007802   Singh B N;Choudhury R;Joshi M (Geol Lab Dep Civ Engng Inst Technol, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, Email: bnsgranite@yahoo.co.in) : Occurrence of riebeckite aegirine and arfvedsonite bearing granites from the Mount Abu batholith southwestern Rajasthan. Indian Mineralogist 2005, 39(1), 1-13.

Riebeckite, aegirine and arfvedsonite bearing granites within the Mount Abu batholith are metaluminous and potassic in nature and are characterized by high SiO₂, Na₂O+K₂O, Fe/Mg, Rb, Nb, Zr, Y, Zn, Ga and Th and low MgO, Fe₂O₃^t, CaO and Sr, high K/Rb, Rb/Sr, Ba/Sr and Ga/Al ratios suggestive of crustal origin. The granites plot in the A-type granite and Within plate granite (WPG) discrimination diagrams, supporting anorogenic tectonic setting for their emplacement.

6 illus, 3 tables, 24 ref

007801   Seetharam K (Meteorological Office, , Kolkata-700 027) : Forecasting models of daily maximum and minimum temperature A comparative study for Dumdum airport. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 609-16.

Statistical techniques namely, Single Exponential Smoothing and Optimized Single Exponential smoothing, Double Exponential Smoothing and Optimized Double Exponential Smoothing were used in the field of meteorology as forecasting models for prediction of daily as well as 3-years average (2001-03) maximum and minimum temperatures and the results were compared to judge applicability of these statistical models for operational use. The modifications in algorithms of the two known techniques, two new Optimized techniques are obtained. The results established that these methods are advantageous in comparison with persistence and climatology. Further the accurate prediction of daily rainfall improves forecast of the maximum and minimum temperatures.

4 tables, 10 ref

007800   Sadhuram Y;Sarma V V;Ramana Murthy T V; Brabhakara Rao (Natn Inst Oceanography, Regional Centre, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Email: sudhuram@darya.nio.org) : Seasonal variability of physico-chemical characteristics of the Haldia channel of Hooghly estuary, India. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(1), 37-49.

Physical and chemical characteristics of the Hooghly estuary during winter (December 1997-Sjanuary 1998), summer (May 1998) and post-monsoon (November 1998) seasons have been studied. Salinity varied spatially and temporally and seasonally during ebb and flood tide conditions. Water temperature showed a difference of 10°C in winter to summer. Temperature did not vary much vertically as it is a well-mixed estuary. Strong currents exceeding 100cm s^-1 were observed during peak ebb and flood tide conditions irrespective of the season. Longitudinal eddy diffusion coefficient (<75>_x) was estimated as 757 m s^-1 and 811 m² s^-1 during summer and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. The vertical eddy diffusion coefficient (ε_ν) was estimated as 0.0337 m² s^-1 during post-monsoon season. The salinity and current observations are compared with those obtained from models reported earlier. Values of pH, Dissolved Oxygen and Biological Oxygen Demand are within the threshold limits of the estuarine environment. Nutrients show seasonal variation in the estuarine environment. High values (160-2686 mg l^-1) of total suspended matter were noticed both at surface and bottom in the study region showing the impact of fresh water and sediment transportation.

10 illus, 5 tables, 23 ref

007799   Rajani R P;Banakar V K;Parthiban G;Mudholkar A V;Chodankar A R (NO, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa-403 004, Email: banakar@darya.nio.org ) : Compositional variation and genesis of ferromanganese crusts of the Afanasiy-Nikitin Seamount, Equatorial Indian Ocean. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(1), 51-61.

Eight ferromanganese crusts (Fe-Mn crusts) with igneous and sedimentary substrates collected at different water depths from the Afanasiy-Nikitin Seamount are studied for their bulk major, minor and rare earth element composition. The Mn/Fe ratios <60> 1.5 indicate the hydrogenetic accretion of the Fe-Mn hydroxides. These Fe-Mn crusts are enriched in Co (up to 0.9%, average <126> 0.5%) and Ce. The Ce-content is the highest reported so far (up to 3763 ppm, average <126> 2250 ppm) for global ocean seamount Fe-Mn crusts. In spite of general similarity in the range of major, minor, and strictly trivalent rare earth element composition, the dissimilarity between the present Fe-Mn crusts and the Pacific seamount Fe-Mn crusts in Co and Ce associations with major mineral phases indicates inter-oceanic heterogeneity and region-specific conditions responsible for their enrichment. The decrease in Ce-anomaly (from <126> 8 to <126> 1.5) with increasing water depth (from <126> 1.7km to <126> 3.2km) might suggest that the modern intermediate depth low oxygen layer was shifted and sustained at a deeper depth for a long period in the past.

5 illus, 3 tables, 44 ref

007798   Prakasa G S;Murty M K;Joshi U R (Meteorological Office, , Pune -411005) : Climate change over India as revealed by critical extreme temperature analysis. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 601-08.

Extreme weather events such as high and low temperatures, heavy rainfall etc. claim thousands of lives and cause extensive damage to natural and regional economy. According to a report of the Bureau of Canada (Ungar 1999) there were no natural disasters before 1987 which caused insured losses of more than US $ 1 billion. During the past decade there have been 18 such disasters. The finding supports the fact that the impacts of these extreme events in terms of economic losses are increasing. Study of critical extreme maximum/minimum temperature days for 103 well distributed stations over the country for a data period of 30 years from 1971-2000. The trends are studied separately for stations south of 20° N, north of 20° N, coastal stations and NE Indian stations by using least square method and the significance is tested using t-statistic.

8 illus, 4 tables, 16 ref

007797   Pattanaik D R;Jayanthi N;Mazumdar A B (India Meteorological Dep, , New Delhi-110 003) : Contrasting pre-monsoon features associated with early and late onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 671-26.

Contrasting features pertaining to a year each of early monsoon (2004) and late monsoon onset (2003) are examined during the pre-monsoon season. The weekly evolution of low level winds during the month of May and the monthly features of middle and upper level winds, Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Precipitable water, Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) and mean sea level pressure gradients are analysed during both these years in the study. The result shows that during the early onset year of 2004 the low level wind indicates strong cross equatorial flow with cyclonic flow from the beginning of May associated with negative SST anomaly over the southern Arabian Sea; whereas, during the late onset year of 2003, the low level flow indicates weak cross equatorial flow persisting upto the first week of June associated with positive SST anomaly over the Arabian Sea. The middle and upper tropospheric flow indicate stronger Tibetan anticyclone during the month of May accompanied by very strong easterly anomalies during the early onset year of 2004 compared to that of late onset year 2003. The convective activity during May was stronger over the Indian region compared to that over the south China Sea during early onset year of 2004, which is just the opposite during the late onset year 2003. The precipitable water was higher than normal during May 2004 accompanied by very deep moist layer over the Indian region compared to that of May 2003. The meridional pressure gradient between southern and northern India were stronger than normal during the pre-monsoon months of April and May with earlier reversal of pressure gradients from winter to summer during the early onset year of 2004 compared to that of late onset year of 2003.

9 illus, 19 ref

007796   Pattan J N;Masuzawa T;Borole D V;Parthiban G; Jauhari P;Yamamoto M (NO, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, Email: pattan@darya.nio.org) : Biological productivity, terrigenous influence and noncrustal elements supply to the Central Indian Ocean Basin: Paleoceanography during the past <126> 1 Ma. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(1), 63-74.

A 2 m long sediment core from the siliceous ooze domain in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB; 13°03'S: 74°44'E; water depth 5099 m) is studied for calcium carbonate, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, biogenic opal, major and few trace elements (Al, Ti, Fe, K, Mg, Zr, Sc,V, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Co, and Ba) to understand the productivity and intensity of terrigenous supply. The age model of the sediment core is based on U-Th dating, occurrence of Youngest Toba Tuff of <126> 74 ka and Australasian micrptektites of <126> 770 ka. Low carbonate content (<60>1%) of sediment core indicates deposition below the carbonate compensation depth. Organic carbon content is also very low, almost uniform (mean 0.2 wt%) and is of marine origin. This suggests a well-oxygenated bottom water environment during the past <126> 1100 ka. Data suggest that during <126> 1100 ka and <126> 400 ka siliceous productivity was lower, complimented by higher supply of terrigenous material mostly derived from the metasedimen-tary rocks of High Himalayan crystalline. However, during the last <126> 400 ka, siliceous productivity increased with substantial reduction in the terrigenous sediment supply. The results suggest that intensity of Himalayan weathering, erosion associated with monsoons was comparatively higher prior to 400 ka. Manganese, Ba, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Co have around 90% of their supply from noncrustal (excess) source and their burial to seafloor remained unaffected throughout the past <126> 1100 ka.

8 illus, 1 table, 48 ref

007795   Paranthaman S;Vidyadharan K T (Operations Karnataka Goa, Geological Survey of India, Bangalore-560 078) : Archaean komatiitic and layered intrusive ultramafic complex from Antarghatta belt, North of Arsikere, Western Dharwar Cration, Karnataka. Indian Mineralogist 2005, 39(1), 35-57.

Major belt composed of a dominant pillowed and ocellar komatiitic peridotite and an equally dominant chromite bearing layered intrusive ultramafic suite have been identified in the northern strike extension of Nuggihalli and JC Pura schist belts. This belt called the 'Antarghatta ultramafic belt 'punctured by the Arsikere-Banavara granites in the south is otherwise in continuity with the Nuggihalli and J.C. Pura schist belts and extends upto the southeastern boundary of the Shimoga schist belt as a chain of Sargur complex enclaves. Ultramafics with minor chromiferous chert/fuchsite-magnetite quartzite show amphibolite facies metamorphism and three episodes of deformation. Pre-tectonic gabbro dykes and post-tectonic dolerites traverse the ultramafic belt. Ultramafics associated with layered suite vary in composition from peridotite, dunite and pyroxenite. Dunites show dissemination, layers and pods of chromite. Altered olivine, chromite, magnetite, serpentine, asbestos forms the main minerals. In extrusive Ultramafics, peridotites form the major rock type and contain altered olivine, tremolite, talc, chlorite, magnetite, chromite, ilmenite, carbonates and serpentine. EPMA data of chromites from the layered suite indicated ferro-aluminous chromite, magnesio-ferriferous chromite, magnesio-chromite, chrome-magnetite, magnetite and magnesio-manganese ilmenites. Pyrite and pentlandite were also identified as minor sulphides within the ultramafics. Based on the geochemistry of granites and gneisses (PGC) hosting komatiitic extrusives and tholeiitic intrusives, it is interpreted that they could have been formed at temperatures of 640-670°C temperature and 7-10 kb pressure, signifying the deep crustal source.

3 tables, 8 ref

007794   Morwal S (NO, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune-411 008) : Thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere along East coast of India during BOBMEX-99. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 549-70.

Thermodynamic features of the Convective Boundary Layer (CBL) during the summer monsoon season of 1999 have been examined over the Indian east coastal stations with respect to the prevaling synoptic scale weather disturbance. For this purpose high resolution aerological observations specially collected during the bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment-99 for the intensive Observing periods (IOPs) for the six east coastal station have been considered. Out of the five available IOPS observation during two IOPs, one during July and another during August, 1999, have been used to explore the differences in the CBL characreristics. The coastal stations are categorized into two groups based on the surface pressure distribution and the location of the stations with respect to the prevailing weather disturbance (either deep depression or low pressure area) viz., Gr.A (stations located in the vicinity of the disturbance pressure) stations. The temporal variation of different thermodynamic parameters at the surface indicated more moist convective activity at the surface during August. The averaged vertical profiles of different thermodynamic parameters the more influence of the existing disturbance on the stations situated in the proximity of the disturbance. However, the moist convective activity is more during July as compared to August, except in the surface layer, for both the groups. The CBL tops vary in the range 700-500 hPa. The conserved variable diagrams revealed single mixing line structure during both July and August for all the categories.

12 illus, 5 tables, 36 ref

007793   Mohapatra M;Mohanty U C (India, Meteorological Department, Guwahati 781 015, Email: mohanty@cas.iitd.ernet.in) : Some characteristics of very heavy rainfall over Orissa during summer monsoon season. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(1), 17-36.

Study is undertaken to find out the characteristic features of very heavy rainfall (24 hours rainfall ≥125 mm) over Orissa during summer monsoon season (June-September) by analysing 20 years (1980-1999) daily rainfall data of different stations in Orissa. The principal objective of the study is to find out the role of synoptic scale monsoon disturbances in spatial and temporal variability of very heavy rainfall over Orissa. Most of the very heavy rainfall events occur in July and August. The region, extending from central part of coastal Orissa in the southeast towards Sambalpur district in the northwest, experiences higher frequency and higher intensity of very heavy rainfall with less interannual variability. It is due to the fact that most of the causative synoptic disturbances like low pressure systems (LPS) develop over northwest (NW) Bay of Bengal with minimum interannual variation and the monsoon trough extends in west-northwesterly direction from the centre of the system. The very heavy rainfall occurs more frequently with less interannual variability on the western side of Eastern Ghat during all the months and the season except September. It occurs more frequently with less interannual variability on the eastern side of Eastern Ghat during September. The NW Bay followed by Gangetic West Bengal/Orissa is the most favourable region of LPS to cause very heavy rainfall over different parts of Orissa except eastern side of Eastern Ghat. The NW Bay and west central (WC) Bay are equally favourable regions of LPS to cause very heavy rainfall over eastern side of Eastern Ghat. The frequency of very heavy rainfall does not show any significant trend in recent years over Orissa except some places in northeast Orissa which exhibit significant rising trend in all the monsoon months and the season as a whole.

15 illus, 1 table, 21 ref

007792   Mehfooz Ali;Joardar D;Loe B R (NO, India Meteorological Department, New Delhi-110 003) : Variability of southwest monsoon over Rajasthan and Kerala. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 593-600.

The onset, withdrawal dates and rainfall of southwest monsoon corresponding to east and west Rajasthan sub-divisions have been examined statistically for the past 63 years (1941-2003) to bring out some major aspects of their variability and trend to predict these parameters of southwest monsoon over Rajasthan. Various correlation coefficients have been worked out. Study reveals, shift in monsoon activity, enhancement of monsoon duration, early onset and late withdrawal enhances monsoon duration and seasonal rainfall over Rajasthan. Early onset over cast Rajasthan certainly brings early onset over west Rajasthan.

5 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

007791   Manohar G K;Kesarkar A P (Dep Space Sci, University of Pune, Pune-411 007) : Climatology of thunderstorm activity over the Indian region:III. Latitudinal and seasonal variation. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 581-92.

Knowledge of frequencies of occurrence of thunderstorms over Indian region is an issue of prime importance in the context of understanding of Indian southwest monsoon. Examined climatological data of monthly mean number of thunderstorm days (Thn) as well as those of surface maximum air temperatures (Tmax) for 276 Indian observatory stations in this study and the results are presented. Thn data have been analyzed to describe their monthly latitudinal (7° N - 33° N) variation over India and the results are discussed in details. Seasonal variation of Thn and Tmax, averaged over 11 latitude ranges of 11 geographic regions of India, is also described. In this analysis, results of variation of Tmax and Thn within and outside the tropics are discussed. These two parameters showed systematic sequence in their phase shift as well as in their behavior of double/single oscillation across the Indian range of latitudes over the course of annual period. More importantly, Thn data over 11 geographic regions have also been used to obtain their average score per station per each of the 11 geographic regions of India for the four seasons and for annual period. It is considered that this information may be useful for the identification of prime zones of high Thn activity in different parts of India. In meeting with the problems of lightning strikes and related issues this information could be of much value.

6 illus, 1 table, 29 ref

007790   Karmakar S;Alam M (Bangladesh Meteorological Dep, , Agargaon, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh) : On the sensible heat energy, latent heat energy and potential energy of the troposphere over Dhaka before the occurrence of nor' westers Bangladesh during the pre-monsoon season. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 671-80.

Attempts have been made to study the different energy components of the troposphere prior to the occurrence of nor' westers in Bangladesh during the pre-monsoon season. The energy components of the troposphere on the dates of occurrence of nor' westers have also been compared with the energy components of non-occurrence day, weekly and monthly normal values. During the pre-monsoon season, the sensible heat (SH) and latent heat (LH) content of the troposphere increase as the season progresses due to the warming of the troposphere and availability of moisture respectively. The SH and LH of the troposphere on the dates of occurrence of nor' westers increases significantly from near the surface to about 300-200 hPa and about 900 hPa level to about 400 hPa or more respectively in most of the cases, although it has inter-layer variations. There are some exceptions especially in the lower troposphere where there exists decrease in LH of the troposphere at 0000 UTC. These exceptions may be due to the availability of less moisture in the lower atmosphere on some occasions early in the morning. It has also been found that the SH and LH of the troposphere on the dates of occurrence of nor' westers become significantly above weekly normal from near the surface to about 300-200 hPa and in the lower troposphere respectively in most of the cases. The SH is found to be below normal in the layer between 850 and 650 hPa levels and significantly above monthly normal in the upper troposphere, having maximum in the layer 400-300 hPa. The LH is significantly above the monthly normal in the lower troposphere, and it becomes below monthly normal in the mid-troposphere. During the pre-monsoon season, mean monthly potential energy (PE) of a parcel of air in the troposphere decreases in the lower troposphere upto about mid-troposphere and then increases in the upper troposphere as the season progresses. The PE has a decreasing tendency near the surface on the dates of occurrence of nor' westers in many cases and then it shows erratic behaviour in the vertical. The variation of PE on the dates of occurrence of nor' westers from the weekly normal is minimum in the lower atmosphere and does not show any definite trend onwards.

3 illus, 2 tables, 12 ref

007789   Kane R P;Lima I B T (NO, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais-INPE, C.P. 515, 12245-970-Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil) : Inter-annual variability of some river stream-flows and rainfalls in the Amazon basin. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 627-42.

For four locations (Samuel, 9°S, 63°W: Balbina. 1°S. 59°W; Curua-Una, 13°S, 54°W; Tucurui, 4°S, 50°W) in the Amazon, the river stream-flows (RSF) were maximum during March, April and/or May and minimum during September-October, while rainfalls in similar areas had maximum earlier, in January-March. There were considerable year-to-year fluctuations, not always similar at all the locations. An examination of the two largest El Nino events (1982-83 and 1997-98) showed some effects at some locations during intervals when the El Ninos were active, but some effects were seen even outside these active intervals. Some RSFs showed relationship with South Atlantic SST. A spectral analysis showed that ENSO indices had prominent periodicities at 7-9, <126>6 years and QTO (Quasi-triennial oscillation, 3-4 years) and not so prominent periodicities in the QBO (Quasi-biennial oscillation, 2-3 years). These were only partially reflected in some RSFs. There is an indication that some hydrological QBOs may be related to stratospheric wind QBO. Besides QBO and QTO, the RSFs had significant periodicities in 7-14 years range, -22 years and -55 years. Long-term trends (23-year running means) were not linear and showed oscillations of -0.2%, grossly dissimilar at the different locations.

8 illus, 2 tables, 61 ref

007788   Gill K K;Singh H;Bains G S (Dep Agron Agromet, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004) : PET estimation at Ballowal Saunkhri by various methods and its relationship with mesh covered pan evaporation. Crop Res 2005, 29(2), 324-9.

Mesh covered pan evaporation at Ballowal Saunkhri was correlated with potential evaporation (PET) computed by using empirical methods of Thornthwaite (1948), Papadakis (1965) and Modified Penman method (1975). Weather data for the last 11 years period from 1992 to 2002 for Ballowal Saunkhri were used to work out PET by various methods. Linear regression equations were fitted between monthly PET by each method and the measured pan evaporation. It was observed that pan evaporation correlated well with monthly PET having R² values of 0.89, 0.73 and 0.67 for Modified Penman, Papadakis and Thornthwaite method, respectively.

6 illus, 7 ref

007787   Dutta S;Naresh Kumar (Meteorological office, , Pune-411 005) : Parameterization of momentum and energy flux associated with mountain wave across the Assam-Burma hills. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 527-34.

An attempt has been made to parameterize the energy flux and momentum flux associated with orographically excited internal gravity waves (IGW) across the Assam Burma Hills (ABH) in an idealized air stream. For this a two-dimensional meso-scale model has been developed and used to study the momentum/energy flux associated with vertically propagating orographically excited internal gravity waves for an idealized air stream characteristic, where both wind and stability of the prevailing flow remain invariant with height. Here the barrier is assumed to be extending semi infinitely in the cross-prevailing flow direction. The above model is then applied to the ABH to compute the fluxes across it. The study shows that both the fluxes are independent of height, the energy flux is upward and momentum flux is downward. Following salient results arc found from the study. Wave momentum flux is vertically downward and wave energy flux is vertically upward for a vertically propagating mountain wave across the ABH. It is found that the directions of vertical fluxes across the valley between the two ridges of the ABH are opposite to those across the two ridges and across the entire ABH. The study also shows that a long valley (length of the valley exceeds the sum of the half widths of individual ridges, separated by the valley) acts as a source in the atmospheric momentum budget and as a sink in the atmospheric energy budget. From the cases studied, it is found that the downward momentum flux (averaged over a length of 100 km along the flow) across the entire ABH varied between 4.5 - 10.0 Nm^-2 and that across the two ridges varied between 2.0 - 7.0 Nm² and upward momentum flux across the valley varied between 0.5 - 1.2 Nm^-2. It is also found that the upward energy flux (averaged over a length of 100 km along the flow) across the entire Assam- Burma hill varied between 45.0 - 180.0 Wm^-2 and that across the two ridges varied between 20.0 - 125.0 Wm^-2 and downward energy flux across the valley varied between 5.0- 21.0 Wm^-2. For the ABH, magnitude of both the fluxes increases with height but decreases with half with of the individual ridges.

3 tables, 16 ref

007786   Dimri A P;Mohanty U C;Rathore L S (Snow Avalanche Study Establ, , Chandigarh-160 036) : Point probabilistic prediction of precipitation and quantitative precipitation forecost in Western Himalayas. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 535-42.

Northwest India is comprised of various Himalayan mountain ranges. These ranges are having different altitude and orientations all along this region. During winter season enormous amount of precipitation is received in this region due to westward moving low pressure synoptic weather systems called Western Disturbances (WD). Variable terrain gives rise to low level circulation during the passage of these systems. Surface weather elements like temperature, pressure and relative humidity are highly dependent on local topography. To draw projected weather, uncertainties involved in the relationship between upper level circulation and surface weather is tried to be formally expressed in statistical terms. Perfect Prognostic Method (PPM) is used to forecast Probability of Precipitation (PoP) occurrence, followed by Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) model. The objective is to give projected weather in lead time of 24 hour at one of the specific sites, Sonamarg, situated in Great Himalayan range. Analysis data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), US and station data of three stations from India Meteorological Department (IMD), India is used for development of model. Data of December, January, February and March (DJFM) months for 12 year (1984-96) is taken for developmental mode. Whereas IMD data with (i) NCEP analysis, (ii) NCMRWF analysis and (iii) NCMRWF's T80 day 1 forecast for DJFM months for 1996-97 is considered for the verification purpose. Result shows that PoP model could predict with 90.4% accuracy for developmental set, whereas in verification cases best prediction is made with accuracy of 86.8%. In case of QPF model percentage correct forecast is made with 45.0% in developmental set, whereas maximum 54.2% accuracy is achieved in verification sample.

1 illus, 4 tables, 6 ref

007785   Bhowmik S K R;Joardar D;Sen Roy S;Hatwar H R (India Meteorological Dep, , New Delhi-110 003) : Mesoscale features of monsoon precipitation system as revealed by the objective analysis of rainfall from the use of high dense land rainfall observations. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 543-8.

A simple method for daily rainfall analysis at the resolution of 1° x 1° Lat./Long. over Indian monsoon region is applied from the use of dense land observations and satellite rainfall estimates for the month of June 2001. The results obtained show that the analysis is able to capture large scale as well as mesoscale features of monsoon precipitation system. The availability of this data is expected to be very useful for the synoptic meteorologists and numerical weather prediction modelling community.

5 illus, 18 ref

007784   Banerjee S;Bhattacharya S K;Sarkar S (Dep Earth Sci, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, Email: santanu@iitb.ac.in) : Facies, dissolution seams and stable isotope compositions of the Rohtas Limestone (Vindhyan Supergroup) in the Son valley area, central India. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(1), 87-96.

Early Mesoproterozoic Rohtas Limestone in the Son valley area of central India represents an overall shallowing-upward carbonate succession. Detailed facies analysis of the limestone reveals outer- to inner-shelf deposition in an open marine setting. Wave-ripples, hummocky cross stratifications and edgewise conglomerates argue against a deep marine depositional model for the Rohtas Limestone proposed earlier. Stable isotope analysis of the limestone shows that δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values are compatible with the early Mesoproterozoic open seawater composition. The ribbon limestone facies in the Rohtas Limestone is characterized by micritic beds, each decoupled in a lower band enriched and an upper band depleted in dissolution seams. Band-wise isotopic analysis reveals systematic short-term variations. Comparative enrichment of the heavier isotopes in the upper bands is attributed to early cementation from sea water and water derived from the lower band undergoing dissolution because of lowering of pH at depth. The short-term positive shifts in isotopic compositions in almost every upward gradational transition from a seamed band to a non-seamed band support the contention that dissolution seams here are of early diagenetic origin, although their formation was accentuated under overburden pressure.

12 illus, 2 tables, 50 ref

007783   Agashe P S;Padgalwar K V (India Meteorological Dep, , Pune-411 005) : Characteristic features of daily rainfall over Madhya Maharashtra. Mausam 2005, 56(3), 571-80.

Information in processed form, is often needed to meet the demands in agriculture, hydrology and other water related human activities. In this context, daily rainfall continue to be of prime importance since it is the daily rainfall which, when accumulated gives weekly, monthly or seasonal totals. This paper deals with some of the characteristic feature of daily rainfall at nine selected stations in Madhya Maharashtra. The study is based on daily rainfall data of june to september months for 10 years (1991-2000). Depending upon rainfall amounts (or lack of it), a day has been categorized as rainy day, drizzle day or dry day. Making use of the cncept of evpotranspiration, rainy day has been further divided into crop rainy day. Distribution of these various classes of days, their contribution to monthly totals and relationship among them, have been obtained and discussed. The rainy days have been used to obtain mean daily rainfall intensity and its association with monthly rainfall, examined through a series of regression equations. Frequency of heavy falls i.e., rainfall exceeding 25 mm in a day have been determined and its contribution to monthly rainfall, evaluated. There seems to be a tendency for the rainy day and the rainfall to be below normal in recent years. Perfectly dry weather could prevail nearly half of June and July months over the region. Heavy rainfall contributes substantially to the monthly total. During June and September mean daily rainfall intensity is perhaps weakly related with the monthly rainfall.

2 illus, 4 tables, 12 ref

007782   Achyuthan H;Shankar N (Dep Geol, Anna University, Chennai-600 025, Email: hachyuthan@yaboo.com) : Micromorphology of laminar hardpan calcretes exposed around Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Indian Mineralogist 2005, 39(1), 14-29.

Soil micromorphology of quartnary laminar hand calcretes formed on Precarnbrian Charnockites, gneiss and dolomitic limestone occurring around Coirnbatore in Tamil Nadu has been investigated. Based on micromorphological studies both "Alpha-type" and "Beta-type" calcretes have been identified. Mineralogical and geochemical studies have shown that the process of calcretization is controlled by topography and formed under semiarid climatic conditions.

5 illus, 16 ref

006789   Vyas S P;Steven M D;Jaggard K W (Dep Geography, Univ of Nottingham Univ Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD) : Comparison of ERS-SAR and spot data for sugar beet crop cover assessment. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 315-21.

Work was aimed to compare the abilities of radar and optical satellite data to estimate crop canopy cover, which is a key component of productivity estimates. Three ERS-1 SAR images were obtained of East Anglia (UK) in 1995 and one ERS-2 SAR image in 1996. The images covered a study area around the IACR Brooms Barn Sugar Beet Research Institute. Field data comprising radiometric and biophysical measurements of the crop canopy were collected in two fields from June 22 to August 3, 1995 to coincide with ERS-1 SAR overpass dates. In 1996, field data were collected in two fields from June 11 to July 29 on a weekly basis. A previously calibrated version of the water cloud model was inverted to estimate Leaf Area Index (LAI) from ERS-1 and ERS-2 SAR backscatter and soil moisture samples. Canopy cover was estimated from the radar-estimated LAI using a standard exponential relationship that has a well-established coefficient for sugar beet. Radio-metrically and atmospherically corrected data from three SPOT images in 1995 and one SPOT image in 1996 were used to calculate the Optimised Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI), from which crop canopy cover was estimated using a relationship determined previously by canopy modelling. The crop cover values estimated by satellite were in good agreement with those measured on ground with the Parkinson radiometer. Radar data may be able to provide useful estimates of canopy cover for crop production modelling, especially in the case of loss of optical data due to cloud.

2 illus, 2 tables, 11 ref

006788   Sridhar V N;Singh R P;Mahtab A;Ghosh R (Remote Sens Applics Area, Space Applics Cent (ISRO), Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: vnsridhar.sac.isro.gov.in) : Crop polarisation behavior derived from multi-temporal ADEOS-POLDER data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 339-44.

Paper reports a study on multi-temporal polarized response of wheat crop from spaceborne ADEOS-POLDER sensor over a homogeneous wheat region of Punjab, India. Both the polarized as well as total reflectance of wheat were observed at different scattering angles for two spectral bands i.e. 670 nm and 865 nm during crop growth from November to April in rabi 1996-97 season. Results show that sun-target-viewing geometry plays an important role in polarization property. The top of atrnpsphere (TOA) polarized reflectance is found to decrease exponentially with increasing scattering angle. Polarized reflectance of crop was found to be an order of magnitude smaller in comparison to the total reflectance. An attempt was also made to model the observed polarized behavior over an agricultural area using a theoretical simplified crop reflectance model and accounting for atmospheric molecular (Rayleigh) contribution in the single scattering approximation. It was found that there was a decrease in the polarized reflectance at the grain filling (heading) stage of wheat crop. This is in accordance with ground- based observations and can be due to the reduction in the specular component of the reflected light during post-heading stage of the crop.

3 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

006787   Solanke P C;Srivastava R;Prasad J;Nagaraju M S S;Saxena R K;Barthwal A K (Natn Bur Soil Surv Ld Use Plan, , Amravati Road, Nagpur-440 033, Email: rsrivastava5@rediffmail.com ) : Application of remote sensing and GIS in watershed characterization and management. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 239-44.

^ssc1 illus, 1 table, 16 ref

006786   Singh R P;Dadhwal V K;Singh K P;Navalgund R R;Sharma R;Bairagi G D;Raza S A;Sharma N K (Space Applic Cent, (ISRO), Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: vkdadhwal@iirs.gov.in) : Retrieval of wheat leaf area index using price approach based on inversion of canopy reflectance model. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 307-13.

Reports estimation of the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of wheat crop from IRS-LISS-III data using Price (1993) approach. Empirical approach for LAI estimation with different NDVI estimation procedures viz. radiance, apparent reflectance and dark object subtraction (DOS) based atmospheric correction were also evaluated. Validation of LAI retrieval and NDVI normalizations were carried out using field level measurements of crop LAI and spectral property using canopy analyzer and spectro-radiometer, respectively over selected fields in Bhopal District, Madhya Pradesh. It was observed that empirical relations are sensitive to the NDVI estimation approach and DOS method performed better as compared to other two approaches. It was also observed that LAI estimation from Price algorithm is sensitive to the crop attenuation coefficients. Crop specific attenuation coefficients reported in literature for Indian cultivars gave higher accuracy. The root mean square (RMS) error of 0.77 for LAI estimation was achieved using above described approach.

2 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

006785   Singh P K;Singh B K;Singh A (NO, Inst of Rur Mgmt, Anand-388 001, Email: pramod@irma.ac.in) : Managing tree cover in Yamunanagar district of Haryana: a remote sensing and GIS approach. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 219-25.

2 illus, 1 table, 14 ref

006784   Singh D;Herlin I;Berroir J P;Bouzidi S (Dep Electron Computer Engng, Indian Inst of Technol, Roorkee-247 667, Email: dharmfec@iitr.ernet.in) : An approach to estimate the evapotranspiration using NOAA/AVHRR data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 211-17.

Evapotranspiration (ET) is continued process wherein moisture from soil and vegetated surface is transferred to the atmosphere. Changes in evapotranspiration are likely to have large impacts on terrestrial vegetation. Evapotranspiration is a seasonally varying property at a given place; changes in it reflect the status of soil moisture and terrestrial vegetation. Through water balance, ET can include major shifts in vegetative patterns and or its condition leading to climate change. Therefore, it is attempted to estimate the evapotranspiration over various land cover using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/ Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer data at coarse spatial resolution of 1.1 km. For this purpose, a semi-empirical model has been proposed to estimate the ET. Regression analysis has been carried out to develop an empirical relation between individual land cover surface temperature and ET, which will be helpful to know the effect of each land cover surface temperature on ET. In which, it is observed that surface temperature over grassland is more effective on ET in comparison to other land cover in March 1999 on the Mupfure, Zimbabwe catchment area. This type of estimation will be helpful for climate modeler, climatologists, ecosystem modeler and regional planner.

7 illus, 2 tables, 19 ref

006783   Shetty A;Nandagiri L;Thokchom S;Rajesh M V S (Dep Appl Mechanics Hydraulics, Natn Inst of Technol, P.O. Srinivasnagar-575 025, Email: amba_shetty@yahoo.co.in) : Land use-land cover mapping using satellite data for a forested watershed, Udupi district, Karnataka State, India. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 233-8.

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006782   Sharma T;Carmichael J;Brian Klinkenberg (Dep Geography, Univ of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z2, IRES, Canada, Email: Tara.Sharma@pc.gc.ca) : A spatially explicit modelling approach to explore scenarios of sustainable agriculture futures. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 353-63.

The transition to agricultural sustainability involves difficult choices and an understanding of the complex trade-offs associated with agricultural activities. Decision support tools and techniques assist in making the informed decisions for a transition to sustainable agriculture. Georgia Basin - Quite Useful Ecosystem Scenario Tool (GB-QUEST) is a computer-based, user-friendly tool that has been developed to look at the future sustainability scenarios of the Georgia Basin in British Columbia. Describes the agricultural model that has been developed for implementation in GB-QUEST. Presents its framework, spatial methodology for land-use simulation, and the initial results of its application. The agriculture model is a spatial model that examines the social, economic and environmental consequences of user-defined agricultural development strategies. The model simulates changes in the Georgia Basin from the year 2000 to 2040 in decadal steps. User choices of local and global development factors, along with their "worldview" choices, are important inputs in the model that determine the effects on environmental and socio-economic systems. The model has two components - Generation of land-use scenarios, and Development of Indicator models. The first component uses cell-based spatial algorithms to simulate likely changes/conversions in land-use up to the year 2040. The approach used here integrates the functionality of Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and Cellular Automata (CA) techniques in order to simulate the land-use conversions. It uses Geographic Information Systems (CIS) and remote sensing techniques for creating, storing and deriving the data sets required for the model. The second component develops the indicator models for relating scenario variables to socio-economic and environmental variables such as physical and economic yields, economic operation costs and nutrient surplus per unit area. These indicator models are used to evaluate land-use scenarios generated by the users. The model encourages understanding of sustainability, by allowing one to explore different possible scenarios of the future for their environmental and socio-economic consequences.

3 illus, 1 table, 16 ref

006781   Sharma D P;Bren L (Dep Silvic Agroforestry, Dr. Y.S. Parmar Univ of Hort and Forestry, Nauni, Solan-173 230) : Effect of seasonal spectral variations on land cover classification. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 203-9.

Supervised classification (Maximum likelihood) on three dates of IRS (LISS III) satellite data was performed to study the effect of seasonal spectral variation on land cover classification for the study area falling in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh at latitude 30° 50' N to 31° 00' N and longitude 77° 00' E to 77° 15' E. It was found that the summer dataset was better with overall classification accuracy of 76% as compared to winter and spring dataset with classification accuracy of 49 and 46%, respectively.

1 illus, 4 tables, 11 ref

006780   Shamsudheen M;Dasog G S;Tejaswini N B (Dep Soil Sci Agric Chem, Univ of Agric Sci, Dharwad-580 005, Email: gdasog@yahoo.co.in) : Land use/Land cover mapping in the coastal area of North Karnataka using remote sensing data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 253-7.

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006779   Sehgal V K;Sastri C V S (Div Agicultural Phys, Indian Agric Res Inst, New Delhi-110 012, Email: sehgal@iari.res.in ) : Simulating the effect of nitrogen application on wheat yield by linking remotely sensed measurements with WTGROWS simulation model. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 297-305.

A field experiment was conducted on wheat at New Delhi with five treatments of Nitrogen fertilizer application (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kgha^-1). Relationship has been established between observed leaf area index (LAI) and remotely sensed vegetation indices. These relationships are inverted and used for predicting LAI from vegetation indices on different days after sowing. The "re-initialization" strategy is implemented in model WTGROWS in which initial conditions of model are changed so that the model simulated LAI match remote sensing predicted LAI. The model performance with re-initialization has been evaluated by comparing the simulated grain yield and total above-ground dry matter (TDM) values with the actual observations. The results show that in-season re-initialization is effective in model course correction by improving the simulated results of yield and TDM for different N treatments even though the model was run with no N stress condition. Model re-initialization at different days shows that the closer is the day of re-initialization to crop anthesis the more effective is model course correction. Also, the treatment showing maximum error in yield simulation without re-initialization shows maximum reduction in error by re-initialization. The approach shows that the remote sensing inputs cap substitute for some of the inputs or errors in inputs required by crop models for yield prediction.

4 illus, 1 table, 13 ref

006778   Satapathy S;Dadhwal V K (Crop Inventory Modeling Div, ARG/RESIPA Space Applics Cent (ISRO), Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: sasmita@sac.isro.gov.in) : Principal component inversion technique for the retrieval of leaf area index. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 323-30.

Simulation study has been carried out to investigate the Principal Component Inversion (PCI) technique for the retrieval of leaf area index (LAI). The PROSAIL model has been used for the forward analysis, i.e., estimation of reflectance for various combinations of LAI, soil reflectance, leaf angle distribution (θ₁), chlorophyll a+b concentration (C_ab), etc. Independent test on sample with LAI range 0.1-7.0 indicated that the retrieved LAI from PCI has higher accuracy (RMSE=0.137) than the classical NDVI-LAI empirical approach (RMSE=1.139). The study needs to be extended to cover retrieval from different types of soil and simultaneous retrieval of different biophysical parameters viz., LAI, C_ab, θ₁ to test the wider applicability of the PCI technique.

3 illus, 2 tables, 27 ref

006777   Sarkar P K;Kokane Y V (Dep Geol, Fergusson Coll, Pune-411 004) : Rock fall or a mud-debris flow at Gokak hill, Belgaum district, Karnataka. Ecol Envir Conserv 2004, 10(4), 487-91.

A geological study around the Gokak Hill, Karnataka, India which probably may go under a natural disaster like a rock-fall and or mud-debris flow in the years to come has been reporetd.

9 illus, 3 ref

006776   Sakthivel J C;Karthikeyan N D;Srikanta R; Prabhu S (Dep Text Technol, Kumaraguru Coll of Technol, Coimbatore-6) : Unconventional natural textile fibers. Man Made Text India 2005, 58(7), 189-90.

In textiles, natural fibers are mostly used in different areas for different applications, namely Wearable textiles, Household textiles and Indtustrial textiles, based on the advantages obtained from the particular type of fibers. Large numbers of unconventional natural textiles fibers are available, but due to the unavailability of these fibers, it is not familiar in the field of textiles. Some of the unconventional fibers like Milkweed, Pineapple, Banana, Furcraea and Spider silk are used in different applications in the field of textiles, because of their own advantages.

1 table, 6 ref

006775   Rout D K;Parida P K;Behera G (Dep Sci Technol, Government of Orissa Orissa Remote Sens Applic Cent, Bhubaneswar-751 007, Email: orsac@sancharnet.in) : NALCO ash-pond study in the Angul district, Orissa using remote sensing and GIS technique. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 291-5.

Breaching of the NALCO Ash-pond in the midnight of December 31, 2000 had caused a serious havoc in 26 villages of the Angul and the Talcher Tahasils of Angul district in Orissa. The Nandira Jhor, a tributary of the Brahmani river flowing adjacent to the pond carried ash to the Brahmani river and its effect was noticed up to 50 km downstream of the river. A study was immediately taken up to assess and evaluate the extent of affected areas using high resolution optical data IRS-ID(PAN) and IRS-ID LISS III of period January 6, 2001. The cadastral maps covering 14 villages of the Talcher Tahasil and 12 villages of the Angul Tahasil were scanned and complete mosaic of 26 villages was prepared. The village layer map was superimposed on the merged data (IRS-ID LISS III+PAN) product at scale 1:8000 and the affected areas were identified village-wise. The final map was immediately handed over to the NALCO authorities for initiation of relief measures. The landuse/land cover map of pre-breaching (IRS-ID LISS III December 12,2000) and post-breaching (IRS-ID LISS III January 6, 2001) periods were prepared and the spatial extent of different landuse/land cover class for two dates data were calculated village-wise separately. It was revealed that most of the agricultural lands, land with or without scrub, fallow areas were fully submerged with water mixed with ash. It is seen that villages namely Dighi, Gurujanguli, Nuagoan, Khamana of the Talcher Tahasil and the villages namely Tetoi, Tentolei, Balaramprasad of the Angul Tahasil were seriously affected with high rate of ash deposits.

^ccr3 illus, 3 ref

006774   Ray S S;Sood A;Das G;Panigrahy S;Sharma P K; Parihar J S (Agric Resource Grp, Space Applic Cent, Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: ssray@sac.isro.gov.in) : GIS and remote sensing for crop diversification-a case study for Punjab state. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 181-8.

Attempt has been made to suggest crop diversification based on soil and weather requirements of different crops. State level spatial databases of various agro-physical parameters such as rainfall, soil texture, physiography and problem soil along with the agricultural area derived from remote sensing data were integrated using GIS. A raster based modelling approach was followed to arrive at suitable zones for practicing different cropping systems. The results showed that the south-western Punjab is suitable for low water requiring crops such as desi cotton, pearl millet, gram etc., where as north-eastern Punjab with high rainfall and excess drainage should practice maize based cropping system. Rice can be substituted by maize and other crops in Central Punjab, where water table is going down fast. Using this approach the area of rice based cropping system can be reduced from present 24.7 lakh ha to 19.6 lakh ha, thereby reducing the degradation of valuable land and water resources.

4 illus, 4 tables, 7 ref

006773   Rao K S;Naidu M G;Sakalley J;Phalke S; Aljassar H K (Phys Dep, Kuwait Univ, Kuwait, Email: ksrao@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw) : Study of DEMS derived from ERS-1/2 SAR and SRTM data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 267-76.

The DEM of the Bhuj earthquake affected area of 50 x 50 km was generated using the ERS-1/2 SAR tandem data (May 15-16, 1996). Region growing algorithm coupled with path following approach was used for phase unwrapping. Phase to height conversion was done using D-GPS control points. Geocoding was done using GAMMA software. A sample data of DEM of Shuttle. Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) of the Bhuj area is made available by DLR Germany. The intensity image, DEM and Error map are well registered. The spatial resolution of this DEM is about 25 m with height accuracy of a few meters. The DEM derived through ERS SAR data is prone to atmospheric affects as the required two images are acquired in different timings where as SRTM acquired the two images simultaneously. An RMS height error of 12.06 m is observed with reference to SRTM though some of the individual locations differ by as much as 35 m.

7 illus, 2 tables, 14 ref

006772   Randhawa S S;Sood R K;Rathore B P;Kulkarni A V (Himachal Pradesh Remote Sens Cell, , Shimla-171 009) : Moraine-dammed lakes study in the Chenab and the Satluj river basins using IRS data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 285-90.

Moraine-dammed lakes are normally formed near glacier terminus. These lakes can burst due to excessive melting and can cause floods in the valleys. Many such floods have been reported in the Himalayas and other parts of the World. An inventory of these lakes in the Satluj and the Chenab basins has been reported. During the investigation, 22 lakes in the Satluj and 31 lakes in the Chenab basin were mapped. In the Chenab basin, two lakes are of very large size, their areal extent is 105 and 55 ha, located in toposheet number 52 H 11 and 52H02, respectively. These lakes were selected for detail monitoring. The lake near the Geepang glacier, is located in toposheet number 52H 02 and its area was 27 ha in 1976. Using the satellite data, areal extent of the lake was monitored. The lake area was almost doubled to 55 ha in 2001. This suggested that, lake size is constantly increasing and it can cause outburst flood. The maximum possible depth of lake was estimated by taking the average difference of maximum and minimum height of moraine dam from the Survey of India toposheet. By considering the average depth, the volume of the lake water and the instantaneous discharge of 350 m³/sec were estimated. This is large discharge for a small stream like the Geepang Gath and it can damage many civilian and defense establishments. Therefore, further detail field investigations of this lake are needed to assess threat potential and to develop strategy to avoid this flash flood.

4 illus, 4 tables, 8 ref

006771   Ramana T V;Reddy M P M (Coll Fishery Sci, ANGRAU, Muthukur-524 344) : Nutrient distribution in the nearshore waters of Dakshina Kannada coast. Ecol Envir Conserv 2004, 10(4), 545-55.

A study on the distribution of silicate, phosphate, nitrite and nitrate in the nearshore water off Dakshina Kannada coast has been conducted to understand the monthly, seasonal yearly and spatial variations of these nutrients along this coast. Silicate-silicon content registered a maximum in August/September and showed an inverse relation with salinity. Phosphate-phosphorus values revealed a unimodal type of fluctuation during the year. Very high values of nitrite-nitrogen during August/September and lowest values in January for both surface and sub-surface waters were recorded. Nitrate-nitrogen content showed peak values during May/August and low values during December.

1 illus, 8 tables, 24 ref

006770   Rajak D R;Oza M P;Bhagia N;Dadhwal V K (Corp Inventory Modelling Div, ARG/RESIPA Sapce Applics Cent (ISRO), Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: rajakdr@yahoo.com) : Spectral wheat growth profile in Punjab using IRS WIFS data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 345-52.

A functional form of crop spectral profile suggested by Badhwar was applied to district-wise wheat Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values relatively normalised by Pseudo-Invariant Feature (urban and built-up) NDVI values, derived from Wide Field Sensor (WiFS) onboard Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) for 17 dates during 1999-2000 rabi season. The goodness of overall profile fitting and the three basic parameters i.e., crop emergence date (T₀), and crop specific parameters (α and β) was found to be statistically significant. While a corresponds to profile progressive growth rate, β corresponds to profile decay rate. A comparison with earlier studies in Punjab using NOAA-AVHRR indicated improvement in relation between peak NDVI and wheat yield. The estimated time of spectral emergence and profile-derived peak NDVI follow the observed behaviour of shortened crop pre-anthesis period with delayed sowing.

3 illus, 1 table, 21 ref

006769   Palria S;Singh ;Sharma J R;Pathak S (Dep Remote Sens, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati Univ, Ajmer-305 009, Email: spalria@rediffmail.com) : Habitat evaluation for sarus crane in the Keoladeo National Park using IRS Liss III and pan merged data and GIS. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 259-66.

Attempt has been made to evaluate the habitat of Saras crane in the Keoladeo National Park using satellite data - IRS LISS III and PAN merged product and GIS. Geocoded data of IRS -1C LISS III of 21 March 1999 on 1: 50,000 scale and PAN data of March 17, 1999 were used to generate the vegetation cover type map and open water. The maps showing drainage, human habitations, contours, roads, etc. were prepared using the Survey of India topographical sheets and contour map of park area. Information regarding habitat parameters was collected from the existing literature and field observations. The Saras crane mainly fed in the wetland on the rhizome of Nymphaea sp., Scirpus tuberosus and Eleocharis plantaginea. As there were changes in their habitat requirements at different seasons, the sighting of Saras crane in each habitat were recorded along with the time and activity during observation. The most utilized habitat for the entire period of study was moderately wet grassland followed by pools. The pools were used mainly during the summer. The water depth requirement observed was between 30-40 cm and 20-40 cm. The suitability maps for Saras crane were then generated using all remote sensing based and conventional information using rale based equations in the GIS within the Keoladeo National Park.

3 illus, 4 tables, 7 ref

006768   Negi H S;Mishra V D;Mathur P (Snow Avalanche Study Estabilshment, , Chandigarh-160 036, Email: negi_hs@yahoo.com) : Change detection study for snow covered mountains using remote sensing and ground based measurements. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 245-51.

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006767   Moorthi S M;Dube N;Dhar D;Kartikeyan B; Ramakrishnan R (Signal Image Processing Grp, Space Applic Centre-ISRO, Ahmedabad-380 015) : Resourcesat (IRS-P6) value added data products. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 277-83.

Remote sensing data products need to meet stringent geodetic and geometric accuracy specifications irrespective of intended user applications. Georeferencing is the basic processing step towards achieving this goal. Having known the imaging geometry and mechanism, the mathematical models built with the use of orbit and attitude information of the spacecraft can correct the remote sensing data for its geometric degradations only up to system level accuracy (IRS-P6 DP Team, 2000). The uncertainties in the orbit and attitude information will not allow the geometric correction model to generate products of accuracy that can meet user requirements unless Ground Control Points (GCP) are used as reference geo-location landmarks. 1RS-P6 data processing team has been entrusted with developing a software system to generate data products that will have desired geodetic and geometric accuracies with known limitations. The intended software system is called the Value Added Data Products System (VADS). Precision corrected, Template Registered, Merged and Ortho Rectified products are the value added products planned with VADS.

4 illus, 7 tables, 5 ref

006766   Mahajan S;Panwar P (NO, Dr. Y.S. Parmar Univ of Hort and Forestry, Nauni, Solan-173 230, Email: mahajan_sol@yahoo.com) : Land use changes in Ashwani khad watershed using GIS techniques. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 227-32.

^ssc3 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

006765   Chauhan P;Nagamani P V;Solanki H U;Nayak S (Space Applics Cent, (ISRO), Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: prakash@sac.isro.org) : Composite image of chlorophyll and sea surface temperature (SST) using modis-aqua. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 177-80.

1 illus, 10 ref

006764   Bhattacharya B K;Dadhwal V K (Crop inventory Modelling Div, ARG/RESIPA Space Applics Cent, Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: bkbhattacharya@sac.isro.gov.in) : Land surface temperature retrieval and its validation using NOAA AVHRR thermal data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 331-8.

Retrieval of land (soil-vegetation complex) surface temperature (LST) was carried out over semi-arid mixed agriculture landscape of Gujarat using thermal bands (channel 4 and 5) and ground emissivity from atmospherically corrected NDVI of NOAA AVHRR LAC images. The atmospheric correction of Visible and NIR band reflectance was done using SMAC model. The LST computed from split-window method and subsequently corrected with fractional vegetation cover were then compared with near synchronous ground observations of soil and air temperatures made during 13-17 January and April, 1997 at five Land Surface Processes Experiment (LASPEX) sites of Anand, Sanand, Derol, Arnej and Khandha covering 100 km x 100 km. The fractional vegetation cover corrected LST at noon hrs. varied from 301.6 - 311.9K in January and from 315.8 -325.6K in April. The LST_corr were found to lie in the mid way between AT and ST during January. But in April, LST were found to be more close to ST which may be due to relatively poor vegetation growth as indicated by lower NDVI values in April indicating more contribution to LST from exposed soil surface.

4 illus, 3 tables, 12 ref

006763   Arun P S;Jana R;Nathawat D M S (Cent Stud Resource Engng, IIT-Bombay, Mumbai-400 076, Email: rina@iitb.ac.in) : A rulebase physiological characterization of a drought prone watershed applying remote sensing and GIS. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2005, 33(2), 189-201.

Efficient micro-watershed management needs characterization of it to optimize natural resources, which is especially important in drought prone areas. In the study micro-watersheds of Gandheshwari tributary in Chotta-Nagpur Plateau are characterized based on physiographic properties towards agricultural potentiality. An algorithm interpolating elevation values using an empirical formula is proposed to obtain an improved Digital Elevation Model (DEM). IRS LISS-III Satellite data is used to acquire important parameters like landuse/ landcover and drainage. Image processing techniques like edge enhancement, edge detection, and principal components analysis are used for improving lineament detection. For characterization of watershed landform analysis using physiographic parameters is done in Geographic Information System (GIS). Detailed drainage network obtained from satellite image, the improved DEM and other GIS layers of land based information are used to delineate micro-watersheds. The Agricultural Hydrologic Response Units (AHRU) targeting agricultural use of the land are derived by overlaying the delineated parameters and are grouped into thirty response units based on their agricultural potential Micro-watersheds are characterized based on the dominant AHRU giving spatial information about agricultural suitability, emphasizing availability and scarcity of water so that respective water conservation practices can be improved to use the potential AHRU.

4 illus, 5 tables, 12 ref

006762   Acharyya S K;Shah B A (Dep Geol Sci, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032) : Genesis of pandemic arsenic pollution affecting Bengal basin. Natn Acad Sci Lett 2004, 27(5-6), 145-64.

Early Pleistocene sediments in the Bengal Basin were exposed and oxidized due to sea level draw down. Sea level rose during the late Pleistocene-early Holocene filling entrenched channels with gravel and sand. Both these sediment packets are generally free of arsenic problem. Arsenic contamination in groundwater in the Bengal Basin is essentially confined to the early-mid Holocene deltaic sediments. Deltaic setting was induced by rapid rise of sea level around 10,000-7500 yr. ago. Discrete phases of Fe-Mn-oxyhydroxide with sorbed arsenic, derived both from the Himalayas and the Peninsular India, were preferentially entrapped in organic rich deltaic sediments. Biomediated reductive dissolution of Fe-Mn-oxyhydroxide and corresponding oxidation of sedimentary organic matter later released sorbed arsenic to groundwater. Recent excessive extraction of groundwater has enhanced recharge rate in shallow aquifers. Movement of groundwater enriched in degraded organic matter through FeOOH coated sediments triggered reduction process and released sorbed arsenic. Arsenic concentration in groundwater varies at random due to multi parametric boundary conditions controlling biomediated reactions.

s, 17 ref

005627   Venkataraman S;Kashyapi a;Das H P (India Meteorological Dep, , Pune) : Phasic distribution of total heat units in wheat cultivars in India. Mausam 2005, 56(2), 499-500.

^ssc1 table, 7 ref