Hydro-hypsometric analysis of tropical river basins,Southwest Coast of India using geospatial technology

The key aspect in planning and management of water resources is to analyze the runoff potential and erosion status of the river basin. For the detailed investigation of hydrological response, freely available Cartosat-1 (IRS-P5) data was used for the preparation of digital elevation model (DEM). The runoff potential and type of erosive process of 22 river basins originating in the global biodiversity hotspot of Western Ghats, was inferred through hypsometric analysis. Several parameters like Hypsometric integral (HI), maximum concavity (Eh), coordinates of slope inflection point (I) given by a* and h* and normalized height of hypsometric curve (h) were extracted from the hypsometric curves and used for understanding the hydrological responses. From the hypsometric curves, the landform evolution processes were inferred. Contribution of diffusive and fluvial processes in slope degradation of the river basins was understood. Basins with lesser area (<100 km²) were found to have a positive correlation between hypsometric integral and basin area, whereas for large basins no such correlation exists. Based on the study, river basins can be prioritized for the appropriate conservation measures.     

Discriminatory Analysis for Determining the Environment of Deposition of South-central Part of Kaladgi Basin,Belagavi District,Karnataka, India

Doklady Earth Sciences - Kaladgi rocks are very well exposed in Belgaum district of Karnatak state, with adjacent to Maharashtra state. The rocks exposed in the study area comprises mainly of...     

Early In-orbit Performance of Scanning Sky Monitor Onboard AstroSat

We report the in-orbit performance of Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) onboard AstroSat. The SSM operates in the energy range 2.5 to 10 keV and scans the sky to detect and locate transient X-ray sources. This information of any interesting phenomenon in the X-ray sky as observed by SSM is provided to the astronomical community for follow-up observations. Following the launch of AstroSat on 28th September, 2015, SSM was commissioned on October 12th, 2015. The first power ON of the instrument was with the standard X-ray source, Crab in the field-of-view. The first orbit data revealed the basic expected performance of one of the detectors of SSM, SSM1. Following this in the subsequent orbits, the other detectors were also powered ON to find them perform in good health. Quick checks of the data from the first few orbits revealed that the instrument performed with the expected angular resolution of 12’ \(\times \) 2.5\(^\circ \) and effective area in the energy range of interest. This paper discusses the instrument aspects along with few on-board results immediately after power ON.     

A comparative study of different dielectric models—computation of representative dielectric profiles of black soils

The dielectric property of the soil is an important parameter for microwave remote sensing. Therefore an attempt is made to study and compare the models for the dielectric constant of moist soils by considering three soil types namely Haldi series (sandy loam), Hathiapathar series (silt loam) and Jambria series (clay) and at frequencies 1.4, 4.0 and 18.0 GHz. The semiempirical models of Wang et al. (1980) and Dobson et al (1985) predict more or les same results in the domain of their applicability. However, at lower frequencies below 1.0 GHz, the imaginary part of dielectric constant shows a decreasing trend with decreasing frequency for Wang et al (1980) model whereas it shows reverse trend for Dobson et al (1985) model. The soil texture and frequency dependence of dielectric constant have been investigated for Indian soils. Some of the representative dielectric profiles of black soils of Pune have been computed using semiempirical model of Dobson et al (1985) which are useful for the development of multifrequency models for the study of soil moisture.     

Interannual variability of Kelvin wave propagation in the wave guides of the equatorial Indian Ocean,the coastal Bay of Bengal and the southeastern Arabian Sea during 1993–2006

The observed variability of the Kelvin waves and their propagation in the equatorial wave guide of the Indian Ocean and in the coastal wave guides of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the southeastern Arabian Sea (AS) on seasonal to interannual time scales during years 1993–2006 is examined utilizing all the available satellite and in-situ measurements. The Kelvin wave regime inferred from the satellite-derived sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) shows a distinct annual cycle composed of two pairs of alternate upwelling (first one occurring during January–March and the second one occurring during August–September) and downwelling (first one occurring during April–June and the second one occurring during October–December) Kelvin waves that propagate eastward along the equator and hit the Sumatra coast and bifurcate. The northern branches propagate counterclockwise over varied distances along the coastal wave guide of the BoB. The potential mechanisms that contribute to the mid-way termination of the first upwelling and the first downwelling Kelvin waves in the wave guide of the BoB are hypothesized. The second downwelling Kelvin wave alone reaches the southeastern AS, and it shows large interannual variability caused primarily by similar variability in the equatorial westerly winds during boreal fall. The westward propagating downwelling Rossby waves triggered by the second downwelling Kelvin wave off the eastern rim of the BoB also shows large interannual variability in the near surface thermal structure derived from SODA analysis. The strength of the equatorial westerlies driven by the east–west gradient of the heat sources in the troposphere appears to be a critical factor in determining the observed interannual variability of the second downwelling Kelvin wave in the wave guides of the equatorial Indian Ocean, the coastal BoB, and the southeastern AS.     

Observed intra-seasonal to interannual variability of the upper ocean thermal structure in the southeastern Arabian Sea during 2002–2008

The southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS), located in the Indian Ocean warm pool, is a key-region of the regional climate system. It is suspected to play an important role in the dynamics of the Asian summer monsoon system. The present study reports the salient features derived from a newly harvested observational dataset consisting of repeated fortnightly XBT transects in the SEAS over the period 2002–2008. The fortnightly resolution of such a multi-year record duration is unprecedented in this part of the world ocean and provides a unique opportunity to examine the observed variability of the near-surface thermal structure over a wide spectrum, from intra-seasonal to interannual timescales. We find that most of the variability is trapped in the thermocline, taking the form of upwelling and downwelling motions of the thermal stratification. The seasonal variations are consistent with past studies and confirm the role of the monsoonal wind forcing through linear baroclinic waves (coastally-trapped Kelvin and planetary Rossby waves). Sub-seasonal variability takes the form of anomalous events lasting a few weeks to a few months and occurs at two preferred timescales: in the 30–110 day band, within the frequency domain of the Madden–Julian oscillation and in the 120–180 day band. While this sub-seasonal variability appears fairly barotropic in the offshore region, the sign of the anomaly in the upper thermocline is opposite to that in its lower part on many occasions along the coast. Our dataset also reveals relatively large interannual temperature variations of about 1 °C from 50 to 200 m depth that reflect a considerable year-to-year variability of the magnitude of both upwelling and downwelling events. This study clearly demonstrates the necessity for sustained long-term temperature measurements in the SEAS.     

Development of a three channel photometer for UPSO, Naini Tal

The design and performance of a portable three channel photometer installed at the Uttar Pradesh State Observatory (UPSO), Naini Tal is described. The photometer is modular and the whole unit can be disassembled as individual channels such that the system can also be used as a single channel or two channel photometer. The system also has provision to monitor a guide star. The instrument was put into operation since November 1999 on the 1m Sampurnanand telescope at UPSO, Naini Tal. Since then, it is used extensively for the ‘Survey of rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars in the northern sky’ from UPSO. Observational results using this new photometer in its initial phase of operation are discussed. The advantage of having continuous sky measurement is demonstrated.     

Hydrothermal fabrication of WO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-modified TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> crystals and their efficiency in photocatalytic degradation of FCF

WO₃-modified TiO₂ polyscale crystals were fabricated successfully using the hydrothermal technique. The as-prepared samples were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic application of these synthesized samples was confirmed by photocatalytic degradation of fast green dye solution under sunlight and UV irradiation. The degradation efficiency was analyzed by measuring the parameters such as percent transmittance, chemical oxygen demand and percent decomposition of the dye solution. It was noted that the photodegradation efficiency of the samples varies with added amounts of WO₃ content. The highest photodegradation efficiency was obtained using 2WT sample where the pace of decomposition was 70.5% under UV light and 81.3% under sunlight.     

A novel method for enhancement of radiometric resolution using image fusion

The Resourcesat-I satellite is equipped with different types of sensors with varied characteristics. For the effective utilization of the available multi-sensor, multi-temporal, multi-spectral and multi-radiometric data from these sensors, fusion of digital image data has become a valuable technique. Image fusion enhances the information content and helps in better discrimination of various land cover types. The Resourcesat-1 has equipped with three sensors, AWiFS, LISS-III and LISS-IV, which are having identical spectral resolutions, with different spatial, radiometric and temporal resolutions. The spatial resolutions ratio of the data set for merging are required to be maximum of 1:6, where as the data sets (AWiFS and LISS-III) that are used in the current study are having the ratio of 1:2.5 approximately. A novel merging technique is designed, which retains the multi-spectral response of the input data in the output data. The merged data set provides the higher spatial and radiometric resolutions. In order to evaluate the fusion merits quantitatively, all the data sets are digitally classified and studied the output classes for homogeneity and clear discrimination. A comprehensive comparative study is carried out between the fused image and the LISS-III image based on the contingency matrix and the scatter plots, which demonstrates the strength of fused image for discriminating the object classes at 23.5 m spatial and 10-bit radiometric resolutions. The merged data set gives the improved classification accuracy.