The Himalayan cryosphere: A critical assessment and evaluation of glacial melt fraction in the Bhagirathi basin

The cryosphere constitutes an important subset of the hydrosphere.The Himalayan cryosphere is a significant contributor to the hydrological budget of a large river system such as the Ganges.Basic data on the cryosphere in the Himalaya is inadequate and also has large uncertainties.The data on glacial melt component in the Himalayan rivers of India also shows high variability.The Gangotri glacier which constitutes nearly a fifth of the glacierized area of the Bhagirathi basin represents one of the fastest receding,large valley glaciers in the region which has been surveyed and monitored for over sixty years.The availability of measurement over a long period and relatively small glacier-fed basin for the Bhagirathi river provides suitable constraints for the measurement of the glacial melt fraction in a Himalayan river.Pre- and post-monsoon samples reveal a decreasing trend Of depletion of δ~(18)O in the river water from glacier snout(Gaumukh) to the confluence of the Bhagirathi river with the Alaknanda river near Devprayag.Calculations of existing glacial melt fraction(~ 30%at Rishikesh) are not consistent with the reported glacial thinning rates.It is contended that the choice of unsuitable end-members in the three component mixing model causes the overestimation of glacial melt component in the river discharge.Careful selection of end members provides results(~11%at Devprayag) that are consistent with the expected thinning rates.     

Geological and mineralogical study of eclogite and glaucophane schists in the Naga Hills Ophiolite,Northeast India

A variety of low‐ to high‐pressure metamorphic assemblages occur in the metabasic rocks and metachert in the Upper Cretaceous–Eocene ophiolite belt of the central part of the Naga Hills, an area in the northern sector of the Indo–Myanmar Ranges in the Indo–Eurasian collision zone. The ophiolite suite includes peridotite tectonite containing garnet lherzolite xenoliths, layered ultramafic–mafic cumulates, metabasic rocks, basaltic lava, volcaniclastics, plagiogranite, and pelagic sediments emplaced as dismembered and imbricated bodies at thrust contacts between moderately metamorphosed accretionary rocks/basement (Nimi Formation/Naga Metamorphics) and marine sediments (Disang Flysch). It is overlain by coarse clastic Paleogene sediments of ophiolite‐derived rocks (Jopi/Phokphur Formation). The metabasic rocks, including high‐grade barroisite/glaucophane‐bearing epidote eclogite and glaucophane schist, and low‐grade greenschist and prehnite–clinochlore schist, are associated with lava flows and ultramafic cumulates at the western thrust contact. Chemically, the metabasites show a low‐K tholeiitic affinity that favors derivation from a depleted mantle source as in the case of mid‐ocean ridge basalt. Thermobarometry indicates peak P–T conditions of about 20 kb and 525°C. Retrogression related to uplift is marked by replacement of barroisite and omphacite by glaucophane followed by secondary actinolite, albite, and chlorite formation. A metabasic lens with an eclogite core surrounded by successive layers of glaucophane schist and greenschist provides field evidence of retrogression and uplift. Presence of S‐C mylonite in garnet lherzolite and ‘mica fish’ in glaucophane schist indicates ductile deformation in the shear zone along which the ophiolite was emplaced.     

A concise overview on historical black carbon in ice cores and remote lake sediments in the northern hemisphere

Black Carbon(BC),as a driver of environmental change,could significantly impact the snow by accelerating melting and decreasing albedo.Systematic documentation ...     

The effects of chemical reactions on the dispersion of air pollutants over area sources

An analytical study has been performed to examine the characteristics of two-dimensional steady-state advective-diffusive transport of air pollutants emitted from ground-based area sources. The solutions for the concentration of air pollutants are obtained by Integral and Variational Imbedding methods taking chemical reaction process into account. A comparative study of concentration is displayed graphically, followed by a quantitative discussion.     

Origin of “paired” aseismic rises: Ceará and Sierra Leone rises in the equatorial, and the Rio Grande Rise and Walvis Ridge in the South Atlantic

In the equatorial Atlantic the Ceará and Sierra Leone rises lie on opposing sides of the mid-ocean ridge and are equidistant from its axis. The northern and southern boundaries respectively, of the two rises are formed by the same fracture zones. The area of shallowest acoustic basement under the Ceará Rise coincides with the presence of a 1–2 km thick seismic layer (velocity: 3.5 km/sec) lying over the oceanic layer 2. This 3.5 km/sec layer is interpreted as a sequence of volcanics which began erupting about 80 m.y. ago when the sites of the two rises lay at the ridge axis. As the “abnormal” volcanic activity ceased, the breakup of this volcanic pile into two pieces has formed the Ceará and Sierra Leone rises.

In the South Atlantic, the northern and southern boundaries of the Rio Grande Rise are also formed by fracture zones and an approximately 1 km thick layer with a velocity of 3.5 km/sec exists also under this rise. The same fracture zones appear to bound the Walvis Ridge. Drilling data suggests that both the Rio Grande Rise and Walvis Ridge have subsided continuously since their creation. The igneous rocks recovered from both rises consist of alkalic basaltic suites typical of oceanic volcanic islands. The existing data favor a model in which “excessive” volcanism along the same segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge created both the South Atlantic aseismic rises between 100 and 80 m.y. ago. In both the examples, the northern and southern boundaries of the rises are formed by the same fracture zones which originally bounded the abnormally active segment of the ridge axis.     

Sub‐surface water contribution to recession flow in a mountain headwater stream system based on single monitoring campaign

Discharge in mountain streams may be a mixture of snowmelt, water from surface runoff, and deep return flow through valley bottom alluvia. We used δ¹⁸O and δ²H, solute concentrations, and ²²²Rn to determine water sources of a headwater stream located at the McDonald Creek watershed, Glacier National Park, USA, during summer recession flow period. We analysed minimal water isotope ranges of ?17.6‰ to ?16.5‰ and ?133‰ to ?121‰ for δ¹⁸O and δ²H, respectively, potentially due to dominance of snow‐derived water in the stream. Likewise, solute concentrations measured in the stream through the watershed showed minimal variation with little indication of subsurface water input into the stream. However, we observed ²²²Rn activities in the stream that ranged from 39 to 2646 Bq/m³ with the highest value measured in middle of the watershed associated with channel constriction corresponding to changes in local orientation of underlying rocks. Downstream from this point, ²²²Rn activity decreased from 581 to 117 Bq/m³ in a series of punctuated steps associated with small rapids and waterfalls that we hypothesized to cause radon degassing with a maximum predicted loss of 427 Bq/m³ along a 400 m distance. Based on mass balance calculations using ²²²Rn activity values, streamflow, and channel characteristics, we estimated that groundwater contributed between 0.3% and 29% of total flow. Overall, we estimated a 5.9% of groundwater contribution integrated for stream reach measured at McDonald Creek during recession flow period. Finally, a lower mean hyporheic flux of 14 m³/day was estimated compared to the groundwater flux of 70 710 m³/day. These assessments highlight the potential for radon as a conservative tracer that can be used to estimate subsurface water contribution in mountain streams within a complex geologic setting. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of pre-season high flows,climate, and the Three Gorges Dam on low flow at the Three Gorges Region,China

The efficient operation of a multipurpose reservoir requires information on high and low flows. However, analyses of inflows for high flows and for low flows are typically done independently. In this paper, we considered the joint dependence of the low flow on the preceding high flow volume and duration for the wet season in the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River Basin in China. High flow volume and duration were found to have a strong association with the annual minimum 7-day flow in Cuntan, Wanxian, and Yichang stations. Furthermore, we identified the Arctic Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and snow cover in the Tibetan Plateau to have statistically significant teleconnections with the annual minimum 7-day flow. Bayesian models that consider a different level of pooling of the site by site regressions were then developed for the annual minimum 7-day flow conditional on the climate indices and high flow volume (or duration). The full pooling model performed best, suggesting that a homogeneous regional response is best identified given the global climate predictors. Statistics such as the deviance information criterion and reduction of error, coefficient of efficiency, and coverage rate under cross validation indicate the good performance of the model. Snow cover in the western Tibetan Plateau and high flow volume were identified as the most influential factors of the annual minimum 7-day flow through their impact on water storage in the basin. Recent simulations since June 2003, when the Three Gorges Dam operation started, were used to analyse the effect of dam operation on the annual minimum 7-day flow. A comparison of observations and predictions during the post-dam period demonstrated that the dam operation effectively modifies the annual minimum 7-day flow period to have higher flows.     

Neoproterozoic age based on microbiotas from the Raipur Group of Baradwar sub-basin,Chhattisgarh

An assemblage of structurally preserved organic-walled microfossils (OWMs) from the macerated residue of black carbonaceous shale belonging to Saradih Formation, the youngest carbonate horizon of the Raipur Group, Chhattisgarh Supergroup exposed at on the right bank of Mahanadi River, NE of Sarangarh township in Raigarh district, Chhattisgarh is being reported for the first time. The assemblage is comprised of 19 taxa of 13 genera belong to eukaryotes and prokaryotes viz. Leiosphaeridia, Stictosphaeridium, Dictyotidium, Synsphaeridium, Symplassosphaeridium, Satka, Trachysphaeridium, Goniosphaeridium, Trachyhystrichosphaera, Vandalosphaeridium, Siphonophycus, Oscillatoriopsis and Polythrichoides. The comprehensive account of recovered microbiotic assemblage can be correlated with globally known Neoproterozoic (early Cryogenian) assemblages, deposited in tidal complexes of shallow sea.     

Tectonic significance of Neoproterozoic magmatism of Nakora area,Malani igneous suite,Western Rajasthan,India

Three magmatic phases are distinguished in the Neoproterozoic Nakora Ring Complex (NRC) of Malani Igneous Suite (MIS), namely (a) Extrusive (b) Intrusive and (c) Dyke phase. Magmatism at NRC initiated with minor amount of (basic) basalt flows and followed by the extensive/voluminous acid (rhyolites-trachytes) flows. The ripple marks are observed at the Dadawari area of NRC in tuffaceous rhyolite flow which suggests the aqueous condition of flows deposition. The emplacement of the magma appears to have been controlled by a well defined NE-SW tectonic lineament and cut by radial pattern of dykes. These NE-SW tectonic lineaments are the linear zones of crustal weakness and high heat flow. The spheroidal and rapakivi structures in the Nakora acid volcanics indicate the relationship between genetic link and magma mixing. Basalt-trachyte-rhyolite association suggests that the large amount of heat is supplied to the crust from the magma chamber before the eruption. The field (elliptical/ring structures), mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Nakora granites attest an alkaline character in their evolution and consistent with within plate tectonic setting. The emplacement of these granites and associated volcanics is controlled by ring structures, a manifestation of plume activity and cauldron subsidence, an evidence of extensional tectonic environment. NRC granites are the product of partial melting of rocks similar to banded gneiss from Kolar Schist Belt of India. The present investigations suggest that the magmatic suites of NRC rocks are derived from a crustal source and the required heat supplied from a mantle plume.