Passive diffusion sampling of sulfur dioxide in India: Impact assessment on arid areas

Environmental constraints have drastically limited options of sustainable developmentand have severely offset many developmental schemes. In this paper, possibilities of acidic depo-sition, as a counter measure of desertification, are analyzed. Seasonal data of ambient sulfur di-oxide, pH of rain water and soil acidity are collected for over an year and analyzed. Arid environ-ment of surrounding areas of Delhi is considered and analyzed. Though ambient sulfur depositionis well below critical level, it might not be truly indicative of plant survival in arid areas. Results maybe useful in arid area afforestation, and polluting industries relocation, which holds tremendouspotential vis-a-vis sustainable development.     

生态遥感新锐——轻小型无人机的应用

基于研究对象视角梳理轻小型无人机遥感手段在生态学研究中的应用现状,重点分析了无人机在不同生态对象应用的优势和局限：优势主要在于其能够高灵活性、高分辨率地获取各生态对象的数据,为较大规模的生态研究提供了便利。在农田生态系统应用中主要关注农田信息检测、自动化农作等方面,但在这方面的应用还比较单一,缺乏更深层更全面的系统化应用;在森林草地中主要关注植被结构参数提取、生物量反演等,在数据采集过程中应注意设备的稳定性避免对数据准确性造成影响;城市生态系统主要集中在城市环境监测和测绘方面,同时城市方面飞控政策尚待完善;水生生态系统主要关注水生动植物监测和潮间带观测等,大规模监测也对设备续航和数据标准化处理提出了要求;动物研究应用中主要关注动物迁徙规律、物种分布等方面,在监测过程中需注意不要对动物栖息造成干扰。总的来说,无人机应用局限主要在于其获取的数据处理尚未标准化,飞控政策尚未成熟和硬件续航等方面。在此基础上探讨了未来无人机遥感在生态学研究的应用趋势：随着无人机智能化的软硬件发展和云端生态大数据的建立,无人机数据的获取和处理将更加智慧化,多源的无人机遥感数据将会更好地服务于生态学研究。     

In-orbit Performance of UVIT and First Results

The performance of the ultraviolet telescope (UVIT) on-board AstroSat is reported. The performance in orbit is also compared with estimates made from the calibrations done on the ground. The sensitivity is found to be within \(\sim \)15% of the estimates, and the spatial resolution in the NUV is found to exceed significantly the design value of \(1.8^{\prime \prime }\) and it is marginally better in the FUV. Images obtained from UVIT are presented to illustrate the details revealed by the high spatial resolution. The potential of multi-band observations in the ultraviolet with high spatial resolution is illustrated by some results.     

闽东食用菌生产的气温条件分析与利用

根据闽东地区1976～2005年9个县市(区)的历史气温统计资料,分析气温变化特征,进行气温类型划分.结合实际不同温型食用菌类生长过程对温度条件的要求,确定全区9个县市(区)的各温型菌类适宜生长的界温和界温日期(初终日),统计出各温型菌类自然可生产期.分析不同气温类型地区在生产各温型菌类的优劣势,进而对生产各温型菌类生产季节进行安排,达到充分利用闽东气温条件为科学安排食用菌生产,节省生产成本,增加农民收入的目的.     

Tuned liquid dampers for controlling earthquake response of structures

Numerical simulations of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) structure, rigidly supporting a tuned liquid damper (TLD) and subjected to both real and artificially generated earthquake ground motions, show that a properly designed TLD can significantly reduce the structure's response to these motions. The TLD is a rigid, rectangular tank with shallow water in it. Its fundamental linear sloshing frequency is tuned to the structure's natural frequency. The TLD is more effective in reducing structural response as the ground excitation level increases. This is because it then dissipates more energy due to sloshing and wave breaking. A larger water‐depth to tank‐length ratio than previous studies suggested, which still falls within the constraint of shallow water theory, is shown to be more suitable for excitation levels expected in strong earthquake motions. A larger water‐mass to structure‐mass ratio is shown to be required for a TLD to remain equally effective as structural damping increases. Furthermore, the reduction in response is seen to be fairly insensitive to the bandwidth of the ground motion but is dependent on the structure's natural frequency relative to the significant ground frequencies. Finally, a practical approach is suggested for the design of a TLD to control earthquake response. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dramatic decline of Arctic sea ice linked to global warming

Natural Hazards - Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the past four decades at the rate of ??4.7% per decade leading to an imbalance in the oceanic heat flux. The study reported...     

Internal and external validation of vulnerability indices: a case study of the Multivariate Nursing Home Vulnerability Index

Natural Hazards - As the frequency of natural disasters increases, there has been an emphasis on vulnerability index creation studies. In this study, we test the validity of vulnerability indices...     

A deterministic approach for preparation of seismic hazard maps in North East India

A method of seismic zonation based on deterministic modeling of rupture plane is presented in this work. This method is based on the modeling of finite rupture plane along identified lineaments in the region using the semi-empirical technique, of Midorikawa [(1993) Tectonophysics 218:287–295]. The modeling procedure follows ω² scaling law, directivity effects, and other strong motion parameters. The technique of zonation is applied for technoeconomically important NE part of Brahmaputra valley that falls in the seismic gap region of Himalaya. Zonation map prepared for Brahmaputra valley for earthquakes of magnitude M > 6.0 show that approximately 90,000 km² area fall in the highly hazardous zone IV, which covers region that can have peak ground accelerations of order more than 250 cm/s². The zone IV covers the Tezu, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Ziro, North Lakhimpur, Itanagar, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Wokha, Senapati, Imphal, and Kohima regions. The Pasighat, Daring, Basar, and Seppa region belong to zone III with peak ground accelerations of the order 200–250 cm/s². The seismic zonation map obtained from deterministic modeling of the rupture is consistent with the historical seismicity map and it has been found that the epicenter of many moderate and major earthquakes fall in the identified zones.     

Use of Roche coordinates in the problems of small oscillations of rotationally distorted stellar models

The system of Roche coordinates developed by Kopal to study the problems of stars in close binary systems has been used to study the problems of small oscillations of rotationally distorted stars.     

Electron density and temperature measurements, and abundance anomalies in the solar atmosphere

Using spectra obtained from the SUMER (Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation) spectrograph on the spacecraft SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), we investigate the height dependence of electron density, temperature and abundance anomalies in the solar atmosphere. In particular, we present the behaviour of the solar FIP effect (the abundance enhancement of elements with first ionization potential < 10 eV in the corona with respect to photospheric values) with height above an active region observed at the solar limb, with emphasis on the so-called transition region lines.