Rapidly rotating polytropes in the post-Newtonian approximation to general relativity

The study of uniformly polytropes with axial symmetry is extended to include all rotational terms of order ⁴, where is the angular velocity, consistently within the first post-Newtonian approximation to general relativity. The equilibrium structure is determined by treating the effects of rotation and post-Newtonian gravitation as independent perturbations on the classical polytropic structure. The perturbation effects are characterized by a rotation parameter = ²/2G _c and a relativity parameter, =p _c / _c C ² , wherep _c and _c are the central pressure and density respectively. The solution to the structural problem is obtained by following Chandrasekhar's series expansion technique and is complete to the post-Newtonian rotation terms of order ². The critical rotation parameterv _c , which characterizes the configuration with maximum uniform rotation, is accurately evaluated as a function of . Numerical values for all the structural parameters needed to determine the equilibrium configurations are presented for polytropes with indicesn=1, 1.5, 2, 2 5, 3, and 3.5.     

Geospatial Information Integration for Authoritative and Crowd Sourced Road Vector Data

This article describes results from a research project undertaken to explore the technical issues associated with integrating unstructured crowd sourced data with authoritative national mapping data. The ultimate objective is to develop methodologies to ensure the feature enrichment of authoritative data, using crowd sourced data. Users increasingly find that they wish to use data from both kinds of geographic data sources. Different techniques and methodologies can be developed to solve this problem. In our previous research, a position map matching algorithm was developed for integrating authoritative and crowd sourced road vector data, and showed promising results ( Anand et al. 2010 ). However, especially when integrating different forms of data at the feature level, these techniques are often time consuming and are more computationally intensive than other techniques available. To tackle these problems, this project aims at developing a methodology for automated conflict resolution, linking and merging of geographical information from disparate authoritative and crowd‐sourced data sources. This article describes research undertaken by the authors on the design, implementation, and evaluation of algorithms and procedures for producing a coherent ontology from disparate geospatial data sources. To integrate road vector data from disparate sources, the method presented in this article first converts input data sets to ontologies, and then merges these ontologies into a new ontology. This new ontology is then checked and modified to ensure that it is consistent. The developed methodology can deal with topological and geometry inconsistency and provide more flexibility for geospatial information merging.     

The C1XS X-ray Spectrometer on Chandrayaan-1

The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) is a compact X-ray spectrometer for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission. It exploits heritage from the D-CIXS instrument on ESA's SMART-1 mission. As a result of detailed developments to all aspects of the design, its performance as measured in the laboratory greatly surpasses that of D-CIXS. In comparison with SMART-1, Chandrayaan-1 is a science-oriented rather than a technology mission, leading to far more favourable conditions for science measurements. C1XS is designed to measure absolute and relative abundances of major rock-forming elements (principally Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe) in the lunar crust with spatial resolution ?25 FWHM km, and to achieve relative elemental abundances of better than 10%.     

Drivers of response to extreme weather warnings among marine fishermen

Extreme weather events, such as storms and cyclones, pose dire occupational hazards in marine fishing. Thus, warnings against such events can reduce risks to the life and property of fishing communities. This study is an attempt to assess the factors driving fishermen’s decision to respond to weather warnings. Mixed methods, such as exploratory fieldwork, literature review, and focus group discussions, helped in identifying the available weather warnings and hypothesizing the probable factors influencing response to the warnings in the marine fishing community in Maharashtra, India. The plausible drivers of response include perceived potential risk, credibility of the warning and its disseminators, community social capital, and other demographic characteristics. Data from a household survey, comprising 601 fishermen, is used to empirically test the hypotheses. The results suggest that trust in the source and disseminator of the warning is related to higher response rates. There is heterogeneity in the role of community social capital as a motivator to respond. Further, fishermen perceiving traditional information to be more reliable are less likely to respond frequently to the warnings. The findings of the study are relevant for designing interventions which can prompt high response rates to weather warnings from fishermen.     

Hydrogeochemistry of coal mine water of North Karanpura coalfields,India: implication for solute acquisition processes,dissolved fluxes and water quality assessment

Mine water samples collected from different mines of the North Karanpura coalfields were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), major anions, cations and trace metals to evaluate mine water geochemistry and assess solute acquisition processes, dissolved fluxes and its suitability for domestic, industrial and irrigation uses. Mine water samples are mildly acidic to alkaline in nature. The TDS ranged from 185 to 1343 mg L^?1 with an average of 601 mg L^?1. Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ are the dominant cations, while SO₄ ^2? and HCO₃ ^? are the dominant anions. A high concentration of SO₄ ^2? and a low HCO₃ ^?/(HCO₃ ^? + SO₄ ^2?) ratio (<0.50) in the majority of the water samples suggest that either sulphide oxidation or reactions involving both carbonic acid weathering and sulphide oxidation control solute acquisition processes. The mine water is undersaturated with respect to gypsum, halite, anhydrite, fluorite, aluminium hydroxide, alunite, amorphous silica and oversaturated with respect to goethite, ferrihydrite, quartz. About 40% of the mine water samples are oversaturated with respect to calcite, dolomite and jarosite. The water quality assessment shows that the coal mine water is not suitable for direct use for drinking and domestic purposes and needs treatment before such utilization. TDS, TH, F^?, SO₄ ^2?, Fe, Mn, Ni and Al are identified as the major objectionable parameters in these waters for drinking. The coal mine water is of good to suitable category for irrigation use. The mines of North Karanpura coalfield annually discharge 22.35 × 10⁶ m³ of water and 18.50 × 10³ tonnes of solute loads into nearby waterways.     

Evidence of gas hydrate accumulation and its resource estimation in Andaman deep water basin from seismic and well log data

2D and 3D seismic reflection and well log data from Andaman deep water basin are analyzed to investigate geophysical evidence related to gas hydrate accumulation and saturation. Analysis of seismic data reveals the presence of a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) in the area showing all the characteristics of a classical BSR associated with gas hydrate accumulation. Double BSRs are also observed on some seismic sections of area (Area B) that suggest substantial changes in pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions in the past. The manifestation of changes in P–T conditions can also be marked by the varying gas hydrate stability zone thickness (200–650 m) in the area. The 3D seismic data of Area B located in the ponded fill, west of Alcock Rise has been pre-stack depth migrated. A significant velocity inversion across the BSR (1,950–1,650 m/s) has been observed on the velocity model obtained from pre-stack depth migration. The areas with low velocity of the order of 1,450 m/s below the BSR and high amplitudes indicate presence of dissociated or free gas beneath the hydrate layer. The amplitude variation with offset analysis of BSR depicts increase in amplitude with offset, a similar trend as observed for the BSR associated with the gas hydrate accumulations. The presence of gas hydrate shown by logging results from a drilled well for hydrocarbon exploration in Area B, where gas hydrate deposit was predicted from seismic evidence, validate our findings. The base of the hydrate layer derived from the resistivity and acoustic transit-time logs is in agreement with the depth of hydrate layer interpreted from the pre-stack depth migrated seismic section. The resistivity and acoustic transit-time logs indicate 30-m-thick hydrate layer at the depth interval of 1,865–1,895 m with 30 % hydrate saturation. The total hydrate bound gas in Area B is estimated to be 1.8 × 10¹⁰ m³, which is comparable (by volume) to the reserves in major conventional gas fields.     

Response Surface Optimization for Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution by Waste Agricultural Biosorbent Psidium guvajava L. Leaf Powder

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to study the combined effects of the various parameters namely, pH, biosorbent dosage, cadmium concentration and temperature, and to optimize the process conditions for the maximum removal of cadmium using Psidium guvajava L. leaf powder. In order to obtain the mutual interactions between the variables and to optimize these variables, a 2⁴ full factorial central composite design using RSM was employed. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the quadratic model demonstrates that the model was highly significant. The model was statistically tested and verified by experimentation. A maximum cadmium removal of 93.2% was obtained under the following optimum conditions: aqueous cadmium concentration 40.15 mg/L, adsorbent dosage 0.5 g/50 mL solution, pH 5.0, and temperature (35°C). The value of desirability factor obtained was 1.     

Hydrogeochemistry of the Koyna River basin,India

Hydrogeochemistry of the Koyna River basin, famous for the Koyna earthquake (magnitude 7) of 1967, has been studied. Basalt is the primary aquifer; laterites, alluvium, and talus deposits form aquifers of secondary importance. Groundwater generally occurs under water table conditions in shallow aquifers. Deeper aquifers are associated only with basalts. One hundred and 87 water samples were collected from various sources, such as dugwells, borewells, springs, and surface water, including 40 samples for analysis of iron. Only major constituents were analyzed. Analyses show that the concentrations of Ca²⁺ exceed that of Mg²⁺ in almost all water samples; the concentrations of Na⁺ are generally next to Ca²⁺ and are always higher than that of K⁺; and CO₃ ^2– and SO₄ ^2– are very low and are often negligible. Groundwater in borewells tapping deeper aquifers has higher mineralization compared to that in dugwells representing shallow aquifers. Majority of the water samples are dominated by alkaline earths (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) and weak acids (HCO₃ ⁻, CO₃ ^2–). Groundwater from shallow aquifers is generally calcium-bicarbonate type (53%) and calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type (27%). In case of deeper aquifer, it is mostly calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type (29%), sodium-bicarbonate type (24%), calcium-bicarbonate type (19%), calcium-magnesium-sodium-bicarbonate type (19%) and sodium-calcium-bicarbonate type (9%). Groundwater water is generally fit for drinking and irrigation purposes, except in the lower reaches of the Koyna River basin, which is affected by near water logging conditions.     

Identification of Water Conservation Sites in a Watershed (WRJ-2) of Nagpur District, Maharashtra using Geographical Information System (GIS) Technique

The paper deals with the application of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) technique for a watershed development program. For this study, the WRJ-2 watershed falling under Narkhed and Katol Tahsils of Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India is investigated. Various thematic maps (i.e. drainage, geology, soil, geomorphology and land use/ land cover) have been prepared using the remote sensing and GIS techniques. Initially, differential weightage values are assigned to all the thematic maps as per their runoff characteristics. Subsequently, the maps are integrated in GIS environment to identify potential sites for water conservation measures like gully plugs, earthen check dams, continuous contour trenches, percolation tanks, cement bandhara, afforestration and farm ponds, etc. The study depicts that the GIS technique facilitates integration of thematic maps and thereby helps in an identification of micro-zones each with unique characters in-terms of hydrogeology, thus amenable to specific water conservation techniques. It is therefore concluded that, the GIS technique is suitable for an identification of water conservation structures.     

Degana (Rajasthan, India) and Tigrinoe (Primorye, Russia) tungsten and tin-tungsten deposits: Composition of mineral-forming fluids and conditions of wolframite deposition

Formation conditions of orebodies and conditions of wolframite deposition at the Degana tungsten deposits in Rajasthan, India and the Tigrinoe tin-tungsten deposit in the Russian Far East were studied. Differences in the composition and state of fluid systems were established by microthermometric study of fluid inclusions (FI) and thorough petrographic examination of FI. At the Degana deposit, the ore veins in granite were formed from K-Na-Ca-(Mg, Fe, etc.) chloride solutions with a salinity up to 36 wt % NaCl equiv at a temperature of >420 to 120°C and under a pressure reaching 1550 bar. The formation temperature of the orebodies hosted in breccia reached 450°C and pressure was below 400 bar. The salinity of mainly Nachloride aqueous solutions was no higher than 18 wt % NaCl equiv. At the Tigrinoe deposit, the temperature during formation of quartz-wolframite-cassiterite veins varied from 420 to 240°C and the pressure was no higher than 300 bar. The salt concentration of Na-chloride solutions was 7-3 wt %. Wolframite crystallized at the very beginning of ore deposition. Probable sources of fluids are discussed. It is suggested that the factors controlling wolframite deposition could have been different even at the same deposit.