006415   Jaiprakash B C;Venkatesh P;Panicker M V; Gilbert H;Paul S S (Regional Geoscience Laboratories, ONGC LTD., RR Towers, 200 Feet Road, Sasthanagar, Villivakkam, Chennai-600 049, Email: jaiprakash.bc@ongc.co.in) : Biochrono and tectonic framework for the orogin of KTB canyon in nagapattinam subbasin, cauvery basin. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 905-21.

There is a prominent canyon feature across Cretaceous - Tertiary boundary (KTB) in the Nagapattinam sub basin. Foraminiferal data from 34 well sections reveal that the sedimentary processes were disrupted 0.5-1 Ma before KTB and 0.5 to 1 Ma post KTB with intervening erosional process. The hiatus across KTB is diachronous and is 7-9 Ma along the axis, 3-4 Ma along the flanks and 1.8 Ma along the periphery and beyond the canyon. A credible correlation exists between timing of relative sea level fall and KTB canyon formation in the Cauvery Basin and the Deccan volcanism in west central India. The reunion hot mantle plume above which India was gliding over during Late Maastrichtian lifted west, central and peninsular India into a dome like feature. This has caused upliftment and east ward tilt of the Cauvery Basin. Relative sea level fall is recorded on top of the Kallankurichhi Formation in the outcrops (CF6- CF5 zones, Phase-1 Deccan volcanism, <126>70 Ma). Destabilization of shelf edge and slope sediments began around this time. The coastline receded and the areas west of Orathanadu got exposed (CF4 zone; <126>68 Ma). Doming continued till the base of CF3 zone (<126>67 Ma). The critical point of instability was around <126>66.4 Ma (CF2-CF1 zones; Phase - 2 Deccan volcanism). This triggered a chain of sedimentary processes involving shelf edge collapse, slumping, sliding and debris flows. Vast amounts of Middle - Late Maastrichtian sediments were removed creating the canyon. Post Deccan volcanism, there was a transgression beginning from P1b planktic zone (<126> 65 Ma) as a response to thermal cooling and subsidence. Thus it is evident that canyon development was largely restrained to upper- middle slope regions within a chronostratigraphic framework of 70-66.4Ma.

8 illus, 14 ref

006414   Jain V;Sinha R;Singh L P;Tandon S K (NO, Discipline of Earth Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, Gujarat-382 355, Email: vjain@iitgn.ac.in) : River system in India: the anthropocene context. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 747-61.

The Anthropocene represents the time since human impacts have become one of the major external forcings on natural processes. The present review provides a synthesis of studies on the Indian rivers at modern time scale. These studies highlight the significant impact of anthropogenic forcing on modern day river processes and behaviour. Various aspects of river systems at modern time scale and their possible future trajectories have been analysed. The integration of data from modern rivers and their archives are critical for defining sustainable stream management practices. Our synthesis suggests that the multi-disciplinary river studies at modern and historical time scales need to be pursued vigorously for securing the health and futures of the Indian rivers.

4 illus, 69 ref

006413   Jain A K;et al. (NO, CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, Email: himalfes@gmail.com) : Textonics and evolution of the Himalaya. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 581-604.

During the period 2011-2015, scientific investigations in the Himalaya incorporated various geological and geophysical aspects of evolution of this mountain, including sub-surface configuration, structure and metamorphism of the Lesser Himalaya and Himalayan Metamorphic Belt, geochemistry, magmatism, stratigraphy and paleontology of the PaleoMesozoic Tethyan sedimentary cover, the Himalayan foreland basins, exhumation, paleoseismology and GPS measurements of convergence rates. Certain remote areas of western Arunachal Pradesh in Kameng were covered for their metamorphism and exhumation. Sm-Nd isochron plot of garnet crystals from the Lesser Himalayan Jutogh Group metamorphics provided a mean regression age of 479.7±8.5 Ma as the timing of its crystallization during an Early Ordovician tectonometamorphic event. High-resolution work on metamorphism of the Lesser and Higher Himalayan belts of Sikkim incorporating P-T-t paths and geochronology of the imbricate zones of the Main Central Thrust provided better insight into their evolution.

3 illus, 104 ref

006412   Jain A K;Bhowmik S K (NO, CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, Email: himalfes@gmail.com) : Tectonics and evolution of the trans-Himalayan mountains and nagaland ophiolite belt. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 617-24.

Scientific investigations in the Trans-Himalayan and Nagaland ophiolite belt during the period 2011-2015 incorporated various geological and geophysical aspects of evolution of these mountains, including large-scale tectonics of the Indian Plate, its sub-surface configuration, structure and metamorphism. Certain remote areas of Karakoram along the upper Shyok valley and Nagaland were covered for their metamorphism and high pressure metamorphism of ophiolite belts, respectively.

2 illus, 16 ref

006411   Gunarathna M H J P;Kumari M K N;Nirmanee K G S (Agricultural Engineering and Soil Science Dep, Faculty of Agriculture, Rajarata Univ of Sri Lanka, Puliyankulama, Amuradhapura, Sri Lanka) : Evaluation of interpolation methods for mapping pH of groundwater. Int J latest Technol Engng Mgmt appl Sci 2016, 5(3), 1-5.

Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources in the world, which is threatenedon its quantity and quality. pH of water is a basic quality parameter and it determines the solubility and biological availability of chemical constituents such as nutrients and heavy metals. Excessively high and low pH can be detrimental in the use of water. Mapping the current situation of groundwater quality providesfor better management of resources. Interpolation methods facilitate to estimate the values for unsampled points and create a continuous dataset to study the spatial distributions. In this study the geostatistical analyst and spatial analyst tools were used to compare the accuracy of different interpolation methods by interpolatingbased on the spatial pattern of groundwater pH in Malwathu Oya cascade-I in Anuradhapura District, using Arc GIS 10.2. The total area of the cascade was divided into 1 km2 grids and forty wells were purposely selected to include two wells per grid,in assessing the groundwater pH during the dry period. Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Radial Basis Function (RBF), which are deterministic interpolation methods and kriging which is a geostatistical interpolation method were used with different parameters in both spatial and geostatistical analyst. Empirical Bayesian Kriging was used additionally for geostatistical analyst. The method which shows least root mean square error (RMSE) was selected as the best method to interpolate the spatial variation of groundwater pH. As a spatial analyst tool, Universal Kriging method was given the least RMSE value.As a geostatistical analyst tool, Empirical Bayesian Kriging with linear semivariogram model recordedthe least RMSE value.It can be concluded that geostatistical interpolation method performs better than deterministic interpolation methods for mapping groundwater pH in the study area.

5 illus, 1 table, 20 ref

006410   Duraiswami R A;Gadpallu P (Geology Dep, Savitribai Phule Pune Univ, Pune-411 007, Email: raymond.duriaswami@gmail.com) : Volcanism, past and present - the Indian scenario. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 549-57.

Indian geoscientists continue to study volcanism in the sub-continent under three distinct theme-based time periods i.e. Archean-Proterozoic volcanism, Late Mesozoic Deccan Traps and Prehistoric Barren Island volcanism. The physical volcanology, geochemistry, isotopic systematics and economic potential constitute thrust areas for komatiites research in the Dharwar and Singbhum cratons. Similarly, the geochemistry and geochronology of basalts and boninites from Chitradurga, Veligallu, Kutti, Gadwal, Jonnagiri and Kolar greenstone belts continue unabated. The Mesozoic Deccan Trap lavas and interflow boles have captivated the attention of a small but significant group of Indian geoscientists. Papers related to several aspects such as the physical volcanology, geochemistry, geochronology and magnetics of basalts, rhyolites and boles have been published. A first time report of occurrence of pelletal lapilli from one of the world's largest crater-facies kimberlites at Bejripadar Tokapal Kimberlite field is significant. Radiogenic dating of kimberlite-lamproite magmatism from Mainpur,Wajrakarur and Kutch suggest a close spatio-temporal association between these deep-seated mantle messengers and large CFB provinces during the Cretaceous. A small group of dedicated Earth Scientists continue to work on the tuffs and basaltic andesite lavas from the prehistoric Barren Island Volcano.

2 illus, 50 ref

006409   Chatterjee S;Bajpai S (Geosciences Dep, Museum of Texas Tech Univ, Lubbock, Texas 79409, Email: sunilbajpai2001@yahoo.com) : India's Northward drift from Gondwana to Asia during the late cretaceous-ecocene. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 479-87.

The northward drift of the Indian plate from its original Gondwana home in the late Jurassic to its current position in Asia since the Early Cenozoic provides a unique natural laboratory for tracking its changing geography, climate, tectonics, and biotic evolution for the past nearly 150 million years. With the breakup of Gondwana, India began to disintegrate into a smaller plate, becoming partially isolated during the Early Cretaceous Period, but possibly retaining a biotic link with Africa via Madagascar. Around 80 Ma, as the Indian plate collided with the Kohistan-Ladakh (KL) Arc and Arabia collided with the Oman Arc, a continuous accreted terrane - the Oman-Kohistan-Ladakh (OKL) Arc- was formed that possibly served as a biotic filter bridge between India and Africa. The biotic connectivity with Africa and South America helps to resolve a major conundrum of Indian paleobiogeography, namely the lack of endemism among Late Cretaceous Indian tetrapods. Later, two catastrophic events at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, with possible links to the dinosaur extinction, marked the terminal phase of India's northward drift. The Deccan volcanism and the possible Shiva impact. Around the same time, Seychelles was separated from India. During the Late Cretaceous (<126>67 Ma), the Indian plate suddenly accelerated its motion to 20 cm/year between two transform faults that facilitated its northward movement: the Owen-Chaman Fault on the west and the Wharton Ridge-Sagaing Fault on the east. As a result, the Neotethyan plate, bordered by these two transform faults, became a separate oceanic plate (Kshiroda plate). India continued its acceleration during the Paleocene as a passenger ship with a mobile gangplank of the OKL Arc, carrying its impoverished Gondwanan fauna. A pronounced global warming took place during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), when India collided with Asia causing significant changes to tectonics and tetrapod radiation. India slowed down dramatically to 5 cm/year during its initial collision, and its tetrapod fauna underwent an explosive evolution in response to a new ecological opportunity resulting in the Indo-Eurasian interchanges. The occurrence of several stem groups of tetrapods supports the Gondwanan Indian origin (i.e. the Out-of-India hypothesis) of several modern mammal orders such as the perissodactyls, primates, artiodactyls and whales whose antiquity can now be traced phylogenetically to the Indian taxa.

1 illus, 48 ref

006408   Bhattacharya A R;Bose S;Mukherjee B K;Mamtani M A;Srivastava D C (Geology Dep, Lucknow Univ, Lucknow-226 007, Email: dpkesfes@gamail.com) : Status of research in structural geology; the Indian scene during the last five years. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 435-43.

During the last five years, research in Structural Geology has seen multifarious developments. Experimental and numerical simulations extended our knowledge on deformation pattern of the Earth's crust, especially on various types of folding mechanisms and strain distribution in shear zones. Experiments on fluid mechanics provided an understanding of the ascent of diamond-bearing kimberlitic magma, the ascent path and geometry of plumes. Study of Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility has come out as a powerful tool to explain strain pattern and quantitative vorticity in deformed rocks, structural control on gold mineralization and in microfracture geometry of impact crators as applied to the Lonar Crator in western India. Regional studies on the Himalaya, Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, South India, Central India, Rajasthan, and Eastern India advanced our knowledge on crustal deformation pattern, tectonics and assembly of continents, basement structures, fold growth kinematics, thrust-sheet movement and shearing mechanism. Radiometric dates have been estimated from a number of rocks especially to understand the timings of deformation and mineral formation. Palaeostress estimation unravels the stress regime of some geologically significant areas and basins across the country.

77 ref

006407   Achyuthan H;Farooqui A;Gopal V;Phartiyal B; Lone A (Geology Dep, Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025, Email: hachyuthan0@gmail.com) : Late quaternary to holocene southwest monsoon reconstruction: a review based on lake and wetland system (studies carried out during 2011-2016). Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2016, 82(3), 847-68.

The recent trends in Late Quaternary researches, particularly, for the Holocene period is mainly focused on reconstructing the past climate dynamics, fluctuations in the intensity of the southwest monsoon (SWM) and applications of these datasets for predicting future trends. During the years 2010-2015, the published data, although shows chronological constraints, by covering different physiographies of India, which presently display a highly variable climate from hot to cold desert and from high to low rainfall region. An integrated multidisciplinary, multiproxy data provide a comprehensive understanding of the trend in climate change, from moist mid-Holocene to dry Late Holocene conditions from the Indian subcontinent although with a slight variation in time brackets which is attributed to external forces responding to varied landscape, geographical setting and altitudinal changes. Most of the lake records show a decline in SWM since the middle Holocene with intermittent intense wetter conditions. This allowed the lake margins to shrink and expand. Some lakes hold the signatures of abrupt and extreme events such as the 8200 yr BP solar insolation event, 4200 extreme aridity, 3800 dry and warm conditions, Medieval warm period (MWP) and the Little Ice age (LIA) events. Till date, however, these data are few and far in between and the need of the day is to rigorously generate quantification of SWM intensity using lake sediments and compile the dataset for climatic modeling such as the Regional Climate Models (REGCMS) to predict future climate change if any with greater degree of correctness.

4 illus, 2 tables, 133 ref

005299   Zakirov T R;Galeev A A;Korolev E A;Statsenko E O (NO, Kazan Federal Univ, Kazan, 4/5 Kremlyovskaya Str, 420008, Russia, Email: tirzakirov@kpfu.ru) : Flow properties of sandstone and carbonate rocks by X-ray computed tomography. Curr Sci 2016, 110(11), 2142-8.

Authors report the use of X-ray micro-CT and numerical simulations for studying the reservoir properties of sandstone and carbonate rocks in the Melekess depression of the Volga-Ural anteclise, Russia. To simulate the flow of a viscous fluid in the pore scale, we use a mathematical model which consists of the continuity equation, stationary Navier-Stokes equations and Darcy law. As a result of computational micro-scale experiments on digital three-dimensional images of sandstone, we get satisfactory compatible permeability coefficients, which are calculated using Navier-Stokes and Kozeny-Carman equations. Carbonates with fracture porosity reveals significant variations in permeability coefficients, calculated by the two methods. The Kozeny-Carman equation can describe the flow properties of carbonates with a predominantly matrix porosity. It is shown that a pronounced heterogeneity of the pore space leads to the representative elementary volume for permeability coefficient in carbonates several times larger than in sandstones.

7 illus, 2 tables, 28 ref

005298   Trivedi S;Zaman S;Ray Chaudhuri T;Pramanick P;Fazli P;Amin G;Mitra A (Biology Dep, Faculty of Science, Univ of Tabuk, Ministry of Higher Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email: trivedi.subrata@gmail.com) : Inter-annual variation of salinity in Indian Sundarbans. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(3), 410-5.

Using secondary data coupled with real time data, inter-annual variation of surface water salinity in three sectors (western, central and eastern) of Indian Sundarbans during 1984-2013 was studied. Salinity of the aquatic system in the present deltaic complex, situated in the inshore region of Bay of Bengal is primarily regulated by anthropogenic factors (like barrage discharge, run-off from the adjacent landmasses etc.) and natural factors (like siltation, plate tectonics etc.). Surface water salinity has decreased by 0.63 and 0.86 psu per year in the western and eastern sectors respectively, whereas in the central sector, it has increased 1.09 psu per year. Another important objective of the study is to investigate the future salinity (in 2043, 30 years after 2013) in the three sectors of the deltaic complex considering the present data set of 30 years as the baseline. Our forecast through exponential smoothening method reveals an alarming hypersaline environment in the central Indian Sundarbans.

9 illus, 1 table, 23 ref

005297   Suresh Kumar;Lakra P;Balamurali R (NO, Geological Survey of India, Jabalpur-482 003) : Petrography and mineral chemistry of Hirapur-Surajpura phosphorite of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Indian J Geosci 2016, 70(2), 127-38.

Rock phosphate, a major component of fertilizer industry, is known to occur from Proterozoic to Tertiary periods. Proterozoic phosphorite of Hirapur, Jhabua and Lalitpur are well-known deposits of central India. In India, majority of the phosphorite production is consumed by agriculture industry as superphosphate, triple superphosphate or DAP (diammonium phosphate). In addition to that, phosphorite products such as fertilizer, elemental phosphorous and phosphorous chemicals are widely used in making detergent, ' insecticide, match boxes, fireworks, military smoke screen, incendiary bombs and many other products. Encouraged by the finding of phosphorite by Atomic Mineral Division during 1976-77, Geological Survey of India took up investigation of phosphorite in Hirapur area. Recent investigation reveals number of medium- to high-grade, discontinuous, NW-SE- to NE-SW-trending lensoidal phosphatic ore bodies in Hirapur-Surajpura area. Phosphogenesis is structurally as well as lithologically controlled. On the basis of mineralogy, geochemical analysis and mineral chemistry these ore bodies are classified as medium- to high-grade phosphorites. The occurrence of non-biogenic phosphorite in Hirapur-Surajpura area, associated with ferruginous formation, is unique amorigst all the phosphorite deposits of India and is suggestive of shoreline shallow deposit subjected to oscillations resulting in oxidizing to reducing environment. The present paper elucidates petrography, mineral chemistry and grade zonation of medium- to high-grade phosphorites of Bijawar Group of rocks of central India.

7 illus, 3 tables, 24 ref

005296   Sudarsana Raju G (Geology Dep, Yogi Vemana Univ, Kadapa-516 003) : Determination of soil resources and water balance in and around Nandyal, Kurnool district. Indian J envir Prot 2015, 35(9), 783-8.

Determination of soil resources and water balance has been carried out in and around Nandyal. Constituents and properties of 50 soil samples analysed and estimated include colour, texture, free calcium, phosphate, potassium, electrical conductance and hydrogen ion concentration (pH). The soils of the study area mostly represented by clay, loam, sandy, clay lamy, sandy clay and loamy silt and subordinately by gravel and coarse to fine sand.The colour of the soils shows various shades of brown,grey and red ranging from reddish brown, dark grey brown and light grey, light red and deep black. Along the flood plains of the Kunderu river and its tributaries sandy alluvium, which is occasionally mixed up with boulders and gravel is found.

4 illus, 3 tables, 2 ref

005295   Roy M B;Talukder R;Roy R;Roy P K;Majumder A (Geography Dep, Gandhi Centenary B.T. College, Habra) : Man-wetland dependency ratio with respect to socio-economic scenario of Khalsi wetland, Haringhata, Nadia. Indian J envir Prot 2015, 35(11), 890-900.

Wetland habitats are valuable for the services that they provide in water storage as well as for safeguarding innumerable species of plants and animals. The study was to identify how the main socio-economic sectors perceive their interaction and impact on a wetland especially in Khalsi in Nadia district of west Bengal in the 3rd world countries, like India. The result reveled that there are 3 main economic sectors including fishing, agriculture and livestock production. Each activity providing a great benefit for local people whose are dependent upon the wetland and to find out the ecological characteristics of the wetland. The local people perceive that the current activity are conducted in such a way that they created conflict between socio-economic values and caused a threat for long term sustainability of the wetland. The result highlighted the need to initiate an integrated management approach.

10 illus, 6 tables, 5 ref

005294   Rakesh Kumar;Singh R D;Arora M;Patna J P; Sapra T R (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee-247 667, Email: rk18p@yahoo.co.in) : Training, research and application in hydrology and water resources development and managment-how to bridge the gap?. Curr Sci 2016, 110(12), 2231-8.

Due to advent of computations facilities and emerging technologies in the field of water sector, the gap between research and its applications is rapidly increasing. Problems and challenges in the field of hydrology and water resources have been discussed. Requirement of hydrological design aids as well as Decision Support Systems; necessity of preparation of standards, manuals, guidelines; strengthening of training and capacity building; importance of web portals and outreach plans; drawing talented young professionals to research institutions; upgradation of infrastructure; significance of crowds ourcing and engaging citizen scientists; integration of research and practice and action points for using emerging technologies are brought out.

40 ref

005293   Rajamanickam M;Rajamanickam G V (Centre for Disaster Management, Prist Univ, Vallam Tamilnadu, Email: ramanimano@yahoo.com) : Beach placer mineral evaluation using geospatial techniques: A case study between the Kallar Vembar coast, Gulf of Mannar, Tamilndadu. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(7), 830-42.

Beach Placer Mineral assessment (BPMA) is carried out using GIS overlay analysis.In this study is also emphasis relationship between beach physiography, beach profile and beach deposits with reference to beach placer mineral occurrence estimated. Various spatial data sources like Satellite data used for analysis the shoreline change, coastal geomorphological change pattern studies. Total coastal stretch of 24 km beach placer mineral sample collection and beach profile survey carried out by using GeoXT pathfinder GPS.After the field work, different chemical analysis carried out for beach sediment mineral separation. More over in GIS part the spatial integration performed through Arc GIS 10.1 software for identifying the different beach placer potential zones.Final integrated GIS analysis showed that excellent to very good placer concentration identified in coastal villages of Kalaignapuram,Periasamypuram and Pachayapuram region.In additionally,the moderate to fair concentration of placer minerals are observed in Kallurani and Vembar villages and also poor concentration are noticed in coastal village of Kallurani.

17 illus, 3 tables, 20 ref

005292   Pradhan U K;Yadav P K (NO, Geological Survey of India, SU: Odisha, Bhubaneswar-751 012) : Magma mixing-mingling in the Mesoarchean Singhbhum granitoids, eastern India: field and petrographic evidence from mafic microgranular enclaves. Indian J Geosci 2016, 70(2), 113-26.

The study reports for the first time, occurrence, origin and field characteristics of mafic microgranular enclaves in the granitoids of Singhbhum Craton. The Singhbhum granitoids are associated with abundant mafic microgranular enclaves and country-rock xenoliths. The rocks of the Singhbhum granitoids can be broadly classified into very coarse- to coarse-grained granitoids with abundant mafic minerals (hornblende, biotite and chlorite), medium- to coarse-grained granitoids with low mafic content (biotite and chlorite) and fine- to medium-grained granitoids with paucity of mafic content. These granitoids which are metaluminous (I-type) to peraluminous (S-types) in nature host various types of microgranular enclaves. These enclaves are mesocratic to melanocratic, rounded to elliptical, fine- to coarse-grained and occur ubiquitously in the host granitoids. These enclaves are diorite to quartz-diorite in composition and the host granitoids range from granodiorite to monzogranite. Field and petrographic evidences reveal that these granitoids and their enclaves are derived from multistage magma mixing and mingling processes related to fractional differentiation of several phases of mafic and felsic magmas formed in open magma chambers of subduction setting.

7 illus, 1 table, 63 ref

005291   Mukhopadhyay B;Sengupta D;Mondal P K;Gonnade G D (Geological Survey of India, Central Headquarters, 29 J.L. Nehru Road, Kolkata-700 016, Email: basabmukhopadhyay@gmail.com) : Seismotectonic appraisal and tsunami potentiality of the seismic sources zones in Andaman-Sumatra arc system, Indian Ocean. Indian J Geosci 2016, 70(2), 139-52.

The Andaman-Sumatra arc in southeast Indian Ocean with distinct plate margin features (Sunda-Andaman trench, Andaman-Nicobar-Nias sedimentary arc, volcanic arc, and back-arc spreading axis at Andaman Sea) is one of the highly active seismic zones in the world producing recurrent megathrust earthquakes. Some of these earthquakes produce tsunamis, including the most recent tsunami in 2004 and historical records in years of 1881 and 1941, in coastal tracts of adjoining countries. The seismicity map along this tectonic arc indicates presence of eleven clusters of earthquakes disposed on seismically active faults that can be represented as zones of strain accumulation and source of recurrent seismic activity. Spatial statistics like 'near' and 'point density' is used to constrain the geographic extent of these clusters, while free-air gravity values replicate underlying tectonic process that produce the clusters. Seismotectonics of these clusters is discussed in relation to plate configuration and prevailing seismotectonics. Maximum-magnitude earthquake that can occur in these source zones is calculated through empirical relationship between rupture length (RL) and magnitude (M), and the values are then compared with maximum magnitudes observed in those clusters. Seismotectonic analysis, and 'a' and 'b' values indicate that source zones A, B in Sumatra offshore and F, J in west of Andaman group of islands are seismically vulnerable. Observed return period (<126>400 years) of giant paleotsunami in Andaman-Sumatra arc is comparable to the recurrence period of tsunamogenic plate margin earthquake calculated through extreme value statistics. The maximum-magnitude earthquake in the clusters is used to calculate the maximum run-up height of tsunamis on the nearby coastal tracts.

5 illus, 2 tables, 54 ref

005290   Majumdar T J;Chander S (NO, Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: tjmajumdar@rediffmail.com) : On extraction of linear and anomalous features over a part of the 85°E ridge, Bay of Bengal for tectonic studies. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(3), 365-70.

Mainly, satellite-derived FAG data have been utilized in the present paper to throw light on the structure and tectonics of the ridges depicting low FAG anomaly in the Indian offshore region: the 85°E ridge. However, additional data including bathymetry, available seismic profiles and isopach maps over the region have also been utilized. Earlier analysis suggests that both these ridges (85°E ridge, the Ninetyeast ridge) are oceanic in nature; however the low gravity anomaly is due to sagging of the crust caused by compressional forces in the 85°E ridge. Horizontal directional derivatives and sun-shading are two commonly used gradient-based filters used on satellite-derived free-air gravity images over the 85°E ridge for enhancing linear features in potential field data.

4 illus, 25 ref

005289   Liang Q;Zhao M;Yan X (College of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical Univ, Xi'an Shaanxi, 710 072, P.R.China, Email: liangqingwei@nwpu.edu.cn) : Grey trend relational model of production cost for torpedo. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(3), 171-7.

For the same type of torpedo made in different batches, production cost will be different. In general, the cost is a downward trend with the increase of the batches. Production costs of different batches were divided into three data sequences with equal length, grey trend relational degree between the sequences is calculated. Equation based on trend consistent principle is established, and then the value of production cost can be predicted. A numerical example was provided to verify the properness of the model. Comparing with traditional methods, the result of the paper indicates that the grey trend relational model reflects the internal trend of production cost. It is suitable for predicting production cost of other productions that have a few bathes.

1 illus, 2 tables, 35 ref

005288   Lakkad A P;Patel D P;Nayak D;Srivastava P K (Soil & Water Engineering Dep, College of Agril. Engg. & Technology, Navsari Agricultural Univ, Dediapada-393 040, Email: larunp@nau.in) : Preparation of erosion susceptibility map of Dhaman khadi sub-watershed in Eastern Gujarat using ArcGIS interface. J appl nat Sci 2016, 8(4), 2196-2202.

An attempt has been made to model land degradation in term of water erosion of selected Dhaman Khadi sub-watershed (7710.64 ha.) in Eastern Gujarat, India through Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation using ArcGIS interface. The average erosivity of 30 years (1986-2015) annual rainfall using standard formula was estimated to be 480.63 MJ mm ha<^>-1 hr-1 per year. The erodibility factor K was computed as 0.236 and 0.177 mtúhr MJ-1 mm-1 per unit R respectively for clay loam and clay soils using modified formula.. 20 m Digital Elevation Model was prepared from Toposheet No. F43N10 by using 'Topo to Raster' interpolation method. The slope length factor L was derived from DEM using Unit Stream Power Erosion and Deposition (USPED) Model. The raster layers of slope steepness factor for slope having <60> 9% and = 9% was prepared separately to form final slope steepness factor map. Cover management factor map was derived based on cropping pattern for the various land cover categories of the study area. The standard conservation practice factor values for cross-sloped agricultural lands were assigned to the attribute table of the intersected map of LU/LC and slope maps to prepare the P factor map. Average gross soil erosion was minimum for evergreen forest while maximum for wasteland without scrub. Highest area covered by agricultural land (i. e. 41.54) of Dhaman Khadi sub-watershed having 33.28 tons/ha/yr gross soil erosion needs immediate treatment to prevent land degradation. Soil loss tolerance limit of study area was used to derive erosion susceptibility map in order to identify the priority of conservation programs. As all the factors of RUSLE was estimated precisely at sub-watershed level, the study could help for rapid and reliable planning of watershed development pro-grams in combination with the use of RS and GIS technology.

10 illus, 5 tables, 18 ref

005287   Khalilabadi M R (NO, Malek-Ashtar Univ of Technology, Shiraz, Iran, Email: rezakhalilabadi@gmail.com) : Effect of meterological events on sea surface height variations along the northwesterm Persian Gulf. Curr Sci 2016, 110(11), 2138-41.

Analysing semi-hourly sea surface height (SSH) observed by tidal stations of the National Carto-graphic Center (NCC) of Iran at Bushehr and Kangan ports indicates de-tided SSH during January 2014. This analysis shows the impact of two meteorological events during 16-17 and 24-25 January 2014, when the northwestern part of the Persian Gulf was affected by them. During both occurrences, the de-tided SSHs at both stations were uniform, but the impact was larªger at Bushehr and weaker at Kangan. The results show that historical NCC sea-level data would be useful for validation of numerical models which are emerging as a major tool for storm surge warning system in the Persion Gulf.

5 illus, 20 ref

005286   Greeshma A G;Jagannadha Rao M;Karuna Karudu T;Mallikarjuna Rao M (Geology Dep, Andhra Univ, Visakhpatnam-530 017, Email: karun523@gmail.com) : Distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in Nagavali river estuary, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(7), 875-81.

Fifteen sediment samples were collected from estuarine environment of Nagavali River Estuary and 237 foraminifera belonging to 23 species have been identified in the sediment samples. Faunal diversity 23% and distribution are 42% in this estuary. Q-mode cluster analysis revealed that the foraminifera could be grouped into 4 clusters. The Ammonia tepida, Noniondepressulum, Quinqueloculinaseminulum, Ammonia beccarii, Quinqueloculinasp., Nonionsp., are abundant species. Occurrence and distribution of foraminiferal assemblages studied in the Nagavali estuary sediments, infers that these sediments were deposited from marine to brackish environment.

2 illus, 4 tables, 20 ref

005285   Gedam R K;Baswani S R;Tiwari C B (Geophysics Div, Geological Survey of India, Central Region, Nagpur-440 006, Email: rajugedam19@gmail.com) : Delineation of structural features and basement configuration of Sakoli fold belt using gravity-magnetic data. Indian J Geosci 2016, 70(2), 169-78.

Regional gravity and magnetic surveys were carried out in in Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra pertaining to Survey of India (Sol) topographic maps 55O/12, 15, 16 and 64C/3 and 4. The area exposes rocks of Amgaon Gneissic Complex, Tirodi Gneissic complex, Sakoli Group, Khairagarh Group and supracrustals of Sausar Group with younger laterite capping. A prominent Bouguer gravity high (H) of 13 mGal trending NE-SW has been observed through Manegaon to Gangajhari in the central part of surveyed area. This gravity high zone is due to basement high, intrusive bodies and/or BIF, metabasalt and ferruginous phyllite of Sakoli Group of rocks. The margins of the Sakoli Group of rocks are reflected as gravity gradients bordering the main gravity high zone which can be inferred as fault/shear zones. Prominent Bouguer gravity low zone (L) of 5 mGal trending NNE-SSW has been observed. The sheared contact between Sakoli Group and Dongargarh Group is manifested in the form of prominent gravity gradient zone which is aligned N-S in the southern part up to Pindikepar from where it assumes NNE-SSW trend which extends up to Kaulewara. Here the shear zone bifurcates and extends up to Gondia and the other branch trending NW-SE continues up to Bhanupur. Low gravity closures having minimum value of -64 mGal are picked up at Dawa and east of Kosamtodi caused by Dongargarh Granite and sandstone and shale of Khairagarh Group. The N-S-trending gravity low throughiDawa and Khomara indicates fault/ shear zone. The depth of basement is <126> 5 km, whereas that of Sakoli sediments is <126>2 km. Two significant elongated magnetic low zones trending NE-SW and NNE-SSW are identified as fault/shear zones.

6 illus, 14 ref

005284   Gandhi M S;Rao N R;Raja M;Suresh N (Geology Dep, Univ of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai-600 025, Email: msureshgandhi@gmail.com) : Benthic foraminiferal distribution and its ecological studies in a shallow shelf setting of Colachel, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(6), 742-8.

Samples were collected at 2 transects from stations at Colachel and Mandaikaddu in water depths ranging 0 to <126>20 m. In the present study 109 foraminiferal taxa belong to 56 genera are identified. At Colachel, the total foraminiferal species increase from shallow to intermediate depths (0 to 10 m). Important benthic species of this zone are Amphistegina radiata, Quinqueloculina lamarckiana, Q. seminulum, Q. sulcata Q. elongata, Reussella simplex and Textularia agglutinans. The scatter plot of organic matter (OM) versus living species shows positive correlation. Further, the positive trend of Organic matter Vs carbonate reveals that due to littoral drift, the sediment brought from the shallow shelf region has played a significant role in the contribution of dead species as well as shell fragments. In the study area, some important foraminiferal species which mark significant appearance, disappearance and faunal abundance in tune with their depth trails are helpful for demarcating the zonation of benthic populations.

5 illus, 3 tables, 25 ref

005283   Das A;Fernandes C E G;Naik S S;Mourya B S; Sujith P P;Sharma R;Loka Bharathi P A (Biologica Oceanography Dep, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of O, Dona Paula, Goa-403 004, Email: loka@nio.org) : Microbial and biochemical alterations due to storage of deep-sea sediments under ambient tropical conditions. Indian J Geomar Sci 2016, 45(6), 733-41.

Response of indigenous bacteria to incubation at normal pressure and tropical temperature (28 ± 2°C), were examined in four deep-sea sediments from polymetallic-nodule fields in Central Indian Basin (CIB). Sediments were stored in sterile air-tight polythene containers. Changes in microbial and biochemical parameters were monitored once in every two months for a year. Bacterial counts and ATP decreased from <126>10<^>8 to <126>10<^>7 g<^>-1 and <126>10<^>3 to <126>10<^>1 ng g<^>-1 dry sediment respectively, within 8-10 months before stabilization. Protein: carbohydrate ratio fluctuated considerably. The four samples responded distinctively to storage, suggesting dependence of variations on inherent sedimentary properties. Though bacteriologically and biochemically altered, the integrity of metals in sediments changed only marginally. Sediment properties evolved from a non-steady phase to a steady phase.

6 illus, 4 tables, 45 ref

005282   Chakraborty K (Geological Survey of India, Central Petrological Lab, 15A & B Kyd Street, Kolkata-700 016, Email: kasturi.8c@gmail.com) : Nanogeoscience-a new world, scopes and perspectives. Indian J Geosci 2016, 70(2), 103-12.

Although nanominerals and mineral nanoparticles have long been known in nature, it is being only recently understood that these phases exhibit a set properties quite unique and different from coarser grained minerals. Such deviation can be attributed to very high surface free energy and distortion resulting from a large number of unsatisfied bonds. Nanominerals have now been reported from a wide spectrum of environments including cosmic and nebular dust, meteorite, low-temperature surface and near-surface Earth, low-grade metamorphic rocks, shallow- and deep-focus earthquakes and a wide variety of other ambiences. Nanogeoscience is also anewly explored subject. It has been found that nanominerals and mineral nanoparticles play significant role in low-temperature metallogeny and toxic metal dispersion. This paper attempts a brief review of the different aspects of nanogeoscience with an emphasis on its societal implications.

45 ref

004374   Singh G P;Khole M;Rase D M (India Meterological Dep, , Shivajinagar, Pune-411 005, Email: gauravendra.singh@gmaiul.com) : Extreme rainfall events and urban floods in the growing cities of India. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 825-40.

There has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in India over the past several years. An attempt has been made in the present study, to examine urban flood caused by heavy rainfall events (≥ 65 mm) and very heavy rainfall events (≥ 125 mm) for the growing cities in India for the period from 1969 to 2010. Also, the trend analysis of occurrences of heavy rainfall along with favourable synoptic situations has been discussed. Bhopal and Jaipur have shown decreasing trend in seasonal heavy rainfall events. Trend is significant for Bhopal only. Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore show increasing trend in seasonal rainfall though not significant in heavy rainfall events. Monthly trend for heavy rainfall events (≥65 mm) show significant negative (decreasing) trend for the month of June for Lucknow, August for Bhopal and September for Hyderabad. Monthly trends in heavy rainfall events (≥65 mm) show significant positive (increasing) trend for the month of June for Bangalore and Patna, August for Hyderabad and September for Bhubaneswar. In rest of the cases monthly trends are in different. Overall there is no systematic trend in the heavy rainfall events.

6 illus, 2 tables, 16 ref

004373   Singh C;Chand R (Indian Meterological Dep, Mausam Bhavan, Lodi Road, New Delhi-110 003, Email: csingh1964@gmail.com) : Exceptionally heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand during 15-18 June, 2013 - a case study. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 741-50.

Uttarakhand experienced exceptionally heavy rainfall, which caused floods and huge damage to life and property over the state during 15-18 June, 2013. Movement of a deep westerly trough between longitude 65.0° E to 70.0° E and a low pressure area over west Madhya Pradesh and adjoining east Rajasthan along with moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal as well from Arabian sea over western Himalayan region (WHR), more particularly over Uttarakhand have been examined. The moisture flux started rising from 180 gm/kg on 10 June to about 250 gm/kg on 15 June and about 500 gm/kg on 16 June. Outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) was about 190 w/m during 15 to 17 June and it rose to 220 w/m^{2 on 18 June. The precipitable water contents increased from about 23 gm/cm2 on 10 June to about 34 gm/cm2 on 16 June. Upper level divergence was more than 15x10-5 s-1 and the lower level convergence 20x10-5 S-1 during heavy rainfall period over the region. Relative humidity started increasing from 14 June onwards and become about 90% at 700 hPa and about 80% at 500 hPa on 16 June, 2013. Tropical rain measuring mission (TRMM) rainfall was of the order of 40-80 mm/day on 14 and 15 June and 120-160 mm/day on 16 June, 2013 over a large part of Uttarakhand.}

14 illus, 11 ref

004372   Sharma S K;Sharma Y;Sharma E;Kumar S (NO, , LIG-56, Pkt-1, Sector-A9, Dda Flats, Narela, Delhi) : Vaccine vial monitors (VVMs): applications and challenges. Pharma Innovation 2016, 6(3), 1-6.

VVM is the only tool among all time temperature indicators that is available at any time in the process of distribution and at the time a vaccine is administered indicating whether the vaccine has been exposed to a combination of excessive temperature over time and whether it is likely to have been damaged. It clearly indicates to health workers whether a vaccine can be used. VVMs have also become an invaluable tool to increase coverage through increased access in hard-to-reach communities and in areas with ver weak and no cold chain infrastructure. There is consensus that VVMs play an extremely valuable role in improving the quality of immunization efforts throughout the world. In recent years vaccine manufacturers raised some questions and concerns about issues impeding VVM implementation. UNICHF Supply Division facilitated further feedback on these issues through a specific letter on the general terms and conditions governing VVM procurement. In addition to regular contact with vaccine manufacturers, WHO, in coordination with UNlCEF. began visiting vaccine manufacturers on a one-on-one basis to discuss VVM implementation issues in detail. The issues are categorized as follow: Validation issues, Cold Chain & Logistics issues, Regulatory issues, Programme issues, and Commercial issues etc.

3 illus, 4 tables, 12 ref

004371   Shakir Ali (Hydrology and Engineering, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Kota, Rajasthan, Email: shakir_ali2@hotmail.com) : Estimation of time variant water availability and irrigation potential of small ponds in a semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India. J Instn Engrs : Ser A 2016, 97(1), 43-51.

A field experiment was conducted to assess water availability and irrigation potential of two small, shallow and Ephemeral ponds located in a small watershed of the semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India. The Holistic Water Depth Simulation (HWDS) model was employed for estimating the pond water availability with 3 years field data (2006-2008). The analysis revealed that the value of depth of water in the selected ponds predicted by the HWDS model had closed match to the field data. The index of agreement between measured and predicted values of depth of water in the selected ponds was found to be ranged from 0.93 to 0.94 for the pool data sets. The F and Student's T test between measured and predicted values revealed that model estimates were not statistically different from measured values at 0.01% level of significance. Analysis revealed that mean pond volumetric water availability for the selected ponds ranged from 1448 to 5001 m3 during the study period. During the off monsoon seasons, water availability period was varied between 35 and 78 days with a mean of 61 days. Analyses revealed that water availability in the selected ponds lasted at least 48-61 days. The off monsoon season irrigation potential of ponds with one and two irrigations for the rainfed crops at critical growth stage in the region was estimated to be 12.6 and 6.3 ha, respectively.

4 illus, 4 tables, 17 ref

004370   Seetharam K (NO, Meterological Centre, Hyderabad, Regional Meterological Centre, Chennai-440 006, Email: seetharamkovela123@gmail.com) : Trends in equatorial pacific sea surface temperatures. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 793-802.

The phenomenon of the "ElNino" is well known at least for more than 100 years. Many scientists and investigators showed that the equatorial pacific, especially the East Pacific SSTs, have an influence on the Global monsoon circulation and in turn on the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). The extended reconstruction of SSTs (ERSSTs) data has been used in this study. The data has been subject to analysis by statistical methods. Fourier analysis has been done to know periodicity. The climatology & trends in the Equatorial Pacific SSTs have been studied and results discussed.

11 illus, 2 tables, 27 ref

004369   Sadiq N (Institute of Space & Planetary Astrophysics, Karachi Univ, Karachi-75270, Pakistan, Email: nsadiq@uok.edu.pk) : Modeling of rainfall extremes through the application of exitremal type theorem (ETT). Mausam 2015, 66(4), 803-8.

Rainfall extremes are one of the main reason to raise vigorous flooding in Pakistan and their augmenting magnitude have an astronomically detrimental impact on the agriculture products and urban infrastructure. Estimation of return periods based on Extreme Value Theory have been worked out by means of probabilistic modeling by utilizing the rainfall extreme data for the different meso-cities (Sialkot, Dir, Nawabshah, Chilas and Barkhan) of Pakistan for the period 1981-2010. Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) Distribution model of Exitremal Type Theorem (ETT) have been fitted to extremes to estimate the return periods. Calculated estimations reveal that among the considered meso-cities, Sialkot and Chilas have the highest (129.8 mm) and lowest (48.1 mm) amount of daily rainfall for the five year return period, respectively. It is also explored that ten year return period for Nawabshah and Barkhan is more than 85 mm, while for Dir and Chilas it is greater than 120 mm and 60 mm, respectively. Moreover, the return periods for 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 years have also been estimated.

3 illus, 1 table, 18 ref

004368   Puranik H V;Nain A S;Murthy N S (Agrometeorology Dep, College of Agriculture, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Uttrakhand) : Climatic suitability analysis of fast growing tree species under wastelands of Uttarakhand for carbon credit. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 767-76.

The Kyoto Protocol provides explicit opportunities for Annex B countries to partly achieve their; reduction commitments by planting new forests, or by managing existing forests or agricultural land differently (so-called Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry measures: LULUCF). The presumption of these LUIUCF options is that removing CO₂ from the atmospher: and to the stabilization of the atmospheric CO₂ concentration to be used by the new forests as a mitigation strategy. The degraded areas have a large potential to sequester carbon in the soil; storage in vegetation is preferable due to their longer residual time and less risk of rapid release to the atmosphere. The main aim of this study was to identify the suitable land area of wastelands for plantation of fast growing tree species through Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS). A suitability resulting from the overlay process of the identified theme layers has unique information of tree requirement on which the suitability is based. The identified theme layers include temperature (maximum, minimum and average temperature), precipitation and soil properties. Those thematic layers with their associated attribute data were encoded in GIS database. Overlay operation was performed on those layers as the suitability model assigned. The digital layers were reclassified and given weightings to be analysed further. Finally, suitability map was prepared with five suitability categories namely, most suitable, suitable, moderately suitable, less suitable and not suitable. After developing a suitability map combined to each map with some logical equations and unique number was given to each tree species in GIS and it is to come up with a final suitability map. The final map represented the suitability classes for each species delineated as suitable, moderately suitable, less suitable and unsuitable. According to the final suitability map, Poplar, Eucalyptus and Pine should be grown on 631730 ha 123290 ha and 529810 ha area and the potential of carbon credit would be 89.5 M Euro. 11.1 M Euro and 209.8 M Euro, respectively. Acacia catechu could not find the place because of its low potential of annual carbon sequestration compared to other species. It

4 illus, 7 tables, 13 ref

004367   Priya A;Islam A;Nema A K;Sikka A K (Farm Engineering Dep, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU, Varanasi-221 005, Email: anupam_nema@rediffmail.com) : Assessing sensitivity of reference evapotranspiration to changes in climatic variables : a case study of Akola, India. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 777-84.

Accurate estimation of crop water requirement is essential for irrigation scheduling, and future planning and management of water resources under changing climate scenarios. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the sensitivity of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) to changes in different climatic variables, and effect of temperature change and elevated CO₂ on ETo at Akola. The FAO - 56 Pcnman-Monteith equation has been used to estimate ETo using the meteorological data (1970-2008) of Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola The sensitivity of ETo was studied in terms of changes in temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and vapour pressure deficit. Each of the climatic variables was varied from -25% to 25% at an interval of 5%, and only one climate variable was modified at a time. The combined effect of temperature change and elevated CO₂ was studied by varying the changes in temperature from 1 °C to 5 °C and the CO₂ levels from 330 ppm to 660 ppm. Simulation results showed that the mean temperature (T_mean) influenced the annual ETo the most followed by vapour pressure deficit (VPD), solar radiation (Rs) and wind speed (U₂). Changes in T_min, T_max, and r_mean affected ETo most during monsoon (June to September), winter (January, February), post-monsoon (October to December) seasons, respectively. Simulation of the combined effect of temperature change and elevated CO₂ concentrations indicated that the effect of 4.0 °C rise in temperature is offset by increase in CO₂ levels up to 660 ppm. Thus, the effect of rising temperature is moderated by the increasing CO₂ concentrations, and the crop water demand may not rise significantly under the climate change scenarios.

5 illus, 2 tables, 20 ref

004366   Poonia S;Rao A S;Singh D V (NO, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-342 003, Email: ponia.surendra@gmail.com) : Rainfall characteristics and meteorological drought in Hanumangarh district of arid Rajasthan. Mausam 2016, 67(2), 505-8.

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004365   Paul R K;Birthal P S;Paul A K;Gurung B (NO, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, Email: ranjitstat@gmail.com) : Temperature trend in different agro-climatic zones in India. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 841-6.

Trends in mean monthly temperature in four agro-climatic zones of India have been studied using climate data for the period of 1901 to 2002. The Non-Parametric, Mann-Kendall Test has been applied to investigate the significance of trend over the years for four agro-climatic zones. The results were cross-checked with those obtained from Spearman's rank statistic and deterministic trend analysis. The investigation reveals that in all the zones, annual mean temperature is significantly increasing. The maximum increase in annual mean temperature is in zone 3 with a tune of 0.3° centigrade in the last century. The results also reveal that the winter months, i.e., November to January are becoming hotter in all four agro-climatic zones. The monthly mean temperature for zone 1 and 3 is increasing in all the months; on the other hand it is decreasing in June-September in zone 2 and 4 and increasing in other months.

3 illus, 3 tables, 13 ref

004364   Ogwang B A;Chen H;Xing L L (Key Laboratory of Meterological Disaster, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Univ of Information Science and Technology, China, Email: bob_ogwang@yahoo.co.uk) : Effect of topography on east African rainfall based on regional climate model. Mausam 2016, 67(2), 431-40.

The effect of topography on June to August (JJA) rainfall over east Africa is investigated using the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (1CTP) Regional Climate Model (RcgCM4.0). Grell convection scheme with Fritsch-Chappell closure assumption is used. The control simulation is done with actual topography and sensitivity experiments are carried out with topography reduced to 75%, 25% and to zero. The model output was evaluated against Climate Research Unit (CRU) dataset, gridded at 0.5 degree resolution and ERA-interim datasets, gridded at 0.75 degree resolution. Results show that the mean JJA rainfall significantly reduces over the region when topography elevation is reduced. Based on the model, when the topography over the selected region (KTU) is reduced to 25%, the mean JJA rainfall over east Africa is reduced by roughly half. The maximum rainfall reduction is however observed around the region over which topography is reduced. The reduction in topography resulted into an anomalous moisture divergence over the region at low level (850 hPa). Divergence at low level results in vertical shrinking which suppresses convection due to subsidence. The strength of moisture transport and the zonal wind speed at 850hpa increased with decrease in topography, which may be responsible for the observed shift in moisture convergence zone from western Kenya to northern Uganda. The findings from this study would provide insight into the effect of topography on the east African climate and call for more detailed investigative research, particularly in the region. The results may motivate researchers and modeling centers to further improve on the performance of the model over the region.

5 illus, 2 tables, 69 ref

004363   Neeraj Kumar;Pisal R R;Shukla S P;Patel S S (Agricultural Meterological Cell, N.M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural Univ, Navsari-396 450, Email: aasnavsari@gmail.com) : Analysis of climatic variability at heavy rainfall zone of South Gujarat. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 850-6.

6 illus, 2 tables, 2 ref

004362   Mobassher A;Islam M A;Das S (Physics Dep, Chittagong Univ, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh) : Some climatological characteristics of the changing pattern of temperature in Bangladesh - A disgnostic approach. Mausam 2016, 67(2), 441-54.

Based on climatological data of maximum and minimum temperatures of seventeen stations for a period of 60 years (1949 - 2008), obtained from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the changing pattern of temperature in Bangladesh has been investigated. Some characteristics of annual variation and spatial distribution of mean monthly minimum, mean monthly maximum and mean monthly temperature, annua variation and spatial distribution of mean monthly amplitude of temperature have been explained. The characteristics of changing pattern of temperature such as standard deviation, coefficient of variation, ratio between mean monthly maximum and mean monthly minimum temperatures have been studied. The run of the temperature in different stations for the years 1949-2008, the periodicity of mean annual temperature and mean decade deviations have been discussed. The integral curve of mean annual temperature for Dhaka has been prepared and explained. Regression analysis for mean monthly temperature of January, April, July and October for the stations Sylhet, Chittagong, Khulna and Rangpur with Dhaka have been analyzed. Some linear correlation equations have been deduced. In the investigation, attempts (as far as possible) have been made to explain the synoptic cause of the changing pattern of temperature in Bangladesh.

9 illus, 6 tables, 12 ref

004361   Mitra A K;Bhan S C;Sharma A K;Kaushik N; Parihar S;Mahandru R;Kundu P K (India Meterological Dep, , New Delhi-110 003, Email: scbhan@yahoo.com) : INSAT-3D vertical profile retrievals at IMDPS, New Delhi : a preliminary evaluation. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 687-94.

Successful launch of indigenous geostationary satellite 1NSAT-3D on 26 July, 2013 with advanced meteorological payloads onboard, has provided a new opportunity to the Indian meteprologists. A new payload, atmospheric sounder, has been launched for the first time in Indian satellite to provide the vertical profiles of temperature and humidity in the atmosphere. It is possible to obtain continuous upper level temperature and moisture profiles with a spatial resolution of 30 x 30 km and temporal resolution of one hour. The INSAT-3D temperature and moisture retrievals derived from routine application of sounder data processing algorithm installed at 1NSAT Meteorological Data Processing System (IMDPS), New Delhi were compared with collocated GPS sonde observations (GPOB), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar orbiting satellites (N-18 and N-19) derived profiles to assess retrieval performance. The INSAT-3D temperature profiles show the positive bias throughout from surface to 30 hPa against the GPOB. The overall temperature between retrivals exhibited a systematic bias error at almost all the levels. Bias ranges from 2 to 4 °C between 1000 to 100 hPa levels. The levels of maximum positive bias, where INSAT-3D values are too warm, are near the surface and 100 hPa. This can be attributed to the inability of the retrieval scheme to precisely locate the change in the lapse rate associated with the tropopause due to general disagreement at higher levels. However, the moisture profiles showed somewhat lower accuracy against the GPOB. INSAT-3D and GPOB derived Total Perceptible Water (TPW) were also compared and showed that correlation of INSAT-3D TPW agree well with GPOB TPW to some extent than the level specific LI.

4 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

004360   Maral S G;Mukhopadhyay T (NO, Mithibai College Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Email: sunitamaral@gmail.com) : Signal of urban heat island (UHI) effect : a case study of Mumbai metropolitan region. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 729-40.

A study of maximum and minimum temperatures of Mumbai Metropolitan Region has been carried out taking 32 years (1976-2007) data to examine the incidence of Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Two meteorological stations viz., Colaba and Santacruz, located in Mumbai city district and Suburban district, respectively and two stations located away from city on the periphery of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) viz., Alibag and Dahanu have been selected. Mann-Kendall trend test has been used for detecting the significant trends in the time series of mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures of four stations. The means of seasonal maximum and minimum temperatures of four stations have been calculated and compared with the help of Independent-Samples t-test. In addition, monthly averages of maximum and minimum temperatures of Colaba (Mumbai) and Santacruz vis-d-vis two peripheral stations have been plotted graphically and compared. Also the wind rose diagrams of four stations for the period 1971-2001 have been analysed. The study reveals that during day time in winter and summer Santacruz is warmer than Alibag, Dahanu and Colaba while during night time in winter and summer Colaba is warmer than Alibag, Dahanu and Santacruz.

5 illus, 5 tables, 12 ref

004359   Lala S;Chakravarty N (NO, Regional Meterological Centre, Alipore, Kolkata-700 027, Email: sukumarlala@gmail.com) : Raindall day and heavy rainfall day prediction of Kolkata (22.53° N, 88.33° E), India during June to October using linear discriminant analysis technique. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 809-14.

Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), which is a multivariate statistical technique has been utilized to 22 selected meteorological parameters to find out the statistical index that has been utilized to predict the rainfall day and the heavy rainfall day for the period June to October for the year 2006-2008 and then validate with the actual rainfall day and heavy rainfall day of these years. It was found that it yielded 60.34% and 73.36% correct prediction for No rainfall days and rainfall days respectively during the period in the next three years (2006-2008). It yielded 90.98% and 84.21% correct prediction for No heavy rainfall days and Heavy rainfall days respectively during the period in the next three years (2006-2008). For all 22 parameters the efficient skill scores namely, True Skill Score (TSS), Heidke skill Score (HSS), Critical Success Index (CSI) are computed for both rainfall prediction and heavy rainfall prediction. The investigation revealed that LDA technique is more efficient in prediction of heavy rainfall where there were sharp contrast between the parameters of the two groups, namely no heavy rainfall days and heavy rainfall days.

6 tables, 20 ref

004358   Kumar P;Pati D P (National Initiative on Climate Agriculture Project, MIT College of Engg., Pune-411 029, Email: pkumarmbm@yahoo.com) : Radar imageries information extraction and its use in pre-hail estimation algorithm. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 695-712.

A comprehensive Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) image processing tool has been developed and its use in Pre Hail Detection Algorithm (PHDA) is tested and validated. For hail control operation, the information needed to be extracted from Region of Interest (ROI) and Point of Interest (POI) of radar imageries are reflectivity (for Available Reaction Time 'ART' calculation), time and co-ordinates (for direction and speed calculation) which are the inputs to PHDA. This paper focuses mainly to extract these information and store them in proper data base so that they can be efficiently processed by PHDA. The information is stored in an 'Excel file' so that any required information can be retrieved and analyzed immediately by PHDA to produce the result. The entire process provides an automatic environment for PHDA operation and working. Two cases from Nagpur DWR data, when the growth of hail cloud was noted, are analyzed and the information obtained are processed by PHDA and the result is compared and discussed with actual hail occurrence data.

18 illus, 8 tables, 6 ref

004357   Kumar N;Patel S S;Chalodia A L;Vadaviya O U; Pandya H R;Pisal R R;Dakhore K K;Patel M L (Agricultural Engineering Dep, Navsari Agricultural Univ, Navsari-396 450) : Markov chain and incomplete gamma distribution analysis of weekly rainfall over Navsari region of south Gujarat. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 751-60.

In the present study the weekly rainfall data of 34 years (1980-2013) for Navsari region were used for Markov Chain and incomplete gamma distribution analysis. The present study has been carried out to find the probabilities of occurrence of dry and wet weeks during rainy season and weekly analysis of rainfall for Navsari region. The dry and wet spell analysis was carried out for weekly rainfall based on Markov Chain Model considering less than 20.0 mm, 40.0 mm, 60.0 mm, 80.0 mm and 100.0 mm rainfall in a week as a dry week and 20.0 mm, 40.0 mm, 60.0 mm, 80.0 mm and 100.0 mm or more as a wet week. The earliest and delayed onset week of rainy season was 21 Standard Meteorological Week (SMW) (21-27 May) and 32 SMW (6-12 August), respectively. Similarly the earliest and delayed week of post-monsoon season was 40 SMW (1-7 October) and 48 SMW (26 November-2 December) during 23rd - 29th SMW. The probability of rainfall occurrence at weekly intervals at 10, 25, 50, 75 and 90 per cent levjels were assessed using the incomplete gamma distribution function. The incomplete gamma probability distribution for weekly rainfall at Navsari region indicates that there is 90% probability of getting an assured rainfall of at least 1025 6 mm and 50% probability of getting 1523.6 mm. The results through analysis have been used for agricultural planning A Navsari region. Generally, the transplanting of paddy in Navsari region is carried out during 28th to 30th standard meteorological weeks (SMW) after monsoon onset, while the sugarcane planting is done during 42nd to 45th SMWs.

2 illus, 5 tables, 14 ref

004356   Keshava Kiran Kumar P L (Yogi Vemana Univ, Geology Dep, Kadapa-516 003) : Landuse landcover mapping using remote sensing and GIS techniques- A case study in and around kadapa mandal, Y.S.R District. Indian J envir Prot 2015, 35(7), 586-90.

The study area (between parallels of 78°51'14.659"E longitude 14°32'23.913"N latitude and 78°54'2.7"E longitude 14°24'10.573"N latitude) falls in the Kadapa mandal, Y.S.R district of Andhra Pradesh. Landuse and land cover is an important parameter for developmental planning. In the present study an attempt has been made to generate the landuse and land cover map from satellite (IRS) 1C, linear image self-scanning (LISS III) geocoded data with UTM projection, of total 4 bands on a 1:50,000 scale. Geographic information system and topographical maps, enhanced for better interpretation. A process of integrating remote sensing techniques and field data to accurately map landuse and land cover of the study area catchment is described. Six major landuse classes were identified and mapped for the study area. These are: Cultivated land, uncultivated land, forest land, waste land, built-up land, water bodies. The study observed that cultivated land and built-up land is dominant in Kadapa mandal. The study recommends the use of satellite imageries for future environmental monitoring studies.

2 illus, 1 table, 10 ref

004355   Gurung B (NO, Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, Email: vsalrayan@gmail.com) : Exponential autoregressive (EXPAR) model for the forecasting of all India annual rainfall. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 847-49.

3 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

004354   Goyal P;Gill K K;Aggarwal R;Singla C (Soil and Water Engineering Dep, PAU, Ludhiana, Email: kgill2002@gmail.com) : Probability distribution for long term rainfall data in Ludhiana - a case study. Mausam 2015, 66(4), 815-24.

The rainfall data of Ludhiana for a period of 32 years covering 1981 to 2012 have been collected from School of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology. The study was planned to find the rainfall variability and amount of rainfall at different probability levels for the year 1981-2012. The rainfall data was analyzed on weekly basis to work out the initial & conditional probability for rainfall at different levels, i.e., <62> 5 mm, <62> 10 mm, <62> 20 mm, <62> 30 mm, <62> 40 mm and <62> 50 mm using Markov chain model. In addition to this, incomplete gamma distribution was also used to find out the occurrence of rainfall events at different probability levels, i.e., 20, 30, 40, 50, 65 and 75 per cent. The study results in estimation of maximum and minimum initial probability and conditional probability (wet and dry) for standard meteorological week. The results will be useful for deciding the sowing time, irrigation/fertilizer scheduling and harvesting time for different crops. In addition to this study will be useful for determining the runoff volume, peak runoff rate and hence can be used for designing of rainwater harvesting structures.

6 illus, 4 tables, 9 ref

004353   Ekpo I;Obi C (Pure and Industrial Chemistry Dep, Faculty of Science, Port Harcourt Univ, P.M.B. 5323, Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria) : Chemical speciation dynamics and bio-availability quantification of trace metals distribution in non-detrital sediments phase of Cross River Estuary, Nigeria. Int J chem Stud 2017, 5(2), 8-13.

Describes the chemical speciation of Hg, Cr, Co, Ni, V and Mn in non-detrital phase of surface sediments from Cross River Estuary of South East Niger Delta, Nigeria. The physicochemical properties like pH, electrical conductivity and reduction-oxidation potential of sediments from ten sampling points were investigated to determine the bio-available species of these trace metals as well as its toxicity. The total concentration of these trace metals were determined by means of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained revealed a mean concentration of the trace metals in the sequence of: Hg (0.01) mg/kg < Cr (0.098 ± 0.024) mg/kg <60> Co (0.204 ± 0.027) mg/kg < Ni (0.467 ± 0.0930) mg/kg <60> V (0.53 ± 0.069) mg/kg <60> Mn (1.40 ± 0.41) mg/kg. The pH, electrical conductivity and reduction-oxidation potential values of 5.15 ± 0.48, 120.11 ± 87.23 μScnr^{-1 and 34.30 ± 13.78 mV, respectively revealed that the sediments were acidic and toxic in nature. This study is useful to investigate the complete impact of these trace metals in the environment.}

5 illus, 3 tables, 24 ref

004352   Dutta S;Rase D M;Devi S (India Meteorological Dep, , Pune, Email: dutta.somenath@gmail.com) : Diagnostic study on the energetic aspects of weak/strong spell of northeast monsoon. Mausam 2016, 67(2), 493-8.

An attempt has been made to study dynamics of consecutive weak/strong spell of north east monsoon for the years, 2009 and 2010 from an energetics aspect. For that different energy terms, their generation and conversion among different energy terms have been computed for consecutive weak and strong phases during Oct to Dec of the above two years over a limited region between 70 °E to 85 °E, 5 °N to 20 °N. These computations are based on daily NCEP 2.5° x 2.5° data for the same period. The transition from weak phase to strong phase of north east monsoon (NEM) observed to be associated with an enhancement in conversion of zonal available potential energy (Az) to zonal kinetic energy (Kz), implying a strengthening of Hadley circulation, favouring the above transition. It is also observed that the transition from weak phase to strong phase is associated with enhanced Baroclinic energy conversion

2 illus, 1 table, 11 ref