A scientometric analysis of ICT-assisted disaster management

Natural Hazards - In recent years, natural and manmade disasters such as floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and tsunamis have occurred with human losses and environmental deterioration. Henceforth, to...     

Demarcation of palaeochannels and integrated ground water resources mapping in parts of Hisar district,Haryana

Present study deals with the demarcation of palaeochannels and mapping of integrated water resources in parts of Hisar district, Haryana using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-1D) LISS-III Data of December 21, 2001. The landforms identified are Sand Dune, Dune Complex, Aeolian Plain, Fluvioaeolian plain, Palaeochannel and Younger Alluvial Plain formed by aeolian, fluvio-aeolian, and fluvial processes. These palaeochannels are first time demarcated in the area. The ground water prospects of various geomorphic units have been assessed. Depth to water level and ground water quality maps were digitized and put in to GIS format. Ground water prospects and quality maps were integrated and depth to water level information was draped on it to prepare final integrated ground water resources map. This map depicts ground water prospects, quality and depth together in a single map, which will help in and ground water exploration.     

Thermal evolution of trans‐Neptunian objects,icy satellites,and minor icy planets in the early solar system

Numerical simulations are performed to understand the early thermal evolution and planetary scale differentiation of icy bodies with the radii in the range of 100–2500 km. These icy bodies include trans‐Neptunian objects, minor icy planets (e.g., Ceres, Pluto); the icy satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; and probably the icy‐rocky cores of these planets. The decay energy of the radionuclides, ²⁶Al, ⁶⁰Fe, ⁴⁰K, ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, and ²³²Th, along with the impact‐induced heating during the accretion of icy bodies were taken into account to thermally evolve these planetary bodies. The simulations were performed for a wide range of initial ice and rock (dust) mass fractions of the icy bodies. Three distinct accretion scenarios were used. The sinking of the rock mass fraction in primitive water oceans produced by the substantial melting of ice could lead to planetary scale differentiation with the formation of a rocky core that is surrounded by a water ocean and an icy crust within the initial tens of millions of years of the solar system in case the planetary bodies accreted prior to the substantial decay of ²⁶Al. However, over the course of billions of years, the heat produced due to ⁴⁰K, ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, and ²³²Th could have raised the temperature of the interiors of the icy bodies to the melting point of iron and silicates, thereby leading to the formation of an iron core. Our simulations indicate the presence of an iron core even at the center of icy bodies with radii ≥500 km for different ice mass fractions.     

Effects of a fully submerged boulder within a boulder array on the mean and turbulent flow fields: Implications to bedload transport

The objective of this coupled experimental and numerical study is to provide insight into the mean and turbulent flow fields within an array of fully submerged, isolated, immobile boulders. Our study showed that the velocity defect law performed well for describing the mean flow around the boulder within the array. A prerequisite, however, was to accurately estimate the spatial variability of u* around the boulder, which was achieved via the boundary characteristics method. The u* exhibited considerable spatial variability within the array and form roughness was shown to be up to 2 times larger than the skin roughness in the boulder near-wake region. Because the boulders bear a significant amount of the flow shear, the available bed shear stress for entrainment of the mobile sediment, ?? _ols , near the boulders was roughly 50% lower than the ambient ?? _ols . The ?? _ols variability induced by the boulders could lead to a threefold overestimation of the sediment transport rate.     

Cellular Automata Based Model of Urban Spatial Growth

In the study reported in this paper an attempt has been made to develop a Cellular Automata (CA) model for simulating future urban growth of an Indian city. In the model remote sensing data and GIS were used to provide the empirical data about urban growth while Markov chain process was used to predict the amount of land required for future urban use based on the empirical data. Multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) technique was used to reveal the relationships between future urban growth potential and site attributes of a site. Finally using the CA model, land for future urban development was spatially allocated based on the urban suitability image provided by MCE, neighbourhood information of a site and the amount of land predicted by Markov chain process. The model results were evaluated using Kappa Coefficient and future urban growth was simulated using the calibrated model     

Drinking water quality in villages of southwestern Haryana,India: assessing human health risks associated with hydrochemistry

The chemical quality of groundwater of western Haryana, India was assessed for its suitability for drinking purposes. A total of 275 water samples were collected from deep aquifer based hand-pumps situated in 37 different villages/towns of Bhiwani region. The water samples were analyzed for different physico-chemical properties, e.g., pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), total harness (TH), total alkalinity (TA), calcium, magnesium, carbonate, bicarbonate, sulphate, chloride and fluoride concentrations. In this study, the average TDS content was greater ranging 1,692 (Bhiwani block) to 2,560 mg l⁻¹ (Siwani block), and other important parameters of water, e.g., TA (442–1,232 mg l⁻¹), TH (437–864 mg l⁻¹) and bicarbonate (554–672 mg l⁻¹), were also higher than maximum permissible limit by WHO or BIS. The fluoride appeared as a major problem of safe drinking water in this region. We recorded greater fluoride concentration, i.e., 86.0 mg l⁻¹ from Motipura village that is highest fluoride level ever recorded for Haryana state. The average fluoride concentration ranged between 7.1 and 0.8 mg l⁻¹ in different blocks of western Haryana. On the basis of fluoride concentration, Siwani block showed the maximum number of water samples (84% of total collected samples) unsuitable for drinking purposes (containing fluoride >1.5 mg l⁻¹) followed by Charki Dadri block (58%), Bhiwani block (52%), Bawani Khera block (33%) and Loharu block (14%). This study clearly suggest that some health deteriorating chemicals in drinking water were at dangerous level and; therefore, water quality could be a major health threat for local residents of western Haryana. The high fluoride level in drinking water has posed some serious dental health risks in local residents.     

Prioritisation of sub-watersheds based on earth observation data of agricultural dominated northern river basin of India

The Upper Tons River Basin of North India has been selected for prioritisation of sub-watersheds (SW) based on morphometric parameters with respect to groundwater derived from topographic sheets and CARTOSAT data. There are 10 SW have been delineated in the region, high stream frequency (F_s) values of SW (1–5) and SW-9 indicated the occurrence of steep slopes, less permeable rocks, greater runoff, less infiltration possibility. Further, these regions have been predicted as poor groundwater potentialities. SW-2 has been identified as poorest groundwater potential zone, whereas SW-4 and SW (6–8) regions possess good permeable bed rocks. The Drainage density (D_d) map demonstrated that the middle south-west region possesses higher D_d whereas northeastern regions contain lower D_d. Further, the areal parameters indicate elongated shape of the basin, hilly region has moderate to steeper ground slope. The outcomes of work have potential to manage groundwater and to ameliorate the flash flood and droughts.     

Snow cover area variability assessment in the upper part of the Satluj river basin in India

In high-altitude areas, snow cover plays a significant role in mountainous hydrology. Satluj, which is a snow-fed river, is a part of the Indus River system in the western Himalayas. Snow cover area (SCA) variability in this river basin affects the spatio-temporal flow availability and avalanche events. Keeping this in mind, the present study focuses on SCA variability and its relationship with various topographical features such as elevation, slope and aspect. The study has been carried out in the upper part of the Satluj River Basin on the basis of MODIS Terra (MOD10A2) data from 2001 to 2014. It has been noticed that the average annual SCA in this part of the Satluj River Basin varies from 44 to 56% with an average of about 48% of the total basin area of 16, 650 km². Further, snow accumulation and depletion curves have been suggested for assessing the SCA in the study area.     

Multiyear Observations of Deposition-Mode Ice Nucleating Particles at Two High-Altitude Stations in India

Ice nucleating particle(INP) measurements were made at two high-altitude stations in India. Aerosols collected on filter paper at Girawali Observatory, Inter University Center for Astronomy Astrophysics(IGO), and at the Radio Astronomy Center, Ooty(RAC), were activated in deposition mode using a thermal gradient diffusion chamber to determine the INP concentrations. The measurement campaigns at IGO were conducted during 2011, 2013 and 2014, and at RAC during 2013 and 2014. When the aerosol samples were exposed to an ice supersaturation of between 5% and 23% in the temperature range~(-1)7.6?C to-22?C, the maximum INP number concentration at IGO and RAC was 1.0 L~(-1) and 1.6 L~(-1), respectively.A maximum correlation coefficient of 0.76 was observed between the INP number concentration and ice supersaturation. The airmass trajectories analyzed for the measurement campaigns showed that the Arabian Desert and arid regions were the main INP contributors. Elemental analysis of particles showed the presence of Na, Cl, Si, Al, Fe, Cu, Co, Cd, S, Mn and K, as well as some rare-Earth elements like Mo, Ru, La, Ce, V and Zr. When aerosols in the size range 0.5–20 μm were considered, the fraction that acted as INPs was 1 : 10~4 to 1 : 10~6 at IGO, and 1 : 10~3 to 1 : 10~4 at RAC. The higher ratio of INPs to aerosols at RAC than IGO may be attributable to the presence of rare-Earth elements observed in the aerosol samples at RAC, which were absent at IGO.     

Implications of geochemistry in support of Palaeo-Proterozoic tectonothermal evolution of bhopalpatnam Granulite Belt, Bastar Craton, Central India

Bhopalpatnam Granulite Belt which occur along SW margin of Bastar Craton and NE shoulder of Pranhita-Godavari Rift comprise of charnockite (enderbitic variety), garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss, quartzo-feldspathic gneiss and corundum bearing aluminous gneiss. High La/Yb ratio, low Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*=1.0), high LREE/HREE ratio with uniform REE pattern, high La/Sc ratio (0.53–6.43), high Th/Sc ratio (0.03–2.56), low Ni (5.52–20.95), low Cr (31.05–117.05) and uniform Zr/Hf distribution pattern indicate a Proterozoic character. Distribution pattern of K₂O, Na₂O and CaO in ternary diagram show quartz-monzonite-granodiorite trend for the bulk rocks indicating that the bulk rock composition is close to TTG of early Archaean, which might have supplied the sediments for the rocks of Bhopalpatnam Granulite Belt. Geochemical and mineralogical evidence indicate an argillaceous protolith for garnet — sillimanite — biotite gneiss and corundum bearing aluminous gneiss, whereas an arkosic protolith for quartzo-feldspathic gneiss. The geochemical signatures also suggest an active continental margin setting for the rocks of Bhopalpatnam Granulite Belt with prominent Nb and Ta anomaly favouring a subduction environment between Bastar Craton and East Dharwar Craton. This is in conformity with the finding of the earlier workers suggesting a clockwise P-T path based on the combined fluid inclusion and mineral phase equilibria. The LILE geochemistry of charnockite suggests a bi-phase evolution. High LREE/HREE ratio portrays a highly evolved nature of the charnockitic melt generated through partial melting of the continental crust at the final stage of the granulite facies metamorphism during collision between Bastar and East Dharwar Cratons.