Petrology and geochemistry of the ultramafic–mafic Mawpyut complex,Meghalaya: a Sylhet trap differentiation centre in northeastern India

The present article describes, for the first time, petrological and geochemical details of the Mawpyut differentiated complex which is related to the Sylhet trap located at Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya, northeastern India. The Mawpyut complex occurs as an arcuate body that intrudes into the surrounding Shillong Group rocks. The complex in general contains ‘ultramafic’ and ‘mafic’ rocks, as well as minor syenitic veins that postdate the main units. The lithotypes correspond to cumulate and noncumulate units. The cumulate unit is represented by olivine clinopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, plagioclase‐bearing ultramafic, olivine gabbronorite, mela‐gabbronorite, melagabbro, orthopyroxene gabbro, and gabbro, all with a pronounced cumulus texture. The noncumulate unit is marked by gabbro, monzonite, monzodiorite, and quartzsyenite. The use of several major and trace element variation diagrams suggests that magmatic differentiation led to the formation of cumulate and noncumulate units. In chondrite‐normalized REE diagrams the cumulate rocks show flat LREE and MREE patterns and a moderate positive Eu anomaly (in plagioclase‐bearing ultramafics) due to plagioclase cumulation. The rocks of the noncumulate unit show a strongly fractionated REE pattern and no Eu anomaly. The noncumulate mafic rocks are geochemically comparable to high‐phosphorous/high‐titanium basalts (HPT) indicative of low pressure fractional crystallization. In a primitive mantle‐normalized multielement diagram some of the cumulate rocks show pronounced negative anomalies for K and P, indicating anorogenic mafic magmatism in a within‐plate setting. The rocks of the noncumulate unit show a slight negative anomaly for Yb and a Nb–Ta trough, indicating a subduction‐related signature that perhaps is inherited from subducted sedimentary rocks incorporated during crustal contamination of the derived magma (left after crystal cumulation) with country rocks. Various trace element ratios for the cumulate mafic rocks indicate parent EMI/EMII/HIMU sources with a very limited crustal signature. The noncumulate mafic rocks (corresponding to the derived evolved magma) indicate EMI/EMII/HIMU sources with a pronounced crustal contamination. The Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the Mawpyut samples typically plot in the continental flood basalt field, with an affinity to the EMII source. The isotopic compositions of the noncumulate rocks also clearly indicate crustal contamination. We suggest that partial melting (involving garnet in the residue) of the enriched mantle source EMI/EMII/HIMU could have derived the parental melt; this melt, in turn, underwent assimilation and fractional crystallization to produce the variety of cumulate‐noncumulate lithologies of the Mawpyut complex. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomorphology,sedimentology and minimum exposure ages of streamlined subglacial landforms in the NW Himalaya,India

Streamlined subglacial landforms that include drumlins in three study areas, the upper Chandra valley around Chandra Tal, the upper Spiti Valley and the middle Yunam Valley of the NW Himalaya of India were mapped and studied using geomorphic, sedimentological and geochronological methods. These streamlined subglacial landforms include a variety of morphological types, including: (i) half egg‐shaped forms; (ii) complex superimposed forms; (iii) dome‐shaped forms; (iv) inverse forms; and (v) flat‐topped symmetrical forms. Sedimentological data indicate that subglacial deformational processes are responsible for the formation of the streamlined subglacial landforms in the Chandra Tal and upper Spiti Valley study areas. In contrast, streamlined landforms in the middle Yunam Valley are the result of melt‐out and subglacial erosional processes. In the Yunam Valley study area, 11 new cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages were obtained for boulders inset into the crests of streamlined subglacial landforms and moraines, and also for a bedrock surface. The streamlined landforms date to 8–7 ka, providing evidence of an early Holocene valley glaciation, and older moraines date to ～17–15 and 79–52 ka, representing other significant valley glacial advances in the middle Yunam Valley. The subglacial landforms in the Chandra Valley provide evidence for a ≥300‐m‐thick Lateglacial glacier that advanced southeast, overtopping the Kunzum Range, and advancing into the upper Spiti Valley. The streamlined subglacial landforms in these study areas of the NW Himalaya highlight the usefulness of such landforms in developing glacial chronostratigraphy and for understanding the dynamics of Himalayan glaciation.     

Kinematics of large scale asymmetric folds and associated smaller scale brittle — Ductile structures in the proterozoic somnur formation, pranhita — Godavari Valley, South India

The development of structural elements and finite strain data are analysed to constrain kinematics of folds and faults at various scales within a Proterozoic fold-and-thrust belt in Pranhita-Godavari basin, south India. The first order structures in this belt are interpreted as large scale buckle folds above a subsurface decollement emphasizing the importance of detachment folding in thin skinned deformation of a sedimentary prism lying above a gneissic basement. That the folds have developed through fixed-hinge buckling is constrained by the nature of variation of mesoscopic fabric over large folds and finite strain data. Relatively low, irrotational flattening strain (X:Z-3.1-4.8, k<1) are associated with zones of near upright early mesoscopic folds and cleavage, whereas large flattening strain (X:Z-3.9-7.3, k<1) involving noncoaxiality are linked to domains of asymmetric, later inclined folds, faults and intense cleavage on the hanging wall of thrusts on the flanks of large folds. In the latter case, the bulk strain can be factorized to components of pure shear and simple shear with a maximum shearing strain of 3. The present work reiterates the importance of analysis of minor structures in conjunction with strain data to unravel the kinematic history of fold-and-thrust belts developed at shallow crustal level.     

A note on the lithosphere thickness and heat flow density of the Indian Craton from MAGSAT data

The Curie depth map of India compiled from MAGSAT data has been used for preparing the lithosphere thickness and the surface heat flow density maps of the Indian Craton, utilizing the concept of magnetothermometry. The lithosphere thicknesses of the major Indian geological units/provinces, as obtained from the prepared map, are found to be in reasonably good agreement with the previously published values for these regions. Also, the surface heat flow density values obtained from the prepared maps closely follow the previously published results. The maps are useful in providing first order estimates of lithosphere thickness and surface heat flow density of the important geological units/provinces of India.     

On the tidally driven circulation in the South China Sea: modeling and analysis

The South China Sea is a large marginal sea surrounded by land masses and island chains, and characterized by complex bathymetry and irregular coastlines. An unstructured-grid SUNTANS model is employed to perform depth-averaged simulations of the circulation in the South China Sea. The model is tidally forced at the open ocean boundaries using the eight main tidal constituents as derived from the OSU Tidal Prediction Software. The model simulations are performed for the year 2005 using a time step of 60 s. The model reproduces the spring-neap and diurnal and semidiurnal variability in the observed data. Skill assessment of the model is performed by comparing model-predicted surface elevations with observations. For stations located in the central region of the South China Sea, the root mean squared errors (RMSE) are less than 10 % and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) is as high as 0.9. The simulations show that the quality of the model prediction is dependent on the horizontal grid resolution, coastline accuracy, and boundary locations. The maximum RMSE errors and minimum correlation coefficients occur at Kaohsiung (located in northern South China Sea off Taiwan coast) and Tioman (located in southern South China Sea off Malaysia coast). This may be explained with spectral analysis of sea level residuals and winds, which reveal dynamics at Kaohsiung and Tioman are strongly influenced by the seasonal monsoon winds. Our model demonstrates the importance of tidally driven circulation in the central region of the South China Sea.     

Tropospheric ozone profiles near equator and meteorological parameters

This is a study of ozone profile shapes in the 800 to 100 millibar range obtained with balloonsonde data over Trivandrum (8.5° N) during 1975–76 and possible associations of these shapes to some meteorological parameters.Whereas monotonic ozone profiles were noted with clear weather conditions, those associated with cloud cover show three basic anomalous features. Some bulges of increased values are observed in the range of 800 to 500 mb. In the 500–100 mb range, short range or localized cloud cover or passing weather disturbances are associated with fluctuation patterns in the ozone profile and an average depleted value of ozone. The fluctuations are also associated with changing wind speed and direction at these heights.Possible causative mechanisms are discussed. Lightning associated with thundestorm, producing additional CO and NO are sought to interpret the bulges at lower heights. The decrease in values as well as the fluctuation patterns are suggested as due to possible incursion of water vapour from troposphere to stratosphere in the tropical region and dynamical effects associated with it.     

Influence of Eurasian snow on Indian summer monsoon in NCEP CFSv2 freerun

The latest version of the state-of-the-art global land–atmosphere–ocean coupled climate forecast system of NCEP has shown considerable improvement in various aspects of the Indian summer monsoon. However, climatological mean dry bias over the Indian sub-continent is further increased as compared to the previous version. Here we have attempted to link this dry bias with climatological mean bias in the Eurasian winter/spring snow, which is one of the important predictors of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR). Simulation of interannual variability of the Eurasian snow and its teleconnection with the ISMR are quite reasonable in the model. Using composite analysis it is shown that a positive snow anomaly, which is comparable to the systematic bias in the model, results into significant decrease in the summer monsoon rainfall over the central India and part of the Equatorial Indian Ocean. Decrease in the summer monsoon rainfall is also found to be linked with weaker northward propagation of intraseasonal oscillation (ISO). A barotropic stationary wave triggered by positive snow anomaly over west Eurasia weakens the upper level monsoon circulation, which in turn reduces the zonal wind shear and hence, weakens the northward propagation of summer monsoon ISOs. A sensitivity experiment by reducing snow fall over Eurasian region causes decrease in winter and spring snow depth, which in turn leads to decrease in Indian summer monsoon rainfall. Results from the sensitivity experiment corroborate with those of composite analysis based on long free run. This study suggests that further improvements in the snow parametrization schemes as well as Arctic sea ice are needed to reduce the Eurasian snow bias during winter/spring, which may reduce the dry bias over Indian sub-continent and hence predictability aspect of the model.     

Streamflow modeling in a fluctuant climate using SWAT: Yass River catchment in south eastern Australia

Hydrological models play vital roles in understanding and management of surface water resources. The physically based distributed model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to a small catchment in south eastern Australia to determine its ability to mimic low and high streamflows. The model was successfully calibrated using 1993–2002 streamflow data and validated using 2003–2011 data with a combination of manual and auto-calibration techniques for both monthly and daily time steps. Sensitivity analysis indicated that curve number for moisture condition II (CN2) is the most sensitive parameter for both time steps. In general, the model performance statistics indicated “very good” agreement between measured and simulated discharges for both calibration and validation periods. The model was able to satisfactorily simulate both low and high flows of the Yass River. Analysis of water balance components indicated that more than 90 % of the rainfall is lost as evapotranspiration and about 45 % of the streamflow is base flow. The calibrated and validated SWAT model can be used to analyze the effect of climate and land use changes on catchment wide hydrologic process.     

Aquifer system response to intensive pumping in urban areas of the Gangetic plains,India: the case study of Patna

A significant component of domestic demand for water of urban areas located in the Gangetic plains is met by heavy pumping of groundwater. The present study is focused on the Patna municipal area, inhabited by 17 million people and spanning over 134 km², where entire urban water demand is catered from pumping by wells of various capacities and designs. The present study examines the nature of the aquifer system within the urban area, the temporal changes in the water/piezometric level and the recharge mechanism of the deeper aquifers. The aquifer system is made up of medium-to-coarse unconsolidated sand, lying under a ~40-m-thick predominantly argillaceous unit holding 8- to 13-m-thick localised sand layers and continues up to 220 m below ground. Groundwater occurs under semi-confined condition, with transmissivity of aquifers in 5,500–9,200 m² day^?1 range. Hydraulic head of the deeper aquifer remains in 9–19 m range below ground, in contrast to 1–9 m range of that of the upper aquitard zone. The estimated annual groundwater extraction from the deeper aquifer is ~212.0 million m³, which has created a decline of 3.9 m in the piezometric level of the deeper aquifer during the past 30 years. Unregulated construction of deep tube wells with mushrooming of apartment culture may further exacerbate the problem. The sand layers within the aquitard zone are experiencing an annual extraction of 14.5 million m³ and have exhibited stable water level trend for past one and half decades. This unit is recharged from monsoon rainfall, besides contribution from water supply pipe line leakage and seepage from unlined storm water drains.