Significance of contrast in the early stages of the structural history of the Delhi and the pre-Delhi rock groups in the Proterozoic of Rajasthan, western India

Structures of four generations are decipherable both in the pre-Delhi rocks of central Rajasthan, and in the Delhi rocks of Khetri in northeastern Rajasthan and around Todgarh in central Rajasthan. There is a remarkable identity in the later phases of the deformational history of the two groups, with gravity-induced structures followed by conjugate folds due to longitudinal shortening (N-S in northeastern Rajasthan and NE-SW in central Rajasthan). The earlier stages of the structural history of the two groups are, however, significantly different. The E-W-trending reclined folds of the first generation in the pre-Delhi rocks are absent in the Delhi rocks throughout Rajasthan. The NNE- to NE-trending folds of the second generation in the pre-Delhi groups are upright, whereas these structures in the Delhi rocks are of two phases—recumbent folds, followed by coaxial upright folds. The folds of the first and the second phases in the Delhi rocks plunge gently NE or SW where they are not affected by subsequent deformations. But the NE-trending folds in the pre-Delhi rocks show an extreme variation in axial plunge from horizontal to vertical, even where they are unaffected by later movements. Evidence has been adduced to suggest that these differences in the earlier phases of the structural evolution of the two groups are due to an angular unconformity between the Delhi and the pre-Delhi rocks.     

Ca-Fe-Mg olivines: phase relations and a solution model

Reversed phase equilibrium experiments in the system (Ca, Mg, Fe)₂SiO₄ provide four tielines at P?1 bar and 1 kbar and 800° C–1,100° C. These tielines have been used to model the solution properties of the olivine quadrilateral following the methods described by Davidson et al. (1981) for quadrilateral clinopyroxenes. The discrepancy between the calculated phase relations and the experimentally determined tielines is within the uncertainty of the experiments. The solution properties of quadrilateral olivines can be described by a non-convergent site-disorder model that allows for complete partitioning of Ca on the M2 site, highly disordered Fe-Mg cation distributions and limited miscibility between high-Ca and low-Ca olivines. The ternary data presented in this paper together with binary solution models for the joins Fo-Mo and Fa-Kst have been used to evaluate two solution parameters: $$\begin{gathered} F^0 \equiv 2(\mu _{{\rm M}o}^0 - \mu _{{\rm K}st}^0 ) + \mu _{Fa}^0 - \mu _{Fo}^0 = 12.660 (1.6) kJ, \hfill \\ \Delta G_*^0 \equiv \mu _{{\rm M}gFe}^0 + \mu _{FeMg}^0 - \mu _{Fo}^0 - \mu _{Fa}^0 = 7.030 (3.9) kJ. \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ . Ternary phase quilibrium data for olivines tightly constrain the value of F⁰, but not that for ΔG _* ⁰ which describes nonideality in Fe-Mg mixing. From this analysis, we infer a function for the apparent standard state energy of Kst: $$\begin{gathered} \mu _{{\rm K}st}^0 = - 102.79 \pm 0.8 - (T - 298)(0.137026) \hfill \\ + (T - 298 - T1n(T/298))(0.155519) \hfill \\ + (T - 298)^2 (2.8242E - 05)/2 \hfill \\ + (T - 298)^2 (2.9665E + 03)/(2T(298)^2 ) kJ \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where T is in Kelvins and the 298 K value is relative to oxides.     

Evaluation and Assessment of Blast-Induced Ground Vibrations in an Underground Gold Mine: A Case Study

Natural Resources Research - Ground vibrations induced during rock fragmentation by blasting remain a potential source of hazard for the stability of nearby structures. In this paper, to forecast...     

Scanning sky monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat

Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat is an Xray sky monitor in the soft X-ray band designed with a large field of view to detect and locate transient X-ray sources and alert the astronomical community about interesting phenomena in the X-ray sky. SSM comprises position sensitive proportional counters with 1D coded mask for imaging. There are three detector units mounted on a platform capable of rotation which helps covering about 50% of the sky in one full rotation. This paper discusses the elaborate details of the instrument and few immediate results from the instrument after launch.     

Perceptions and attitudes regarding marine reserves: a comparison of stakeholder groups in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) developed a zoning plan as part of its overall management plan, fully implemented as of 1997. The plan created several closed areas or harvest refugia in which consumptive activities are prohibited. This research reports results of surveys that we conducted with members of three stakeholder groups in the Florida Keys: commercial fishers, dive operators, and members of local environmental groups. Surveys requested responses regarding the information sources individuals tapped when learning of the zoning plan and the FKNMS; their degree of public participation; their perceptions and acceptance of the zoning strategy and the process of its design; and the expected outcomes of the zoning strategy. Many responses show significant differences among the three groups. Fishers felt highly alienated from the process of zone designation and displayed a sense of anger and powerlessness with respect to what they considered to be an attempt to exclude their group from the harvest refugia. Dive operators demonstrated the highest levels of participation in the designation process, but were concerned that refugia regulations could limit their activities in the future. Members of environmental groups were the strongest supporters of the harvest refugia concept and the FKNMS. This research suggests numerous ways in which marine resource managers could improve their public outreach and information dissemination strategies when developing future harvest refugia and marine protected areas.     

Occurrence of hydrogen sulfide in the ground water of Kuwait

Hydrogen sulfide occurs in high concentration (10–200 mg/l) in different parts of Kuwait City and its suburbs at relatively shallow depths (15–40 m from the surface). This was revealed by drilling through the aquifer system underlying the city and sampling and analyzing the ground water at the drilled locations. The near-absence of coliform bacteria in the sulfide-rich zones, the presence of sulfur-reducing bacteria in the deep (>80 m) Dammam Formation aquifer and a linear positive relation between the concentration of hydrogen sulfide and the total dissolved solids content suggested non-anthropogenic origin of the sulfide in the ground water of Kuwait. The upward movement of sulfide-rich water from depth and its differential flushing by surface recharge through outcrops of the aquifers appear to have given rise to the present distribution of hydrogen sulfide in the aquifers underlying the Kuwait City.     

Field Survey of Tsunami Effects in Sri Lanka due to the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake of December 26, 2004

The December 26, 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake that registered a moment magnitude (M_w) of 9.1 was one of the largest earthquakes in the world since 1900. The devastating tsunami that resulted from this earthquake caused more casualties than any previously reported tsunami. The number of fatalities and missing persons in the most seriously affected countries were Indonesia - 167,736, Sri Lanka - 35,322, India - 18,045 and Thailand - 8,212. This paper describes two field visits to assess tsunami effects in Sri Lanka by a combined team of Japanese and Sri Lankan researchers. The first field visit from December 30, 2004 – January 04, 2005 covered the western and southern coasts of Sri Lanka including the cities of Moratuwa, Beruwala, Bentota, Pereliya, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Talpe, Matara, Tangalla and Hambantota. The objectives of the first field visit were to investigate the damage caused by the tsunami and to obtain eyewitness information about wave arrival times. The second field visit from March 10–18, 2005 covered the eastern and southern coasts of Sri Lanka and included Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Arugam Bay, Yala National Park and Kirinda. The objectives of the second visit were mainly to obtain eyewitness information about wave arrival times and inundation data, and to take relevant measurements using GPS instruments.     

Impact of surface meteorological observations on RAMS forecast of monsoon weather systems over the Indian region

Summary An attempt has been made to study the impact of surface meteorological observations on the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) simulation of a monsoon depression and two low pressure systems. The surface observations are blended with the GEWEX Asian Monsoon Experiment (GAME) gridded analyses for these cases. In one set of experiments the model is run in 12 hour nudging mode initially and then in forecast mode using GAME gridded data without incorporating surface observations. In another set of experiments surface data are incorporated to enhance the signature of the systems in the large scale GAME analyses and nudging is applied initially for twelve hours. Subsequently the model is run in forecast mode to see the temporal and spatial evolution of different meteorological features associated with the systems. It is found that inclusion of the surface data has in general enhanced the signature of the systems in the analysis and subsequently shows improvement in the forecast of sea-level pressure, geopotential, wind field, etc. and the associated forecast of heavy rainfall, in particular. To make a quantitative comparison of the predicted rainfall with the observed one, equitable threat score and bias are calculated for different threshold values of rainfall. It is clearly noted that inclusion of surface data has improved the precipitation forecast over the Indian land mass as indicated by the equitable threat score and bias for all the threshold rainfall categories.