Time dependent viscous string cloud cosmological models

Bianchi type-I string cosmological models are studied in Saez-Ballester theory of gravitation when the source for the energy momentum tensor is a viscous string cloud coupled to gravitational field. The bulk viscosity is assumed to vary with time and is related to the scalar expansion. The relationship between the proper energy density ρ and string tension density λ are investigated from two different cosmological models.     

Characterization of aerosol optical depth, aerosol mass concentration, UV irradiance and black carbon aerosols over Indo-Gangetic plains, India, during fog period

Every year during winter months (December?CJanuary) fog formation over Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of Indian region is believed to create numerous hazards. The present study addresses variations in aerosol optical properties, aerosol mass concentration and their impact on solar irradiance for pre-during-post fog conditions of December 2004 over IGP, India. Continuous measurements on aerosol optical depth (AOD), total aerosol mass concentration, black carbon (BC) aerosols, UV_ery and UVA were carried out for pre, during and post fog periods over study site of Allahabad, India, during December 2004 as a part of Aerosol Land Campaign-II conducted by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). High aerosol mass concentrations were observed during fog and post-fog periods. Accumulation mode particle loading was found to be high during pre-fog period and coarse mode particle loading was observed to be high during fog and post-fog periods. Considerable reduction in UV_ery and UVA irradiance was observed during fog period compared with pre and post-fog periods. Analysis of NOAA-HYSPLIT model runs suggested that enhanced biomass burning episodes down-wind to the study area increased the concentration of AOD and BC.     

Identification and characterization of marine geohazards in the deep water eastern offshore of India: constraints from multibeam bathymetry,side scan sonar and 3D high-resolution seismic data

The eastern offshore of India covers a vast stretch of sedimentary tract fed by major rivers like Ganges, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi in the north, Krishna and Godavari in the center, and Cauvery and Palar in the south, which led to variations in shelf-slope characteristics, degree of slope and hence slope instability. The structure as well as seismic attribute maps prepared from multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution 3D seismic data set has been analyzed to identify various geohazards in the deep water offshore regions of the east coast of India. These can be categorized as slope instability, slope canyons, shallow gas, mass transport complexes, sediment waves, gas hydrates, gas chimney, mud volcanoes and shallow faults. The slope instability is primarily related to rapid sedimentation by the active river systems while the other geohazards are often developed in association with shallow gas flows and leakages. The bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) identified in the seismic sections indicate the presence of gas hydrates. Rapid sedimentation, BSR formation, dissolution and expulsion of water as well as gas and their subsequent vertical migration are responsible for the formation of shallow gas-related hazards. The results from the above analysis are of immense help in minimizing the risk of shallow hazards during exploration, drilling and subsurface installation activities along the eastern Indian offshore.     

Arching in Inclined and Vertical Mine Stopes

Hydraulic fills are one of the most common backfills used by mining industries to backfill the stopes (voids) created after extracting the ore. It is important to estimate the stresses within to the stope to design the drainage and barricades. Most of the existing analytical models for the estimation of stresses within the stopes consider flat rectangular elements to include the effects of arching, although a continuous compression catenary arch of principal stresses using intersections of shear lines is the reality in field situations. In this paper, a circular compression arch of principal stresses has therefore been used to derive a general expression for stress within the inclined stopes. The results have been compared with the existing analytical and numerical models for vertical stopes as well as inclined stopes. A methodology has been presented to determine the vertical stress variation along the width of stope at different depths. The variation of stresses along the width of stope is also presented graphically.     

Coastal landform mapping around the Gulf of Khambhat using Landsat TM data

Landsat TM data was utilised for coastal geomorphic mapping around the Gulf of Khambhat. Various landforms like shoreline, estuaries, mudflats, islands, mangroves, relict aluvium, cliffs, dunes, flood plains, paleochannel, paleomeanders, oxbow lake, etc. were delineated. The estuaries were divided into salt-wedge estuary, fully mixed estuary and partially mixed estuary based on amount of freshwater discharge and nature of tidal currents. The mudflats were classified into high tide flats, intertidal slopes and subtidal zones. These classes were further classified based on their composition. It was concluded that TM data has broughtout many new features and improved the classification of coastal landforms. The presence of coastal features like drowned river valleys, paleomudflats, relict alluvium, dunes, paleomeanders, oxbow lake and terraces clearly indicate the sea-level changes of the Quarternary period.     

Groundwater arsenic contamination in Ganga–Meghna–Brahmaputra plain, its health effects and an approach for mitigation

The authors’ survey of the Ganga–Meghna–Brahmaputra (GMB) plain (area 569,749 km²; population >500 million) over the past 20 years and analysis of more than 220,000 hand tube-well water samples revealed groundwater arsenic contamination in the floodplains of the Ganga–Brahmaputra river (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Assam) in India and the Padma–Meghna–Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh. On average, 50 % of the water samples contain arsenic above the World Health Organization guideline value of 10 μg/L in India and Bangladesh. More than 100 million people in the GMB plain are potentially at risk. The authors’ medical team screened around 155,000 people from the affected villages and registered 16,000 patients with different types of arsenical skin lesions. Arsenic neuropathy and adverse pregnancy outcomes have been recorded. Infants and children drinking arsenic-contaminated water are believed to be at high risk. About 45,000 biological samples analyzed from arsenic-affected villages of the GMB plain revealed an elevated level of arsenic present in patients as well as non-patients, indicating that many are sub-clinically affected. In West Bengal and Bangladesh, there are huge surface water in rivers, wetlands, and flooded river basins. In the arsenic-affected GMB plain, the crisis is not over water scarcity but about managing the available water resources.     

Impact Assessment of GIS Based Land Resource Inventory Towards Optimizing Agricultural Land Use Plan in Dandakaranya and Easternghats Physiographic Confluence of India

GIS based land resource inventory (LRI) with fine resolution imagery is considered as most authentic tool for soil resource mapping. Soil resource mapping using the concept of soil series in a smaller scale limits its wide application and also its impact assessment for crop suitability is controversial. In this study, we attempted to develop LRI at large scale (1:10,000 scale) at block level land use planning (LUP) in Dandakaranya and Easternghats physiographic confluence of India. The concept of land management unit was introduced in this endeavour. The impact assessment of LRI based LUP was exercised to develop efficient crop planning with best possible management practices. The study area comprised six landforms with slope gradient ranging from very gentle (1–3%) to steep slopes (15–25%). The very gently sloping young alluvial plains occupied maximum areas (19.95% of TGA). The single cropped (paddy) land appears to dominate the land use systems (40.0% of TGA). Thirty three landscape ecological units were resulted by GIS-overlay. Eighteen soils mapping units were generated. The area was broadly under two soil orders (Inceptisols and Alfisols); three great group (Haplaquepts, Rhodustalfs and Endoaquepts) and ten soil series. Crop suitability based impact assessment of LRI based LUP revealed that average yield of different crops increased by 39.2 and 14.5% in Kharif (rainy season) and Rabi (winter) seasons respectively and annual net returns by 83.4% for the cropping system, compared to traditional practices. Productivity and net returns can be increased several folds if customized recommended practices are adopted by the farmers. Informations generated from the study emphasized the potentiality of LRI towards optimizing LUP and exhibited an ample scope to use the methodology as a tool to assess in other physiographic regions in India and abroad.     

Turbulent dissipation rates across the Summer Monsoon Current

Ocean Dynamics - During the summer monsoon, the southern Bay of Bengal (BoB) hosts a cyclonic circulation known as Sri Lanka Dome (SLD) and the swift Summer Monsoon Current (SMC), which advects...