Shake table testing of liquefaction mitigation efficiency on pile foundations in sand stabilised with colloidal silica

Natural Hazards - Pile foundations in sands are susceptible to damage during earthquake-induced liquefaction. In the last decade, colloidal silica treatment in sand has been considered a novel...     

The crucial role of ocean�Catmosphere coupling on the Indian monsoon anomalous response during dipole events

This paper examines an issue concerning the simulation of anomalously wet Indian summer monsoons like 1994 which co-occurred with strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions in the tropical Indian Ocean. Contrary to observations it has been noticed that standalone atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM) forced with observed SST boundary condition, consistently depicted a decrease of the summer monsoon rainfall during 1994 over the Indian region. Given the ocean?Catmosphere coupling during IOD events, we have examined whether the failure of standalone AGCM simulations in capturing wet Indian monsoons like 1994 can be remedied by including a simple form of coupling that allows the monsoon circulation to dynamically interact with the IOD anomalies. With this view, we have performed a suite of simulations by coupling an AGCM to a slab-ocean model with spatially varying mixed-layer-depth (MLD) specified from observations for the 1994 IOD; as well as four other cases (1983, 1997, 2006, 2007). The specification of spatially varying MLD from observations allows us to constrain the model to observed IOD conditions. It is seen that the inclusion of coupling significantly improves the large-scale circulation response by strengthening the monsoon cross-equatorial flow; leading to precipitation enhancement over the subcontinent and rainfall decrease over south-eastern tropical Indian Ocean??in a manner broadly consistent with observations. A plausible physical mechanism is suggested to explain the monsoonal response in the coupled frame-work. These results warrant the need for improved monsoon simulations with fully coupled models to be able to better capture the observed monsoon interannual variability.     

Parameter estimation of SWAT and quantification of consequent confidence bands of model simulations

Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a river basin scale model widely used to study the impact of land management practices in large, complex watersheds. Even though model output uncertainties are generally recognized to affect watershed management decisions, those uncertainties are largely ignored in model applications. The uncertainties of SWAT simulations are quantified using various methods, but simultaneous attempt to calibrate a model so as to reduce the uncertainty are seldom done. This study aims to use an uncertainty reduction procedure that helps calibrate the SWAT model. The shuffled complex evolutionary metropolis algorithm for uncertainty analysis is employed for this purpose, and is demonstrated using the data from the St. Joseph River basin, USA. The values of the performance indices, the r² and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) for the simulations during calibration period was found to be 0.81 (same for r² and NSE) and 0.79 for validation period indicating a good simulation by the model. The results also indicate that the algorithm helps reduce the uncertainty (percentage of coverage?=?62% and average width?=?19.2 m³/s), and also identifies the plausible range of parameters that simulate the processes with less uncertainty. The confidence bands of simulations are obtained that can be employed in making uncertainty-based decisions on watershed management practices.     

Organic carbon and iron modulate nitrification rates in mangrove swamps of Goa, south west coast of India

Nitrification, fuelled by ammonium is the pivotal oxidative pathway to nitrogen cycling. In spite of its ecological significance, the factors regulating nitrification rates in the benthic realm remain poorly understood. The present study therefore examines some of the factors like ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, organic carbon, iron and manganese on down-core variability in benthic nitrification rates in two different mangrove ecosystems, one under the influence of ferromanganese ore mining (experiment) and the other relatively undisturbed (control). We hypothesize that besides organic carbon, iron could also influence the rate of nitrification. The study also contrasts the distributive pattern of autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrifiers in the two regions. The concentration of iron at the control site ranged from 1.1% to 15.1% while at the experimental site it ranged from 2.9% to 46%. The levels of organic carbon at control and experimental sites ranged from 0.02% to 6.9% and 0.1% to 6.5%, respectively. The nitrification rates at the control and experimental sites are comparable and ranged from 3.2 ± 1.2 to 18.4 ± 1.9 ng at-N g(sediment)⁻¹ h⁻¹ and 2.7 ± 1.5 to 18.2 ± 0.6 ng at-N g(sediment)⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. While the abundance of heterotrophic nitrifiers at both the sites ranged from 10^2–3 cells g⁻¹ sediment, the autotrophic nitrifiers at the experimental site was higher by an order at 10³ cells g⁻¹ sediment reflecting the relatively higher refractile nature of organic carbon at the experimental site (Straus and Lamberti, 2000). Though organic carbon and nitrification rates are similar in both the sites, the underlying mechanisms governing the processes could be different. Our studies suggest that at the control site, heterotrophic nitrifiers govern nitrification rates (r = 0.28, p < 0.05, n = 64) using organic carbon (r = 0.32, p < 0.01, n = 64). At the experimental site, nitrification was governed more by autotrophic nitrifiers (r = 0.43, p < 0.001, n = 64) at the expense of iron (r = 0.47, p < 0.001, n = 64). Therefore at the experimental site with higher load of iron, autotrophic nitrification could be more important. It is therefore inferred that both the quality of organic carbon and quantity of iron govern nitrification rates in these mangrove swamps.     

Analysis of the Tsunami of December 26, 2004, on the Kerala Coast of India—Part III: Inundation and Initial Withdrawal

During the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, specific observations were made by our survey team about the arrival times of several tsunami waves, their amplitudes, maximum extent of horizontal inundation on land and initial withdrawal of the ocean. Here the observations on the horizontal inundation and initial withdrawal are presented and briefly discussed.     

A Simple Method of Estimating Scalar Fluxes Over Forests

A simple aerodynamic-variance method is proposed to fill gaps in continuous CO₂ flux measurements in rainy conditions, when open-path analysers do not function. The method requires turbulent conditions (friction velocity greater than 0.1 ms^–1), and uses measurements of mean wind speed, and standard deviations of temperature and CO₂ concentration fluctuations to complement, and at times replace, eddy-covariance measurements of friction velocity, sensible heat flux and CO₂ flux. Friction velocity is estimated from the mean wind speed with a flux-gradient relationship modified for the roughness sublayer. Since normalised standard deviations do not follow Monin-Obukhov similarity theory in the roughness sublayer, a simple classification scheme according to the scalar turbulence scale was used. This scheme is shown to produce sensible heat and CO₂ flux estimates that are well correlated with the measured values.     

A typology of migration in Canada based on migrants' characteristics

"Data from the 1981 Census of Canada are used to develop a typology of migrants on the basis of their personal characteristics. Migrants are defined as those individuals who have changed their residence since the 1976 Census, crossing at least a municipal boundary. Socio-economic and demographic characteristics are perceived to differentiate stayers from movers, and to distinguish each migrant type [that is to say] intraprovincial, interprovincial and international. Discriminant analysis is applied to classify people into migrant types based on their personal characteristics and the typology developed."     

Spatial Connectivity: From Variograms to Multiple-Point Measures

Anisotropy and curvilinearity are common characteristics of geological structures. Traditional measures of connectivity such as the variogram are rectilinear in that they do not take into account the curvilinearity of these structures. Recent developments in geostatistics have demonstrated and simulated the effect of curvilinearity and multiple-point (mp) connectivity on the output of transfer functions such as flow simulators. A set of curvilinear channels and set of elliptical lenses may share the same variogram and rectilinear connectivity but would yield different flow responses because of their different curvilinearity. A measure of curvilinearity generalizing the variogram measure is therefore proposed. The proposed measure is directional with a tolerance cone and depends on distance with a tolerance, as with an experimental variogram.     

Surface Boundary-Layer Characteristics Over a Tropical Inland Station: Seasonal Features

Some characteristic features of the atmospheric surfacelayer over an inland tropical station, Lucknow (27°N, 81°E)in India, are investigated for different seasons using micrometeorological data collected at the 10-m levelof an instrumented tower. Seasonal monsoonal variations in wind circulation (north-easterliesand south-westerlies) dominate the flow over this part of the region. This study utilizesthe wind, temperature and humidity data obtained for a period of one year from February 1996 to January 1997. The diurnal variation of mean parameterssuch as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed are studied for different seasonsnamely pre-, south-west, post- and north-east monsoon periods. Turbulent statistics are computedusing the eddy correlation technique, and are studied under the framework of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory with results compared with otherexperimental studies reported in the literature. It is found that the turbulence statistics arenearly independent of season and the near-neutral values of the normalized standard deviations ofthe three wind components, temperature and specific humidityare found to be 1.00 ± 0.04 (vertical), 2.63 ± 0.36(longitudinal), 2.19 ± 0.06 (lateral), 6.56 ± 0.33and 6.45 ± 0.33 respectively.