Comments on the heating of solar active regions by magnetic energy dissipation

The method of Kumar and Narain (1985) to calculate the twisting velocity of magnetic field appears to be erroneous. Hence, their conclusion about Tucker's proposal for the heating of active regions by magnetic energy dissipation may not be correct.     

Trapezoidal footings on non-linear subgrades

The pressure versus settlement response is highly non-linear for soils, in general. In the present study, a cubic equation of the type p = K₁w ? K₂w³ is suggested to incorporate the non-linear behaviour. A trapezoidal footing with constant depth resting on a subgrade having non-linear response is analysed. The resulting fourth order non-linear differential equation with variable coefficients is solved by using the Galerkin technique and beam characteristic functions are employed to obtain faster convergence. The results are presented in the form of non-dimensional charts for valid ranges of footings and soil parameters.     

Solar coronal loop

The conclusions drawn by Narain (1983) appear to be in error.     

Response of multilayer geosynthetic-reinforced bed resting on soft soil with stone columns

In the present study, a mechanical model has been developed to study the behavior of multilayer geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill over stone column-reinforced soft soil. The granular fill and geosynthetic reinforcement layers have been idealized by Pasternak shear layer and rough elastic membranes, respectively. The Kelvin–Voight model has been used to represent the time-dependent behavior of saturated soft soil. The stone columns are idealized by stiffer springs and assumed to be linearly elastic. The nonlinear behavior of the soft soil and granular fill is considered. The effect of consolidation of soft soil due to inclusion of the stone columns on settlement response has also been included in the model. Plane strain conditions are considered for the loading and reinforced foundation soil system. An iterative finite difference scheme is applied for obtaining the solution and results are presented in nondimensional form. It has been observed that if the soft soil is improved with stone columns, the multilayer reinforcement system is less effective as compared to single layer reinforcement to reduce the total settlement as there is considerable reduction in the total settlement due to stone column itself. Multilayer reinforcement system is effective for reducing the total settlement when stone columns are not used. However, multilayer reinforcement system is effective to transfer the stress from soil to stone column. The differential settlement is also slightly reduced due to application of multiple geosynthetic layers as compared to the single layer reinforcement system.     

Study of annual mass balance(2011–2013) of Rikha Samba Glacier,Hidden Valley,Mustang, Nepal

Although Himalayan glaciers are of particular interest in terms of future water supplies, regional climate changes, and sea-level rises, little is known about them due to lack of reliable and consistent data. There is a need for monitoring these glaciers to bridge this knowledge gap and to provide field measurements necessary to calibrate and validate the results from different remote sensing operations. Therefore, glaciological observations have been carried out by the Cryosphere Monitoring Project(CMP) since September 2011 on Rikha Samba Glacier in Hidden valley, Mustang district in western Nepal in order to study its annual mass balance. This paper presents the first results of that study. There are 10 glaciers in Hidden Valley, named G1, G2, G3, up to G10. Of these, G5 is the Rikha Samba Glacier, which has the largest area(5.37 km2) in this valley and the highest and lowest altitudes(6,476 and 5,392 m a.s.l., respectively). The glacier mass balance discussed in this paper was calculated using the glaciological method and the equilibrium line altitude(ELA). The glacier showed a negative annual point mass balance along the longitudinal profile of its lower part from September 10, 2011 to October 3, 2012. Stake measurements from October 4, 2012 to September 30, 2013 indicated a negative areal average of annual mass balance-0.088±0.019 m w.e. for the whole glacier. Based on these observations, the ELA of the Rikha Samba Glacier is estimated at 5,800 m a.s.l. in 2013. This negative balance may be due to rising air temperatures in the region, which have been incrementally rising since 1980 accompanied by little or no significant increase in precipitation in that period. The negative mass balance confirms the general shrinking trend of the glacier.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Holigarna</Emphasis> (Anacardiaceae) from the early Eocene of Western India and its palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatological significance

Thick lignite deposits on the western margin of India were preserved on account of thick vegetation which got buried underneath due to tectonic activities that occurred in northwestern part of India during the early Palaeogene. Study of the fossil flora preserved in these beds is important to deduce the palaeoclimate of the region. Therefore, a field work was undertaken to collect plant fossils from the Tarkeshwar lignite mine, Surat district, Gujarat (western India) which is still unexplored as far as the plant mega-remains are concerned. A fossil wood is systematically described from the Cambay Shale Formation of the mine considered to be of early Eocene in age. It shows close affinities with Holigarna (Anacardiaceae), particularly with H. beddomei and H. grahamii. This genus is evergreen in nature and grows in the Indo-Malayan region, while both the modern analogues of the fossil are endemic to semi-evergreen to evergreen forests ofWestern Ghats, south India, located at the equator. This not only confirms the palaeolatitudinal position of the Indian subcontinent at the equator during the early Palaeogene, but also indicates the presence of equatorial rain forest in the Indian subcontinent during the period. Based on the timetree, Sapindales started to diverge in the early Palaeocene (62–57 Ma) as its oldest fossil is from the K-Pg boundary. Discovery of the present anacardiaceous fossil (belonging to Sapindales) from the early Eocene strengthens the above phylogenetic view.     

Tunneling in lesser Himalaya,Jammu and Kashmir,India with special emphasis on tectonic mélange

Himalayan fold belt has full of geological surprises, ‘mélange’ is one of them which create difficulties during tunneling. Such mélange completely went unnoticed during surface mapping and geotechnical investigation preceding the construction of the Udhampur railway tunnel (URT). During the construction, the mélange zone has encountered across the tunnel, which occurs along the Tanhal thrust (equivalent to MBT) that separates the Murree Group and the Shiwalik Group. The mélange was characterized by a chaotic, heterogeneous geological mixture of stronger blocks (scale independence) and weaker sheared fine-grained matrix, often termed as “block-in-matrix rocks” or bimrocks, which enforced mixed face tunneling. The heterogeneity in a tectonic mélange led to stress concentrations in the rock blocks, and there were relatively high deformations within the matrix also. Release of stress from the blocks due to excavation, with unfavorable joint and thrust orientations enforced brittle failure of the blocks (face and crown collapses) while matrix deformation (time dependent) caused convergence of primary support later. Additionally, the clay minerals with high swelling potential within the matrix swelled and created pressure on the primary support. Due to the geomechanical heterogeneity in mélange, homogenizing the rock-mass by the commonly used quantitative systems might have lead to an inappropriate design and construction. The adopted New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) proved to be an useful tool for tunneling.     

Long period Pc5 pulsations

The characteristics of long period Pc5 pulsations (frequency 3·33-1·67 mHz; period 300–600 sec) for stations in the subauroral, auroral and polar zones are studied for 1967. These pulsations occur mainly in the auroral and polar zones with one morning and one evening peak; in the cusp region they occur most frequently near local noon. The evening peak gets stronger and appears farther away from noon with increasing geomagnetic activity. Periods are shorter and amplitudes larger in the morning compared to the evening hours. Only in a small latitudinal belt (60–70°) do the periods tend to increase with latitude. Amplitudes are almost always maximum near the central line of the auroral zone and drop much more sharply towards lower latitudes than towards higher latitudes. Considerable diurnal variations and also variations with magnetic activity are found to exist in the occurrence-latitude and amplitudelatitude profiles. In all the three regions the occurrence and the amplitude of these pulsations increase with magnetic activity to a certain level after which results become uncertain. Periods either do not change very much or at some stations decrease as activity increases.