Analysis of the 2003 Varunawat Landslide,Uttarkashi, India using Earth Observation data

Mass movements such as landslides in mountainous terrains are natural degradation processes and one of the most important landscape-building factors. Varunawat Parbat overlooking Uttarkashi town witnessed a series of landslides on 23 September 2003 and the debris slides and rock falls continued for 2 weeks. This landslide complex was triggered due to the incessant rainfall prior to the event, and its occurrence led to the blockage of the pilgrim route to Gangotri (source of the Ganges river) and evacuation of thousands of people to safer places. Though there was no loss of lives due to timely evacuation, heavy losses to the property were reported. High-resolution stereoscopic earth observation data were acquired after the incidence to study the landslide in detail with emphasis on the cause of the landslide and mode of failure. Areas along the road and below the Varunawat foothill region are mapped for landslide risk. It was found that the foothill region of the Varunawat Parbat was highly disturbed by man-made activities and houses are dangerously located below steep slopes. The potential zones for landslides along with the existing active and old landslides are mapped. These areas are critical and their treatment with priority is required in order to minimise further landslide occurrences.     

Monitoring Large-Scale Tests for Nuclear Waste Disposal

Two large-scale “in situ” demonstration experiments and their instrumentation are described. The first test (FEBEX Experiment) involves the hydration of a compacted bentonite barrier under the combined effect of an inner source of heat and an outer water flow from the confining saturated granite rock. In the second case, the progressive de-saturation of Opalinus clay induced by maintained ventilation of an unlined tunnel is analyzed. The paper shows the performance of different sensors (capacitive cells, psychrometers, TDR’s) and a comparison of fill behaviour with modelling results. The long term performance of some instruments could also be evaluated specially in the case of FEBEX test. Capacitive sensors provide relative humidity data during long transient periods characterised by very large variations of suction within the bentonite.     

Cyclotron amplification of geomagnetic micropulsations Pc1 in the magnetosphere

A numerical analysis of cyclotron instabilities is carried out by computing the dispersion relation for a three component cold plasma-beam system. Rates of growth and damping for various values of the stream density are calculated from the dispersion relation. The rates of growth and damping increase monotonically as the number density of the proton stream increases. It is found that the frequencies at the rates of maximum growth and the damping decrease slightly to lower frequencies and a sharp peak at these frequencies becomes blunt. The minimum e-folding times of an ion cyclotron wave for (a) σ_s = 10⁻⁴, σ_i = 10⁻² and (b) σ_s = 10⁻¹, σ_i = 10⁻² are about 3·84 and 0·16 sec respectively in the vicinity of the equatorial plane at 6 Re, where σ_s and σ_i are the ratios of the beam density N_s and the helium ion (H₆⁺) density N_i to the total positive ions in the plasma-beam system.     

SOME EXPERIMENTS CONCERNING THE PRIMARY SEISMIC PULSE*

Recordings were made with three types of detector of the primary compressional (P) and shear (S) wave pulses generated by explosions in boreholes. Charge weights varied from 0.08 kg to 9.5 kg and detector distances varied from about 3 m to about 80 m. Scaling by the simple factor W^1/3 where W is the charge weight, enabled observations from different sized charges to be fitted to a single expression. Experiments were carried out in the Bunter sandstone and the London clay and both fluid and solid tamping were used. This variation in tamping had no significant effect on the P-waves but it may have affected the generation of SV-waves. In both media the P-wave energy carried at 30 m from the shot by frequencies less than 100 Hz decreased rapidly with depth and was usually 1–2 % of the available chemical energy for a shot depth of 15 m. The S-wave energy was much less than this, but was highly directional. The P-wave pulse had the appearance of a damped sinusoid in very good agreement with the predictions of the ‘equivalent radiator’ hypothesis. However, the surface of this radiator should be identified not with the blown cavity but with the surface at which the tensile stresses associated with the stress wave become less than the tensile strength of the rock. The predominant frequency for a 1 kg charge at a depth of 15 m was 24 Hz in the clay and 52 Hz in the sandstone. In these and similar media, therefore, an effort should be made to keep individual charges less than 1 kg in reflection shooting and less than 10 kg in refraction shooting. The value of Q was about 50 in clay and about 25 in the sandstone. These estimates are rather uncertain because of the small distances over which the pulses were observed. The Z-transforms of the sampled pulses indicated that they were all of minimum phase, or very near to it.     

Lineages and Fractionation Trends in Undersaturated Volcanic Rocks from the East Otago Volcanic Province (New Zealand) and Related Rocks

The petrology of the East Otago Volcanic Province (late Miocene),including the Dunedin Complex, is dominated by undersaturatedsodic lavas and shallow intmsives whose compositions range fromalkali basalt, basanite, and nephelinite to trachyte and phonolite.A range of relatively potassic volcanic rocks is also developedin the Province. The degree of undersaturation and ratios suchas (FeO+Fe₂O₃):MgO and K₂O:Na₂O vary widely in rocks with comparabledifferentiation indices. Chemical and mineralogical data onwhole rock-glass pairs and variants of shallow intrusives inthe Province, assessed in conjunction with similar data fromother volcanic provinces, demonstrate the production of trachyticliquids from alkali basaltic parents and of phonolitic liquidsfrom basanitic parents. Fractionation trends in both sodic andpotassic series, defined by variation in differentiation indexand normative nepheline, indicate that the degree of undersaturationof the derivative salic liquids is dependent on that of theparent; the slope of the fractionation trend lines is influencedby additional factors, including Po₂. The unequivocal productionof phonolite from trachyte in the East Otago Province has notbeen demonstrated. The mafic variants of theralites from Waihola and a basanite-pegmatoidassociation from Omimi are similar in composition, but the mostsalic differentiates from these differentiation sequences displaypronounced differences in their KO:Na₂O ratios, tending towardsleuco-theralitic (cf. lugarite) and malignitic compositionsrespectively. A multicomponent spectrum of fractionation lineages is suggestedfor individual differentiated bodies and for lava series. Sodiclineages include: (I) alkali basalt–hawaiite–mugearite–benmoreite–trachyte;(2) a more undersaturated series from basanite through nephelinehawaiite, nepheline mugearite, and nepheline benmoreite, tophonolite; (3) a nephelinite series, more restricted in compositionalrange. The relatively high Fe: Mg ratios characterizing themugearitic variants are sometimes exhibited by members of themore potassic series in which, however, Fe:Mg ratios tend tobe characteristically lower. This feature is correlated withthe frequent occurrence of kaersutitic amphibole or its resorptionproducts, indicative of intratelluric fractionation under relativelyhydrous conditions and probably relatively high Po₂. Certainnepheline trachyandesites from East Otago are described in detail.Trachy-basalt-trachyandesite-tristanite-trachyte and sanidinebasanite-nepheline trachyandesite-nepheline tristanite-phonolitelineages are also proposed, and the nomenclature of these moreseries discussed.     

THE LAUSANNE CONGRESS

The International Society for Photogrammetry held the Xlth International Congress at Lausanne during July 1968. The authors review the activities of five of the seven I.S.P. Commissions.     

THE AIR PHOTOGRAPH REQUIREMENTS OF GEOLOGISTS

The geologist's use of air photographs and the characteristics studied by photogeologists are briefly described. The influence of photographic factors such as scale, season, time of day, film type, processing, overlap and dimensional accuracy are considered from the geologist's viewpoint.     

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MEASUREMENTS OF GLACIAL LANDFORMS

Photogrammetric methods using sequential aerial photography can provide the geomorphologist with comparative measurements of rapidly changing glacial landforms. Examples are given of eskers, kame and kettle areas, an ice-dammed lake and coastal features in south-east Iceland.