Age estimates of coastal terraces in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and their tectonic implications

The great Indian Ocean earthquake of December 26, 2004 caused significant vertical changes in its rupture zone. About 800 km of the rupture is along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which forms the outer arc ridge of the subduction zone. Coseismic deformation along the exposed land could be observed as uplift/subsidence. Here we analyze the morphological features along the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in an effort to reconstruct the past tectonics, taking cues from the coseismic effects. We obtained radiocarbon dates from coastal terraces of the island belt and used them to compute uplift rates, which vary from 1.33 mm yr^− 1 in the Little Andaman to 2.80 mm yr^− 1 in South Andaman and 2.45 mm yr^− 1 in the North Andaman. Our radiocarbon dates converge on  600 yr and  1000 yr old coastal uplifts, which we attribute to the level changes due to two major previous subduction earthquakes in the region.     

Composition and formation conditions of pay zones in the lower Cretaceous Nizhnyaya Kheta and Yakovlevo formations within the Vankor oil-and-gas field (in the Northeast of West Siberia)

Sedimentologic analysis of cores from wells sunk in the Vankor petroleum field allowed refinement of the accumulation conditions producing the sandy strata of the Nizhnyaya Kheta River (Nizhnekhetsky) Formation accumulated in the coastal marine zone and of the Yakovlevo (Yakovlevsky) Formation accumulated under alluvial-deltaic conditions. Petrographic examination of the sandstones added information on the sources, transport, and accumulation conditions of the terrigenous material in the northeastern marginal part of the West Siberian sedimentation basin.     

Evolution of melt composition during intrusion of basalts into a silicic magma chamber

The article describes heat exchange between basaltic and rhyolite melts accompanied by fractional crystallization of phases in a basaltic melt. A numerical model has been developed for the homogenization mechanism of magma composition during intrusion of basaltic magma batches into felsic magma chambers. The results of numerical modeling demonstrate that the time needed for cooling the basalts and their fractionation to rhyolite melts is much shorter than the time required for chemical interaction based on diffusive mechanisms.     

Changes of deformational and reservoir properties of arenaceous-argillaceous rocks due to operation of underground gas storage facilities

This paper discusses issues of the decline of the reservoir properties of arenaceous-argillaceous rocks as a result of declining porosity due to long-term operation of underground gas storage facilities. An analysis of the many-year operation of storage facilities, as well as calculation, has revealed that the active capacity of a storage reservoir gradually decreases under certain conditions of underground storage operations. We performed a series of experiments with model specimens in order to support the hypothesis of decreasing reservoir (capacity-filtration) properties because of changes in the value and structure of the pore space. These experiments showed that the cyclic loading and unloading of arenaceous-silty rocks during long-term operation of underground gas storage facilities can significantly decrease the reservoir parameters of reservoirs created within worked out gas-and-gas condensate fields. Laboratory studies of model specimens corresponding to feldspar sandstone in their composition, porosity, and strength proved that porosity considerably decreases in such reservoirs at actually existing values of formation pressure. Tests of sand performed under conditions close to those existing during the development of hydrocarbon fields also showed that their permeability gradually decreases in the process of cyclic changes of effective pressure.     

Temporal characteristics of aerosol physical properties at Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India during ICARB — Signatures of transport onto Bay of Bengal

Realizing the importance of aerosol physical properties at the adjoining continental and coastal locations in the airmass pathways onto the oceanic region, extensive measurements of aerosol physical properties were made at Visakhapatnam (17.7°N, 83.3°E), an eastern coastal location in peninsular India during the ICARB period. The temporal variations of aerosol optical depth, near surface aerosol mass size distributions and BC mass concentrations show significantly higher aerosol optical depth and near surface mass concentrations during the first and last weeks of April 2007. The mean BC mass fraction in the fine mode aerosol was around 11%. The aerosol back scatter profiles derived from Micro Pulse Lidar indicate a clear airmass subsidence on the days with higher aerosol optical depths and near surface mass fraction. A comparison of the temporal variation of the aerosol properties at Visakhapatnam with the MODIS derived aerosol optical depth along the cruise locations indicates a resemblance in the temporal variation suggesting that the aerosol transport from the eastern coastal regions of peninsular India could significantly affect the aerosol optical properties at the near coastal oceanic regions and that the affect significantly reduced at the farther regions.     

Characteristics of spectral aerosol optical depths over India during ICARB

Spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements, carried out regularly from a network of observatories spread over the Indian mainland and adjoining islands in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, are used to examine the spatio-temporal and spectral variations during the period of ICARB (March to May 2006). The AODs and the derived Ångström parameters showed considerable variations across India during the above period. While at the southern peninsular stations the AODs decreased towards May after a peak in April, in the north Indian regions they increased continuously from March to May. The Ångström coefficients suggested enhanced coarse mode loading in the north Indian regions, compared to southern India. Nevertheless, as months progressed from March to May, the dominance of coarse mode aerosols increased in the columnar aerosol size spectrum over the entire Indian mainland, maintaining the regional distinctiveness. Compared to the above, the island stations showed considerably low AODs, so too the northeastern station Dibrugarh, indicating the prevalence of cleaner environment. Long-range transport of aerosols from tshe adjoining regions leads to remarkable changes in the magnitude of the AODs and their wavelength dependencies during March to May. HYSPLIT back-trajectory analysis shows that enhanced long-range transport of aerosols, particularly from the west Asia and northwest coastal India, contributed significantly to the enhancement of AOD and in the flattening of the spectra over entire regions; if it is the peninsular regions and the island Minicoy are more impacted in April, the north Indian regions including the Indo Gangetic Plain get affected the most during May, with the AODs soaring as high as 1.0 at 500 nm. Over the islands, the Ångström exponent (α) remained significantly lower (～1) over the Arabian Sea compared to Bay of Bengal (BoB) (～1.4) as revealed by the data respectively from Minicoy and Port Blair. Occurrences of higher values of α, showing dominance of accumulation mode aerosols, over BoB are associated well with the advection, above the boundary layer, of fine particles from the east Asian region during March and April. The change in the airmass to marine in May results in a rapid decrease in α over the BoB.     

Integrated approach for identification of potential groundwater zones in Seethanagaram Mandal of Vizianagaram District,Andhra Pradesh,India

Identifying a good site for groundwater exploration in hard rock terrain is a challenging task. In hard rocks, groundwater occurs in secondary porosity developed due to weathering, fracturing, faulting, etc., which is highly variable within short distance and contributing to near-surface inhomogeneity. In such situations topographic, hydrogeological and geomorphological features provide useful clues for the selection of suitable sites. Initially, based on satellite imagery, topographical, geomorphological and hydrogeological features, an area of about 149 km² was demarcated as a promising zone for groundwater exploration in the hard rock tract of Seethanagaram Mandal, Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 50 Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) were carried out using Wenner electrode configuration. An interactive interpretation of the VES data sharpened the information inferred from geomorphological and hydrogeological reconnaissance. Ten sites were recommended for drilling. Drilling with Down-The-Hole Hammer (DTH) was carried out at the recommended sites down to 50 to 70 m depths. The interpreted VES results matched well with the drilled bore well lithologs. The yields of bore wells vary from 900 to 9000 liters per hour (lph).     

Gouging abrasion test for rock abrasiveness testing

Wear parts of many mineral processing and mining equipment are often subjected to high stress loads applied at high speeds and at varying angles of incidence, where the prevalent mode of wear is high-stress gouging/sliding impact abrasion. Examples include crusher liners, wear liners in hoppers and chutes, picks on roadheaders, discs on tunnel boring machines and ground engaging tools. Abrasion under these conditions is characterised by a high material removal rate and thus has a direct bearing on wear rates and service life of the equipment concerned. However, at present there appears to be no method for rock abrasiveness assessment under these conditions. This paper describes a new Gouging Abrasion method and apparatus for testing abrasivity of rocks under high-stress gouging/sliding impact wear. A Gouging Abrasion Index (Gi) is introduced, which can be used for prediction and assessment of component life expectancy and efficiency of mineral processing and materials handling equipment. Experimental data from Gouging Abrasion testing of numerous Australian rock types are presented. It is suggested that the results of Gi testing can be used for wear rate predictions for a variety of mineral processing and materials handling equipment working under high-stress gouging/sliding impact abrasion conditions.