Structural evolution of the Peninsular Gneiss — an early Precambrian migmatitic complex from South India

The Peninsular Gneiss, which is considered by a number of workers to be the basement on which the supracrustal rocks of the Dharwar Group were deposited, is a composite gneiss formed by migmatization of pre-existing metasedimentary and meta-igneous rocks. These gneisses show the same style and sequence of superposed deformation as those in the enclaves of metamorphic rocks and in the linear Dharwar schist belts outside. The main migmatization is broadly coeval with the isoclinal first folding, which is followed by near-coaxial refolding and non-coaxial upright folding. Small inclusions of migmatized amphibolite and granodioritic to dioritic gneiss, with a fabric athwart to, and overprinted by, the earliest deformation affecting the Dharwar Group of rocks in a large part of the gneissic terrane, point to at least one deformation, a metamorphic event and one episode of migmatization antedating the isoclinal first folds in the rocks of the Dharwar Group. The Peninsular Gneiss in its present state, therefore, represents an extensively remobilized basement.

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Zusammenfassung Der Peninsula-Gneis, der von einigen Bearbeitern als das Basement angesehen wird, auf dem die Gesteine der Dharwar-Gruppe abgelagert wurden, ist ein Migmatit aus Komponenten älterer metamorpher Sedimentgesteine und Magmatite. Abfolge der Deformation und Deformationsart dieser Gneise entspricht der Deformation des Dharwar Schiefergürtels. Die Hauptmigmatisierung verlief zeitgleich mit der isoklinalen ersten Faltung, die von einer zweiten fast coaxialen und einer dritten aufrecht coaxialen Faltung gefolgt wird. Es existieren Einschlüsse migmatisierten Amphibolits und granodioritischen bis dioritischen Gneises, deren Gefüge auf die älteste die Dharwar-Gruppe beeinflussenden Deformation zurückgeführt wird. Diese Beobachtungen sprechen für mindestens eine Deformation, eine Metamorphose und eine Migmatisierungsphase, die älter sind als die isoklinalen Falten der ersten Generation der Dharwar-Gruppe. Nach heutigen Erkenntnissen stellt also der Peninsular-Gneis ein intensiv durchbewegtes Basement dar.

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Résumé La formation des «Peninsular Gneiss» est considérée par de nombreux auteurs comme le socle sur lequel se sont déposées les roches supracrustales du Groupe de Dharwar. Il s'agit de gneiss composites formés par migmatitisation de roches méta-sédimentaires et méta-ignées préexistantes. Ces gneiss présentent le même style de déformation et la même succession de déformations superposées que la ceinture des schistes de Dharwar. La migmatitisation est contemporaine d'un premier plissement isoclinal, qui a été suivi d'un deuxième plissement sensiblement coaxial et d'une troisième déformation en plis droits non coaxiaux. Il existe toutefois des inclusions d'amphibolites migmatitiques et de gneiss granodioritiques à dioritiques dont la structure, transverse à la déformation la plus ancienne du Groupe de Dharwar, est remaniée par celleci. Ces observations plaident en faveur de l'existence d'au moins une phase de déformation, de métamorphisme et de migmatitisation antérieure aux plis isoclinaux de première génération du Groupe de Dharwar. A la lumière des connaissances actuelles, les Peninsular Gneiss apparaissent ainsi comme un socle polycyclique intensément remanié.

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Phased array observations with infield phasing

We present results from pulsar observations using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) as a phased array with infield phasing. The antennas were kept in phase throughout the observation by applying antenna based phase corrections derived from visibilities that were obtained in parallel with the phased array beam data, and which were flagged and calibrated in real time using a model for the continuum emission in the target field. We find that, as expected, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) does not degrade with time. In contrast observations in which the phasing is done only at the start of the observation show a clear degradation of the SNR with time. We find that this degradation is well fit by a function of the form SNR\((\tau ) = \alpha + \beta e^{-(\tau /\tau _{0})^{5/3}}\), which corresponds to the case where the phase drifts are caused by Kolmogorov type turbulence in the ionosphere. We also present general formulae (i.e. including the effects of correlated sky noise, imperfect phasing and self noise) for the SNR and synthesized beam size for phased arrays (as well as corresponding formulae for incoherent arrays). These would be useful in planning observations with large array telescopes.     

Generation and Validation of two Day Composite Wind Fields from Oceansat-2 Scatterometer

The Oceansat-2 scatterometer (OSCAT) of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), provides surface wind speed and direction with a spatial resolution of 50 km × 50 km. With a revisit time of 2 days it had provided ocean surface wind vectors over the global oceans. In the present work, an attempt has been made to generate two day composite of OSCAT wind vectors using Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis (DIVA) and compare them with daily composite winds to check how better is the two day composites in comparison to daily composites. The daily and two days composite wind vectors of zonal (U) and meridional (V) components have been validated with wind measurements from in situ buoys and Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) for the year 2012 over the tropical Indian Ocean region. The statistical comparison with the in situ measurements and ASCAT has shown that the two-day OSCAT wind composites are slightly better than the daily composite winds. The improvement in the statistics can be attributed to the use of ascending and descending passes pertaining to two days which results in fewer gaps between passes, thereby reducing the interpolation errors.     

Interannual variability of upwelling indices in the Southeastern Arabian Sea: A satellite based study

Increase in sea surface temperature with global warming has an impact on coastal upwelling. Past two decades (1988 to 2007) of satellite observed sea surface temperatures and space borne scatterometer measured winds have provided an insight into the dynamics of coastal upwelling in the southeastern Arabian Sea, in the global warming scenario. These high resolution data products have shown inconsistent variability with a rapid rise in sea surface temperature between 1992 and 1998 and again from 2004 to 2007. The upwelling indices derived from both sea surface temperature and wind have shown that there is an increase in the intensity of upwelling during the period 1998 to 2004 than the previous decade. These indices have been modulated by the extreme climatic events like El-Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole that happened during 1991–92 and 1997–98. A considerable drop in the intensity of upwelling was observed concurrent with these events. Apart from the impact of global warming on the upwelling, the present study also provides an insight into spatial variability of upwelling along the coast. Noticeable fact is that the intensity of offshore Ekman transport off 8°N during the winter monsoon is as high as that during the usual upwelling season in summer monsoon. A drop in the meridional wind speed during the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 has resulted in extreme decrease in upwelling though the zonal wind and the total wind magnitude are a notch higher than the previous years. This decrease in upwelling strength has resulted in reduced productivity too.     

A cold pool formation in the Lakshadweep Sea during Indian summer monsoon

In Lakshadweep Sea, the distribution of observed sea surface temperature (SST) during summer monsoon season (June–September) shows the presence of a distinct cold pool (SST?<?27°C). Available satellite measurements and assimilated datasets are utilized to investigate the characteristics and mechanisms that govern the genesis and evolution of this cold pool. It is located in the grid 8° N–10° N/74° E–76° E, with a diameter of about 200?km, centered approximately at 9° N/75° E off the southwest coast of India. This cold pool, which we call as the Lakshadweep cold pool (LCP), forms invariably during the fifth pentad of June as a small cooling within the cold surface waters advected northward along the southwest coast of India from the Arabian Sea Mini Cold Pool. With the progress of the season, LCP intensifies, spread radially outwards and shows a westward spread during late July. Maximum intensity and radial spread are attained during July. By the end of August, LCP extends northward along the coast up to 13° N, and by September, it gets completely dissipated. Within the LCP, the thermocline exhibits pronounced shoaling compared to the adjacent regions. The intensity, duration, and spread of LCP showed annual variations in each summer monsoon during 1998–2005 and owes its origin to upwelling produced by uplift of poleward undercurrent induced by an elevated bathymetry in the presence of a seamount. The mechanism for the intensification is thought to be due to the combined action of Ekman pumping due to positive wind stress curl, eddy-induced upwelling due to the Lakshadweep low, and the intensification of the poleward undercurrent during the season. West- and northward spreads of LCP are attributed to the westward movement of Lakshadweep Low and the northerly spreading and intensification of positive wind stress curl, respectively. The mechanisms that govern this phenomenon are thoroughly examined.