Trend in chemical composition of precipitation during 2005–2009 at a rural station of Bhubaneswar, eastern India

Precipitation samples collected during 2005–2009 from a rural forest station of Bhubaneswar were analyzed for their chemical composition. The samples were collected through a wet-only (WO) collector and two bulk (B1 and B2) collectors. The ions were evenly balanced indicating good data quality. The overall pH of rainwater was slightly acidic and ~47% of all rain events during the period were acidic (pH?<?5.6). Multilinear regression analysis showed relation between the free acidity (H⁺) and other components in rainwater. Enrichment factors (EF) of the major components with respect to their sources such as marine and crustal were calculated. Maximum EF was observed for NO ₃ ^? for both marine and crustal sources for all the three collectors. Source apportionments were also carried for the ions. Trend analysis showed continuous increase in most of the ions over years during the study period driven by anthropogenic emissions. Statistical/factorial analysis established correlation among different ions.     

Variability of cloud liquid water and ice over South Asia from TMI estimates

In this study, the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission based Microwave Imager estimates (2A12) have been used to compare and contrast the characteristics of cloud liquid water and ice over the Indian land region and the ocean surrounding it, during the premonsoon (May) and monsoon (June–September) seasons. Based on the spatial homogeneity of rainfall, we have selected five regions for our study (three over ocean, two over land). Comparison across three ocean regions suggests that the cloud liquid water (CLW) over the orographically influenced Arabian Sea (close to the Indian west coast) behaves differently from the CLW over a trapped ocean (Bay of Bengal) or an open ocean (equatorial Indian Ocean). Specifically, the Arabian Sea region shows higher liquid water for a lower range of rainfall, whereas the Bay of Bengal and the equatorial Indian Ocean show higher liquid water for a higher range of rainfall. Apart from geographic differences, we also documented seasonal differences by comparing CLW profiles between monsoon and premonsoon periods, as well as between early and peak phases of the monsoon. We find that the CLW during the lean periods of rainfall (May or June) is higher than during the peak and late monsoon season (July–September) for raining clouds. As active and break phases are important signatures of the monsoon progression, we also analysed the differences in CLW during various phases of the monsoon, namely, active, break, active-to-break and break-to-active transition phases. We find that the cloud liquid water content during the break-to-active transition phase is significantly higher than during the active-to-break transition phase over central India. We speculate that this could be attributed to higher amount of aerosol loading over this region during the break phase. We lend credence to this aerosol-CLW/rain association by comparing the central Indian CLW with that over southeast Asia (where the aerosol loading is significantly smaller) and find that in the latter region, there are no significant differences in CLW during the different phases of the monsoon. While our hypothesis needs to be further investigated with numerical models, the results presented in this study can potentially serve as a good benchmark in evaluating the performance of cloud resolving models over the Indian region.     

New constraints on UHT metamorphism in the Eastern Ghats Province through the application of phase equilibria modelling and in situ geochronology

High Mg–Al granulites from the Sunki locality in the central portion of the Eastern Ghats Province record evidence for the high-temperature peak and retrograde evolution. Peak metamorphic phase assemblages from two samples are garnet + orthopyroxene + quartz + ilmenite + melt and orthopyroxene + spinel + sillimanite + melt, respectively. Isochemical phase diagrams (pseudosections) based on bulk rock compositions calculated in the chemical system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–Fe₂O₃ (NCKFMASHTO) and Al contents in orthopyroxene indicate peak UHT metamorphic conditions in excess of 960 °C and 9.7 kbar. Microstructures and the presence of cordierite interpreted to record the post-peak evolution show that the rocks underwent decompression and minor cooling from conditions of peak UHT metamorphism to conditions of ~ 900 °C at ~ 7.5 kbar. In situ U–Pb isotope analyses of monazite associated with garnet and cordierite using the Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) yield a weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U age of ca. 980 Ma, which is interpreted to broadly constrain the timing of high-temperature monazite growth during decompression and melt crystallization at ~ 900–890 °C and 7.5 kbar. However, the range of ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U monazite ages (from ca. 1014 Ma to 959 Ma for one sample and ca. 1043 Ma to 922 Ma for the second sample) suggest protracted monazite growth during the high-temperature retrograde evolution, and possibly diffusive lead loss during slow cooling after decompression. The results of the integrated petrologic and geochronologic approach presented here are inconsistent with a long time gap between peak conditions and the formation of cordierite-bearing assemblages at lower pressure, as proposed in previous studies, but are consistent with a simple evolution of a UHT peak followed by decompression and cooling.     

Genetic reinterpretation of crystallographicintergrowths of jacobsite andhausmannite from natural assemblages

Summary Crystallographic intergrowths of jacobsite and hausmannite (vredenburgite) occur in association with braunite in the Precambrian Sausar Group of rocks, India, that were metamorphosed under 600-700°C and P 6 kb. Quartz, hematite, rhodochrosite and a later hausmannite may occasionally occur as minor associates. Detailed characterization of the intergrown phases reveals that hausmannite lamellae, oriented in 4 or 5 crystallographic directions in the jacobsite host, show a wide variation in thickness and tapered intersections at low angles. The lamellae may be locally deformed. Analytical data reveal that the composition of natural hausmannite and jacobsite in the intergrowths cannot be approximated within the system Fe₃O₄ -Mn₃O₄, as has been conventionally done. These really belong to the Fe₂O₃-Mn₃O₄ subsystem. In the two phase intergrowths, hausmannite is depleted and the jacobsite is enriched in Fe in higher grade rocks. Mineral associations and petrographic considerations suggest that the jacobsite-hausmannite intergrowth originated through prograde decarbonation-oxidation reactions of a carbonatic precursor in an unbuffered X CO₂ situation, but f O₂ was held between hematite-magnetite and bixbyite-hausmannite buffers at the ambient physical conditions of metamorphism. Subsequent oxidation yielded a strong oxygenbuffering assemblage jacobsite, hausmannite, braunite, hematite and quartz. This study negates the commonly held idea that hausmannite jacobsite crystallographic intergrowth (vredenburgite) originates through unmixing of a high ([ldvredenburgite) originates through unmixing of a high temperature spinel_ss temperature spinel_ss during cooling.

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Genetische Reinterpretation der kristallographischen Verwachsungen von Jakobsit und Hausmannit in natürlichen Vorkommen

Zusammenfassung Kristallographische Verwachsungen von Jakobsit und Hausmannit (Vredenburgit) treten in Verbindung mit Braunit in Gesteinen der präkambrischen Sausargruppe in Indien auf. Die Gesteine wurden bei Drucken von ca. 6 kbar und Termperaturen von 600–700°C metamorphosiert. Quarz, Hämatit, Rhodochrosit, und Hausmannit als Spätphase treten gelegentlich als untergeordnete Gemengteile auf. Hausmannit-Lamellen, die in vier oder fünf kristallographischen Richtungen in Jakobsit orientiert sind, haben sehr unterschiedliche Durchmesser und bilden versetzte Zwickel in kleinem Winkel mit dem Jakobsit. Die Lamellen können lokal deformiert sein. Analytische Daten zeigen, daß die Zusammensetzung von natürlichem Hausmannit und Jakobsit in Verwachsungen nicht, wie bisher angenommen, in dem System Fe₃O₄-Mn₃O₄ dargestellt werden kann. Diese Verwachsungen gehören vielmehr in das Fe₂O₃-Mn₃O₄ System. In höher-gradigen metamorphen Gesteinen ist Fe in zwei-phasigen Verwachsungen im Hausmannit ab- und im Jakobsit angereichert. Die Mineralzusammensetzung und petrographische Gesichtspunkte lassen darauf schließen, daß die Jakobsit/Hausmannit Verwachsung durch prograde Dekarbonatisierung/Oxydationsreaktion eines karbonatischen Vorläufers in einem nicht gepufferten X CO₂ Milieu entstanden ist. F O₂ wurde durch Hämatit-Magnetit und Bixbyit-Hausmannit Puffer unter den gegebenen physikalischen Bedingungen der Metamorphose stabil gehalten. Eine nachfolgende Oxydation führte zu einer starken Sauerstoff-puffernden Assoziation von Jakobsit, Hausmannit, Braunit, Hämatit und Quarz. Diese Untersuchungen widerlegen die allgemein verbreitete Ansicht, daß die kristallographische Verwachsung von Hausmannit und Jakobsit (Vredenburgit) durch Entmischung eines Hochtemperatur-Spinells während der Abkühlung entstanden ist.

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Hyperspectral Radiometry to Quantify the Grades of Iron Ores of Noamundi and Joda Mines,Eastern India

This paper present the results of a preliminary study to assess the potential of the visible, NIR and SWIR energy of the EMR in differentiating iron ores of different grades in a rapid manner using hyperspectral radiometry. Using different iron ore samples from Noamundi and Joda mines, Jharkhand and Orissa, states of India, certain spectro-radiometric measurements and geochemical analysis were carried out and the results have been presented. It was observed that the primary spectral characteristics of these iron ores lie in the 850 to 900 nm and 650–750 nm regions. The spectral parameters for each curve used for studying the iron ores are: (i) the slopes of the spectral curve in 685–725 nm region; (ii) position of the peak with respect to wavelength in 730–750 nm region and (iii) radius of curvature of the absorption trough in the 850–900 nm region. Comparison of these spectral parameters and the geochemistry of the samples indicates that the position of the peak of the curve in 730–750 nm region shifts towards longer wavelength with increasing iron oxide content, while the slope of the curvature in the 685–725 nm region has a strong negative correlation with the iron oxide content of the samples. Similarly, a strong negative correlation is observed between the radius of curvature of the 850–900 nm absorption trough and the iron oxide content. Such strong correlations indicate that hyperspectral radiometry in the visible and NIR regions can give a better estimate and quantification of the grades of iron ores. This study has demonstrated that generation of empirical models using hyperspectral radiometric techniques is helpful to quantify the grade of iron ores with limited geochemical analysis.     

Gamma rays from millisecond pulsars

We estimate the contribution of millisecond pulsars to the diffuse gamma-ray background of the Galaxy, and show that a significant fraction of the Galactic background may originate from them. A small number of the unidentified COS-B point sources may, in fact, be millisecond pulsars. It is argued that several hundred millisecond pulsars may be detectable as point sources by the GRO satellite A preliminary version of these results was presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Neutron stars, AGNs and Jets, Erice, September 5–17, 1988. On leave from Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India.     

Conditional statistics of Reynolds shear stress in flow over 2D dunes in the presence of surface waves

This study presents the analysis of the velocity fluctuations to describe the conditional statistics of Reynolds shear stress in flow over two‐dimensional dunes in the presence of surface waves of varying frequency. The flow velocity measurements over the dunes are made using a 16‐MHz 3D acoustic Doppler velocimeter. The joint probability distributions of the normalized stream‐wise and vertical velocity fluctuations at different vertical locations are calculated in the trough region of a selected dune in quasi‐steady region of the flow. Third‐order moments of the stream‐wise and vertical velocity components over one dune length are also calculated throughout the flow depth for understanding the effect of surface waves on relative contributions to the Reynolds shear stress due to the four quadrant events. The structure of instantaneous Reynolds stresses is analysed using quadrant analysis technique. It has been shown that the contributions of second and fourth quadrant events to the Reynolds shear stress increase with increase in the frequency of surface waves. In fact, the largest contribution to turbulent stresses comes from the second quadrant. The cumulant discard method is applied to describe the statistical properties of the covariance term u′w′. Conditional statistics and conditional sampling are used to compare the experimental and theoretical relative contributions to the Reynolds shear stress from the four quadrant events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quasi-viscous accretion flow – I. Equilibrium conditions and asymptotic behaviour

In a novel approach to studying viscous accretion flows, viscosity has been introduced as a perturbative effect, involving a first-order correction in the α-viscosity parameter. This method reduces the problem of solving a second-order non-linear differential equation (Navier–Stokes equation) to that of an effective first-order equation. Viscosity breaks down the invariance of the equilibrium conditions for stationary inflow and outflow solutions, and distinguishes accretion from wind. Under a dynamical systems classification, the only feasible critical points of this 'quasi-viscous' flow are saddle points and spirals. On large spatial scales of the disc, where a linearized and radially propagating time-dependent perturbation is known to cause a secular instability, the velocity evolution equation of the quasi-viscous flow has been transformed to bear a formal closeness with Schrödinger's equation with a repulsive potential. Compatible with the transport of angular momentum to the outer regions of the disc, a viscosity-limited length-scale has been defined for the full spatial extent over which the accretion process would be viable.     

Effect of density discontinuity on Alfvén internal gravity waves

The stability characteristics of Alfvén Internal gravity waves for an inviscid, nondissipative, Boussinesq fluid undergoing shear in the presence of a density discontinuity with and without a rigid boundary is studied.