Spectral element analysis to evaluate the stability of long and steep slopes

This paper evaluates the stability of long and steep slopes examining the effect of the critical length/depth ratio, L/H, and critical slope angle, β _cr, by comparing the results of infinite slope equation with the spectral element method. In addition, the influence of uphill and downhill boundaries on stability of long and steep slopes is also evaluated in theoretical domains. As an example, this paper presents a stability analysis of long and steep vegetated and barren slopes in saturated and seismic conditions, and also evaluates the effectiveness of the infinite slope equation for those slopes. In the vegetated slopes, the root zone may not extend to the whole depth of slope, which may lead to overestimating the factor of safety by infinite slope equation. This paper examines the applicability of the infinite slope equation for infinitely long, steep, and shallow slope model by comparing the results of the spectral element method.     

Monitoring surface elevation changes in Jharia coalfield,India using synthetic aperture radar interferometry

This paper investigates surface elevation changes that occurred during 1996–2004 in the Jharia coalfield through the digital elevation model (DEM) generated using synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) using ERS-1/2 (European Remote Sensing Satellite) tandem and RADARSAT-1 data. The comparison of elevation values derived from the InSAR DEM and topographic height data shows a bias of 23.08 m with root-mean-square error of ±2.31 m (5.8 %). The accuracy of the DEM was investigated by comparing the elevation profiles with the digitized elevation contour data at four different locations. The profile comparison shows a mean bias of 22.68 m. Local topography shows changes in elevation up to ±40.00 m due to mining activities on the 8-year time period. The results of InSAR-derived heights and topographic heights were comparable and well-matched except at a few locations where topographic data were unavailable. DEM generated using InSAR due to its high spatial details is ideal for the detection and estimation of surface elevation changes in mining areas.     

New finding of sillmanite in sapphirine-bearing granulites from Pedapalli,NE part of the Eastern Dharwar Craton,India

We report the occurrence of sillimanite in sapphirine-bearing granulites near Pedapalli town in the north eastern part of the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC). The sapphirine-bearing granulites of the Pedapalli area display evidence of metamorphic reactions involved in the formation of diverse mineral assemblages documented in different types of reaction textures. The common stable assemblage contains sapphirine-spinel-orthopyroxene-cordieriteplagioclage-corundum-sillimanite. The P-T evolution of these sapphirine granulites has been constrained by using the TWEEQU program. Temperature of formation of sapphirine-spinel assemblages is high, around 800 °C, and pressure ca. 8 kbar. The assemblage reported in this study has important bearing on the high-temperature metamorphism and exhumation history of the EDC.     

Spread-F during the magnetic storm of 22 January 2004 at low latitudes: Effect of IMF-Bz in relation to local sunset time

The paper describes the results of spread-F at low latitude stations around the world during the magnetic storm starting at 0130 UT on 22 January 2004. The storm can be divided into two phases, first phase up to 1000 UT when interplanetary magnetic field IMF-Bz was highly fluctuating around a small positive value and the second phase after a sudden large southward turning of IMF-Bz at 1030 UT. The first phase produced strong spread-F at Jicamarca, Sao Luis, and Ascension Island and caused complete inhibition of spread-F at Thumba and Waltair in India. It generated weak spread-F at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and strong spread-F at Hainan and Chung Li. The strong spread-F at Hainan and Chung Li were caused by the positive IMF-Bz during the first phase of the storm and not by the negative pulse of IMF-Bz at 1000 UT.     

Modeling storm surges associated with super typhoon durian in South China Sea

Super typhoon Durian struck the central Philippines on November 30, 2006 and southern coast of Vietnam on December 5, 2006. The reported maximum wind exceeded 250 km/h, and the central pressure was 904 hPa during the peak of the system. The typhoon brought colossal damage, both in terms of lives and in terms of properties to the Philippines and Vietnam while Thailand and Malaysia were slightly affected. The energy from the high-velocity wind and central pressure drop resulted in the generation of storm surges along the coastal region of the Philippines including its surrounding islands as well as parts of southern Vietnam. In this paper, a numerical 2D model is used to study the oceanic response to the atmospheric forcing by 2006 super typhoon Durian in the coastal regions of the Philippines and Vietnam. The initial study of this model aims to provide some useful insights before it could be used as a coastal disaster prediction system in the region of South China Sea (SCS). The atmospheric forcing for the 2D model, which includes the pressure gradient and the wind field, is generated by an empirical asymmetrical storm model. The simulated results of storm surges due to typhoon Durian at two locations lie in the range of observed data/estimates published by the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC).     

A Case Study on Forewarning of Yellow Rust Affected Areas on Wheat Crop Using Satellite Data

Objective of this study was to identify stripe rust affected areas of wheat crop as well as evaluation of remote sensing (RS) derived indices. Moderately low temperature and high humidity favour the growth of yellow rust. Most affected areas of Punjab are the foothill districts such as Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Ropar. Occurrence of yellow rust is possible when maximum temperature for day is below 15 °C and Temperature difference of day’s maximum and minimum temperature is less than 5 °C during the early growth of wheat. Forecast of the infestation was done using 3 days forecast of weather data obtained from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at 5 km resolution. Weather forecast used was obtained from Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival System (MOSDAC) site and post infestation, identification of specific locations were done using multi-date IRS AWiFS data. It is an attempt for early detection through 3 days advance forewarning of weather which will be handy tool for planners to expedite relief measures in case of epidemic with a more focused zones of infestation as well as for crop insurers to know the location and extent of damage affected areas.     

Fall,classification and cosmogenic records of the Sabrum (LL6) chondrite

Abstract— The petrographic and chemical characteristics of a fresh Indian meteorite fall at Sabrum are described. Its mean mineral composition is defined by olivine (Fa_31.4), orthopyroxene (Fs_25.1,Wo_2.0), clinopyroxene (Wo₄₅En_45.6Fs_9.4) and plagioclase (An_10.6Ab_83.6Or_5.8). The meteorite shows moderate shock features, which indicate that it belongs to the S4 category. Based on mineralogical and chemical criteria the meteorite is classified as an LL6 brecciated veined chondrite. Several cosmogenic radioisotopes (⁴⁶Sc, ⁷Be, ⁵⁴Mn, ²²Na and ²⁶Al), noble gas (He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe), nitrogen isotopes, and particle tracks density have been measured. Concentrations of cosmogenic ²¹Ne and ³⁸Ar indicate that its cosmic‐ray exposure age is 24.8 Ma. Small amounts of trapped Kr and Xe, consistent with petrologic class 5/6, are present. The track density in olivines is found to be (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10⁶/cm². Activities of most of the short‐lived isotopes are lower than those expected from solar cycle variation. ²²Na/²⁶Al (1.12 ± 0.02) is found to be significantly anomalous, being ?25% lower than expected from the Climax neutron monitor data. These results indicate that the cosmic‐ray flux during the terminal segment of the meteoroid orbit was low. The activities of ²⁶Al and ⁶⁰Co and the track density indicate small meteoroid size with a radius ?15 cm.     

Energy equilibrium in coronal magnetic loops -reinvestigated

Temperature distribution in cylindrically symmetric coronal magnetic loops has been reinvestigated under various conditions: (a) loop with the pressure varying along the radial distance, and (b) loop with constant pressure, for cooler apex loops and hotter apex loops. This work is reinvestigation of our previous work published inAstrophysics and Space Science (Chandra and Prasad, 1993b).     

Effect of biochar on desiccation of marine soils under constant and cyclic temperatures

Acta Geotechnica - Biochar has recently been gaining increasing attention as a stable and sustainable soil amendment material. However, the effect of biochar amendment on the desiccation behaviour...