Study of mechanical properties of Vindhayan shaly rocks at elevated temperature

Shale is an important rock due to its suitability for different engineering and scientific applications. Elevated temperature may cause major deformation or damage in shale rock and it may be of irreversible in nature. Such damage have adverse effect on the physicomechnical properties of shale rock. The uniaxial compressive strength and tensile strength of two shales (upper Vindhyan basin, India) have been estimated at elevated temperature using point load strength index method. The rock samples have been analyzed at various temperatures starting from room temperature to 900 °C. The effect of elevated temperature on the physicomechanical properties and their influence on the uniaxial compressive strength has been studied in detail. Damage induced, in both shale have been estimated using compressional wave velocity. The analysis of the experimental result shows that the uniaxial compressive strength decreases from 63.45 to 18.45 MPa and 60.94 to 22.22 MPa, for Jhiri and Ganurgarh shale respectively. Tensile strength of shales have been also estimated. The value of tensile strength decreases from 3.65 to 1.05 MPa and 3.46 to 1.26 MPa respectively for Jhiri and Ganurgarh shale. Multivariate regression analysis has been carried out to obtain the correlation between physicomechanical properties and uniaxial compressive strength of Jhiri and Ganurgarh shale.     

Forest cover and landuse mapping in Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts of assam using landsat MSS data

Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts of Assam are endowed with rich and diverse vegetation resources. Increased human pressure due to shifting cultivation and raw material extraction for industrial purposes are heavily altering the forested landscape. The present study deals with mapping of forest types in the two districts using LANDSAT-MSS digital data. The maps thus generated provide spatial distribution of bioclimatic vegetation types. Supervised maximum likelihood classification has been performed using training sets collected during field work. The spectral behaviour of vegetation types have been studied for optimising classification scheme. The classification accuracy of classes mapped has been calculated.     

Propagator matrices for some geothermal problems

Summary In problems of linear flow of heat in inhomogeneous media, the governing equation is a second order ordinary differential equation with variable coefficients. When transformed into a set of first order ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients, the problem becomes amenable to an elegant method of propagator matrices. In this paper the propagator matrices for some steady and unsteady heat conduction problems (including a case of heat generation by an irreversible first order reaction) having conductivity and heat generation functions as piecewise continuous, have been described.     

Floods in Sabi river--A geomorphic study

Study of Landsat MSS imagery and aerial photographs along with selected field checks in Sabi river basin area has thrown some light on the plausible reasons of floods in parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi regions. It is noticed that the course of river Sabi, a tributary to Yamuna river flowing through the sandy tracks is being controlled by the prominent linears, most of them are faults within the Delhi rocks. But, as the river approaches near Haryana, that controlled course is lost and it develops a very wide river bed, full of sands and have abrupt decrease in its gradient to as low as 2° to 3°. This may be attributed to the migration and aggradational alluvial plains developed thereof, on the western side of Yamuna river. All these factors have been discussed in the paper which shall reflect some points as remedial measures of floods of the Sabi River.     

Applications of correlation-analysis and Feynman diagram to spasmodic drift trend of southern continents

Summary An analysis of the available paleomagnetic data has been completed to support and delineate the possible spasmodic drift of the southern continents. Correlation analysis of the drift rates of the Gondwanic continents show a high degree of similarity in their drift patterns. The possibility of momentum transfer and adjustment during drift is assessed with the application of Feynman's diagram and corresponding implications are also discussed.     

Surface energy balance of seasonal snow cover for snow-melt estimation in N-W Himalaya

This study describes time series analysis of snow-melt, radiation data and energy balance for a seasonal snow cover at Dhundi field station of SASE, which lies in Pir Panjal range of the N-W Himalaya, for a winter season from 13 January to 12 April 2005. The analysis shows that mean snow surface temperature remains very close to the melting temperature of snow. It was found close to −1°C for the complete observational period which makes the snow pack at Dhundi moist from its beginning. The average air temperature over this period was found to be 3.5°C with hourly average variation from −5.5°C to 13°C. The snow surface at this station received a mean short wave radiation of 430W m⁻², out of which 298W m⁻² was reflected back by the snow surface with mean albedo value of 0.70. The high average temperature and more absorption of solar radiation resulted in higher thermal state of the snowpack which was further responsible for faster and higher densification of the snowpack. Net radiation energy was the major component of surface energy budget with a mean value of 83W m⁻². Bulk transfer model was used to calculate turbulent fluxes. The net energy was utilized for satisfying cold content and snow-melt by using measured snow surface temperature and density of snow pack. The mean square error between calculated and measured daily snow-melt was found to be approximately 6.6mm of water equivalent.     

Lithospheric structure beneath Laxmi Ridge and late Cretaceous geodynamic events

The geophysically unusual Laxmi Ridge (eastern basin, Arabian Sea) is associated with a prominent elongated negative gravity anomaly. A seismically and geodynamically constrained detailed 2D gravity modeling suggests an 11-km-thick normal oceanic crust and an asthenospheric upwarp to a depth of 35 km. We attribute the apparent thickening of the crust to a possible emplacement of an anomalous subcrustal low-density layer between 11 and 19 km depth. We hypothesize that a K-T boundary bolide impact near the Bombay offshore led to several geological events, including eruption of Deccan flood basalts. The spreading Carlsberg Ridge in the Indian Ocean and rifting associated with Deccan volcanism generated the compressive regime, which perhaps originated the Laxmi Ridge.     

The potential contribution of wildlife sanctuary to forest conservation: A case study from binsar wildlife sanctuary

Forest vegetation of a protected area(Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary) in Kumaun region(west Himalaya) was analysed for structure,composition and representativeness across three different altitudinal belts,lower(1,600-1,800 m a.s.l.),middle(1,900-2,100 m a.s.l.) and upper(2,200-2,400 m a.s.l.) during 2009-2011 using standard phytosociological methods.Four aspects(east,west,north and south) in each altitudinal belt were chosen for sampling to depict maximum representation of vegetation in the sanctuary.Population structure and regeneration behaviour was analysed seasonally for two years to show the establishment and growth of tree species.A total of 147 plant species were recorded from the entire region of which 27 tree species were selected for detailed study.Highest number was recorded at upper(18 species),and lowest at lower altitudinal belt(15 species).The relative proportion of species richness showed higher contribution of tree layer at each altitudinal belt.The population structure,based on the number of individuals,revealed a greater proportion of seedling layer at each altitudinal belt.The relative proportion of seedlings increases significantly along altitudinal belts(p<0.05) while opposite trends were observed in sapling and tree layers.The density of sapling and seedling species varied non-significantly across seasons(p>0.05).The density values decreased in summer and increased during rainy season.As far as the regeneration status is concerned,middle and upper altitudinal belts showed maximum number of species with fair regeneration as compared to lower altitudinal belt.Overall density diameter distribution of tree species showed highest species density and richness in the smallest girth class and decreased in the succeeding girth classes.This study suggests that patterns of regeneration behaviour would determine future structural and compositional changes in the forest communities.It is suggested that the compositional changes vis-à-vis role of ‘New’ and ‘Not regenerating’ species need priority attention while initiating conservation activities in the sanctuary.This study calls for exploring other less explored Wildlife Sanctuaries in the Himalaya and across the world,to achieve overall biodiversity status in these protected areas and thus to justify their role in conserving biodiversity in the region.