Geochemistry and tectonic significance of mafic volcanic rocks of the Hindoli belt, southeastern Rajasthan: Implications for continent assembly

Mafic volcanic rocks that occur within the sedimentary pile of the Hindoli Group were analyzed for major and trace elements (including REE) to establish tectonic setting of volcanism during the early Proterozoic history of the North Indian Craton. The mafic volcanics are sub-alkaline showing compositional variation from picrobasalt to basalt. They are LREE enriched with (La/Yb)_N ratio ranging from 4.67?C6.19 (avg.5.27) and exhibit slightly concave REE patterns relative to chondrite. The multi-element patterns of these mafic volcanic rocks display relative enrichment in Th and LREE and negative anomalies of Nb and P. These geochemical characteristics are consistent with a subduction related origin. Various variation diagrams, involving immobile trace elements, distinguish the Hindoli lavas as arc basalt. However, their Ti and Nb contents are higher than those of subduction related magmas. Probably the wedge melting, along with mixing of rising asthenosphere might have produced these characteristics. It is suggested that the Hindoli basin originated by rifting of island- arc lithosphere, caused by rising plume in an extensional back arc region. Based on the results of the present geochemical study, it is proposed that in the early Proterozoic the Mewar block had an active-type continental margin on its present eastern side. The continental magmatic arcs and intra-arc basins developed on this margin were subsequently incorporated into the Mewar protocontinent. Possibly, the plate carrying the Bundelkhand block subducted beneath the eastern margin of the Mewar block, resulting in the final amalgamation of the two blocks along Great Boundary Fault zone or Banas Dislocation Zone. The arc related volcanism of north Indian shield at about 1850?C1832 Ma, appears to represent the global subduction event, which resulted in the amalgamation and formation of Columbia supercontinent.     

Aquifer hydraulic conductivity estimation from surface geoelectrical measurements for Krauthausen test site, Germany

The physical explanation is presented for two types of theoretical equations which encompass a direct and an inverse relationship between the hydraulic conductivity and electrical resistivity of an aquifer. Using the theory of direct current (DC) resistivity prospecting, it is shown that a direct relation exists if the bulk of the current flow is in the vertical direction, whereas the inverse relation exists if the current is in the horizontal direction. Consequently, the relation in question is direct in the case of a relatively conducting basement and inverse in the case of a comparatively resistive basement. Then, the aquifer hydraulic conductivity for the hydrogeologically well-studied area of Krauthausen in Germany is estimated by two different techniques using surface geoelectrical data. The estimated values are compared with those conventionally determined by a pump test experiment and it can be concluded that the estimation is better whenever geoelectrical data are used.     

Assessing the effect of future landslide on ecosystem services in Aqabat Al-Sulbat region,Saudi Arabia

Natural Hazards - Co-occurrence events of droughts and heatwaves characterized by abnormal low soil moisture (SM) and high temperatures may cause more significant impacts on society and natural...     

Spatial trends of dry spells over Peninsular Malaysia during monsoon seasons

This study aims to trace changes in the dry spells over Peninsular Malaysia based on the daily rainfall data from 36 selected rainfall stations which include four subregions, namely northwest, west, southwest, and east for the periods of 1975 to 2004. Six dry spell indices comprising of the main characteristics of dry spells, the persistency of dry events, and the frequency of the short and long duration of dry spells will be used to identify whether or not these indices have increased or decreased over Peninsular Malaysia during the monsoon seasons. The findings of this study indicate that the northwestern areas of the Peninsular could be considered as the driest area since almost all the indices of dry spells over these areas are higher than in the other regions during the northeast (NE) monsoon. Based on the individual and the field significant trends, the results of the Mann–Kendall test indicate that as the total number of dry days, the maximum duration, the mean, and the persistency of dry days are decreased, the trend of the frequency of long dry spells of at least 4 days is also found to decrease in almost all the stations over the Peninsula; however, an increasing trend is observed in the frequency of short spells in these stations during the NE monsoon season. On the other hand, during the southwest monsoon, a positive trend is observed in the characteristics of dry spells including the persistency of two dry days in many stations over the Peninsula. The frequency of longer dry periods exhibits a decreasing trend in most stations over the western areas during both monsoon seasons for the periods of 1975 to 2004.     

Screening Indian Mustard Genotypes for Phytoremediating Arsenic‐Contaminated Soils

Ten Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) genotypes were screened for their phytoremediation potential for arsenic (As) contaminated water under laboratory‐controlled conditions. The genotypes were grown in a hydroponic chamber for 20 days in 250‐mL beakers containing As‐contaminated water. During plant development, changes in plant growth, biomass, and total As were evaluated. Of the 10 genotypes (Pusa Agrani, BTO, Pusa Kranti, Pusa Bahar, Pusa Bold, Pusa Basant, Pusa Jai Kisan, Arka Vardhan, Varuna, and Vaibhav) Pusa Jai Kisan was the most effective in phytoremediating As‐contaminated water under hydroponic conditions. This will provide new information for Indian mustard genotypes for phytoremediating As‐contaminated soils.     

Spatial patterns and trends of daily rainfall regime in Peninsular Malaysia during the southwest and northeast monsoons: 1975–2004

Model precipitation can be produced implicitly through convective parameterization schemes or explicitly through cloud microphysics schemes. These two precipitation production schemes control the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation and consequently can yield distinct vertical profiles of heating and moistening in the atmosphere. The partition between implicit and explicit precipitation can be different as the model changes resolutions. Within the range of mesoscale resolutions (about 20 km) and cumulus scale, hybrid solutions are suggested, in which cumulus convection parameterization is acting together with the explicit form of representation. In this work, it is proposed that, as resolution increases, the convective scheme should convert less condensed water into precipitation. Part of the condensed water is made available to the cloud microphysics scheme and another part evaporates. At grid sizes smaller than 3 km, the convective scheme is still active in removing convective instability, but precipitation is produced by cloud microphysics. The Eta model version using KF cumulus parameterization was applied in this study. To evaluate the quantitative precipitation forecast, the Eta model with the KF scheme was used to simulate precipitation associated with the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) and Cold Front (CF) events. Integrations with increasing horizontal resolutions were carried out for up to 5 days for the SACZ cases and up to 2 days for the CF cases. The precipitation partition showed that most of precipitation was generated by the implicit scheme. As the grid size decreased, the implicit precipitation increased and the explicit decreased. However, as model horizontal resolution increases, it is expected that precipitation be represented more explicitly. In the KF scheme, the fraction of liquid water or ice, generated by the scheme, which is converted into rain or snow is controlled by a parameter S ₁. An additional parameter was introduced into KF scheme and the parameter acts to evaporate a fraction of liquid water or ice left in the model grid by S ₁ and return moisture to the resolved scale. An F parameter was introduced to combine the effects of S ₁ and S ₂ parameters. The F parameter gives a measure of the conversion of cloud liquid water or ice to convective precipitation. A function dependent on the horizontal resolution was introduced into the KF scheme to influence the implicit and explicit precipitation partition. The explicit precipitation increased with model resolution. This function reduced the positive precipitation bias at all thresholds and for the studied weather systems. With increased horizontal resolution, the maximum precipitation area was better positioned and the total precipitation became closer to observations. Skill scores for all events at different forecast ranges showed precipitation forecast improvement with the inclusion of the function F.     

Tenfold cross validation artificial neural network modeling of the settlement behavior of a stone column under a highway embankment

Construction of embankments in engineering structures on soft clay soils normally encounters problems related to excessive settlement issues. The conventional methods are inadequate to analyze and predict the surface settlement when the necessary parameters are difficult to determine in the field and in the laboratory. In this study, artificial neural network systems (ANNs) were used to predict settlement under embankment load using soft soil properties together with various geometric parameters as input for each stone column (SC) arrangement and embankment condition. Data from a highway project called Lebuhraya Pantai Timur2 in Terengganu, Malaysia, were investigated. The FEM package of Plaxis v8 program analysis was utilized. The actual angle of internal friction, spacing between SC, diameter of SC, length of SC, and height of embankment were used as the input parameters, and the settlement was used as the main output. Non cross validation (NCV) and tenfold cross validation (TFCV) were used to build the ANN model. The results of the TFCV model were more accurate than those of the NCV model. Comparisons made with the predictions of the Priebe model showed that the proposed TFCV model could provide better predictions than conventional methods.     

Watershed prioritization using morphometric and land use/land cover parameters: A remote sensing and GIS based approach

Jaggar watershed is a constituent of the Gambhir river basin, in eastern Rajasthan and covers an area of 352.82 km², representing arid climate. The drainage network is dendritic to sub-dendritic pattern however parallel to sub-parallel has also developed locally. The Jaggar watershed has been divided into fourteen sub-watersheds, designated as SW1 to SW14, for prioritization purpose. The prioritization of the sub-watersheds has been done on the basis of morphometric analysis and land use/land cover categories. Various morphometric parameters (linear and shape) have been determined for each sub-watershed and assigned rank on the basis of value/relationship with erodibility so as to arrive at a compound value for final ranking of the sub-watersheds. Land use/land cover mapping has been carried out using IRS LISS III data of 1998. Based on morphometric and land use/land cover analysis and their ranks, the subwatersheds have been classified into four categories as very high, high, medium and low in terms of priority for conservation and management of natural resources. The prioritization results based on morphometry reveal that only SW7 and SW10 fall under very high priority, whereas SW6, SW11 and SW13 fall under very high priority on the basis of land use/land cover analysis. However on the integration of morphometry and land use/land cover only SW14 show common priority whereas rest have little or no correlation.     

Numerical model of antecedent rainfall effect on slope stability at a hillslope of weathered granitic soil formation

Modeling rainwater infiltration in slopes is vital to the analysis of slope failure induced by heavy rainfall. Although the significance of rainwater infiltration in causing landslides is widely recognized, there have been different conclusions as to the relative roles of antecedent rainfall to slope failure. In this study, a numerical model was developed to estimate the effect of antecedent rainfall on an unsaturated slope, the formation of a saturated zone, and the change in slope stability under weak rainfall and rainstorm event. Results showed that under a rainstorm event, slope failure occurred at comparably similar time although the antecedent rainfall drainage periods prior to the major rainfall were different (i.e., 24-h, 48-h and 96-h). However, under weak rainfall condition, differences of the antecedent rainfall drainage periods have significant effect on development of pore-water pressure. A higher initial soil moisture conditions caused faster increase in pore water pressure and thus decreasing the safety factor of the slope eventually increasing likelihood of slope failure.