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.     

Some thougths on the evolution of Himalaya and the Northern limit of the Indian Shield

Based on the sedimentological studies and the distribution of fossil-bearing horizons in the Himalaya a new model for the evolution of Himalaya is visualized. It is proposed that the Lesser and Central Himalaya constitute an integral part of the Peninsular Indian shield. The unfossiliferous orthoquartzite-shale-carbonate sequences of Lesser and Central Himalaya represent Precambrian sediments, deposited in a shallow tidal sea. Within the Lesser Himalaya there are thin detached marine fossiliferous horizons of three ages, viz. Carboniferous-Permian, Jurassic-Cretaceous and Eocene, located in a narrow E-W running zone (Dogadda-Subathu Zone), representing deposits of three transgressions in this zone.This zone is analogous to the Narbada Valley zone of the Peninsular India, where rocks of Permian, Cretaceous and Eocene ages are present. This model properly explains the unfossiliferous nature of the Lesser Himalayan sediments and demands the northern limit of Indian Plate north of Himalaya.

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Zusammenfassung Aufgrand sedimentologischer Untersuchungen und der Verteilung fossilführender Schichten im Himalaya wird ein neues Modell der Himalayaentwicklung dargestellt. Es wird angenommen, daß der Außen- und Zentralhimalaya fester Bestandteil des indischen Schildes waren. Die fossilleeren Abfolgen von Orthoquarziten, Tonen und Kalken des Außen- und Zentralhimalaya bestehen aus präkambrischen Sedimenten, die ehemals in einem Flachmeer unter Gezeiteneinfluß abgelagert wurden. Im Bereich des Außenhimalaya finden sich geringmächtige Einschaltungen mit mariner Fauna, die dem Permokarbon, Jura/Kreide und Eozän zuzuordnen sind. Sie liegen innerhalb einer schmalen E/W-verlaufenden Zone (Dogadda-Subathu Zone) und entsprechen 3 Transgressionen in diesem Gebiet.Diese Zone ist dem Narbada Valley-Bereich der indischen Halbinsel vergleichbar, wo ebenfalls Ablagerungen aus Perm, Kreide und Eozän angetroffen werden.Durch dieses Modell läßt sich die Art der fossilleeren Sedimente des Außenhimalaya erklären. Es führt zu der Annahme, daß die Nordgrenze der indischen Platte nördlich des Himalaya zu suchen ist.

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Résumé Un nouveau modèle de l'évolution de l'Himalaya est présenté, basé sur des études sédimentologiques et sur la répartition des horizons fossilifères, suivant lequel l'Himalaya Central et Externe ferait intégralement partie du boncliez péninsulaire Indien.Les séquences non fossilifères d'orthoquartzites-schistes-carbonates de l'Himalaya Central et Externe représentent des sédiments précambriens déposés dans un environnement marin peu profond soumis aux marées. Dans la région de l'Himalaya Externe, on observe de minces intercalations fossiliferes marines correspondant à trois phases de transgression, au Permo-Carbonifére, au Jurassique-Crétacé et à l'Eocène. Ces horizons sont localisés dans une zone étroite, de direction E-W, la zone de Dogadda-Subathu.Cette zone est comparable à la Valleé de Narbada en Inde péninsulaire, qui comporte également des dépôts permiens, crétacés et éocènes. Le modèle propose permet d'expliquer la nature non fossilifère de la plupart des sédiments de l'Himalaya Externe et conduit á rechercher la limite Nord de la plaque indienne au Nord de l'Himalaya.

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Super resolution for astronomical observations

In order to obtain detailed information from multiple telescope observations a general blind super-resolution (SR) reconstruction approach for astronomical images is proposed in this paper. A pixel-reliability-based SR reconstruction algorithm is described and implemented, where the developed process incorporates flat field correction, automatic star searching and centering, iterative star matching, and sub-pixel image registration. Images captured by the 1-m telescope at Yunnan Observatory are used to test the proposed technique. The results of these experiments indicate that, following SR reconstruction, faint stars are more distinct, bright stars have sharper profiles, and the backgrounds have higher details; thus these results benefit from the high-precision star centering and image registration provided by the developed method. Application of the proposed approach not only provides more opportunities for new discoveries from astronomical image sequences, but will also contribute to enhancing the capabilities of most spatial or ground-based telescopes.     

Spatial and temporal variability of groundwater quality of an Algerian aquifer: the case of Soummam Wadi

ABSTRACT

Five-year monitoring of physicochemical parameters was performed with two campaigns in low and high water periods of the Lower Soummam catchment. Data from 18 wells were processed by multivariate statistical tools in order to identify the principal factors influencing groundwater chemistry. Two matrices of 14 and 8 physicochemical parameters with 18 groundwater samples collected in wells were obtained. The correlation matrix showed strong associations between nine variables: K⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, SO₄^2?, Cl^?, Mg²⁺, NO₂^?, Zn²⁺ and Sr²⁺. Principal component analysis and factor analysis showed that the cumulated variance of high and low water periods was of 83.19% and 78.55%, respectively. The variables assigned to the mineralization effect or to pollution indicators were presented by the factor analysis. The bivariate plots confirmed a mineralization model, ascribed to dissolution of geological materials, and to high levels of saline contamination attributed to leakages from sanitary systems. They also showed an increase “upstream to downstream” of the mineralization, visualization of temporal variations, and a dilution process identification of the natural mineralization during the recharge of the aquifer.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis; ASSOCIATE EDITOR X. Chen     

The anatomy of natural disasters on online media: hurricanes and wildfires

Natural Hazards - Increasing prevalence and scale of natural disasters fuel the need for new approaches to evaluating, and eventually mitigating, their impact. This analysis quantifies and compares...     

Investigation on the hydrodynamics of Ganga Alluvial Plain using environmental isotopes: a case study of the Gomati River Basin, northern India

An investigation using environmental isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δD) was conducted to gain insight into the hydrological processes of the Ganga Alluvial Plain, northern India. River-water, shallow-groundwater and lake-water samples from the Gomati River Basin were analyzed. During the winter season, the δ¹⁸O and δD compositions of the Gomati River water ranged from ?1.67 to ?7.62 ‰ and ?25.08 to ?61.50 ‰, respectively. Deuterium excess values in the river water (+0.3 to ?13 ‰) and the lake water (?20 ‰) indicate the significance of evaporation processes. Monthly variation of δ¹⁸O and δD values of the Gomati River water and the shallow groundwater follows a similar trend, with isotope-depleted peaks for δ¹⁸O and δD synchronized during the monsoon season. The isotopically depleted peak values of the river water (δ¹⁸O?=??8.30 ‰ and δD?=??57.10 ‰) can be used as a proxy record for the isotopic signature of the monsoon precipitation in the Ganga Alluvial Plain.     

Mega- and giant ripples in the Ganga,Yamuna, and Son Rivers,Uttar Pradesh,India

Sand bars of the three important rivers of the Gangetic Alluvium, namely the Ganga, Yamuna and Son are investigated. Megaripples of undulatory type are the most abundant bed forms present, and are responsible for the development of large-scale cross-bedding, the most common bedding structure present in the area. Giant ripples, with superimposed megaripples are recorded in one sand bar in the Yamuna River. On a steeply sloping point bar in the Ganga River, delta-like lobes have produced foreset bedding oriented towards the main channel, at right angles to the direction of the main flow.     

Support Vector Machines for Automatic Multi-class Change Detection in Algerian Capital Using Landsat TM Imagery

Recently, Support Vector Machines (SVMs) have shown a practical relevance in various image processing applications. This paper investigates their applicability for land cover and land use change detection using multi-sensor images of remote sensing. Then, the most widely used approaches for multi-class SVMs, which are the One-Against-All and the One-Against-One with both Max-Win and DDAG decision rules are implemented to perform multi-class change detection. SVMs are evaluated in comparison with artificial neural networks using different accuracy indicators. The results obtained showed that SVMs are much more efficient than artificial neural networks and highlighted their suitability for land cover change detection.