Relationship in metastasis of coal fire and land use/cover using thermal imagery and support vector machine classifier

The objective of the present study was to delineate temporal and spatial changes in the coal fire and land use/cover within Bastacolla area of Jharia coal field. Studying this variation helped to decipher interconnection among the dynamics of the coal fire and concomitant changes in land use/cover. The detection of coal fires during a span of 14 years along with transitioning land use/cover was cost-effective and enabled planning for management of coal resources and environment. Landsat series of satellite data of 2002, 2009, 2013, and 2016 were processed for generating land surface temperature profiles vis-a-vis classified land use/cover of the study area. A single cut-off temperature was derived for mapping of coal fires using land surface temperature profile from 2002 to 2016. The satellite images were classified using support vector machines, and for depicting land use/cover change, post-classification change detection was done. Classification accuracy obtained was excellent with kappa coefficient ranging from 0.897 for classified image of 2002 to 0.799 for classified image of 2016. Results revealed that coal fires had shifted to the central west part of the area. Furthermore, pockets of coal fire from northern and eastern part of the study area have diminished. OB dumps and coal quarry/coal dump may be attributed towards the spatial change in coal fire while; OB dumps showed connotation with the highest temperature zones. Ground verifications for temperature profiles and coal fires were carried out using thermal camera which enunciated good agreement with results.     

Impact of INSAT-3D radiance data assimilation using WRF 3DVAR on simulation of Indian summer monsoon and high-resolution rainfall forecast over hilly terrain

Natural Hazards - This study describes the impact of assimilation of INSAT-3D radiances data from both imager and sounder for Indian summer monsoon simulation and rainfall forecast over a hilly...     

喜马拉雅中部甘达基河流域尼泊尔国鸟(棕尾虹雉)生境分布变化

甘达基河流域(Gandaki River Basin,GRB)是喜马拉雅中部地区的一部分,该地区栖息着许多珍稀的野生动物。由于气候和人类活动的影响,许多珍稀保护物种的生境处于危险之中。本研究基于最大熵(MaxEnt)模型,运用生物气候、土地覆被和DEM数据,分析各环境要素对棕尾虹雉(Lophophorusimpejanus)的生境适宜性的影响,评估棕尾虹雉现在状况和未来栖息地分布的变化。研究表明,目前棕尾虹雉的高度适宜栖息地面积约为749 km^2,主要分布在流域北部、东部和西部,尤其是郎塘国家公园、马纳斯卢峰自然保护区和安纳布尔纳峰自然保护区等保护区内。到2050年,棕尾虹雉的高度适宜栖息地面积将减少至561 km^2,主要在流域北部和西北部(即Chhyo,Tatopani,Humde和Chame地区)。未来环境变化的模拟表明,由于适宜栖息地面积的减少,棕尾虹雉面临的生存风险将增加。     

Seafloor Geomorphology and Processes on the Western Continental Margin of India based on Multibeam Acoustic Backscatter Data Analysis

An assessment of the multibeam sonar data of the central Western Continental Margins of India has been carried out to evaluate the seafloor geomorphology and processes by examining the geomorphological attributes e.g., slope, sediments, structures, etc. associated with geomorphic features. The variation in relief and the features located in the region have been mapped and interpreted collectively by utilizing several geospatial mapping tools. The backscatter strength across the area, apparently congruent with the local relief, has helped to examine the sediment movement on the seafloor. The prominent features found in the region include faults, pockmarks, mounds, submarine terraces, and submerged fossil reefs. Several areas with varying topography engender comparable fractal dimension at short scale breaks, and the probability density functions (PDFs) utilizing backscatter data depicting overlapping classes. The present study highlights how fractals and scale break parameters can be utilized to determine the seafloor processes and associated sedimentological dynamics in a complex geographical environment with strong bottom currents, seasonal upwelling, and faulted structure. The role and impact of the various geomorphic processes on the reworking of sediment movement and the overall progression of the seafloor morphology has been revealed for the first time in this part of the ocean bottom.     

A comparative study of different dielectric models—computation of representative dielectric profiles of black soils

The dielectric property of the soil is an important parameter for microwave remote sensing. Therefore an attempt is made to study and compare the models for the dielectric constant of moist soils by considering three soil types namely Haldi series (sandy loam), Hathiapathar series (silt loam) and Jambria series (clay) and at frequencies 1.4, 4.0 and 18.0 GHz. The semiempirical models of Wang et al. (1980) and Dobson et al (1985) predict more or les same results in the domain of their applicability. However, at lower frequencies below 1.0 GHz, the imaginary part of dielectric constant shows a decreasing trend with decreasing frequency for Wang et al (1980) model whereas it shows reverse trend for Dobson et al (1985) model. The soil texture and frequency dependence of dielectric constant have been investigated for Indian soils. Some of the representative dielectric profiles of black soils of Pune have been computed using semiempirical model of Dobson et al (1985) which are useful for the development of multifrequency models for the study of soil moisture.     

Field verification of a theoretical model to predict the dynamic response of a soft clay deposit

A 40-m thick clay deposit was subjected to sinusoidal excitations using a foundation block and an eccentric mass type vibrator. The response of the foundation block and the surrounding soil was measured using geophones inside the soil and on the surface. The phase shift between the excitation signal and the response signal, the accelerations of the foundation block and the particle velocities in the soil are compared with those obtained from a frequency-dependent numerical model based on the exact analytical solution for the boundary value problem of a rectangular foundation resting on a linear elastic halfspace.     

A study of tropospheric wave disturbances over India in winter

The wave disturbances in the troposphere over north and central India during winter when the subtropical westerlies prevail in the upper air over the area have been investigated by power-and cross-spectrum analysis. The power-spectrum study revealed the existence of basically two systems of periods 10.0–12.5 days and 4.5–5.5 days in the middle and upper troposphere. Both the long-and short-period systems have been found to be propagating eastwards at rates 5° and 10° long./day respectively. In both the cases lower temperatures are found to the east of the troughs. It is also noted that these systems build up the meridional temperature gradient and hence strengthen the upper tropospheric westerlies. Synoptic study of the transient systems is presented.