The influence of triaxiality and oblateness on the triangular points of double pulsars in the ER3BP

We consider the motion of a test particle around a triaxial primary and an oblate companion orbiting each other in elliptic orbits about their common barycenter in the neighborhood of triangular libration points. The positions and stability of these points are influenced by the triaxiality and oblateness of the primary and secondary, and by the semi-major axis and eccentricity of the orbits. The triangular points are stable for 0<μ<μ _c ; where μ is the mass ratio (μ≤1/2) and μ _c is the critical mass value influenced by the eccentricity, oblateness, semi major axis and triaxiality factors. The size of the region of stability increases with decreasing values of triaxiality and oblateness. An application of the results obtain to double neutron star binaries results show that the positions and stability of the triangular points of PSR J1518+4904, PSR B1534+12, PSR B1914+16 and PSR B2127+11c are affected by the parameters in the systems’ dynamics.     

Interdecadal changes in the storm track activity over the North Pacific and North Atlantic

Analysis of NCEP-NCAR I reanalysis data of 1948–2009 and ECMWF ERA-40 reanalysis data of 1958–2001 reveals several significant interdecadal changes in the storm track activity and mean flow-transient eddy interaction in the extratropics of Northern Hemisphere. First, the most remarkable transition in the North Pacific storm track (PST) and the North Atlantic storm track (AST) activities during the boreal cold season (from November to March) occurred around early-to-mid 1970s with the characteristics of global intensification that has been noticed in previous studies. Second, the PST activity in midwinter underwent decadal change from a weak regime in the early 1980s to a strong regime in the late 1980s. Third, during recent decade, the PST intensity has been enhanced in early spring whereas the AST intensity has been weakened in midwinter. Finally, interdecadal change has been also noted in the relationship between the PST and AST activities and between the storm track activity and climate indices. The variability of storm track activity is well correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation prior to the early 1980s, but this relationship has disappeared afterward and a significant linkage between the PST and AST activity has also been decoupled. For a better understanding of the mid-1970s’ shift in storm track activity and mean flow-transient eddy interaction, further investigation is made by analyzing local barotropic and baroclinic energetics. The intensification of global storm track activity after the mid-1970s is mainly associated with the enhancement of mean meridional temperature gradient resulting in favorable condition for baroclinic eddy growth. Consistent with the change in storm track activity, the baroclinic energy conversion is significantly increased in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. The intensification of the PST and AST activity, in turn, helps to reinforce the changes in the middle-to-upper tropospheric circulation but acts to interfere with the changes in the low-tropospheric temperature field.     

Urban growth analysis using spatial and temporal data

Urban growth identification, quantification, knowledge of rate and the trends of growth would help in regional planning for better infrastructure provision in environmentally sound way. This requires analysis of spatial and temporal data, which help in quantifying the trends of growth on spatial scale. Emerging technologies such as Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS) along with Global Positioning System (GPS) help in this regard. Remote sensing aids in the collection of temporal data and GIS helps in spatial analysis. This paper focuses on the analysis of urban growth pattern in the form of either radial or linear sprawl along the Bangalore — Mysore highway. Various GIS base layers such as built-up areas along the highway, road network, village boundary etc. were generated using collateral data such as the Survey of India toposheet, etc. Further, this analysis was complemented with the computation of Shannon’s entropy, which helped in identifying prevalent sprawl zone, rate of growth and in delineating potential sprawl locations. The computation Shannon’s entropy helped in delineating regions with dispersed and compact growth. This study reveals that the Bangalore North and South taluks contributed mainly to the sprawl with 559% increase in built-up area over a period of 28 years and high degree of dispersion. The Mysore and Srirangapatna region showed 128% change in built-up area and a high potential for sprawl with slightly high dispersion. The degree of sprawl was found to be directly proportional to the distances from the cities.     

Stability analysis of a recurring soil slope failure along NH-5, Himachal Himalaya,India

The repetitive soil slope failure along the National Highway (NH)-5 in Jhakri region of Himachal Pradesh, India draws frequent concern due to heavy damage and traffic disruption almost every year. Being only linking route from border district to the nearby land area, stability of the road-cut slopes along this highway is of major concern in regard to safe transportation. Absence of any previous stability investigation of this recurring slope failure calls for an integrated geotechnical and numerical approach in order to understand the instability factors. The geotechnical analysis has been performed to determine the inherent properties of soil materials which affect the stability of existing slope. An event-specific antecedent rainfall threshold has been suggested to quantify the relationship between rainfall and slope failure. A two-dimensional limit equilibrium method has also been executed to visualize the scenario of pre- and post-failure stability of the slope. On the basis of limit equilibrium analysis, it has been inferred that slope geometry is a major affecting parameter that influences the failure pattern. Moreover, preventive measures through benching and soil nailing have also been proposed and validated through limit equilibrium analysis for long-term stability and safe transportation.     

Modeling the effects of vegetation on Mediterranean climate during the Roman Classical Period: Part II. Model simulation

The purpose of this study is to perform a high-resolution general circulation model (GCM) experiment to quantify the sensitivity of regional climate to change in vegetation around the Mediterranean basin, corresponding to vegetation change during the Roman Classical Period (RCP), about 2000 years BP. First, an RCP vegetation distribution based on fossil pollen maps and historical records was defined. Second, the RCP vegetation inferred from palynology and other proxies was converted to the 12 vegetation types required by the biosphere model implemented in the GCM. The albedo change due to the change in vegetation significantly alters the atmospheric circulation over northern Africa and the Mediterranean. The consequences of this change involve a northward shift of the ITCZ in the African continent and a coupled circulation between northwestern Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. A large increase of precipitation occurs over the Sahel, the Nile valley and northwestern Africa. A smaller increase of precipitation occurs also over the Iberian Peninsula and the region corresponding to the south of the Caucasus range (Armenia). The increase of precipitation over northern Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and the Armenian region are consistent with the pollen, historical and geographical data. These results suggest that deforestation around the Mediterranean during the last 2000 years contributed to the dryness of the current climate.     

Sensitivity of the tropical Pacific seasonal cycle and ENSO to changes in mean state induced by a surface heat flux adjustment in CCSM3

The influence of mean climate on the seasonal cycle and the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropical Pacific climate is investigated using the Climate Community System Model Version 3 (CCSM3). An empirical time-independent surface heat flux adjustment over the tropical ocean is applied to the oceanic component of CCSM3. In comparison with the control run, the heat flux-adjusted run simulates a more realistic mean climate not only for the sea surface temperature (SST) but also for wind stress and precipitation. Even though the heat flux adjustment is time-independent, the seasonal cycles of SST, wind stress and precipitation over the equatorial eastern Pacific are more realistic in the flux-adjusted simulation. Improvements in the representation of the ENSO variability in the heat flux-adjusted simulation include that the Nino3.4 SST index is less regular than a strong biennial oscillation in the control run. But some deficiencies also arise. For example, the amplitude of the ENSO variability is reduced in the flux-adjusted run. The impact of the mean climate on ENSO prediction is further examined by performing a series of monthly hindcasts from 1982 to 1998 using CCSM3 with and without the heat flux adjustment. The flux-adjusted hindcasts show slightly higher predictive skill than the unadjusted hindcasts with January initial conditions at lead times of 7?C9?months and July initial conditions at lead times of 9?C11?months. However, their differences during these months are not statistically significant.     

Equilibrium points and stability in the restricted three-body problem with oblateness and variable masses

The existence and stability of a test particle around the equilibrium points in the restricted three-body problem is generalized to include the effect of variations in oblateness of the first primary, small perturbations ϵ and ϵ′ given in the Coriolis and centrifugal forces α and β respectively, and radiation pressure of the second primary; in the case when the primaries vary their masses with time in accordance with the combined Meshcherskii law. For the autonomized system, we use a numerical evidence to compute the positions of the collinear points L _2κ , which exist for 0<κ<∞, where κ is a constant of a particular integral of the Gylden-Meshcherskii problem; oblateness of the first primary; radiation pressure of the second primary; the mass parameter ν and small perturbation in the centrifugal force. Real out of plane equilibrium points exist only for κ>1, provided the abscissae x < \fracn(k-1)b\xi<\frac{\nu(\kappa-1)}{\beta}. In the case of the triangular points, it is seen that these points exist for ϵ′<κ<∞ and are affected by the oblateness term, radiation pressure and the mass parameter. The linear stability of these equilibrium points is examined. It is seen that the collinear points L _2κ are stable for very small κ and the involved parameters, while the out of plane equilibrium points are unstable. The conditional stability of the triangular points depends on all the system parameters. Further, it is seen in the case of the triangular points, that the stabilizing or destabilizing behavior of the oblateness coefficient is controlled by κ, while those of the small perturbations depends on κ and whether these perturbations are positive or negative. However, the destabilizing behavior of the radiation pressure remains unaltered but grows weak or strong with increase or decrease in κ. This study reveals that oblateness coefficient can exhibit a stabilizing tendency in a certain range of κ, as against the findings of the RTBP with constant masses. Interestingly, in the region of stable motion, these parameters are void for k = \frac43\kappa=\frac{4}{3}. The decrease, increase or non existence in the region of stability of the triangular points depends on κ, oblateness of the first primary, small perturbations and the radiation pressure of the second body, as it is seen that the increasing region of stability becomes decreasing, while the decreasing region becomes increasing due to the inclusion of oblateness of the first primary.     

Motion around the out-of-plane equilibrium points of the perturbed restricted three-body problem

This paper studies the motion of an infinitesimal body near the out-of-plane equilibrium points, L _6,7, in the perturbed restricted three-body problem. The problem is perturbed in the sense that the primaries of the system are oblate spheroids as well as sources of radiation and small perturbations are give to the Coriolis and centrifugal forces. It locates the positions and examines the stability of L _6,7 with a particular application to the binary system Struve 2398. It is observed that their positions are affected by the radiation, oblateness and a small perturbation in the centrifugal force, but is unaffected by that of the Coriolis force. They are also found to be unstable.     

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.     

Detecting rainfall trends in twentieth century (1871–2006) over Orissa State, India

Climate change has affected the temperature and rainfall characteristics worldwide. However, the changes are not equal for all regions and have localized intensity and must be quantified locally to manage the natural resources. Orissa is an eastern state in India where agricultural activities mainly depends on the rainfall and thus face problems due to changing patterns of rainfall due to changing climate. In the present study, attempts were made to study temporal variation in monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall over the state during the period from 1871 to 2006. Long term changes in rainfall characteristics were determined by both parametric and non-parametric tests. The analysis revealed a long term insignificant decline trend of annual as well as monsoon rainfall, where as increasing trend in post-monsoon season over the state of Orissa. Rainfall during winter and summer seasons showed an increasing trend. Statistically monsoon rainfall can be considered as very dependable as the coefficient of variation is 14.2%. However, there is decreasing monthly rainfall trend in June, July and September, where as increasing trend in August. This trend is more predominant in last 10?year. Based on departure from mean, rainfall analysis also showed an increased number of dry years compared to wet years after 1950. This changing rainfall trend during monsoon months is major concern for the rain-fed agriculture. More over, this will affect hydro power generation and reservoir operation in the region.