Late quaternary deformation and palaeoseismicity: Insight into geomorphotectonic evolution of Kachchh, western Indian Subcontinent

Kachchh in western Indian Shield, according to the Bureau of Indian Standard (IS:1893:2002), falls in Seismic Zone V. This is intriguing considering that the region is far away from active Plate margin. Apart from the recent incidences of earthquakes, there are several pre-historic/archaeological records of earthquakes in the region. Beyond these, the geological evidence of earth-movements (causing earthquakes) is provided by the occurrence of several’ active’ faults, which are considered geological markers of palaeoseismicity. There are records of innumerable incidences of faulting in the region in not so distant geological past. Study of fault features especially the scarp faces marking abrupt change in physical relief proves that the different levels of topography in the entire terrain are fault-bound features. Studies also confirm that the topographic difference between the high and ’sunken’ features have formed due to uplift and relative down-sagging during the geomorphotectonic evolution of the terrain. Features that make the region unique are: (i) restriction of fault-related deformation zone to a narrow strip between the southern margin of Thar Desert and the south coast line of the Kachchh Peninsula; (ii) overall sub-horizontality of bedding and other topographic and planation surfaces over the entire region; (iii) evidence of fault-controlled geomorphology indicating vertical movement along fault planes; (iv) evidence constraining the time of geomorphological evolution of the terrain only during the Late Quaternary, making it the youngest neotectonically evolved terrain in the Precambrian Indian Shield.     

Variations in shear wave velocity and soil site class in Kolkata city using regression and sensitivity analysis

The detrimental effects of an earthquake are strongly influenced by the response of soils subjected to dynamic loading. The behavior of soils under dynamic loading is governed by the dynamic soil properties such as shear wave velocity, damping characteristics and shear modulus. Worldwide, it is a common practice to obtain shear wave velocity (V _s in m/s) using the correlation with field standard penetration test (SPT) N values in the absence of sophisticated dynamic field test data. In this paper, a similar but modified advanced approach has been proposed for a major metro city of eastern India, i.e., Kolkata city (latitudes 22°20′N–23°00′N and longitudes 88°04′E–88°33′E), to obtain shear wave velocity profile and soil site classification using regression and sensitivity analyses. Extensive geotechnical borehole data from 434 boreholes located across 75 sites in the city area of 185 km² and laboratory test data providing information on the thickness of subsoil strata, SPT N values, consistency indices and percentage of fines are collected and analyzed thoroughly. A correlation between shear wave velocity (V _s) and SPT N value for various soil profiles of Kolkata city has been established by using power model of nonlinear regression analysis and compared with existing correlations for other Indian cities. The present correlations, having regression coefficients (R ²) in excess of 0.96, indicated good prediction capability. Sensitivity analysis predicts that significant influence of soil type exists in determining V _s values, for example, typical silty sand shows 30.4 % increase in magnitude of V _s as compared to silt of Kolkata city. Moreover, the soil site classification shows Class D and Class E category of soil that exists typically in Kolkata city as per NEHRP (Recommended provisions for seismic regulations for new buildings and other structures—Part 1: Provisions. Prepared by the Building Seismic Safety Council for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Report FEMA 450), Washington, DC, 2003) guidelines and thereby highlighting the seismic vulnerability of the city. The results presented in this study can be utilized for seismic microzonation, ground response analysis and hazard assessment for Kolkata city.

     

Higher order corrections to dust-acoustic ZK-solitons in a magnetized quantum dusty plasma

Nonlinear propagation of two dimensional dust-acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized quantum dusty plasma whose constituents are electrons, ions, and negatively charged heavy dust particles are investigated using quantum hydrodynamic model. The Zakharov-Kuznetsov (ZK) equation is derived by using reductive perturbation technique (RPT). The higher order inhomogeneous ZK-type differential equation is obtained for the correction to ZK- soliton. The dynamical equation for dressed soliton is solved by using renormalization method. The effects of obliqueness (l _x ) of the wave vector, magnetic field strength (B ₀), quantum parameter for ions (H _i ), soliton velocity (θ) and Fermi temperature ratio (σ) on amplitudes and widths of the ZK-soliton and as well as of the dressed soliton are investigated. The conditions for the validity of the higher order correction are described. Suitable parameter ranges for the existence of compressive and rarefactive dressed solitons are also discussed.     

Extension of the Kepler problem towards minimization of energy and gravity softening

The classical Kepler Problem consists in the determination of the relative orbital motion of a secondary body (planet) with respect to the primary body (Sun), for a given time. However, any natural system tends to have minimum energy and is subjected to differential gravitational or tidal forces (called into play mainly due to the finite size and deformability of the secondary body). We formulate the Kepler Problem taking into account the finite size of the secondary body and consider an approximation which tends towards minimum energy orbits, by increasing the dimensionality of the problem. This formulation leads to a conceivable natural explanation of the fact that the planetary orbits are characterized by small eccentricities.     

An analysis of precipitation climatology over Indian urban agglomeration

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - While urban areas in India are rapidly expanding, the analysis of how the precipitation regimes are changing is very limited. In the present study, an attempt...     

Mobility of arsenic in West Bengal aquifers conducting low and high groundwater arsenic. Part I: Comparative hydrochemical and hydrogeological characteristics

The present study demonstrates the importance of hydrogeochemical characteristics (groundwater flow and recharge) of an aquifer in the release of As to groundwater. The study area (∼20 km²) is located in Chakdaha block, Nadia district, West Bengal, which hosts groundwaters of variable As content. The spatial distribution pattern of As is patchy with areas containing groundwater that is high in As (>200 μg L⁻¹) found in close vicinity to low As (<50 μg L⁻¹) groundwaters (within 100 m). The concentration of groundwater As is found to decrease with depth. In addition, the data shows that there is no conspicuous relationship between high groundwater As concentration and high groundwater abstraction, although the central cone of depression has enlarged over 2 a and is extending towards the SE of the study area. The river Hooghly, which forms the NW boundary of the study site, shows dual behaviour (effluent and influent during pre- and post-monsoon periods, respectively), complicating the site hydrogeology. The observed groundwater flow lines tend to be deflected away from the high As portion of the aquifer, indicating that groundwater movement is very sluggish in the As-rich area. This leads to a high residence time for this groundwater package, prolonging sediment–water interaction, and hence facilitating groundwater As release.     

Reaction enhanced channelised fluid-flux along mid- crustal shear zone: An example from Mesoproterozoic Phulad Shear Zone,Rajasthan, India

Fluid infiltration at great depth during regional metamorphism plays a major role in mass transport and is responsible for significant rheological changes in the rock. Calc-silicate rocks of the Kajalbas area of Delhi Fold Belt, Rajasthan, are characterised by foliation parallel alternate bands of amphibole-rich and clinopyroxene–plagioclase feldspar-rich layers of varying thicknesses (mm to decimetre thick). Textural relation suggests that the amphibole grains formed from clinopyroxene and plagioclase in the late phase of regional deformation. Algebraic analysis of the reaction textures and mineral compositions was performed with the computer program C-Space to obtain the balanced chemical reactions that led to the formation of amphibole-rich bands. The computed balanced reaction is 70.74 Clinopyroxene + 27.23 Plagioclase + 22.018 H₂O + 5.51 K⁺+ 1.00 Mg²⁺+ 27.15 Fe²⁺ = 22.02 Amphibole + 67.86 SiO₂ aqueous + 36.42 Ca²⁺+ 8.98 Na⁺. The constructed reaction suggests that aqueous fluid permeated the calc-silicate rock along mm to decimetre thick channels, metasomatized the clinopyroxene–plagioclase bearing rocks to form the amphibole-rich layers. The regional deformation presumably created the fluid channels thereby allowing the metasomatic fluid to enter the rock system. The above reaction has large negative volume change for solid phases indicating reaction-induced permeability. Thermodynamic calculations suggest that the fluid–rock interaction occurred at 665 ±05^°C and 6.6 ±0.25 kbar (corresponding to ～20 km depth). Textural modeling integrating the textural features and balanced chemical reaction of the calc-silicate rocks of Mesoproterozoic Phulad Shear Zone thus indicate that extremely channelled fluid flow was reaction enhanced and caused major change in the rock rheology.     

Climate change projections over India by a downscaling approach using PRECIS

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the possible regional climate change over India by using Providing REgional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS), a regional climate model (RCM) developed by Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom. The lateral boundary data for the simulations were taken from a sub-set of six members sampled from the Hadley Centre’s 17- member Quantified Uncertainty in Model Projections (QUMP) perturbed physics ensemble. The model was run with 25 km × 25 km resolution from the global climate model (GCM) - HadCM3Q at the emission rate of special report on emission scenarios (SRES) A1B scenarios. Based on the model performance, six member ensembles running over a period of 1970-2100 in each experiment were utilized to predict possible range of variations in the future projections for the periods 2020s (2005-2035), 2050s (2035-2065) and 2080s (2065-2095) with respect to the baseline period (1975-2005). The analyses concentrated on maximum temperature, minimum temperature and rainfall over the region. For the whole India, the projections of maximum temperature from all the six models showed an increase within the range 2.5°C to 4.4°C by end of the century with respect to the present day climate simulations. The annual rainfall projections from all the six models indicated a general increase in rainfall being within the range 15-24%. Mann-Kendall trend test was run on time series data of temperatures and rainfall for the whole India and the results from some of the ensemble members indicated significant increasing trends. Such high resolution climate change information may be useful for the researchers to study the future impacts of climate change in terms of extreme events like floods and droughts and formulate various adaptation strategies for the society to cope with future climate change.     

Economic significance of colonial invasions in Khejuri-Hijli coastal sector of Purba Medinipur district,West Bengal: A geographical review

Khejuri- Hijili coastal area, now extends over the Khejuri police station, is situated in the southeastern part of the district of Purba Medinipur of West Bengal, on the western bank of the Hugli river. Between 21°47'42"N-22°4'N latitudes and 87°45'4"E-88°18"E longitudes the area covers about 267.97 sq. km. At the confluence of the rivers Bhagirathi-Hugli and the Bay of Bengal, Hijili emerged as an island from the estuarine surroundings around 1400-1500 A.D. afterward the island became covered with natural mangroves. Gradually it became the abode of fishermen. To gather some primary data, household survey by different questionnaire, topographic survey was done. Secondary data are mainly produced by assembling historical charts, maps, literatures for the specified work of the area concerned. Historical records including documents, survey notes, maps and photographs provided valuable information about the study area. Remains of early structures, monuments, and office buildings have been vigilantly watched and written reports and research articles have been carefully studied for sequencing the socio-economic history of the area. Later on accuracy assessment was performed by comparing two sources of information: classification of map derived from old records and maps and the ground truth information. The output obtained by performing the above steps includes land use and other maps and charts. These outputs were then analyzed to detect the historical significance of Khejuri-Hijili sector of the Hugli estuary and its sequential deterioration. These changes in the study area that were identified from classified maps, charts and diagram were tabulated.