Multi-temporal annual soil loss risk mapping employing Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model in Nun Nadi Watershed, Uttrakhand (India)

The present comparative study is multi-temporal in nature. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), remote sensing, and GIS were used to model the soil loss estimation for soil conservation and vegetation rehabilitation in Nun Nadi watershed for the years 2000 and 2009. The estimated mean soil loss for the year 2000 and 2009 is 3,283.11 and 1,419.39 Mg?ha^?1 year^?1, respectively. The study finds that about 80 % area has low or least risk of erosion and about 7 % is exposed to high or very high risk which indicates the improvement in terms of soil loss if we compare the data of both the time periods. The findings show that the rainfall, LULC change, and elevation are the main responsible factors for the soil loss in Nun Nadi watershed. Conservation measures have been adopted; however, the problem still remains serious and demands urgent attention.     

Shifted cosmological parameter and shifted dust matter in a two-phase tachyonic field universe

We propose a model of the evolution of the tachyonic scalar field over two phases in the universe. The field components do not interact in phase I, while in the subsequent phase II, they change flavours due to relative suppression of the radiation contribution. In phase II, we allow them to interact mutually with time-independent perturbation in their equations of state, as Shifted Cosmological Parameter (SCP) and Shifted Dust Matter (SDM). We determine the solutions of their scaling with the cosmic redshift in both phases. We further suggest the normalised Hubble function diagnostic, which, together with the low- and high-redshift H(z) data and the concordance values of the present density parameters from the CMBR, BAO statistics etc., constrain the strength of interaction by imposing the viable conditions to break degeneracy in 3-parameter $(\gamma, \varepsilon, \dot{\phi}^{2})$ space. The range of redshifts (z=0.1 to z=1.75) is chosen to highlight the role of interaction during structure formation, and it may lead to a future analysis of power spectrum in this model vis a vis Warm Dark Matter (WDM) or ΛCDM models. We further calculate the influence of interaction in determining the age of the universe at the present epoch, within the degeneracy space of model parameters.     

Geomagnetic field variation during winter storm at localized southern and northern high latitude

This paper presents the effect of geomagnetic storm on geomagnetic field components at Southern (Maitri) and Northern (Kiruna) Hemispheres. The Indian Antarctic Station Maitri is located at geom. long. 66.03° S; 53.21° E whereas Kiruna is located at geom. long. 67.52° N; 23.38° E. We have studied all the geomagnetic storms that occurred during winter season of the year 2004–2005. We observed that at Southern Hemisphere the variation is large as compared to the Northern Hemisphere. Geomagnetic field components vary when the interplanetary magnetic field is oriented in southward direction. Geomagnetic field components vary in the main phase of the ring current. Due to southward orientation of vertical component of IMF reconnection takes place all across the dayside that transports plasma and magnetic flux which create the geomagnetic field variation.     

Effect of interplanetary magnetic field and disturb storm time on H component

A fluxgate digital magnetometer is used to study the variation of magnitude of H component during geomagnetic storm events of April, July and November 2004 at southern subauroral localized region at “MAITRI” (geom. lat. 62°S, long. 52.8°E). We also study the effect of vertical component of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on the variation of the magnitude of H component during storm time of April, July and November 2004. Results show that before sudden storm commencement (SSC) time magnitude of H component and IMF show smooth variation but after SSC of first storm of 22 July 2004, the magnitude of the H component shows fluctuations and at 09:00 UT it increases, but during second storm of 24 July 2004, the magnitude of H component indicates large fluctuations and it increases rapidly at 04:00 UT.     

Geochemical characterization of source rock from the north bank area,upper Assam basin

The study area is confined to a part of upper Assam basin, north of river Brahmaputra (north bank). Seven exploratory wells have been drilled in this part of the basin in order to probe the hydrocarbon prospects of the area. The exploratory efforts did not indicate significant hydrocarbon prospects in the north bank. Since the presence of source rock is an important component of the petroleum system, a detailed systematic study of source rock potential was carried out by analysing known source rock intervals in these seven wells. In the present study, Rock-Eval pyrolysis combined with specific geochemical analyses like GC and TLCFID has been used to characterise the source rocks, their distribution and thermal maturity of the organic matter. The source rocks in the area show mainly Type III, land-plant derived organic matter along with some Type II organic matter. They are predominantly gas prone in nature, although mixed and oil-prone source rocks are occasionally present. Although source rock intervals have been identified in the Langpar, Sylhet limestone and Kopili formations, the Barail Group and the Tipam sandstone Formation, the bulk of the source rock occurs within the Kopili Formation. Geochemical analyses of the cores indicate oil signatures at certain depths, although no commercial oil was discovered. The hydrocarbon generation potential of these source rocks are constrained by low maturity at the presently drilled depths.     

Differential behaviour of a Lesser Himalayan watershed in extreme rainfall regimes

Climatic extremes including precipitation are bound to intensify in the global warming environment. The present study intends to understand the response of the Tons sub-watershed in Lesser Himalaya, in 3 years with entirely different hydrological conditions (July 2008–June 2011) in terms of discharge, sediment flux and denudation rates. Within an uncertainty limit of ±20%, the mean interannual discharge (5.74 ± 1.44 m ³ s ^?1) (±SE), was found highly variable (CV: 151%; 0.8–38 m ³ s ^?1). In a normal rainfall year (2008–2009; ～1550 mm), the discharge was 5.12 ± 1.75 m ³ s ^?1, whereas in a drought year (2009–2010), it reduced by 30% with the reduction in ～23% rainfall (CV: 85%). In an excessive rainfall year (once-in-a-century event) (2010–2011; ～3050 mm), discharge as well as total solid load was ～200% higher. Monsoon months (July–September) accounted for more than 90% of the annual solid load transport. The ratio of dissolved to suspended solid (C/P ratio) was consistently low (<1) during monsoon months and higher (1–7) during the rest of the dry period. C/P ratio was inversely (R ²=0.49), but significantly (P <0.001) related to the rainfall. The average mechanical erosion rate in the three different rainfall years was 0.24, 0.19 and 1.03 mmyr ^?1, whereas the chemical erosion was estimated at 0.12, 0.11 and 0.46 mmyr ^?1, respectively. Thus, the average denudation rate of the Tons sub-watershed has been estimated at 0.33 mmyr ^?1 (excluding extreme rainfall year: 1.5 mmyr ^?1). Our results have implications to understand the hydrological behaviour of the Lesser Himalayan watersheds and will be valuable for the proposed and several upcoming small hydropower plants in the region in the context of regional ecology and natural resource management.     

Seasonal variations and trophic ecology of microzooplankton in the southeastern Arabian Sea

The seasonal ecological response of microzooplankton in the southeastern Arabian Sea is presented. During the spring intermonsoon period, stratification and depletion of nitrate in the surface waters (nitracline was at 60 m depth) cause low integrated chlorophyll a (av. 19±11.3 mg m⁻²) and primary production (av. 164±91 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹). On the other hand, nutrient enrichment associated with coastal upwelling and river influx during the onset and peak summer monsoon resulted in high integrated chlorophyll a (av. 21±6 mg m⁻² and av. 29±21 mg m⁻², respectively) and primary production (av. 255±94 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹ and av. 335±278 mgC m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively). During all three periods, diazotropic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum dominated in the nutrient depleted surface waters. A general increase in abundance of larger diatoms was evident in the surface waters of the inshore region during monsoon periods. The microzooplankton abundance was found to be significantly higher during the spring intermonsoon (av.241±113×10³ ind m⁻²) as compared to onset of summer monsoon (av. 105±89×10³ ind m⁻²) and peak summer monsoon (av.185±175×10³ ind m⁻²). Microzooplankton community during the spring intermonsoon was numerically dominated by ciliates while heterotrophic dinoflagellate was the dominant ones during the monsoon periods. The high abundance of ciliates during the spring intermonsoon could be attributed to the stratified environmental condition prevailed in the study area which favors high abundance of smaller phytoplankton and cyanobacteria, the most preferred food of ciliates. On the other hand, the dominance of heterotrophic dinoflagellates during the monsoon periods could be linked to their ability to graze larger diatoms which were abundant during the monsoon periods. The overall results show low abundance of microzooplankton in the eastern Arabian Sea during the monsoon periods mainly due to a decline in ciliates abundance. This decline during the monsoon periods could be the result of (a) low abundance of smaller phytoplankton and (b) high stock of mesozooplankton predators (av. 245 ml 100 m⁻³).     

Bianchi type-V anisotropic cosmological models in certain theories of gravitation with perfect fluid distribution

Exact Bianchi type-V cosmological models are presented in Einstein’s theory of gravitation with cosmological constant Λ in case of perfect fluid distribution. Also obtained Bianchi type-V cosmological models in a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (1986) in case of perfect fluid distribution using and without using negative constant deceleration parameter. Some physical and geometrical properties of the models are also discussed.     

On spin-up/spin-down torque reversals in disc accreting pulsars

The recent BATSE observations of the spin-up and spin-down of accreting pulsars have shown that the standard formulation for the accretion torque as proposed by Ghosh &38; Lamb may need to be revised. The observations indicate alternate spin-up and spin-down phases driven by torques of similar magnitude and typically larger than the mean torque. The variations of the torque in systems such as Cen X-3 are difficult to explain in terms of changes of the mass accretion rate. The implication is that the torque does not depend on the accretion rate as in the GL model. In this paper we argue that the observed changes in the spin rate can result from stochastic transitions between two magnetospheric states. In particular, we show that intermediate magnetospheric systems are not admissible, because of a disc-induced magnetospheric instability which exists in a star–disc magnetic interaction system. This explains why torque reversal occurs in disc accreting pulsars with similar magnitudes.     

Magnetic braking in magnetic binary stars

The role of an external magnetic field in the magnetic braking of a star with a dipolar field is investigated. In a magnetic cataclysmic variable system (i.e. the primary compact star has a strong magnetic field), the field external to the braking star (a late-type main-sequence star with a dynamo-generated field) originates from the compact star. A closed field region — the system dead zone — is formed within the binary system, and it does not take part in magnetic braking. The overall braking rate depends on the extent of this region and of the open flux, and is dependent on centrifugal effects. In the case of two interacting dipoles, the dipole orientations relative to the spin axes and to each other are found to be important, leading to different amounts of open flux and therefore of magnetic braking, owing to different centrifugal effects on closed field regions. However, in circumstances consistent with observations and dynamo theory, the white dwarf's field reduces the magnetic braking of the secondary significantly, a finding qualitatively similar to the results previously obtained for two anti-aligned dipoles perpendicular to the orbital plane. In the cases where the two dipole axes are not perpendicular to the orbital plane, but are inclined in the plane that links them, the 'cut-off' in magnetic braking is less abrupt, and this effect is more obvious as the inclinations increase. Only in the extreme cases when the two dipole axes are aligned in the orbital plane does the braking increase with white dwarf field strength. We conclude that detailed evolutionary modelling of AM Herculis systems needs to take account of the inclination effect.