003368   Pareek A;Trivedi P C (Botany Dep, Unversity of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Email: ptrivedi33@yahoo.com) : Cultural values and indigenous knowledge of climate change and disaster prediction in Rajasthan, India. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 183-9.

Provides a case study in which Indigenous knowledge and traditional stories relating to cloud formation, lightning, wind direction, rains, drought, disaster prediction, response, mitigation, and effects of weather on crops are applied in a contemporary context by the tribal peoples of Rajasthan, India. The state of Rajasthan falls in an area of high climate sensitivity, maximum vulnerability and low adaptive capacity. The study documents how individuals in these tribal communities (including Bhil, Meena, Banjara, Kathodi, Rabaris, Sansi and Kanjar) perceive and manage natural disasters and extreme weather events, including their strategies for early detection of coming events and for coping with these events, as well as their perceptions of their short and long term impacts on biodiversity.

17 ref

003367   Lammel A;Dugas E;Guillen E (NO, Universite Paris 8, Laboratoire Paragraphe, 2 rue de la Liberte 93526 Saint Denis, France, Email: anlammel@gmail.com) : Traditional way of thinking and prediction of climate change in New Caledonia (France). Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 13-20.

Authors explore how the original inhabitants of New Caledonia, a French Pacific collectivity, view current climate change, explain its causes and predict climate modifications in the coming 10-, 30- or 100-year periods. Starts with the presumption that the traditional worldview of indigenous habitants of New Caledonia allows the construction of a holistic view of climate change despite the "western" teachings based on fundamental analytical thinking in the French school system. Analysis of 61 semi-structured interviews with indigenous adults of New Caledonia demonstrates a universally held systemic view of climate change, in which the circular interaction between activities (including pollution of the air, surface water, cryosphere, lithosphere and biosphere of the Earth) is life threatening for all human beings.

7 illus, 24 ref

003366   Joshi V;Rawat M S;Sharma A K;Kumar K;Panda A K (NO, University School of Environment Management, GGS Indraprastha Universi, Sector-16, Dwaraka, New Delhi-110 075, Email: varunj63@gmail.com) : Traditional knowledge of natural disaster mitigation and ethno medicine practices in Himalaya with special reference to Sikkim. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 198-206.

Indigenous knowledge refers to the age old refined methods and practices developed by previous numerous generations from an advanced understanding of the local environment, to save their belongings and lives from any future natural disaster. The local people observe signs in the environment which allow them to take precautions before a disaster occurs. This knowledge contains several other important characteristics which distinguish it from other types of knowledge. All such knowledge include evolved within the community, maintaining a non-formal means of dissemination, collectively owned, developed over several generations and subject to adaptation, and imbedded in a community's way of life as a means of survival. Survival strategy of the masses has led to the evolution of area specific, locally pertinent and effective ways of mitigating natural disasters. This vital knowledge base practices are however often ignored and due recognition and importance have not been given, hence being eroded with the time. Highlights the relevance of cost affective traditional practices and acceptable means of mitigating disasters by the local communities. The study is based upon the extensive field studies, discussions held with local populace conducted in different phases for use of the traditional disaster mitigation and medicinal plants practices of the people during disaster in the remote study area. Discusses the relevance of the various traditional disaster mitigation practices of the region. Studies show that the understanding was fairly evolved in the respective areas of natural disaster like earthquake, landslide and drought mitigation. The major medical problems in disaster are massive causalities, bleeding, loss of consciousness, pain, swelling, Joint dislocation and bone fractures. Eight medicinal plants are indigenously used in these purposes in the remote area during disaster till they receive any modern medical aid.

8 illus, 12 ref

003365   Jha V;Jha A (NO, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majitar, Rangpo, Sikkim-737 132, Email: vanyanegia@yahoo.co.in) : Traditional knowledge on disaster management: a preliminary study of the Lepcha community of Sikkim, India. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 173-82.

Traditional knowledge has only recently touched the scientific chord of western academic knowledge. More and more researchers today are turning towards it not only to fill gaps in existing societal knowledge but also to find novel knowledge concepts and viewpoints for application in a contemporary context. Since tribal groups have lived within their local environments since time immemorial it is obvious that they do possess a rich knowledge about nature. Hence, research on nature and environments is enriched by incorporating traditional knowledge of indigenous and tribal peoples. Such knowledge is a precious national resource that can facilitate the processes of disaster prevention, preparedness and response in cost-effective, participatory and sustainable ways. Explores the traditional knowledge on disaster management of the Lepcha tribal people of Sikkim. It establishes that in the guise of folklore, the Lepcha have developed an elaborate understanding of the nature and causes of disasters and have identified accurate and precise indicators to assist in predicting disasters, as well as ways and means of mitigating their effects. Lepcha traditional knowledge finds echoes in some of the current principles of disaster management. Concludes that traditional knowledge of tribal groups all over the world not only needs to be recognized, conserved and documented but also is to be incorporated into efforts to formulate effective disaster management strategies.

31 ref

003364   Irfanullah H M;Motaleb M A (NO, Practical Action, Bangladesh Country Office, House 11, Road 138, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh) : Reading nature's mind: Disaster management by indigenous peoples of Bangladesh. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 80-90.

Summarizes the traditional means of forecasting and preparedness against 17 natural hazards by the indigenous communities of the South-eastern hilly region of Bangladesh. It also records the communities' perceptions of the onset, frequency and severity of these hazards over the last 10 years. Comments on the effectiveness, opportunities, limitations and challenges of the traditional disaster management system and outlines some possible actions, especially under changing climatic conditions.

1 illus, 4 tables, 31 ref

003363   Gupta A K;Singh A (NO, National Institute of Disaster Management, IIPA Campus, New Delhi-110 002, Email: envirosafe2007@gmail.com) : Traditional intellect in disaster risk mitigation: Indian outlook - Rajasthan and Bundelkhand icons. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 156-66.

Natural disaster's impact on the community and development's sustainability are occurring in aggravated and multiplied size and intensity. Global concern for finding appropriate ecological indicators stems partly from our inability to interpret early warning signals of a major ecological change, given the complexity of ecological systems. Traditional ecological knowledge represents experience acquired over thousands of years of direct human contact with the environment. Communities have evolved with the nature, its resources, its risks and natural processes as well which in certain conditions act as disasters due to their damaging impacts. Traditions of food, culture, spirituality, ethics and livelihoods have developed in the background of these natural or anthropogenic challenges in the background of interface between nature and human development, and thus, communities possess experience and knowledge to foresee, analysis, prepare for and face these challenges to sustain with resilience. India has a treasure of such indigenous and traditional knowledge of natural resource management and these can be extrapolated to understand the modern concepts of disaster risk management - in terms of early warning, preparedness, mitigation, response and relief as well. Rajasthan and Bundelkhand, the regions historically known for drought disaster present icons showcasing the traditional wisdom. Present paper reviews the concepts and associated ecological hypothesis, traditional knowledge framework for disaster management in Indian context and discusses cases from Rajasthan and Bundelkhand in order to evolve recommendations for science and policies.

4 illus, 36 ref

003362   Garay Barayazarra G;Puri R K (Centre for Biocultural Diversity, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK CT2 7NR, Email: gotzonegarai@gmail.com) : Smelling the monsoon: Senses and traditional weather forecasting knowledge among the Kenyah Badeng farmers of Sarawak, Malaysia. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 21-30.

Describes the rich variety of sensory knowledge associated with weather and climate prediction practices of Kenyah Badeng rice farmers in Sarawak, East Malaysia. Ethnobiological and ethnographic methods were used to document knowledge underpinning traditional forecasting techniques. This body of ethno-climatological knowledge includes the skilled use of bodily senses such as sight, sound, touch and smell to gather information on clouds, wind, temperature, humidity and rain needed to assess present and coming weather. This perceptual information is interpreted with a cultural storehouse of weather/climate-related categories and experiences, and plays an influential role in the scheduling of daily agricultural activities and responding to the threats of extreme climatic variability, such as that brought on by ENSO events every few years. The research demonstrates the importance of thinking of traditional knowledge in broad terms, as much more than the declarative knowledge of wordlists, stories and instructions. The means of engagement with the environment are beyond words, in the realm of embodied skills such as smelling the monsoon.

6 illus, 28 ref

003361   Downing A;Cuerrier A (NO, Institut de recherche en biologie vegetale, 4101, rue Sherbrooke Est, Montreal (Quebec), Canada HIX 2B2, Email: ashleighdowing@gmail.com) : Synthesis of the impacts of climate change on the First Nations and Inuit of Canada. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 57-70.

Climate change is impacting multiple aspects of life, many of which resonate with the wellbeing of humankind. Indigenous peoples, including First Nations and Inuit communities around the world are more vulnerable to the risks associated with global warming. In this synthesis, examples of direct and indirect impacts and vulnerabilities on First Nations and Inuit people inhabiting Canada have been provided. Examples from other countries as a reminder that these populations are not alone have also been included. After visiting the topics of biophysical environment, cultural identity, cultural activities, food security and health with respect to First Nations and Inuit peoples conclusion on adaptation within the context of change has been given. The study stresses also the importance of linking health to cultural identity and land use. To fully grasp the impact of climate change on First Nations and the Inuit, government stakeholders, policy makers, as well as researchers need to understand the connection that these people retain with their land. Reports from the Nunatsiaq News related to climate change to reiterate the concerns of Inuit people have been compiled. Graphs, stemming from the compilation, indicate what are perceived as the growing problems linked to climate changes in these communities. In order to take a positive, forward thinking, inclusive action, at the local level science will need to team up with traditional knowledge.

2 illus, 2 tables, 99 ref

003360   Chinlampianga M (NO, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Mizoram Centre, Kolasib-796 081, Email: gualnam21@gmail.com) : Traditional knowledge, weather prediction and bioindicators : a case study in Mizoram, Northeastern India. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2011, 10(1), 207-11.

Tribal peoples of Mizoram formerly forecasted the weather through applications of long-standing Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In the study, 16 distinct bioindicators for weather forecasting based were documented working with tribal peoples. The bioindicators were based mainly on the recognition of unique situations, the behaviour of insects, birds and mammals, characteristics of plants, and location, timing and patterns of clouds, lightning, wind, moon, sun and stars. The successful application of the forecasting knowledge is based on comparison with past events, good prognosis, close observation and a thorough understanding of the local environment. Community members, cultural leaders and local elders have observed recent anomalies in the weather, with unusual rains and abrupt changes in temperature. Due to this phenomenon, some plant species are changing their growth patterns. This type of Traditional Knowledge has excellent potential for wider application, yet, in Mizoram, as elsewhere, there is a threat to people's livelihoods and bicultural diversity. Today, more than ever, there is an urgent need to document all traditional knowledge and folklore among the diverse ethnic communities before the traditional cultures are completely lost.

4 illus, 8 ref

002275   Vikash Ranjan;Nema A K;Abhishek Singh;Yatnesh Bisen (Farm Engineering Dep, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu Univ, Varanasi-221 005) : Runoff sediment yield modeling for Kashinagar watershed. Indian J Dryland agric Res Dev 2010, 25(2), 40-3.

Dynamic modeling of runoff sediment yield for the Kashinagar watershed of Vamsadhara river catchment, Orissa was attempted. It was found that nonlinear form of model for daily data sequence is valid for the study area and linear relationship didn't give satisfactory results. The study indicated that assigning the varying weightage to antecedent events were found to be suitable for study area. It was found that the Kashinagar watershed fluvial system exhibits a strong memory on daily basis.

2 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

002274   Singh D (Science and Technology Dep, Technology Bhawan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi-110 016, Email: dschahar_ds@yahoo.com) : Downscaling of NWP based meteorological variables for potential applications. Indian J Radio Space Phys 2011, 40(1), 45-52.

A general problem with output from weather forecasting models is that modeled variables often do not compare well with ground-based weather variables and complex downscaling procedures are necessary to convert Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) weather variables into realistic weather variables on the ground. NWP models have now firmly established as major forecasting tool and there is increasing use of Ensemble Prediction Systems (EPS) based probabilistic information in support of decision-making by forecasters as well as other special users. However, the challenges in down scaling the model forecasts, normally applicable for a grid area commensurable with the model resolution, to a meaningful location-specific product are by no means trivial. An attempt has been made in this study to down scale coarse resolution NWP based meteorological parameters to fine resolution products. The meteorological parameters considered for this study are temperature and downward surface shortwave radiation (DSSR) as important for ecological studies at regional scale. The comparisons have been carried out for the DSSR and temperature from satellite with that of in situ data. The NWP based fine grid data were found to be in good agreement with satellite and in situ data as compared to that of coarse resolution NWP parameters. The variations of these remapped fine grid parameters have also been studied at local and regional scale over India.

6 illus, 19 ref

002273   Sharma B K;Amod Kumar;Murthy V M (NO, Kurukshetra Univ, Institute of Instrumentation Engineering, Kurukshetra-136 119) : Seismicity pattern of seismic data recorded by CSIO seismological network. Indian J envir Prot 2010, 30(8), 665-72.

Almost every part of the world has been very badly affected by disasters of one kind or the other. Well recognized Natural Disasters in India are : Earthquakes, landslides, snow and avalanche floods and drought, etc. These disasters causes widespread destruction to human life and property. To mitigate the losses, in-depth study and investigation of various geophysical parameters is required. In our country, enormous field data of various geophysical parameters have been recorded and analyzed by various organizations for different applications. Many part of our country are prone to earthquakes, therefore, studies of the seismic activities are of great importance to understand the dynamic behaviour of the earth and is useful to determine the earthquake hazard in a specific region. In view of this many organizations are actively working for a long time for seismicity study by establishing many field seismic stations at various part of the country. To study the seismic activities in and around Chandigarh, CSIO has also established a network of three seismo-logical observatories at Nauni (Solan), Sunder Nagar and Chandigarh. Recorded seismic data has been used for various research purposes. Recorded seismic event data has been used for computing of P and S-waves arrival time, coda length, magnitude of seismic events, etc. Recorded data are also being shared with other eminent users, like IMD, New Delhi, WIHG Dehradun and NT, Roorkee for further research and to study regional seismicity pattern. More than 900 earthquakes (local and regional) of magnitude greater than three have been recorded from this network in the last four years. In this paper various seismic waves have been explained. Study has been made of recorded local and regional events by computing various parameters and seismicity pattern has been explained.

5 illus, 6 ref

002272   Sarkar G;Gupta S (NO, Sarojini Naidu College, Kolkata) : Ecological status of butterfly in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 289-92.

One hundred and fifty eight have been recorded in recent years out of two thirty taxa. New records of the past 15 years are 20 in Andaman and 10 in Nicobar are quite alarming and indicate an influx of more widespread taxa as exotic instruder. The faunal elements of the Andaman are mixing with the Nicobar elements and vice versa. The mixing of faunal elements most likely indicates anthropogenic effects. The butterfly fauna of the Andaman and Nicobar islands is insular with its origin in the faunas of the Indo-Myanmer and Indo-Malayan regions. The Andaman elements have their closest affinities to Myanmar and mainland elements whereas the Nicobar elements appear most closely related to Malayan elements. The long isolation of these islands from the Asian continent and their until recent undisturbed ecology provided optimal conditions for the evolution of many local and endemic taxa. The unique and interesting butterfly fauna known till date including new records is represented by 116 genera, 214 species, and 230 subspecies in 9 families. More than 50% of the taxa are endemic to these islands. Some of the endemic butterflies are Andaman Mormon. Andaman Clubtail, Andaman Swordtail, Andaman Viscount, Andaman Oakleaf, Andaman Snowflat, Nicobar Yeoman etc. So it is very important to take some essential measures to prevent the extinction of identity of several species.

1 illus, 4 tables, 6 ref

002271   Roychowdhury P (Geography Dep, Chandernagore College, Chandernagore, Hugli, West Bengal) : Drinking water and sanitation facilities in the rural areas: a study of west Medinipur district. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 553-60.

In this paper an attempt has been made to analyse Block wise variations of the availability of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in the rural areas in West Medinipur District, West Bengal for the year 2001. The percentage of households having access to safe drinking water varies from 96% in Pingla Block to 7.51% in Jambani Block. In case of rural households having latrine facilities, the percentage varies from 33.47% in Daspur II Block to 4.8% in Binpur I Block. In the study an attempt has also been made to find out the reasons for these block level variations.

2 illus, 2 tables, 3 ref

002270   Osman M;Haffis S;Mishra P K;Vijaya Kumar P (NO, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad) : Case study of drought in Andhra Pradesh: socio-economic impacts and mitigating strategies. Indian J Dryland agric Res Dev 2010, 25(2), 44-57.

Drought is a recurring unavoidable natural calamity faced by India and many other countries. The section of the society depending on agriculture in general and rainfed in particular is the first casualty. The sustainability in terms of drought resilience depends on the economic strength of the affected people. A case study of Andhra Pradesh, the third most drought vulnerable state in India is presented in this article. The study was carried out during the drought year (2002-03) and data were collected from the primary as well as secondary stakeholders. The results of the analysis of three regions of the state namely Rayalaseema, Telangana and Coastal Andhra indicated adverse impact on livestock and human (mainly consumption, migration and occupation). The mitigating measures as suggested by primary and secondary stakeholders were analysed using Garrett Score and Rank-Based Quotient (RBQ), respectively.

7 tables, 10 ref

002269   Nath M;Paul T (Geography Dep, Univ of Burdwan, West Bengal) : Spatial pattern of road network in Burdwan municipality. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 386-400.

The study of networks includes an analysis of intersection, nodes and terminals, density of length of routes, accessibility of individual points on the network to other points of the same network and distance travelled in order to reach every point on a network ( Hurst, 1974). A transport network is ' a set of geographic locations interconnected in a system by a number of routes' (Kansky, 1963). The geometric structure of a network is the topological pattern formed by those elements, namely, the nodes and the routes. Burdwan town is the administrative headquarter of Burdwan District, West Bengal with a population of 285602 (2001 Census) and the area coverage is 23.04 Km2 with 35 wards. The latitudinal and longitudinal points of the town are 23014'18"N and 87051'39"E. Burdwan Municipality having a high level of accumulation and concentration of economic activities presence of many Educational and Research Institute, commercial sector, public services and especially medical and administrative facilities that are supported by transport systems. Transport network of Burdwan town is of average development and the density of network shows a high degree of efficiency, but there is increasing some problems out of which traffic problems is the most incurable problems. Another Problem is the extreme inadequacy of public transport facilities. As a result of which the number of personalized vehicles has increased rapidly. The vehicle population has reached alarming proportions in relation to the road and network which is the biggest problem of here. It is happening mainly due to decreases of road expansion, increases the use of motorized transport, lack of traffic generators, traffic tunnels, pedestrains and lack of parking facilities.

5 illus, 4 tables, 23 ref

002268   Nandy M M;Sarkar A (Geography Dep, Presidency College, Kolkata, Email: nandymummum@gmail.com) : Town-size distribution in India-an exploratory analysis. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 53-64.

Rapid rate of urbanization concentrated in a few urban pockets have resulted in Metropolitan Dominance which is characterized by spatial extension and material development of the major metropolises at the cost of the small and medium towns. This paper is an analysis of town-size distribution in various states of India from the perspectives provided by G.K. Zipf and Richardson. The database of the study has been gathered from Census of India and the methodology involves calculation of q values of each state to identify states affected with metropolitan dominance. The study reveals that though India does not experience primacy yet some states in India are still experiencing metropolitan dominance. Therefore, this study is so designed to undermine whether such massive metropolitan dominance in certain states of India is due to abnormal population concentration in the giant metropolitan centers and Class I towns or due to the ill-effects of such metropolitan dominance on balanced regional development with small medium and lower order towns continuing to languish at the cost of the growing metropolises.

3 table, 21 ref

002267   Mukhopadyay S;Bhattacharyya A (Geography Dep, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal) : Changing flood character of lower Mayurakshi river basin below Tilpara barrage: a case study. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 83-8.

Lower reach of Mayurakshi River today highly lashed by flood in such a great scale that it not only hydro-geomorphological alteration of the river bed and flood plain but also change the ecological setup and economic sustainability. Random flood character change have condensed the problem of flood and erected our society against great challenge. Live creatively with flood in scientific way is the sole alternative to continue sustainability of development. Present author has outlined a few structural and non-structural flood abatement approaches with concrete examples within the flood prone areas of lower Mayurakshi Basin area.

3 tables, 5 ref

002266   Mukherjee S (NO, Univ of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal) : Application of cyclone separators in coal processing. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 469-74.

A significant challenge in many mineral and coal processing plants is to utilize the installed cyclones to produce a fine separation at high feed densities. This requires numerous small diameter cyclones operating at high pressure drop leading to higher operating and capital expenses. Cyclones are used in many and various duties in mineral processing flowsheets. There is a wide range of sizes, styles and fittings to select from, however, and the focus of this paper is to provide a basis to specify a cyclone for a given application. A general description of how a cyclone works is included to provide background to the discussion of process and cyclone geometry variables. The mechanism for selecting a cyclone for an application includes the use of the corrected D50 as the key separation parameter. Important manifold design and cyclone maintenance and materials considerations are identified.

6 illus, 11 ref

002265   Mukherjee A (Geography Dep, Calcutta Univ, Kolkata-700 019) : Chinese community in Kolkata: an overview. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 381-6.

One of the well known communities in Kolkata, the Chinese people originally migrated from southern China. They colonized in Tangra region and established the tannery industry. In recent years majority of these people have migrated to cities like Toronto in other countries for better opportunities. In this study, 1 have conducted field surveys to understand the problem faced by this once prosperous community. The information gather during the study revealed that historically they have received little support from the government and with increased monetization of Tangra they are now falling prey to promoters. Recent court ruling to move tanneries to Bantala also caused major problems to resource poor businessmen. On the other Chinese restaurant industry, led by the China Town have proposed over the years. The conclusion of this study is that sincerely efforts from the government are needed to stem out these problems and can help this people to regain their prosperity.

8 ref

002264   Mondal M;Sarkar R (Geography Dep, Univ of Burdwan, West Bengal) : Urban growth in relation to geomorphology: a study of Tiruchirapalli city, Tamil Nadu, India. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 373-80.

The Tiruchirapalli city is located in Tamil Nadu and it is the densest part of urban environment. The Tiruchirapalli has lost agricultural land due to urban uses during a period of 60 years. The development between 1986 and 1998 happened towards the east, south and west directions of the city. In this paper, an effort has been made to study the geomorphological environment and the impact of geomorphology on the urban growth of Tiruchirapalli City, Tamil Nadu.

5 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

002263   Mitra A;Halder P;Banerjee K (Marine Science Dep, Calcutta Univ, 35, B.C. Road, Kolkata-700 019, Email: banerjee.kakoli@yahoo.com) : Changes of selected hydrological parameters in Hooghly estuary in response to a severe tropical cyclone (Aila). Indian J Geomar Sci 2011, 40(1), 32-6.

Effects of Aila, a severe tropical cyclone on three major hydrological parameters namely surface water salinity, pH and DO in the western part of the deltaic Sundarbans region of Indian sub-continent at the apex of Bay of Bengal is ascribed in the present study. It consists the in situ studies before and during Aila at 12 sampling stations in the Hooghly estuarine complex and also extended our studies further (ten days after the storm hit the Gangetic delta) to visualize the situation of the aquatic phase. There were changes in surface water salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) due to intrusion of saline water from the Bay of Bengal. Due to this severe cyclonic storm, high energy tidal surges increased the average salinity of surface water from 13.64±6.24 ppt to 17.08±8.03 ppt, which is a rise of 25.2%. Average pH changed from 7.99±0.20 to 8.01+0.21 which is an increase of 25.03%. Average DO decreased from 5.24+0.70 ppm to 4.95+0.51 ppm, which reflects a fall of 5.53% in the area of investigation due to intrusion of sea water. Ten days after the Aila incidence was over, the salinity and DO exhibited gradual restoration. Such drastic changes of hydrological parameters due to natural calamities may pose an adverse impact on the ecology of the deltaic complex and requires a systematic planning to combat the ecological effect of the disaster.

5 illus, 3 tables, 17 ref

002262   Mandal K (Geeography Dep, Bijoyrampur P.M. High School, 24 Pgs(S), West Bengal) : Sustainable tourism development of Sundarban. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 545-52.

The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The name Sundarban canbe literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest"in the Bengali language. It is the most important tourist of south 24 pargansa in West Bengal. It is situated the world's largest delta near Bay of Bengal. It is the most important heritage sites or a famous biosphere region. Sundarban is intersected by a complex network of tidal water ways, mudflats and small islands of salt tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger, as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. But the most area or tourist spots are underdeveloped. For enhancing the sustainable tourism development of Sundarbans.

5 illus, 7 ref

002261   Majumder S S (Civil Engineering Dep, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032) : Mapping of potential fishing zone along the coast of West Bengal - using remote sensing and GIS. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 273-80.

The marine fish, one of the major natural resources may hold a country's economy. The present demand of fish pushed the fishermen in competition, which became exploitation to the said natural resource. Fish catch became more difficult as fish stocks move further offshore which caused increase of cost and effort. Satellite data is used to locate and forecast accumulations of fish to increase fishing efficiency. The Indian National Center for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS) prepares and distributes Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) maps regularly to the landing centers. The present study has the objective to prepare such type of maps derived from the PFZ advisories which can be easily interpreted and used by the fishermen. An attempt has also been made to estimate the shifting trend of PFZs.

8 illus, 6 ref

002260   Maity G C (Geography Dep, Katwa College, Barddhaman, West Bengal) : Contemporary water crisis and its management in part of the middle Mahanadi basin, Orissa. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 561-6.

In this paper, the author has made an attempt to analyze water crises and its management in connection with the availability and mode of use of water for the purpose of agricultural development of the part of the Middle Mahanadi Basin. Though, agriculture is the mainstay of rural economy, it fully depends on meager, irregular and seasonal rainfall which hinders a sustainable growth of farming. Moreover, due to undulating terrain with rock surfaces in some cases, most of the rain water is lost by run-off in the upland areas which suffer from heavy water scarcity for crop production for mainly during sowing period. The crop generally suffers from insufficient water during sowing period due to delay in the beginning of monsoon and at the time of transplantation due to discontinuation of monsoons. In all stages, the framers with the assistance of existing surface and subsurface water can control the situation to a large extent by providing supplementary irrigation to the crop when needed and thereby improved its yield significantly. However, a judicious management of water is required throughout the year excepting only three months (July to September) maintain the yield rate and crop production in the areas of Bhapur, Bolagarh, Nayagarh, Khandapar, Nuagaon, Dasapalla and Gania block in the district of Puri and Athagarh, Tigiria, Baramba, Narsingpur, Banki -I and Banki -II block in district of Cuttack along the both sides of the Mahanadi Valley.

1 table, 6 ref

002259   Khatun A;Nandi M (Geography Dep, Univ of Burdwan, West Bengal) : Pottery industry in chandernagore and it's surroundingarea a case study. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 327-30.

Soil is an important and primary natural resource of human civilization. One of the uses of soil is making of earthen pots. It is included under a small-scale industry termed as pottery industry. Chandernagore and its surrounding area is an important pottery-manufacturing centre. The location of mid channel bars within the river bed of Hooghly river have contributed lot for the growth of this industry in this area because the main raw material for this industry (i.e. soil) is collected from these mid channel bars. Through this paper we have tried to highlight different aspects related with the industry such as factors behind the growth of this industry in this area, production as well as marketing mechanism of the industry etc. This paper also attempts to explore problems and prospects related with the industry.

3 ref

002258   Hema Malini B;Nageswara Rao K;Yesuf A A (Geography of Dep, Andhra Univ, Visakhapatnam-530 003) : Analysis of drought-a climatic extermity of Addis Ababa city. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 1-10.

The study deals with the analysis of droughts in Addis Ababa city. The basis for the analysis is Thornthwaite water balance technique. The aridity index which is derived through the water balance computations worked to categorize four types of droughts namely disastrous, severe, large and moderate based on their intensities. The study revealed that on an average Addis Ababa has experienced 19 droughts in 39 years in the two stations. The dominate drought type in Addis Ababa is 'large' followed by 'moderate'. The overall drought proneness of Addis Abba is 48.7 percent. The analysis shows that Addis Ababa is prone to all types of droughts, Addis Ababa has high proneness to large droughts (20.5 percent) followed by moderate droughts (12.8 percent). The drought occurrence during the four decades revealed that the maximum number of droughts occurred during 1990-1999 and 2000-2008 decades and the minimum number of droughts in 1980-1989 decade.

5 illus, 5 tables, 26 ref

002257   Halder R (Geography Dep, Univ of Calcutta, Kolkata) : Pattern of urbanization in Bangaon, Basirhat and Barasat sub-divisions of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 523-30.

The present paper is based on the secondary data obtained from District Census Hand Book of North 24 Parganas. The Community Development Blocks of Bangaon, Basirhat and Barasat subdivisions of North 24 Parganas district are taken as the unit of study. Geographers use the term urbanization more commonly to refer to process of transformation of rural into urban areas. The demographic interpretation of the process of urbanization visualizes the process in terms of increasing degree of population concentration. This point of view of the process of urbanization of the study area has been discussed since 1951. Though, the study area is mainly considered as a rural agrarian zone but the process of urbanization has been extending consequently. In 1951, it was 110256 urban populations which were 9 percent of total population of the study area, lived only in 6 municipalities in the study area and now it is 1324279 persons (1/4 of total population of the study area) in 2001, living in 10 municipalities and 10 non-municipalities. Urbanization also refers to the proportion of population engaged in secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy in urban places. The proportion of non-agricultural workers to the total workers of the urban centre of the study area is 96.5 percent in 2001 while it was 86.4 percent in 1961. So the transformation of worker from primary economy to secondary, tertiary and other economy is still going on in the urban places of this area.

1 illus, 4 tables, 4 ref

002256   Ghosh S;Dolui T (Geography Dep, Univ of Burdwan, Burdwan-713 104) : Paleogeomorphic and climatic geomorphic study of the Singhbum copper belt region. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 189-200.

The fundamental concepts of geomorphology have severally emphasized upon 'paleogeomorphology' and 'climatic influences upon the different geomorphic processes' (Thornbury, 1954). The past, present and future interpretation of the earth's geomorphic history is subsequently getting the importance in the study of the ancient landforms and climatic geomorphology. The paleogeomorphic study is primarily based on historical or chronological approach of landform study. Alternatively, many geomorphologists have been concerned with climatic geomorphic approach in this regard. However, it seems that geomorphic analysis have considered past and present climates as well as other parameters like geological structure, lithology, tectonic history, time. The copper belt shear zone of East Singhbhum (Jharkhand) is extending up to Mayurbhanj (Orissa). Again this geomorphic region is an excellent example of 'palimpsest topography' which bears the imprints of ancient relict landforms. Simultaneously the humid tropical climate has played a distinct role in the pedogeomorphic process and landforms. The present paper is entirely based on aspects regarding reconstruction of the denudational history of the shear zone of Singhbhum and Mayurbhanj, identification of the planation surfaces, and justification of the influence of climatic parameters upon the geomorphic processes and forms.

5 illus, 7 tables, 12 ref

002255   Ganguli M (Geography Dep, Univ of Burdwan, West Bengal) : Morphometric analysis of Garua basin. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 503-8.

An attempt to analyse the Garua river basin quantitatively. Morphometry means the measurement of forms of the earth surface. It measures shape, size, relief and linear network of a drainage basin. This theoretical observation of the whole analysis helps to have an idea about the configuration of the Garua drainage basin. This is to identify that how basin geometry is affected by the structure and environmental controlling factors.

9 tables, 5 ref

002254   Debnath S (NO, Khajurdaha High School, Khajurdaha-23) : Morphology of Burdwan town, related problesms and prospect. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 217-22.

Burdwan Town is the district headquarter, has recorded high urban growth (27.35% in 1991-01). It's art, architecture all are amalgamation of past and present. It's an old town that's why there are unplanned haphazard growth are present. This paper focuses present morphological pattern of the town, what are the problems faces and what are step taken by BDA for remodeling this town.

5 ref

002253   Das S (Geography Dep, Chandernagore Govt College, West Bengal) : Water crisis in Darjeeling town. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 121-8.

After air, nothing is more important to human life than water. And in the hills, where there is no alternate source like tubewell, dugwells as available on the plains, the study area Darjeeling Town depends on the water supply from Senchal Lake which is fed by natural springs. Due to indiscriminate deforestation and unauthorized construction near the catchment area, out of 30 springs 24 springs are continued to exist. Thus people of Darjeeling area facing acute water crisis. To meet the increasing demand the Govt. of West Bengal has formulated a project proposal for tapping water from Balason River. However in view of the increasing population and to tourists in Darjeeling on the one hand and the high cost of implementation and maintenance of water supply projects, roof top rainwater harvesting and using of other traditional methods will be needed as viable and cost effective methods.

9 ref

002252   Das B (Geography Dep, Meghnad Saha College, Ranipur, Itahar-733 128) : Ecologically subsidized agriculture and sustainability: some measurement indices. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 631-8.

At the present era, economic development of a country is aimed to be rooted in both profitability and sustainability. The term 'sustainable development' refers to, in a nutshell, the development which is considered to be both economically profitable and ecologically sound at present without sacrificing the interests of future generations. And sustainable agriculture prescribes farming systems which are economically profitable, productive, compatible with socio-economic conditions as well as environmentally sound. A country like India with a very large size of population has to increase productivity of its land through both horizontal and vertical integration. At the same time, supply of other resources like water for agriculture is to be increased through irrigation from rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. Even groundwater is being utilized to cope up with increased demand of water in agriculture. In this context, the aspect of sustainability becomes crucial. The present research work has been carried out to find out the actual utilization of three specific natural resources, viz., water, temperature and sunlight for cultivation of a particular crop in a given plot of land. Instead of using the traditional indicators to measure requirement and utilization of natural resources like water, temperature, etc., a set of three new ecological variants, viz., thermal exposure, pluvial exposure, and photo exposure indices have been formulated to work out the nature of utilization of ecological resources in agriculture. These three variants have been applied to measure the utilization and requirement of temperature and water resources in two blocks of the district of Uttar Dinajpur in the state of West Bengal. It is observed that these two blocks are endowed with natural water supply, but with excess demand for water for repeated cultivation of one crop (boro paddy) in a plot of land throughout the year, agriculture has become ecologically subsidized.

2 illus, 16 ref

002251   Dam H (Sadar Govt. High School, Cooch Behar, West Bengal) : The temples of Cooch Behar-a symbol of cultural heritage. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 343-8.

It is known to us that man has created Religion for his own need - a need to have social security and social solidarity. This may be accounted for the existence of the Temples, Tombs, Monuments, Mosques, and Churches so as to give expression to 'Religion' which is an abstract ideology. Thus, these superstructures reveal the prevalent social systems and customs; in other words, these provide enough material to know about the then society in which they were built. Therefore, the temples have got archaeological importance too. This paper overviews the historical and religious background accounting for the creation of the Temples in Cooch Behar district. It also discusses about the architecture (nature and structure) of the temples which shows that the Koch Kings were great patron of art and architecture. Thus, these structural evidences also reflect cultural heritage of the then society.

4 ref

002250   Chatterjee S;Tikader S (NO, S.N.S.L. High School, Birudiha, Kanka) : Sustainable development of a micro watershed using RS and GIS-a case study of Walajapet block, Vellore district Tamil Nadu. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 293-300.

GIS is one of the most important tools for integrating and analyzing spatial information from different sources or disciplines. It helps to integrate, analyze and represent spatial information and database of any resource, which could be easily used for planning of resource development, environmental protection and scientific researches and investigations. In this paper it is presented to indicate the importance of GIS and remote sensing in micro watershed management based on remote sensing and GIS assisted Micro watershed analysis of sustainable development. Preparation of action plan involves the suggestion of alternation of present system of land use or alternate system, depending on the local condition of prevalence of practice and socio economic conditions. In this study land treatment and water conservation measures are suggested.

2 illus, 9 ref

002249   Chakraborty S;Mondal A (PG Dep of Geography, Presidency College, Kolkata, West Bengal) : Supervised classification and accuracy assesment using ANN and NDVI for waste land mapping of sub watershed of Darakeswar catchment area-a comperative analysis with LISS III image, Purulia, West Bengal. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 651-8.

The present paper is an interactive attempt to delineate the waste land areas in a small watershed of Darakeswar catchment area, Purulia, W.B., by supervised mode of image classification using Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).Comparison between two methods has also been considered determine the relative level of acceptance for classification schemes and with the help of ground truth verification producer's and user's accuracy have been calculated to draw the inference of the analysis.

2 tables

002248   Biswas M (Geography Dep, Baruipur College, West Bengal) : Fluvial morphology development of river valley of Mandakini basin, Uttrakhand. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 357-66.

The forgoing paper bespeak about the detail study of the Fluvial Morphology and Development of River Valleys of Mandakini Basin, Uttarakhand. Actually it is a detail study on the aspects of valley formations, both by the action of glacier and fluvial under the litho-tectonic and climatic interferences. Development of morphological aspects is a result of the interaction of the hydraulics of flow and factors like velocity, discharge, roughness shear, channel configuration. The special emphasis has been given through the paper is the detail analysis of glacier as well as fluvial valley formations with the expansion of time and space.

2 tables, 10 ref

002247   Bhattacharyya S (NO, Rajnagar Union High school, Daspur, Paschim Medinipur-721 211) : Hydrogeological impact on irrigation development in coastal region, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 281-8.

Water is the most fundamental substance making life possible on this planet earth. This indispensable but irreplaceable, finite but vulnerable resource fulfills a number of significant functions. Among several factors, hydrogeological conditions influence water resource status of any region. Development of a sound irrigation system rests upon hydrological behaviour and geological structure of the concerned region. The poor development of irrigation system in the study area is largely due to complex hydrogeological set up. In coastal region near about 75 percent of total land is devoted to agriculture and over 55 percent working population is engaged either directly or indirectly on land for their subsistence. Unfortunately, the development of irrigation faces severe constraints resulting into under use or misuse of land. The present paper focuses on this particular facet with an emphasis on hydrogeological aspects of the study region.

3 tables, 8 ref

002246   Bhadra S (Geography Dep, Calcutta Univ, Kolkata) : Mountain rivers of Kaljani basin (torsa drainage) with special reference to flood management. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 129-38.

Deals with the study of characteristics of mountain rivers of Kaljani river basin, Jalpaiguri district with special emphasis on its flood management. The entire area is found to be facing various types of problems like riverbank erosion, soil erosion, siltation, deforestation, upliftment of riverbeds etc, but flood is considered as the most devastating calamity of the basin. So, in this river basin, flood management is very necessary. Here, devastating floods have occurred in the year of 1992, 1993,1999 and 2000. The general pattern of shifting of channel course may be due to the occurrence of sudden high discharge during floods. This study attempts to focus on the cause and effect relationship and management of the flood of 1993 in particular as a case study. During 1993, devastating flood havoc occurred at Alipurduar sub-division town and adjoing Kaljani basin areas.

1 illus, 7 tables, 9 ref

002245   Bera B (Geography Dep, Rabindra Bharati Univ, West Bengal) : Landslide management in eastern Himalayan scenario. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2010, 33(1), 601-6.

Landslide activity is one of the most common natural hazards in the geodynamically-active Himalayan belt, causing heavy damage to property, disruption of road communication and loss of human lives. Mountainous topography, heavy annual rainfall, complex geological settings and spring-dominant hydro-geological regime are the natural factors and construction of transportation routes, artificial reservoirs, hill side development, deforestation, mining and quarrying are the anthropogenic factors responsible for slope failures at different altitudes of the Himalayan regions. The number, frequency, dimension, and damages due to landslide are determined mainly by geological, geomorphological, climatic and anthropogenic factors. It is observed (according to GSI reports) that the landslide activity generally decreases from south to north, indicating the dominant role the monsoon rain play in triggering off landslide. The landslide activity in the Himalayan region is primarily influenced by geological, geomorphological, climatic, environmental, hydrological, seismological conditions and secondarily biological factors. The landslide frequency increases during the monsoon period, when about 80% of the slides occur due to the supersaturation of slope material. This indicates that water is one of the major triggering factors in the majority of slope failures in the Himalaya. The fragile geological terrains and high relief of the Himalayan ranges are very susceptible to landslides. Massive slope failures occur largely along major thrusts and fault zones like the MBF, MCT, TT (Tethyan thrust) and the ITSZ (Indus- Tsangpo Suture Zone) where rocks are highly crushed as a result of repeated tectonic activity. Landslides are also recurrent in areas made up of weathered material and unconsolidated deposits. The weaker lithology of the Siwalik formations and high cliffs of the Quaternary deposits along streams and valleys are very prone to mass movements. There are many soft and hard engineering techniques have been applied in different parts of Sikkim and Darjiling Himalayas, In case of Sikkim Himalaya, various types of local mitigation techniques are introduced but due to heavy loaded vehicles movement during rainy seasons, some old slides have been reactivated. So this paper is attempted to find out the application of various types of engineering mitigation techniques in high and moderate vulnerable areas.

11 ref

001166   Singh Y;Bhat G M (Geology Dep, University of Jammu, Jammu-180 006, Email: Yudhbirjammu@gmail.com) : Role of basin morphometric parameters in landslides along the national highway - 1A between Udhampur and batote, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Himalayan Geol 2010, 31(1), 43-50.

The paper reports occurrence of 22 landslides and slope failures, which are distributed within 59 km in the Udhampur-Batote sector of the National Highway - 1A passing through thrust and slope belts. The data on 11 landslides and 19 basin morphometric parameters have been evaluated for understanding the causative factors behind the failures. The role of various lithological and soil characteristics in conjunction with basin morphometric parameters in triggering slope failures in the study area has been evaluated in this paper.

6 illus, 5 tables, 9 ref

001165   Sharma V;Bhat G M;Choudhary J B;Singh Y (Geology Dep, University of Jammu, Jammu-180 006, Email: bhatgm@jugaa.com ) : Stability Assessment of rock slopes using RMR, Msodified SMR technique and kinematic analysis around barrage site of chutak hydroelectric power project Kargil, J & K, Isndia. Himalayan Geol 2010, 31(1), 35-42.

The stability of rock slopes and safety of an engineering project is a major concern of the project construction agency. Any kind of slope failure may lead to destruction to the project and socio-economic activities, and loss of property, injuries or sometimes-even deaths of humans and/or livestock, and environmental degradation. Therefore, an assessment of the stability conditions in and around the project impact area is important. The slope mass rating (SMR) technique was employed for slope stability analysis. Six sites were selected around the barrage site for the purpose. Kinematic analysis was also carried out to evaluate these sites for slope and wedge failures and a number of potentially vulnerable sites were identified.

7 illus, 7 tables, 22 ref

001164   Sharma S C;Mitra S;Gupta P K (NO, Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Email: s_mitra6@yahoo.co.in) : Use of crushed rock in developing abrasion resistant concrete for Vishnu Prayag Hydro-Electic project. J Rock Mech Tunnelling Technol 2010, 16(2), 133-41.

The concrete surface of the spillway structures constructed across Himalayan rivers are generally subjected to erosion due to abrasive action of rolling boulders, shingles, debris etc. carried away by high speed flowing water during monsoon and heavy flood. This paper briefly discusses the laboratory investigations carried out at Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Roorkee to examine the suitability of different protective materials for hydraulic structures. An attempt has been made to develop a high strength abrasion resistant concrete (A₂₀M₆₀) using crushed rock (quartzite) as fine aggregate, which has been successfully used to prepare the top layer of barrage floor of Vishnu Prayag Hydro-Electric project located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state. The study also indicated that high performance concrete using silica fume and superplasticiser with crushed rock appears to be more advantageous in terms of gain in strength beyond 75 MPa. On the other hand, natural river sand is found to be more suitable for lower range of strength.

2 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

001163   Sharma P K;Sharma D K;Pathak P P;Rai J (NO, Manav Rachna Engineering College, Faridabad-121 001) : Effect of ionospheric temperature on solar activities. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2010, 18(2), 140-8.

Ionospheric F₂ region is very much variable and mainly depends upon the Solar cycle. In the study data using satellite observations from January 1995 to December 2000 (Solar minima to Solar maxima) is used. These observations were carried out using RPA payload on Indian SROSS C2 satellite at an averge height of 500 km. Analysis of data shows that there is a close relationship between night average ionospheric electron and ion temperature. Ratio of Sunrise average value and night average for electron and ion temperature shows negative correlation.

6 illus, 2 tables, 17 ref

001162   Rathod S R;Shinde S E (Zoology Dep, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra) : Comparative study of physico-chemical parameters of water from Godavari river at Kaygaon toka and Kopargaon. Bioinfolet 2011, 8(4), 452-4.

Seasonal variation at two sampling sites of Godavari River was studied during the year 2010. The River showed fluctuation in physico-chemical parameters at the two sites. At Kopargaon the values for pH, TDS, total hardness, DO, BOD and COD were beyond the permissible limits for drinking purpose.

1 table, 13 ref

001161   Purohit K K;Saini N K;Khanna P P (NO, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun-248 001, Email: saini_nk@wihg.res.in) : Geochemical dispersion pattern of heavy metal abundances in the intermontane Pinjaur Dun, sub-Himalaya. Himalayan Geol 2010, 31(1), 29-34.

Geochemical investigations taking stream sediments as medium were conducted in Pinjaur Dun, NW Himalaya to study the spatial distribution of selected metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe, Mn, Co, and Ti), to determine the extent of anthropogenic input. The concentration of Pb, Zn and Cu show relatively appreciable amount of contamination in the sediments of Jhajra catchment in comparison to Sirsa catchment. Extent of contamination, delineated using geo-accumulation index (I-geo) indicates that the sediments are moderately contaminated with Cu and Zn and strongly contaminated with Pb. Alumina normalized values in case of Pb, Zn and Cu do not show any association with clays and indicate enrichment due to other source, probably anthropogenic. Higher metal concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu are found mainly close to highly populated areas and industrial establishments, indicating enhancement of metal concentration due to leaching of metals from garbage and industrial sewage.

5 illus, 4 tables, 35 ref

001160   Poreh D (NO, , Tu Freiberg, Freibereg, Saxony-09599, Germany) : Statistical modelling of a fold system, southeast of Zagros (Iran). Himalayan Geol 2010, 31(1), 1-5.

Remote sensing is a significant tool to process the geological structures located in zones of sparse vegetation and good exposures. In this paper statistical analysis of remote sensing data is used to model the process of folding in the SE of Zagros. The Zagros fold belt comprises a gently folded cover sequence which has been detached from the underlying basement along the Hurmoz evaporates and is locally disrupted by recent faults. Mosaic of 14 Landsat ETM+ scenes were used to cover this region. We digitized 515 hinge lines of synclines and anticlines and measured their lengths. It was shown that the fold length distribution is fractal. The fractal analysis has two implications. (i) it allows the quantification of complexity of geological surface deformation arising from growth, interaction and connection of folds to form networks, and (ii) it permits to model the development of folds. It is proposed that the fold hinge lines are an Iterated Function System (IFS). Such a model allows us to understand the structural evolution of a compressional range in 4 dimensions, the fourth dimension being time.

4 illus, 17 ref

001159   Mathur N S (NO, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun-248 001) : Classification of species of larger foraminiferal genus Nummulites lamarck 1801 of the Tethyan realm based on significant characters. Himalayan Geol 2010, 31(1), 51-69.

Based on nature of spire in various species of Nummulites of the Tethyan Realm, three classes have been recognized. The species with gradually opening spire from centre to outer part fall under Class A, those with slowly opening/tightly coiled spire under Class B, and those with loose/rapidly opening spire under Class C. Within these classes, several subclasses have been distinguished on the basis of a detailed study of nature of spire. As shape, size and spacing of chambers as well as thickness of marginal cord are quite consistent features in various species of this genus, a number of divisions and/or subdivisions have been delineated. These categories fall under various species groups, subgroups and/or lineages. Additional significant morphological characters, including shape, granulations and septal filaments of the test as well as septa and size of meglosphere (in case of Forms A), have been used for delineating these ranks.

15 illus, 1 tables, 18 ref

001158   Maheshwari N;Sharma D K (Applied Sciences and Humanities Dep, Manav Rachna College of Engineering, Faridabad-121 001) : Semi annual behaviour of the ionospheric parameters in the low-latitude topside ionosphere over Indian region. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2010, 18(2), 149-53.

Studies the semi-annual behaviour of the ionospheric ion densities using the data of RPA payload, which were measured with the help of Indian SROSS-C2 satellite over the Indian region at an average altitude of 500km. The data were chosen of the solar minimum year (1995). The data analysis shows that the NO+ is moderate correlated in first phase (Jan to June) and also in second phase (July to Dec), while total ion density is low correlated in first phase and moderate correlated in second phase, during the mid night (24LT). The similar enhancements have been observed during the sunrise hours (05-08LT) and sunset hours (17-20LT) also.

2 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

001157   Krishnakanta Singh A;Ibotombi Singh N;Debala Devi L;Ranjit T (NO, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun-248 001) : Mineralogy and geochemistry of ultramafic rocks of Northern Manipur ophiolitic complex, North east India. Himalayan Geol 2010, 31(1), 7-18.

The northern Manipur Ophiolitic Complex in the Indo-Myanmar Orogenic Belt of NE India presents a well-preserved sequence of mafic-ultramafics, intrusives, volcanics, chromitites and marine sediments. The ultramafics are characterized by variable textures viz. protogranular, meshwork, honey-comb and ribbon. Granules of magnetite and chromian spinel are found arranged in linear fashion along the border and fractured networks of olivine and serpentine in the ultramafic rocks. Chemically, the ultramafic rocks are characterized by high MgO (<126> 32 wt. %), Ni (<126> 1960 ppm), Cr (<126> 2005 ppm), Co (<126> 130 ppm), and low TiO₂ (<126> 0.12 wt.%), CaO (<126> 6.56 wt.%), K₂O (<126> 0.07 wt.<126>) and Na₂O (<126> 0.44 wt.%). Chromian spinels in these ultramafic rocks display variation in composition between of Cr₂O₃ (9.93-20.60) and Al₂O₃ (46.69-55.10), and corroborate a reciprocal relationship. The relationship between Cr # [100Cr/(Cr+Al)] and Mg # [100Mg/(Mg+Fe)] of chrome-spinels in these ultramafic rocks shows affinity with the typical abyssal/alpine peridotites. Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of these ultramafics suggest that these rocks have derived probably from tholeiitic melt at low degree of partial melting in a mid oceanic ridge setting.

8 illus, 6 tables, 60 ref