A neurocomputing approach to the forecasting of monthly maximum temperature over Kolkata, India using total ozone concentration as predictor

The association between the monthly total ozone concentration and monthly maximum temperature over Kolkata (22.56° N, 88.30° E), India, has been explored in this paper. For this, the predictability of monthly maximum temperature based on the total ozone as predictor is investigated using Artificial Neural Network. The presence of persistence and similar cyclic patterns are revealed through autocorrelation and cross-correlation coefficients. Common cycles of length 12 and 6 have been identified through periodogram. Hence, a predictive model has been generated by Artificial Neural Network in the form of Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP) using scaled conjugate gradient learning with sigmoid non-linearity. After training and testing the network, an MLP with total ozone of month n as predictor and maximum temperature of month (n + 1) as the target output is found as the best model. Performance of the model has been judged statistically. Finally, the MLP model has been compared with linear and non-linear regressions and the efficiency of MLP has been established over the regression models.     

Morphological signatures of fault lines in an earthquake prone zone of southern Baromura hill, north-east India: a multi source approach for spatial data analysis. A critical review

In a recent work, Dey et al. (Environ Earth Sci 59:353–361, 2009) presented some new observations on the southern part of one of the anticlinal ridges of Tripura, viz. the Baromura range. The work incorporated a number of irregularities and misinterpretations that need to be addressed to avoid future confusion. The present article critically reviews Dey et al.’s paper to bring out its inaccuracies.     

Rice Husk Ash as a Low Cost Adsorbent for the Removal of Methylene Blue and Congo Red in Aqueous Phases

Adsorption is of significant importance for effluent treatment, especially for the treatment of colored effluent generated from the dyeing and bleaching industries. Low cost adsorbents have gained attention over the decades as a means of achieving very high removal efficiencies to meet effluent discharge standards. The present article reports on batch investigations for color removal from aqueous solutions of Methylene Blue (MB) and Congo Red (CR) using Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as an alternative low cost adsorbent. The performance analysis was carried out as a function of various operating parameters, such as initial concentration of dye, adsorbent dose, contact time, shaker speed, interruption of shaking and ionic concentration. Performance studies revealed that a very high percentage removal of color was achievable for both dyes. The maximum percentage removal of MB was 99.939%, while 98.835% removal was observed for CR. These percentage removals were better than existing systems. Detailed data analysis indicated that adsorption of MB followed the Temkin isotherm, while CR followed the Freundlich isotherm. These isotherms were feasible within the framework of experimentation. Batch kinetic data, on the other hand, indicated that pseudo second order kinetics governed adsorption in both cases. Sensitivity analysis further indicated that the effects of initial dye concentration, shaker speed, pH and ionic strength had no noticeable effect on the percentage dye removal at equilibrium. Batch desorption studies revealed that 50% acetone solution was optimum for CR, while desorption of MB varied directly with acetone concentration.     

Natural Environmental Hazards and Their Management: A Case Study of Sagar Island, India

The reclamation of Sagar island from the Sundarban mangrove wetlands of the western Ganga Brahmaputra delta was initiated in 1811. At present the island is almost wholly settled. The major natural environmental hazards (NEH) that affect the island are tropical cyclones, coastal erosion, tidal ingression and dunal encroachment. Human adjustments to these problems include acceptance, technological control, relocation, regulation and emergency measures. Seven different agencies manage the existing NEH-prevention projects of the island, often with little coordination. Important schemes managed by these agencies include coastal and interior embankments, mangrove plantations, storm refuges, resettlement projects and vegetation wind-breaks. Their efficiency ranges from excellent to very poor. Since a large outlay is inconceivable, the island's hazard prevention projects should mobilise existing resources in a more rational and coordinated manner. The long-term solution to the problems, however, lies in an accelerated socio-economic development of the region.     

Split-explicit integration of primitive equation barotropic model for the prediction of movement of monsoon depression

The split-explicit version of a limited area primitive equation barotropic model is formulated and tested for the prediction of movement of monsoon depressions. The model is integrated upto 48 hours with split-explicit time inte-gration scheme (Gadd, 1978a) using input of four synoptic cases. The model is also integrated explicitly. The forecast results obtained from both the versions are compared and discussed. The computational time in former version is less than half of the computational time needed in explicit version.     

Stratigraphy of the upper Gondwana formations around Sohagpur,western part of the Satpura Gondwana Basin,Central India

The present work provides a detailed lithological map of the western part of the Satpura basin around Sohagpur and reports the presence of new archosauromorph fossil bones from that region. The study area is dominated by the Bagra Formation along with a narrow patch of the underlying upper part of the Denwa Formation. The lower Denwa and the underlying Pachmarhi formations are absent here. The presence of the Pachmarhi Formation, as a tongue shaped area, as mapped by Crookshank (1936) is discarded in this study on the basis of lithology and petrographic analyses, instead the presence of the Bagra Formation is suggested in this area. A comparison of the lithologies and the vertebrate faunas of the upper Gondwana formations between eastern and western part of the basin has been carried out for the first time. The comparison indicates that the Denwa Formation present in the western sector represents only the topmost part of the formation while the complete succession of Denwa is preserved in the eastern sector. The Bagra Formation in the western sector documents the presence of sheet-like sandstone bodies unlike the eastern part. The vertebrate fauna of the eastern part is dominated by temnospondyl amphibians while that of the western part is dominated by archosauromorph. The vertebrate fossils of upper part of Denwa Formation, found from similar lithologies in west and east though, have differences in the amount of transportation before their burial.     

The kinetic energy budget of monsoon circulation over the Indian region during ISMEX-1973

A kinetic energy budget over the Indian region is computed for the period 4–9 July 1973, when a twin monsoon depression-one in the Bay of Bengal and another in the Arabian sea were the dominant synoptic features. The generation term caused by the cross-contour flow is a dominant source to the kinetic energy. The dissipation term is computed as a residual and is a major sink for the kinetic energy. The horizontal flux divergence is also a sink term but is much smaller in magnitude than other major source and sink terms. From the results it may be inferred that the generation term is the most important for the maintenance of monsoon disturbances.