Deterministic and Probabilistic Stability Analysis of Soil Slope – A Case Study

This paper deals with the soil slope stability analysis along the road section (National Highway-05) near Luhri area, Himachal Pradesh, India. The area constantly experiences local as well as regional slides which enhances the siltation, reduce carrying capacity of the Sutlej river with time and further increases the water level on the banks of the slope. High traffic congestion puts the area at high risk zone and therefore, stability analysis was done using probabilistic as well as deterministic approach under static conditions through limit equilibrium method (LEM) and finite element method (FEM). FEM was used for stability analysis, mainly to obtain deformational characteristics, under static conditions and compared with LEM results. The results of both the methods help in identifying the zones of vulnerability in the case study. Further, the values of safety factor obtained from both the methods are in close approximation. The study also reveals that the slope is critically stable and a remedial measure has been suggested by modifying the geometry of the slope, which needs proper protection from any external factors like rainfall and earthquakes that may cause unforeseeable circumstances.     

A Three Dimensional Comparative Study of Seismic Behaviour of Vertical and Batter Pile Groups

To a practicing foundation engineer, the performance of batter pile under seismic conditions still remains a questionable prospect. The contradictory findings reported by various investigators with regard to the performance of batter piles add to this dilemma. This calls for a rigorous three-dimensional investigation to evaluate seismic behavior of batter pile groups. In this study, a comparative assessment of three-dimensional seismic behavior of a 2 × 2 vertical and batter pile groups having batter angle of 15° was carried out using a full three-dimensional finite element code developed in MATLAB (Sarkar 2009). The effects of centre to centre spacing of piles and soil modulus values were investigated. Idealized soil profiles having constant and triangular variation of soil modulus were adopted for the study. Results of analyses for both the vertical and batter pile groups are presented in terms of dynamic stiffness and kinematic interaction factors. Results indicate better seismic performance of batter pile groups in comparison to that of vertical pile groups. To demonstrate the importance of the findings, a five-storied portal frame structure supported separately on vertical and batter pile groups were considered and analyzed for El-Centro Earthquake (1940) time history. The difference in structural response considering vertical and batter pile groups is highlighted.     

Rapid assessment of cyclone damage using NPP-VIIRS DNB and ancillary data

Natural Hazards - Rapid damage assessment of natural disasters is essential for the fast recovery and strategic post-disaster reconstructions. In the present study, National Polar-Orbiting...     

Application of meteorological and vegetation indices for evaluation of drought impact: a case study for Rajasthan, India

Drought is a serious climatic condition that affects nearly all climatic zones worldwide, with semi-arid regions being especially susceptible to drought conditions because of their low annual precipitation and sensitivity to climate changes. Drought indices such as the standardized precipitation index (SPI) using meteorological data and vegetation indices from satellite data were developed for quantifying drought conditions. Remote sensing of semi-arid vegetation can provide vegetation indices which can be used to link drought conditions when correlated with various meteorological data based drought indices. The present study was carried out for drought monitoring for three districts namely Bhilwara, Kota and Udaipur of Rajasthan state in India using SPI, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), water supply vegetation index (WSVI) and vegetation condition index (VCI) derived from the Advanced Very High resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The SPI was computed at different time scales of 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months using monthly rainfall data. The NDVI and WSVI were correlated to the SPI and it was observed that for the three stations, the correlation coefficient was high for different time scales. Bhilwara district having the best correlation for the 9-month time scale shows late response while Kota district having the best correlation for 1-month shows fast response. On the basis of the SPI analysis, it was found that the area was worst affected by drought in the year 2002. This was validated on the basis of NDVI, WSVI and VCI. The study clearly shows that integrated analysis of ground measured data and satellite data has a great potential in drought monitoring.     

Alterations in Geochemical Associations in Artificially Disturbed Deep-Sea Sediments

In view of the role of Sediment geochemistry in regulating the benthic ecosystem, diagenetic remobilization of dissolved constituents, bottom water redox, and regeneration of benthic fluxes, surficial sediments in and around the track disturbed by a “benthic disturber” were studied for metal variation in three phases: (1) before the disturbance, (2) immediately after the disturbance, and (3) during monitoring of restoration after ~44 months, from the same locations. Minor variations in metal concentrations before the disturbance ere noticed indicating the homogeneity in the area or supply from similar source areas. Terrigenous fraction determined normatively from titanium contents in these sediments ranges between 40 and 47%. Most of the elements analyzed showed reduced average concentrations immediately after the disturbance suggesting physical removal and resedimentation in other areas with the migration of the plume. All the elements showed positive relation and coherence in the sediments collected after the disturbance, irrespective of their susceptibility to changes in provenance and depositional environment, whereas elemental associations during the predisturbance and monitoring periods can be explained by the known geochemical processes. The changes in Al, Ti, excess aluminium contents, their interelement relations, and factor analyses, suggest the possible transformation of clay mineral type due to the benthic disturbance that would involve changes in surface chemistry of clays. Interelement relations among redox-sensitive elements have also changed with time. This includes decoupling of Co from Mn after 44 months, probably due to the varying oxidation kinetics of two major oxides, Fe and Mn. Model calculations suggest increased diagenetic remobilization rates of Mn during the monitoring phase. Substantial increase in redox-sensitive elements, especially Fe and Mn indicate oxygenation of bottom water due either to reduced activity of benthic burrowing organisms or to renewal of oxygen-rich Antarctic Bottom water (AABW). Increase in these elements is consistent with the results of the HEBBLE experiment, where the burrows seem to protect these elements from strong bottom currents. Restoration of predisturbance values in the terrigenous component is attributed to the influence of shifts in the direction of bottom flow and suggests that bottom currents would play a major role in restoring the lithogenic component by transporting it from other locations within the Basin during commercial mining operations.     

Onboard performance of the RT-2 detectors

The RT-2 Experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite is designed to study the spectral, temporal, and spatial details of solar hard X-ray flares in the 15–150 keV range. Above this energy (and upto 1000 keV), it also acts as an omni-directional gamma-ray detector with a capability to study gamma-ray bursts (GRB), bright solar flares, and X-ray pulsars. With an ensemble of hard X-ray detectors with different fields of view and coding devices, it also has the capability to investigate the spectrum of Cosmic Diffuse X-ray Background. The performance of the detectors from 2009 February to November is described in this paper. Results obtained on a few GRBs and solar flares are also briefly discussed.     

Seasonal Behaviour of the Afternoon Maximum of a Long-Distance 40 kHz Signal

The afternoon maximum (AMX) observed in 40 kHz signal strength, propagated over a distance of 5100 km in the low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, exhibits an appreciable asymmetric decrease in its time of occurrence about June-July. The time of occurrence of the AMX of this low-latitude E-W propagation follows the sunset lime equation at the centre of the propagation path. A significant test shows a high correlation of the absence of the AMX with geomagnetic storms. The extra-ionizations in the ionospheric D region during geomagnetic storms may lead to the absence of the afternoon maximum.     

Oxygen and carbon stable isotope studies onGloborotalia menardii from Pleistocene DSDP Cores in northern Indian Ocean and their paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic implications

Stable isotope ratios of oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and carbon (δ¹³C) in tests ofGloborotalia menardii from samples at 25 cm intervals of top 900 cm cores, representing different thicknesses of the Pleistocene, from DSDP Sites 219, 220 and 241 in the northern Indian Ocean have been measured. Based on the δ¹⁸O stratigraphy, glacial and interglacial phases during the Pleistocene have been recognized, which are in good agreement with the standard Quaternary planktonic foraminiferal/climatic zones i.e., Ericson zones at these sites, based onG. menardii abundances. The GIA (glacial interglacial amplitude) at Sites 241, 219 and 220 are of the order of 1·2, 1·4 and 1·9‰ respectively. The last glacial and interglacial maxima (18 ka BP and 125 ka BP respectively) could be identified in DSDP Cores 241, and 219 with some precision. ‘Isotopic ages’ could be assigned to the different levels of these core sections based on the correlation of δ¹⁸O record from these sites with the SPECMAP record (Imbrieet al 1984). Changes in sediment accumulation rates at different levels of the Pleistocene have been worked out on the basis of changes in oxygen isotopic ratio. Oscillations in δ¹³C stratigraphy at Site 241 indicated southwest monsoon induced increase in upwelling and productivity during warmer periods. At Sites 219 and 220, variations in the δ¹³C record were due to the mixing of bottom water.