Geography in a restructuring world?

In those parts of their discipline which can be categorised as spatial analysis, geographers have focused attention on distance as a key variable, and have paid little attention to bounded spaces and territoriality strategies. In a rapidly restructuring world, in which distance is becoming increasingly irrelevant as an influence on many forms of behaviour, territoriality remains an important aspect of the manipulation of space for economic, social, political and cultural purposes: in the terminology of Hagerstrands classic model, while the coupling and capability constraints on interaction are weakening, the authority constraint remains strong.     

The role of cavities and mantles in the ultraviolet extinction peak of graphite spheres with particular reference to a possibly discovered C60 structure

A computer routine using rigorous Güttler theory was developed to consider effects of concentric cavities and organic mantles within and around graphite spheres, with a view to assessing the stability of the extinction peak near 4.60 m^–1. The newly discovered stable carbon molecule of 60 atoms gives an absorption band at 4.60 m^–1 which closely agrees with the observed; moreover, it leads to the observed extinction rise in the far UV and can possibly explain the fine structure around the 5.5–7 m^–1 dip, while its own structure deals successfully with the main objections to previous carbon-graphite models. The role of the electric vector component perpendicular to the basal plane of the crystal in achieving the fit is stressed.     

Imaging planets around nearby white dwarfs

We suggest that Jovian planets will survive the late stages of stellar evolution, and that white dwarfs will retain planetary systems in wide orbits (≳5 au). Utilizing evolutionary models for Jovian planets, we show that infrared imaging with 8-m class telescopes of suitable nearby white dwarfs should allow us to resolve and detect companions ≳3 M _JUP. Detection of massive planetary companions to nearby white dwarfs would prove that such objects can survive the final stages of stellar evolution, place constraints on the frequency of main-sequence stars with planetary systems dynamically similar to our own and allow direct spectroscopic investigation of their composition and structure.     

Comparison of cell- and vertex-centered discretization methods for flow in a two-dimensional discrete-fracture–matrix system

Simulations of flow for a discrete-fracture model in fractured porous rocks have gradually become more practical, as a consequence of increased computer power and improved simulation and characterization techniques. Discrete-fracture models can be formulated in a lower-dimensional framework, where the fractures are modeled in a lower dimension than the matrix, or in an equi-dimensional form, where the fractures and the matrix have the same dimension.     

Quantifying soil variability in GIS applications: II Spatial distribution of soil properties

Abstract

Application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to environmental problems requires a spatial delineation of soil properties and some a priori knowledge of their variability. In the U.S.A. estimated soil properties are available from soil surveys published by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. However, information on the extent and nature of their variability is generally lacking. To remedy the situation, variability of selected soil properties measured at farm and watershed scales was compared with published values using geostatistical methods. Results showed that the variability of bulk density and hydraulic conductivity can be estimated by comparing regularized variograms of measured and published values. An overlay method was proposed that combines measured and published delineations of soil properties into an overlay with the properties of both. The technique makes it possible to incorporate variability into a GIS analysis using data available from published soil surveys.     

Liquefaction Identification Using IRS-1D Temporal Indices Data

One of the major after effect of Bhuj Earthquake which occurred on January 26, 2001 was wide spread appearance of liquefaction of soil in the Rann of Kachchh and the coastal areas of Kandla port covering an area of more than tens of thousands of kilometers. Remote sensing data products allow us to explore the land surface parameters at different spatial scales. In this work, an attempt has been made to identify the liquefied soil area using conventional indices from IRS-1D temporal images. The same has been investigated and compared with Class Based Sensor Independent (CBSI) spectral indices, while applying fuzzy based noise classification as soft computing approach using supervised classification. Seven spectral indices have been investigated to identify liquefied soil areas using temporal multi-spectral images. The result shows that the temporal variations can be accounted by using appropriate remote sensing based spectral indices. It is found that CBSI based TNDVI using temporal data yields the best results for identification of liquefied soil areas, while CBSI based SR gives best results for water body identification.     

THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF A STRATIGRAPHICAL BREAK IN THE CAMBRO-ORDOVICIAN LIMESTONES OF NORTHERN ANHUI,AND ITS BEARING UPON THE SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATJON OF THE CAMBRO-ORDOVICIAN STRATA

Those who have followed the historical development of the systematicclassification of the old Palaeozoic rocks in Europe would undoubtedly wellremember how the Ordovician became recognized as a well-defined,independ-     

Use of remote sensing in lineament analysis for tectonic evolution and resource study of a part of Vindhyan Basin,Jhalawar area,India

Synoptivity and the exemplified fracture systems exhibited by the space borne imagery data has helped in solving many of the geological enigma in various parts of the world. The study conducted, using such remotly sensed data, in Jhalawar anticline, part of Proterozoic Cratonic Vindhyan Basin, Rajasthan, India, led to infer the history of tectonic evolution of peribasinal deformation which has been a matter of controversy for a century and more. In Landsat MSS data the Jhalawar region displays a panorama of lineaments and their analysis through azimuthal frequency diagrams, isofracture, lineament incidence and lineament intersection incidence density maps shows that the mean orientation of the lineaments fall in NW-SE and NE-SW and the shape of the various lineament density contours also show NE-SW and NW-SE orientations. In aerial photographs the area exhibits four sets of lineaments in NE-SW, NW-SE, N-S and E-W directions. Amongst these the former two sets are expressed as wide open master fracture systems with prolific vegetation fills along them and the latter two sets are characteristically observed as thin vegetation linears with frequent strike slip faulting along them. The further analysis of these fracture/lineament systems derived from multi-level remote sensing data shows that the Jhalawar anticline, which followed the pattern of flexural slip fold mechanism, was evolved by horizontally disposed σ1 (greatest principal stress) and 3σ (least principal stress) with the former oriented in NE-SW and the latter aligned in NW-SE directions with vertically disposed 2σ. The inference of such palaeostress environment of the Jhalawar region lead in the identification of a buried rigid basement high southwest of Jhalawar anticline, beneath the Deccan pile and loci of ground water, silica sand and probable igneous plug.