Noble gas composition in Ogi and Siena meteorites

The elemental and isotopic composition of noble gases in two chondritic meteorites which belong to documented “falls” is reported. Ogi, which belongs to the group of H-chondrites, fell in Saga, Kyushu (Japan) at 11am on 8 June 1741 and Siena which belongs to the group of LL-chondrites, fell in Tuscany (Italy) at 7pm on 16 June 1794. The recovered mass of Ogi and Siena were 14·2 and 4 kg respectively. Their exposure ages are 13±2 m.y. and 13±3 m.y. respectively.     

DETECTION OF SHORT-PERIOD CORONAL OSCILLATIONS DURING THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 24 OCTOBER, 1995

An experiment to search for short-period oscillations in the solar corona was conducted during the total solar eclipse of 1995 October 24 at Kalpi, India. The intensity in the continuum, centred around 5500 Å and with a passband having a half-width of 240 Å, was recorded at a counting rate of 20 Hz using a thermoelectric-liquid cooled photomultiplier. The power-spectrum analysis of the data reveals that most of the power is contained in 6 frequencies below 0.2 Hz. A least-square analysis gives the periods of the 6 frequency components to be 56.5, 19.5, 13.5, 8.0, 6.1, and 5.3 s. These oscillations are found to be sinusoidal, and their amplitudes are found to lie in the rangeinebreak 0.2–1.3% of the coronal brightness. Assuming these oscillations to be fast magnetosonic modes, the calculations indicate the availability of enough flux for the heating of the active regions in the solar corona.     

Geotechnical characteristics of a Rubber Intermixed Ballast System

Acta Geotechnica - This study aims to promote the concept of using rubber granules from waste tyres as elastic aggregates blended with traditional ballast particles for better performance of rail...     

Contributors to the frequency of intense climate disasters in Asia-Pacific countries

With record breaking heat waves, dryness, and floods in several parts of the world in recent years the question arises whether and to what extent the hazard of hydrometeorological extreme weather events has changed, and if changes can be attributed to specific causes. The methodology of probabilistic event attribution allows to evaluate such potential changes in the occurence probabilities of particular types of extreme events. We show that such a probabilistic assessment not only provides information on changing hazards in hydrometerological events but also permits statements about multivariate combinations of hydrometeorological variables. Hence attribution studies could be targeted specifically towards relevant impacts in particular sectors, if different suitable multivariate proxies are used. We demonstrate our methodology by using combinations of temperature, precipitation and humidity in the large ensemble of climate simulations within the weather@home project in order to derive impact-relevant quantities such as a seasonal water balance and heat stress imposed on the human body. Finally, we estimate the hazard probabilities of those events in South-East Europe, a region that has recently experienced severe summer dryness (2012) in combination with multiple heat waves.     

Use of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technique for Pre-feasibility Analysis of Rural Water Pipeline Grids

The article outlines a procedure of pre-feasibility analysis of planned rural water supply pipeline grids in India. Usually, these type of pre feasibility studies prior to actual implementation, is carried out based on ground surveys and is time consuming. In this work, we use thematic spatial data, such as geomorphology and landuse–landcover along with digital elevation model (DEM) to carry out the pre-feasibility assessment of proposed pipeline grids. DEM generated from CartoSat-1 stereo data has been used to understand the possible topographic hindrances along the planned pipeline route and optimise the same. Further, topographic data also indicates the possible routes of gravity assisted flow. The geomorphology thematic data interpreted from Resourcesat-1 LISS III imagery is used to identify possible geomorphologic hindrances along the pipeline route. Similarly, landuse–landcover information derived from Resourcesat-2 LISS III images, was used to assess the land use/cover impact of the planed pipeline corridor. This has been demonstrated, in the current article using a hypothetical pipeline route. The activity can be carried in a specially designed geo-spatial interface in NRSC/ISRO Bhuvan geoportal. This type of assessment can prove to be time saving and cost effective at a pre-feasibility stage.     

Event-driven flood management: design and computational modules

Flood management is a set of activities that have to be carried out in collaboration with multiple agencies. Advanced flood information with early warning generated using remote sensing satellite technologies can help the agencies to effectively manage the situation on ground. Various environmental parameters and forecasts provided by different agencies can be analyzed and compared with historical flood events for generating probable flood event alerts. The information (environmental parameters) provided by the agencies are heterogeneous and noncompliant to standards and distributed in nature. Synchronization of data from distributed resources and automation of data analysis process for flood management is a primary prerequisite for faster and efficient decision-making. Web 2.0-based web services enable data creation, sharing, communication, and collaboration on web. Spatial data sharing on web 2.0 for making quality of service using open-source software for efficient flood management is a challenge. Available software architectures proposed for risk and environmental crisis management are too generic in nature and needs lot of modification for flood management. An event-driven model coupled with data standardization procedures using service-oriented architecture provides an effective framework for flood management. In this paper, a framework capable of collecting heterogeneous distributed flood-related information for analyzing and alerting probable flood events is proposed. The framework has been implemented to generate automatic flood extent maps, by analyzing the distributed satellite data (as service). The automation of flood delineation process reduces the overall flood product generation time. Open-source web tools have been utilized in development of spatial information system to visualize and analyze the actual situation on ground facilitating overall decision-making process.     

Deciphering heavy metal contamination zones in parts of Nalgonda District,Telangana

The study area is very important in terms of anthropogenic activity like rapid industrial, urban development, pesticides, pharmacy, granite polishing and agro based industries. Soils represent an excellent media to monitor heavy metal pollution. The results of soil samples analyzed in the present work using XRF reveal anomalous heavy metal and major oxide concentrations. The geogenic and anthropogenic activities for a long period in the study area are responsible for the anomalous heavy metal pollutants. Hence, this work is of immense societal benefit in terms of prevailing human health hazards in the study area with a direct relevance to such industrially populated regions elsewhere. Soil samples collected from study area were analyzed for heavy metals (As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Ni, Co, Mo, Pb, Rb, Sr, V, Y, Zn and Zr and major oxides (SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na₂O, K₂O, TiO₂, and P₂O₅ ) using Philips PW 2440 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF). The minimum 0.08 for molybdenum and maximum 21.99 enrichment factor for arsenic is observed. The minimum -2.5 and maximum 17.97 geoaccumulation index values is observed for barium and molybdenum. The minimum 0.07 and maximum 4.3 contamination factors is observed for molybdenum and lead. High contamination degree 19.21 for SMP-1 and least 7.8 for SMP-12 is observed. The minimum 0.41 and maximum 0.95 pollution load index is observed for SMP-12 and SMP-20. Factor analysis results shows that, three factors emerged as significant contributors to the soil quality is about seventy six percent for heavy metals and sixty eight percent for major oxides. The spatial variation maps deciphering heavy metal concentration of both natural and anthropogenic origin by three zones i.e. low, moderate and high of the study area based on environment using Arc-GIS.