The radius spectrum of solid grains settling in gaseous giant protoplanets

Growth of grains having different initial sizes (10^?3 cm?≤?r ₀?≤?1 cm) has been investigated by coagulation processes inside gas giant protoplanets, formed by disk instability, in the mass range 0.3 to 10 Jovian masses. In doing so, we have determined distribution of thermodynamic variables inside the protoplanets and using the results we have determined growth of the grains having assumed initial sizes. Regarding the transference of heat inside the protoplanets, we have considered the possible two cases of interest, namely convection and conduction-radiation. The results of our calculation show that growth of the grains depends on protoplanetary masses and on initial states of the protoplanets and eventually all the grains having assumed different initial sizes acquire almost the same distribution in the central regions of respective protoplanets in the respective cases.     

Flood assessment and early warning of the reoccurrence of river blockage at the Baige landslide

On 10th Oct.and 3rd Nov.2018,two successive landslides occurred in the Jinsha River catchment at Baige Village,Tibet Autonomous Region,China.The landslides blocked the major river and formed the barrier lake,which finally caused the huge flood disaster loss.The hillslope at Baige landslide site has been still deforming after the 2018 slidings,which is likely to fail and block the Jinsha River again in the future.Therefore the investigation of 2018 flood disaster at the Baige landslide is of a great significance to provide a classic case for flood assessment and early warning for the future disaster.The detailed survey revealed that the outstanding inundations induced bank collapse disasters upstream the Baige landslide dams,and the field investigations and hydrological simulation suggested that the downstream of the Baige landslide were seriously flooded due to the two periods of the outburst floods.On these bases,the early warning process of potential outburst floods at the Baige landslide was advised,which contains four stages:Outburst Flood Simulating Stage,Outburst Flood Fore-casting Stage,Emergency Plan and Emergency Evacuation Stage.The study offers a con-ceptual model for the mitigation of landslides and flood disasters in the high-relief mountain-ous region in Tibet.     

Electron capture strength on odd-A nucleus 59Co in explosive astrophysical environment

The Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions within massive stars play sumptuous role in the dynamics of core collapse supernovae. GT strength distributions and electron capture rates have been calculated for odd-A nucleus ⁵⁹Co within the proton-neutron quasiparticles random phase approximation (pn-QRPA) formalism. The pn-QRPA results are compared with other model calculations and (n,p) reaction experiment carried out at TRIUMF charge-exchange facility. The pn-QRPA calculated a total B(GT ₊) strength of 3.3 for ⁵⁹Co to be compared with the shell model value of 2.5 and the 1.9±0.1 in the (n,p) charge-exchange reaction. Aufderheide et al. (1993) extracted total strength equaling 2.4±0.3. The placement of GT centroid at 5.6 MeV by the pn-QRPA model is in reasonable agreement with the shell model centroid at 5.1 MeV whereas the measured GT centroid was placed at 4.4±0.3 MeV in the (n,p) experiment. Fuller, Fowler and Newman (FFN) (1980, 1982a, 1982b), placed the GT centroid at too low excitation energy of 2.0 MeV in the daughter nucleus ⁵⁹Fe, and this misplacement led to the enhancement of FFN rates. The suppressed pn-QRPA and shell model electron capture rates are in good agreement with each other. The rates are suggestive of higher value of Y _e (electron-to-baryon ratio) and may contribute to a more massive homologously collapsing core resulting in a more energetic shock. It might be interesting for the simulators to check the effect of these suppressed rates on the fine-tuning of the time rate of Y _e , the concomitant heavy element nucleosynthesis, and, on the energetics of the subsequent shock wave.     

Retrieval of tropical forest biomass information from ALOS PALSAR data

Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) data from different observation modes were analysed to determine (1) which observation mode most accurately retrieves tropical forest biomass information and (2) whether different modes, when considered together, yield improved results in comparison to identical data-sets analysed independently. We performed regression analysis to estimate above-ground forest biomass using PALSAR backscatter data for natural and planted forests in south-eastern Bangladesh. The coefficient of determination (r ²) was lower or equal to 0.499 (n = 70) when PALSAR data from different observation modes were separately considered, but increased sharply when one class (rubber) is dropped and average backscatter of fine beam single (FBS) and polrimetric (PLR) modes are used in the analysis. The results presented in this article are useful for both regional and global forest biomass inventories and fixing acquisition modes for planned L-band SAR missions.     

Spatial variability of soil erodibility and its correlation with soil properties in semi-arid mountainous watershed,Saudi Arabia

Soil erodibility values are best estimated from long-term direct measurements on runoff-plots; however, in lack of field tests, these values can be estimated using relationships based on physico-chemical soil properties. The study objective was to assess the erodibility and its correlation with soil properties. The average erodibility value was estimated 0.043 t ha h ha^?1 MJ^?1 mm^?1. The areas with heavy textured soil and low organic matter content had the lowest values of erodibility. The erodibility decreases as the sand content increases, whereas silt showed a positive correlation. The erodibility factors and its relation to soil properties were evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that sand and organic matter content of soil combinedly explained 78% of variation. Altitudinal increases also seem to affect the soil texture. This study has demonstrated that soil properties and erodibility values can be used as assistance for soil conservation practices and modelling of landscape processes.     

Assessment of Land use/land cover Change in the North-West District of Delhi Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Land is one of the prime natural resources. A city grows not only by population but also by changes in spatial dimensions. Urban population growth and urban sprawl induced land use changes and land transformation. The land transformation is a natural process and cannot be stopped but it can be regulated. Many geographical changes at the urban periphery are associated with the transfer of land from rural to urban purpose. There is an urgent need for fast growing areas like Delhi, which can be easily done by high-resolution remote sensing data. Land use/land cover of North West of Delhi has been analyzed for the time period of 1972?C2003. The remote sensing data used in study is Aster image of 2003 with a spatial resolution of 15?m and other data of 1972 Survey of India (SOI) toposheet at the scale of 1:50,000. Supervised digital classification using maximum likelihood classifier was applied for preparing land use/land cover. A change detection model was applied in ERDAS Imagine to find out the land use/land cover during 1972 to 2003. Eight land use classes was identified but main dominated classes were built up and agricultural land. A drastic change has been recorded during 30 years of time i. e. (1972-2003). In 1972, 92.06% of the land was under agricultural practice, which reduced to 64.71% in 2003. This shows 27.35% decrease in agricultural land in three decades. On the other hand built up area was 6.31% in 1972, which increased to 34% in 2003. One of the main cause of this land use change is the population growth due to the migration in the district from small cities and rural areas of Delhi.     

Assessing income-wise household environmental conditions and disease profile in urban areas: Study of an Indian city

The main objectives of the present study are: (i) to assess the income-wise household environmental conditions of the sampled households in Aligarh city, (ii) to examine income-wise disease profile of the population, (iii) to assess the relationship between income and four most occurring diseases, (iv) draw out inter-relationship between income, non-ideal household environmental conditions and environment related diseases. The quality of life and diseases in any urban areas get reflected by the immediate neighborhood in different parts of the city which depends upon the income strata of the households, their way of living, and their understanding of their household environment. This is because it is the household environment, which exerts the most and immediate influence on the life of the people. This study was carried out in order to assess household environmental conditions (i.e. housing conditions, bathroom and sanitation conditions, water supply conditions, water logging conditions, household garbage and solid waste, household pests, indoor air and indoor noise pollution) and their effect on the health of the resident population of Aligarh city. The method includes household survey of Aligarh city using questionnaires. The sampled households were classified into five income groups from very low to very high. Relationship was tested between income and household environmental conditions and also between income and diseases using Chi-Square technique. About 55% of the total sampled households suffer from diarrhea/dysentery, 43% jaundice, 42% malaria and 41% respiratory diseases. About 40% suffer from skin diseases, small pox/chicken pox. All these diseases are a result of poor household environmental conditions. Whereas 35% people reported other diseases (i.e. heart disease, hypertension and diabetes), only 14.42% households reported of tuberculosis. The study concludes that there exists a significant positive relationship between income level and household environmental conditions, and also between income and various diseases among sampled households of Aligarh city.     

Modelling undrained behaviour of sand with fines and fabric anisotropy

Acta Geotechnica - Fabric anisotropy and fines content (fc) in sands modify significantly their mechanical behaviour, particularly as related to static liquefaction under undrained conditions. The...