A Long Term Study on Chemical Composition of Rainwater at Dayalbagh, a Suburban Site of Semiarid Region

Rainwater samples were collected for the monsoon period of 1988 and 1991–1996 at Dayalbagh (Agra), a suburban site situated in semiaridregion. The mean pH was 7.01 ±1.03 well above 5.6, which is the reference pH. Concentration of Ca²⁺ was observed to be highest followed by Mg²⁺, NH₄ ⁺,SO₄ ^2–, Cl^–,NO₃ ^–, Na⁺, F^– and K⁺. The ratios of SO₄ ^2– + NO₃ ^– andCa²⁺ + Mg²⁺ (TA/TC) have been considered as indicatorfor acidity. In the Agra region ratio of TA/TC is quite below 1.0 indicating alkaline nature of rainwater. The lowest value of 0.24 was observed in 1991 likely due to the lowest rain depth of the decade. The highest value of 0.54 was observed in 1996, a year with a large rain depth and increase in line (vehicular traffic) and area sources (population growth). Good correlation between Ca²⁺ and NO₃ ^–,Ca²⁺ and SO₄ ^2– andSO₄ ^2– and NO₃ ^–,indicates that wind carried dust and soil play a significant role in neutralization of precipitation acidity.     

Torsional wave propagation in non‐homogeneous layer between non‐homogeneous half‐spaces

The study of surface wave in a layered medium has their possible application in geophysical prospecting. In the present work, dispersion equation for torsional wave in an inhomogeneous isotropic layer between inhomogeneous isotropic half‐spaces has been derived. Two cases are discussed separately for torsional wave propagation in inhomogeneous layer between homogeneous and non‐homogeneous half‐spaces, respectively. Further, two possible modes for torsional wave propagation are obtained in case of inhomogeneous layer sandwiched between non‐homogeneous half‐spaces. Closed form solutions for displacement in the layer and half‐spaces are obtained in each case. The study reveals that the layer width, layer inhomogeneity, frequency of inhomogeneity, as well as inhomogeneity in the half‐space has significant effect on the propagation of torsional surface waves. Displacement and implicit dispersion equation for torsional wave velocities are expressed in terms of Heun functions and their derivatives. Effects of inhomogeneity on torsional wave velocity are also discussed graphically by plotting the dimensionless phase velocity against dimensionless and scaled wave number for different values of inhomogeneity parameter. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Atmospheric Dry Deposition to Marble and Red Stone

This paper presents dry deposition flux and deposition velocity of atmospheric particles on white marble and red stone at Dayalbagh, a suburban site of semi arid region, which is 10 km away from the industrial sector of the Agra city where due to agricultural practices vegetation predominates. The wind speed at Agra is mostly in the range of 1–2 m s^–1. The atmospheric calm conditions at Agra in summer, monsoon, and winter seasons are 47%, 35%, and 76%, respectively. Industrial areas of the city are away from Dayalbagh and are located in the NE, E, SE, and SW sectors. The main industrial activities, which are in operation in Agra city and its outskirts, are foundry and forging industry. The other industrial activities in Agra are rubber processing, lime oxidation and pulverization, chemicals, engineering and brick refractory kilns. Dry deposition samples were collected on dry days on white marble and red stone (0.224 m × 0.224 m × 0.02 m) using surface washing method. Both slabs were fixed to an iron stand (1.5 m height) at an angle of about 80 from the horizontal and exposed for 24 h on the roof of the faculty building. The order of deposition flux on white marble is NH₄⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Na⁺ > Cl^– > K⁺ > NO₃^– > SO₄^2– > F^– and that on red stone is NH₄⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Ca²⁺ > SO₄^2– > Na⁺ > NO₃^– > K⁺ > F^– > Cl^–. Average dry deposition flux of major ions varies from 3.4 to 128.5 M m^–2 d^–1. The sum of major cations on white marble and red stone are 516.4 and 450.4 eq m^–2 d^–1, respectively while sum of major anions are 425.3 and 400.4 eq m^–2 d^–1 on white marble and red stone, respectively. Higher deposition of all ions was observed when wind blows from NE as most of the Agra Iron foundries and Ferozabad glass industries lie in this direction. The mean values of dry deposition velocity of ions vary between 0.22 cm s^–1 to 1.49 cm s^–1. Deposition velocity for all ions is higher on white marble than red stone inspite of rougher surface of red stone as compared to white marble. This could be due to the chemical nature of white marble, which is made of dolomite and hence adds significant amount of ions by dissolution during washing. Seasonally the deposition velocity was highest in winter.     

Addendum to: Strength of the Solar Coronal Magnetic Field – A Comparison of Independent Estimates Using Contemporaneous Radio and White-Light Observations

This addendum uses an alternate fit for the electron density distribution \(N(r)\) (see Figure 1) and estimates the coronal magnetic field using the new model. We find that the estimates of the magnetic field are in close agreement using both the models.

We have fit the \(N(r)\) distribution obtained from STEREO-A/COR1 and SOHO/LASCO-C2 using a fifth-order polynomial (see Figure 1). The expression can be written as

$$\begin{aligned} N_{\text{cor}}(r) &= 1.43 \times 10^{9} r^{-5} - 1.91 \times 10^{9} r^{-4} + 1.07 \times 10^{9} r^{-3} - 2.87 \times 10^{8} r^{-2} \\ &\quad {} + 3.76 \times 10^{7} r^{-1} - 1.91 \times 10^{6} , \end{aligned}$$

(1)

where \(N_{\text{cor}}(r)\) is in units of cm^?3 and \(r\) is in units of \(\mathrm{R}_{\odot}\). The background coronal electron density is enhanced by a factor of 5.5 at 2.63 \(\mathrm{R}_{\odot}\) during the coronal mass ejection (CME). The estimated coronal magnetic field strength (\(B\)) using radio data indicates that \(B(r) \approx(0.51\text{\,--\,}0.48) \pm 0.02\ \mathrm{G}\) in the range \(r \approx2.65\text{\, --\,}2.82\ \mathrm{R}_{\odot}\). The field strengths for STEREO-A/COR1 and SOHO/LASCO-C2 are ≈?0.32 G at \(r \approx 3.11\ \mathrm{R}_{\odot}\) and ≈?0.12 G at \(r \approx 4.40\ \mathrm{R}_{\odot}\), respectively.

     

Liquefaction behavior of Indo-Gangetic region using novel metaheuristic optimization algorithms coupled with artificial neural network

Natural Hazards - The present research aims to co-relate the plasticity and liquefaction response of soil as well as its significance in defining liquefaction probability. To accomplish this,...     

Evaluating social capital in emergency and disaster management and hazards plans

Natural Hazards - Natural hazards and disasters pose a serious threat to society. Efficient hazard plans are a county’s prerequisite in preparing for potential disasters and serve as primary...     

Anisotropic universe with cosmic strings and bulk viscosity in a scalar–tensor theory of gravitation

A spatially homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi type-I cosmological model is obtained in a scalar–tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1986) when the source for energy momentum tensor is a bulk viscous fluid containing one dimensional cosmic strings. Some physical and kinematical properties of the model are discussed. It is observed that the bulk viscosity has a greater role in getting an accelerated expansion of the universe in this theory.     

Soil characterization using electrical resistivity tomography and geotechnical investigations

Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) has been used in association with Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT) for Geotechnical investigations at two sites, proposed for thermal power plants, in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. SPT and DCPT tests were conducted at 28 points and two ERT profiles, each measuring 355 m long, were recorded using 72 electrodes deployed at 5 m spacing. Electrical characterization of subsurface soil was done using borehole data and grain size analysis of the soil samples collected from boreholes. The concept of electrical resistivity variation with soil strength related to the grain size distribution, cementation, porosity and saturation has been used to correlate the transverse resistance of soil with the number of blow counts (N-values) obtained from SPT and DCPT data. It was thus observed that the transverse resistance of soil column is linearly related with the number of blow counts (N-values) at these sites. The linear relationships are site-specific and the coefficients of linear relation are sensitive to the lithology of subsurface formation, which was verified by borehole data. The study demonstrates the usefulness of the ERT method in geotechnical investigations, which is economic, efficient and less time consuming in comparison to the other geotechnical methods, such as SPT and DCPT, used for the purpose.     

A dark energy model in a scalar tensor theory of gravitation

LRS Bianchi type-I dark energy model with variable equation of state (EoS) parameter is presented in the scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1986). To get a determinate solution of the field equations we take the help of special law of variation for Hubble’s parameter presented by Bermann (Nuovo Cimento B 74:182, 1983) which yields a cosmological model with negative constant deceleration parameter. Some physical and kinematical properties of the model are also discussed.