Earthquake-induced built-up damage identification using IRS-P6 data: a comparative study using fuzzy-based classifiers

The 8 October 2005 earthquake caused widespread destruction in both the state of Jammu and Kashmir of India and Northern Pakistan. Due to poor accessibility in the hazardous and difficult mountainous terrain, a proper and comprehensive ground-based survey was not possible. However, with the help of remote sensing data and its analysis techniques, it is feasible to undertake both earthquake-related damage identification and assessment. This study attempts to document and identify built-up damaged (BD) areas using spectral indices taking temporal multispectral images from IRS-P6 LISS-IV. Five spectral indices have been used to identify BD areas using supervised possibilistic c-means (PCM) and noise cluster (NC) classifiers, to analyse the satellite data. The result indicates that Class Based Sensor Independent (CBSI) based Transformed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (TNDVI) temporal indices provide the best results for identifying BD areas, while Simple Ratio (SR) index gives the best results for built-up undamaged area identification. Further, it observed that PCM classifier performed better in comparison to NC classifier.     

Glacier changes using satellite data and effect of climate in Tirungkhad basin located in western Himalaya

Glaciers are widely recognized as key indicators of climate change, and melt water obtained from them is an important source of fresh water and for hydropower generation. Regular monitoring of a large number of Himalayan glaciers is important for improving our knowledge of glacier response to climate change. In the present study, Survey of India topographical maps (1966) and Landsat datasets as ETM+ (2000, 2006) and TM (2011) have been used to study glacier fluctuations in Tirungkhad basin. A deglaciation of 26.1% (29.1?km²) in terms of area from 1966 to 2011 was observed. Lower altitude small glaciers (area?<?1?km²) lost more ice (34%), while glaciers with an area <10?km² lost less (20%). The percentage of change in glacier length was 26% (31.9?km) from 1966 to 2011. The south-facing glaciers showed high percentages of loss. From 2000 to 2011, debris cover has increased by 1.34%. The analysis of the trend in meteorological data collected from Kalpa and Purbani stations was carried out by Mann Kendall non-parametric method. During the last two decades, the mean annual temperature (T_max and T_min) has increased significantly, accompanied with a fall in snow water equivalent (SWE) and rainfall. The increasing trend in temperature and decreasing trend in SWE were significant at 95% confidence level. This observation shows that the warming of the climate is probably one of the major reasons for the glacier change in the basin.     

Surface waves on a magnetic cylinder

The problem of surface wave propagation on a magnetised cylindrical plasma is investigated allowing for different axial magnetic fields inside and outside the flux tube. Properties of surface waves for symmetric and asymmetric modes of perturbations are investigated idealising the material inside and outside the cylinder to be insulator or infinitely conducting both in compressible and incompressible approximations for the tube material.     

Recharge,upflux and water table response for shallow water table conditions in southwest Florida

A disproportionate increase or decrease in water table in response to minor water input or drainage is observed in shallow water table conditions inside drainage lysimeters. This increase happens because the capillary fringe of the shallow water table reaches up to or near the surface (Wieringermeer effect). The correlations between water table level changes and rainfall, seepage irrigation, drip irrigation, and drainage were analysed. Correlations with rainfall, seepage irrigation, and drainage were high (R² ranged from 0·46 to 0·97). Drip irrigation had low correlations due to the low rates of application (R² ranged from 0·26 to 0·44). Conventional methods of calculating recharge, such as multiplying the specific yield with the water table fluctuations, cannot be used for Wieringermeer effect situations. A method using water balance data and soil moisture at different depths in the lysimeters was developed to estimate recharge and upflux. The recharge results were used to develop the apparent specific yield S_ya, which could be used to calculate consequent recharge events from water table fluctuation data. Combining the water table fluctuation relationships developed with the S_ya value will allow the prediction of recharge from rainfall and irrigation events without the need for soil moisture equipment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous Stokes-V diagnostic of a Sunspot using Mg b and Fe I lines

Simultaneous observations of Stokes profiles in photospheric Fei (630.15 nm and 630.25 nm) and chromospheric Mgi b ₁ and b ₂ (518.4 nm and 517.3 nm) lines over a sunspot are presented. Observations were carried out using the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter of HAO/NSO, VTT, SacPeak, U.S.A. The Stokes-V amplitude asymmetries for these lines are analyzed. The values of amplitude asymmetry in Mgb lines are negative in disk-center-side penumbra while they are positive in limb-side penumbra. This trend is similar in nature to photospheric Fei line observations. Further, the spatial distribution of Stokes-V asymmetry is analyzed using Net Circular Polarization (NCP) maps. The chromospheric and photospheric NCP maps are different in many aspects. These observations with longitudinal magnetic field, estimated using weak field approximation, are discussed in this paper.     

Cyanobacterial crust and soil particle detachment: a rain‐chamber experiment

Cyanobacteria are known to form a crust on soil surfaces holding soil particles together and thereby offering resistance to erosion. A controlled experiment was carried out to throw light on this issue. The experiment consisted of subjecting erosion cups filled with soil to artificial rainfall in the laboratory. Three sets of erosion cups, each set consisting of six, were used. One set consisted of soil with inoculated cyanobacteria and the second set consisted of soil with naturally colonized cyanobacteria, both over a period of about 8 months. The third set consisted of soil with no bacterial growth. The results indicate that the soil erosion cups with the inoculated cyanobacterial crust had at least one order of magnitude less erosion for coarse soils, and about two orders of magnitude less erosion for fine soils, compared with erosion cups with no bacterial crust. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiyear Observations of Deposition-Mode Ice Nucleating Particles at Two High-Altitude Stations in India

Ice nucleating particle(INP) measurements were made at two high-altitude stations in India. Aerosols collected on filter paper at Girawali Observatory, Inter University Center for Astronomy Astrophysics(IGO), and at the Radio Astronomy Center, Ooty(RAC), were activated in deposition mode using a thermal gradient diffusion chamber to determine the INP concentrations. The measurement campaigns at IGO were conducted during 2011, 2013 and 2014, and at RAC during 2013 and 2014. When the aerosol samples were exposed to an ice supersaturation of between 5% and 23% in the temperature range~(-1)7.6?C to-22?C, the maximum INP number concentration at IGO and RAC was 1.0 L~(-1) and 1.6 L~(-1), respectively.A maximum correlation coefficient of 0.76 was observed between the INP number concentration and ice supersaturation. The airmass trajectories analyzed for the measurement campaigns showed that the Arabian Desert and arid regions were the main INP contributors. Elemental analysis of particles showed the presence of Na, Cl, Si, Al, Fe, Cu, Co, Cd, S, Mn and K, as well as some rare-Earth elements like Mo, Ru, La, Ce, V and Zr. When aerosols in the size range 0.5–20 μm were considered, the fraction that acted as INPs was 1 : 10~4 to 1 : 10~6 at IGO, and 1 : 10~3 to 1 : 10~4 at RAC. The higher ratio of INPs to aerosols at RAC than IGO may be attributable to the presence of rare-Earth elements observed in the aerosol samples at RAC, which were absent at IGO.     

Snow cover area variability assessment in the upper part of the Satluj river basin in India

In high-altitude areas, snow cover plays a significant role in mountainous hydrology. Satluj, which is a snow-fed river, is a part of the Indus River system in the western Himalayas. Snow cover area (SCA) variability in this river basin affects the spatio-temporal flow availability and avalanche events. Keeping this in mind, the present study focuses on SCA variability and its relationship with various topographical features such as elevation, slope and aspect. The study has been carried out in the upper part of the Satluj River Basin on the basis of MODIS Terra (MOD10A2) data from 2001 to 2014. It has been noticed that the average annual SCA in this part of the Satluj River Basin varies from 44 to 56% with an average of about 48% of the total basin area of 16, 650 km². Further, snow accumulation and depletion curves have been suggested for assessing the SCA in the study area.