Prediction of subsurface water level change from satellite data

This study explores the potential for predicting the spatial variation in subsurface water level change with crop growth stage from satellite data in Thabua Irrigation Project, situated in the northern central region of Thailand. The relationship between subsurface water level change from pumping water to irrigate rice in the dry season and the age of the rice was analysed. The spatial model of subsurface water level change was developed from the classification using greenness or (normalized difference vegetation index NDVI) derived from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper data. The NDVI of 52 rice fields was employed to assess its relationship to the age of the rice. It was found that NDVI and rice age have a good correlation (R² = 0·73). The low NDVI values (−0·059 to 0·082) in these fields were related to the young rice stage (0–30 days). NDVI and subsurface water level change were also correlated in this study and found to have a high correlation (Water level change (m day⁻¹) = 0·3442 × NDVI − 0·0372; R² = 0·96). From this model, the water level change caused by rice at different growth stages was derived. This was used to show the spatial variation of water level change in the project during the 1998–99 dry‐season cropping. This simple method of using NDVI relationships with water level change and crop growth stages proves to be useful in determining the areas prone to excessive lowering of the subsurface water level during the dry season. This could assist in the appropriate planning of the use of subsurface water resources in dry‐season cropping. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some aspects of volcanic ash layers in the Central Indian Basin

 Intercalated volcanic ash layers in two deep-sea sediment cores from the Central Indian Basin (CIB) are examined for the possibility of an in situ source of suboceanic volcanism. An in situ source has been predicated based on the bottom morphological structures and activation of seamounts during the geological past. The tentative correlation between depositional ages of the ash layer horizons and the period of global climatic cooling events reinforces the hypothesis that the suboceanic volcanic episode might have been initiated during the onset of glaciation. Received: 20 June 1995 / Revision received: 11 May 1998     

Removal of metal from acid mine drainage (AMD) by using natural zeolite of Nizarneshwar Hills of Western India

The mining industry faces stringent effluent discharge regulations and has acknowledged that it is necessary to look into innovative technologies to recycle considerable amount of effluent rather than discharging into surface water. Effluents from mines give rise to aesthetic unpleasantness. The focus of the investigations was to cope with more stringent effluent discharge regulations and to protect the ecosystem from harmful pollutants in the mine effluents. Copper is one of the heavy metal in the mine systems, which are known to be a harmful element. The present study has been undertaken to investigate a process that might remove Cu(II) from mine waste water by using natural zeolite, such as stilbite, and compared with synthetic resins like CSA-9 and CSA-609D. In this study, natural zeolite was used as a low-cost adsorbent to evaluate its ability to remove heavy metals from acid mine drainage. The zeolite used in this study is the natural clay mineral from the Nizarneshwar Hills of Western India. Three resins tested are CSA-9, natural zeolite–stilbite, and CSA-609D. Batch testing has been conducted to select effective ion-exchange resins for copper removal and to determine effective regenerants for regeneration of exhausted resins. All tests were conducted at bench scale and in batch mode. Three strong acid cation exchangers were evaluated to compare their metal removal capacities. The metal concentration in the effluent was reduced with all resins tested. It was found that, among all the three types of natural zeolite, stilbite shows the highest removal efficiency of copper in every parameter that is considered for evaluating the performance of resins.     

An experimental study of dissolution kinetics of Calcite, Dolomite, Leucogranite and Gneiss in buffered solutions at temperature 25 and 5°C

Laboratory experiments were carried out continuously for 30–35 days at 25 and 5°C in three different buffer solutions of pH 4.0, 2.2 and 8.4 to calculate dissolution rates of two minerals, calcite (CC) and dolomite (DM) and two rocks, leucogranite (LG) and gneiss (GN) from the Himalayan range. Calculated rates in terms of release of targeted elements versus time (Ca for CC; Mg for DM; Si for LG and GN) demonstrate direct correlation with temperature. Dissolution rates are higher at 25°C compared to 5°C. CC and DM were experimented only at pH 8.4 and results show that both undergo congruent dissolution with CC dissolving ∼5 times faster than DM. Ca and Mg exhibit average apparent activation energies (E _a) of 13.98 and 9.98 kcal mol⁻¹ respectively at pH 8.4 which reflects greater sensitivity of CC dissolution than DM dissolution towards an increase in temperature. Scanning Electron Microscope attached with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analyser (SEM-EDX) data indicates that dissolution is controlled primarily by surface-reaction processes, with dislocation sites contributing maximum to the dissolution. As compared to CC and DM dissolution, LG and GN undergo relatively slower incongruent dissolution with precipitation of some secondary minerals as revealed from X-ray diffractometer (XRD) results. Rates of dissolution of LG is maximum at pH 2.2, moderate at pH 8.4 and least at pH 4.0, whereas GN shows maximum dissolution at pH 2.2, moderate at pH 4.0 and least at pH 8.4. A comparison in dissolution behavior of LG and GN at experimental conditions reveals that increase in Si-release rate in the temperature range between 5 and 25°C is maximum at pH 8.4 (∼3.4–4.5 times), moderate at pH 4.0 (∼3–1.8 times) and least at pH 2.2 (∼1.0–1.5 times). Within the experimental temperature range, calculated values of E _a for Si release during LG and GN dissolution advocates positive correlation with pH. A substantial decrease in initial values of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of DM, LG, and GN has been encountered at the end of the experiment, except for CC for which an increase is observed. The study clearly demonstrates the dissolution behavior of pure minerals and rocks under controlled conditions. The dissolution rates assume enormous significance for the release of trace elements from rocks/minerals to the reacting water.     

Spectrophotometric observations of comet Hartley-Good (1985l)

Spectrophotometric observations of Cornet Hartley-Good (19851) during five nights in 1985 are presented in the wavelength range 3200–7000 ». The emission bands due to CN, CH, C₂, and C₃ molecules are observed. The abundances (N) and production rates (Q) of the molecules are derived.     

Efficient encoding and decoding algorithms for distributed resampling

This paper discusses algorithms for compressing floating point data which is encountered while performing resampling algorithm for rectifying geometric distortions on the images transmitted by the remote sensing satellite on a distributed computing environment. Two efficient algorithms for encoding and decoding floating point data compression, (i) 3-byte packing and (ii) 3-byte + 2-bit packing have been proposed. Both algorithms are tested to execute resampling algorithm on radiometrically corrected for IRS- LISS-III 4 bands data on a distributed system. First algorithm compresses 4-byte floating point data to 3-byte obtaining 25% compression while later one compresses 4-byte floating point data to 3-byte + 2-bit achieving about 18.75% compression. The computational time is reduced by 22% as compared to the distributed resampling algorithms without compression. Further it is found that in lossy compression algorithm only 220 pixels out of 37.4 MB pixels have utmost one Gray count difference, which will not pose any issues for digital classification or any other methods that will be employed in the corrected image by Image Analysts.     

Ca II K line profile of the truly quiet Sun

While evaluating the chromospheric variability (solar cycle related or any other) using the Ca II K line (3933.684 Å) as an indicator, an essential prerequisite is the knowledge of the profile of a truly quiet Sun in the integrated light. Such a profile can serve as a bench mark over which enhancements can be measured, particularly when modelling variability. This paper describes how such a K-line profile has been derived for the quiet Sun using disc-integrated light.     

Economics of Flood Protection in India

The peculiar rainfall pattern in Indiarenders the country highly vulnerable to floods. Forty million hectares of land, roughlyone-eighth of the country's geographical area, is prone to floods. Each year, floods cause extensive damage to life and property, losses being exacerbated by rapid population growth, unplanned development and unchecked environmental degradation. The country has been tackling the problem through structural and non-structural measures. While non-structural measures like flood forecasting aim at improving the preparedness to floods by seeking to keep people away from floodwaters, structural measures involve the construction of physical structures like embankments, dams, drainage channels, and reservoirs that prevent floodwaters from reaching potential damage centres. Almost 48% of the vulnerable area has been provided with reasonable protection, though floods continue to cause widespread losses year after year. This paper examines the incidence of floods and the trends in consequent losses in the eastern region of the country – one of the most vulnerable – with the objective of studying the efficacy of flood protection measures in the region. Based on a simple regression exercise for three highly vulnerable states in the region, the paper argues that flood protection measures have been inadequate in controlling losses and reducing vulnerability. Regressions for the three states over the period 1971 to 1996 indicate that the level of protection is an insignificant explanatory variable in explaining the number of people (adjusted for increases in density) affected by floods; while area affected, as an indicator of the intensity of floods remains the main loss-determining factor.     

Estimation of flow stresses in mylonitic quartzites of parts of Singhbhum shear zone,Bihar, eastern India

Recrystallized grain size was measured from quartzite mylonite specimens collected from parts of Singhbhum shear zone in eastern India. The specimens were collected along five traverses (Mushabani, Pathargora, Surda, Rakha and Jadugoda) across the elongation of the shear zone. The sheared quartzites range from protomylonite through mylonite to ultramylonite. The microstructural studies of the specimens reflect that dynamic recrystallization was the main deformation process. Estimation of flow stresses were derived from these specimens using empirical equations relating to flow stress and recrystallized grain size. The calculated stresses range from 12–28 MPa (Mercieret al 1977), 23–49 MPa (Twiss 1977), 20–68 MPa (Christie and Ord 1980), considering all the traverses. The results show that these values can only be used semiquantitatively.     

Assessment of Aphid Infestation in Mustard by Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Field experiment was conducted during 2009–10 and 2010–11 rabi season at research farm of IARI, New Delhi for assessing the aphid infestation in mustard. In aphid infested plant the LAI was 67 to 94% lower than healthy plant. Chlorophyll concentration decreased to 50% in infested plant as compared to healthy plant. Infestation was more severe in late sown crop and due to aphid infestation the percentage oil content and yield was reduced significantly. The spectral reflectance of aphid infested canopy and healthy canopy taken in the laboratory had significant difference in NIR region. In the visible region, the reflectance peak occurred in healthy canopy at around 550–560 nm while this peak was lower by 31% in the aphid infested canopy. The reflectance for healthy crop was found to be more in visible as well as NIR region as compared to aphid infested canopy. The most significant spectral bands for the aphid infestation in mustard are in visible (550–560 nm) and near infrared regions (700–1250 nm and 1950–2450 nm). The different level of aphid infestation can be identified in 1950–2450 nm spectral regions. Spectral indices viz NDVI, RVI, AI and SIPI had significant correlation with aphid infestation. Hence these indices could be used for identifying aphid infestation in mustard.