Sub-surface water regime related to landform studies through satellite images

Based on the visual interpretation of satellite (Landsat) false colour composite imagery, the entire Haryana State is divided into eleven landform units. Seven major landform units are studied in details with respect to water table fluctuation, ground water quantum and draft. The studies reveal that usable recharge and draft per unit area are maximum in case of area of water seepage and periodic flooding followed by Yamuna and Ghaggar flood plain and upper alluvial plains with occasional sand dunes. The minimum recharge and draft are observed in case of dune areas.     

A model of the subsidence history of the West Coast of India

The occurrence of earthquakes all along the West Coast of India and in the Arabian Sea is explained systematically in terms of the interaction between the underthrusting Indian ocean floor and the Indian subcontinent. This north ward compression due to the repeated underthrusting of the oceanic floor has caused the formation of trenches, grabens and normal faults on the continental margin.     

Geology of Ladakh,Lahaul and spiti regions of Himalaya with special reference to the stratigraphic position of flysch deposits

An attempt has been made to produce the geological map of Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti regions of Himalaya on the basis of the field work done by the authors and the observations made by earlier workers. The stratigraphy of this region has been discussed in the light of new fossil finds from different stratigraphical horizons. Stratigraphical columns have been prepared and the formations of this region have been correlated with those exposed in other parts of the Himalaya. The age of the flysch deposits (Indus Flysch of Ladakh and Chikkim Shales of Spiti) has been defined on the basis of the microfauna.

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Zusammenfassung Aus Feldarbeiten und bereits vorliegenden Fakten resultierte eine neue geologische Karte des Gebietes von Ladakh, Lahaul und Spiti im Himalaya. Die Stratigraphie wird mit Hilfe neuer Fossilfunde geändert und mit anderen Teilgebieten des Himalayas verglichen. Das Alter der Flyschserien (Indus-Flysch von Ladakh und Chikkim-Shales von Spiti) wurde mit Hilfe von Mikrofaunen bestimmt.

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Résumé Les levés de terrain des auteurs, combinés avec des travaux antérieurs, ont permis de dresser une nouvelle carte géologique du Ladakh, Lahaul et Spiti dans l'Himalaya. La stratigraphie a été modifiée grâce à de nouvelles découvertes de fossiles et comparée avec celle d'autres régions de l'Himalaya. L'âge de la série du flysch (Flysch de l'indus de Ladakh et schistes de Chikkim de Spiti) a été déterminé à l'aide de microfaunes.

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Propagation of surface waves on a nonhomogenous spherically aeolotropic shell

Summary This paper studies the propagation of Surface Waves on a spherically aeolotropic shell surrounded by vacuum. The elastic constantsc _ij and density of the material of the shell are assumed to be of the form _ij r ^l and _o r ^m respectively, where _{ij o} are constants andl, m are any integers.     

Three-dimensional analysis of vertical square anchor plate in cohesionless soil

ABSTRACT

Vertical anchor plates are often provided to increase the performance of various geotechnical engineering structures such as sheet pile walls, bulkheads, bridge abutments and offshore structures. Hence, the safe design of such structures needs a better understanding of the 3D behaviour of the anchor plate. This paper presents and discusses the results obtained from a series of 3D finite-difference analyses of vertical square anchor plate embedded in cohesionless soil. The 3D model is found to closely predict experimental pullout load–displacement relationship. The failure mechanism observed in the numerical model is found to be very similar to the failure reported in experimental studies. For a given embedment depth, the stiffness of the breakout factor–displacement response substantially reduces with increase in anchor plate size. However, the ultimate reduction in anchor capacity is found to approximately 8% with an increase in anchor size from 0.1 to 1 m. Numerical analysis reveals that at deeper embedment depth, the friction angle of sand is the critical parameter in enhancing the performance of anchor plate. The obtained 3D model results are then compared with the published results and are found to be reasonably in good agreement with each other.     

Conservation of biodiversity of the coastal resources of Sundarbans,Northeast India: an integrated approach through environmental education

The Indian Sundarbans, a diversified coastal wetland on the southern fringe of the State of West Bengal, harbors a luxuriant biodiversity and acts as a potential refuge of living marine resources. Girdled with thick mangrove foliage, this estuarine delta system offers an excellent nursery ground for most of the brackishwater finfish and shellfish. Since supply of hatchery-produced tiger prawn seed (Penaeus monodon) is highly inadequate in West Bengal, the aquaculture farms of this region largely depend on the supply from natural resources. Being motivated by a regular cash income, the majority of coastal people from Sundarbans have adopted prawn seed collection as their profession almost throughout the year as an important source of earning. The users are neither trained nor guided at any stage from collection to marketing and are fully dependent on traditional methods. They first sort out the tiger prawn seeds (mainly the postlarval stage PL 20) accounting only 0.25-0.27% of the total catch and thereafter the major portion of the haul are thrown away on the beach flats or the tidal mudflats. This wasted by-catch contains the juveniles of economic and uneconomic varieties of finfish and shellfish along with a bulk of holoplankters and meroplankters (non-target species). This practice causes several ecological and occupational consequences, namely, (i) the huge destruction of the pelagic biota that can lead to severe stock depletion as well as hamper the energy transference through the marine ecosystem food webs; (ii) constant dragging of nets along the coast and tidal creeks paves the way for soil erosion, uprooting the mangrove seedlings and saltmarsh vegetation; (iii) the water quality is deteriorating in the catchment areas due to mud erosion and (iv) due to constant contact with the seawater, the collectors are affected with waterborne diseases, skin infections, reproductive tract disease in women and many other contagious diseases.This paper, in addition to identifying the challenge to environmental quality and resource abundance, emphasizes the need for grass-root public education so that local people come to understand, support and implement sustainable resource conservation and environmental protection activities now and in the future. As a follow-up course of action, the authors have initiated a general awareness program for developing consciousness among the coastal people regarding proper use of natural resources. Initiatives are taken for educating coastal people by holding workshops and seminars with the use of educational resource materials. Exclusive awareness camps and grass root level training for coastal people are also being proposed as a future course of action by means of exhibitions, audiovisuals etc. It is proposed that local government bodies come forward to mitigate this problem with scientific and rational approaches and to take proper actions towards conservation.     

Forecasting of onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala coast using satellite data

The Global Precipitation Climatology Project and in situ gauge data have been used in the present study of the Indian monsoon for the region bounded by 8/spl deg/ to 13/spl deg/N; 70/spl deg/ to 95/spl deg/E, from March 1 to May 31 for the years 1979 to 2001. The monsoon onset dates over Kerala, as declared by India Meteorological Department has been used in the present study as an indicator of the onset of this event. For each year, the midday of the pentad with the rainfall peak was located in the period from 1st April to 10th May and identified as the pre-monsoon rainfall peak (PMRP). The analysis showed that the PMRP exists about six pentads prior to the onset of the monsoon over the Kerala coast. A regression equation developed using the first 20 years of data (1979-1998) with a standard error estimate of four days was used for predicting the onset dates for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001, with encouraging results. Thus, we feel that the pre-monsoon rainfall estimate from the satellite data can be used for predicting the monsoon onset over Kerala coast.     

Estimation of fundamental period for structures supported on pile foundations

One of the significant effects of considering soil-structure interaction in the analysis of structures is the increase in the fundamental natural period compared to the fundamental natural period of a similar structure, fixed at the base. Applied Technology Council (ATC) originally set forth some provisions to calculate the fundamental natural period of flexible based structures using the period of a similar structure, fixed at the base, and lateral and rocking stiffness coefficients of the foundation. These provisions became the basis of current soil-structure interaction recommendations in several building codes. The fundamental natural periods of structures founded on different types of foundations computed using recommendations of the ATC are compared with those computed using a simplified model to perform soil-structure interaction of shear-type structures. Results show that the provisions given in ATC may be used for structures supported on shallow footings but may not be applicable for structures supported on pile foundations or foundations having the ratio of lateral to rotational stiffness coefficients different from those of shallow foundations. An equation, similar to the equation recommended by ATC, is presented to estimate the fundamental natural period of structures supported on pile foundations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Estimation of Site Response in Kachchh,Gujarat, India,Region Using H/V Spectral Ratios of Aftershocks of the 2001 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">w</Emphasis></Subscript> 7.7 Bhuj Earthquake

Site response in the aftershock zone of 2001 Bhuj M_w 7.7 earthquake has been studied using the H/V spectral ratio method using 454 aftershocks (M_w 2.5–4.7) recorded at twelve three-component digital strong motion and eight three-component digital seismograph sites. The mean amplification factor obtained for soft sediment sites (Quaternary/Tertiary) varies from 0.75–6.03 times for 1–3 Hz and 0.49–3.27 times for 3–10 Hz. The mean amplification factors obtained for hard sediment sites (hard Jurassic/Mesozoic sediments) range from 0.32–3.24 times for 1–3 Hz and 0.37–2.18 times for 310 Hz. The upper bounds of the larger mean amplification factors for 1–3 Hz are found to be of the order of 3.13–6.03 at Chopadwa, Vadawa, Kavada, Vondh, Adhoi, Jahwarnagar and Gadhada, whereas, the upper bounds of the higher mean amplification factors at 3–10 Hz are estimated to be of the order of 2.00–3.27° at Tapar, Chopadwa, Adhoi, Jahwarnagar, Gandhidham and Khingarpur. The site response estimated at Bhuj suggests a typical hard-rock site behavior. Preliminary site response maps for 1–3 Hz and 310 Hz frequency ranges have been prepared for the area extending from 23–23.85 °N and 69.65–70.85°E. These frequency ranges are considered on the basis of the fact that the natural frequencies of multi-story buildings (3 to 10 floor) range between 1–3 Hz, while the natural frequencies for 1 to 3 story buildings vary from 3–10 Hz. The 1–3 Hz map delineates two distinct zones of maximum site amplification (>3 times): one lying in the NW quadrant of the study area covering Jahwarnagar, Kavada and Gadadha and the other in the SE quadrant of the study area with a peak of 6.03 at Chopadwa covering an area of 70 km × 50 km. While the 3–10 Hz map shows more than 2 times site amplification value over the entire study area except, NE quadrant, two patches in the southwest corner covering Bhuj and Anjar, and one patch at the center covering Vondh, Manfara and Sikara. The zones for large site amplification values (∼3 times) are found at Tapar, Chopadwa, Adhoi and Chobari. The estimated site response values show a good correlation with the distribution of geological formations as well as observed ground deformation in the epicentral zone.