AN EVALUATION OF SURFACE HARDNESS OF NATURAL AND MODIFIED ROCKS USING SCHMIDT HAMMER: STUDY FROM NORTHWESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA

Four rock types (quartz mica gneiss, schist, quartzite and calc-silicate) located in the Satluj and Alaknanda valleys were used to test whether a Schmidt hammer can be used to distinguish rock surfaces affected by various natural and man-induced processes like manual smoothing of rock surfaces by grindstone, surface weathering, deep weathering, fluvial polishing and blasting during road construction. Surfaces polished by fluvial process yielded the highest Schmidt hammer rebound (R-) values and the blast-affected surfaces yielded the lowest R-values for the same rock type. Variations in R-value also reflect the degree of weathering of the rock surfaces. It has been further observed that, for all the rock types, the strength of relationship between R-values for the treated surfaces (manual smoothing of rock surface by grindstone) and the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is higher than for the fresh natural surfaces.     

Classification of the Didwana‐Rajod meteorite: A Mössbauer spectroscopic study

Abstract— Mössbauer spectroscopic studies of the Didwana‐Rajod chondrite, which fell on 1991 August 12 in western Rajasthan, India, are presented. The results are compared with the Mössbauer data of several enstatite and ordinary chondrites including the Dhajala chondrite for which Mössbauer data were acquired during the present study. The Didwana‐Rajod chondrite's iron phases and its oxidation states strongly suggest that it should be classified as an H‐type ordinary chondrite instead of the earlier suggestion (based on petrographic studies) that it could be an enstatite chondrite. The present study demonstrates that Mössbauer spectroscopy is a very powerful technique for aiding in the classification of meteorites.     

Study of thermal properties of supraglacial debris and degree-day factors on Lirung Glacier,Nepal

The extensive debris that covers glaciers in the ablation zone of the Himalayan region plays an important part in regulating ablation rates and water availability for the downstream region. The melt rate of ice is determined by the amount of heat conducted through debris material lying over the ice. This study presents the vertical temperature gradients, thermal properties in terms of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity, and positive degree-day factors for the debris-covered portion of Lirung Glacier in Langtang Valley, Nepal Himalaya using field-based measurements from three different seasons.Field measurements include debris temperatures at different debris thicknesses, air temperature, and ice melt during the monsoon(2013), winter(2013), and pre-monsoon(2014) seasons. We used a thermal equation to estimate thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity, and degree-day factors(DDF) were calculated from cumulative positive temperature and ice melt of the measurement period. Our analysis of debris temperature profiles at different depths of debris show the daily linear gradients of-20.81 °C/m, 4.05 °C/m, and-7.79 °C/m in the monsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon seasons, respectively. The values of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity in the monsoon season were 10 times greater than in the winter season. The large difference in these values is attributed to surface temperature and moisture content within the debris. Similarly, we found higher values of DDFs at thinner debris for the pre-monsoon season than in the monsoon season although we observed less melting during the pre-monsoon season. This is attributed to higher cumulative temperature during the monsoon season than in the pre-monsoon season. Our study advances our understanding of heat conductivity through debris material in different seasons, which supports estimating ice melt and discharge from glacierized river basins with debris-covered glaciers in the Himalayan region.     

Geomorphology,sedimentology and minimum exposure ages of streamlined subglacial landforms in the NW Himalaya,India

Streamlined subglacial landforms that include drumlins in three study areas, the upper Chandra valley around Chandra Tal, the upper Spiti Valley and the middle Yunam Valley of the NW Himalaya of India were mapped and studied using geomorphic, sedimentological and geochronological methods. These streamlined subglacial landforms include a variety of morphological types, including: (i) half egg‐shaped forms; (ii) complex superimposed forms; (iii) dome‐shaped forms; (iv) inverse forms; and (v) flat‐topped symmetrical forms. Sedimentological data indicate that subglacial deformational processes are responsible for the formation of the streamlined subglacial landforms in the Chandra Tal and upper Spiti Valley study areas. In contrast, streamlined landforms in the middle Yunam Valley are the result of melt‐out and subglacial erosional processes. In the Yunam Valley study area, 11 new cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages were obtained for boulders inset into the crests of streamlined subglacial landforms and moraines, and also for a bedrock surface. The streamlined landforms date to 8–7 ka, providing evidence of an early Holocene valley glaciation, and older moraines date to ～17–15 and 79–52 ka, representing other significant valley glacial advances in the middle Yunam Valley. The subglacial landforms in the Chandra Valley provide evidence for a ≥300‐m‐thick Lateglacial glacier that advanced southeast, overtopping the Kunzum Range, and advancing into the upper Spiti Valley. The streamlined subglacial landforms in these study areas of the NW Himalaya highlight the usefulness of such landforms in developing glacial chronostratigraphy and for understanding the dynamics of Himalayan glaciation.     

Characterizing the influence of tide on the physico-chemical parameters and nutrient variability in the coastal surface water of the northern Bay of Bengal during the winter season

The spatial distribution of physico-chemical parameters(sea surface temperature(SST), p H, sea surface salinity(SSS), dissolved oxygen(DO) and Secchi depth) along with filterable nutrients(dissolved inorganic nitrate(DIN),dissolved inorganic phosphate(DIP) and reactive silicate(DSi)) are measured in the winter months of November,December, January and February for four consecutive years from 2009–2010 to 2012–2013 on the shallow continental shelf(20 m bathymetry) of the coastal waters(up to 18 km away from shoreline) of the northern Bay of Bengal(n Bo B) during the highest high tide(HHT) and lowest low tide(LLT) hours for the first time. The variability of the coastal biogeochemical environment is assessed during the HHT and LLT hours and for this purpose, seawater samples are collected from seven different locations of a transect in the coastal region. Physicochemical parameters(except SST) show significant difference in magnitude during the HHT and LLT hours respectively. p H, SSS and DO are found to increase in the HHT hours and vice-versa. The data reveal that during the LLT hours, a relative increase of freshwater input in the n Bo B can have elevated the nutrient concentration compared with that observed during the HHT hours. The ratio of nutrient concentration is found to deviate significantly from the Redfield ratio. The abundance of DIP is much higher compared with that of DIN and DSi.The anthropogenic sources of DIP from the upstream flow(especially the domestic effluent of several metropolises) can be mainly attributed behind such an observation. In order to characterize and establish the trend of such variation in such an important bio-climatic region, long-term and systematic ecosystem monitoring in the coastal water of the n Bo B northern Bay of Bengal should be carried out throughout the year.     

Evolution of the passive continental margins of India—a geophysical appraisal

The passive continental margins of India have evolved as India broke and drifted away from East Antarctica, Madagascar and Seychelles at various geological times. In this study, we have attempted to collate and re-examine gravity and topographic/bathymetry data over India and the adjoining oceans to understand the structure and tectonic evolution of these margins, including processes such as crustal/lithosphere extension, subsidence due to sedimentation, magmatic underplating and so on. The Eastern Continental Margin of India (ECMI) seems to have evolved in a complex rift and shear tectonic settings in its northern and southern segments, respectively, and bears similarities with its conjugate in East Antarctica. Crustal extension rates are uniform along the stretch of the ECMI in spite of the presence or absence of crustal underplated material, variability in lithospheric strength and tectonic style of evolution ranging from rifting to shearing. The Krishna-Godavari basin is underlain by a strong ( 30 km) elastic lithosphere, while the Cauvery basin is underlain by a thin elastic lithosphere ( 3 km). The coupling between the ocean and continent lithosphere along the rifted segment of the ECMI is across a stretched continental crust, while it is direct beneath the Cauvery basin. The Western Continental Margin of India (WCMI) seems to have developed in an oblique rift setting with a strike-slip component. Unlike the ECMI, the WCMI is in striking contrast with its conjugate in the eastern margin of Madagascar in respect of sedimentation processes and alignment of magnetic lineations and fracture zones. The break up between eastern India and East Antarctica seems to have been accommodated along a Proterozoic mobile belt, while that between western India and Madagascar is along a combination of both mobile belt and cratonic blocks.     

Modeling potential forest fire danger using modis data

Generation of fire danger maps play a vital role in forest fire management like forest fire research, locating lookout towers, risk assessment and for various other simulation studies. The present study addresses remote sensing and GIS applications in generating fire danger maps for tropical deciduous forests. Fire danger variables such as fuel type, topography, temperature, and relative humidity have been used in modeling fire danger. Information on local climate patterns and past fire records has been used to derive fire frequency map of the study area. Intermediate indices were derived using multiple regressions, where fire frequency data is taken as dependent variable. Results indicate that forests near human settlements are more vulnerable to forest fires.     

Tissue enzymes as biomonitors of PCP intoxication in Notopterus notopterus

In this paper, toxicity effects of pentachlorophenol have been studied using enzymes, phosphatases, transaminases and hydrogenases as indicators for toxicity. The sublethal concentrations used were 0.019, 0.0063 and 0.0038 mg/l (1/5th, 1/15th and 1/25th fractions of LC₅₀) and the experimental fishes were exposed for the periods of 15, 30, 45 and 60 days. Most of the significant alterations in enzymes were observed at 1/5th and 1/10th fractions except at few places in the liver where a significant alteration in the enzyme acid phosphatase occurs at 1/15th fraction. Glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) showed a significant increase in different tissues in all the fractions of treatment.     

Favourable geological environments for uranium mineralization, Peninsular Malaysia

An appraisal of the 1977–1978 regional reconnaissance geochemical data obtained under the Central Belt Project indicated that the Boundary Range Granite, the Senting Granite, and the Benom Igneous Complex appear to constitute favourable uranium exploration targets. Results of the airborne survey subsequently flown within the Project area in 1980 showed high radiometric responses over these and other granitoids. Recent follow-up of a multi-element geochemical anomaly over the Boundary Range Granite has resulted in the discovery of some uraninite-bearing boulders and an abnormally radioactive ironstained quartz vein containing uranium-bearing rhabdophane and florencite. Yet another potential target appears to be the Main Range Granite. Although not within the Project area, it has the distinction of hosting the first recorded uranium occurrence in Peninsular Malaysia.Contrary to earlier belief, the importance of the continental Mesozoic Tembeling and Gagau Groups as possible uranium hosts has been reduced, judging from the poor airborne radiometric response and the overall low geochemical results. On the other hand the Tertiary basins, not previously accorded attention, should be assessed.     

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SUBMERGENCE RATIO OF A RECTANGULAR SUBMERGED VANE WITH A COLLAR

1 INTRODUCTION Odgaard and Kennedy (1983) suggested that for values of angle of attack, α greater than or equal to approximately 20o, a persistent scour hole is produced near the upstream end of a vane. As α was reduced the number of vanes producing obj…