Diamond formation in the system MgO–SiO2–H2O–C at 7.5 GPa and 1,600°C

Diamond crystallization has been studied in the SiO₂–H₂O–С, Mg₂SiO₄–H₂O–С and H₂O–С subsystems at 7.5 GPa and 1,600°C. We found that dissolution of initial graphite is followed by spontaneous nucleation of diamond and growth of diamond on seed crystals. In 15-h runs, the degree of graphite to diamond transformation [α = M_Dm/(M_Dm + M_Gr)100, where M_Dm is mass of obtained diamond and M_Gr mass of residual graphite] reached 100% in H₂O-rich fluids but was only 35–50% in water-saturated silicate melts. In 40-h runs, an abrupt decrease of α has been established at the weight ratio H₂O/(H₂O + SiO₂) ≤ 0.16 or H₂O/(H₂O + Mg₂SiO₄) ≤ 0.15. Our results indicate that α is a function of the concentration of water, which controls both the kinetics of diamond nucleation and the intensity of carbon mass transfer in the systems. The most favorable conditions for diamond crystallization in the mantle silicate environment at reliable PT-parameters occur in the fluid phase with low concentration of silicates solute. In H₂O-poor silicate melts diamond formation is questionable.     

Impact of assimilation of INSAT-3D retrieved atmospheric motion vectors on short-range forecast of summer monsoon 2014 over the South Asian region

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and its three-dimensional variational data assimilation system are used in this study to assimilate the INSAT-3D, a recently launched Indian geostationary meteorological satellite derived from atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) over the South Asian region during peak Indian summer monsoon month (i.e., July 2014). A total of four experiments were performed daily with and without assimilation of INSAT-3D-derived AMVs and the other AMVs available through Global Telecommunication System (GTS) for the entire month of July 2014. Before assimilating these newly derived INSAT-3D AMVs in the numerical model, a preliminary evaluation of these AMVs is performed with National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) final model analyses. The preliminary validation results show that root-mean-square vector difference (RMSVD) for INSAT-3D AMVs is ～3.95, 6.66, and 5.65 ms^?1 at low, mid, and high levels, respectively, and slightly more RMSVDs are noticed in GTS AMVs (～4.0, 8.01, and 6.43 ms^?1 at low, mid, and high levels, respectively). The assimilation of AMVs has improved the WRF model of produced wind speed, temperature, and moisture analyses as well as subsequent model forecasts over the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Australia, and South Africa. Slightly more improvements are noticed in the experiment where only the INSAT-3D AMVs are assimilated compared to the experiment where only GTS AMVs are assimilated. The results also show improvement in rainfall predictions over the Indian region after AMV assimilation. Overall, the assimilation of INSAT-3D AMVs improved the WRF model short-range predictions over the South Asian region as compared to control experiments.     

Impact of ECMWF,NCEP, and NCMRWF global model analysis on the WRF model forecast over Indian Region

The global model analysis has significant impact on the mesoscale model forecast as global model provides initial condition (IC) and lateral boundary conditions (LBC) for the mesoscale model. With this objective, four operational global model analyses prepared from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS), NCEP Global Forecasting System (GFS), and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) are used daily to generate IC and LBC of the mesoscale model during 13th December 2012 to 13th January 2013. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model version 3.4, broadly used for short-range weather forecast, is adopted in this study as mesoscale model. After initial comparison of global model analyses with Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) retrieved temperature and moisture profiles, daily WRF model forecasts initialized from global model analyses are compared with in situ observations and AIRS profiles. Results demonstrated that forecasts initialized from the ECMWF analysis are closer to AIRS-retrieved profiles and in situ observations compared to other global model analyses. No major differences are occurred in the WRF model forecasts when initialized from the NCEP GDAS and GFS analyses, whereas these two analyses have different spatial resolutions and observations used for assimilation. Maximum RMSD is seen in the NCMRWF analysis-based experiments when compared with AIRS-retrieved profiles. The rainfall prediction is also improved when WRF model is initialized from the ECMWF analysis compared to the NCEP and NCMRWF analyses.     

Multidimensional six-stage model for flood emergency response in schools: a case study of Pakistan

Natural Hazards - Children spend more than two-thirds of their total daytime in schools and becoming more persuasive in shielding them from potential hazards. Schools have a responsibility to...     

Seismic site characterization and site response study of Nirsa (India)

Natural Hazards - The Nirsa block, a coal mining area, and an industrial town lies in the southern part of Dhanbad district, at the border between the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal....     

Accretion flow behaviour during the evolution of the quasi-periodic oscillation frequency of XTE J1550−564 in 1998 outburst

Low and intermediate frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are thought to be due to oscillations of Comptonizing regions or hot regions embedded in Keplerian discs. Observational evidence of evolutions of QPOs would therefore be very important as they throw lights on the dynamics of the hotter region. Our aim is to find systems in which there is a well-defined correlation among the frequencies of the QPOs over a range of time so as to understand the physical picture. In this paper, we concentrate on the archival data of XTE J1550−564 obtained during 1998 outburst, and study the systematic drifts during the rising phase from the 1998 September 7 to the 1998 September 19, when the QPO frequency increased monotonically from 81 mHz to 13.1 Hz. Immediately after that, QPO frequency started to decrease and on the 1998 September 26, the QPO frequency became 2.62 Hz. After that, its value remained almost constant. This frequency drift can be modelled satisfactorily with a propagatory oscillating shock solution where the post-shock region behaves as the Comptonized region. Comparing with the nature of a more recent 2005 outburst of another black hole candidate GRO 1655−40, where QPOs disappeared at the end of the rising phase, we conjecture that this so-called 'outburst' may not be a full-fledged outburst.     

Long-term changes and variability of monthly extreme temperatures in India

Extreme temperatures are changing worldwide together with changes in the mean temperatures. This study investigates the long-term trends and variations of the monthly maximum and minimum temperatures and their effects on seasonal fluctuations in various climatological regions in India. The magnitude of the trends and their statistical significance were determined by parametric ordinary least square regression techniques and the variations were determined by the respective coefficient of variations. The results showed that the monthly maximum temperature increased, though unevenly, over the last century. Minimum temperature changes were more variable than maximum temperature changes, both temporally and spatially, with results of lesser significance. The results of this study are good indicators of Indian climate variability and its changes over the last century.