Varietals differences in agronomic performance of six wheat varieties grown under saline field environment

Six wheat varieties (SARC-1, SARC-2, SARC-3, SARC-4, LU26S and Punjab-85) were planted in the field to evaluate their comparative performance under saline conditions. LU26S appeared the most salt-tolerant variety and gave the highest grain weight due to its low Na⁺ uptake, high K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, higher dry weight of shoots and spikes and better grain development. Better exclusion of Na⁺ and other ions from the leaves of salt-tolerant variety LU2 6S could also be a reason for its ability to maintain a higher grain weight in the saline soil. Punjab-85 appeared the most saltsensitive variety as its dry weight of main shoots and spikes were also found to be the lowest. High Na⁺ uptake, lower K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, lower dry weight of main shoots and spikes and lower 100 grain weight were the main reasons for saltsensitivity in Punjab-85. Dry weight of shoots, spikes and grain weight of SARC-3 under saline soil conditions was almost similar to the salt-sensitive variety Punjab-85 and could be classified as salt-sensitive. Flag leaf area decreased drastically due to salt stress in all the varieties and this could be a major cause for low yield. There was however, a very low linear correlation between the flag leaf area and the grain weight in pooled data for all the six wheat varieties.     

Depositional Environments and Diagenesis of the Kuldhar and Keera Dome Carbonates (Late Bathonian–Early Callovian) of Western India

This paper describes 11 microfacies types in late Bathonian–Early Callovian carbonates of the Kuldhar Member of the Jaisalmer Formation (Rajasthan) and the Keera Golden Oolite Member of the Chari Formation (Kachchh Mainland) western India. The different microfacies associations reported in this study reflect an ideal shallowing upward sequence, representing a system of bioclastic bars developed on the lower ramp, evolving into an oolitic bar-to-bank system separating restricted lagoonal—from lower ramp environment. Four main types of cements, i.e. bladed, fibrous, syntaxial overgrowth and blocky cement (characterized in a few cases by ferroan calcite and anhydrite II) occur in these carbonates. The study also reveals that chemical compaction followed the two phases of early mechanical compaction that largely governed porosity of these limestones. However, micritization and neomorphism also contributed significantly in this respect. Diagenetic signatures in these carbonates suggest that marine phreatic and fresh water phreatic environments dominated, but deep burial diagenesis also played its role in shaping these rocks. The early and late diagenetic changes have been controlled by the depositional facies evolving in a basin riddled with rifting in an extensional tectonic regime forcing regional-scale sea level fluctuations.     

Pedodiversity and pedogenesis in Zayandeh-rud Valley, Central Iran

A geomorphic hierarchical downscaling method was used to decompose the forms and processes forming the landscapes and their subdivisions in the main region of Zayandeh-rud Valley. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of soil heterogeneity and to check if K-entropy would be a good measure of soil evolution. Soil diversity analyses were performed considering soil families as individuals of soil entities in each geomorphic or taxonomic category level. Pedodiversity indices were used to follow the trend of soil and landscape evolution. The relationships between K-entropy (Shannon diversity index) and pedo-richness versus increasing area were analyzed to find out the effects of soil–landscape evolution on complexity of soil patterns in different geomorphic surfaces. Entropy–age relationship was studied to check the pedogenetic pathways responsible for soil landscape evolution. The soil diversity increases as geomorphic and taxonomic hierarchy levels decrease. The diversity indices were high when the sequence of soil horizons in a homogeneous family was also investigated. An increase in K-entropy of soil and landscape during time confirms the hypothesis of soil divergence evolution, whereby differences in initial conditions or local perturbations, and dynamic instability appear to have produced more variable soils and landscapes in the study area.     

Artificial neural network application to estimate kinematic soil pile interaction response parameters

Six artificial neural network (ANN) models are developed to predict various response parameters of kinematic soil pile interaction. These responses include (1) kinematic response factors for free and fixed head piles in homogenous soil layer to derive foundation input motion (2) normalized bending moment at fixed head of pile in homogenous soil layer (3) normalized kinematic pile moment at the interface of two soil layers of sharply different soil stiffnesses. These ANN models represent simple solutions that can be implemented in a simple calculator capable of matrix operation and bypass the site response analysis and the complex wave diffraction analysis. The data required for ANN training is generated using beam on dynamic Winkler formulation (BDWF). Fifty percent of the data is used to train the ANN models while remaining 50% is used to test the ANN models. The trained ANN models show good agreement with BDWF results.     

Effects of Drying on the Low-Frequency Electrical Properties of Tournemire Argillites

Nearly water-saturated argillite samples (initial water content near 3.4 wt%) were cored from an undisturbed area of an underground facility of the French Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), located at Tournemire (Aveyron, France). These samples were subjected to the following desiccation path: (a) A desaturation phase during which the samples were dried at ambient temperature conditions, relative humidity equal to 43% in average and (b) a heating phase during which the same samples were heated at four temperature levels from 70°C up to 105°C. During both phases, the low-frequency complex resistivity (0.18Hz–12 kHz) was recorded by a four-electrode device. The amplitude of the complex resistivity was extremely sensitive to water content change. At the end of the isotherm desaturation phase, it was multiplied by a factor of 3 to 5. During the heating phase, the resistivity increased by more than two orders of magnitude compared to the initial state. The percentage of Frequency Effect shows a low sensitivity to water content changes during the desaturation stage while it increased by two orders of magnitude during the heating phase. This result confirms that low-frequency spectral signature is extremely sensitive to textural changes (i.e., thermal-induced microcracking in this case) that occurred during heating. Moreover, the complex resistivity of the samples shows a strong anisotropy (a ratio of 10 between both amplitudes measured in the perpendicular directions). The classical Cole-Cole model cannot be used to fit the experimental data obtained in the heating phase. A generalized formulation of this model is required and was successfully applied to represent the complex resistivity data.     

Groundwater vulnerability assessment and evaluation of human activity impact (HAI) within the Dead Sea groundwater basin,Jordan

Groundwater vulnerability to contamination was determined within the Dead Sea groundwater basin, Jordan, using the DRASTIC model and evaluation of human activity impact (HAI). DRASTIC is an index model composed of several hydrogeological parameters and, in this study, the recharge parameter component was calculated as a function of rainfall, soil permeability, slope percentage, fault system, and the intersection locations between the fault system and the drainage system, based on the hydrogeologic characteristics of hard-rock terrain in an arid region. To evaluate the HAI index, a land use/cover map was produced using an ASTER VNIR image, acquired for September 2004, and combined with the resultant DRASTIC model. By comparing the DRASTIC and HAI indices, it is found that human activity is affecting the groundwater quality and increasing its pollution risk. The land use/cover map was verified using the average nitrate concentrations in groundwater associated with land in each class. A sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to study the model sensitivity. The analyses showed that the depth to water table and hydraulic conductivity parameters have no significant impact on the model, whereas the impact of vadose zone, aquifer media, and recharge parameters have a significant impact on the DRASTIC model.     

Polar wandering path for India during the Precambrian

Summary The recent radiometric dating on some Precambrian formations of India and the available paleomagnetic data have enhanced the possibility of deducing the Polar wander path for India during the remote past. The data indicate that India was in the northern hemisphere during the Precambrian times. This inference has also been substantiated by the paleoclimatic evidences.     

Uranium and boron distributions related to metamorphic microstructure-evidence for metamorphic fluid activity

The distribution of uranium and boron in polymetamorphosed, granulite facies schists and gneisses has been studied using particle track methods. The concentration and distribution of these elements when examined in relation to mineralogy and microstructure provide an insight into: (1) the behaviour of U and B in metamorphism, (2) the activity of a fluid phase in the metamorphic processes and (3) the nature of chemical processes during schistosity development. A low concentration of primary U occurs in micro-inclusions of apatite and zircon (many are metamict) in the granulite facies M₁ assemblage. This assemblage which lacks B, except for zoned sillimanite, has undergone a localized retrograde metamorphism RM₁ characterised by hydrous alteration products containing abundant U and B. The RM₁ metamorphism is attributed to fluids generated during granulite facies dehydration reactions. A schistosity S₂ defined by M₂ fibrolite aggregates overprints the M₁ events. It is associated with (1) intragranular U concentrated in M₂ apatite and titanium bearing minerals and (2) abundant intergranular U within the fibrolite aggregates. High B contents also occur with the fibrolite. The S₂ schistosity appears to develop in a metamorphic environment containing a fluid enriched in U and B.     

Detection of Changes in Glacier Mass Balance Using Satellite and Meteorological Data in Tirungkhad Basin Located in Western Himalaya

Himalayan glaciers and their mass balance are poorly sampled through direct mass balance measurements. Thus, based on Landsat datasets of ETM⁺ (2000), ETM⁺ (2006) and TM (2011), mass balance studies of 32 glaciers was carried out using accumulation area ratio (AAR) method in the Tirungkhad river basin, a tributary of Satluj River, located in western Himalayan region. The overall specific mass balance was negative varying from ?27 cm (2000) to ?41 cm (2011). Out of 32 glaciers, 27 glaciers (81.2 %) showed negative mean mass balance and 5 glaciers (18.7 %) showed positive mean mass balance. Mean of specific mass balance for the year 2000, 2006 and 2011 was found to be ?48 cm, ?55 cm and ?0.61 cm respectively, in case of glaciers with negative mass balance while in case of glaciers with positive mass balance, it was 0.67 cm (2000), 0.56 cm (2006) and 0.47 cm (2011). The investigations suggested a loss of ?0.034 km³ of glacial ice for 2000, 0.036 km³ for 2006 and 0.038 km³ for 2011 respectively. The negative mass balance of the glaciers since 2000 correlates well with the increasing trend of annual mean temperature and decreasing trend of precipitation (snow water equivalent (SWE) and rainfall). Based on Mann Kendall test the temperature and SWE trends were significant at 95 % confidence level, however, the rainfall trend was insignificant.