021362   Prabhakar B C;Namratha R (Geology Dep, Bangalore University, Bangalore-560 056) : Morphology and textures of komatiite flows of J.C. Pura schist belt, Dharwar craton. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 13-20.

Study of komatiites for their structures and textures in cratonic blocks could provide more insights into the early Archaean volcanism, mantle processes and associated metallogeny. Jayachamarajapura (J.C.Pura) belt in Western Dharwar craton is a komatiitc milieu, where outcrop features display several flow characteristics and sub-volcanic emplacement features typical of well known komatiitic areas of the world. In spite of deformation, metamorphism and alterations the komatiites still preserve many of the primary cooling structures, which stand testimony for their extrusive volcanic nature. Distinct features like pillows, flow-top polyhedral joints, ocelli, vesicular, flow-top breccia and cumulate segregations and crude layering are observed. However, massive, undifferentiated nature of komatiitic flows is more predominant. Because of serpentinisation, carbonitization and chloritization, the original mineralogy and textures are obliterated and scantily preserved. Still, these observed features provide vital clues to imply the formation of komatiite sequences in a submarine to subaerial conditions when episodic pulses of komatiite lava piled up (about 3.35 Ga ago) to form the ultramafic milieu of J.C. Pura belt.

30 ref

021361   Panigrahi M;Das M (Exploration and Production, Reliance Industries Ltd., Navi Mumbai-400 701, Email: mnjay2020@gmail.com) : Study of geomorphic features along ECMI by GIS. Curr Sci 2014, 106(6), 810-3.

7 illus, 11 ref

021360   Pandey P;Chabbra J;Joshi G B (Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, Atomic Energ, , Government of India, New Delhi-110 066) : Occurrence of tephra / volcanic tuff in the tertiary sediments of Himachal Himalaya from Tileli area, Mandi district, H.P.: Implication for stratigraphy and uranium mineralization. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 5-12.

Presence of Early Tertiary pyroclastic material (tephra) has been documented petrographically, for the first time, in the Mandi-Bilaspur Sector from Tileli area, Dharamsala basin of Himachal Pradesh. The tephra is reported from the red shale, identified as tuffaceous siltstone belonging to lower Dharamsala Formation that lies above the uraniferous sandstone body and occurs as thin layers of over 300m along the strike, close to the contact of lower and upper Dharamsala formations. The tuffaceous material shows crude but preferred orientation of minerals like biotite, muscovite, chlorite, clay, hematite and specularite. Various features indicating presence of tephra are, glass shards altered to clay but retaining `U' shaped outline, spindle-shaped hematite with preferred orientation, spherical to sub-spherical clay and altered Feoxide rich balls, clay groundmass with flow pattern, flaky minerals in association with clast depicting asymmetrical ramp structure. A zone of approximately 300 m length containing tuffaceous material has been established at Tileli overlying the uraniferous sandstone body.Identification of tephra at Tileli has significant implications as it enabled in demarcating the boundary between the upper and lower Dharamsala formations in central part of the basin in Bilaspur-Mandi Sector of HP Himalaya and also in guiding the uranium exploration programme in the lower Dharamsala Formation.

17 ref

021359   Pachkhande S M;Kamble P B;Mookherjee A; Rajshekhar C;Kavathankar N A (Geology Dep, Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune-411 001) : Intertidal foraminifera from the Savitri estuary, West coast, Maharashtra and their implications on the depositional environment. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 71-5.

Benthic foraminifera from the Savitri estuary are being reported for the first time. The faunal analyses reveal the occurrence of mixed assemblage. It is observed that Trochammina inflata is the most dominant species and appears to be the indigenous to mangrove environment.

6 ref

021358   Ojakangas R W;Srinivasan R;Hegde V S; Chandrakant S M;Srikantia S V (Geological Sciences Dep, Minnesota Duluth Univ, Minnesota 55812, USA, Email: rojakang@d.umn.edu) : Talya conglomerate: an archean (<126>2.7 Ga) glaciomarine formation, western Dharwar craton, Southern India. Curr Sci 2014, 106(3), 387-96.

The <126> 2700 Ma Talya Conglomerate is comprised of 15 diamictites (i.e. matrix-supported conglomerates) in-terbedded with mudstone and sandstone units, and is interpreted as a glaciomarine deposit. The entire thickness of this conglomeratic member within the Vanivilas Formation, the lowest formation of the Chi-tradurga Group of the Neoarchean Dharwar Supergroup, is exposed in a 543 m-thick measured section. It is in a sub-vertical attitude, is highly sheared, and has undergone greenschist facies metamorphism. The diamictites had an original matrix of laminated mud/ silt and fine sand. While including diamictites throughout, the Talya is a fining-upward sequence with intercalated sandstones dominant in its lower portion and mudstones dominant in its upper portion. We interpret that the Talya Conglomerate was deposited in a marine environment, with diamictites composed of ice-rafted detritus (IRD) deposited from icebergs calved from tidewater glacier tongues and/or possibly from ice shelves. In these 'rainout diamic-tites', the larger clasts were dropped into finegrained bottom sediment deposited by sediment plumes and currents. The source ice sheet was located to the west and southwest on a land mass that included the older than 2720 Ma Bababudan Group of quartzites and mafic volcanics and older than 3000 Ma basement of granitic/gneissic rocks. Application of Walther's law indicates that the mudstone-bearing portion of the Talya was deposited upon the sandstone-bearing portion as the sea further inundated the land mass due to glacial retreat and a decrease in glacial mass, thereby resulting in the fining-upward nature of the Talya Conglomerate. We also interpret the lower portion of the Kaldurga Conglomerate, located 50-75 km to the southwest of the Talya, to be equivalent with the Talya. The Kaldurga contains mostly granitic basement detritus, perhaps exposed due to basement uplift related to isostatic rebound caused by glacial melting or due to tectonism related to westward subduction.

10 illus, 2 tables, 63 ref

021357   Naik B S;Panda R K;Jakhar P;Dass A;Madhu M (NO, Central Soil and Water Conservation Research & Training Institute, Res, Post Box no. 12, Sunabeda, Distt. Koraput, Odisha-763 002, Email: naikbsn74@rediffmail.com) : Appraisal of the erosion status in the eastern coastal region of India. Indian J Soil Conserv 2013, 41(2), 121-6.

Keeping in view the ecological importance of coastal ecosystem, an appraisal was carried out to explore the existing characteristic features, problems and status of erosion and its remedial measures for the conservation and management of valuable coastal resources in respect of three states i.e. West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in the east coast. It is reported that 8.94 Mha area is under coastal belts in these three states. The inherent problems associated with this ecosystem are high population growth, over exploitation of natural resources, water logging, flood, cyclones, drought and salinity due to regular intrusion of sea water through tidal effects, congestion of drainage, water erosion, sand dunes, wind erosion etc. Odisha coast alone accounts for 40% of the total disturbance that affected East Coast of India. In West Bengal, coastal area of Sundarban is affected due to soil acidity problems and about 0.65 Mha land is facing salinity problem. Similarly, in Odisha, 0.4 Mha is affected by salinity problem spreading over four coastal districts of Odisha. The potential soil loss reported for Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal are 407, 144 and 17 and annual EI30 of 400 - 600, 600 - 800 and 600 - 800 MJ.mm.ha^-1. h^-1, respectively. Major portion of the coastal areas of West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh falls in soil loss category of <60>5 t ha^-1 yr^-1. The extentofdiminishing mangrove cover reported for Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are 221, 2152 and 353 km2, respectively. It has been reported that due to one meter rise in sea water level, the area inundated and population affected in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh coasts shall be 0.81% and 1.76%, 1.88% and 2.35% and 0.19% and 0.93%, respectively. While discussing about the various inherent problems, adoption of suitable conservation measures is inevitable for the protection and management of this vulnerable ecosystem.

5 tables, 24 ref

021356   Mondal B;Singh A;Sekar I (NO, Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, R, Bellary-583 104, Email: bisumondal@rediffmail.com) : Dimensions and determinants of people's participation in watershed development programmes in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh: An econometric analysis. Indian J Soil Conserv 2013, 41(2), 177-84.

Investigation has been conducted in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh to study the extent of people's participation and identify the factors which influence their participatory decisions. A total of 120 households were selected from eight watersheds implemented under different institutional arrangements from the region using a multistage sampling framework. Data collection was done by personal interview of the sample respondents on a pre-tested schedule specially designed for this study. The results indicated an overall People's Participation Index (PPI) of 27% to 41% in the selected watersheds. The highest level of participation was observed in programme planning stage in most of the projects which got reduced during subsequent stages of the programme. Socio-economic and institutional variables affecting people's participation were identified through multinomial logit analysis. It was observed that age and education of household head, land holding size and extension contact were the influential factors which affected the participatory decision of the farm households.

6 tables, 18 ref

021355   Majumdar R K;Kar S;Talukdar D;Duttagupta T (Geological Sciences Dep, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700 032) : Geoelectric and geochemical studies for hydrological characterization of canning and adjoining areas of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 21-30.

Integrated geoelectric and geochemical investigation were carried out in the Canning and adjoining areas to assess the prevailing groundwater conditions and chemical quality of groundwater. Geologically, the area is constituted of alluvial sediments of Quaternary age. Vertical electrical soundings (VES) in the area of investigation mostly show six layers consisting of top soil, saline water, clay layer, brackish water, clay layer and fresh-water bearing zone of appreciable thicknesses at depths of 137 to 182 meter at six locations and from 370 to 430 meter for other two locations under confined conditions. The result of VES studies significantly correspond with the borehole litholog and well log data. A litho-resistivity relationship is established for this area of investigation A Fence diagram is constructed to show the spatial variation of the sub-surface lithology and hydrological characteristics. Chemically the ground water is fresh and mixed cation and anion type as revealed from Piper-Trilinear diagram with TDS ranging from 699 to 1547 mg/l. The geochemical parameters like Total hardness (TH), Sodium absorption ratio (SAR), Soluble sodium percentage (SSP), Percentage of sodium (PS), Kelley's ratio (KR), Residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Corrosivity ratio (CR), Gibbs ratios (GR), Chloro alkaline indices (CAI), Sea water contamination (SWC) are also calculated for examining the quality of groundwater in the area. The depth of occurrences of freshwater bearing ground water zones for drinking and irrigation purposes are occurring at depths from 137 meter to 430 meter in this area.

26 ref

021354   Lotliker A A;Srinivasa Kumar T;Reddem V S; Nayak S (NO, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Ocean Valley, Pragathi Nagar (BO), Nizampet (SO), Hyderabad, Email: srinivas@incois.gov.in) : Cyclone phailin enhanced the productivity following its passage: evidence from satellite data. Curr Sci 2014, 106(3), 360-1.

2 illus, 7 ref

021353   Khan I;Sahoo P R;Rai D K (NO, , Geological Survey of India, Western Region, Jaipur, Email: israilkhan@rediffmail.com) : Proterozoic felsic volcanics in Alwar basin of North Delhi fold belt, Rajasthan: implication for copper mineralization. Curr Sci 2014, 106(1), 27-8.

2 illus, 5 ref

021352   Kar G;Ashwani Kumar (NO, Directorate of Water Management, Bhubaneswar, Orissa-751 023, Email: kar_wtcer@yahoo.com ) : Forecasting rainfed rice yield withbiomass of early phenophases, peak intercepted PAR and ground based remotely sensed vegetation indices. J Agrometeorol 2014, 16(1), 94-103.

Rice is the main staple food of the country but crop productivity in some years declines due to erratic monsoon and non-uniformity in spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall. Hence, assessing productivity of the rice crop in advance using meteorological and plant physiological attributes will be helpful for planners to take decision on contingency measures. In this investigation, dry biomass of early phenophases (active tillering, panicle initiation, boot leaf stages, flowering), peak intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR), peak spectral reflectance based vegetation indices of 3 rice varieties under 3 nitrogen levels (50, 100 and 130 kg ha^-1) were made correlated with grain yield. Based on interrelationship it was found that biomass of flowering period was better correlated with grain yield with the R² value of 0.75.Inter-relationship between peak IPAR(%), remotely sensed peak simple ratio index (IR/R) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)with the rice yield were also established. Multiple regression model was developed by interrelating yield as dependant variable with dry biomass of flowering stage, peak IPAR(%) and peak IR/R and NDVI as independent variables which may be used as an effective tool for early prediction of rice yield, at least 30-40 days in advance. The grain yield was also estimated through developed algorithm using MODIS satellite derived NDVI and compared with that of actual yield.

5 illus, 3 tables, 20 ref

021351   Kanungo D R;Malpe D B;Leake D E (Geological Survey of India, , Central Region, Seminary Hills, Nagpur-440 006) : Manganocummingtonite from the mesoproterozoic, Sausar fold belt, Central India. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 93-9.

Manganocummingtonite occurs with spessartine, quartz and pyrolusite in the Chikmara area, Sausar fold belt, central India. Its composition is [Ca_0.3-0.35(Mg_{3.3-3.5Mn1.6-1.8}Fe²⁺_1.4-1.5)(Si< v>7.931-7.997Al^iv_0.003-0.069)O₂₂(OH_1.5-2.0F _0.0-0.5)] being fairly rich in Ca, which is indicative of metamorphic temperature in the amphibolite facies. The garnet contains 77.5% spessartine, 13% almandine and minor andradite, grossular and pyrope components. Unusually, there is no carbonate, pyroxene, pyroxmangite, rhodonite, magnetite or hematite. The available Al in the rock stabilized garnet and this mineral incorporated minor Fe³⁺ present in the rock as andradite component. The manganocummingtonite-garnet pairs developed at 600°C during amphibolite facies metamorphism in low XCO₂ system, stabilized with XMn/(Mn+Fe²⁺+Mg) = 0.25 to 0.28 in the amphibole and 0.85 in the garnet and formed under unusually low ƒO₂ conditions for the Sausar region, near channelized fluids which deposited quartz may have controlled the ƒO₂.

43 ref

021350   Guha A;Vinod Kumar K;Rao E N D;Reshma Parveen (NO, National Remote Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad-500 625, Email: arindam_g@nrsc.gov.in) : Image processing approach for converging ASTER-derived spectral maps for mapping Kolhan limestone, Jharkhand, India. Curr Sci 2014, 106(1), 40-9.

In the present study authors have attempted the delinea-tion of limestone using different spectral mapping algorithms in ASTER data. Each spectral mapping algorithm derives limestone exposure map independently. Although these spectral maps are broadly similar to each other, they are also different at places in terms of spatial disposition of limestone pixels. Therefore, an attempt is made to integrate the results of these spectral maps to derive an integrated map using minimum noise fraction (MNF) method. The first MNF image is the result of two cascaded principal component methods suitable for preserving complementary information derived from each spectral map. While implementing MNF, noise or non-coherent pixels occurring within a homogeneous patch of limestone are removed first using shift difference method, before attempting principal component analysis on input spectral maps for deriving composite spectral map of limestone exposures. The limestone exposure map is further validated based on spectral data and ancillary geological data.

10 illus, 35 ref

021349   Gangopadhyay S K;ObiReddy G P;Sarkar D (NO, National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (ICAR), Regional, Kolkata-700 091, Email: samarskg@gmail.com) : Erosion risk mapping in peruguda micro-watershed of semi-arid tropics of India using remote sensing and GIS. Indian J Soil Conserv 2014, 42(1), 29-38.

Soils of Peruguda micro-watershed, developed on geologically complex terrain under semi-arid tropical climate of Ranga Reddy district, Andhra Pradesh, India were studied for their morphological, physical and chemical characteristics with a view to map the erosion risk zones using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). Soils developed under seven physiographic units viz., mesa top, mesa shoulder, mesa side slope, mesa foot slope, rocky ridge, undulating plain and narrow to broad valley were mapped and 23 soil mapping units have been identified. The soils vary in depth, drainage, surface texture, pH and organic carbon. The study of land use/land cover indicates that about 44.2% area is under rainfed agriculture. Based on the image characteristics, soil and site characteristics and land use/land cover, four erosion classes have been identified in the micro-watershed. The soils of side slopes of undulating plain, mesa shoulder, dissected valley fill as evidenced by the dark to light blue, yellow, white mixed tone covering 33.59% area of the micro-watershed is under the threat of severe erosion hazard while soil of mesa side slope, rocky ridge and narrow to broad valley, covering an area of 5.01%, is under very severe erosion hazard as evidenced by the dark blue, yellow and white mixed tone in the satellite imagery. The study indicates an amount of 8940:2 to 17812.4 tonnes of soil loss yr^-1 from the micro-watershed. The mapping of erosion risk zones using remote sensing and GIS in the micro-watershed helped to identity high erosion risk zones, which needs more attention towards the protection and conservation of natural resources through suitable soil and water conservation measures.

4 illus, 4 tables, 29 ref

021348   Bez P K;Akhouri P K (NO, Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources Institute for So, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore-500 072, Email: apkrishna@yahoo.com ) : Geospatial assessment of erosional behaviour of a watershed in Angara block of Ranchi district, Jharkhand. Indian J Soil Conserv 2014, 42(1), 107-13.

Soil erosion assessment was carried out in Dumar Kocha watershed of Ranchi district in Jharkhand state to understand the erosional behavior geospatially using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). It was observed that average annual soil erosion for the watershed ranged from slight (<60>5 t ha^-1 yr^-1) to very severe (<62>80 t ha^-1yr^-1). This was further observed that the watershed areas covered by slight, moderate, high, very high, severe and very severe erosion potential zones were 67, 12.42, 10.98, 3.82, 5.14 and 1.21% of the watershed, respectively. Spatial analysis using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) indicated high soil erosion rates in central portion of the watershed, which could be attributed to the severe terrain modifications, inappropriate agricultural practices and forest degradations. Since the areas which are sensitive to soil loss could be demarcated, outcome of the study ha$ the potential to serve as a valuable resource for better land management. Geoinformatics based analysis of erosion behavior in this region at watershed level can help manage natural resources better. Results thus obtained should further help in assessment of appropriate indicators to work upon for conserving water and soil through watershed management and land use planning.

8 illus, 5 tables, 22 ref

021347   Basu S K;Bhattacharyya T (Geology Dep, University of Calcutta, Kolkata) : Petrography and mineral chemistry of Alkaline-Carbonatite Complex in Singhbhum Crustal Province, Purulia region, Eastern India. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 54-70.

Variant rock types of an Alkaline-Carbonatite Complex (ACC) comprising alkali pyroxenite, nepheline syenite, phoscorite, carbonatite, syenitic fenite and glimmerite along with REE and Nb-mineralization are found at different centres along WNW-ESE trending South Purulia Shear Zone (SPSZ) in parts of Singhbhum Crustal Province. The ACC occurs as intrusions within the Mesoproterozoic Singhbhum Group of rocks. Alkali pyroxenite comprises of aegirine augite, magnesiotaramite, magnesiokatophorite as major constituents. Pyrochlore and eucolite are ubiquitous in nepheline syenite. Phoscorite contains fluorapatite, dahllite, collophane, magnetite, hematite, goethite, phlogopite, calcite, sphene, monazite, pyrochlore, chlorite and quartz. Coarse fluorapatite shows overgrowth of secondary apatite (dahllite). Secondary apatite is derived from primary fluorapatite by solution and reprecipitation. The primary fluorapatite released REE to crystallize monazite grains girdling around primary apatite. Carbonatite is composed dominantly of Srcalcite along with dolomite, tetraferriphlogopite, phlogopitic biotite, aegirine augite, richterite, fluorapatite, altered magnetite, sphene and monazite. The minerals comprising of the carbonatite indicate middle stage of carbonatite development. Fenite is mineralogically syenite. Glimmerite contains 50-60% tetraferriphlogopite. An alkali trend in the evolution of amphiboles (magnesiotaramite-magnesiokatophorite-richterite) and chinopyroxenes (aegirine augite, aegirine) during the crystallization of the suite of rocks is noted. Monazite is the source of REE in phoscorite and carbonatite. Fluorapatite has low contents of REE, PbO, ThO₂ and UO₂. Pyrochlore reflects Nb-mineralization in nepheline syenite and it is enriched in Na₂O, CaO, TiO₂, PbO and UO₂. Pyrochlore containing UO₂ (6.605%) and PbO (0.914%) in nepheline syenite has been chemically dated at 948±24 Ma by EPMA.

56 ref

021346   Banejad H;Mohebzadeh H;Ghobadi M H;Heydari M (Water Engineering Dep, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran) : Numerical simulation of groundwater flow and contamination transport in Nahavand plain aquifer, west of Iran. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 83-92.

Numerical simulation of groundwater flow used for the estimation of hydraulic and hydrologic parameters which is an important tool for the management of aquifers. This study presents the results of a mathematical model developed for the simulation of groundwater flow in Nahavand plain aquifer in the southwest Hamadan province. For this purpose Groundwater Modeling Software (GMS) was used which supports the MODFLOW-2000 code. After gathering required data such as the hydrological, hydrogeological and topography maps, a 3D hydrogeological model of plain was constructed with borehole and surface elevation data. Then MODFLOW was used for simulation of flow. After initial simulation of the flow, the model was calibrated in steady state with trial-and-error and parameter estimation methods the observed head of groundwater table monitoring data of 1997. Results of calibration show that error between observed head and computed head is in allowable range. Also results of computed head with model show that groundwater flow is in the direction of the dominate slope (southeast to northwest). Finally MODPATH code which simulates advective transport of particles was used for estimation of flow path and source of contaminants.

24 ref

021345   Amrutha Kumari N P;Balaji Kumar S;Jayalakshmi J;Krishna Reddy K (Semi-arid-zonal Atmospheric Research Centre (SARC), Physics Dep, Yogi Vemana Univ, Kadapa-516 003, Email: krishna.kkreddy@gmail.com) : Raindrop size distribution variations in JAL and NILAM cyclones induced precipitation observed over Kadapa (14.47 N, 78.82 E), a tropical semi-arid region of India. Indian J Radio Space Phys 2014, 43(1), 57-66.

Raindrop size distributions (RSD) of JAL (7 November 2010) and NILAM (29 October 2012) cyclones induced precipitation were measured with PARticle SIze and VELocity (PARSIVEL) disdrometer deployed at Kadapa (14.47°N, 78.82°E), a semi-arid continental site in Andhra Pradesh. Small and mid drops below 2 mm diameter have higher concentration in JAL and NILAM cyclones. RSD characteristics stratified on the basis of rainrate showed that the concentration of small (large) drops is higher (lesser) for JAL cyclone than NILAM cyclone. The concentration of mid size drops of JAL cyclone are greater than or equal to that of NILAM cyclone. The JAL cyclone induced precipitation is associated with higher (lesser) concentration of small drops (small and mid drops) in stratiform (convective) region than that of NILAM cyclone precipitation. JAL cyclone has long duration of stratiform rainfall with smaller raindrop compared to NILAM cyclone, which had a short duration of stratiform rainfall with more number of mid and large drops. In both convective and stratiform regimes, the coefficient value of Z-R relations is higher in NILAM cyclone than JAL cyclone. The average mass weighted diameter, D_m of JAL cyclone is smaller (larger) in stratiform (convective) than that of NILAM precipitation.

10 illus, 3 tables, 23 ref

021344   Aeron A;Garg R D;Arya D S;Aggarwal S P (NO, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667, Email: anuragaeron@gmail.com) : Extracting water feature and change detection of part of Mahanadi delta region in Odisha using NDVI and NDWI from landsat images. INROADS 2014, 3(1; Spec), 80-2.

Flood disaster is the most destructive natural disaster according to the report of Disaster Management of India. The delta region of lower Mahanadi basin is one of the most vulnerable regions for flood disaster according to the Flood map of India. This paper studies the extraction of water feature and change detection assessment of delta region formed between Nuna and Chitrotpala River of Lower Mahanadi Basin in Odisha using Landsat ETM+ images of year 2002 and 2008. The NDVI and NDWI data sets are calculated using standard equations. By reversing the equations the water feature can be enhanced and vegetation suppressed. The inundated area can be extract by overlapping of LULC with the NDWI. The change detection is done by the comparison between 2002 and 2008 Landsat images using NDVI differencing. The delta region is highly flood prone area; therefore most of the agriculture land becomes inundated during flood. The NDWI gives high-quality results for water extraction. The change detection is high along river path and little in distant areas.

1 illus, 6 ref

021343   Aalianvari A;Malekitehrani M;Soltanomohammadi S (Mining Engineering Dep, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, I.R. Iran) : Estimation of water flow from upper reservoir of Azad pumped storage power plant, using geostatistical methods. J Geol Soc India 2014, 83(1), 76-82.

Objective of this paper is to estimate water seepage from the upper reservoir of Azad pumped storage power plant (PSPP), based on combined geotechnical investigations and geostatistical methods. Azad PSPP has been located in Sanandaj Province in Iran. In order to select the optimum water tightening alternative, such as clay blanket, concrete cover (or concrete lining), geomembrane, asphalt cover etc, estimation of water seepage from the reservoir is essential. Six exploratory boreholes were drilled at the pumped storage reservoir area and permeability tests (Lugeon tests) were conducted in all of them. Records at the boreholes have been considered as the main source for seepage calculations. Due to expansion of upper reservoir and a few boreholes, distribution of permeability and permeability changes in the reservoir area is not indicator of reservoir. In this research using geostatistical method (Kriging), lugeon values have been estimated for walls of reservoir. According to correspondence between estimated permeability distribution and geological conditions, the estimated values are acceptable. In addition results show that in about 60% of tests, permeability is very high and potential of water seepage is very high. Seepage was estimated for reservoir by using both analytical (vedernikov method) and numerical method. Results from both methods are very close and the average of seepage is around 280000 m³/day. From the results and general geological considerations, seepage is concentrated at fault zones. Results show that by using appropriate permeability distribution, the estimated values of water seepage are reliable. Due to the high amount of water seepage and economic importance of water in this region, water tightening is necessary.

10 ref

020346   Yadav M;Kaushik M;Manoj Kumar;Anup Kumar; Hooda R S (NO, Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), Hisar, Haryana, Email: manojkumar.lodha2010@gmail.com) : Integrated approach using RS and GIS techniques for mapping of ground water prospects in Mahendergarh district, Haryana. Ann Agri Bio Res 2014, 19(1), 17-20.

Significance of geoinformatics in groundwater exploration stems from the utility of satellite images in identifying and delineating various features like geomorphology, geology, lithology and hydrologic characteristics that may serve as direct or indirect indicators of the presence of ground water. This study establisheses the role of remote sensing, GIS and GPS for mapping and assessment of ground water prospect. The IRS-P6-LISS-III multi-spectral satellite data have been used for preparing ground water prospects map on 1 : 50,000 scale. The study area, Mahendergarh district, is located from 27°47' to 28°26' N latitude and 75°56' to 76°5T E longitude. The study area consists of 1939.13 sq. km area. Most area is covered by eolian plain. The major hydrogeomorphic units are hills (structural, denudational, residual), pediment, valley, dune complex, alluvial plain, eolian plain, flood plain, inselberg, sand dunes and lineament. After finalizing the spatial database and collecting the relevant information, a detailed analysis was carried out to demarcate the ground water prospects area. Overall, the ground water prospect of Mahendergarh district is very poor. Structural features found in this district are fault confirmed (minor), fracture/lineament confirmed, fracture/lineament inferred and trend line. The lineaments are trending in NE-SW direction. The structural feature map is highly useful for ground water prospects especially at intersection of lineaments.

3 illus, 9 ref

020345   Ramachandran K;Venkateshwarlu B;Ramarao C A; Rao V U M;Raju B M K;Rao A V M S;Saikia U S;Thilagavathi N;Gayatri M; Satish J (NO, CRIDA (ICAR), Santoshnagar, Hyderabad-500 059, Email: kausalya@crida.in) : Assessment of vulnerability of Indian agriculture to rainfall variability- use of NOAA-AVHRR (8 km) and MODIS (250 m) time-series NDVI data products. Climate Change envir Sustain 2013, 1(1), 37-52.

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) (8 km) Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (16-day, 250m) NDVI data products were considered to analyze vulnerability of Indian agriculture to rainfall variability under climate change impact studies. Predicted higher temperature and altered rainfall patterns accompanied by extreme weather events would impact vegetation growth in natural forest, open scrub, agricultural land and plantations. NDVI derived from 2-band information (Red and Near-infra Red) of multi-spectral imagery of AVHRR (1982 to 2006) and from MODIS (2000-2010) were analysed to understand spatial and temporal variability. Coefficient of Variation (CV) of maximum NDVI from 15-day composites for the total length of the study period was used to assess vulnerability of rain-fed agriculture and results were corroborated with the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) rather than actual rainfall received during the study period. AVHRR time-series data helped to identify vulnerable areas at regional-scale, i.e., agro-ecological sub-regions (AESR) due to coarser ground resolution while MODIS data products with 250m pixel resolution helped identify vulnerability at the district level. It was estimated that over 241 Mha areas in the country may not be vulnerable to rainfall variability-induced climate change, whereas over 81.3 Mha in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions in the country may be vulnerable to extreme weather events. Study indicated that over 12.1 and 1.81 Mha of Kharif cropland would be mildly and severely vulnerable, whereas 6.86 and 0.5 Mha of Rabi cropland may be adversely affected in a similar manner. Of the remaining agricultural lands, 29.93 and 5.24 Mha would also be vulnerable to climate change in a similar manner. Studies also indicated a decrease in length of Kharif and Rabi seasons and a delay in the start of Kharif season based on preliminary findings.

9 illus, 4 tables, 40 ref

020344   Prasad B;Sangeeta K;Tewary B K (NO, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Barwa Road, Dhanbad-826 015) : Fly ash zeolite as permeable reactive barrier for prevention of groundwater contamination due to coal ash disposal. Asian J Chem 2012, 24(3), 1045-50.

Prevention of groundwater contamination by using permeable reactive barrier (PRB) or zeosynthetic liner is a new and innovative technology. Permeable reactive barrier's are constructed underground across the flow path of contaminated ground water. The contaminants are removed from contaminated water by geochemical process taking place in the reactive material of the permeable reactive barrier. The suitable materials used in permeable reactive barrier's are commonly activated carbon, zeolites, clay minerals and others. Fly ash produced due to burning of coal in thermal power plants can be converted into zeolitic mineral and the prepared zeolite can be used as permeable reactive barrier (zeosynthetic liner) to react with contaminants of leachate water of coal ash and make it clean. The process would reduce contamination of groundwater of coal ash filled pond or abandoned opencast mine, if the ash pond or open cast mine is filled with coal ash and lining of fly ash zeolite at its bottom. In the present work, laboratory scale study has been carried out to convert fly ash into fly ash zeolite and the prepared fly ash zeolite has been used as permeable reactive barrier and found that it can be successfully utilize as effective permeable reactive barrier (zeosynthetic liner) for prevention of groundwater contamination.

11 illus, 3 tables, 14 ref

020343   Nag T;Garg A (NO, International Management Institute, Kolkata, Email: t.nag@imi-k.edu.in) : Strategies to improve urban water delivery in West Bengal, India: an analysis of water institutions and benchmarking of water delivery organizations. Climate Change envir Sustain 2013, 1(2), 145-58.

Study examines the status of urban water delivery in India through a case study of the state of West Bengal in India. The state has been selected as a unit of study to bring out the regional variances that are not captured at a more aggregate or country level study. The study focuses on various types of urban local bodies in the state, the organizational and institutional structure for water delivery and issues around them. The study also benchmarks various urban local bodies for their water service delivery through data envelopment analysis. The study finds that in the current state of fragmented institutions and shared responsibilities between various water organizations, there needs to be a focused policy guideline for integrated development of the water sector in the state. The study also identifies certain categories of urban local bodies, for which there are further scope for efficiency improvement.

7 illus, 6 tables, 52 ref

020342   Maiti M M;Susanta Ash M;Bhuniua P (Geography Dep, Hijli College, Kharagpur, West Bengal) : Climate change and challenges in managing water resource- a catchment scale study in Bankura district, West Bengal, India. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2014, 64(1-2), 17-26.

Availability of water in the drought prone region of Bankura depends largely on the nature of rainfall. Daily rainfall data collected at Bankura climatic station since 1901 was analysed to understand temporal distribution of rain. On an average, 1437mm of rainfall is received at Bankura climatic station. Yet, Bankura and surrounding areas suffer from acute water scarcity and so is popularly known as drought prone. Further analysis shows that more than 84% of annual rain is concentrated during monsoon months and the rest is distributed over other period. Again 20-30% of annual rain is concentrated to a single storm of 3-8 days' duration. This percentage may even rise to more than 35%. Daily rainfall data for last 110 years shows increasing tendency of such concentration. Variability is also increasing steadily that reduces dependency on rain water. Apart from concentric rain, capacity of retention at or near surface is less as land is undulating and is covered with coarser soils that lead to easy and immediate drainage. So, highly concentrated rain and less retention capacity are collectively responsible for water scarcity in this region. In the context of global climatic change and its probable reflection on local rainfall pattern, proactive arrangement of water harvesting with suitable techniques may be the sole way for augmentation of surface water availability.

11 illus, 3 tables, 22 ref

020341   Goswami S (NO, , Yamuna G/13, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai-85) : Application of GIS, remote sensing in geography. Indian Sci Cruiser 2013, 27(1), 55-8.

This paper starts with a brief historic overview of remote sensing and Remote sensed imagery is integrated within a GIS. Geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing feature events on earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations, such as query and statistical analysis, with maps. GIS manages location-based information and provides tools for display and analysis of various statistics, including population characteristics, economic development opportunities, and vegetation types then explains the various stages in mapping land-use and cover, Agriculture and, soils mapping The basic principles of remotely sensed data collection mechanism is discussed in this paper.

5 illus

020340   David J;Nayak V N;Bhatta R (Studies in Marine Biology Dep, Karnataka Post-Graduate Centre Univ, Kodibag, Karwar, Email: Karnataka) : Export performance of Indian marine products to major export market regions. Agric Update 2013, 8(1-2), 147-52.

Countries importing marine products from India are grouped into 12 major export market regions from 1998. The export performance of marine products from India to the major export market regions for the period 1998-2008 was analysed by studying the graphical trend, percentage contribution, compound growth rate, and instability index in export quantity and value. Direction of trade for export quantity was analysed for the period 2004-2008. It was found that the growth rates were low for U.S.A. and China (incl Hong Kong), and negative for Japan. The E.U. and South East Asia regions also had low rates. However, the rates were not significant for Japan, U.S.A., China, and Other West European countries. The index of instability in export quantity was low for E.U,, Japan and moderate for U.S.A. Growth rate for total exports was low for export quantity and value and was not significant for the latter. The associated instability in export quantity was also low. Direction of trade analysis revealed that the largest market of China (including Hong Kong) returned only a moderate probability of retention of market share, as did the second largest region, the E.U. The highest probability of market share retention was shown by other Asian Countries.

3 illus, 2 tables, 4 ref

020339   Chakraborty D;Chattopadhya B;Mukherjee S (NO, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 098) : Role of geothermal energy as an eco-friendly renewable resource. Indian Sci Cruiser 2013, 27(1), 20-7.

Geothermal energy means natural heat of the Earth as the geo means earth and thermal means heat. This thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. It determines the temperature of matter. It associated with plate boundaries and, so, plate tectonism theory has been highlighted here with geothermal reservoir and geothermal region in whole earth. To avoid environmental hazards role of it with usage are also described in the text.

9 illus, 2 tables, 4 ref

020338   Abdullah H;Krishna Murthy P S (NO, Central Soil and Materials Research Station, New Delhi) : Laboratory study of four basalts. Wat Energy int 2013, 70(3), 48-56.

From the proposed Khargihill-Pinjal Tunnel alignment, four variants of basalt, i.e., Fragmentary Porphyritic Basalt, Amygdular Basalt, Massive Porphyritic Basalt, and Massive Basalt, have been investigated in the laboratory. The assessments include: uniaxial compressive strength in both, dry and saturated, states, indirect tensile strength, and shear strength parameters, along with compression and shear wave velocities in both, dry and saturated, states. In both, dry and saturated, states, the uniaxial compressive strength data of the four variants overlaps. But, still, for each variant, uniaxial compressive strength has been separately recommended. However, in case of shear strength parameters, the triaxial test data of all the four variants is combined, because the triaxial test data for each of the variant does not lend to realistic drawing of the classical Mohr-Coulomb failure envelop. Whereas, the collated triaxial data, in the 'axial stress at failure versus confining pressure' plot, clearly suggests that the lower-bound and upper-bound curves, encompassing most of the data, need to be drawn. And, tangents to these bounds can be treated as traditional strength envelops obtained as per Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. These tangents (treated as strength envelops), help determine the probable range for the shear strength parameters. The data of waves' velocities helps in understanding the scatter in the test-data of uniaxial compressive strength and triaxial, because after evaluation of waves' velocities, the same samples are used for these tests. The assessment of engineering parameters is complemented by the evaluation of water-related and identification properties, which exhibit marginal variation between different variants.

10 illus, 4 tables, 10 ref

019251   Wu J;Li P;Qian H (NO, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang'an Univ, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi'an-710 054, P.R. China, Email: lipy2@163.com) : Environmental Chemistry of groundwater near an industrial area, Northwest China. Asian J Chem 2013, 25(17), 9795-9.

An entropy-weighted water quality index was applied to assess the groundwater quality near an industrial park (China) where several metal smelting plants are located. The study shows that most physiochemical parameters except HCO₃^-, NO₃^-N, TDS, total hardness, F^- and Mn are within the permissible limits of WHO standard or national standard of China. The excessive HCO₃^-, TDS, total hardness and F^- are caused mainly by natural rock weathering processes, while that of NO₃^-N is caused by agricultural activities and the high content of Mn in groundwater is induced by both natural and human processes. The water quality indexes range from 27.94 to 128.94%. Sixty five per cent of the total samples are of medium quality, 25% are of good quality and the remaining 10% are of poor quality. The high water quality indexes are caused by the excess NO₃^-N, total hardness and Mn which are mostly human induced.

3 illus, 3 tables, 13 ref

018070   Singh A;Suresh Kumar;Shreshtha D P (NO, Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, Punjab, Email: amnichatha@gmail.com) : Integrating digital terrain map and soil hydraulic conductivity field data in characterizing variable source area for surface runoff generation in a Himalayan watershed. Indian J Ecol 2012, 39(2), 174-81.

Topography plays a significant role on the spatial variation of hydrological processes in the hilly landscape. Stereo Cartosat-1 data derived Digital Terrain Model (DTM) was used to derive Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) map and to generate soil wetness index (SWI) map by integrating soil transmissivity and soil depth as additional parameters. SWI depicts variable source area (VSA) where highest values showed most saturated area in the watershed. Soil moisture varies with topographic position in a landscape and had a linear relation with topography. Mean soil moisture were correlated with the SWI values of the observation points showed significant correlation (r²=0.44) at soil depth 0-10 cm followed for soil depth of 20-30 cm (r²=0.33) and depth of 10-20 cm (r²=0.26). The watershed was characterized as dominated by the saturation excess surface runoff generation mechanism.

10 illus, 1 table, 25 ref

018069   Akinyemi O;Ayeni O A;Faweya O;Ibraheem A G (Mathematical Sciences Dep, Ekiti State Univ, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, Email: darekenke@yahoo.com) : Statistical study of annual and monthly rainfall patterns in Ekiti state, Nigeria. Int J pure appl Sci Technol 2013, 15(2), 1-7.

Rainfall is a determinant factors of many human and natural resources, hence the need to study the anomaly in the trends. This paper examines the recent trends in the rainfall pattern for Ekiti State for 10 years (2001-2010) using data from Ekiti State Agricultural Development Programme, Ikole Ekiti. Descriptive and Time series analyses were used to depict the temporal distribution of rainfall. The results show that there is a significant change in the distribution and characteristics of rainfall such as occurrence and intensity in the monthly and annual rainfalls in Ekiti State. The results of the standardized anomaly, Moving Average and the linear trend show that there are fluctuations in the annual rainfall even though the positive and the negative deviations are evenly distributed.

3 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

017176   Vishnu R;Varikoden H;Anil Kumar V;Das S M; Mohan Kumar G;Symon V N S (NO, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram-695 031, Email: vishnuplr@gmail.com) : Abnormal modulation of atmospheric parameters during the tsunami of 2004. Curr Sci 2012, 102(11), 1575-80.

This paper discusses the abnormal changes in weather elements observed at a tropical mountain location and a coastal station in India. Abnormal changes were noticed in the atmospheric parameters at a time close to the occurrence of tsunami on the Indian coasts due to high magnitude earthquakes in the Sumatra region on 26 December 2004. Close to the time of this earthquake occurrence, uncharacteristic and large magnitude changes in weather elements were recorded at Braemore (8°45'N, 77°05'E, 360 m amsl), a mountain field station at Western Ghats. Abnormal changes were also recorded at Minambakkam (13°N, 80°18'E, 16 m SLP), close to eastern coastal belts. In the Braemore field station, simultaneous changes were observed in the atmospheric parameters; decrease in pressure by 0.6 hPa, increase in relative humidity by 30% and a prominent reduction in air temperature by more than 3°C on the day of tsunami. Also, unusually the relative humidity did not reach 100% on the previous night. However, in the Minambakkam station, the relative humidity increased by 10% associated with a sharp decrease in temperature by about 2.5°C. The changes in both the stations occurred almost at the same time and duration. Therefore, it may be concluded that these changes are associated with the high magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

7 illus, 1 table, 13 ref

017175   Udaya Bhaskar T V S;Venkat Seshu R;Pattabhi Rama Rao E;Devender R (NO, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Servces (INCOIS), Ocean Valley, Pragathinagar (BO), Nizampet (SO), Hyderabad-500 090, Email: udaya@incois.gov.in) : GUI based interactive system for visual quality control of argo data. Indian J Geomar Sci 2013, 42(5), 580-6.

Argo program is aimed at maintaining an array of 3000 free drifting floats to measure temperature and salinity (T/S). Present study consists a PC-based system developed for visualization and quality control of T/S profiles obtained from Argo floats. The system, coded in Java, is user interactive and runs on Windows platform. Default the Argo T/S profiles pass through 19 automatic checks and quality flags are assigned. Using the system, T/S profiles that failed the automatic Argo tests undergo visual review. This visual review is done to determine whether automatic Argo tests were excessively flagging good measurements as bad or vice-versa, to motivate modifications to automatic Argo tests and to determine whether additional tests were necessary to catch problems that could not be detected by the existing tests. Visual review is done by comparing with 1° X 1° monthly climatologies from WOA01. Profile records deviating beyond 2 standard deviations from the mean are flagged as bad. Provision is also given to compare individual T/S profiles with previous 5 profiles via a waterfall plot.

5 illus, 1 table, 5 ref

017174   Tripati S;Mudolkar A;Khedekar V (NO, National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR), Dona Paula, Goa-403 004, Email: sila@nio.org) : Petrographic studies on a newly discovered Indo-Arabian stone anchor from the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat: implications for source area. Curr Sci 2012, 102(9), 1309-13.

Finding of stone anchors in the onshore and offshore regions of India points to maritime contacts with neighbouring countries. This communication reports a new Indo-Arabian type stone anchor recovered from a depth of 53 m off the coast of Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India. The anchor stone is composed of sharp angular quartz and feldspar grains floating in a ferruginous matrix with point contacts between them as seen under a microscope. SEM-EDS studies showed few and isolated zircon and apatite grains as accessory mineral phases. The rock is identified as epiclastic sandstone derived from pyroclastic source rocks. A similar rock has been reported from the Habo Formation exposed near Jhikadi village, Kachchh, Gujarat.

6 illus, 20 ref

017173   Tomar A S;Singh U C (NO, , ) : Integration of GPS and remote sensing: vegetation mapping around Shivpuri city (Madhya Pradesh), India. J Remote Sensing GIS 2014, 5(1), 63-7.

Numbers of park are found in study area such as - Madhav National Park, Chironji Park etc. Integration of GPS and Remote Sensing technologies provide stereo images which allow topographic mapping and the functionality gives not only static display but also analytical process. The Shivpuri district has growth and developmental activities such as building and road construction, agricultural expansion and touristic activities etc. These activities have increased the land consumption and modification of vegetation cover built day-by-day. Vegetation mapping and GPS are the measure and determine the thematic data and information. Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation increasingly being used in vegetation studies to track the locations. Vegetation maps using a Geographical Information System (GIS) it is possible to relate location to vegetation cover. This powerful approach is opening up new opportunities to study the vegetation behavior with GPS technology. This information used to enhance the region's for identifying vegetation cover/mapping area.

8 ref

017172   Tambe S;Rajesh Kumar;Arrawatia M L;Ganeriwala A K (Rural Management and Development Dep, Government of Sikkim, Gram Vikas Bhawan, Gangtok-737 101, Email: sandeep_tambe@yahoo.com) : How safe are the rural structures? lessons from the 2011 Sikkim earthquake. Curr Sci 2012, 102(10), 1392-7.

Increasing frequency and intensity of earthquakes has renewed the urgency in improving the preparedness and in making the infrastructure earthquake-resistant. Sikkim, a northeastern Indian Himalayan state, was hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake of intensity VII on 18 September 2011, which triggered hundreds of boulder falls and landslides, causing extensive damage to public and private infrastructure. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the various structures present in rural areas was carried out. Assessment of the quantum of damage indicated that though half of the 90,000 rural houses in the state had suffered various degrees of damage, there were only a few deaths due to these houses, highlighting their inherent earthquake-safe character. This earthquake is a wake-up call to enforce building and seismic codes, making building insurance compulsory along with the use of quality material and skilled workmanship. Mass training of masons and orientation of the local community is needed to make earthquake-resistant house construction a standard practice in future.

8 illus, 10 ref

017171   Srinivasa Kumar T;Nayak S;Patanjali Kumar; Yadav R B S;Ajay Kumar B;Sunanda M V;Uma Devi E;Kiran Kumar N;Kishore S A;Shenoi S S C (NO, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad-500 055, Email: srinivas@incois.gov.in) : Successful monitoring of the 11 April 2012 tsunami off the coast of Sumatra by Indian tsunami early warning centre. Curr Sci 2012, 102(11), 1519-26.

The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) in Hyderabad monitored the 11 April 2012 tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, which was generated by a shallow strike-slip earthquake and it largest aftershock of magnitude M_w (mB) 8.5 and 8.2 respectively, that occurred inside the subducting slab of the Indian plate. The earthquake generated a small ocean-wide tsunami that has been recorded by various tide gauges and tsunami buoys located in the Indian Ocean region. ITEWC detected the earthquake within 3 min 52 s and issued six advisories (bulletins) according to its Standard Operating Procedure. The ITEWC performed well during the event, and avoided false alarms and unnecessary public evacuations, especially in the mainland part of India region.

4 illus, 3 tables, 8 ref

017170   Singh A N;Singha A;Gupta R (NO, , ) : Land use/land cover information at various scales of remote sensing data of Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan. J Remote Sensing GIS 2014, 5(1), 43-54.

Through The study, variation in land use, land cover (LULC) with change in scale is discussed. The authors carried out the visual interpretation with the aid of supervised classification, aiming to obtain LULC information at various levels of remote sensing data of district Jhunjhunu of Rajasthan. Remote sensing data of IRS-P6 (LISS-III) standard false color composites (FCCs) on 1:1 M, 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 scales for the period of February 2012 for the interpretation, for entire district area have been used in the study. Finally, a list of LULC categories at different scales has been compiled, highlighting the problems in identifying and delineating the same. The result shows progressive change in the LULC categories with increasing scale and has revealed area variations of different LULC units. The 1:50,000 scale interpretation gives the best result in classification, done in three different scales.

28 ref

017169   Rajendran K;Rajendran C P;Kesavan S;Naveen R (NO, Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560 012, Email: kusala@ceas.iisc.ernet.in) : Recent microtremors near the Idukki reservoir, Kerala, South India. Curr Sci 2012, 102(10), 1446-51.

The continuing low-level seismicity in the vicinity of the Idukki Reservoir, Kerala, is interesting from the perspective of hydrologically triggered earthquakes. While the frequency of triggered earthquakes in the vicinity of a reservoir usually reduces with time and the largest earthquake usually occurs within a few years on the initial filling, the triggered seismicity in the proximity of the Idukki Reservoir seems to be showing a second, delayed peak, as the 1977 (M 3.5) tremor was followed by a slightly larger event in 2011, 24 years after the first burst of activity. Quite unprecedented in the context of reservoir-triggered sequences, author considered this delayed sequence as the hydrologic response of a critically stressed hypocentral region, to monsoonal recharging. The sustained activity several decades after the impoundment and the temporal relation with the monsoon suggest that at least some parts of the reservoir region continue to retain the potential for low-level seismic activity in response to hydrologic cycles.

3 illus, 13 ref

017168   Raj K B G;Vinod Kumar K;Mishra R;Mukhtar M A (Geosciences Div, National Remote Sensing Centre (ISRO), Hyderabad-500 037, Email: babugpvindraj@gmail.com) : Recession of Milam glacier, Kumaon Himalaya. Curr Sci 2012, 102(10), 1351-2.

^ssc1 illus, 1 ref

017167   Rai D C;Singhal V;Mondal G;Parool N;Pradhan T;Mitra K (Civil Enginering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Kanpur-208 016, Email: dcrai@iitk.ac.in) : M 6.9 Sikkim (India-Nepal boder) earthquake of 18 september 2011. Curr Sci 2012, 102(10), 1437-46.

The M 6.9 Sikkim earthquake of 18 September 2011 was a remarkable event in the long history of the Himalayan earthquakes which presented a unique opportunity to reflect on the unacceptable rising trend of the seismic risk in the hilly regions. Many dramatic collapses and damages were disproportionate to the observed intensity of shaking and can be attributed to poor construction material, deficient workmanship and lack of compliance with seismic codes and earthquake-resistant construction practices. Many private and governmental buildings were constructed neglecting the seismic design and detailing requirements necessary in the Zone IV of the Indian seismic code IS 1893. The traditional construction practices prevalent in the area performed rather satisfactorily due to their inherent earthquake-resistant features. Old monastery temple structures of distinctive construction in stone masonry and timber suffered varying degree of damage to masonry walls ranging from minor damages to partial collapse. This event should be regarded as a preview of what is likely to happen in the event of a greater shaking expected for the region and should hasten the community to take necessary steps in identifying seismic vulnerabilities and improving construction practices through an effective intervention.

13 illus, 10 ref

017166   Patil R V;Sawant C P (Chem. Dep, GET's ASC College, Nagaon, Dhule-424 001) : Studies some physico-chemical characteristics of Narmada river water. Asian J chem envir Res 2013, 6(1-2), 62-4.

Represents the result of physico- chemical characteristics such as pH, EC, TS, TSS, IDS total hardness, chloride, sulphate; total alkalinity acidity; carbonate; bicarbonate; Ca, Mg & free CO₂. It was found that these water samples have higher value (1).

1 table, 21 ref

017165   Patil K D;Patil A T;Shrivastava V S; Raghuwanshi M S (NO, G.T. Patil College, nandurbar-425 412) : Spatial evaluation of groundwater quality for irrigation and drinking purpose in Shahada tahsil, district Nandurbar (Maharashtra). Asian J chem envir Res 2013, 6(1-2), 96-104.

Ground water is the primary source of irrigation in most arid and semi-arid regions of India. The purpose of this study is investigating the quality of ground water in both space and time becomes a prerequisite for sustainable crop production in Shahada Tahsil of Nandurbar District in Maharashtra Keeping this view in mind, study was undertaken to assess the ground water quality in Shahada Tahsil of Nandurbar District in Maharashtra, which is located in a semiarid region of the country. 20 groundwater samples were collected from different places of the study area. The water samples were analyzed for pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), major cations Sodium(Na⁺), Potassium(K⁺), Calcium(Ca²⁺) and Magnesium (Mg²⁺) and major anions Chloride(Cl), Bicarbonate (HCO₃), Nitrate (NO₃^-) and Sulphate (SO₄^2-) and specific irrigation water quality indices like sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), have been determined. The pH of groundwater varied from 7.4 to 8.67 during study periods, and EC value varied from 441 μs/cm to 3721 μs/cm. Among different cations, sodium was found as the most dominant cation, followed by magnesium, calcium and potassium. SAR values of the groundwater collected from the area varied from 0.34 to 3.10. Co-rrelation matrix indicated that EC is highly correlated with Cl, Na, Mg, Ca. and K Overall, a marginal improvement of all most all the parameters of groundwater took place due to rainfall. The groundwater is suitable for irrigation and may help the farmers to grow more crops.

8 illus, 5 tables, 16 ref

017164   Patel V;Trivedi R K;Adil S H;Patel D R (NO, Applied Geology Dep, Sagar-470 003, Email: amarkranti_007@yahoo.com) : Occurrence of coal at Mainpat Plateau, Surguja District, Central India. Curr Sci 2012, 102(12), 1625.

1 illus, 3 ref

017163   Pandit P (Chemistry Dep, S.B.N. Govt. P.G. College, Barwani-451 551, Email: ppandit2011@gmail.com) : Chemical quality of groundwater for irrigation in Barwani area (Madhya Pradesh) of Narmada river basin: based on salinity and alkali hazards. Asian J chem envir Res 2013, 6(1-2), 10-6.

The quality of irrigation water depends primarily on its silt and salt contents. In the present investigations the chemical quality of groundwater in Barwani area (M.P.), of the Narmada river basin, was studied, in terms of salinity and alkali (sodium) hazards to evaluate its suitability for irrigation and domestic purposes. For the sampling whole study area were divided into zones and locations randomly having three types of groundwater sources (open dug well, hand pump and deep bored tube wells). Samples were collected in three different seasons- pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon. Samples were analyzed <60> for sodium, calcium, magnesium and electrical conductivity. Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) calculated by standard formula. The main criteria here is to know the salinity and alkali hazards according to USSL groups and diagram (Fig. 3), which decides the suitability of water for irrigation purposes. Final findings reveals that according to the USSL system of classification all groundwater in the study area can be classified into C2S1 to C3S1 salinity groups which puts water into good to moderate class for irrigation, high salinity water requires soils with proper drainage. If only SAR is taken into account, all samples have values less than three and free from any alkali hazards, thus are quite suitable for irrigation.

3 illus, 3 tables, 25 ref

017162   Naresh Kumar;Paul A;Mahajan A K;Yadav D K; Bora C (NO, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMS Road, Dehradun-248 001, Email: nkd@wihg.res.in) : The M_w Kharsali, Garhwal Himalayan earthquake of 23 july 2007: source characterization and tectonic implications. Curr Sci 2012, 102(12), 1674-82.

In the early morning hours of 23 July 2007 at 04 : 32 : 13.5 (IST), a moderate (M_L = 4.9, M_w = 5.0) earthquake occurred in the Garhwal Himalaya near Kharsali, about 50 km northwest of the epicentre of the strong (M 6.4) Uttarkashi earthquake of 20 October 1991. Sourced in the upper crust (15 km focal depth), this earthquake was followed by a series of shallow-focused aftershocks of magnitudes ≤ 3.4. Data from the local broadband seismic network were used for understanding the source characterization. The fault plane solutions of the main shock and the biggest aftershock (M 3.4) are almost similar, suggesting that the deformation occurred by reverse faulting with a significant strike.slip component. For the main shock, the trend/plunge of the major and minor principal axes P/T was 166°/1° and 258°/67° respectively. In these solutions one fault plane is dipping to the NE, and the strike of the fault plane coincides with the major tectonic faults as well as the longest axis of isoseismals. The seismic moment, source radius and stress drop of the main shock are estimated to be 4.15 x 10¹⁶ Nm, 1660 m and 4.15 MPa respectively.

6 illus, 4 tables, 26 ref

017161   Mogaraju J K (NO, , ) : Spatio-temporal variation in ambient temperatures over parts of Andhra Pradesh, India. J Remote Sensing GIS 2014, 5(1), 1-15.

Climate change is one of the irreversible phenomena human beings ever faced in recent past. Hydro-meteorological variables provide efficient information to study the climate patterns over any region. This paper aims on narrowing down the areas which need immediate attention since high temperatures were recorded over them. This part of the study showed that hotspots analysis and cluster and outlier analysis are quintessential for policy makers to understand the higher-risk areas compared to lower-risk areas. It is sensed that the aim has been achieved by this study and it filtered out six to seven districts which exhibited clusters and five to six hotspots over the region. ArcGIS and MS Excel were used for this study.

12 ref

017160   Mallick J;Rahman A (Civil Engineering Dep, King Khalid Univ, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email: ateeqgeog@yahoo.co.in) : Impact of population density on the surface temperature and micro-climate of Delhi. Curr Sci 2012, 102(12), 1708-13.

Increasing urban surface temperature due to change of natural surfaces is one of the growing environmental problems in urban areas, especially in cities like Delhi. The present work is an attempt to assess the urban surface temperature in Delhi using remote sensing and GIS techniques. ASTER datasets of thermal bands were used to assess the land surface temperature (LST) using temperature emissivity separation technique. Ward-wise population density was calculated from the Census of India 2001 data to correlate the population density with LST. The study shows that surface temperature changes with the increase in the impervious surface area, which is related to the increase in the population density.

4 illus, 2 tables, 32 ref

017159   Malleswari D;Azeez K K A;Murthy D N; Harinarayana T (NO, CSIR-Natonal Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad-500 007, Email: malleswari_geophysics@yahoo.com) : Electrical and density signatures across Narmada-Son lineament zone (Central India) along the Malkapur-Mandhata profile. Curr Sci 2012, 102(11), 1571-4.

Two-dimensional geoelectric section derived along the Malkapur-Mandhata magnetotelluric (MT) profile, cutting across the Narmada-Son lineament (NSL) zone, brought out a conductive (<60> 50 Ohm m) middle and lower crust under the NSL region. This region underlying the resistive (300-3000 Ohm m) Archaean basement shows shallow depth underneath the weak tectonic zones identified in the area. The constrained density modelling of the Bouguer gravity values suggests high density (2.8 g/cm³) material corresponding to the conductive middle-lower crust zone. As the region has experienced widespread volcanism during the Cretaceous-Tertiary period, the crystallized mafic magmas that were poured into the crust during the volcanism and the fluids entrapped (expelled during magma cooling process) could be the possible explanation for the conductive and high-density characteristics beneath the NSL zone.

3 illus, 20 ref