Soil erosion modeling of a Himalayan watershed using RS and GIS

Employing the remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS), an assessment of sediment yield from Dikrong river basin of Arunachal Pradesh (India) has been presented in this paper. For prediction of soil erosion, the Morgan-Morgan and Finney (MMF) model and the universal soil loss equation (USLE) have been utilized at a spatial grid scale of 100 m × 100 m, an operational unit. The average annual soil loss from the Dikrong river basin is estimated as 75.66 and 57.06 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ using MMF and USLE models, respectively. The watershed area falling under the identified very high, severe, and very severe zones of soil erosion need immediate attention for soil conservation.     

Community responses to mountain tourism: A case in Bhyundar Valley, Indian Himalaya

Tourism industry has become an important part of Indian economy, and tourism development has been, however, concentrated to a few areas. Accumulation of tourism activities has reached the critical stage in most of the tourism centers, which pose serious threats to the natural environment. The Bhyundar Valley of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve （NDBR） in Uttarakhand State of the Indian Himalaya is a burning example of such problems. Land use/cover changes, deforestation and accumulation of garbage are some of the negative impacts of unregulated tourism in the valley. Unsustainable activities of tourists and villagers in the valley make such problems very severe. To deal with the ongoing problems and ensure community involvement in tourism management and environmental conservation, the Biosphere Reserve Authority introduced ecotourism in the form of Eco Development Committees （EDCs） in the Bhyundar Valley. Study reveals that many problems associated with tourism have been minimized to some extent with the help of EDCs but few are still prevailing in valley. However, the existing attempts to conserve the valley from the negative effects of tourism are inadequate and modifications are needed in the current initiatives.     

Soil parameter identification using a genetic algorithm

This paper is dedicated to the identification of constitutive parameters of the Mohr–Coulomb constitutive model from in situ geotechnical measurements. A pressuremeter curve and the horizontal displacements of a sheet pile wall retaining an excavation are successively used as measurements. Two kinds of optimization algorithms are used to minimize the error function, the first one based on a gradient method and the second one based on a genetic algorithm. The efficiency of each algorithm related to the error function topology is discussed. Finally, it is shown that the use of a genetic algorithm to identify the soil parameters seems particularly suitable when the topology of the error function is complex. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crystalline matrices for immobilization of actinides: Corrosion resistance in water

The rate of leaching of actinide-simulating rare-earth elements from two types of crystalline matrices consisting of titanate and titanozirconate phases was examined. The experiments were carried out at 95°C in distilled water. The rates of REE leaching from the samples were below 10^?3 g/m² day, which satisfied the requirements for the characteristics of matrices for immobilization of actinides. After passing the treated solutions through filters of 450 to 25 nm pore sizes, the REE content was changed slightly or not at all. This fact points to the minor role or to the absence of the colloidal form of REE in the solutions after the experiments.     

Estimation of the time of magma chamber solidification beneath the Strel’tsovka caldera and its effect on the nonstationary temperature distribution in the upper crust,the eastern Transbaikal region,Russia

The hydrothermal Mo-U deposits of the Strel’tsovka ore field, unique in reserves, are localized in the Late Mesozoic caldera of the same name. The consideration of geochemical processes that controlled uranium transfer by ore-bearing fluids and its precipitation in orebodies has shown that a nonstationary temperature distribution could have exerted a substantial effect on ore formation. The temperature field in the Strel’tsovka caldera, which was caused by a shallow-seated magma chamber that existed beneath the caldera by the onset of the ore stage, was simulated by mathematical modeling. A one-dimensional nonstationary model of conductive heat transfer taking into account the latent heat of magmatic melt crystallization was used. The problem was solved with the finite difference method. It has been established that, at optimal parameters of the model, the magma chamber would have completely crystallized in 56 ka; the maximum estimate is 133 ka. Three million years after emplacement of the granitic intrusion, the related thermal anomaly in the upper crust should have disappeared. The results obtained indicate that granitic melt of this chamber could not have been a source of uranium-bearing solutions that formed deposits 5 Ma after the cessation of magmatic activity.     

Geochemistry of Diagenesis of Organogenic Sediments: An Example of Small Lakes in Southern West Siberia and Western Baikal Area

Organogenic sediments (sapropels) in lakes are characterized by a reduced type of diagenesis, during which organic compounds are decomposed, the chemical composition of the pore waters is modified, and authigenic minerals (first of all, pyrite) are formed. Pyrolysis data indicate that organic matter undergoes radical transformatons already in the uppermost sapropel layers, and the composition of this organic matter is principally different from the composition of the organic matter of the its producers. The sapropels contain kerogen, whose macromolecular structure starts to develop during the very early stages of diagenesis, in the horizon of unconsolidated sediment (0–5 cm). The main role in the diagenetic transformations of organic matter in sediments is played by various physiological groups of microorganisms, first of all, heterotrophic, which amonifying, and sulfate-reducing bacteria. SO₄^2? and Fe²⁺ concentrations in the pore waters of the sediments are determined to decrease (because of bacterial sulfate reduction), while concentrations of reduced Fe and S species (pyrite) in the solid phase of the sediment, conversely, increase. Comparative analysis shows that, unlike sapropels in lakes in the Baikal area, sapropels in southern West Siberia are affected by more active sulfate reduction, which can depend on both the composition of the organic matter and the SO₄^2? concentration in the pore waters.     

A local forecasting model of formaldehyde atmospheric pollution in Tomsk based on statistical and hydrodynamic methods

A hybrid statistical hydrodynamic model of the formaldehyde pollution forecasting adapted for the town of Tomsk is presented. A statistical component of the model gives the prognostic concentration averaged for the city and the detailing of the spatial distribution is based on the hydrodynamic method. The model tests based on the independent data demonstrated the accuracy of not less than 70%. The hydrodynamic block of the model enables to obtain the relative estimates of contribution of separate enterprises or groups of sources (including the motor vehicle emissions) to the total pollution of the atmosphere in the city.     

Higher dimensional thick domain wall in Lyra geometry

An exact solution is obtained for a thick domain wall in a five dimensional Kaluza-Klein space time within the framework of Lyra geometry. The space time is nonsingular both in its spatial and temporal behavior. It is shown that the domain wall has no particle horizon and the gravitational force due to them is attractive. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transient heating of the upper atmosphere by auroral electric field

Magnetohydrodynamic formulation has been used to deduce the velocity distribution of the upper atmospheric movement caused by the auroral electric field at the thermospheric height. The expressions for Joule heating and viscous heating are obtained. Numerical analysis has been made to estimate their magnitudes as well as the rate of their variations with time. The results are presented graphically.