Filtration and Clogging Behavior of Geotextiles with Roorkee Soils

Geotextile filters are rapidly replacing graded granular filters as the standard of practice in geotechnical design. The objective of the present study is to predict the behavior of the geotextile filter for the locally (Roorkee—India) available soils using three different geotextiles (two nonwoven and one woven). Nonwoven geotextiles are commonly used in filtration applications. This paper evaluates the long-term performance of two needle-punched nonwoven geotextiles and one woven geotextile. Filtration tests on soil–geotextile filter systems were conducted in the laboratory in order to evaluate the filtration and clogging behavior. Laboratory test program, include evaluation of performance of two different nonwoven and one woven geotextile filters in combination with locally available Solani River Sand and Clayey Soil. The paper describes the concept and details of the Fine Fraction Filtration (F³) test and presents data on three different geotextiles, which were evaluated using three different soil types. It is deduced that in all filtration applications, the non-woven geotextile would perform better than the woven geotextile.     

Analysis of a rigid footing lying on three-layered soil using the finite difference method

A numerical procedure is described for the analysis of the vertical deformation and the stress distribution of the strip footings on layered soil media. Three layers of soil with different stiffness are considered with the middle soil layer the thinnest and most stiff layer. The soil media is discretized and using the theory of elasticity, the governing differential equations are obtained in terms of vertical and horizontal displacements. These equations along with appropriate boundary and continuity conditions are solved by using the finite difference method. The vertical and horizontal displacements, strains and stresses are found at various nodes in the soil media. Parametric studies are carried out to study the effect of the placement depth of the middle soil layer, the relative ratios of the moduli of deformation of the soil layers on the vertical displacement of the footing and the vertical stress distribution. These studies reveal that the middle thin but very stiff layer acts like a plate and redistributes the stresses on the lower soft soil layer uniformly. The displacement on the top and bottom of the middle soil layer is almost the same showing that the compression of the middle layer is negligible as it is very stiff.     

Modeling of Beams on Reinforced Granular Beds

The paper describes a mechanical model for estimating the flexural response of a strip footing, supporting a column (imposing a concentrated load), resting on a compacted granular bed overlying a reinforcement layer for example, geogrids, geomats etc. below which lies a loose soil deposit. The footing is idealized as a beam and the reinforcing element is assumed to have finite bending stiffness and negligible frictional resistance. The upper and lower soil layers are idealized by a series of linear and discrete springs (Winkler springs) of different stiffness values. To find the response of such a model the governing differential equations have been derived and expressed in a nondimensional form. A closed form analytical solution of the same has been obtained subjected to appropriate boundary conditions. Using the present approach the resulting solution for a degenerated case of a long beam is found to be identical to the same of Hetenyi (1946, Beams on elastic foundations, University of Michigan press, Ann Arbor, MI). Parametric studies reveal that the ratio of flexural rigidity of upper and lower beam and the ratio of stiffness of the upper and lower soil layers affect significantly the response of the foundation.     

dC Variations in Late Jurassic Carbonates, Jaisalmer Formation, Western India

The carbon isotope measurements, carried out on subsurface carbonate samples from Oxfordian Jaisalmer Formation, western India, yield positive d¹³C values up to +3.17%. The most positive Oxfordian C-isotope value corresponds to the carbon isotope excursion measured in samples from from other late Jurassic basins of world. The latest Oxfordian C-isotope values of Jaisalmer Basin fluctuate around 2% while the C-isotope values of 1.50% mark the base of Kimmeridgian. The Oxfordian C-isotope excursion appears to correspond to a time of overall increased organic carbon burial triggered by increased nutrient transfer from continents to oceans during a time of rising global sea level.     

Local provenance in rehabilitation of degraded landscapes: a case study from the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, Australia

Throughout Australia thousands of volunteers are engaged in Landcare projects that should help rehabilitate degraded landscapes. Many of these projects involve tree planting, but their seed is not necessarily of local provenance. Based on a survey of 85 Landcare groups working in the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, data were collected about Landcare groups' knowledge of their seed source, understanding of local provenance and the ecosystem in which they were planting trees and the source of funding for their projects. The findings from the study indicate that about one in five (21%) of the groups surveyed that introduced plant material were not aware of local provenance issues. Indirect indications were that a large number of Landcare groups state-wide may be doing more harm than good to the landscape while trying to rehabilitate it. The data also showed that one in seven (13%) of the groups funded by the Australian Government through the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) had limited awareness of local provenance issues. With millions of dollars being spent on 'works on the ground', it would be prudent to allocate some funds to document and monitor current Landcare activities, so that the environmental outcomes can be quantified and more effective Landcare policies can be developed in the future.     

C-isotope Composition of Carbonates from Indravati Basin, India: Implications for Regional Stratigraphic Correlation

The Indravati Basin represents an unmetamorphosed and unfossiliferous sequence and shows a broad similarity in lithological association with other Purana Basins of Central India. The carbonates belonging to Indravati Basin have on average, moderately positive δ13 C values (up to +4.5). Numerous successions reported from other parts of world, show similar δ13 C values and contain evidence to suggest that the latest Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic period may represent an isotopically recognizable interval globally. The elevated δ13 C values of Indravati Basin are also correlatable with other Purana Basins in India including Upper Vindhyan Supergroup.     

Ionic conductivity in gem-quality single-crystal alkali feldspar from the Eifel: temperature,orientation and composition dependence

We measured the ion conductivity of single-crystal alkali feldspar originating from two different locations in the Eifel/Germany, named Volkesfeld and Rockeskyller sanidine and having potassium site fractions \(C_\mathrm{K}\) of 0.83 and 0.71, respectively. The dc conductivities resulting from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy over the temperature range of 300–900 \(^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) show a weak composition dependence but pronounced differences between the b-direction [\(\perp (010)\)] and \(c^{*}\)-direction [\(\perp (001)\)] of the monoclinic feldspar structure. Conductivity activation energies obtained from the observed linear Arrhenius plots are close to 1.2 eV in all cases, which is closely similar to the activation energies of the \(^{22}\mathrm{Na}\) tracer diffusivity in the same crystals. Taking into account literature data on K tracer diffusion and diffusion correlation effects, the present results point to a predominance of the interstitialcy mechanism over the vacancy mechanism in mass and charge transport on the alkali sublattice in potassium-rich alkali feldspar.     

Concurrent Use of OSCAT and AltiKa to Characterize Antarctic Ice Surface Features

Radar altimetry provides an important geophysical parameter, backscatter coefficient (σ₀), which is useful in studying target surface characteristics. Ku-band (Oceansat-2 scatterometer- OSCAT) and Ka-band (SARAL-AltiKa altimeter) data are concurrently used to characterize polar surface features over the Antarctic region. Maximum-likelihood classification has been employed to classify combined data set (AltiKa and OSCAT) for discrimination among sea ice, open water, and ice sheet (interior and exterior). The sea ice region obtained using the current approach has been compared with sea ice boundary derived from passive microwave data.     

Intercomparison of Oceansat-2 and ASCAT Winds with In Situ Buoy Observations and Short-Term Numerical Forecasts

Sea surface winds from the Oceansat-2 scatterometer (OSCAT) are important inputs to Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently updated the OSCAT retrieval algorithm in order to generate better products. An attempt has been made in this study to evaluate the updated OSCAT winds using buoy observations and the 6-hour short-term forecasts from the T574L64 model from the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) during the 2011 monsoon. The results of the OSCAT evaluation are also compared with those from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on-board the Meteorological Operational Satellite-A (MetOp-A) which were evaluated in the same way. The root mean square differences (RMSDs) for wind speed and direction, are within 2?m?s^?1 and 20° for both scatterometers. The RMSDs for OSCAT are slightly higher than those for ASCAT, and this difference may be attributed in part to the difference in frequency and resolution of the scatterometer payloads. The bias and standard deviation for ASCAT winds are also lower than those for OSCAT winds with respect to the model short-range forecast, and this can be attributed to the regular assimilation of ASCAT winds in the model.     

Identification of Water Conservation Sites in a Watershed (WRJ-2) of Nagpur District, Maharashtra using Geographical Information System (GIS) Technique

The paper deals with the application of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) technique for a watershed development program. For this study, the WRJ-2 watershed falling under Narkhed and Katol Tahsils of Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India is investigated. Various thematic maps (i.e. drainage, geology, soil, geomorphology and land use/ land cover) have been prepared using the remote sensing and GIS techniques. Initially, differential weightage values are assigned to all the thematic maps as per their runoff characteristics. Subsequently, the maps are integrated in GIS environment to identify potential sites for water conservation measures like gully plugs, earthen check dams, continuous contour trenches, percolation tanks, cement bandhara, afforestration and farm ponds, etc. The study depicts that the GIS technique facilitates integration of thematic maps and thereby helps in an identification of micro-zones each with unique characters in-terms of hydrogeology, thus amenable to specific water conservation techniques. It is therefore concluded that, the GIS technique is suitable for an identification of water conservation structures.