Radio and X-ray burst from PSR 0950+08

This article describes in detail a burst from PSR 0950+08 on July 29, 1992. This event was observed by two radio telescopes (separated by ~ 200 km) operating at 103 MHz. There exists a very convincing indirect evidence that at the same time the pulsar also emitted large X-ray flux. The X-ray flux during the event compares with that during a solar X-ray flare. During the event the Sun was extraordinarily quiet as the solar X-ray flux 3 · 10^–7 W/m² only was observed. The cause for the burst is quite unknown and may be complex. However, a possibility of accretion of a comet-like object by pulsar may provide reasonable explanation of the observations. These results open some interesting questions about the pulsar physics.     

Spatial and temporal variations in the occurrences of wet periods over major river basins in India

This study highlights the hydro-climatic features of the five wet periods contributing in different percentages to the annual rainfall total over major river basins in India. Spatial and temporal variations in the parameters such as starting date, duration and rainfall intensity of these wet periods throughout India have been discussed using daily gridded rainfall data for the period 1951–2007. An attempt is also made here, to assess the impact of global SSTs on the start and duration of the wet periods in Indian river basins.     

Geochemical investigation of a semi-continuous extrusive basaltic section from the Deccan Volcanic Province, India: implications for the mantle and magma chamber processes

Spatial and temporal variations in the geochemistry of an extrusive basaltic section of Deccan traps record progressive changes in mantle melting and crustal filtration and are relevant to understand continental flood basalt (CFB) magmatism. In the present work we have carried out detailed field, petrographic, density and magnetic susceptibility, and geochemical investigations on a small, semi-continuous extrusive section in the eastern Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) to understand the role of shallow magma chambers in CFB magmatism. Four formations, Ajanta, Chikhli, Buldhana and Karanja crop out in the Gangakhed–Ambajogai area with increasing elevation. Our studies indicate that: (1) the Karanja Formation represents a major magma addition, as indicated by abrupt change in texture, increases in MgO, CaO, Ni, Cr, and Sr, and drastic decreases in Al₂O₃, Na₂O, K₂O, Rb, Ba, REE, bulk-rock density and magnetic susceptibility; (2) assimilation fractional crystallization, crystal-laden magmas, and accessory cumulus phases influence the trace element chemistry of Deccan basalts; (3) the predicted cumulate sequence of olivine gabbro–leucogabbro–oxide-apatite gabbro is supported by the observed layered series in a shallow magma chamber within the DVP; (4) the initial magma was saturated with olivine, plagioclase, and augite, and final the pressure of equilibration for the Gangakhed–Ambajogai section basalts is ~2 kbar (~6 km depth); (5) petrophysical parameters act as proxies for magmatic processes; (6) a small layer of oxide-rich basalts may represent the latest erupted pulse in a given magmatic cycle in the DVP; (7) parental basalts to some of the red boles, considered as formation boundaries, might represent small degree partial melts of the mantle; (8) SW Deccan basaltic-types continue into the eastern DVP; and (9) in addition to the magma chamber processes, dynamic melting of the mantle may have controlled DVP geochemistry. The present study underscores the importance of mapping specific stratigraphic intervals in limited areas to understand mantle and magma chamber processes relevant to CFB magmatism.     

A Sweeping Local Oscillator System for pulsar observations

We discuss here the design details of an inexpensive programmable Sweeping Local Oscillator System (SLOS) built for use in a ‘swept frequency dedispersion scheme’ for pulsar observations. A useful extension of the basic Divide-and-Add algorithm for frequency synthesis is developed for this purpose. An SLOS based on this design has been built and used for high time-resolution observations of pulsars at low radio-frequencies.     

Pulsar observations at 34.5 MHz using the Gauribidanur Telescope: I

The behaviour of pulsars at low radio-frequencies (below ≈ 50 MHz) remains poorly understood mainly due to very limited observational data on pulsars at these frequencies. We report here our measurements of pulse profiles at 34.5 MHz of 8 pulsars using the Gauribidanur Radio Telescope. None of the 8 pulsars show any significant interpulse emission at this frequency which conflicts with an earlier claim from 25 MHz observations. With the exception of one pulsar (PSR 0943 + 10) all the observed pulsars show turnovers at frequencies above 35 MHz in their spectra. We also report our attempts to study the short and long term variations in the pulsar signals at this low frequency.     

Real-time signal processor for pulsar studies

This paper describes the design, tests and preliminary results of a real-time parallel signal processor built to aid a wide variety of pulsar observations. The signal processor reduces the distortions caused by the effects of dispersion, Faraday rotation, doppler acceleration and parallactic angle variations, at a sustained data rate of 32 Msamples/sec. It also folds the pulses coherently over the period and integrates adjacent samples in time and frequency to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. The resulting data are recorded for further off-line analysis of the characteristics of pulsars and the intervening medium. The signal processing for analysis of pulsar signals is quite complex, imposing the need for a high computational throughput, typically of the order of a Giga operations per second (GOPS). Conventionally, the high computational demand restricts the flexibility to handle only a few types of pulsar observations. This instrument is designed to handle a wide variety of Pulsar observations with the Giant Metre Wave Radio Telescope (GMRT), and is flexible enough to be used in many other high-speed, signal processing applications. The technology used includes field-programmable-gate-array(FPGA) based data/code routing interfaces, PC-AT based control, diagnostics and data acquisition, digital signal processor (DSP) chip based parallel processing nodes and C language based control software and DSP-assembly programs for signal processing. The architecture and the software implementation of the parallel processor are fine-tuned to realize about 60 MOPS per DSP node and a multiple-instruction-multiple-data (MIMD) capability.     

Review and assessment of the theories of stable alluvial channel design

Deformable alluvial channels are known to adjust their geometry and slope to achieve stable conditions for a specified influx of water and sediment. Designing the stable alluvial channel has been a captivating topic for scientists and engineers around the globe for years. The work which was commenced by Kennedy in 1895 has been continued and various approaches have been given so far, some of which are quite interrelated and others emerged with different ideas. In this comprehensive study, some of the classic and widely accepted approaches published in the literature have been thoroughly reviewed and have been verified with available river regime data. The data set has been sub divided into three categories based on the median bed material size (sand, gravel and cobble or boulder), in order to examine the applicability of various methods available for the design of stable alluvial channels. Detailed discussion related to the properties of the intercept coefficients in power function theory is not available in published literature. In this study, the coefficients are first calibrated and then applied with the respective exponents in order to derive the hydraulic geometry. Further, the derived hydraulic geometry from various approaches is summarized and discussed with comparative view point. The analysis shows that prediction from recently developed model based on the principle of maximum entropy and minimum energy dissipation is better than other approaches for the entire range of data set. The same model has been further generalized by assuming a wide trapezoidal channel cross-section through which an improvement in the prediction has been observed.     

Isotope fingerprinting of precipitation associated with western disturbances and Indian summer monsoons across the Himalayas

Precipitation samples were collected across the Himalayas from Kashmir (western Himalaya) to Assam (eastern Himalaya) to understand the variation of the stable isotopic content (\(\updelta ^{18}\)O and \(\updelta \)D) in precipitation associated with two dominant weather systems of the region: western disturbances (WDs) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM). Large spatial and temporal variations in isotopic values were noted with \(\updelta ^{18}\)O and \(\updelta \)D values ranging from \(-30.3\) to Open image in new window and \(-228\) to Open image in new window , respectively. The d-excess values also exhibit a large range of variation from \(-30\) to Open image in new window . In general, heavier isotopic values are observed in most of the samples in Jammu, whereas lighter values are observed in majority of the samples in Uttarakhand. Precipitation at Jammu seems to have undergone intense evaporation while that from Uttarakhand suggest normal Rayleigh fractionation/distillation of the air mass as it moves from the source region to the precipitation site and/or orographic lifting. The d-excess of rainfall in Kashmir has a distinctly higher median value of Open image in new window compared to other precipitation sites with a median of Open image in new window . Using distinct isotopic signatures, the regions receiving precipitation from two different weather systems have been identified.     

Human health risk as a basis for prioritizing air quality monitoring stations in a megacity: a case study

Arabian Journal of Geosciences - The Ahnet and Tin Zaouatine terranes are located in the southern sector of the Algerian Desert and are part of the Tuareg Shield, which was built up during...