020350   Lal B;Singh O P;Roy Bhowmik S K;Kalsi S R; Subramanian S K (India Meteorological Dep, , New Delhi-110 003) : District level value-added dynamical-synoptic forecast system for rainfall. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 209-20.

Presents the methodology and trial results of the district level value-added dynamical synoptic forecast for rainfall. The technique was tried for forecasting district wise rainfall during Pre-monsoon, Southwest Monsoon and Post monsoon seasons of 2005. The constituent dynamical models were T-80, MMS, ETA of the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and the MM5 model operational at India Meteorological Department, New Delhi. The dynamical predictions were prepared using the rainfall predictions of the constituent models by assigning different weights. The dynamical predictions were converted into value-added synoptic-weather forecasts by taking into account other inputs like circulation features, vertical velocity, satellite information, synoptic charts and climatology etc. The experience during 2005 has shown that the value-added dynamical-synoptic system can produce 24, 48. 72 hours district level rainfall forecast of greater skills of than skills of the constituent models.

2 illus, 6 tables, 7 ref

020349   Kamini J;Jayanthi S C;Raghavswamy V (Urban Studies Div, Remote Sensing and GIS Application Area, National R, , Hyderabad-500 037, Email: kamini_j@nrsa.gov.in) : Spatio-temporal analysis of land use in urban numbai - using multi-sensor satellite data and gis techniques. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2006, 34(4), 385-96.

The process of urbanization has induced rapid changes in the land use leading to many infrastructural and environmental problems, one of them being the frequent flooding during rains in major cities across the world. Present paper analyses the spatio-temporal variations in the urban land use of the Mithi river catchment in Mumbai and its effect on the river, its drainage and flooding events in catchment area. specifically in conjunction with the July 26, 2005 flood event in Mumbai City. Multi sensor satellite data and GIS techniques have been used to generate land use/land cover at three different points of time and study variations in the Mithi river course, thus correlating the land use/cover changes vis-a-vis the hydrographic and meteorologic information for the ithi river catchment. Results point to the adverse human-induced influences on the Mithi river and its catchment. Almost 50% reduction in river width and 70% decrease in mudlfats and open spaces have been observed. There is also a clear rise in builtup from 29% to 70% between 1966 and 2005, thus increasing the impervious surface which in turn increases run-off during major rainfall, eventually flooding the city.

7 illus, 2 tables, 18 ref

020348   Jayanthi N;Lele R R;Sunitha Devi (NO, , Meteorological Office, Pune) : Hot weather season (March - May 2005). Mausam 2006, 57(2), 363-78.

1 illus, 5 tables

020347   Jagannadha Sarma V V (Retired Professor of Geophysics, Andhra Univ, Visakhapatnam, India-530 003) : Coastal rainfall pattern in east and west Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. J appl Hydrol 2006, 19(3), 53-74.

The East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh adjoining the Bay of Bengal are constantly affected by the cyclonic storms in the bay. Though the region is very fertile due to the presence of the twin deltas of the rivers, the cyclonic storms reek havoc to irrigation, properties and even cause human causalities. The rainfall data published by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for the years 1901-1950 is utilized to determine various rainfall parameters like the magnitude, number of rainy days, rainfall intensity and the wet index. The monthly rainfall data of IMD is converted into monsoon rainfall rfm (June-October), the annual rainfall rfa and the non-monsoon rainfall rfnm. The monsoon, annual and non monsoon rainfall data of the fifty years in the coastal zone comprising of eight coastal stations of Kakinada. Mummidivaram, Amalapuram, Razole. Narsapur, Manginapudi, Bandar and Avanigadda is anaªlyzed. It is observed that the rainfall data of either the monsoon or the annual or the non-monsoon is found to be sinusoidal in fluctuation over the years. The rainfall across all the stations is also found to be correlative.

19 illus, 15 tables, 3 ref

020346   Jagadish Singh;Surya Kant (India Meteorol Dep, , New Delhi-110 003) : Radiation fog over north India during winter from 1989-2004. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 271-90.

Radiation fog over north India has been studied using current weather data of thirteen airports. There has been a tremendous increase in the fog formation over northern pans of India in recent years. An attempt has been made to study the adverse impact of fog on aeronautical operations at Indira Gandhi International (I.G.I.) airport as total number of flights diverted during 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 were about. 900. I.G.I. airport is provided with a very efficient Instrument Landing System (ILS) for Cat-I, Cat-II and Cat-III operations. The utility of Runway Visual Ranges (RVRs) required for low visibility operations, calculated from skopographs, for the last fifteen years, has been discussed. Satellite observations on fog have been found to be in fair agreement with the surface observations. Most catastrophic fog formations, which occurred over north India during 1998-99, were found to be due to the enormous amount moisture flow from a severe cyclone formed in the Arabian Sea 'as evidenced in satellite imagery. An attempt has also been made to establish a relation of maximum temperature and Relative Humidity anomaly with the duration of fog at I.G.I. airport, Lucknow airport, Varanasi airport and Amritsar airport.

3 illus, 8 tables, 7 ref

020345   Giri R K;Loe B R;Sharma R K;Puviarson N; Bhandari S S (India Meteorol Dep, , New Delhi-110 003) : Estimation of precipitable water vapour from GPS during winter season 2003. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 323-8.

The distribution of water vapour in atmosphere is highly spatial and temporal variable. It plays a key role in many atmospheric processes. The total integrated water vapour or equivalent precipitable water vapour (PWV) can be estimated with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) data. The value of Zenith Hydrostatic Delay (ZHD) is modeled and subtracting from ZTD will give Zenith wet delay (ZWD). Consequently, the estimated ZWD values will provide PWV in mm almost in a continuous manner. In this paper an attempt has been made for the estimation of PWV in mm during winter season 2003 for New Delhi and Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore stations using GPS data. The result shows fairly good agreement with the radio - sonde data.

8 illus, 9 ref

020344   Ganguly D;Mukhopadhyay A;Pandey R K;Mitra D (Marine Sci Dep, Univ of Calcutta, Kolkata-700 019, Email: anirban_iirs@yahoo.com) : Geomorphological study of Sundarban deltaic estuary. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2006, 34(4), 431-6.

2 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

020343   Gajendra Kumar;Mohapatra M (Regional Meteorological Centre, , Guwahati) : Some climatological aspects of thunderstorms and squalls over Guwahati Airport. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 231-40.

The annual and monthly frequency distribution, time of commencement and duration of thunderstorms & squalls and environmental changes associated with occurrence of squall at Guwahati Airport have been analyzed. The frequencies of thunderstorms and squalls are maximum in the month of May followed by April. Most of the thunderstorms occur during premonsoon and monsoon season and squalls occur during Feb-May. Most of the premonsoon thunderstorms commence during midnight to early morning while the thunderstorms during monsoon season have preference to commence between 0600-1200 UTC. Majority of thunderstorms is of the duration of less than three hours. Majority of squalls have the duration of less than four minutes, direction as northwesterly and occur during 0900ª2100 UTC. On the average, environmental temperature falls by 2.2°C, the relative humidity rises by 8.5%, and the pressure increases by 1.6 h Pa due to squall over Guwahati Airport. The average maximum wind speed associated with a squall over Guwahati Airport is about 39 knots. Comparison with the past studies indicates that characteristics of thunderstorms and squalls have not changed significantly over the years.

3 illus, 4 tables, 10 ref

020342   Elango L (Geology Dep, Anna Univ, Chennai, India-600 025) : Hydrogeochemical reactions in aquifers and its identification by geochemical modelling. J appl Hydrol 2006, 19(3), 35-44.

1 illus, 3 tables, 26 ref

020341   Devendra Singh;Bhatia R C;Srivastava S K; Prasad S;Giri R K (India Meteorolo Dep, , New Delhi-110 003) : Operational use of improved CMVs derived from INSAT IR data in NWP model over Indian region. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 315-22.

Earlier Quality Assurance (QA) tests of INSA T derived CMVs were done using low resolution 12 hour forecast from NCEP Washington or ECMWF. These forecasts earlier did not use satellite derived CMVs from INSAT or other satellites from data sparse Indian Ocean. Other centers did not find INSAT CMVs of reliable quality. Before July 1998, no other satellite except INSAT covered the data sparse Indian Ocean. In July 1998, METEOSAT-5 was shifted over Indian Ocean at 63 degree East. Certain vital changes have been incorporated in the operational scheme of INSAT CMVs derivation at INSAT Meteorological Data Processing System (lMDPS) for providing satellite derived winds of improved quality to the users. The modified algorithm uses LAM forecast in QA tests. Pressures and heights are assigned on the basis of mean temperature of certain percentage of cloud population at the cold end of the spectrum. Detailed comparison of CMVs from INSAT and METEOSAT-5 has been done. The improved CMVs from INSAT and METEOSAT-5 show quite good agreement qualitatively. The bias and RMS also show improvements. Zonal winds observed earlier in CMVs have shown improvement. The lesser number of INSAT CMVs is due to lower spatial resolution of INSAT radiometer compared to METEOSAT -5. The two sets of CMVs generated from triplet of images are being combined, taking care of excluding the collocated CMVs in the two sets. The improved INSAT derived CMVs have shown positive impact on the Model forecast.

3 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

020340   Chaudhuri S;Bhowmick S A (NO, Univ of Calcutta, Kolkata-700 019) : CAPE - a link amid thermodynamics and microphysics for the occurrence of severe thunderstorms. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 249-54.

Views the cloud microphysical processes entailed in the genesis and the development of the severe thunderstorms of pre-monsoon season (April - May) over Kolkata (22°32', 88°20'). The study shows that Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) is instrumental in establishing a linkage among thermodynamics, dynamics, cloud microphysics. and lightning during severe thunderstorm of pre monsoon season over Kolkata. The results of the present study reveal that for the thunderstorms reported over Kolkata, CAPE are found to be predominantly within 1000 joules per kgs within the prescribed pressure levels above the Level of Free Convection (LFC) and the corresponding values of the updraft speeds of the air are found to be nearly 30 - 50 m/s at the Level of Neutral Buoyancy (LNB). The study also depicts that the drops may grow up to the size of 5mm in diameter stably. beyond which, they tend to breakup due to the large drop instability. The breakup or splitting is observed to initiate when the drop radius is within the range of 2.5mm to 3mm and the breakup is most likely within the range of 3mm to 5mm because at this stage the lifetime of the drops are short due to the spontaneous breakup.

6 illus, 10 ref

020339   Biswas B K (NO, , Meteorological Office, C.S.I. Airport, Mumbai-400 099) : Heights of Cb clouds around Chhatrapati Shivaji international (C.S.I.) airport, Mumbai - diurnal and seasonal variations. Mausam 2006, 57(2), 241-8.

Based on radar data collected at the Meteorological Office, Chhatrapati Shivaji International (C.S.I.) airport, Mumbai during the years 1990-99, a study has been made on cumulonimbus (C b) clouds with their height of top 6 km or more over an area having a radius of 200 km around the airport. The seasonal, monthly and hourly distribution of the total number of Cb cells and their heights, number of days with Cb, Cb cells that reached tropopause height, the preferred places of formation of large Cb clouds and their movement have been examined and discussed. The synoptic situation(s) responsible for the development of Cb clouds around C.S.I. airport, Mumbai have also been identified and discussed.

4 illus, 5 tables, 8 ref

020338   Bhatt C M;Verma V K;Sharma P K;Singh R K; Litoria P K (Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, PAU Campus, Ludhiana-141 004) : Mapping and monitoring of waterlogged areas Muktsar block (Punjab), using remote sensing and GIS. Indian J Ecol 2006, 33(1), 35-9.

Periodic monitoring of waterlogged areas is essential for taking suitable and timely remedial measures. The study reported here aims at delineating and monitoring the extent and spatial distribution of waterlogged areas during 1989,1997 and 2001 in parts of Muktsar block of Punjab state using multi-temporal and multi-spectral satellite data. Temporal assessments made for the thirteen years period revealed that 662.56 ha (2.77%) out of the total geographical area (TGA) was affected by waterlogging in 1989, which increased to 2343.70 ha (9.98%) in 1997 and then gradually decreased to 579.74 ha (2.43%) in 2001. The low lying topography, presence of palaeochannels, brackish groundwater, obstruction of natural gradient by twin canals, canal seepage, drainage congestion and changing cropping pattern are some of the major factors contributing towards waterlogging problem in the area.

2 illus, 1 table, 15 ref

020337   Ballukraya P N;Vjayakumar G;Paramasivam K; Manimekalai B;Gokulnath T (Applied Geology Dep, Univ of Madras, Chennai-600 025) : Secular variations in groundwater levels in response to drought conditions in Chennai city area. J appl Hydrol 2006, 19(3), 23-4.

Adequate rainfall in the northern part of Chennai city when the reservoirs feeding the city water supply are located, is an important factor in controlling the Chennai groundwater environment. Reduction in piped water supply sourced from these reservoirs leads to proportional increase in groundwater abstraction in the urban as well as peri-urban areas to meet the water demand of the city area, leading to severe decline in groundwater levels and quality. The area where the groundwater levels fall below mean sea level increases in years of drought leading to brackish to saline groundwater conditions there. However, it is observed that after an excess rainfall year, the groundwater levels recover to their original position. Filling up of Chembarapakkam lake, in the western part of the city, is seen to have a positive effect on the quality of groundwater in that region. From the consideration of the temporal variations during the two drought periods under study, the beneficial effect of rain water harvesting systems, installed in the city buildings, does not seem to be obvious.

8 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

019142   Varshney P K;Jaiswar A K;Prakash C (Regional Center of Central Institute of Fisheries Education, (Deemed University), ICAR Chinhat, Lucknow-227 105) : Intertidal benthic biodiversity of deteriorated Gorai creek, Mumbai (Bombay) coast, India. Envir Ecol 2006, 24S(3), 646-50.

Gorai creek was characterized by low values of DO₂, pH, salinity and high values of CO₂, NH₄, and nutrients (NO₂, NO₃, and PO₄) associated with black clayey sediment texture. The clayey sediment texture was associated with higher values of organic carbon and organic matter. Poor water and sediment quality accompanied with less benthic diversity at Gorai creek proves that this area is under severe pollution stress. The benthic fauna recorded were polychaetes, amphipods, crabs, mysids and gastropods. In general higher values of density and biomass were recorded from lower littoral zone. Mean population density (18,069/m²) and biomass (23.166 g/m²) were contributed mainly by polychaetes associated with clayey substratum. Parheteromastus spp. of family Capitallidae recorded here in abundance are the indicator of anthropogenic pollution. Various diversity indices also indicate the stressful living condition of this ecosystem.

2 tables, 1 illus, 16 ref

019141   Ramana T V;Reddy M P M (Fishery Biology Dep, College of Fishery Science, ANGR Agricultural Univ, Muthukur-524 344) : Upwelling and sinking in the Arabian sea along Dakshina Kannada coast. Envir Ecol 2006, 24(2), 379-84.

Systematic studies to find out the occurrence of upwelling and sinking in the Arabian Sea along Dakshina Kannada coast were carried out. Upwelling was found to occur from March to October and sinking was observed to occur from December to February along Dakshina Kannada coast.

10 illus, 11 ref

019140   Rai A;Venkatesha Mooorthy K S;Reddy H R V (Fisheries Environment & Ecology Dep, Karnataka Veterinary Animal & Fisheries Sciences Unive, College of Fis, Bidar, Mangalore-575 002) : Phytoplankton and hydrography in the coastal waters of Thannirbhavi, Southwest coast of India. Envir Ecol 2006, 24(2), 449-56.

Study was carried out in the Arabian Sea, off Thannirbhavi along Mangalore coast during October 2004 -May 2005. The fluctuations recorded in hydrographic parameters were: temperature 27.50-31.17 C, pH 7.94-8.30, salinity 28.74-34.59 ppt, dissolved oxygen 3.55-4.34 ml/liter and extinction coefficient 0.60-2.16. The variations recorded in the nutrient contents were: ammonia, 3.73-18.12 μg at/liter, nitrite 0.51-3.14 μg-at/liter, nitrate 4.45-22.41 μg-at/liter, phosphate 2.00-12.96 μg-at/liter and silicate 7.57-25.15 μg-at/liter. The phytoplankton biomass in terms of wet weight and dry weight varied from 69.20 to 1284 mg/m³ and 10.40 to 225 mg/m³ respectively. The biomass was higher at shallower stations as compared to deeper station. The qualitative analysis of phytoplankton showed the dominance of diatoms, followed by dinoflagellates and blue green algae.

3 illus, 2 tables, 26 ref

019139   Paul S;Chatterjee M;Sen G K (School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032) : Air-sea interaction during convective processes over Bay of Bengal. Envir Ecol 2006, 24(2), 435-8.

Detailed study on the different level temperature (upto 20 m level) has been done to study the variation of the temperature with depth in the different synoptic situation. It has seen from this study that the temperature gradient becomes smaller during the time of depression but salinity rate is different during the deep depression phase. During the depression phase we get the peaks in all the three levels of temperature.

10 illus, 6 ref

019138   Nalina E;Puttaiah E T (Chemistry Dep, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology (ACT), Chikmagalur-577 102) : Ground water quality of Kadur and its surrounding areas, Karnataka- a statistical analysis. J Aquatic Biol 2006, 21(2), 105-10.

Water quality of different sources of water viz. wells and bore wells were studied in Kadur and its surrounding areas, Karnataka. Water samples were collected in summer and rainy seasons and analyzed for the parameters that included : pH - (6.7-8.9), electrical conductance -(0.6-6.4) mS, Total Dissolved Solids- (437-1630) mg/l, total alkalinity - (43-840) mg/l, total hardness - (96.5-1427.2) mg/l, chlorides (20-400) mg/l, sulphate (20-240) mg/l, nitrates (1.1-100) mg/l, fluorides (0.14 -1.4) mg/l, turbidity (0.2-17.1) NTU, calcium hardness - (60.3-1338.2) mg/l and magnesium hardness (16-1143)mg/l. None of the sources for fluoride exceeded the prescribed limit (1.0 to 1.5mg/l).

4 table, 14 ref

019137   Naik U G;Rathod J L;Sambhaji R;Bhosale H;Bhat U G (Studies in Marine Biology Dep, PG & Research Center Karnatak Univ Fisherman's Guidance Bureau, Kodibag, Karwar-581 303) : Population dynamics of cladocerans coastal waters of Karwar, West coast of India. Envir Ecol 2006, 24(2), 343-47.

Cladocerans are planktonic crustaceans which are known to reproduce parthenogenetically. The members are all of filter feeders and their association to phytoplankton is fairly well known and are of considerable importance in the economy of the sea because of their relation to pelagic fisheries. A striking feature in the distribution of the Cladocera was the seasonality in their occurrence. The maximum density was observed during the south-west monsoon when a low saline regime existed in contrast to pre-monsoon season when a higher salinity and a lower cladoceran density occurred. These are ideal organisms for mass culture as living food for fishes and their larvae.

2 illus, 21 ref

019136   Mukherjee D;Banerjee A;Sen G K (School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032, Email: deprl@yahoo.co.in) : Physico-chemical properties of water and fish availabity at the Muriganga enstuary adjoing Bakkhali region of Western Indian sundarbans. Envir Ecol 2006, 24(2), 385-8.

Seasonal changes in the water of the estuarine system of Muriganga river and its tributaries at the Bakkhali region were studied from pre-monsoon to winter during 2004 to assess the water quality. The water samples were studied from the mouth of the Muriganga river near Fraserganj to Bakkhali Sea beach at three points. The pH and salinity were higher during pre-monsoon, whereas nitrate and phosphate showed slightly higher values after monsoon. Alkalinity, organic content and DO were also slightly high during winter. The nutrient studies were restricted to nitrate and phosphate, which along with the DO were quite satisfactory for attracting varieties of fish. These fish groups were not static and showed different migratory habits which influenced the availability and number of fish species at different times of the year.

4 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

019135   Muduli S D;Swain G D;Bhuyan N K;Dhal N K (Regional Research, Laboratory, Bhubaneswar) : Physico-chemical characteristic assessment of Brahmani river Orissa, India. Pollut Res 2006, 25(4), 763-6.

Water is the basic necessity for the survival of life and prosperity of civilization. There fore quantity and quality of water flow are the most important parameters, which are required to be monitored in any river management programme for the proper developmental planning and sustainable use of water resources. [More than 90% people of near by areas depend on the river Brahmani which is located in Orissa for their day-to-day requirements. As there is no specific data about water quality in past and also at present the proposed work has been undertaken to monitor the water quality status of Brahmani River. Samples were collected from seven water quality-monitoring stations in this basin. Care has been taken to collect the samples from the main flowing segment of the stream, preferably from mid- stream. Result of the analysis showed that presence of additional chemical load like iron, B.O.D. and sulphate were found in the effluent discharge of the above stated industries which changes the overall composition of Brahmani water and conductivity values were increased by around 200-300 micromhos/cm during non-monsoon. The persual of dissolved oxygen and biological oxygen demand indicates that Brahmani water in the upper reaches up to Pan posh is free from biological pollution where as at Taraikara (near Rourkela steel plant) is below than maximum permissible limit. Water of Brahmani in all over Orissa is purely basic. As per conductivity value Brahmani is classified as C₂S₁ group. Details of result and findings have been highlighted.

1 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

019134   Moitra M N;Sanyal A K;Chakrabarti S (NO, Zoological Survey of India, M-Block New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053) : Impact of four edaphic factors abundance of soik acari in relation to altitudes in the Darjeeling Himalayas, West Bengal, India. Envir Ecol 2006, 24(2), 366-72.

Impact of different edaphic factors on soil mites, an important group of soil mrcroarthropod fauna, may vary from place to place. Information is scanty in the higher altitudes in India. Results obtained in the present study conducted in seven spots at different altitudes in the Darjeeling Himalayas ranging from the highest peak of West Bengal (Sandakphu, 3,636m) to the foothill area of the region (Sukna, 181 m) differ in many way from the studies carried out in the plains. One important observation was the positive correlation between temperatures and mite populations at higher altitudes. Moisture content and pH of the soil were negatively correlated. Overall abundance of mites was found to fall from lower to upper altitudes up to a height of 2,573 m (Tiger Hill) and then increase to some extent up to 3,636 m (Sandakphu).

2 tables, 3 illus, 13 ref

019133   Karuppudurai T;Karuppanapandian T;Kumaraguru A K (Animal Behaviour and Physiology Dep, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj Univ, Madurai-625 021) : Preliminary investigation on the coastal marine environmental quality of Palk bay, Mandapam. Pollut Res 2006, 25(4), 809-15.

Qualitative assessment of the coastal marine environmental quality of Palk Bay, Mandapam was studied. Palk Bay in the Mandapam region was found enriched with a variety of marine life holding interesting heterogenous group of fauna and flora. The investigation was carried out based on four different experimental stations. The values were compared with values at control station. The highest mean values of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity and chemical oxygen demand for the four experimental and control stations were 32.7°C, 8.7, 6.97 ppm, 37.24 ppt, and 134 ppm and 31.4°C, 8.2, 7.73 ppm, 32.18 ppt, and 93 ppm respectively. All the physico-chemical parameters monitored, except DO (7.73 ppm), showed minimum values at the control station when compared to the other sampling stations. Significant positive correlation between temperature and other parameters were observed. On the other hand temperature and DO showed a negative correlation (r = 0.83, n = 60, P<60> 0.001). The findings revealed that the coastal waters of Palk Bay were polluted and deserve immediate attention.

7 illus, 26 ref

019132   Jayalakshmi Devi O;Belagali S L (Studies in Environmental Science Dep, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570 006) : Hydrogeochemical studies of groundwater in Chamarajnagar District of Karnataka. Pollut Res 2006, 25(4), 783-6.

Ground water of different localities in Chamarajnagar district has been taken up on the basis of Hydrogeochemistry (HYCH) to evaluate its suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes. The results show that, the ground water of this district is well within the. permissible limits. The data was subjected to various hydrochemical interpretations. According to USSL classification, the ground water falls under mostly two types as C₂S₁ and C₃S₁. In one or two locations it is found to be of C₃S₂ type with still moderately high salinity. The value of SAR in the study area was in excellent type. According to Handa's classification, the study area is characterized by water having temporary and permanent hardness. Based on Schoellers (1965, 67) water type classification, most of the samples are found to be falling under type I and III except only one sample which is in type II.

4 tables, 13 ref

018118   Tripathy M;Patra A K (G.Sc. College, , Athgarh) : Soil quality of South Kaliapani chromite mines in Orissa. SGAT Bull 2006, 7(2), 26-30.

South Kaliapani Chromite Mine is as opencast mine of Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC). Soil samples at different locations of South Kaliapani were tested in the Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Utkal University, Vanivihar. It was observed that the lateritic soil supports typical dry deciduous forest. The soil of buffer zone is better for agricultural activities than the core zone of mining activities. Soil in buffer zone does not show any adverse impact caused by mining activities.

2 ref

018117   Thamban M;Chaturvedi A;Rajakumar A;Naik S S; D'Souza W;Singh A;Rajan S;Ravindra R (NO, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403 804, Email: meloth@ncaor.org) : Aerosol perturbations related to volcanic eruptions during the past few centuries as recorded in an ice core from the Central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Curr Sci 2006, 91(9), 1200-7.

High-resolution glacio-chemical analyses were carried out in a 62.2 m long ice core recovered from the Central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, to evaluate temporal changes in environmental characteristics during the past five centuries. The sulphate (SO^2-₄) content within the core varied between 15 and 377 ppb, whereas the sodium (Na⁺) and chloride (CI^-) content fluctuated widely from 7 to 500 ppb and 25 to 1461 ppb respectively. The computed non-sea-salt sulphate (nssSO^-2₄) record reveals the existence of several outstanding peaks that can be attributed to the sulphate aerosol deposition during large volcanic events as recorded in Antarctica and elsewhere. Major volcanic events identified at the core site include: Mt Pinatubo (1991), Agung (1963), Krakatau/famwera (1883/1886), Tambora (1815) and Huaynaputina (1600) among several other moderate events. Comparison of our nssSO^-2₄ record with that of ice core records from Greenland reveals analogous sulphate deposition during certain major volcanic events, demonstrating the interhemispheric transport of aerosols during large volcanic eruptions. Relatively high Cl^-/Na⁺ ratio throughout the core (mean 3.1) compared to that of the sea water ratio implies additional sources of Cl^-, most likely due to the intense scavenging of gaseous cr in the lower atmosphere.

4 illus, 1 table, 36 ref

018116   Swamy Y V;Roy Chaudhury G;Das S N;Sengupta S; Muduli R (NO, Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar-751 013, Email: yvswamy@rrlbhu.res.in) : Assessment of water quality in tsunami affected Andhra coast. Curr Sci 2006, 91(10), 1409-12.

Water samples were collected in April 2005 (initial days of summer) and May 2005 (peak summer) from dug wells and bore wells of tsunami-affected coastal Andhra Pradesh. These were characterized for various physical and chemical parameters. The affected areas were ranked after considering certain attributes, based on which three locations (C. V. Lanka, P. V. Lanka and Vemuladevi) were found to be more affected. These three locations showed higher values of conductivity, hardness, alkalinity, etc. besides sulphate and chloride as compared to the reference samples selected in the study. Dug wells contained higher values of heavy metals like Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni and Cd, etc. indicating intrusion of saline water into the surface water.

2 illus, 2 tables, 3 ref

018115   Surender Singh;Diwan Singh;Rao V U M (Agricultural Meteorology Dep, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004) : Fog and dew analysis over Hisar. J Agrometeorol 2007, 9(1), 118-21.

3 illus, 5 ref

018114   Sarma V V;Sadhuram Y;Sravanthi N A;Tripathy S C (NO, National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, 176, Lawson's Bay Colony, Visakhapatnam-530 017, Email: vvsarma@nio.org) : Role of physical processes in the distribution of chlorophyll a in the northwest Bay of Bengal during pre- and post-monsoon seasons. Curr Sci 2006, 91(9), 1133-4.

1 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

018113   Ravindrababu B T;Panduranga;Janardhanagowda N A;Rajegowda M B (NO, Agricultural Sciences Univ, GKVK, Bangalore) : Diurnal and monthly UV-B radiation received at Bangalore. J Agrometeorol 2007, 9(1), 108-10.

2 illus, 3 ref

018112   Rajendran C P;Rajendran K;Machado T; Satyamurthy T;Aravazhi P;Jaiswal M (NO, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram-695 031, Email: rajendran_cp@yahoo.com) : Evidence of ancient sea surges at the Mamallapuram coast of India and implications for previous Indian Ocean tsunami events. Curr Sci 2006, 91(9), 1242-7.

Indian Ocean may have a geologic history of tsunami events similar in size and source area comparable to that of the 26 December 2004 event. Searching for geological evidence for previous tsunamis in the near-source region is one way to constrain previous occurrence of such events. Since the 2004 tsunami proved devastating even far from its source, evidence for predecessors can be sought in remote locations, including the east and southwest coasts of India. Reports observations from two trenches in the Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) beach, 55 km south of Chennai (Madras) on the east coast of India, an area also affected by the 2004 tsunami. Discusses the possibility that the sections in question may contain evidence to suggest two pre-2004 tsunami events occurring ~1000 years and ~1500 years ago respectively.

3 illus, 1 table, 18 ref

018111   Rahul Mohan;Shanvas S;Thamban M;Sudhakar M (NO, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Headland Sada, Goa-403 804, Email: rahulmohan@ncaor.org) : Spatial distribution of diatoms in surface sediments from the Indian sector of southern ocean. Curr Sci 2006, 91(11), 1495-1502.

Multidisciplinary scientific expedition to the Southern Ocean (Pilot Expedition to the Southern Ocean - PESO) onboard DRV Sagar Kanya during the austral summer of 2004 collected various physical, chemical, biological and geological data/samples. From the sediment cores collected during the expedition, six representative core-top samples were studied along a latitudinal transect from 280 to 560 south to ascertain the modern variation in distribution of siliceous microfossils called diatoms. This is the first Indian attempt to understand the latitudinal variation in the distribution of diatom species in Southern Ocean, its relationship with the changing nutrient availability and/or supply, and its utility in palaeoceanographic reconstruction. In all, 24 diatom species were identified. The diatom population seems to be dominated by seven species namely Fragilariopsis kerguelensis, Fragilariopsis separanda, Thalassionema nitzschioides, Thalassiothrix spp., Thalassiosira lentiginosa, Eucampia antarctica and Azpeitia tabularis. Of these, F. kerguelensis and T. lentiginosa dominate the diatom community in the Southern Ocean sediments. The spatial distribution of most of the diatoms in surface sediments seems to be controlled by physicochemical parameters like sea surface temperature, salinity, silicate, nitrate and phosphate concentrations.

4 illus, 1 table, 48 ref

018110   Raghu Kanth S T G;Iyengar R N (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati-781 039, Email: rni@civil.iisc.ernet.in) : Seismic hazard estimation for Mumbai city. Curr Sci 2006, 91(11), 1486-94.

Presents an engineering approach to estimate the existing seismic hazard for Mumbai city. After assembling a catalogue of past earthquakes and analysing the database statistically, the recurrence relation for the control region is found out. This is used to compute the probability of ground motion that can be induced by each of the twenty-three known faults that exist around the city. Final results are presented in the form of peak ground acceleration and response spectra, for two different return periods. These results can be directly used by engineers as basic inputs in earthquake-resistant design of structures in and around Mumbai.

6 illus, 6 tables, 22 ref

018109   Patil V V;Ramesh Singh;Sharma H C;Mehta R (Dep of Irrigation and Drainage Engng, Coll of Technol, G.B. Pant Univ of Agric and Technol, Pantnagar-263 145) : Groundwater modelling in selected area of north-west Uttar Pradesh using fuzzy logic. Pantnagar J Res 2006, 4(2), 127-32.

Using rainfall and pre-monsoon water table depth, fuzzy logic algorithm was developed to predict post monsoon water-table behaviour of Budaun tehsil of Budaun district, located in north-west Uttar Pradesh. Rainfall and pre-monsoon water table as input variables were fuzzified into fuzzy subsets. The fuzzy subsets of the variables were considered to have triangular membership functions. The relationship among rainfall, pre-monsoon water table depth and post-monsoon water table depth was represented by a set of fuzzy rules of IF-THEN format. The commonly used centroid method was employed for the defuzzification procedure. Correlation coefficient between the observed and predicted post monsoon water table depths was more than 0.90 in all cases, except in cases of Budaun (0.74). On the other hand root mean square error was minimum in case of Basantnagar (0.16) and maximum in case of Budaun (0.60. Maximum deviation of the order of 1.693 m was observed in case of Kunwargaon followed by 1.594 m at Budaun. These maximum deviations were observed for the year 1984 and 1992 in case of Kunwargaon and Budaun, respectively, whereas maximum deviation of the order of about 0.25 m was observed for the rest of the years. Minimum deviation varies from 0.0 to 0.039 m. Test parameters showed that fuzzy algorithms are able to predict the trend of groundwater behavior satisfactorily.

4 illus, 2 tables, 16 ref

018108   Mondal G;Rai D C (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur-208 016, Email: dcrai@iitk.ac.in) : Need for earthquake-resistant design of harbour structures in India in view of their performance during the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. Curr Sci 2006, 91(9), 1134-8.

6 illus, 14 ref

018107   Mishra H P (222/1, Sashtri Nagar, Bhubaneswar-751 001) : Prospects of titanium mineral industry in Orissa. SGAT Bull 2006, 7(2), 20-5.

Coastal strech of peninsular India has rich potential of beach sand minerals consisting of ilmenite, sillimanite, garnet monazite etc. Three major proved deposits so far are located at Chhatrapur Rushikulya, South of Gopalpur and north of Rushikulya river, of orissa. the deposit around Chhatrapur is being worked by Orissa Sand Complex (OSCOM) of Indian Rare Earths (Limited). Besides mining of beach sand the plant processed to recover various heavy minerals associated. Ilmenite is found to be the major one. So far no metallurgical industry for titanium has been established while there as scope for value addition, to ilmenite. There are two processes already developed for this i.e titanium slap process established in South Africa and Heubach process developed at Ankleswar Gujrat in pilot plant scale. While the former is well established, it being power intensive may not be ideally suitable for high cost of power. The later process can easily be attempted with the availability of infrastructure Orissa has advantages for future development of titanium industry in the state.

1 table, ref

018106   Mathew L;Arun M P (Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Calicut) : Seismic performance study of traditional housing in Kutch region. J Instn Engrs-Pt AR 2006, 87(Oct), 24-8.

Earthquake, which struck Gujarat State in India on January 26, 2001 with an intensity of 6.9 to 7.9 on the Richter scale, caused a large-scale destruction of life and property in the State. While the majority of the buildings in the region succumbed to the seismic forces, some of the few structures that suffered minimum damage were the simple traditional 'Bhongas'. Most of the consequent rehabilitation housing provided were abandoned by the inhabitants who found them to be socio-culturally andclimatically unsuitable. Hence they returned to their traditional 'Bhongas. The paper presents the findings of an enquiry into the seismic performance of Bhongas and presents an innovative method to increase their earthquake resistance. The improved Bhongas with greater seismic resistance can offer alternatives to contextually inappropriate rehabilitation housing while enabling the inhabitants to retain the centuries old traditional dwelling forms with their architectural and socio-cultural values.

11 illus, 5 ref

018105   Manoj Kumar;Pandey V;Shekh A M (Applied Mathematics Dep, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835 215) : Surface layer simulation of semi arid region of India using LASPEX-97 data. J Agrometeorol 2007, 9(1), 115-17.

2 illus, 3 ref, 1 tables

018104   Kushwaha H S;Gangwar S P;Chaubey A K (Soil Sci Dep, Coll of Agric, G.B. Pant Univ of Agric and Technol, Pantnagar-263 145) : Verification of medium range weather forecast for Tarai and Bhabar agroclimatic zone of Uttaranchal. Pantnagar J Res 2006, 4(2), 121-3.

1 table, 5 ref

018103   Kotoky P;Bezbaruah D;Jaruah J;Borah G C;Sarma J N (Geoscience Div, Regional Research Laboratory, Jorhan-785 006) : Characterisation of clay minerals in the Brahmaputra river sediments, Assam, India. Curr Sci 2006, 91(9), 1247-50.

Characterization of clay minerals of the Brahmaputra river sediments within a selected stretch by X-Ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectra has revealed the association of dominant kaolinite with subordinate amount of illite and chlorite. The mineral assemblage, as evidenced from the study, may find its use towards effective understanding of related engineering properties and utilization in flood-management approaches, intimately connected with the lives and properties of the people of Assam.

4 illus, 1 table, 17 ref

018102   Joshi J C;Ganju A (NO, Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Manali-175 103, Email: joshi_jc@rediffmail.com) : Avalanche warning on Chowkibal-Tangdhar axis (J&K): a hybrid approach. Curr Sci 2006, 91(11), 1558-62.

Conventional as well as numerical techniques are being widely used for the prediction of snow avalanches. The present approach combines both the techniques and delivers avalanche danger warning for 24 h in advance. Initially different levels of avalanche danger have been decided by observing fresh snow of 24 h and standing snow from a snow-meteorological database of the past ten winters (1992-2902) along with a database of avalanche warning and occurrences. Finally these levels have been characterized by a critical range calculated by using a discriminant function, which is a function of all the significant snow and meteorological parameters. The significant snow and meteorological parameters have been selected by correlation analysis. For the selection of significant parameters and to calculate the critical range for each of the danger levels, a new term, i.e. index of avalanche has been introduced and its variation in different ranges of snow and meteorological parameters has been discussed. For the winter of 2003-2004, model outcome has been compared with the actual avalanche occurrences. Out of total 122 days during winter, there were 27 avalanche days and 95 non-avalanche days. The accuracy of the model for avalanche occurrence is 67% and for non-occurrence it is 84%.

2 illus, 3 tables, 11 ref

018101   Hussain S;Agrawal B R;Shaikh J D (NO, Sir Sayyed College, Aurangabad) : Hydrological study of Salim Ali lake, Aurangabad. Int J chem Sci 2006, 4(1), 10-14.

The water pollution of Salim Ali lake of Aurangabad is because of presence of different bacteria like Escherichai coli, etc. and also because of 25 different forms of algae. Because of algae, there is development of detectable odour in water and arcenish and faint greenish colour. The chemical analysis of water shows presence of high value of total hardness, BOD, and organic nitrogen causing organic pollution.

3 tables, 7 ref

018100   Dewashish Kumar;Krishnamurthy N S;Nayak G K; Ahmad S (NO, National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad-500 007, Email: shakeelifcrg@gmail.com) : Utility of magnetic data in delineation of groundwater potential zones in hard rock terrain. Curr Sci 2006, 91(11), 1456-8.

3 illus, 5 ref

018099   Cathcart R B (NO, , Geographos, 1300 West Olive Avenue, Suite M. Burbank, California 91506-2225, USA, Email: rbcathcart@charter.net) : Sethusamudram ship channel macroproject: anti-tsunami and storm surge textile arrestors protecting Palk Bay (India and Sri Lanka). Curr Sci 2006, 91(11), 1474-6.

During times of periodic storm and unpredictable tsunami causing public peril in Palk Bay, textile barrier (dam) technology can be employed to protect an economically important region between India and Sri Lanka. Anti-tsunami and storm surge arrestors are a new development applicable to Palk Bay, especially with the construction of the Sethusamudram Ship Channel.

23 ref

018098   Bhu H;Sarkar A;Purohit R;Banerjee A (Geology Dep, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur-313 002, Email: ritesh_purohit@rediffmail.com) : Characterisation of fluid involved in ultramafic rocks along the Rakhabdev Lineament from southern Rajasthan, northwest India. Curr Sci 2006, 91(9), 1251-6.

Communication reports characterization of fluid involved in the process of serpentinization of the ultramafic rocks from the Rakhabdev-Kherwara sector constrained along the Rakhabdev Lineament, in southern Rajasthan, northwest India, at a temperature of around 350°C. The relatively low water/rock ratio in the rocks suggests the possibility of extensive isotopic exchange over a long period of time in a completely fluid buffered system. The isotopic data suggest possible involvement of at least two different fluid systems, either involving highly evolved meteoric water or a mixture of hydrothermal fluids with the meteoric water. The presence of extensive chloritization in the metamorphic country rocks suggests involvement of low degree of metamorphism during the alteration. Additional isotopic studies are required to understand the role of different fluid sources in altering the ultramafic rocks of the studied region.

5 illus, 2 tables, 17 ref

018097   Ali M H;Islam A K M R;Amin M G M (Agricultural Engineering Div, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, P O Box-4, Mymensingh 2200, Bangladesh) : Trend of rainfall and temperature in different regions of Bangladesh during last five decades. J Agrometeorol 2007, 9(1), 26-33.

Time series of yearly and monthly rainfall, and monthly maximum and minimum temperatures at five stations covering different regions of Bangladesh were investigated for temporal and spatial trends. The study reveals no significant trend in annual rainfall. Significant decreasing trend of monthly rainfall during monsoon (wet season) at two stations and increasing trend during dry season at several stations are observed. Time series of monthly maximum and minimum temperatures appear to follow some trends, showing increase and decrease at two extremes, respectively. Time series of minimum temperature showed inconsistent trends throughout the year and also between stations.

4 illus, 11 ref

017011   Swathi P S;Kalyani Devasena C (Centre for Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation (C-MMACS), , Belur Campus, Bangalore-560 037) : Simulation of the upper ocean thermal structure at the WHOI Arabian Sea mooring site. Indian J Mar Sci 2006, 35(2), 123-31.

Forced an Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM, MOM_4) with surface observations at the WHOI mooring site in the Arabian Sea blended with other data and compared the thermal and salinity structures of the resulting simulations with observations. the model is successful in reproducing observations during January-July 1995, but does poorly during the southwest monsoon season. Analysed model simulations in etail to study the thermal structure and mixed layer variability and the performance of the model at the buoy location in the Arabian Sea.

11 illus, 23 ref

017010   Singh O P (Monsoon Activity Centre, India Meteorological Department, , New Delhi-110003, Email: op_singh54@yahoo.com) : ENSO and monsoon induced sea level changes, and their impacts along the Indian coastline. Indian J Mar Sci 2006, 35(2), 87-92.

For preparedness programmes aimed at combating sea level - associated disasters, it is necessary to carry out comprehensive studies on different aspects of sea level variability. On many occasions the interannual modes dominate the long term trends of mean sea level variability on the interannual time scale. Focus is on the ENSO and monsoon modes of interannual variability of MSL along the Indian coast. The results have revealed that good concurrent correl correlations exist between the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and the Mean Tidal Level (MTL) at visakhapatnam during the intense cyclone period of the year, i.e. May, October and November. Also, in the end phase of the southwest monsoon (i.e. during September) MTL is significantly correlated to the SOL. During the cold phase of ENSO (i.e. positive SOI) MSL is higher over the east coast of India enhancing the hazardous potential of the Bay of Bengal tropical cyclones. ENSO seems to have relatively lesser impact on the MSL variation over the west coast of India during the ending phasea of the southwest monsson. The SOI-sea level relationship has prognostic unity also. High positive correlations exist between MSL along the east coast of India during the intense cyclone period (May, October and November) and the SOI of preceding month which can provide predictive indications of sea level one month in advance. Significant concurrent correlations have been found between monthly rainfall and MSL over the west coast of India during the southwest monsoon season. The correlation coefficients of the order of - +0.5 have been observed between the seasonal monsoon rainfall over Konkan and Goa coast and seasonal MSL at Mumbai; and seasonal monsoon rainfall over Keral and seasonal MSL at Kochi. It is interesting to note that correlations between the monsoon rainfall and MSL over the east coast of India. It may be pointed out that southeast coast of India receives substantial amount of rainfall during the northease monsoon season (October to December) during which northeasterly winds prevail there. The lag correlations between the southwest monsoon rainfall and sea level over the west coast and the northeast monsoon rainfall and sea level over the east coast could also be looked into for the purpose of predictability aspect of the sea level along the Indian coast.

4 illus, 3 tables, 18 ref

017009   Simpson M D;Raman S (Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8208, USA, , Email: sraman@ncsu.edu) : Observations and numerical simulation of the sea and land breeze circulations along the west coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 2006, 35(2), 139-52.

Sea breeze circulation along the west coast of India during the Indian Ocean Experiment (1999) has been investigated. Pilot balloon sounding data from Mumbai, goa, and Trivandrum, India show a diurnal variation in wind direction caused by land and sea breeze circulations along the west coast of India. Rawinsonde wind profiles taken from R/V Sagar Kanya 130 km offshore from the west coast ofIndia show the presence of sea and land breeze circulations. Infrared satellite images show the furthest extent of the sea breeze over the ocean to be 200 km. A mesoscale numerical model was used to further investigate the sea breeze circulation and its horizontal extent over the ocean. Simulated cross sections along the west coast of India show the horizontal extent of the afternoon sea breeze over the ocean to vary from around 130 to 260 m. Vertical velocities of about 0.25 ms^-1 were simulated inland as the sea breeze interacted with the mountains along India's west coast.

13 illus, 18 ref