On the structure of sea-breeze fronts observed near the coastline of Thumba,India

An investigation has been made of the structure of sea-breeze fronts observed at Thumba mostly during the months of December to April using data from a Doppler SODAR and in situ measurements of wind components, humidity and temperature. The study shows that the vertical wind structure observed in the SODAR height range provides a distinct signature of the passage of a front and that the intensity of the front is decided by the intensity and direction of the prevailing winds as well as the amount of rotation of the wind vector during the onset of the sea-breeze. Spectral analyses of vertical winds during the passage of the front reveal a dominant periodicity of about 6 min for strong sea-breeze fronts.     

Impact of vortex-removal from environmental flow in cyclone track prediction using Lagrangian advection model

In the present study, a new approach is discussed to find out the residual steering flow from the high-resolution global Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model-forecasted wind fields, which have been used in the Lagrangian advection model to determine the track of tropical cyclones formed in the Indian Ocean. The Lagrangian advection model is newly developed model and conceptually closer to the dynamical models, which utilizes environmental steering flow and the effect due to earth’s rotation (the beta-effect) to determine the motion of cyclone. In this approach, the effect of environmental flow on the cyclone track is examined by removing the existing cyclone vortex from the steering flow which is determined by potential vorticity approach. A new approach based on vortex pattern matching has been used to identify the cyclone vortex and to remove it from the steering flow. The tracks of five tropical cyclones (viz., Nargis, Khai_Muk, Nisha, Aila and Phyan) which were formed in the North Indian basin during the period 2008–2009 have been generated by the Lagrangian advection model using the proposed scheme. The position errors were computed with respect to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) best track analysis positions and compared with that of without-vortex-removal scheme. The results show that the mean track errors for five cyclones are reduced by 6–35?% for 12–72?h forecast in case of vortex-removal scheme as compared to the without-vortex-removal scheme.     

Rotational overthrusting of the northwestern Himalaya: further palaeomagnetic evidence from the Riasi thrust sheet, Jammu foothills, India

Thermal demagnetization results (316 samples) are presented for the Tertiary succession of the Riasi thrust sheet (Jammu foothills, northwestern Himalaya). Primary and secondary magnetization directions of Murree Group red beds (Miocene to Upper Eocene) sampled northeast of Jammu indicate, for this part of the Riasi thrust sheet, a clockwise rotation over about 45° with respect to the Indian shield since Late Eocene/Early Miocene time. This accords with clockwise rotations of similar magnitude observed in the Panjal Nappe and the Krol Belt, and is interpreted as representative for the northwestern Himalaya. Results from the western part of the Kalakot inlier, sampled northwest of Jammu, i.e. basal Murree claystone (Middle Eocene) and carbonate from the Subathu Group (lower Middle to Lower Eocene), indicate an aberrant 20–25° counterclockwise rotation which is of local importance only. Available observations on rotation of Himalayan thrust sheets with respect to the Indian shield, indicate that the Himalayan Arc has formed through oroclinal bending. This supports Powell and Conaghan's and Veevers et al.'s model of Greater India with large-scale intracontinental underthrusting along the Main Central Thrust beneath the Tibetan Plateau. Minimal magnitudes of underthrusting of 550 km in the Krol Belt and 650 km in the Thakkhola region are concluded. Palaeolatitude observations (herein and in [1[) agree with absolute positioning of the Indian plate based on India-Africa relative movement data fixed to a hotspot frame in the Atlantic Ocean, and with palaeolatitude observations from DSDP cores on the Indian plate. Collision-related secondary magnetic components observed both to the north and to the south of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture zone show palaeolatitudes between the equator and 7°N. Comparison of both datasets indicates that initial contact between Greater India and south-central Asia had been established in the Hindu Kush—Karakorum region by about 60 Ma ago whereas eastwards progressive suturing had advanced to the Lhasa Block segment of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture zone before 50 Ma ago.     

Fissures and fractures in the Koyna seismogenic zone,western India

Mn-rich ilmenites (up to 7 % MnO) have been identified in dykes cutting the Malanjkhand porphyry copper mining area in Madhya Pradesh. The dykes are hydrothermally altered and are of tholeiitic affinities. Lamprophyres have been reported from nearby areas. The presence of Mn-rich Ilmenites in the Malanjkhand copper mine dykes and the occurrence of lamprophyres and the pervasive potassium metasomatism in the area strongly suggests a possibility of finding diamondiferous rocks in the area. Such high-Mn bearing ilmenites are associated with diamondiferous deposits in other parts of the world, e.g. Juina kimberlites, Brazil. Mn-bearing ilmenite is considered as an indicator mineral for kimberlite/diamond occurrences. The presence of kimberlite pipes in Raipur district and the association of Mn-rich ilmenite with kimberlites is a fortuitous coincidence for venture-some mining companies. A probable explanation for the origin of manganese layers in the context of ‘rift’ tectonic environment is offered. Also a possible link between the dykes, quartz veins in the Malanjkhand granitic rocks and the copper mineralization is proposed.     

Measurement of Hubble constant: were differences in secondary distance indicators apparent as early as the HST Key Project?

Different measurements of the Hubble constant(H₀)are not consistent,and a tension between the CMB based methods and cosmic distance ladder based methods has been observed.Measurements from various distance based methods are also inconsistent.To aggravate the problem,the same cosmological probe(TypeⅠa SNe for instance)calibrated through different methods also provides different values of H₀.We compare various distance ladder based methods through the already available unique data obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope(HST).Our analysis is based on parametric(t-test)as well as non-parametric statistical methods such as the Mann-Whitney U test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.Our results show that different methods provide different values of H₀ and the differences are statistically significant.The biases in the calibration would not account for these differences as the data have been taken from a single telescope with a common calibration scheme.The unknown physical effects or issues with the empirical relations of distance measurement from different probes could give rise to these differences.