Long-period fading in atmospherics during severe meteorological activity and associated solar geophysical phenomena at low latitudes

The records of VLF atmospherics over Calcutta and then over Kalyani (West Bengal) during the torrential rainfall, caused by violent monsoon and post-monsoon depressions, exhibit distinct long-period fadings both at day and night. Interesting results obtained from an analysis of round-the-clock atmospherics data and associated meteorological parameters are reported in this paper. A possible correlation between the severe meteorological activity with the solar geophysical phenomena was studied. The results are indicative of an interesting sequence of solar-terrestrial events. A tentative conclusion is reached, suggesting an origin of the fading from atmospheric gravity waves generated in the centre of activity of the depressions concerned.Currently at: Department of Physics, Serampore College, Serampore, 712 201 West Bengal     

Bilateral propagation of a spontaneous two-dimensional anti-plane shear crack under the influence of cohesion

Summary. We consider the problem of the bilateral extension of a two-dimensional anti-plane shear crack that initiates spontaneously at a point and extends under the influence of cohesive forces at the edges. An approximation to the stresses in the regions beyond the edges of the crack has been found that simplifies the calculation. The exact stresses in these regions are also found iteratively. In the cases of uniformly propagating cracks, the estimates of cohesive forces obtained from the approximation are close to the exact values for high crack speeds but are significantly different for low crack speeds. It is also found that if healing is initiated due to the encounter of one end of a uniformly propagating crack with an unbreakable barrier, the static stress drop in the torn region is constant but may either overshoot or undershoot the dynamical stress drop. In these cases, the final static slip distribution is obtained by freezing the dynamic solution along a characteristic line through the location of the barrier. We find that the crack length cannot be unambiguously derived from the far field spectral properties.     

Variation of γ-Ray and Particle Fluxes At the Sea Level During the Total Solar Eclipse of 24 October, 1995

A Total Solar Eclipse (TSE) was observed from Diamond Harbour (lat. 22.2°N, long 88.2°E) on 24 October 1995. The variation of -ray intensity was measured in the energy range of 0.3–3.0 MeV for different time spans throughout the period of the eclipse. A CR-39 detector was used to look at the change in the fluxes of neutral and charged particles. The maximum drop ( 25%) in the intensity of -ray was observed in the range 2.5–3 MeV during TSE. The CR-39 results showed the appearance of a good number of tracks and a small variation of proton and neutron flux of 10% which was not significant statistically. Low energy -ray fluxes at sea level originate from the secondary electron-photon components of cosmic rays in the atmosphere; its modulation by TSE is interpreted as follows. The cooling of the atmosphere in the path of the umbra induces a reduction of the height of the main production layer of the nuclear component, as a result of which, fewer µ^± mesons (from the decay of the^± mesons) decay to e^±. This leads to a small reduction in the flux of electron-photon component at sea level which originates from this branch; the main branch of e - component from ⁰ decay remains nearly unaffected. As the total mass of air remains the same, little or no change in the slow proton or the neutron flux at sea level is expected. These are consistent with the present observations. For a better understanding, further studies of this new phenomenon during future TSE are suggested.     

Grade and Tonnage Uncertainty Analysis of an African Copper Deposit Using Multiple-Point Geostatistics and Sequential Gaussian Simulation

Spatial uncertainty analysis is a complex and difficult task for orebody estimation in the mining industry. Conventional models (kriging and its variants) with variogram-based statistics fail to capture the spatial complexity of an orebody. Due to this, the grade and tonnage are incorrectly estimated resulting in inaccurate mine plans, which lead to costly financial decision. Multiple-point geostatistical simulation model can overcome the limitations of the conventional two-point spatial models. In this study, a multiple-point geostatistical method, namely SNESIM, was applied to generate multiple equiprobable orebody models for a copper deposit in Africa, and it helped to analyze the uncertainty of ore tonnage of the deposit. The grade uncertainty was evaluated by sequential Gaussian simulation within each equiprobable orebody models. The results were validated by reproducing the marginal distribution and two- and three-point statistics. The results show that deviations of volume of the simulated orebody models vary from ? 3 to 5% compared to the training image. The grade simulation results demonstrated that the average grades from the different simulation are varied from 3.77 to 4.92% and average grade 4.33%. The results also show that the volume and grade uncertainty model overestimates the orebody volume as compared to the conventional orebody. This study demonstrates that incorporating grade and volume uncertainty leads to significant changes in resource estimates.     

Fast wavelet-based stochastic simulation using training images

Spatial uncertainty modelling is a complex and challenging job for orebody modelling in mining, reservoir characterization in petroleum, and contamination modelling in air and water. Stochastic simulation algorithms are popular methods for such modelling. In this paper, discrete wavelet transformation (DWT)-based multiple point simulation algorithm for continuous variable is proposed that handles multi-scale spatial characteristics in datasets and training images. The DWT of a training image provides multi-scale high-frequency wavelet images and one low-frequency scaling image at the coarsest scale. The simulation of the proposed approach is performed on the frequency (wavelet) domain where the scaling image and wavelet images across the scale are simulated jointly. The inverse DWT reconstructs simulated realizations of an attribute of interest in the space domain. An automatic scale-selection algorithm using dominant mode difference is applied for the selection of the optimal scale of wavelet decomposition. The proposed algorithm reduces the computational time required for simulating large domain as compared to spatial domain multi-point simulation algorithm. The algorithm is tested with an exhaustive dataset using conditional and unconditional simulation in two- and three-dimensional fluvial reservoir and mining blasted rock data. The realizations generated by the proposed algorithm perform well and reproduce the statistics of the training image. The study conducted comparing the spatial domain filtersim multiple-point simulation algorithm suggests that the proposed algorithm generates equally good realizations at lower computational cost.     

Crustal thickness,rift‐drift and potential links to key global events

Orogenic crustal thickening leads to increased continental elevation and runoff into the oceans, but there are fundamental uncertainties in the temporal patterns of thickening through Earth history. U‐Pb age and trace element data in detrital zircons from Antarctica are consistent with recent global analyses suggesting two dominant peaks in average crustal thickness from ~2.6 to 2.0 Ga and ~0.8 to 0.5 Ga. Shifts in marine carbonate ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios show two primary peaks that post‐date these crustal thickness peaks, suggesting significant weathering and erosion of global continental relief. Both episodes correlate well with zircon trace element and isotope proxies indicating enhanced crustal and fluid input into subduction zone magmas. Increased crustal thickness correlates with increased passive margin abundance and overlaps with snowball Earth glaciations and atmospheric oxygenation, suggesting a causal link between continental rift‐drift phases and major transitions in Earth's atmospheric and oceanic evolution.     

An intercontinental correlation of the mid-Neoproterozoic Eastern Indian tectonic zone: evidence from the gneissic clasts in Elan Bank conglomerate, Kerguelen Plateau

The Kerguelen Plateau is a submarine, Cretaceous Large Igneous Province in the southern Indian Ocean. Drilling on Elan Bank, a western salient of the Kerguelen Plateau, yielded a ~26 m section of fluvial conglomerate intercalated with basalt. Chemical dating of monazite within garnet and matrix monazite in metapelitic clasts from the conglomerate indicates that high-grade metamorphism of the pelitic protolith occurred between 785 ± 12 and 694 ± 18 Ma. A calculated P–T pseudosection indicates that the observed core-to-inner rim compositional zoning in garnet is consistent with P/T decrease from 10.2 kb/760°C to 6.2 kb/560°C. In an Early Cretaceous paleogeographic reconstruction, the Elan Bank drill site is located on a SSW continuation of the Eastern Indian Tectonic Zone (EITZ), a 876–784 Ma, NNE–SSW metamorphic belt with sinistral shear zones in eastern India. The retrograde P–T path of the Elan Bank metapelitic clast overlaps with that of the EITZ metapelite, and the Elan Bank monazite chemical dates and previously determined 824–675 Ma U–Pb isotope monazite dates by the TIMS method are remarkably similar to the monazite chemical dates from the EITZ metapelites and high-grade metamorphic rocks from the eastern margin of the Eastern Ghats Belt. Based on the demonstrable affinity of metamorphic, geochronologic, and spatial data, this study concludes that the EITZ was likely a continuous, ~1,800–km-long tectono-metamorphic belt in the Rodinia supercontinent stretching from eastern India through the Eastern Ghats to the basement of Elan Bank and probably to the Rayner Complex of East Antarctica.     

Upper gondwana succession of the Rewa Basin,India: Understanding the interrelationship of lithologic and stratigraphic variables

The current work attempts to address a century old problem regarding the stratigraphic disposition of the Upper Gondwana succession of the Rewa basin based on geological mapping and litholog preparation along well exposed transects. The proposed Upper Gondwana stratigraphy of the Rewa basin comprises a continuous and thick package of Triassic sediments unconformably overlain by the Jurassic Parsora Formation. The Triassic succession consists of a basal Pali Formation, an intermediate and newly designated Karki Formation and the overlying mud-dominant Tiki Formation. These formations are well defined based on physical attributes such as lithology, textures and sedimentary structures, and are easily distinguishable in the field. Based on stratigraphic correlation and fossil content, a Lower-Middle Triassic age has been assigned for the Pali and Karki formations, while the Tiki Formation is Upper Triassic (Carnian) in age. Preliminary observations based on lithological characteristics, sand body geometry and sand: mud ratios suggest that within a fluvial setting there were considerable changes in environments of deposition through time, especially during Triassic to Jurassic transition.     

Bioavailability of arsenic in the soil horizon: a laboratory column study

Groundwater contaminated with arsenic (As), when extensively used for irrigation, causes potentially long-term detrimental effects to surface soils. Such contamination can also directly affect human health when irrigated crops, such as rice, vegetable and fruits, are used for human consumption. Therefore, an understanding of the leaching behavior of As in surface soils is of high importance, because such behavior may increase the bioavailability of As in the soil horizon. In this study, we have investigated the role of phosphate ions in leaching and bioavailability of As in the soil horizon, where drinking groundwater contains elevated levels of As (≥50 μg/L). Soil and groundwater samples were characterized in the laboratory and measured for physical and chemical constituents. The soils are generally neutral to slightly alkaline in character (pH range 7.5–8.1) with low to moderate levels of free Fe₂O₃, Al₂O₃, CaCO₃, organic carbon, and clay content. The measured electrical conductivity (mean 599 μS/cm) of the soils demonstrates their non-saline nature. The Eh values (range −37 to −151 mV) of the groundwater indicate anoxic condition with low to moderate levels of bicarbonate (range 100–630 mg/L) and phosphate (range 0.002–4.0 mg/L). The arsenic content (range 50–690 μg/L; mean 321 μg/L) in groundwater has exceeded both WHO recommended guideline values (10 μg/L) and the National safe drinking water limit (50 μg/L). Regression analyses demonstrate that the bioavailability of As in the soil horizon is mainly controlled by the composition of free Fe₂O₃ and CaCO₃ content of the soils. However, application of P could increase bioavailability of As in the soil horizon and become available to plants for uptake.