Estimating potential landslide sites of an upland sub-watershed in Western Ghat’s of Kerala (India) through frequency ratio and GIS

The purpose of this study is to assess the susceptibility of landslides in parts of Western Ghats, Kerala, India, using a geographical information system (GIS). Landslide inventory of the area was made by detailed field surveys and the analysis of the topographical maps. The landslide triggering factors are considered to be slope angle, slope aspect, slope curvature, slope length, distance from drainage, distance from lineaments, lithology, land use and geomorphology. ArcGIS version 8.3 was used to manipulate and analyse all the collected data. Probabilistic-likelihood ratio was used to create a landslide susceptibility map for the study area. The result was validated using the Area under Curve (AUC) method and temporal data of landslide occurrences. The validation results showed satisfactory agreement between the susceptibility map and the existing data on landslide locations. As the result, the success rate of the model was (84.46%) and the prediction rate of the model was (82.38%) shows high prediction accuracy. In the reclassified final landslide susceptibility zone map, 5.68% of the total area is classified as critical in nature. The landslide susceptibility map thus produced can be used to reduce hazards associated with landslides and to land cover planning.     

Study of Aeromagnetic Data Over Part of Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt and Bastar Craton

A portion of the aeromagnetic anomaly map of India, from 17⁰ to 20⁰ N and 78^o to 84^o E has been analysed to understand the tectonics of the region. The distribution of magnetic sources in the study region are clearly brought out in the analytic signal map and found to be associated with charnockitic rocks, iron formation and trap flows. The Godavari Graben is devoid of any magnetic sources. High-grade charnockitic rocks on surface and sub-surface, flank the shoulders of the Godavari Graben on either side. From the analysis of magnetic data, Sileru Shear Zone (SSZ) is identified as the contact of the Bastar craton and the Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt (EGMB). The Eastern Ghat is divided into two blocks: Block-N north of Srikakulam is devoid of magnetic sources while the charnockitic rocks are the main magnetic carriers in Block-S. The difference in magnetic characteristics of the two blocks has been attributed to the difference in metamorphic history. Block-N has an over print of amphibolite facies metamorphism while Block-S to the south depicts granulite facies metamorphism. The Euler solutions within the EGMB shows that the magnetic sources along SSZ is shallower than the south east implying that the exhumation process in the EGMB has a differential rate.     

Multiple episodes of tectonothermal processes in the Eastern Ghats granulite belt

A suite of rocks from Borra Carbonate Granulite Complex (BCGC) in the Eastern Ghats granulite belt displays superposed structures and overprinted mineral assemblages that reveal multiple episodes of tectonothermal reworking of the complex under granulite facies condition. Five distinct episodes of deformation (D₁, D₂, D₃, D₄ and D₅) and four phases of metamorphism (M₁, M₂, M₃ and M₄) are recorded. The signature of the earliest tectonothermal event, D₁ is a gneissic foliation (S₁) denned by segregation of peak granulite facies mineral assemblages corresponding to prograde M₁ metamorphism. M₂ metamorphic overprint represents an episode of near-isobaric cooling of the complex under a static condition. D₂ represents an episode of ductile deformation manifested by isoclinal folding (F₂) and associated extensional structures, within a broad framework of coaxial bulk deformation. The present study reveals that D₂ took place subsequent to M₂ - Subsequent deformation, D₃, produced F₃ folds and also deformations of boudins formed during D₂. M₃, which is synchronous with F₃, represents a near isothermal decompression of the BCGC. This was followed by a weak structural readjustment (D₄), producing E-W cross folds. The latter was not, however, associated with any recognizable petrological reworking. In the terminal events, deformation (D₅) and mineral reactions (M₄) were localized along narrow intersecting shear zones. The latter acted as channelways for carbonic and still later hydrous fluid infiltration. The available thermobarometric data from BCGC and other areas of the Eastern Ghats belt reveal that reworking during M₂ and M₃ ensued in a thermally perturbed regime. The high thermal regime might also have persisted during carbonic fluid infiltration related to terminal reworking (M₄).     

Stability of fluorite and titanite in a calc-silicate rock from the Vizianagaram area, Eastern Ghats Belt, India

In the Vizianagaram area (E 83°29.442′; N 18°5.418′) of the Eastern Ghats Belt, India, a suite of graphite‐bearing calc‐silicate granulites, veined by syenitic rocks, developed wollastonite‐rich veins at 6–7 kbar and > 850 °C. During subsequent near‐isobaric cooling wollastonite was replaced by calcite + quartz and a graphic intergrowth of fluorite + quartz ± clinopyroxene. Titanite with variable Al and F contents is present throughout the rock. Combining the compositional variation of titanite and recent experimental data, it is demonstrated that the mineral assemblage, the composition of coexisting fluids and the mobility of Al exert a far greater control on the composition of titanite than pressure, temperature or the whole rock composition. Thermodynamically computed isothermal–isobaric logf_O2– logf_CO2 and logf_F2– logf_O2 grids in the systems Ca–Fe–Si–O–F (CISOF; calcite‐free) and Ca–Fe–Si–O–F–C–H (CISOFV; calcite‐present) demonstrate the influence of bulk rock and fluid compositions on the stability of the fluorite‐bearing assemblages in diverse geological environments and resolve the problem of the stability of titanite in fayalite + fluorite‐bearing rocks in the Adirondacks. The mineralogy of the studied rocks and the topological constraints tightly fix the logf_O2, logf_F2 and logf_CO2 at ?15.8, ?30.6 and 4.1, respectively, at 6.5 kbar and c. 730 °C. Because of the similarity in the P–T conditions, the compositions of pore fluids in the fluorite‐bearing assemblages of the Adirondacks and the Eastern Ghats Belt have been compared.     

Fold-Thrust-Belt Structure of the Proterozoic Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt: A Proposed Correlation Between India and Antarctica in Gondwana

The Proterozoic Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt along the east coast of India shares a thrusted lower contact with the surrounding cratons. The thrust, known as the Terrane Boundary shear zone, is associated with two large lateral ramps resulting in a curved outline on the northwestern corner of the mobile belt. The Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt is divided into two lithotectonic units, the Lathore Group and the Turekela Group, based on their lithological assemblages and deformational history. On the basis of published data from a Deep Seismic Sounding (DSS) profile of the Eastern Ghats crust, the Terrane Boundary Shear Zone is considered to be listric in nature and acts as the sole thrust between craton and mobile belt. The Lathore and Turekela Groups are nappes. With this structural configuration the NW part is described as a fold thrust belt. However, the thrusting postdates folding and granulite metamorphism that occurred in the Eastern Ghats, as in the Caledonide type of fold thrust belt of NW Scotland. The Terrane Boundary Shear Zone is interpreted to be contiguous with the Rayner-Napier boundary of the Enderby Land in a Gondwana assembly.     

Deformation History of the Kunavaram Complex, Eastern Ghats Belt, India: Implications for Alkaline Magmatism Along the Indo-Antarctica Suture

The Kunavaram alkaline complex is a NE-SW trending elongate body located along a major lineament, the Sileru Shear Zone (SSZ) that is regarded as a Proterozoic suture related to Indo-Antarctica collision. The complex is hosted within migmatitic quartzofeldspathic gneisses, mafic granulites retrogressed to amphibolites, and quartzites. The structural evolution of the country rocks and the alkaline complex are similar. The first phase of deformation, D₁, produces a pervasive segregation banding (S₁) in all rock units within and outside the complex. A second deformation phase D₂ isoclinally folded S₁ along subvertical axial planes with shallow plunging axes. F₂ isoclinal folds are ubiquitous in the country rocks and the eastern extremity of the complex. In the interior of the alkaline body, D₂ strain decreases and S₁ is commonly subhorizontal. While amphibolite to granulite facies conditions prevailed during deformation, post-D₂ annealing textures testify to persisting high grade conditions. In the west, a NNE-SSW trending dextral shear zone with strike-slip sense (D₃) truncates the complex. Within this shear zone, quartzofeldspathic country rocks are plastically deformed, while hornblende-K-feldspar assemblages of the complex are retrogressed to biotite and plagioclase. Warping related to D₃ shears also resulted in fold interference patterns on the subhorizontal S₁ foliation in low D₂ strain domains. Based on its steep dip, north-easterly trend, and non-coaxial nature with dextral strike-slip sense, the D₃ shear zone can be correlated with the SSZ. Since this shear zone, i.e., the SSZ, is not associated with primary igneous fabrics and resulted in solid state deformation of the complex, it cannot be considered as a conduit for alkaline magmatism, but is probably responsible for the post-tectonic disposition of the pluton.     

Assessment of soil erosion in a tropical mountain river basin of the southern Western Ghats,India using RUSLE and GIS

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE) model coupled with transport limited sediment delivery(TLSD) function was used to predict the longtime average annual soil loss, and to identify the critical erosion-/deposition-prone areas in a tropical mountain river basin, viz., Muthirapuzha River Basin(MRB; area=271.75 km~2), in the southern Western Ghats, India. Mean gross soil erosion in MRB is 14.36 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1), whereas mean net soil erosion(i.e., gross erosion-deposition) is only 3.60 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1)(i.e., roughly 25% of the gross erosion). Majority of the basin area(~86%) experiences only slight erosion(5 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1)), and nearly 3% of the area functions as depositional environment for the eroded sediments(e.g., the terraces of stream reaches, the gentle plains as well as the foot slopes of the plateau scarps and the terrain with concordant summits). Although mean gross soil erosion rates in the natural vegetation belts are relatively higher, compared to agriculture, settlement/built-up areas and tea plantation, the sediment transport efficiency in agricultural areas and tea plantation is significantly high,reflecting the role of human activities on accelerated soil erosion. In MRB, on a mean basis, 0.42 t of soil organic carbon(SOC) content is being eroded per hectare annually, and SOC loss from the 4th order subbasins shows considerable differences, mainly due to the spatial variability in the gross soil erosion rates among the sub-basins. The quantitative results, on soil erosion and deposition, modelled using RUSLE and TLSD, are expected to be beneficial while formulating comprehensive land management strategies for reducing the extent of soil degradation in tropical mountain river basins.     

Evolution of high-Mg–Al granulites from Sunkarametta, Eastern Ghats, India: evidence for a lower crustal heating–cooling trajectory

A suite of high-Mg–Al granulites from Sunkarametta, Eastern Ghats Belt, India, shows contrasting prograde assemblages of extremely aluminous orthopyroxene+cordierite+sapphirine and similarly aluminous orthopyroxene+Ti-rich spinel in closely associated domains. Textural and compositional characteristics indicate that both were derived from prograde dehydration–melting of biotite–plagioclase–quartz-bearing protoliths. The former assemblage was stabilized at relatively more magnesian bulk composition. Geothermobarometric data and petrogenetic grid considerations place 'peak' metamorphic conditions at c. 950 °C and 9 kbar. Subsequent to peak metamorphism, the rocks cooled to c . 700–750 °C, with slight lowering of pressure, and the retrograde reactions also involved melt–solid interaction. The inferred P – T  trajectory is one of heating–cooling at lower crustal (25–30 km) depths.     

Logs and Snags in a Shola Forest of Kerala, India

Introduction Dead wood is an important structural and functional component of a forest ecosystem(Fridman and Welheim 2000). Recent studies also indicate that dead wood is important for maintaining both plant and animal diversity in different forest ecosystems (Grove 2001) as it serve as an energy source (Bray and Gorham 1964) and habitat for an array of organisms. Dead wood can also help reduce erosion, increase soil organic matters (McFee and Stone 1966), and suitable conditions for seedli…