Petrography and provenance of subsurface Neogene sandstones of Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

This study deals with petrography and provenance of the Neogene reservoir sandstones encountered in the Kailas Tila, Titas, Bakhrabad and Shahbazpur Gas Fields of Bengal Basin. Framework grains are sand-sized to silt-sized particles of mainly detrital origin. The most common detrital grains are quartz, feldspars, and rock fragments. Mica occurred as minor and non-opaque heavy minerals found as minor accessories. Among the main detrital framework grains, quartz constitutes 51–60%, feldspar 3–15%, lithic fragments 8–22%. Sandstones encountered in the studied wells have been classified as sublithic arenite, feldspathic arenite and lithic arenite in order of abundance. Different triangular plots reveal that the Neogene sandstones of the studied wells exhibit a quartzolithic composition, low feldspar, very low volcanic grains and abundant sedimentary and low grade metamorphic lithic clasts indicating that the sands were derived from quartzose recycled orogen province, such as a fold thrust province or a collision suture zone. This study suggests that either the eastern Himalayas or Indo-Burman Ranges might act as the source of the sandstones of the studied wells of the Bengal Basin.     

The Spatial Structure of Zooplankton Communities of Pedu Reservoir, Malaysia

A total of 22 species of zooplankton were identified from 8 sampling stations located in the limnetic zone of Pedu reservoir.The zooplankton community was dominated by rotifers (11 species),followed by cladocerans (9 species) and copepods (2 species).Four species of zooplankton comprised of 3 rotifers,Brachionus quadridentata,Brachionus caudatus and Keratella cochlearis and one cladoceran,Ceriodaphnia cornuta were present at all sampling stations.Species richness was highest at Station 2 (17 species) followed by Station 4 and Station 8 (14 species),Station 5 (15 species),Station 7 (11 species),Station 6 (10 species),Station 3 (9 species) and Station 1 (7 species).With an exception of water transparency,all other water quality parameters such as temperature,dissolved oxygen,conductivity,pH and total dissolved solids were not significant when compared between sampling stations.The study found that station 5 which was located in a calm strait,protected from strong wave and wind was a suitable area for zooplankton growth and establishment.Factors supporting the findings included highest water transparency (3.4 m),rich in species numbers (15 species),high diversity index (0.950) and evenness index (0.808).     

Carbon-oxygen plasma; Parameter domain for a strong screening effect

A critical study relating to the enhancement factor of nuclear reaction rates in the carbon-oxygen plasma is made. Plots are given of the various dimensionless parameters in the temperature-density plane after the recent analysis of Itohet al. (1977). The enhancement factor of thermonuclear reaction rates critically depends on 3/. The enhancement factors also have been calculated here for the carbon-oxygen plasma studied by Iben (1978).     

Computation of wave-making resistance of a catamaran in deep water using a potential-based panel method

This paper presents a potential-based boundary element method for solving a nonlinear free-surface flow problem for a Wigley catamaran moving with a uniform speed in deep water. Since the interior flow of each monohull of the catamaran is different from the exterior flow, both monohulls must be considered as lifting bodies. The pressure Kutta condition is imposed at the trailing-edge of the lifting body by determining the dipole distribution, which generates required circulation on the lifting part. The effects of wave interference and hull separation on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the catamaran hull are analyzed and the validity of the computer scheme is examined by comparing the wave resistance with the numerical results of others. The present method could be a useful design tool for screening the suitable combinations of hull parameters and hull spacing at the preliminary design stage of catamaran hull.     

Age and Growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sillago aeolus</Emphasis> in Okinawa Island,Japan

In a study of the age and growth of Sillago aeolus, a total of 414 fish were collected from December 2000 to March 2002, around Okinawa Island. Ages of 403 specimens were determined by otoliths. Monthly changes in the percentage of otoliths with an opaque zone in the outer margin indicated that an opaque ring formed once a year, occurring between February and May. The rings can therefore be defined as annual rings. Ages of females were estimated to be 0+ to 4+, while those of males were 0+ to 2+. The von Bertalanffy growth curves were well fitted to age-standard length data of males and females, as follows: Male: L_t = 209.6 [1 − exp{−0.70 (t + 0.58)}]. Female: L_t = 297.7 [1 − exp{−0.42 (t + 0.61)}].     

Evaluation of climate reanalysis and space-borne precipitation products over Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

This study aims to quantify the spatial distribution of errors in two climate reanalysis (ERA5 and CFSR) and two satellite (TMPA-RT and TMPA-V7) precipitation products over Bangladesh. The datasets are assessed against ground-based rain gauge observations to capture the extreme rainfall accumulations at daily temporal scale over a 5-year period (January 2010–December 2014). The bias ratio scores indicate that CFSR and TMPA-RT seriously overestimate the rainfall values over much of the study area. Whilst TMPA-V7 performs better than the other precipitation products, all datasets lose their detection skills substantially for higher quantile thresholds (i.e. above 50th and 75th percentiles). With respect to rainfall detection metrics – probability of detection (POD) and volumetric hit index (VHI) – both ERA5 and CFSR show superior performance (in the range 0.9–1.0 for all the analysis grid boxes). All rainfall datasets are equally good in terms of false alarm ratio (FAR) and volumetric FAR (VFAR), even though the lowest values are associated with ERA5 for higher quantiles. All products demonstrate a decrease in skill to capture the amount of rainfall but show satisfactory results to detect the rainfall events when using higher quantile thresholds (i.e. rainfall above the 50th and 75th percentiles) to sample the data before computing product skill.     

Fenvalerate and Cypermethrin Induced Changes in the Haematological Parameters of Cyprinus carpio

Freshwater fish Cyprinus carpio have been exposed to sublethal concentrations of fenvalerate (0.010 ppm) and cypermethrin (0.020 ppm) for 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours. After each exposure period, certain blood parameters were studied. A decrease in red blood corpuscular (RBC) count, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), on the one hand, and an increase in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), on the other hand, have been observed with increasing time of exposure. The alterations observed may be due to the physiological disfunctioning of the haemopoietic tissue or may be due to the effect on the bone marrow. The effect of fenvalerate is more pronounced than that of cypermethrin.     

Cyclones and storm surges in Bangladesh: Some mitigative measures

Bangladesh, with its repeated cycle of floods, cyclones, and storm surges, has proved to be one of the most disaster-prone areas of the world. During the years from 1797 to 1991, Bangladesh has been hit by 60 severe cyclones (mostly accompanied by storm surges). This paper gives a brief account of these disasters with particular reference to the wind speed, surge height, loss of life, and damage to crops and properties, etc.In order to protect the coastal areas of Bangladesh from cyclonic storm surges and floods, a major system of embankments was constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, but this is now in need of rehabilitation. The Cyclone Protection Project, which was approved by the World Bank in 1989, would rehabilitate some of the existing embankments, build new embankments, and construct roads. Locally available materials, indigenous technology, and cheap surplus manpower should be used in this project. A variety of fruit trees should be planted along the dikes and roads.To the south-western part of Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal, lies the world's largest single mangrove tract, known as the Sunderban, which covers a total area of 571 500 ha. This mangrove forest is of extreme importance since it provides efficient protection to life and property against cyclones and storm surges. But due to deforestation, the width of the mangrove belt is being rapidly diminished. The author therefore lays emphasis on coastal afforestation.Absolute security against cyclone hazard is probably out of the question, but an effective cyclone warning response can definitely reduce loss of life and damage to property. The author discusses the current conditions for cyclone forecasting and warning in Bangladesh, and then puts forward some proposals for improving the Cyclone Preparedness Programme.