Derivation of crop phenological parameters using multi-date SPOT-VGT-NDVI data: A case study for Punjab

Crop phenological parameters, such as the start and end time of the crop growth, the total length of the growing season, time of peak vegetation and rate of greening and senescence are important for planning crop management and crop diversification/intensification. Multi-temporal remote sensing data provides opportunity to characterize the crop phenology at regional level. This study was conducted during the kharif season of the year 2001–02 for Punjab. The ten-day Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite products, with 1 km spatial resolution, available from the Vegetation sensor onboard SPOT4 were used for the study. Twenty-one temporal datasets from May 1, 2001 to November 21, 2001 were used. Logical modelling approach was followed to compute the minimum and maximum NDVI, the amplitude of NDVI, the threshold NDVI during sowing and harvest, the crop duration, integrated NDVI and skewness of profile. The analysis showed that before July beginning, in the whole of Punjab, sowing/planting was over. It was found that the crop emergence in the eastern part of the state started earlier than the western region. The maximum NDVI, which represented peak vegetative stage, was above 0.7 and occurred mostly during August. The duration of crops ranged between 90–140 days, with majority between 110–120 days. Total integrated NDVI in Punjab was generally above 60. Using principal component analysis and divergence analysis seven best metrics were selected for crop discrimination.     

Sorption Model for Dissolved and Leachable Particulate Aluminium in the Great Ouse Estuary, England

The behaviour of dissolved Al in the Great Ouse estuary, in particular with respect to salinity, is complex. There is, however, evidence from field data as well as laboratory mixing experiments to suggest that flocculation and sorption mechanisms play important roles affecting the concentrations of dissolved Al during the early stages of estuarine mixing. In contrast, a near-buffering of dissolved Al occurs in the entire stretch of the estuary (salinity >0.2) with concentrations varying around 1.4 μg l⁻¹. This distribution and lack of variation with salinity is attributable to sorption processes which might dominate over other processes in these turbid estuarine waters (suspended particulate load 48–888 mg l⁻¹) impacting dissolved Al levels. Sorption models have been developed for both dissolved and leachable particulate Al concentrations in these waters. These observations provide compelling evidence of sorption processes that might be important in the geochemistry of Al in estuarine waters.     

Love wave dispersion: Errors due to assumption of isotropy

Summary Frequency equation for Love waves, propagating in a transversely isotropic homogeneous layer which is embedded between two isotropic homogeneous half spaces, is obtained. Errors, in rigidity (h), density and thickness of the anisotropic layer, which arise due to the assumption of isotropy of the medium are calculated by numerically analyzing the frequency equation. The results show that the errors increase with the increasing frequencies, and their signs depend upon the value (whether less than or greater than 1) of the anisotropy co-efficient of the medium of the layer.     

Palynological evidence for the Palaeocene evolution of the forearc basin, Indus Suture Zone, Ladakh, India

The discovery of Permian, Mesozoic and Palaeocene palynomorphs from the Nindam forearc basin, exposed along the Indus Suture Zone in Ladakh, is reported. The palynomorphs are from volcanogenic sandstones and are poorly preserved, distorted and show the effects of abrasion (striation marks). The frequent occurrence of Proxapertites indicates the assemblage is at least Palaeocene in age. The Palaeocene palynomorphs and sediments were transported to the Nindam trough from nearby elevated landward regions (islands). These Palaeocene provenance areas were characterized by an estuarine, nearshore, tropical, warm‐humid environment and were situated at equatorial palaeolatitudes. However, the occurrence of Permian and Mesozoic palynomorphs in the assemblage indicates that the Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Tethyan sedimentary rocks exposed along the northern margin of the Indian plate were redeposited into the tectonically active Cretaceous–Palaeocene trench–subduction complex that existed between the Indian and the Asian plates until the collision took place at ～50–60 Ma.     

Sorption Model for Dissolved Aluminium in Freshwaters

A series of aluminium speciation measurements were madein the freshwaters of the Yare and Great Ouse rivers (England). Samples were analysedfor dissolved and particulate Al, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and other alliedchemical species in order to assess the role of sorption processes on the suspended phasesin controlling dissolved Al levels. Partitioning of Al occurs between solid andsolution phases with a distribution coefficient (K_d) which varies over about one anda half orders of magnitude for suspended particle concentrations of comparablemagnitude. A sorption model is proposed for dissolved Al concentrations in thesefreshwaters with most of the data fitting the model defined by a zone with K_dvalues of 0.316 × 10⁶ and 10⁷. However, a few data points lie outside thiszone, suggesting that other processes may also influence dissolved Al distributions.Nevertheless, the model may serve as a starting point for predicting concentrations ofdissolved Al in rivers where SPM levels are moderate to high (>1 mg l^-1 but< 75 mg l^-1), and indeed, this model works reasonably well for the Conway system(Wales). Further, the empirical distribution coefficient, K_d, decreases withincreasing suspended particle concentration, which may be due in part to colloidal phenomena.     

Weak MHD discontinuities in a radiation-induced flow field

The growth of weak MHD discontinuities have been studied in a radiation induced flow field at very high temperature. Growth and decay properties of weak MHD discontinuities have been discussed under the influences of time-dependent gasdynamic field, the radiation field and the magnetic field with finite electrical conductivity. The effects of thermal radiation and conduction of the global behaviour of weak MHD discontinuities have been studied under a quasi-equilibrium and quasi-isotropic hypothesis of the differential approximation to the radiative heat transfer equation. It is shown that the existence of the time-dependent radiation field gives rise to a radiation induced wave which has a negligibly small effect on the non-relativistic flow properties of the gasdynamic field. It is also shown that the radiation stresses resist the steepening tendency of a compressive weak wave and help in stabilizing it whereas the thermal conduction effects counteracts to destabilize it. It is found that under radiation effects the shock formation is either disallowed or delayed. The two cases of diverging waves and converging waves have been studied separately to answer a particular question as to when a shock discontinuity or a coustic will be formed or disallowed under curvature effects.     

Mesozoic neo-tethyan pre-orogenic deep marine sediments along the Indus–Yarlung Suture,Himalaya

Shelf, forereef and basin margin (slope) olistoliths (Exotic blocks of limestone) of Permian–Jurassic age are tectonically juxtaposed within the Triassic to Eocene age pre-orogenic, deep abyssal plain turbidites of the Lamayuru. The pre-collision tectonic setting and depositional environment of the limestone olistoliths can be reconstructed from within the neighbouring Zanskar range. The disorganized Ophiolitic Melange Zone, an association of different tectonic rock slivers of Jurassic–Eocene age, is tectonically underlain by the overthrusted Lamayuru Formation and tectonically overlain by the Nindam Formation. Tectonic slivers of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous age red radiolarian cherts represent a characteristic lithotectonic unit of the Ophiolitic Melange Zone, those occurring near the contact zone with the Lamayuru Formation, were deposited within the neo-Tethyan deep-ocean floor of the Indian passive margin below the carbonate compensation depth. These tectonic slivers accumulated along the northern margin of the Indus–Yarlung Suture Zone of the Ladakh Indian Himalaya during subduction accretion associated with the initial convergence of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate.     

Love wave propagation in multilayered anisotropic inhomogeneous media

Summary Love wave propagation in a finite set of anisotropic inhomogeneous layers lying between two anisotropic homogeneous half spaces is considered. Generalized frequency equation is obtained by using the Thomson-Haskell matrix method. The usefulness of the general analytical result for discussing more special cases of interest in seismology is brought out in the end.