests a Middle Weichselian age for the Svirkanciai lacustrine sediments.     

Geophysical lineaments of Western Ghats and adjoining coastal areas of central Kerala,southern India and their temporal development

A family of geophysical lineaments have been identified in ~15,000 km~2 in central Kerala between9 30'N to 10 45'N and 76 00'E to 77°30′E,integrating geophysical data with geological and geomorphological features. The characteristics of these lineaments in the magnetic and gravity fields and their derivatives have been analysed. The evolution of the lineaments has been traced to the temporal phases of global evolution of the region. A group of these faults have formed by reactivation of the deep-seated distensional fractures associated with and accompanying dyke emplacements during the episodic breakup of Gondwana at ~90 and 65 Ma under distinctive mantle thermal regimes. It is possible that reactivation of these distensional faults may have started during the cooling interval of time between the two distensions in the 90 and 65 Ma and post 65 Ma periods and later in the Cenozoic, when the lineaments were enlarged to their present dimension, possibly under the influence of forces that led to the uplift of the western Ghats. These may extend down to the crust-mantle interface. A cluster of youngergeophysical lineaments has been generated by reactivation along the weak planes of transformation of the charnockitic rocks of the Precambrian. They seem to have a strike-slip character. They are devoid of any dyke association and were formed on a cold crust. They may be confined to the upper-middle crust.They were generated in the high intensity intra-plate palaeo-stress fields of the triple forces arising from(1) the back-thrust from the Himalayan Collision;(2) the impact of epeirogenic forces and related isostatic uplift of the Western Ghats and(3) the flexural isostatic uplifts due to surface loads of late Mesozoic basaltic lavas and Cenozoic sedimentation in the coastal rifted basins in late Cenozoic, probably in the time span of 20 Ma to the present, when the palaeostress fields were most intense.     

Correlation and paleoenvironments of middle Paleogene marine beds based on dinoflagellate cysts in southwestern Patagonia,Argentina

An understanding of paleonvironmental and paleoceanographic evolution of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean during the Palaeogene is prevented by the lack of precise tools to date and correlate the sedimentary units. Palynological samples collected in the upper portion of the Man Aike Formation, which crops out southern Lago Argentino area, in the southwest of the Austral Basin (50°21′45″S–72°14′30″W), contain well preserved marine organic dinoflagellate cysts, which are potentially important biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental indicators. Herein we describe the composition of the Man Aike Formation's dinoflagellate cyst assemblages and compare them to similar assemblages collected in the same basin in the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation using Compositional Statistical Analysis. The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the upper part of the Man Aike Formation are highly correlated to the assemblages from the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation from outcropping sections (51°31′13″S–72°15′11″W) and with the lower part of sediment cores drilled by Yacimientos Carboníferos Fiscales in the Río Turbio Formation area. These dinoflagellate cyst assemblages show a very low correlation with the assemblages from the upper part of the Yacimientos Carboníferos Fiscales's cores. The comparison of our results with the high-resolution Southern Pacific Ocean dinoflagellate cyst zonation for the late Palaeocene to late Eocene allow us to date some of the dinoflagellate events recorded in formations of southwestern Patagonia. The assemblages from the Man Aike Formation and the lower part of the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation relate to the zones SPDZ11 and SPDZ12 and are assigned to the mid-middle Eocene (late Lutetian to early Bartonian). The biostratigraphy proposed herein constrains the age of the Man Aike Formation and equivalent units based on calcareous microfossil data, mollusks affinities and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic values to an age ranging between ∼42 and 39 Ma. The assemblages from the upper part of the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation relate to the SPDZ13 Zone, which corresponds to the late Eocene (early Priabonian). The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages indicate that they were under the influence of relatively warm, marine open waters in an inner-shelf environment for the lower part of the sections. In the upper part of the sections, the assemblages suggest shallow marine waters associated with coastal areas and high trophic levels, possibly as a result of freshwater inputs.     

Quantifying Feeding Behavior of Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia demissa) in Two Urban Sites (Long Island Sound, USA) with Different Seston Characteristics

The Atlantic ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, is found in salt marshes along the North American Atlantic Coast. As a first step to study the possibility of future cultivation and harvest of ribbed mussels for nutrient removal from eutrophic urban environments, the feeding behavior of ribbed mussels in situ was studied from July to October 2011. Two locations approximately 80 km apart were used as study sites: Milford Harbor (Connecticut; 41°12′42.46″N, 73°3′7.75″W) and Hunts Point (Bronx, New York; 40°48′5.99″N, 73°52′17.76″W). Total particulate matter was higher at Hunts Point than at Milford Harbor, but the organic content was higher at Milford than at Hunts Point. The relatively low quantity of organic content in Hunts Point seston resulted in a much higher production of pseudofeces by mussels. Mussel clearance and absorption rates were higher at Milford Harbor than at Hunts Point. Nevertheless, mussels at both sites had the same absorption efficiency, suggesting that mussels are able to adapt to conditions at both locations. Ribbed mussels decreased clearance rate when the seston quantity was high at both sites. At Hunts Point, ribbed mussels increased the gut transit time of ingested particles when the amount of inorganic particulates in the water increased. This study does not quantify nutrient removal capacity of G. demissa; however, the environmental tolerance demonstrated here, and current lack of commercial harvest, suggests that this species may be a good candidate for nutrient bioextraction in highly impacted urban environments.     

Failure mechanism of a slow-moving landslide on September 27, 2020, in Chang Nong Village,Guangxi, China

Landslides - A recent slow-moving landslide occurred on September 27, 2020, in Chang Nong Village (24°21′ 25” N, 109°09′ 27″ E), Guangxi Province, China. The...     

Analysis and interpretation of Ibuji spring magnetic anomaly using the Mellin transform

The Mellin transform is a mathematical tool which has been applied in many areas of Mathematics, Physics and Engineering. Its application in Geophysics is in the computation of solution of potential problems for the determination of the mass as well as the depth to the basement of some solid mineral deposits. In this study, the Mellin transform is used to determine the depth to the top (h) and the depth to the bottom (H) of the basement of a profile of an anomalous magnetic body. Ibuji, the study area is located in Ifedore Local Government area of Ondo state, Nigeria, underlain by Precambrian complex rocks and bounded by geographical co-ordinate of Easting 5°00t’00″ to 5°4t’30″ and Northing 7°24t’00″ to 7°27t’36″. The magnetic anomaly profile due to a two- dimensional body(vertical thin sheet)over magnetic spring of the study area was digitised and the values of magnetic amplitude (nT) with respect to its horizontal distance (say interval of 5 m) obtained from the digitized profile was then used in the computation of Mellin transform using Matlab programs. In order to determine the depths H and h, the amplitudes were considered at three arbitrary point (s = ¼, ½ and ¾) such that, (0 < s < 1), where s is a complex variable of real positive integer. The value obtained for H was 47.95 m, which compared favourably with the result obtained using other methods. Meanwhile, the value obtained for h has a convergence restriction, whereby, at lower values of s, there is divergence, while at higher values of s, (about 0.9), the result converges and h was obtained to be 32.56 m. The Ibuji magnetic anomaly was therefore analysed to have a depth to the bottom (H) of 47.95 m and depth to the top of 32.56 m using this mathematical tool.     

PETROLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF CENOZOIC VOLCANIC ROCKS FROM THE CENTRE OF QIANGTANG,TIBET

PETROLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF CENOZOIC VOLCANIC ROCKS FROM THE CENTRE OF QIANGTANG,TIBET     

First U–Pb isotopic data on zircon from andesite of the Saf’yanovka Cu-bearing massive sulfide deposit (Middle Urals)

New results of U–Pb LA ICP–MS dating of zircon from andesite samples cropping out on the western wall of the Saf’yanovka quarry (57°22′58.88″ N, 61°31′50.85″ E) in the synonymous Cu–Zn-bearing massive sulfide deposit of the Urals type are considered. The position of data points of the U–Pb systematics in the ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U–²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U plot determines a cluster practically corresponding to the concordant U–Pb age: 422.8 ± 2.0 Ma. This date indicates for the first time the presence of Pridolian volcanogenic rocks in the East Urals megazone of the Middle Urals.     

Debris flows of 28 June 2014 near the Arshan village (Siberia,Republic of Buryatia,Russia)

On 28 June 2014, high intensity rainfall resulted in seven simultaneous debris flows going down the slopes of the Tunka Ridge in the vicinity of Arshan village, which is a balneological and alpine resort (51° 54′ 31″ N, 102° 25′ 44″ E). The debris flows caused one life loss and several injuries, 112 buildings were damaged, and 15 were completely destroyed. The total volume of the transported deposits amounted to 3?×?10⁶ m³. Debris flows’ formation began with the failure of weak sediments in the hanging cirques. Similar phenomena had not been recorded in the study area for over 40 years. The article presents a complete picture of the event and analysis of geological, geomorphological, and meteorological conditions for debris flows formation, for which extreme local rainfall was the major cause.     

The Monsoon in the Arabian Sea: Implications From Radiolarian Fluxes to the Deep Sea

THE MONSOON IN THE ARABIAN SEA:IMPLICATIONS FROM RADIOLARIAN FLUXES TO THE DEEP SEA