011976   Nanda J N (NO, Zaheer Science Foundation, 4 Udyog Marg, New Delhi-110 001, Email: drjnnanda@gmail.com) : Origin of terrestrial magnetism and its reversals. Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 2011, 77(3), 227-32.

When the earth was formed it was a liquid sphere with a thin solid crust. From the liquid sphere, heavier atoms, as the material dissociated into elements when falling across large amount of iron at high temperature and pressure present near the center of the earth, formed an innermost core of the earth. This innermost core was separated from the solid inner iron shell by liquid copper extending from 33 km radius to 150 km. radius. Over the liquid copper rested a large amount of helium in highly compressed gaseous form possibly generated in the innermost core and was encaged there by the massive solid iron shell. From the samples of helium issuing from the earth, the ratio of isotopes ³He and ⁴He is very small. Between any two light helium atoms, on the average 46.1 heavy helium atoms intervene. The spins of ³He atoms are not disturbed by the collisions with ⁴He atoms. Only the rare collisions with like atoms disturb their alignment with angular momentum of the earth. The quantum mechanical alignment of all light electromagnetic helium atoms gives rise to a magnetic dipole moment that is an exciting field. The pair-wise attraction of the dipoles causes the collisions that randomize their spins. The mixture of helium atoms is again ready for alignment followed by randomization yet again or early realignment thus causing interruption in the exciting field, or a reversal of the same. The theories based on the convection in the outer iron (fluid) core or in the nuclear reactor visualized by Herndon suffer from implausibility as well as the observed inclination of the actual equivalent magnetic dipole with the axis of rotation. The aligned ³He atoms being of spin 1/2 and thus having a nuclear magnetic moment are providing an excitation fields for the mainly paramagnetic solid iron of the earth.

9 ref

011975   Matin S (Spatial Analysis and Modelling Laboratory, Centre for Oceans Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL), Indian, Kharagpur-721 302, West Bengal, Email: shafiquematin@gmail.com) : Multi-criteria decision making and geoinformatics: evaluating tools for alternative road network in hilly terrain. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(3), 31-41.

Mobility is the backbone of activity system of the human race. Road transportation network has been an essential infrastructure facility, which needs to he developed and regularly maintained to detain increasing population and economy. A road network should offer connectivity throughout the year without any natural and anthropogenic hindrance. In the Ladakh province of Jammu and Kashmir, where road is the largest way (more than 80%) of civilian transportation, roads do not remain open for more than six months in a year. In the current study, I have proposed a rood network for hilly terrain with maximum efficacy and minimum obstacles, on sound scientific basis using GIS and remote sensing techniques. The existing road network of Ladakh province has been mapped using toposheets and updated with satellite imageries. Drivers have been identified on the basis of different agents like socio-economic, physiognomic and climate factors, and their prsjsrenos has been assigned through a multiple criteria decision-making process on Saaty scale. The results indicate that the proposed road has concentrated to areas with high road-based potential accessibility, especially in the snowfall season. All of the paths of the route planning analysis were successfully matched with the drivers paths that would normally be chosen reality. It is anticipated that the use of analytical techniques such as AHP would be useful to overcome the aformentioned problms.

3 illus, 23 ref

011974   Mallick J;Hoa P V;Hang H T;Rahman A (Faculty of Engineering, King Khalid Univ, ABHA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email: javnaffi@gmail.com) : Satellite based assessment of biomass and carbon stock for a mountainous watershed using geoinformatics technique. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(1), 33-50.

Biomass and carbon estimation methods are relatively time consuming and more expensive, not uniformly standardized across the world, and are characterized in many regions by undersampling. Remote sensing technologies provide powerful tools for observing biomass and carbon stock estimation in mountain environments. The study gives a practical method for mapping forest biomass and carbon stock that uses spatial information on forest type and structural attributes extracted from a satellite image. This shows the concentration of biomass exhibits over the broad leaf that is located in the eastern and southern parts of the watershed. Broad leaf accounts the highest biomass accounting 79243.14 tonnes in the area of 115.35 hecrtares followed by broadleaf + conifer 7089.63 tonnes. Thereafter, carbon stock has been estimated that is derived from satellite images correspond to vegetation presence. The total carbon stock in the entire watershed is estimated 48218.02 tonnes in an area of 261 hectares. It is observed that in the study area, eastern and southern parts contained higher carbon stock that corresponds to broad leaf. The lowest carbon stock has been estimated in agricultural land and degraded land. The areas with the least carbon stock will give more attention in their economic planning and energy resources. Existing plantations are small and too young to supply a significant part of the total biomass requirements in the least growing biomass stock as carbon sequestration.

7 illus, 7 tables, 36 ref

011973   Mahdi S;Mehri;Mohammad (NO, Geology and Mineral Exploration Group of Baku State Univ, Azerbaijan Republic Baku, Az1073, Z. Khalilov str. 23) : Mineralogy, chemistry and genesis of kaolin deposits of lesser caucasus. Ultra Scient phys Sci-Sect B 2011, 23(1), 75-96.

The best part of Kaolin and fireproof clay ore deposits of Azerbaijan Republic have been located in two regions of Lesser Caucasus: one around the Lok-Garabagh axis and the other in techtono-magmatic zone of Nakhjevan. From the most important deposits, the Chardakhli, Gutal, Chodardagh, etc. can be mentioned, located in Shekmir uplift. The XRD analyses results indicate that the most important clay minerals of these deposits include kaolinite, montmorillonite, dikkite, illite, pyrophillite and halloysite. Kaolinite is the most abundant and essential mineral in such ore deposits. Chemical combination of the deposits averagely includes: 20-40% A1₂O₃, 49-78% SiO₂ and less than 1.5% Fe₂O₃. There is a negative correlation between the SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ values; that is, the ore deposits containing higher contents of SiO2 contain lesser amounts. Kaolin and fireproof clay ore deposits of Azerbaijan Republic have been formed as a result of hydrothermal alteration process, low temperature hydrothermal-metasomatic alteration of intermediate to acidic combination igneous rocks, under the influence of acidic and sulphated hydrothermal fluids resulting from sub- volcanic phase activities after the acidic magma volcanism.

7 illus, 30 ref

011972   Katare V;Chakravarty S;Seema Khan (Remote Sensing Application Centre, M.P. Council of Science & Technology, Vigyan Bhawan, Nehru Nagar, Bhopal-462 003, Email: katarevivek@yahoomail.com) : Preparation of management plan to promote tourism in Bhimbetka area, district Raisen Madhya Pradesh, India: a world heritage site. Ultra Scient phys Sci-Sect B 2011, 23(3), 607-15.

Remote Sensing and GIS can be effectively used for Archeological applications for preparation of Management Plan for heritage sites. The study has been carried out in collaboration with Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Bhopal Circle with an objective to promote tourism in Bhimbetka area. An attempt has been made using high resolution satellite data (IRS 1D + PAN merged) in conjunction with ground information to map the natural and physical setting of Bhimbetka site to suggest meaningful plan for promotion of tourism and management of natural resources and also to conserve the area ecologically. The recommendation suggested can also be applied for other archeological sites of Madhya Pradesh.

3 tables, 9 ref

011971   Katare V;Chakravarty S (NO, , C-1, Maya Enclave Opp. C.I.A.E. Office Berasia Road Bhopal-38) : Water resource management plan using remote sensing and GIS-a case study of Bhimbetka area in district Raisen, Madhya Pradesh: "A world heritage site". Ultra Scient phys Sci-Sect B 2011, 23(3), 507-10.

Availability of surface & ground water and firewood is attenuation in many regions. In the study area is the same problem to shrinking the water. The study has also revealed that the GIS techniques are time/cost-effective and can be employed successfully in the planning stages of a ground-water exploration programme. In addition, the GIS data generated for the study of ground-water prospects can be updated and used for the planning and management of ground-water resources of the area of study. Huge geo-scientific data related to various ground-water parameters provide enormous scope for using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to draw meaningful conclusions on the ground-water prospects of an area. To demonstrate the efficiency of the GIS for ground-water studies, information on the parameters controlling ground water such as lithology, geomorphology, structure, and recharge condition of study area were analyzed using ARC GTS environment. Existing maps and records were used as data. Different thematic layers are prepared using remote sensing and GIS for the assessment of water resources status. The union shape file of land use/land cover, geology, geomorphology, soil and slope status maps have been incorporated in the Arc GIS as input maps. The existing water resource classes have been reclassified according to the standard statement, five classes of water resources can be regrouped into three classes such as good, moderate and poor status of water resources in the study area. Overall results show that nearly about 50% of the geographical area has good and moderate resources. Another major part of poor resource areas need to be reclaimed to restore and improve its resource status. Management plan has been suggested.

7 ref

011970   Kadu P P;Wagh K P;Chatur P N (Computer Science and Engineering Dep, Government College of Engineering, Amravati, Maharashtra, Email: paragkadu24@gmail.com) : Weather forecasting and the proposed approach. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(3), 17-21.

Accurate weather forecasting has been one of the most challenging problems around the world. The technical milestones that have been achieved by the researchers in this field have been reviewed and presented in this survey paper. Since the past decades, various models have been developed for weather forecasting using artificial neural network, data mining and by using soft computing, which are discussed in this paper. This paper also contains the proposed approach of artificial neural network that uses analysis of data and learns from it for future predictions of temperature, with the combination of wireless technology and Statistica software.

2 illus, 13 ref

011969   Gopal Krishna (NO, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi) : Spatiotemporal analysis of Noida, Greater Noida and surrounding areas (India) using remote sensing and GIS approaches. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(3), 42-51.

Spatiotemporal analysis refers to an analysis having both spatial extension and temporal duration. Remote sensing has provided a great tool to quantify changes using satellite data in our area of interest. Population of Indian cities is growing rapidly. That is why human need for shelter is also growing day by day, resulting in fast urbanization. This study uses remote sensing and GIS approaches to delineate the urban growth resulting in decrease of agricultural land. In this study, it is analyzed as to how much change has taken place in a time span of two decades and five years, mainly emphasizing on change and growth of residential comuercial and industrial structures on agricultural land. The use of a time-series of Landsat data to classify the urban footprints since 1986 has enabled detection of spatial and temporal urban sprawl and urban development in the explosively growing large urban agglomerations of the two metropolitan cities of Noida and Greater Noida. In this study, a spatiotemporal analysis using three Landsai scenes of 25 years of time span, aims at the detection of the changes and the urban footprints in Noida and Greater Noida and its surroundings. It is also assessed as to how much urban expansion has taken place during the last 25 years. With the help of socioeconomic data, demographic profile and increase in number of households are also assessed.

9 illus, 3 tables, 8 ref

011968   Ettaba K S;Boulila W;Farah I R;Solaiman B (Ecole Nationale des Science de l'Informatique, Laboratoire R.I.A.D.I., Campus Manouba Univ, 2010 Manouba, Tunis, Tunisie, Email: karim@travelportal.cz) : Decision fusion approaches to spatiotemporal change prediction in satellite images: a comparative study. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(2), 13-23.

Predicting changes in satellite images remains one of the major challenges in the remote sensing field. However, this process is usually accompanied by several imperfections leading sometimes to erroneous decisions. In order to solve this problem, we propose to introduce knowledge discovery methods to improve the prediction process in satellite images and to decrease the associated imperfections. The proposed approach addresses this issue through the use of two fusion methods which are the evidence and adaptive possibility methods. Performances of these two methods were evaluated using several time series of SPOT-5 images. The obtained results show that the adaptive possibility method outperforms the evidence method in predicting land cover changes in most cases.

10 illus, 3 tables, 18 ref

011967   Dutta D;Barrie C L (Environmental Science Div, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, Email: iirs.dipa@gmail.com) : Designing a geo-spatial framework for rapid damage assessment. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(2), 24-33.

With, increase in the number of natural hazards and disasters fallowed by economic losses, terms like disaster preparedness, response, relief and rehabilitation has become common to the decision makers as well as ordinary people. Since there is a great influence of occurrence of hazards and disaster upon a country's economic growth, all government bodies are seek to find a way to reduce the adverse effect of a disaster. Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) coupled with Rapid Damage Mapping (RDM) can assist decision makers to overcome the post-disaster crisis by providing necessary information for emergency response. The present paper aims to design a framework far RDA based on high resolution satellite imags (IKONOS), RDA works in two phases, pre-disastsr and past-disaster condition seeking to maintain alertness and prepared to serve quickly during disaster. To build the framework of RDA, an earthquake scenario has been simulated as an example. Rapid disaster mapping team equipped with, modem communication technology could provide required information regarding safe zones, affected areas and level of damage. It is assumed that all required modem communication tools are available over there and the skilled workforce is equipped with modem map making softwares.

5 illus, 10 ref

011966   Dami A;Ayuba H K;Bila M (Geography Dep, Maiduguri Univ, Borno State, Nigeria, Email: tonidamy@yahoo.com) : Spatio-temporal distribution of wildfire occurrences on the lake floor of lake Chad based on remotely sensed data. J Remote Sensing GIS 2011, 2(2), 5-12.

This paper analyzes the spado-temporal distribution of wildfire occurrences on the lake floor of the Lake Chad using satellite remote sensing data, A combination of field survey and computation of fire pixel counts from MODIS images for the period 2001-2009 form the basis for this analysis. The result revealed that the highest number of fires occurred in 2001, with varying figures in subsequent years. The highest number of fires in 2001 may be connected to the extent of flooding and the subsequent invasion by vegetal vegetal biomass on the Lake floor after the recession of floods. Fire density was highest in the northern basin of the Lake Chad, with a total burnt area of 19,274 km² compared to the southern basin. The disparity in the spatial distribution of wildfires between the two basins may be connected with the proliferation of invasive species, especially Prosopis juliflora in the northern basin. These invasive species are important for the local communities living on the lake floor as they are subjected to frequent burning in order to get fuel wood for household use.

3 illus, 17 ref

011965   Clemente S;Ingole B S;Sumati M;Goltekar R (National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, Dona Paula, Goa-4003 004, Email: baban@nio.org) : Sulfide oxidizing activity as a survival strategy in mangrove clam Polymesoda erosa (Solander, 1786). Bionano Front 2013, 6(1), 9-16.

Clam Polymesoda erosa is a large dioceous bivalve mollnsk found in the mangroves restricted in high tidal Avicennia sp. zone of the mangrove forest. The present study was aimed at understanding the occurrence of P. erosa in mangroves in relation to its ability to oxidize sulphide. In January 2011, sampling was conducted in 4 different mangrove forests viz. Siolim, Nerul, Chorao and Chapora (locations) in Goa. Sediment bacterial abundance was statistically similar at all the sites with high values at Chapora (2.5 x 10⁹ to 4.5 x 10⁹) and lower values were at Siolim (1 x 10⁹ to 2 x 10⁹). The total number of bacteria per gram of fresh tissue of P. erasa was highest (3.8 x 10⁹) in Chorao station in the size class of 7.0-7.9 cm whereas; bacterial count was lowest in the same size class clams from Nerul (0.5 x 10⁹). Cytochemical staining for sulfide oxidizing activity with Benzyl viologen resulted in the formation of purple color at the sites of sulfide oxidation in clam tissues from all collection sites. Gill tissue showed the intense purple color compared to foot and mantle. Both highest as well as lowest concentration of sediment sulfide was recorded in Nerul compared to other stations and ranged from 0.1 -11.4 mM/g of sediment. Both highest (3.31 U/g) as well us lowest (0.7U/g) values of sulfide oxidizing activity of clam tissue were recorded at Chorao in the specimens of 5.0-5.9 and 6.0-6.9 cm size class respectively. P. erosa may be a symbiotic bivalve as it contains endosymbionts in its gill tissue in addition to sulphide oxidizing regions and sulphide oxidase enzyme activity. All these characteristics may enable the clam to use it as an additional source of food or for its survival in the sulphide containing sediments of the mangroves.

5 illus, 4 tables, 43 ref

011964   Charles N K;Neeraja K;Ramanaiah Y V (NO, , Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh) : Crop calender for groundnut farming in the drought prone Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. Trans Inst Indian Geogr 2011, 33(2), 297-302.

The present research paper attempts to provide scientific information on crop calendar for sustainable groundnut crop farming in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. Anantapur district is known for frequent occurrences of drought and prolonged dry spells which have had a debilitating and devastating effect on crop economy of the district. Anantapur district is the largest producer of groundnut and has maximum hectarage in Andhra Pradesh. The practices and performances of ground cultivation heavily depend upon the behaviour of the monsoons, hence, the productivity of the crop is subjected to wide fluctuations of rainfall and in turn affecting its economy and the fate of the farmers. To evolve a suitable crop planning, the crop calendar is prepared based on the water availability and water requirement for groundnut crop with the help of modified Penman method. For this, weekly rainfall data for a long period i.e., 60 years is used and applied Penman formula with the help of computer programme and derived crop calendar for groundnut cultivation in Anantapur district.

8 ref

011963   Chandniha S K;Mondal A;Mishra P K;Kundu S (Water Resources Development and Management Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Email: chandniha.surendra@gmail.com) : Aerial expansion of Govind Sagar lake in recent decades of Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. J Remote Sensing GIS 2012, 3(2), 1-12.

Large number of glacial lakes have appeared in many mountain areas of the world due to global warming. Severe floods have been caused, by frequent outbursts from the glacial lakes. Hence, investigation is necessary for the management point of view; thereby, satellite images, geological survey and meteorological data are best options for identification of change detection of suck lakes. Oovind Sagar Lake situated in the foothill of Himalayas in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, is one such lake where investigation is needed. The present study assesses the asrial expansion of the lake since last few decades including identifying the hidden, cause of its expansion. The satellite images clearly suggest the increase in water spread area in the lake for different years. Man attempt to gauge the causes of expansion, the authors attempt to analyze the trend of the climatic variables, viz, rainfall and temperature. Annual and monthly precipitation trends were detected with Mann-Kendall and Sen's Slope statistical test. The precipitation and temperature trend suggest lesser role in the aerial expansion; rather, large-scale silt deposit info the lake is the main cause for the expansion including extra source of inflow of water info the lake.

7 illus, 3 tables, 9 ref

013938   Watve A (NO, , 34/6, Gulawani Maharaj Road, Maharashtra-411 004, Email: aparnawatve1@gmail.com) : Status review of rocky plateaus in the Northern Western Ghats and Konkan region of Maharashtra, India with recommendations for conservation and management. J Threatened Taxa 2013, 5(5), 3935-62.

Rocky plateaus in the northern Western Ghats and Konkan region are specialized habitats belonging to the general habitat category of Rock Outcrops. Their distribution and classification is presented here, with details of microclimate and edaphic features. Microhabitats on the rocky plateaus have been described along with characteristic species assemblages and changes in them due to bioric pressure. Ecological assessment of representative sites show high species richness and diversity (H'). A review of current knowledge about endemic flora and fauna on the rocky plateaus shows a large number of endemic species of flora and fauna, of which many are regionally assessed as threatened. Localized diversification within floral and faunal genera is common and indicates active speciation. Most localities except those within protected areas are affected by biotic pressures and there is no specific legal protection for their rich biodiversity. The paper suggests needs for future research on the habitat and recommends conservation and management actions based upon the ecology of the habitat.

4 illus, 5 tables, 68 ref

013937   Ramaiah S N;Gopalakrishna G S;Srinivasa Vittala S;Najeeb K M (Central Ground Water Board, MoWR, Govt. of India, Kerala Region, Trivandrum, Kerala) : Morphometric analysis of sub-basins in and around Malur taluk, Kolar district, Karnataka using remote sensing and GIS technique. Nat Envir Pollut Technol 2012, 11(1), 89-94.

The study reveals that remote sensing and GIS techniques proved to be the competent tool in analysing various morphometric parameters. The drainage network of Kanamanahalli and Devaraguttahalli sub-basins were delineated using false colour composite (FCC) of IRS-1C/1D merged satellite data on 1:50,000 scale. SOI toposheets were used as reference with limited field work. The study area falls in Ponnaiyar river basin covering an area of 686 sq. km comprising two sub-basins namely Kanamanahalli and Devaraguttahalli having an area of 439 sq.km and 247 sq.km respectively in and around Malur taluk of Kolar district. The morphometric analysis of these two sub-basins shows that the terrain exhibits dendritic to sub-dendritic drainage pattern. Stream order ranges from first to sixth order. Drainage density varies between 1.57 and 1.88 km/km² and has coarse to fine drainage texture. The relief ratio ranges from 0.0111 to 0.0117. The mean bifurcation ratio varies from 3.51 to 4.86 which fall under normal basin category. The elongation ratio shows that these sub-basins are associated with high relief and steep ground slopes.

1 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

013936   Raghavan R;Tharian J;Ali A;Jadhav S;Dahanukar N (Conservation Research group (CRG), St. albert's College, Kochi, Kerala-682 018, Email: rajeevraq@hotmail.com) : Balitora jalpalli, a new species of stone loach (Teleoste:Cypriniformes:Balitoridae) from silent valley, Southern Western Ghats, India. J Threatened Taxa 2013, 5(5), 3921-34.

New species of stone loach (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae), Balitora jalpalli, is described from Kunthi tributary of Bharatapuzha River located inside Silent Valley National Park in the southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. It can be distinguished from known Indian species of Balitora by five major characters: head length, caudal peduncle depth, maximum head width and difference in number and pattern of bands on the dorsal side. The new species is distinct in having two unbranched and 8-9 branched ventral fin rays, nine unbranched and 10-11 branched pectoral fin rays and 66 lateral line scales, a caudal peduncle length to depth ratio of 2.3-2.7, anal fin to anus distance 3.3-4.7% SL, least depth of caudal peduncle 6.3-6.7% SL, length of caudal peduncle 15.4-17.2% SL, length of upper caudal lobe 22.1-22.8% SL, maximum head width 67.9-74.1% HL, eye diameter 12.1-14.2% HL, and gape 31.3-31.5% HL.

2 illus, 31 ref

013935   Parmesh Kumar;Gupta S K (Zoology Dep, College Univ, Kurukshetra Univ, Kurukshetra, Haryana-136 119, Email: parmeshkuk@rediffmail.com) : Status of wetland birds of Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana, India. J Threatened Taxa 2013, 5(5), 3969-76.

Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary (76°36'-76°46'E & 29°52'-30°00'N), situated in Kurukshetra District of Haryana provides an important wintering ground for a diverse range of wetland birds. This study was carried out from April 2009 to March 2012 to document the diversity of wetland birds. Altogether 57 species of wetland birds belonging to 37 genera and 16 families were recorded from the study area. Family Anatidae dominated the wetland bird community with 13 species. Among recorded species, 33 were winter migrants, two summer migrants and 22 were resident species. The winter migratory birds did not arrive at this wetland in one lot and at one time. Instead, they displayed a definite pattern specific to species for arrival and departure. They appeared at the wetland during mid-October and stayed up to early April. The composition of birds in major feeding guilds in the study area showed that the insectivore guild was the most common with 35.09% species, followed by carnivore (29.82%), omnivore (19.30%), herbivore (10.53%) and piscivore (5.26%). Among the birds recorded in this study area. Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) and Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) were Near Threatened species. Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos), listed in Appendix II of CITES, was also spotted in the sanctuary. The spotting of these threatened bird species highlights the importance of Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary as a significant wetland bird habitat in Haryana. However, anthropogenic activities like fire wood collection, livestock grazing, cutting of emergent and fringe vegetation and improper management of the wetland are major threats to the ecology of this landscape.

4 illus, 1 table, 22 ref

013934   Mahadevaswamy G;Nagaraju D;Papanna C;Nagesh P C;Rao K (Studies in Geology Dep, Mysore Univ, Manasagangothri, Mysore-570 006) : Morphometric analysis of Nanjangud taluk, Mysore district, Karnataka, India using GIS technique. Nat Envir Pollut Technol 2012, 11(1), 129-34.

Attempt has been made to study drainage morphometry and its influence on hydrology of Nanjanagud taluk. For detailed study, data for preparing DEM, aspect grid and slope maps, geographic information system (GIS) was used in evaluation of linear, areal and relief aspects of morphometric parameters. The study reveals that the elongated shape of the area is mainly due to guiding effect of thrusting and faulting. In all 41 sub-basins in Nanjangud taluk have been selected for the study. Quantitative morphometric analysis has been carried out for linear, relief and aerial aspects for all the sub-basins. The streams up to fourth order can be seen in all the sub-basins. The morphometric analysis reveals that Hullahalli sub-basin has lower value of drainage density, stream frequency, elongation ratio, relief ratio and infiltration number indicating highly permeable sub-soil materials under dense vegetation cover. Except Hullahalli sub-basin, all the other sub-basins show fractured, resistant, permeable rocks and drainage network seems to be not affected by tectonic disturbances.

5 illus, 1 table, 10 ref

013933   Dhale D A;Pachkore G L (PG Botany Dep, S.S.V.P.S. Sansthas, L.K. Dr. P.R. Ghogrey Science College, Dhule-424 005) : Assessment of physico-chemical status of ground water samples of Parbhani district (M.S. India). Int J pharm Sci Res 2012, 3(5), 1367-70.

Ground water is the most preferred water source in recent day. Once believed to be safe from pollution as it is available many strata below the surface, is now provided to be prone to pollution by many researchers across the world. The contamination of ground water may be due to improper disposal of domestic and industrial west water. A study was carried out to assess the ground water quality of Parbhani District, one of the most important agro plantation areas of Maharashtra State (India). The work was undertaken to assess the ground water quality and discus the potability of ground water by collecting data of physio-chemical characters of ground water. The study was carried out in years 2007 by selecting 10 spots, situated in Parbhani District. Nineteen water quality parameters of water of all sites were estimated following standard methods and procedures of sampling and estimation. Comparison of estimated values with W.H.O. The physio-chemical parameter such as Temperature, colour, odour, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, total hardness (TH), calcium (Ca⁺⁺), magnesium (Mg⁺⁺), total alkalinity (TA), bicarbonate (HCO₃^-), sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), chloride (Cl^-), fluoride (F^-) nitrate (NO_-³) and sulphate (SO^--₄) were studied. Variations in these values were observed. The sampling point S₆ and S₇ showed high total hardness content indicating the need of some treatment for minimization of the parameters. Other sites water under investigation was found physicochemical parameters within the water quality standards and the quality of water is good and it is fit for drinking purpose.

013932   Cheyne S M;Thompson C J H;Chivers D J (Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project, Centre for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Trop, Indonesia, Email: susan.cheyne@zoo.ox.ac.uk) : Travel adaptations of Bornean Agile Gibbons Hylobates albibarbis (primates:hylobatidae) in a degraded secondary forest, Indonesia. J Threatened Taxa 2013, 5(5), 3963-68.

Data are presented on the locomotion of Bornean Agile Gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) in a disturbed peat-swamp forest, Results indicate that gibbons favour continuous-canopy forest, higher canopy heights and trees with a larger diameter at breast height. Gibbons select these trees despite the study site being dominated by broken-canopy forest and small trees. Gibbons also change frequently between brachiation, climbing, clambering and bipedal walking in this disturbed forest depending on the size of gap to be crossed. Gibbons are shown to be capable of adapting to some human-induced disturbances in forest continuity and canopy height, and to the presence of smaller trees, e.g., after selective logging. Despite this, gibbons are still limited to crossing gaps of ≤ 12 m in a single movement, and more research is needed to quantify levels of disturbance gibbons can tolerate.

3 illus, 39 ref

011059   Raval V H;Malik G M (Chemistry Dep, Navyug Science College, Surat, Gujarat, Email: gmmalik2010@gmail.com) : Physico-chemical assessment and scaling indices study for corrosion of ground water in and around Surat city. J Ultra Chem 2011, 7(2), 173-88.

Ground water samples were collected from different locations of Surat city, Gujarat (India). Total 54 sampling stations identified from Surat and their physico-chemical parameters were examined and different indices for corrosion based on data interpreted for the purpose of groundwater usage as drinking as well as industrial usage. Physico-chemicals parameters like pH, Colour, Alkalinity, Hardness, Chloride, Silica, Sulfate, IDS, Odour, COD, SS, Iron, Copper, Chromium, Boron, Temperature, Dissolve Oxygen, Phosphate, Ca Hardness, Mg Hardness, Ca as Ca⁺⁺, Mg as Mg⁺⁺ and corrosion indices like Langelier Saturation Index, Ryznar Stability Index, Puckorius Scaling Index and Larson Scold Index were calculated by standard methods. By comparing the results against drinking water quality standards laid by, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and World Health Organization (WHO), it is found that most of the water samples are non-potable for human being due to high concentration of one or the other parameter. Most of the samples have Total Alkalinity, Hardness, Chloride and TDS values much higher than the permissible level stipulated by ICMR and WHO. Even at some places Lenglier Saturation Index value are found higher too. The high values of these parameters may have health implications and therefore these need attention. From different indices it is summarized that many places have corrosion tendency in cooling water so these water should have some pre-treatment before use in cooling water and boiler.

2 illus, 5 tables, 45 ref

011058   Namdev G R;Bajpai A;Malik S (Chemistry Dep, Sadhu Vaswani College, Bhopal) : Water quality comparison of different water bodies of Bhopal city (Madhya Pradesh). J Ultra Chem 2011, 7(2), 167-72.

Bhopal is surrounded with rural areas and is mainly occupied by agriculture land. In the present study an attempt has been made to assess the effect of fertilizers and pesticides on the basis of water quality comparison of different water bodies like Hathaikheda reservoir and Kaliasote Reservoir. Three samples of water collected from each reservoir following the standard procedure (APHA, 1995) on the basis of their importance parameters like pH, Dissolved-Oxygen(DO), Biochemical Oxygen demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen demand(COD), Nitrate, Phosphate and Potassium were analyzed. Result of these analyzed parameters depicted that some parameters are within the limit as prescribed by ISI & WHO while other are beyond the limit due to the residues of the chemical fertilizer reaching to the hathaikheda Reservoir and kaliasote Reservoir with storm water.

5 illus, 1 table, 10 ref

011057   Namdev G R;Bajpai A;Malik S (Chemistry Dep, Sadhu Vaswani College, Bhopal, Email: grnamdeo@gmail.com) : Nutrient enrichment through catchment area in upper lake of Bhopal city (Madhya Pradesh). J Ultra Chem 2011, 7(2), 155-60.

The study aims to assess the impact of rural catchment on the water quality of the Upper Lake and its mitigative measures. Under the proposed study the surface water drainage flowing through the target villages is being studied and compared with the chemical fertilizer dominant agriculture area. The purpose of this study is to estimate the relative impact of the rural portion of the upper lake catchment to the nutrient and pollution load in the upper lakes. Several physicochemical parameters were analyzed. During the present study nutrient loading was observed at near Goura Bishenkhedi station which is located nearby agriculture field where chemical fertilizers are being used. Higher value of nitrate and phosphate was observed at this station which may be due to joining of nutrient through surface runoff during rainy season.

6 illus, 1 table, 13 ref

011056   Mantry P;Vyas P R (Geography & NRM Dep, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth Univ, Udaipur-313 001, Email: prakashmantry@yahoo.com ) : Spatio-temporal analyses for Ahad watershed management in Rajasthan state, India: applications of geoinformatics. J Remote Sensing GIS 2011, 2(1), 34-40.

Ahad watershed, covering Udaipur, of Rajasthan divides the drainage systems of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian. Sea, City Udaipur has remained in focus due to its strategic location, natural beauty., history for valor and chivalry, and hence a worldwide tourist hub But due to population sprawl, industrialization., influx of tourists, ruining etc.; the area is reeling tinder environmental stress. Altitude varies 1090 to 470m from west to east. Almost 60% watershed area is under activities other than agriculture. Forests constitute only 8,8%, Ground water quality is deteriorating in lower reach. To assess sequential assessment of the kind., satellites images of different spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions are studied in GIS environ in conjuction with secondary data, and remedial measures are suggested for development of area.

8 illus, 6 ref

011055   Kundu A;Kundu S (Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru Univ, New Delhi-110 067, Email: arnknd@live.in) : Flood vulnerability assessment using participatory GIS approach. J Remote Sensing GIS 2011, 2(1), 8-22.

Flood is a most frequent and risky hazard as well as a disaster in the world. Participatory GIS (PGIS) approach has been used to assess flood vulnerability and risk. The application of Participatory GIS is common and effective where local people have the ability to accumulate knowledge and experiences. The PGIS integrates qualitative information (mental maps, public opinions) with quantitative data. The main objective of this study is to design a method of the vulnerability assessment and also for further risk analysis and management. In this study, building materials, land use map. flood depth map. population (day and night), building types of study area have been used to represent social vulnerability. For the community based study, sites or houses of the area have been selected by Random sampling method. A questionnaire has been prepared for the collection of qualitative as well as quantitative data from the people. The vulnerability maps and curves have been produced using Spatial Multi Criteria Analysis (SMCA) technique. For this, some of the invented data have used together with the existing data. The PGIS survey of the area help in obtaining many information which are needed for the assessment of vulnerabilitv of the study area.

17 illus, 13 ref

011054   Dixit A;Tomar J;Ronghe A K (Research Scholar, International Institute of Waste Management (IIWM), E-8 Extension, Samaj Sewa Nayas Building, Arera Colony, Bhopal-462 039, Email: archana_dixit81@yahoo.co.in) : Consequences of locality on ground water quality, a study on Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh (India). J Ultra Chem 2011, 7(2), 277-84.

Present communication deals with study of physico-chemical parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Alkalinity (TA), Calcium Hardness (CaH), Magnesium Hardness (MgH), Total Hardness (TH), Chloride (C1-), Fluoride (F-), Sulphate (SO4^2-), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of ground water samples of eight sampling points in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The ground water is generally used for drinking and irrigation purposes in Vidisha. So we carried out a study to assess the suitability of ground water quality of Vidisha district for drinking and irrigation purposes. Also the study is carried out to see the impact of locality around the bore on its water quality. For studying the impact of locality on ground water quality the sampling stations selected are having different identified locations which covered commercial, industrial, residential and agricultural area. The statistical analysis of water quality parameters have also been carried out. The experimental values of water samples were compared with standard values given by World Health Organization (WHO). The statistical analysis like mean, standard deviation (SD) and percentage Coefficient of Variance (%CV) of obtained data were carried out. The results show that the quality of water at some stations is poor, which can be used for irrigation purpose and after treatment can also be used for potable purposes, and at some stations ground water quality is quite good which can be directly used for potable purposes.

2 illus, 4 tables, 15 ref

011053   Dangi G P;Munusamy K;Somani R S;Bajaj H C (Discipline of Inorganic Materials and Catalysis, CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, GB Marg, Bhavnagar-364 021, Email: rssomani@csmcri.org) : Adsorption selectivity of CO₂ over N₂ by cation exchanged zeolite L: experimental and simulation studies. Indian J Chem-Sect A 2012, 51(9-10), 1238-51.

CO₂ and N₂ adsorptions of alkali and alkaline earth metal cation exchanged zeolite L have been investigated by volumetric measurements and Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulation. The zeolite KL shows lower degree of exchange because of its unique open-channel framework, linked cancrinite and intercage sites. Structural characteristics have been evaluated using X-ray diffraction analysis and surface area measurements. CO₂ and N₂ adsorption isotherms have been obtained for zeolite KL and its cation exchanged form up to 101.3 kPa at 293 and 303 K and the corresponding heats of adsorption estimated by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The experimental results are compared with those obtained from GCMC simulation. The texture of the materials and their selectivity for CO₂ over N₂ adsorption varies with the nature of the exchanged cations. Zeolite-CaL shows remarkably high CO₂ selectivity (31 times) over N₂ amongst the studied alkali and alkaline cation exchanged zeolite L. It has been shown that zeolite L can be used as a potential adsorbent for the removal of CO₂ from industrial effluent gases.

9 illus, 8 tables, 48 ref

011052   Chauhan B;Singh M;Mishra B K (Chemistry Dep, Ramakrishna Memorial P.G. College, Vidisha) : Physico-chemical characteristics of ground water collected from different areas of Vidisha block Madhya Pradesh (India). J Ultra Chem 2011, 7(2), 303-6.

Ground water samples were collected from different location of Vidisha city for their physico-chemical studies. Laboratory tests were performed for analysis of samples for total hardness, total alkalinity, pH and major ions like Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl^-, EC, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).

1 table, 15 ref

011051   Ayuba H K;Dami A;Bila M D (Geography Dep, Maiduguri Univ, Borno State, Nigeria, Email: hkayuba@yahoo.com) : Analysis of wildlife occurrences within the shores of lake chad using geo-information technology. J Remote Sensing GIS 2011, 2(1), 1-7.

Geographic Information Technology provides an important tool in modeling ecosystem dynamics. One of the drivers of ecosystem change in the Lake Chad Basin is wildfire. This paper examines the historical spatial patterns of wildfires and. employed a trend analysis using Geographic Information System (GIS) technique in analyzing fire pixel counts from MODIS images of the period 2001-2009, The results revealed, a declining trend in wildfire occurrences and a non-linear relationship in the numbers of wildfire occurrences for the period 2001-2009, This is due to the interplay of several factors such as human influence, winds, temperature changes, and the type, extent and spread of vegetation During the period wider study the total number of fires recorded in the Lake floor is 25,690 with a burnt area of 19,274 km². The highest number of fires occurred in 2001, with varying figures in subsequent years. The highest number of fires in 2001. may be connected to the extent of flooding and the subsequent invasion by vegetal biomass on the Lake floor after the recession of floods The decline in wildfires is indicative of the fact that the biomass within the lake floor, which would ordinarily have been burnt, is now being cleared to make way for farmlands. The dechning trend in wildfires on the lake floor of the Lake Chad Basin is seen as a good development for the basin.

6 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

009887   Vijay Kumar;Sharad Jain K (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee-247 667, Email: vijay@nih.ernet.in) : Rainfall trends in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins of India (1951-2004). Hydrol J 2010, 33(Jan-Dec), 59-66.

Study aims to determine trends in the annual and seasonal total rainfall over Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins of India. The data used in this study consists of daily gridded rainfall data at 1°x1° resolution for the period 1951-2004. The basin wise data series was created as the averaged data over all the grid points falling in that particular basin. Sen's non-parametric estimator of slope was used to estimate the magnitude of trend. The statistical significance of a trend was assessed by the Mann-Kendall test. Brahmaputra river basin showed a decreasing trend, Meghna river basin showed an increasing trend and Ganga river basin showed no change in annual rainfall during the period 1951-2004. Monsoon rainfall was found to have increased over Brahmaputra and Meghna and decreased over Ganga basin. Rainfall increased over Ganga and Meghna basins in pre-monsoon season and over Meghna basin in post-monsoon season. The winter rainfall was found to have increased over all the three river basins. None of the increasing or decreasing trend is found significant at 95% confidence level.

3 illus, 2 tables, 14 ref

009886   Verma S K;Bhishm Kumar;Singh M (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee) : Assessment of recharge to groundwater due to rain using tritium tagging technique. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 91-5.

Estimation of recharge to groundwater is crucial to better water resource management, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In general, it is difficult to estimate recharge to groundwater due to rainfall or irrigation using conventional methods due to nonavailability of adequate data. Nuclear methods, specially tritium tagging technique has been used successfully in different countries including many parts in India. In the present paper, the assessment of recharge to groundwater due to rains has been made using Tritium tagging technique in parts of Narsinghpur district (M.P.) lying in the Narmada basin. In the study area, experiments have been carried out in cultivated as well as in uncultivated fields. In the study area, mainly four types of soils were found, namely clay, clay loam, loam and sandy clay in which clay is predominant. The average annual rainfall of the area is 1246 mm. The percentage of recharge to groundwater varies from 7.67% to 22.44% in the study area with respect to the type of soil and other geo-hydrological conditions. In the present paper the details of the methodology followed and details about the area including the results obtained with regard to the values of recharge to groundwater obtained have been described. The assessment of recharge to groundwater has been made mainly due to the monsoon rains of the year 1995.

9 illus, 3 tables, 11 ref

009885   Venkateswara Rao B;Subramanyam K;Murthy E S R C;Varalakshmi V;Satyanarayana B (NO, Centre for Water Resources, Institute of Science and Technology, JNT U, Kukatpally, Hyderabad-500 085, Email: cwr_jntu@yahoo.com) : Problems and prospects of geophysical methods in identifying groundwater potential zones of hard rocks. Hydrol J 2011, 34(3-4), 85-98.

Case studies of success and failed wells are taken up to identify the efficacy of the various geophysical techniques to identify the aquifers in the khondalitic formation, granitic formation and basaltic formation. Geophysical surveys were conducted at pairs of successful and failed wells covering all the three formations in such a way that the failed well and successful wells are only few metres apart and are in similar hydrogeologic setting. The comparison of geophysical signals have revealed that studying of coefficient of anisotropy is important by conducting radial vertical electrical soundings to identify the fracture distribution. To produce a good well yield fracture system must extend in all the four directions which is identified with high values of coefficient of anisotropy while the unidirectional fracture system may not produce the good well yield which is identified with less value of coefficient of anisotropy. Shallow Seismic Refraction method could not be of much help to find the fracture zones. Similarly Very Low Frequency electromagnetic method is of some use where inclined and nearly vertical fractures present.

9 illus, 2 tables, 12 ref

009884   Tyagi J;Srivastava S L;Singh R D (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee-247 667) : Techniques of soil moisture measurement for enhancing irrigation water use efficiency. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 82-6.

One of the major concerns in irrigated agriculture in India is the poor water use efficiency. The share of irrigation water in the total demand is bound to decrease from the present 84% to 74% due to more pressing and competing demands from other sectors by 2025 AD. As such, the research on improving the present level of water use efficiency in irrigation assumes a great significance in water resource management. In this perspective, soil moisture measurement and its use in irrigation scheduling can play a vital role in increasing the water use efficiency. A tendency to over- or under-irrigate the cropped fields results due to the absence of information about the soil moisture status down the soil profile. Application of precise quantities of irrigation water at the right time not only ensures a high efficiency of water use by the crops, but also reduces nutrient losses through leaching, results in better aeration of the soil, and significantly improves crop yields and farm productivity. Soil moisture readings are useful in determining how much water is available for the crop, when to start irrigation and how much water to apply. Soil moisture monitoring, therefore, helps conserve water and energy, minimize pollution of surface and ground water, and produce optimum crop yields. A variety of methods are available for measuring soil moisture. The selection of method and equipment will depend on ease of use, cost of equipment, applicability to drier conditions, and desire to monitor continuous changes in soil moisture. The present paper aims at disseminating the knowledge of the available techniques and instrumentation for soil moisture measurement and its use in efficient scheduling of irrigation water applications that gives the highest return for the least amount of water.

2 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

009883   Thomas T;Jaiswal R K;Singh S;Bhar A K (NO, Ganga Plains South Regional Centre, National Institute of Technology, Sagar-470 001, Email: thomas_nih@yahoo.com) : Trend identification and stochastic modeling of groundwater levels in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. Hydrol J 2009, 32(3-4), 306-13.

Study investigates the application of time series methods for identification of trends and subsequent forecasting of groundwater levels in few blocks of Sagar district, which faces severe water scarcity owing to declining ground water levels. A series of tri-annual ground water level observations made for 15 to 17 years is used. The available data was divided into two sets i.e. the last two years for forecasting and the remaining initial years for evaluating the parameters of the autoregressive model. Kendal's rank correlation test has been applied to identify the trend persisting in the data and the linear regression test is used to identify the significance of the slope. Univariate time series modeling was attempted by applying the auto-regressive model and the resulting accuracy is compared. The analysis indicates that the time series of groundwater levels are cyclical, with characteristics of seasonal variation in all the blocks, coupled with a declining trend at Sagar, Khurai and Bina. The study attempts to model the two different types of groundwater level data; one with trend persisting and the other having no trend with the autoregressive (AR) models. It is well demonstrated that AR models can be effectively used to model the time series of groundwater levels in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.

009882   Thayyen Renoj J (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Western Himalayan Centre, Jammu-180 003, Email: renojthyayyen@gmail.com) : Defining `Himalayan catchment' for better understanding of climate change impact on Himalayan glaciers and river flows. Hydrol J 2010, 33(Jan-Dec), 49-58.

River flow response to the changing climate is a major concern in the Himalayan region. Present understanding regarding the impact of glacier shrinkage on the river flow variations is summarized in the IPCC 2007, which stated that "as these glaciers retreat due to global warming, river flows are increased in the short term, but the contribution of glacier melt will gradually decrease over the next few decades" and "the enhanced melting of glaciers leads at first to increased river runoff and discharge peaks and an increased melt season" (IPCC, 2007b). Argues that this conclusion is overwhelmingly biased towards the Alpine glacier systems, where glacier melt occurs during otherwise low flow regime of the annual stream hydrograph. Major parts of the Himalayan glaciers are in a precipitation dominant system, where western disturbances in winter and monsoon in summer dominate the regional hydrology. Monsoon also suggested to be playing an important role in the glacial processes by influencing the growth and decay of these glaciers. Here the `Himalayan catchment' is defined as the glacier catchments experiencing snowfall in winter and monsoon precipitation in summer, where peak discharge from the glacier contributes to the crest of the annual streamflow hydrograph produced by the monsoon rains. It is suggested that the Himalayan glacier catchment could experience higher glacier discharge during the positive mass balance regime of the glacier and lesser discharge during the negative mass balance regime, which is contrary to the Alpine system response. Suggests that the enhanced melting of glaciers under a climate change regime need not necessarily produce higher discharge in a glacier fed stream within the `Himalayan catchment' as suggested by the IPCC 2001 and IPCC 2007. Moreover, glacier melt component in the mountain streams would be highest during the years of low summer runoff. Also classify glacier catchments in the Himalayas in to three distinct glacio-hydrological regimes such as Alpine, Himalayan and cold-arid regimes based on the temporal distribution characteristics of precipitation and runoff.

6 illus, 7 ref

009881   Thattte C D (NO, , ICID C 16, Parnali, Damle Path, Law College Road, Pune-411 004, Email: cdthatte@hotmail.com) : Recap: climate change, its likely impacts on freshwaters and adaptive measures to ensure sustainable development in India. Hydrol J 2010, 33(Jan-Dec), 1-8.

Traces history of global initiatives on assessing present and projections of climate change (CC), describes the scope/status of current activities and program in hand for mitigation and adaptation in near future. It brings out the extent of adverse impacts of CC on Water Resources alongwith shortcomings of the investigations. It then covers India's response through the Action Plan on eight subject missions including specifically the findings of the Water Mission. In conclusion, the study seeks a dispassionate, rational approach eschewing despondency; pleads for careful and expeditious implementation of the Action Plan based on downscaled assessments.

25 ref

009880   Singh R D (NO, National Institute of Hydeology, Roorkee, Uttrakhand) : Recent advances in water sector. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 36-45.

Water is essential for sustaining life on Earth. However, in view of the increasing demands for various competing sectors such as urbanization, industrialization, growing population, and increasing living standards, the finite freshwater resources are getting vulnerable to deficit in terms of quantity and quality. Further, because of the high time and space variability in rainfall in this country, optimum conservation and management of the available water resources for different purposes is the need of the hour. In the past few decades, the science of hydrology has made significant progress in various dimensions. Hydrological instrumentation, data collection, processing, storage and retrieval have been computerized to a considerable extent. Spatial database provided through remote sensing satellites and spatial analyses through Geographic Information System (GIS) are finding applications in a number of modeling studies. Nuclear techniques are finding applications in a number of hydrological applications related to identification of recharge areas, groundwater seepage and its movement and identification of flow components from different sources in a stream. Further, Decision Support Systems (DSS) are being developed at the scale of river basins which can help the decision makers in analyzing various scenarios for rational surface and groundwater development and management without going deep into the modeling intricacies. Discusses some of these recent developments in various facets of hydrology and water resources.

8 illus, 28 ref

009879   Singh O (Geography Dep, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra-136 119) : Impact of climate change on surface water resource availability of Sainj basin in lesser Himalayan region. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 115-19.

Water is a very important natural resource without which our survival is impossible. As per IPCC report the mean annual temperature of Earth's surface has increased by 0.74±0.18°C over the last century and it is expected that by 2100 the increase in temperature could be 1.4°C to 5.8°C. This increasing temperature will exert a tremendous impact on glaciers and resultant water resources of the Himalayan region. Keeping this fact in reckoning, the present study has been undertaken in Sainj basin of Lesser Himalayan region in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh to evaluate the impact of climate change on surface water resources of the basin. The Sainj basin area extends about 55 km in length and covers an area of about 741km². The elevation of the basin varies from 900 m to 6100 m above mean sea level. A marked spatial variation in precipitation amount, snow cover and glaciated area has been observed in the basin with the altitude. The hydrometeorological data pertaining to this study has been collected from Bhakra Beas Management Board, Pandoh for the period 1981-2004. The analysis of rainfall data revealed that no marked changes were observed in the amount of rainfall during 1981-2004 in the basin. However, river discharge demonstrated a declining trend during the study period and this decrease in the river discharge was found to be statistically significant during the months of December, January and April. The significant declining trend in river discharge during these months may be attributed to lesser snow cover in the lower, middle and higher reaches, thinning of small glaciers and ice patches over the period of time in the basin. The decline of discharge will be a challenging task for the upcoming and already established hydro-power projects in the Sainj basin. Therefore, in future planners and policy makers need to debate before the establishment of hydro-power and irrigation projects in the region. The outcome of this research will also prove a boon to agricultural scientists, water resource policy makers and especially to the dam engineers in making the effective future decisions on water resources of the region. Moreover, this study will strengthen activities pertaining to the sustainable development of irrigation and hydropower projects.

2 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

009878   Shukla S;Jain S K;Tyagi J (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee) : Assessement of sedimentation in pong (Rana Pratap Sagar) reservoir using digital image processing technique. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 87-90.

All lakes created on natural rivers are subjected to reservoir sedimentation. Sedimentation in the reservoir is one of the principle factors. Sedimentation reduces the storage capacity. When the flow of a river is stored in a reservoir, the sediment settles in the reservoir and reduces its capacity. Reduction in the storage capacity of a reservoir beyond a limit hampers the purpose for which it was designed. Thus, assessment of sediment deposition becomes very important for the management and operation of such reservoirs. Some conventional methods, such as hydrographic survey and inflow - outflow approaches, are used for estimation of sediment deposition in a reservoir, but these methods are eumbersome, time consuming and expensive. Therefore an effective and time consuming technique, remote sensing approach has been attempted for this study. This method has been used for the assessment of sediment in pong reservoir created on the Beas river in the low foothills of Himalaya on the northern edge of Indo Gangetic plain, located in the Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. A method has been developed, based on spectral mixture analysis, to estimate the concentration of suspended sediment in Reservoir from IRS (P6) LISS - III images. Paper represented the reservoir's live storage capacity was 7290 M.cum and dead storage capacity was 8570 M.cum. The reservoir's water spread area at full reservoir level (FRL) was 240 sq. km and the catchment area of its associated river Beas is about 12377.496 sq. km up to pong dam. Eight dates of IRS (P6) LISS - III data (from 10 oct. 2008 to 4 July 2009) between 426.720 m and 388.696 m water level were used to assess temporal and spatial patterns of lake area and dimensions of suspended sediment concentration in pong Reservoir. The Normalize Different Water Indices (NDWI) approach was used for delineating water spread area of reservoir. Revised live storage was estimated as 7233.622 M. cum. The water-spread area at FRL was 246.356 Mm². The estimated sediment yield was 18.20 Mm³ in the live storage area. The study also illustrates the advantages of remote sensing and demonstrates the value of IRS (P6) LISS - III data for use in mapping geographic variations in water area and major flood event. This paper presents research results that help to better understand of this physical phenomenon, which contributes to reservoir sedimentation.

2 illus, 1 table, 3 ref

009877   Shakir A;Ranvir Singh;Ghosh N;Somasundaram J (NO, Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, R, Kota, Rajasthan, Email: shakir_ali2@hotmail.com) : Estimating saturated hydraulic conductivity using Green-Ampt equation. Hydrol J 2011, 34(3-4), 99-111.

Potential of groundwater recharge and the transport of agricultural contaminants from recharge structures in Badakhera watershed were evaluated using the one-dimensional Green-Ampt infiltration equation and soil leachability model. The saturated hydraulic conductivity k_s, parameter of the Green-Ampt equation, is normally calculated using empirical equations. The in-situ measurement of k_s for the recharge structures in the Badakhera watershed is lacking. For this purpose, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of an in-situ measurement of the k_s from infiltration rate and three other k_s estimation methods namely; soil texture (ST), percent clay content (PCC), and relative effective porosity (REP) based method. Most effective and the reliable k_s estimation method was selected based upon four evaluation criteria, as; coefficient of determination (R²), index of agreement (D), root mean square error (RMSE) and relative bias (RB). The optimised k_s values from field-measured infiltration data using Marquardt algorithm were adjudged as the most promising method for simulating the infiltration rate from the recharge structures. The responses of the PCC and the ST based k_s estimate methods were comparable to each other, while the response of the REP based method registered higher deviation. The optimised k_s value from field infiltration data can successfully be used for estimating potential recharge and transport of agricultural contaminants from the recharge structures in the Badakhera watershed.

3 illus, 5 tables, 7 ref

009876   Sashiranjan Kumar;Bishm Kumar;Ray S P;Gupta V;Ahamad J (NIH-Centre for Flood Management Studies, , Guwahati) : Variation of stable isotopes in groundwater of Tezpur (Assam). Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 149-54.

Isotope techniques are effective tools for satisfying critical hydrologic information needs like the origin of groundwater, recharge, residence time, impact of climate change on water resources, interconnections between water bodies, among others. Isotopes provide information that sometimes could not be obtained by other techniques. Stable and radioactive environmental isotopes have now been used for more than four decades to study various aspects of hydrological systems. Stable isotopes are very useful tools which are used extensively in scientific research. Within the field of nutritional studies stable isotopes are used for studying the flow of nutrients through the human body. Since they are safe and non-radioactive they can even be used in infants and pregnant women. In the present study a comprehensive set of measurements of hydrogen and oxygen isotopic composition (2H% and 18O%) taken from a variety of locations for the first time to determine the Local Ground Water Line (LGWL) for groundwater of Agartala. This equation will be useful as a reference point for future studies in this area that use stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen to analyze many hydrologic problems.

6 illus, 1 table

009875   Sanjay Kumar;Purohit R C;Kothari M;Tiawri R C (NO, College of Technology and Engineering, MPUAT, Udaipur) : Interference of water harvesting structures on inflow capacity of Lake. Hydrol J 2009, 32(3-4), 289-305.

Aim of the study is to determine impact of water harvesting structures constructed in recent past on inflow capacity of lake Fatehsagar, Udaipur. The rainfall data is collected from Irrigation Department, Udaipur and College of Technology And Engineering, Udaipur. Evaporation data was collected from College of Technology And Engineering, Udaipur. Soil Conservation Service Curve Number method was used to determine curve numbers and runoff depth distribution of the drainage area. For this, the necessary information such as hydrologic soil group, land use pattern, etc was collected from concerned departments. Information about soils of the area was collected from National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning Regional Centre, Udaipur. The study is also followed by field survey to gather information about the water harvesting structures within catchment area of the lake. Position of water harvesting structure was located on drainage map of the lake with the help of Global Positioning System and Standard Topographic map on scale of 1:25000. Water storage capacity of these structures was calculated for last 11 years. Inflow capacity of the lake interfered by water harvesting structures in the form of their storage capacity, evaporation losses and ground water recharge was estimated. Outcome of the study will help to the policy makers in deciding whether the water conservation programs in the catchment area should be continued or not.

009874   Raneesh K Y;Thampi S G (Civil Engineering Dep, National Instiute of Technology, Calicut-673 601, Email: raneesh@nitc.ac.in) : Assessment of climate change impact on streamflow in the Chaliyar basin. Hydrol J 2010, 33(Jan-Dec), 37-48.

Increase in concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is expected to have a significant effect on hydrological regimes. General Circulation Models (GCMs) are probably the best available tool to evaluate the effects of rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere on rainfall and temperature, through a continuous, three dimensional simulation of various atmospheric, oceanic and cryospheric processes. However the spatial resolution of these models (250km x 250km) is not compatible with that of watershed hydrologic models. To overcome this problem, the output from the GCM is downscaled with the help of Regional Climate Models (RCMs), thereby projecting the output to a finer resolution (25km x 25km). In the study, a general methodology is presented in order to use the downscaled output from a RCM directly in a hydrologic model for evaluating the impact of climate change on water resources. The hydrologic model used is the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The study area is a part of the Chaliyar River Basin in Kerala, India. Outputs from two scenarios, A2 and B2 are used in the RCM to predict future scenarios. The climate variables generated are rainfall and temperature. These are then input to the physically based hydrological model, SWAT to estimate the effect of climate change on streamflow. Calibration and validation of the SWAT are performed using data for a period of 5 years, viz. 1987-91 and 1999-2003, respectively. Goodness-of-fit measures such as the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and coefficient of correlation (R²) are evaluated to assess the performance of the model. These values are found to be reasonably high, suggesting that model performance is reasonably good. It is predicted that annual streamflows in the river basin would significantly reduce in both the scenarios considered in this study. Results of the study indicate that hydrology of the basin is very sensitive to projected climate changes.

9 illus, 2 tables, 6 ref

009873   Rakesh Kumar;Sapra T R;Pankaj Mani;Patra J; Arora M (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee) : Comparison of flood for various return periods estimated using L-moments & other conventional techniques. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 106-10.

Information on flood magnitudes and their frequencies is needed for design of various types of water resources projects/ hydraulic structures such as dams, spillways, road and railway bridges, culverts, urban drainage systems as well as for taking up various non-structural measures such as flood plain zoning, economic evaluation of flood protection projects etc. Since scientific hydrology began in the seventeenth century, one of the most difficult problems facing engineers and hydrologists is how to predict flow in basins with no records. Whenever rainfall or river flow records are not available at or near the site of interest, it is difficult for hydrologists or engineers to derive reliable design flood estimates directly. In such a situation, regional flood frequency relationships developed for the region are one of the alternative methods for prediction of design floods, especially for small to medium size catchments. Considering the importance of prediction in ungauged catchments, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) launched "Prediction of Ungauged Basins (PUBs)" as one of its initiatives and declared the current decade as "Decade of PUBs". As per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hydrologic design criteria, frequency based floods find their applications in estimation of design floods for almost all the types of hydraulic structures viz. small size dams, barrages, weirs, road and railway bridges, cross drainage structures, flood control structures etc., excluding large and intermediate size dams. For design of large and intermediate size dams probable maximum flood and standard project flood are adopted, respectively. Most of the small size catchments are ungauged or sparsely gauged. To overcome the problems of prediction of floods of various return periods for ungauged and sparsely gauged catchments, a robust procedure of regional flood frequency estimation is required to be developed. In this study, floods of various return periods have been estimated using L-moments, least squares based EVI distribution and PT III distribution methods for a snow and rainfed area. Result obtained from the analyses of the various approaches have been compared.

1 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

009872   Patwary B C;Zoramsangi M;Sarkar P K (NIH-Centrte for Flood Management Studies, , Dispur, Guwahati-781 006) : Household conservation of rain water : a case study at Guwahati city. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 96-101.

The inter states drainage basins of the mighty Brahmaputra & the Barak represent the hydrologic scenario of almost entire North East India. The paradoxical hydro climatic scenarios of the region are a typical hydrological entity in the world atlas. Endowed with huge water resource potential, while it could be like 'power house' and 'reservoir of the country', it has the worst water resource problems under the present circumstances rendering untold sufferings and colossal loss to millions every year. The region experiences excessive rainfall and high floods during monsoon months depicting 'water water everywhere` and also suffers from acute shortage of water even for drinking in non monsoon months 'echoing 'not a drop to drink' in many areas including Cherapunji, the wettest area of the world. During non monsoon months there is ever increasing need to conserve water in the hill states consisting about 70% and now a days even in the plains where prolonged dry spell of more than 9 months could be seen in the recent past. The draft water policy of the state of Assam puts that conservation consciousness would be promoted through education, regulation incentives and disincentives, rainwater harvesting, both by modern scientific methods and traditional methods, would be encouraged and promoted through dissemination of information, demonstration and incentives, efforts would be made to modernize the traditional rainwater harvesting methods through proper input of modern science & technology and Stress would be laid in recharging of groundwater through rainwater harvesting. Under this back drop, the paper describes an individual and indigenous effort of the author in rain water harvesting at Guwahat sustained, replicated and since in operation for more than a decade for various house hold and agricultural uses and also in-situ ground water recharge with minimal know how / technology inputs in it.

3 illus, 3 tables, 4 ref

009871   Patel H V;Dhiman S D (Civil Engineering Dep, Engineering College, Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya, Vallabh Vidyanagar-388 120, Email: matruprem@yahoo.com) : Analysis of rainfall and crop cultivation practices in MRBC AREA, Gujarat. Hydrol J 2010, 33(Jan-Dec), 17-35.

Vulnerability of natural systems to rapid changes in climate pattern is regarded as one of most challenging issues in recent years. Analyzes the annual rainfall pattern in the Mahi Right Bank Canal (MRBC) irrigation command area located in central Gujarat and evaluates its effects on cropping pattern, crop plantation schedules observed by the farmers in the command area under the study. The annual rainfall trend for Borsad meteorological station between 1876-2008 (133 years) shows a decreasing trend. The one day rainfall data for the years 1962-2008 are analyzed to identify the maximum one day rainfall and the day of occurrence. Statistical analysis is carried out to obtain the mean and standard deviation of number of rainy days for different ranges of one day rainfall. Trends are obtained for number of rainy days for one day rainfall in different ranges for the years 1962-2008. Results reveal that there have been six occasions in the last four years (2005-08) when one day rainfall has exceeded 120 mm. The major crops in the study area are paddy and tobacco. Results show that the average maximum one day rainfall is 121.5 mm and is occurring on 218th Julian day. This being a transplantation period for tobacco, it is not the favorable condition for the crop. It is thus advisable for the farmers to delay tobacco plantation as heavy rainfall results in flooding of agricultural fields and causes damage to transplanted tobacco crop which are normally 4 to 6 cm in size. The cropping pattern in MRBC command area as per project plans and that actually developed is different, probably due to above mentioned reason. The MRBC engineers and project administrators are also required to plan the canal operation schedules as per new cropping pattern.

5 illus, 3 tables, 9 ref

009870   Ozha D D (Ground Waster Dep, , Jodhpur-342 003) : Ground water management - an immense need of present & future scenario. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 24-9.

Life of every organism present on planet earth is dependent on water, therefore, quantity and quality of water are of utmost significance. Water should not be considered as free but a precious gift of nature. Therefore, it must be used judiciously and prudentially for sustainable future, failing which the situation shall be very formidable. Nature has provided every commodity in abundance but the greedy and negligent tendency of human beings have created an havoc in the case of water. Consumerism, Urbanization and Industrialization along with excessive unproductive use in irrigation have accentuated the situation of .water crisis. Even the elite class people of our country are not only over-exploiting the water resources but are using for recreational purposes. In fact every living organism has right on water. Although, the planet earth has immense quantity of water, i.e. 1,46,00,00,000 Km³ but usable water is very limited (97% in oceans and 2% in ice glaciers). Therefore, we have to conserve every drop of water for our forthcoming generation for their survival. As mostly our dependency is on ground water sources, but unfortunately they are severely depleting owing to over-exploiting. Therefore, it is exigence to make necessary efforts for proper management of ground water sources for present and sustainable future. In the present communication the extent of problem, causative factors and managemental measures will be discussed in detail.

4 tables, 5 ref

009869   Naresh Kumar;Arora M;Rakesh Kumar;Singh H (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee-247 667) : MELT - runoff delaying charateristics of Gangotri glacier. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 135-40.

Most of the Himalayan basins have considerable snow and glacier covered areas. The melt contribution in such rivers augments their flows in the lean season, thereby reducing the variations in water availability. Depending upon the prevailing climatic conditions the runoff contribution from the glaciers in the Himalayan rivers starts in May after depletion of accumulated seasonal snow. Usually melt contribution from these glaciers continues till October. The melt water generated in the glacierized basin appears as runoff at the snout of glacier with a time-lag. Changes in delaying characteristics of the runoff over the melt season can be understood by studying the variation in time to peak (t_p) and timelag (te) between melt generation and its emergence as runoff. In the recent study, the runoff delaying characteristics of the Gangotri Glacier in the Garhwal Himalayas (glacierized area 286 km²; drainage area 556 km²) have been studied. For the purpose, hourly discharge and temperature data were collected near the snout of the glacier (approx 4000m) for the entire ablation period (May-October, 2004). The diurnal variations in the hydrograph and temperature observed under clear weather provided useful information for this study. In the early stages of the ablation period, poor drainage network and stronger storage characteristics of the glaciers due to the presence of seasonal snow cover resulted in a much delayed response of melt water, providing a higher t_e and t_p. A comparison of runoff delaying parameters with discharge ratio clearly indicated that changes in time-lag and time to peak are inversely correlated with variations in discharge.

6 illus, 1 table, 11 ref

009868   Mittal S;Kumar C P (NO, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee-247 667) : Estimation of soil characteristics from texture in RD 838 of I.G. N. P. Stage - II. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(1), 141-5.

Hydrologic analyses often involve the evaluation of soil water infiltration, conductivity, storage, and plant-water relationships. Defining the hydrologic soil water effects requires estimating soil water characteristics for water potential and hydraulic conductivity using soil variables 0such as texture, organic matter and structure. Field or laboratory measurements are difficult, costly and often impractical for many hydrologic analyses. Statistical correlations between soil texture, soil water potential and hydraulic conductivity can provide estimates sufficiently accurate for many analyses and decisions. Saxton and Rawls (2006) developed soil water characteristic equations from the available USDA soil data base using only the readily available variables of soil texture and organic matter. This paper presents the soil characteristics estimated at RD 838 of Indira Gandhi Nahar Priyojana, Stage - II using soil water characteristic equations developed by Saxton and Rawls (2006). The study area is found to be predominantly covered by loamy sand and sand, wilting point varying from 0.003 to 0.038, field capacity 0.048 to 0.106, saturated moisture content 0.392 to 0.417 and saturated hydraulic conductivity 63.19 mm/hour to 197.08 mm/hour.

1 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref