Late Pleistocene–Holocene hydrologic changes in the interfluve areas of the central Ganga Plain, India

Abandoned channel belts, ponds and point bar deposits of palaeochannels in the interfluve regions of the central Ganga Plain suggest changes in the morphohydrologic conditions during the Latest Pleistocene–Holocene. Stratigraphy of these ponds comprises channel sand at the base overlain by shell-bearing clayey silt. The contact of the two facies marks the phase when channels converted into standing water bodies. Point bar deposits of some palaeochannels are overlain by oxidised aeolian sand, indicating that the channel abandonment possibly occurred due to the desiccation and aridity in the region.Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronometry of the pond sediments suggests that the deposition of the basal channel sand started before 13 ka and continued up to 8 ka. The ponds formed around 8–6 ka when the channel activity ceased. Evidence from the point bar deposits also indicates that the fluvial activity in the region ended sometime during 7–5 ka. This was followed by aeolian aggradation. The present study thus suggests that the hydrologic conditions in the Gangetic plains, i.e. initiation of channels and their abandonment, formation of microgeomorphologic features such as ponds and their eventual siltation, were controlled largely by climatic changes (i.e. monsoon changes) supported by tectonic activity. For the past 2 ka, increasing human and related agricultural activity has substantially accentuated the natural siltation rate of ponds.     

Luminescence chronology of incision and channel pattern changes in the River Ganga, India

The River Ganga in the central Gangetic plain shows the incision of 20 m of Late Quaternary sediments that form a vast upland terrace (T₂). The incised Ganga River Valley shows two terraces, namely the river valley (terrace-T₁) and the present-day flood plain (terrace-T₀). Terrace-T₁ shows the presence of meander scars, oxbow lakes, scroll plains, which suggests that a meandering river system prevailed in the past. The present-day river channel flows on terrace-T₀ and is braided, sensu stricto. It is thus inferred that the River Ganga experienced at least two phases of tectonic adjustments: (1) incision and (2) channel metamorphosis from meandering to braided.Optical dating of samples from three different terraces has bracketed the phase of incision to be <6 and 4 ka. Different ages of the top of terrace-T₂ show that this surface experienced differential erosion due to tectonic upwarping in the region, which also caused the river incision. River metamorphosis occurred some time during 4 and 0.5 ka.     

Local site effects in Latur, India: an empirical study based on the aftershocks of the Killari earthquake of September 29, 1993

The site amplification is estimated at five seismic stations of the Latur region using the horizontal to vertical spectral ratios of 33 aftershocks of the main Killari earthquake of September 29, 1993 (UTC). Spectral amplifications, ranging from a factor of 2–6 are found to vary with frequency at different places. Significant amplification is found at four sites within the Latur region, at Basavakalyan, Kasgi, Killari, and Mudgad Eakoji villages. Our results show a positive correlation between the site amplification and the damage pattern in area. The pattern and the nature of the site amplification estimated in the present study corroborates also with the analytical models and the borehole data indicating alternating layers of unconsolidated sediments and basaltic rocks.     

Environmental impact assessment in the Moradabad industrial area (rivers Ramganga-Ganga interfluve), Ganga Plain,India

Sediment samples collected in the Moradabad area, lying in the interfluve of the Ganga and Ramganga Rivers, were analysed for heavy metals, after studying the geomorphology of the area. Geomorphologically, the area can be divided into three terraces - the T₀, T₁ and T₂ surfaces. The rivers on these three surfaces show varying amounts of pollution depending upon the input from industries and urban settlements. The Ramganga River on the T₀ surface shows the highest amount of pollution. However, the pollution levels in all these rivers show a downstream dilution effect. The characteristic feature of the vast interfluve area (T₂ surface) is the presence of several, independent basins which are closed and rarely interact with each other or with any river. The sediments are redistributed and redeposited within the basin itself, and thus these basins serve as sinks. The sediments of one such basin in the study area show significant concentrations of arsenic, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc and organic carbon. The concentrations of heavy metals in such a basin will show exponential increases with time, because there is no activity to funnel out the sediments and dilute the effect of pollution. This increase will pose more threats, as ultimately it will make its way laterally and vertically through the sediments, thereby polluting groundwater.     

Aftershock activity of Bhuj earthquake of january 26th, 2001

Following a large-sized Bhuj earthquake (M _s = 7.6) of January 26th, 2001, a small aperture 4-station temporary local network was deployed, in the epicentral area, for a period of about three weeks and resulted in the recording of more than 1800 aftershocks (-0.07 ≤M _L <5.0). Preliminary locations of epicenters of 297 aftershocks (2.0 ≤M _L <5.0) have brought out a dense cluster of aftershock activity, the center of which falls 20 km NW of Bhachau. Epicentral locations of after-shocks encompass a surface area of about 50 × 40 km² that seems to indicate the surface projection of the rupture area associated with the earthquake. The distribution of aftershock activity above magnitude 3, shows that aftershocks are nonuniformly distributed and are aligned in the north, northwest and northeast directions. The epicenter of the mainshock falls on the southern edge of the delineated zone of aftershock activity and the maximum clustering of activity occurs in close proximity of the mainshock. Well-constrained focal depths of 122 aftershocks show that 89% of the aftershocks occurred at depths ranging between 6 and 25 km and only 7% and 4% aftershocks occur at depths less than 5 and more than 25 km respectively. The Gutenberg-Richter (GR) relationship, logN = 4.52 - 0.89M_L, is fitted to the aftershock data (1.0<-M _L<5.0) and theb-value of 0.89 has been estimated for the aftershock activity.     

Observed daily large-scale rainfall patterns during BOBMEX-1999

A daily rainfall dataset and the corresponding rainfall maps have been produced by objective analysis of rainfall data. The satellite estimate of rainfall and the raingauge values are merged to form the final analysis. Associated with epochs of monsoon these rainfall maps are able to show the rainfall activities over India and the Bay of Bengal region during the BOBMEX period. The intra-seasonal variations of rainfall during BOBMEX are also seen using these data. This dataset over the oceanic region compares well with other available popular datasets like GPCP and CMAP. Over land this dataset brings out the features of monsoon in more detail due to the availability of more local raingauge stations.     

Flood Management in India

In this paper, flood problems in India, regional variabilityof the problem, present status of the ongoing management measures, their effectiveness and futureneeds in flood management are covered. Flood problems in India are presented by four zonesof flooding, viz. (a) Brahmaputra River Basin, (b) Ganga River Basin, (c) North-WestRivers Basin, and (d) Central India and Deccan Rivers Basin. Some special problems,related to floods like dam break flow, and water logging in Tal areas, are also mentioned.Progress of various flood management measures, both structural and non-structural, arediscussed. In addition, future needs to achieve efficient and successful flood managementmeasures in India are also pointed out.     

Kinematics of the Gondwana basins of peninsular India

The Gondwana successions (1–4 km thick) of peninsular India accumulated in a number of discrete basins during Permo-Triassic period. The basins are typically bounded by faults that developed along Precambrian lineaments during deposition, as well as affected by intrabasinal faults indicating fault-controlled synsedimentary subsidence. The patterns of the intrabasinal faults and their relationships with the respective basin-bounding faults represent both extensional and strike-slip regimes. Field evidence suggests that preferential subsidence in locales of differently oriented discontinuities in the Precambrian basement led to development of Gondwana basins with varying, but mutually compatible, kinematics during a bulk motion, grossly along the present-day E–W direction. The kinematic disparity of the individual basins resulted due to different relative orientations of the basement discontinuities and is illustrated with the help of a simple sandbox model. The regional E–W motion was accommodated by strike-slip motion on the transcontinental fault in the north.