Temporal characteristics of aerosol physical properties at Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India during ICARB — Signatures of transport onto Bay of Bengal

Realizing the importance of aerosol physical properties at the adjoining continental and coastal locations in the airmass pathways onto the oceanic region, extensive measurements of aerosol physical properties were made at Visakhapatnam (17.7°N, 83.3°E), an eastern coastal location in peninsular India during the ICARB period. The temporal variations of aerosol optical depth, near surface aerosol mass size distributions and BC mass concentrations show significantly higher aerosol optical depth and near surface mass concentrations during the first and last weeks of April 2007. The mean BC mass fraction in the fine mode aerosol was around 11%. The aerosol back scatter profiles derived from Micro Pulse Lidar indicate a clear airmass subsidence on the days with higher aerosol optical depths and near surface mass fraction. A comparison of the temporal variation of the aerosol properties at Visakhapatnam with the MODIS derived aerosol optical depth along the cruise locations indicates a resemblance in the temporal variation suggesting that the aerosol transport from the eastern coastal regions of peninsular India could significantly affect the aerosol optical properties at the near coastal oceanic regions and that the affect significantly reduced at the farther regions.     

Explosive hydrogen-burning model of solar flares

A model of solar flare is proposed, taking into account the high temperature (10⁹K) produced by the shock wave generated by the hydromagnetic wave at the junction of sunspot and the area just outside it and subsequent explosive hydrogen burning, producing the desired 10^28–29 ergs of a solar flare.     

2-D deformation of two welded half-spaces due to a blind dip-slip fault

The solution of two-dimensional problem of an interface breaking long inclined dip-slip fault in two welded half-spaces is well known. The purpose of this note is to obtain the corresponding solution for a blind fault. The solution is valid for arbitrary values of the fault-depth and the dip angle. Graphs showing the variation of the displacement field with the distance from the fault, for different values of fault depth and dip angle are presented. Contour maps showing the stress field around a long dip-slip fault are also obtained     

Influence of varying nitrogen levels on lipid accumulation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlorella</Emphasis> sp.

Microalgal lipids can be enhanced through varying nitrogen (N) content, and limited supply of nitrogen source seems to be valuable approach for increased lipid accumulation in microalgae. In this study, Chlorella sp. IM-02 was observed under fluorescence microscope for increased number of lipid bodies under nitrogen scarcity. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to determine spectral changes due to varying lipid content under nitrogen-starved (N₀, without sodium nitrate), nitrogen-limited (N_0.1, N_0.25, N_0.5 and N_1.0 representing 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 g/L of sodium nitrate, respectively) and nitrogen-sufficient (N_1.5, i.e., 1.5 g/L sodium nitrate) setting. Chlorophyll content was also monitored under these conditions as growth indicator. Various biochemical components viz. total carbohydrates, total proteins and total lipids were also estimated under varying nitrogen levels spectrophotometrically. On fourth day itself, maximum lipid productivity was observed in case of N_0.5, which is having one-third of nitrogen concentration present in original growth media, BG-11. This concludes N_0.5 as suitable nitrogen provision for better production of lipids in Chlorella sp. IM-02 without much compromising the biomass production as both growth and lipid quantity are key parameters affecting the lipid productivity of any microalgal strain.     

Spatio-temporal variations of respirable particles at residential areas located in the vicinity of opencast coal projects,India: a case study

The objective of the study is to investigate spatio-temporal variations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM₁ concentrations at seven residential sites, located in the vicinity of opencast coal projects, Basundhara Garjanbahal Area (BGA), India. Meteorological parameters such as wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, and temperature were collected simultaneously with PM concentrations. Mean concentrations of PM₁₀ in the range 215 ± 169–526 ± 412 μg m^?3, PM_2.5 in the range of 91 ± 79–297 ± 107 μg m^?3, PM₁ in the range of 68 ± 60–247 ± 84 μg m^?3 were obtained. Coarse fractions (PM_2.5–10) varied from 27 to 58% whereas fine fractions (PM_1–2.5 and PM₁) varied in the range of 51–73%. PM_2.5 concentration was 41–74% of PM₁₀ concentration, PM₁ concentration was 31–62% of PM₁₀ concentration, and PM₁ concentration was 73–83% of PM_2.5 concentration. Role of meteorology on PM concentrations was assessed using correlation analysis. Linear relationships were established among PM concentrations using least square regression analysis. With the aid of principal component analysis, two components were drawn out of eight variables, which represent more than 75% of variance. The results indicated that major sources of air pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, PM₁, CO, CO₂) at the residential sites are road dust raised by vehicular movement, spillage of coal generated during transportation, spontaneous combustion of coal, and biomass burning in village area.     

Stress induced time dependent behavior of clayey soils

It is shown that time compression curve obtained from one-dimensional consolidation curve in the laboratory may include six phases. These are initial compression, first primary compression, transition from first primary compression to second primary compression, second primary compression, and transition from second primary compression to creep and lastly creep. This paper attempts to identify the quantitative beginnings and characteristics of these phases. A mathematical characteristic of all the soils that follow primary consolidation as per Terzaghi’s one dimensional consolidation theory is derived. It is known as the constant of primary consolidation. It is used to study the beginning of secondary consolidation and its effects on primary consolidation. Another characteristic of soils for creep and total absence of primary compression is derived. Methods are suggested for the determination of coefficients of Primary and Secondary consolidations and the compression index.