Identification of some of the unidentified EIC-1 sources

We have identified 20 of the 75 unidentified Equatorial Infrared Catalogue Number-1 sources with stars in the BD Catalogue. Two of these are also found in the HD Catalogue.     

Estimation of Fried's Parameter From Specklegrams of Solar Features

A few methods of estimating Fried's parameter (r ₀) from specklegrams of solar features are described. Some of these methods were used to estimate r ₀ for the speckle data obtained from Kodaikanal Observatory (KO), Uttar Pradesh State Observatory (UPSO) and Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO). The average value of r ₀ was found to be 3 cm at USO and UPSO during our observations. At KO, values of r ₀ ranging from 6 to 10 cm were estimated.     

SEDIMENT MOBILIZATION BY SURFACE EROSION IN MIDDLE MOUNTAIN CATCHMENTS OF NEPAL

1 INTRODUCTION Soil erosion in the foothills of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas (HKH) is considered to be a hot topic in land degradation research in the region (Scherr and Yadav, 1996). The land degradation research has mainly addressed the issue of topsoil los…     

What explains agricultural performance: climate normals or climate variance?

This paper measures the influence of climate normals (average long-term surface wetness and temperature) and interannual climate variance on farms in the United States and Brazil using satellite data. The paper finds that just climate normals or just climate variance variables can explain both net revenues and how much land is used for cropland. However, because they are correlated with each other, it is important to include both normals and variance in the same statistical model to get accurate measures of their individual contribution to farm outcomes. In general, higher climate variance increases the probability that land is used for cropland in both countries and higher temperatures reduce both cropland and land values. Other annual effects were not consistent across the two countries.     

Determination of the Maximum Acceptable Toxicant Concentration (MATC) and the safe Concentration for Certain Aquatic Pollutants

— The 96 h TL₅₀ values, the maximum acceptable toxicant concentration (MATC) and the safe concentrations were determined for various aquatic pollutants, viz. thiotox, chlordane, metasystox, dichlorvos, sevin and carbofuran (pesticides), phenol, pentachlorophenol and dinitrophenol (phenolic compounds), cadmium chloride and copper sulphate (heavy metal), swascofix P₁₄, swanic 6 L and swascol 1P (synthetic detergent) using the larvae (the most sensitive stage of the life cycle) of Cyprinus carpio, a fresh water exotic carp. — The estimated MATC ranged between 0.009 and 400 μg/1 for all the pollutants; — the calculated value of the application factor (AF) ranged between 0.0096 and 0.0978. — The safe concentrations were determined for each pollutant by the lowest value of application factor worked out in the present investigation; — safe concentrations were also worked out by different formulae given by different workers. The values obtained were compared with the safe concentrations value worked out by the authors of the present study.     

An empirical earthquake prediction model

We have monitored seismic activity induced by impoundment of Lake Jocassee in northwest South Carolina for about two years. Low-level shallow activity was recorded. The larger felt events (2.0 ? M_L ? 2.6) were found to be associated with precursory changes in one or more of the following; number of events, t_S/t_p ratio values and radon concentrations in groundwater.The microearthquakes in the precursory period were accurately located in time and space, and their location pattern was used to develop an empirical earthquake prediction model.The precursory period consists of two phases; α-phase or a period of slow (or no) increase in seismicity, and β-phase, a period when the activity increase is more rapid. The main shock was found to be located within a cluster, a “target” area defined by the location of events in the β-phase. There is a general absence of seismic activity in the “target” area in the α-phase. The main shock occurred soon after a period of quiescence in the seismic activity in the β-phase. The magnitude of the shock, M_L is given by: M_L = 2 log D ? 0.07, where D is the duration of the precursory period in days.The model was successfully tested with data for a magnitude 2.3 event on February 23, 1977 which was also accompanied by radon and t_s/t_p anomalies.     

Influence of pH on the Toxicity of Phenol and its Two Derivatives Pentachlorophenol and Dinitrophenol to Some Fresh Water Teleosts

— The fish Colisa fasciatus, Saccobranchus fossilis and Notopterus notopterus were exposed to phenol, pentachlorophenol and dinitrophenol at four pH levels, i. e. 4.6 + 0.12, 6.0±0.14, 7.3 ±0.10 and 8.8 ±0.13, to evaluate the effect of pH on the toxicity of these chemicals. — A change in pH from 7.3 ± 0.10 to 6.0 ± 0.14 increased toxicity to a certain degree while a change from 7.3 ± 0.10 to 4.6 ± 0.12 potentiated the toxicity of phenol, pentachlorophenol and dinitrophenol 5.05, 19.30 and 22.33 times, respectively for Notopterus notopterus, 3.59, 4.39 and 4.73 times, tespectively for Colisa fasciatus and 3.04, 4.68 and 5.85 times, respectively for Saccobranchus fossilis. — A change in pH from 7.3 ± 0.10 to 8.8 ± 0.13 has a protective effect on the toxicities.     

Seismotectonics of the Hindukush and Baluchistan arc

A seismicity map of that part of the Pakistan-Afghanistan region lying between the latitudes 28° to 38°N and longitudes 66° to 75°E is given using all available data for the period 1890–1970. The earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 and above were considered in the preparation of this map. On the basis of this map, it is observed that the seismicity pattern over the well-known Hindukush region is quite complex. Two prominent, mutually orthogonal, seismicity lineaments, namely the northvestern and the north-eastern trends, characterize the Hindukush area. The northwestern trend appears to extend from the Main Boundary Fault of the Kashmir Himalaya on the southeast to the plains of the Amu Darya in Uzbekistan on the northwest beyond the Hindukush. The Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges of Pakistan are well-defined zones of intermontane seismicity exhibiting north-south alignment.Thirty-two new focal-mechanism solutions for the above-mentioned region have been determined. These, together with the results obtained by earlier workers, suggest the pre-dominance of strike-slip faulting in the area. The Hazara Mountains, the Sulaiman wrench zone and the Kirthar wrench zone, as well as the supposed extension of the Murray ridge up to the Karachi coast, appear to be mostly undergoing strike-slip movements.In the Hindukush region, thrust and strike-slip faulting are found to be equally prevalent. Almost all the thrust-type mechanisms belonging to the Hindukush area have both the nodal planes in the NW-SE direction for shallow as well as intermediate depth earthquakes. The dip of P-axes for the events indicating thrust type mechanisms rarely exceeds 35°. The direction of the seismic slip vector obtained through thrust type solutions is always directed towards the northeast. The epicentral pattern together with these results suggest a deep-seated fault zone paralleling the northwesterly seismic zone underneath the Hindukush. This NW-lineament has a preference for thrust faulting, and it appears to extend from the vicinity of the Main Boundary Fault of the Kashmir Himalaya on the southeast of Uzbekistan on the northwest through Hindukush. Almost orthogonal to this NW-seismic zone, there is a NE-seismic lineament in which there is a preference for strike-slip faulting.The above results are discussed from the point of view of convergence of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the light of plate tectonics theory.     

Paleomagnetic study of a vertical sequence of traps from Mount Pavagarh,Gujrat, India

The paleomagnetism of 22 flows which range in composition from olivine basalts to rhyolite and in elevation from 450 ft. to 2680 ft., from Mount Pavagarh, situated in Gujrat, India, has been studied. The igneous activity represented by these flows belongs to the Deccan Trap Plateau Basalt Series. Sixteen flows ranging in elevation from 900 to 2680 ft. showed normal magnetization with upward inclination, consistent with the position of India in the southern hemisphere during the period of their eruption. Four flows from elevation 450 ft. to 730 ft. showed intermediate as well as discordant directions. The paleomagnetic results obtained from these flows have been correlated with those of Deccan traps from other areas. The amount of paleosecular variation represented by these flows has been estimated and compared with that from similar vertical sequences of traps studied from other areas. It has been found that the magnitude of paleosecular variation varied during the period of Deccan trap activity. An estimate of continental drift has been made from mean pole position of the several vertical sequences of traps. This indicates that a drift of the Indian landmass of the order of 24° took place during the entire period represented by the Deccan trap activity. The results of paleomagnetic studies of other sedimentary and igneous formations of Cretaceous age are reviewed in the light of recent results on Deccan traps.