Did the Indo‐Asian summer monsoon decrease during the Holocene following insolation?

A few studies from the western Arabian Sea indicate that the Indian summer (or southwest) monsoon (ISM), after attaining its maximum intensity at ca. 9 ka, declined during the Holocene, as did insolation. In contrast, earlier and later observations from both the eastern and the western Arabian Sea do not support this inference. Analysis of multiple proxies of productivity in a new sediment core from the western Arabian Sea fails to confirm the earlier, single‐proxy (e.g. abundance of Globigerina bulloides) based, inference of the Holocene weakening of ISM, following insolation. The reason for the observed decreasing trend in foraminiferal abundance – the basis for the earlier inference – could be the favouring of silicate rather than carbonate productivity by the increased ISM wind strength. Although ISM exhibits several multi‐millennial scale fluctuations, there is no evidence from several multi‐proxy data to conclude that it declined during the Holocene; this is consistent with the phase lag analysis of longer time series of monsoon proxies. Thus, on sub‐Milankovitch timescales, ISM did not follow insolation, highlighting the importance of internal feedbacks. A comparison with East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) records suggests that both ISM and EASM varied in unison, implying common forcing factors on such longer timescales. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genesis of certain bauxite profiles from India

An attempt is made to reveal a geochemical compatibility with paleoenvironment to understand the genesis of bauxite deposits that are derived from two different parent rocks. For this purpose two in situ bauxite profiles, one developed over basalt and another over sandstone, have been taken. Gibbsite is the major mineral in all these bauxites with minor occurrences of goethite, hematite, anatase, kaolinite, etc. From the study it is evident that the paleoenvironment and geochemical processes are vital factors that could lead to the formation of bauxites. The significance of this is fully discussed.     

Delineation of active faulting and some tectonic interpretations in the Munich-Milan section of the eastern Alps — use of LANDSAT-1 and 2 imagery

Based on studies of images obtained from LANDSAT-1 and 2, several seemingly active movement zones have been delineated in a section of the eastern Alps and are being reported in the present paper for the first time. These zones, trending W—E to NW—SE, cut across all earlier Alpine boundaries and contacts and on either side along their length, are marked with drag effects, indicating their post-Alpine neotectonic nature. Their relation with the present-day central European stress field, as determined from fault-plane studies and in-situ stress measurements, has been sought. In conjunction with the evidence from neighbouring areas, a dextral shear tendency of the present-day Mediterranean is indicated. Further, a number of extensive lineaments have been observed in the Alpine section. Statistically, there are three major lineation sets trending N45°, N15°, N345°. They appear to have developed cogenetically as a result of shear and tensile failures due to a stress field with maximum principal stress oriented averagely at N15°. This direction of the maximum principal stress, deduced from the above lineation analysis of the eastern Alps, is in striking conformity with the one believed to have been in existence for the development of the Rhinegraben (N20°). It appears that the Rhinegraben and the Alpide belt have evolved cogenetically and concurrently under the same dominant stress field (P₁ = N—NNE, P₂ = vertical and P₃ = E—ESE) and hence the two geotectonic features are really not antagonistic and mutually incompatible as usually believed on the grounds that one involves tension (taphrogenesis — Rhinegraben) and the other compression (orogenesis — Alpide belt) but are different manifestations of the same stress field. Besides, some additional light has been thrown on the possible controls of development of the Giudicaria Line and cause of predominance of NE—SW trending sinistral faults.     

Peculiar velocities of galaxies and clusters

We present a simple model for the shape of the distribution function of galaxy peculiar velocities. We show how both non-linear and linear theory terms combine to produce a distribution which has an approximately Gaussian core with exponential wings. The model is easily extended to study how the statistic depends on the type of particle used to trace the velocity field (dark matter particles, dark matter haloes, galaxies), and on the density of the environment in which the test particles are located. Comparisons with simulations suggest that our model is accurate. We also show that the evolution of the peculiar velocities depends on the local, rather than the global, density. Since clusters populate denser regions on average, using cluster velocities with the linear theory scaling may lead to an overestimate of the global value of Ω₀. Conversely, using linear theory with the global value of Ω₀ to scale cluster velocities from the initial to the present time results in an underestimate of their true velocities. In general, however, the directions of motions of haloes are rather well described by linear theory. Our results help to simplify models of redshift-space distortions considerably.     

An observational constraint on the existence of proto-superclsuters atz=3.3

The online version of the original article can be found at     

Secondary instability as a possible mechanism for clear-air turbulence: a case study

Many theories and mechanisms have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of clear-air turbulence (CAT), and some of them have been successful in predicting light, moderate and, in some cases, severe turbulence. It is only recently that skill in the forecasting of the severe form of CAT, which could lead to injuries to passengers and damage to aircraft, has improved. Recent observations and simulations suggest that some severe to extreme turbulence could be caused by horizontal vortex tubes resulting from secondary instabilities of regions of high shear in the atmosphere. We have conducted direct numerical simulations to understand the scale relationship between primary structures (larger-scale structures related to one of the causes mentioned above) and secondary structures (smaller-sized, shear structures of the size of aircraft). From shear layer simulations, we find that the ratio of sizes of primary and secondary vortices is of the right order to generate aircraft-scale vortex tubes from typical atmospheric shear layers. We have also conducted simulations with a mesoscale atmospheric model, to understand possible causes of turbulence experienced by a flight off the west coast of India. Our simulations show the occurrence of primary flow structures related to synoptic conditions around the time of the incident. The evidence presented for this mechanism also has implications for possible methods of detection and avoidance of severe CAT.     

Hill slope stability analysis using two and three dimensions analysis: A comparative study

Slope instability is very common phenomenon, especially in tectonically active hills of the lesser Himalaya. The deformed, weathered and fragile rocks of the lesser Himalaya are often vulnerable under natural or anthropogenic influences. There were several cases of slope failure along highway sections in Uttarakhand Himalaya. The study was carried out along a highway section of NH-109. The factor of safety (FoS) is commonly most acceptable parameter that analyses the health of slopes. The two dimensional (2D) numerical analysis techniques are commonly used to obtain the FoS. It is observed that many times FoS obtained from 2D analysis techniques do not qualify the actual conditions and are usually lower in value as compared to ground conditions. This, in turn, increases the cost of remedial measures used for protection of slopes. This paper presents a comparative study of 2D and 3D numerical analysis based on the finite difference method (FDM) using fast Langrangian analysis of continua (FLAC) codes. The study indicates that there is no appreciable difference between FoS values obtained from 2D and 3D analysis based on the selected slope conditions. The difference ranges from 0.02 to 0.07 for analysed cases in uniform rock mass. The study also exhibits some of the important analytical observations and effects of variables on resultant FoS.     

Eclogite xenoliths from Wajrakarur kimberlites, southern India

Summary Mineralogical characteristics of eclogite xenoliths from three kimberlite pipes (KL2, P2 and P10) of the Proterozoic Wajrakarur kimberlite field of southern India have been studied. In a rare sample of enstatite eclogite from the KL2 pipe garnet contains microscopic triangular arrays of needles or blebs of omphacite, enstatite and rutile consistent with an origin by exsolution parallel to the isometric form {111}. Discrete omphacite grains in the sample contain exsolved needles or blebs of enstatite and garnet. Kyanite eclogites are abundant in the KL2 pipe which occasionally show a secondary ring of pure celsian around kyanite grains. Omphacite Na₂O contents in the eclogites of the KL2 and P2 pipes are typically between 3 and 6 wt%, and garnet has widely variable composition with end member ranges of Prp22-81Grs0-47Alm10-30Sps0-1Adr0-5Uv0-3. Eclogites of the P10 pipe comprise chromian omphacite and garnet. Phase relations in the ACF projection exhibit systematic increase of the Ca-Tschermak’s component in omphacite from enstatite eclogite through biminerallic eclogite to kyanite eclogite. Garnet-clinopyroxene Fe–Mg geothermometry yields temperatures mostly in the range of 900–1100 °C. A formerly supersilicic nature of garnet in enstatite eclogite as inferred from exsolution mineralogy indicates minimum peak pressure of 5 GPa.     

Blast Vibration and Fragmentation Control at Heavily Jointed Limestone Mine

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - The presence of structural inhomogeneity in a rock mass in the form of joints, fractures, bedding planes is a very common phenomenon. These discontinuities...     

Nonlinear finite element modeling of beams on two-parameter foundations

This paper presents an inelastic element for the analysis of beams resting on two-parameter foundations. The element is derived from a two field mixed formulation with independent approximation of forces and displacements. The values for the two parameters of the foundation are derived through an iterative technique that is based on an assumption of plane strain for the soil medium. This iterative behavior is repeated at each time step of the nonlinear solution algorithm. The nonlinear response of structures resting on this improved two-parameter foundation model is analyzed following both a Vlasov and a Pasternak approach. Numerical examples that clarify the advantage of the newly developed model are conducted. These studies confirmed the importance of accounting for the foundation second parameter, and the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed model.