Land cover dynamics in Garhwal Himalayas — a case study of balkhila sub-watershed

The present paper focuses on land cover dynamics pattern in Balkhila sub-watershed situated in Garhwal Himalayas. This study contributes example from human shaped ecosystem in mountainous regions where fragmentation of natural resources is active. The remote sensing and GIS has been used to understand the land cover dynamics along the topography. The results report that the land cover dynamics is dependent on the aspect due to sun illumination. The altitude and slope are no more a barrier for resource extraction and the human activity zone is shifting towards higher altitudes and slopes. The changes are also defined along the road and settlements.     

An automated seamless mosaicing system of multi-charge coupled devices of panchromatic data

Panchromatic data of pixel resolution 5.8 m obtained from IRS-1C and IRS-1D satellites proved to be very useful for mapping purposes. One of the popular data product is the 70 km swath mosaic which is covered by a combination of 3 CCD line sensors, each with 4096 pixels. Each CCD-line sensor with different imaging times causes geometric problems of mosaicing three strips data together. In this paper, we propose the details of the design elements of system that caters to the need for accurate and automatic multi strip image registration without any second resampling of the data. The systematic geometric correction grid mapping is improved to facilitate accurate mosaicing by automatic image registration task that makes use of the overlap data within image strips and image registration is achieved up to sub-pixel level.     

Seismic horizontal pullout capacity of shallow vertical anchors in sand

The concept of the equivalent free surface has been extended to determine the seismic horizontal pullout capacity of shallow vertical strip plate anchors buried in sand. The analysis has been done rigorously by using the method of stress characteristics. The results have been expressed in the form of non-dimensional charts. The pullout resistance has been found to reduce quite extensively with increase in the magnitude of horizontal earthquake acceleration. The results were compared with the previously published data, and it was seen that the computed pullout resistance with the proposed method was found to be lowest. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High-Ti type N-MORB parentage of basalts from the south Andaman ophiolite suite,India

A complete dismembered sequence of ophiolite is well exposed in the south Andaman region that mainly comprises ultramafic cumulates, serpentinite mafic plutonic and dyke rocks, pillow lava, radiolarian chert, and plagiogranite. Pillow lavas of basaltic composition occupy a major part of the Andaman ophiolite suite (AOS). These basalts are well exposed all along the east coast of southern part of the south AOS. Although these basalts are altered due to low-grade metamorphism and late hydrothermal processes, their igneous textures are still preserved. These basalts are mostly either aphyric or phyric in nature. Aphyric type exhibits intersertal or variolitic textures, whereas phyric variety shows porphyritic or sub-ophitic textures. The content of alkalies and silica classify these basalts as sub-alkaline basalts and alkaline basalts. A few samples show basaltic andesite, trachy-basalt, or basanitic chemical composition. High-field strength element (HFSE) geochemistry suggests that studied basalt samples are probably derived from similar parental magmas. Al₂O₃/TiO₂ and CaO/TiO₂ ratios classify these basalts as high-Ti type basalt. On the basis of these ratios and many discriminant functions and diagrams, it is suggested that the studied basalts, associated with Andaman ophiolite suite, were derived from magma similar to N-MORB and emplaced in the mid-oceanic ridge tectonic setting.     

Women’s use of public space and sense of place in the Raval (Barcelona)

This article deals with women's use of public space and sense of place in El Raval, a neighbourhood located in the historical center of Barcelona. Attention will be paid to discover to what degree the existence of a quality public space fosters the creation of socially meaningful places, thus contributing to the construction of womens sense of place and urban identities. A qualitative approach, based on direct observation and in-depth interviews with women living in the neighbourhood, has allowed us to capture the main aspects of the building of a sense of place and belonging, that is the use of public space and facilities, the attitude towards living in the neighbourhood, etc. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A brief comparison of lava flows from the Deccan Volcanic Province and the Columbia-Oregon Plateau Flood Basalts: Implications for models of flood basalt emplacement

The nature and style of emplacement of Continental Flood Basalt (CFB) lava flows has been a matter of great interest as well as considerable controversy in the recent past. However, even a cursory review of published literature reveals that the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) and Hawaiian volcanoes provide most of the data relevant to this topic. It is interesting to note, however, that the CRBG lava flows and their palaeotopographic control is atypical of other CFB provinces in the world. In this paper, we first present a short overview of important studies pertaining to the emplacement of flood basalt flows. We then briefly review the morphology of lava flows from the Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) and the Columbia-Oregon Plateau flood basalts. The review underscores the existence of significant variations in lava flow morphology between different provinces, and even within the same province. It is quite likely that there were more than one way of emplacing the voluminous and extensive CFB lava flows. We argue that the establishment of general models of emplacement must be based on a comprehensive documentation of lava flow morphology from all CFB provinces.     

Minority women’s microenterprises in rural areas of the United States of America: African American,Hispanic American and Native American case studies

Women in many rural areas of the US often engage in small-scale businesses as one of several avenues for contributing to household incomes. In those geographical areas that contain a significant minority population, many of the women's businesses display the cultural diversity of the regions in which they live. Likewise, women's roles as economic providers as well as wives and mothers are reflected in the manner in which they operate their businesses. Candida Brush suggests that women's strategies for operating their businesses are highly integrative because women's business decisions are intertwined with familial responsibilities, household economic demands and desires to contribute to their communities. Hispanic and Native American women in the Four Corners region of southwestern US and African American women in central Virginia participated in interviews in which they responded to numerous short answer and open-ended questions about their businesses and decision-making strategies. From these interviews an image emerges of rural minority business women who are operating their businesses at the nexus of family obligations, economic necessities, cultural ties and with a commitment for serving their communities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mechanism of arrested charnockite formation at Nemmara, Palghat region, southern India

The formation of arrested charnockite is an excellent example of structurally controlled channellised fluid flow along specific sites accompanied by selective elemental mobility and mineralogical changes. The present paper recognises and focuses study on three types of arrested charnockite formation from Palghat region, namely, shear-controlled, foliation parallel and boudin-neck types, and address their spatio-temporal relations to regional-scale charnoenderbite. The shear-controlled and foliation parallel types post-date deformation and migmatisation. The boudin-neck type, on the contrary, is coeval with partial melting and followed the path of cooling and decreasing water activity in the gneiss. K-feldspar veining around plagioclase and quartz, symplectitic intergrowth of biotite+quartz after orthopyroxene and K-feldspar, and fluid inclusion data suggests the presence of alkalic supercritical brine and low-density CO₂-rich fluid during charnockite formation. Charnockite domains developed following the breakdown of hornblende, biotite and quartz are characterised by a more or less pronounced depletion of Fe, Ca, Mg and Ti and trace elements Y and Zr, compared to their counterpart gneiss. REE spectra indicate a subtle depletion in the HREE near the centre of the charnockite domain. Although close-pair samples of gneiss–charnockite are isochemical, on a scale of a few millimetres, bi-directional element movement, related to the formation of new mineral was noted. It is postulated that arrested charnockite formation developed in situ on local scale within the granitic domains of the hornblende-biotite gneiss, in the presence of CO₂-rich fluids and alkalic supercritical saline brine. This process post-dated the time of regional granulite (charnoenderbite) and large regional scale retrogression and migmatisation.     

Pollution history and recovery of a boreal lake exposed to a heavy bleached pulping effluent load

We examined the effects of heavy pulp mill discharges on the Lake Lievestuoreenjärvi ecosystem and the later recovery of diatom and chironomid communities from age-dated short core samples. Beginning in 1927 the lake received a heavy effluent load from a sulphite pulp mill. Except for the recession during the Second World War and the temporary closure of the mill from 1967 to 1971, the industrial load, containing large quantities of nutrients, organic matter and toxic compounds, increased continuously. In the early 1980s, laboratory documents were falsified by the directors of the mill and the systematic illegal effluent overload led to a collapse of the whole lake ecosystem. In 1985, the outdated plant was finally closed down. Based on the assessment of chemical properties and biological remains of the sediment, we distinguished five developmental phases in the ecological state of the lake. In the pre-industrial phase, the pelagic and profundal benthic communities were dominated by species preferring ultraoligotrophic or oligotrophic lakes. Concomitant with the increasing discharge and deposition of chlorine compounds, resin acids, and mercury, as well as strong acidity and hypolimnetic and epilimnetic anoxia, the ecological status changed in a short period from excellent to bad. Finally, in the early 1960s, the majority of the lake was virtually dead and the aquatic life survived only in the uppermost littoral zone. Since 1985, a fast recovery in the water quality has led to a strong, but temporary eutrophy in pelagic communities. The main peak of eutrophication was caused by the invasion of a species new to the lake,Aulacoseira granulata var.angustissima. Later, the pelagic communities shifted towards oligotrophy, but the original, pre-industrial status has not been re-established. The profundal benthic communities have not achieved the pre-industrial structure, but at present indicate mesotrophy.