National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
National Conference on
‘Earth System Processes and Disaster
Management’
15-17 September 2009
ABSTRACTS
Organized by
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research
Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa
Co-organizers
Society of Earth Scientist
IIT Kanpur
Sponsored by
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Government of India
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Patron
Shailesh Nayak
Secretary, MoES, Govt. of India
Chairman
Rasik Ravindra
Director, NCAOR, Goa
Organizing Secretary
Rajiv Sinha (IIT/K)
Satish C. Tripathi (SES)
Organizing Committee
Manish Tiwari (NCAOR)
Rahul Mohan (NCAOR)
D. D. Bhattacharya (SES)
A. C. Pande (SES)
Deepali Kapoor (SES)
Neeraj Jha (SES)
Ranadhir Mukhopadhya (NIO)
Rajesh Angnihotri (NIO)
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Contents
1. Climate Change and its impacts on large river systems.
S. K. Tandon
2. Development of Early Warning Systems for Hydrometeorological
Natural
Disasters-March
from
Climatology to Dynamical Weather Prediction and
Climate Prediction in the emerging climate change
scenario. D. R. Sikka,
3. Measurement of aerosol and trace gas of acidifying S
and N compounds and dry deposition to natural surface
at a Forest site in India. R. K. Sinha, S.S. Srivastava, K.
Maharaj Kumari, P. Hegde and P. Pant
4. Erosion of Krishna-Godavari delta front coast – a case of
human-induced disaster. K. Nageshwar Rao, P.
Subraelu, A.S. Rajawat and Ajai
5. Soils and Their Mineral Formation as Tools in Climate
Change and Geomorphological Research. D. K. Pal
6. Himalayan Glacier Resources and Climate change.
Deepak srivastava
7. Centre for Earth Science Studies - An Experiment in
Multidisciplinary Research on Surface Processes. M.
Baba
8. Various Facets of Recession Recorded in Dakshin
Gangotri Glacier Snout, Schirmacher Oasis, East
Antarctica. S.Mukerji, Amit Dharwadkar and
P.K.Shrivastava
9. Shallow subsurface studies in India- future thrust.
Khemraj Gupta
10. Exploring For Extended Contiental Shelves Beyond 200
Nautical Miles. S Rajan
11. Role of geophysical surveys in natural hazard
management, Bhachau area, Gujarat. L. N. Singh, Babu
Lal, S.L. Singh and A.K.Mukherjee
12. Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources.
Manohar Arora, Rakesh Kumar and R. D. Singh
13. Indo-Gangetic Plains and Earthquake Hazard. R. K.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Chadha
14. River Dynamics & Flood Risk: A Case Study from Kosi
river, North Bihar. Rajiv Sinha
15. Tsumani Warming System and the significance of the
data generated by the centre in understanding the earth
system processes. Satish Shenoi
16. Landslide and its Mitigation – A case history from
Varunavat in Uttarakhand Himalaya. P. C. Nawani
17. Imperative need for exploration of deep sea mineral
deposits. G. S. Roonwal
18. Identification and Assessment of Gas-hydrates: A Viable
Major Potential Source of Energy in India. Kalachand
Sain
19. Modern techniques of gold exploration, Gadag – A case
history. S. K. Bhushan
20. Fascination of Reconstructing Past Climate through
Microfossils [Foraminifera]: Examples from the Arabian
Sea. Rajiv Nigam
21. Assessment of impact of climate change on Himalayan
glaciers & fresh water reserves. A. K. Tangri
22. Relevance of Palaeo-phyto-resource (PPR) studies in
Earth System Science (ESS). A. Rajnikant
23. Southwest monsoon wind vs. precipitation: comparison
between Western & Eastern Arabian Sea palaeoclimate
records. Manish Tiwari
24. Climate variability during the past few centuries as
depicted in ice cores from Antarctica and its
implications on global climatic teleconnections.
Thamban Meloth, C.M. Laluraj, Sushant S. Naik, Rasik
Ravindra and Arun Chaturvedi
25. Tectonic Geomorphology of the upper Reaches of Beas
Valley, Kullu District H.P.A. C. Pande and S. S.
Srivastava
26. “Scenario Shake Maps” for reclaimed islands in the
Arabian Gulf: predicting the impact of probable future
earthquakes. Arun kumar
27. Cloud Bursts; Assessment of Hazard and Strategies for
Risk Mitigation – A Case Study from Govind Ghat,
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
District Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Harish Bahuguna and D.
P. Dangwal
28. Sedimentology and environment of deposition of manjir
formation, Chamba district, H.P. D.D. Bhattacharya
29. Utility of Remote Sensing Techniques for Temporal
Monitoring of Landslides in Tehri Reservoir Area.
Deepali Kapoor
30. Hydrogeochemical Quality of Groundwater in Dharwad
Municipal Area - A Case Study. J.T.Gudagur and
B.B.Alagawadi
31. Some
Major
Geoenvironmental
Hazards
of Western Rajasthan. V.P. Laul
32. Can Earthquakes Change the Atmospheric Ozone
Concentration? Nandita D. Ganguly
33. Slope Susceptibility and Instability in Aizawl Township.
Rahul Verma
34. Sea Level High Stand during Late Cretaceous:
Evidences from Greater Indian Plate. S. C. Tripathi
35. Fluoride contamination in ground water in parts of
Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh. V.Sunitha and
M.Ramakrishna Reddy
36. Dynamic slope stability analysis in Luhri area, Himachal
Pradesh. T.N. Singh, Amit K. Verma and Kripamoy
Sarkar
37. Neoproterozoic Hydrocarbon Potential of the Indian
Sedimentary Basins. Vinod C. Tiwari
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Climate Change and its Impacts on Large River
Systems
S. K. Tandon
University of Delhi, Delhi
sktand@rediffmail.com
Climate determines the global distribution of freshwater resources.
With changing climate, precipitation and temperature conditions
will most likely be impacted, and in turn would affect the
availability of freshwater resources and glacier mass. The large
river dispersal systems, that have sustained civilizations for several
millennia, are also likely to be impacted in terms of their annual
/seasonal discharges, peak flows, hydrometerological parameters,
sediment supply and sediment carrying capacity. These impacts
may also result in the morphological and ecological conditions of a
river to change. Large dispersal systems such as the Ganga and
Brahmaputra are marked by spatial variability in monsoonal
precipitation, and their sensitivity to future changes require an
assessment through the development of quantitative models. Such
modeling needs to incorporate a multi-disciplinary understanding
that integrates data from fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, lotic
and landscape ecology. Such considerations will enable an
assessment of a) the movement of biophysical fluxes though the
dispersal system and b) that of (dis) connectivity in the major
compartments of large river dispersal systems. The applications of
these aspects (hierarchy, scale, and connectivity – temporal and
spatial) are of paramount importance in attempting to understand
the present dynamics of large river dispersal systems, and that of
river futures in climate change scenarios of the twenty first
century.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Development of Early Warning Systems for HydroMeteorological Natural Disasters -March from
Climatology to Dynamical Weather Prediction and
Climate Prediction in the Emerging Climate Change
Scenario
D.R.Sikka
40, Mausam Vihar, New Delhi-110051
drsikka@yahoo.com
There have been recently some definitions of natural disasters such
as (i) a serious disruption of functioning of society causing
widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed
the capacity of society to cope using only its own resources, (ii) a
temporary event triggered by natural hazard that overwhelms local
response capacity and seriously affect the social and economic
development of a region (iii) disaster as an interface between an
extreme physical environment and Vulnerable human population.
Over 80 percent of the natural disasters are caused by extreme
hydro-meteorological events interacting with landform, geological
and physical environment. Some of the major ones are tropical
cyclones & stormsurges, floods, droughts, phenomenally heavy
monsoon rainfalls, forest fires, extreme and persistent heat or cold
waves, avalanches and land slides in mountainous regions etc.
Impact of such disastrous hydro-meteorological disasters are both
direct and indirect or short-lived as well as long-lived. Improved
use of weather and climate information and forecasts have the
potential to reduce risks of such disasters if proper early warning
systems are in operation at national and international levels.
Many lessons were learnt during the implementationof the
international program on the Decade of Natural Disasters.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
However, losses due to disasters have been increasing in the last
two decades as development efforts have intensified and use of
unsafe habitats have increase dunder the population pressure.
Coastal zones and flood plains have become more and more unsafe
as disasters strike these regions repeatedly.
Meteorology has played a role in safeguarding societies from the
wrath of hydro-meteorological natural disasters. Infact, the
establishment of IMD came as a result of a severe cyclone striking
Kolkata in 1865which resulted in heavy losses to trade, commerce
and shipping. The developments in IMD during 1875 -1950
resulted in upgrading of storm warning services, flood warnings
and heavy rainfall warnings as well as warnings against slowly
evolving drought situation, land slides, severe local thunderstorms,
and avalanche warnings became of special importance since 1975
and a special agency SASE has been established by the
Government of India for this purpose.
The progress of early warning system depended on monitoring of
atmospheric-ocean environment and research on such events. As
weather prediction developed by sophisticated dynamical
modelling, such forecast began to be used more effectively since
1950s but more specifically since 1980s. There are uncertainties in
prediction of high impact weather events which leads to hydromet
disasters. However, there is a hope that a conesus among the
models or an ensemble based decision system is superior to
empirical methodologies of the past. Recent developments in this
direction are discussed. Monitoring of atmosphere-ocean
environment needs sophisticated modern observational systems.
Technological developments in this direction, since 1950s, are
traced in the paper and the present status of the atmosphere-ocean
observing system and its continuous modernization is emphasised.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Climate prediction on interannual to decadal scales is the new
frontier. Earth Science System Partnership and Coordinated
Observational Program and Systems are likely to help in the
emergence of seamless prediction of earth system and
consequently improve Disaster Warnings. The paper ends with the
prospects that work of special agencies like the National Disaster
Management Authority with the support from IMD and INCOIS
(agencies of the Ministry of Earth Sciences) have roles to reduce
the risks associated with hydro-meteorological Natural Disasters.
Active participation of print and electronic media is also essential
for communicating the early warnings to threatened population.
Other steps needed are to determine optimal risk reduction
strategies in the face of uncertain weather. Climate thresholds in
the context of climate change scenarios add other dimensions and
these must be recognized. Research is needed to reduce the
knowledge gaps and societies have to be kept informed about the
progress. The paper ends with the note that the way to continued
progress in risk reduction of hydro-meteorological disaster rests
with better monitoring, better modeling efforts and better
communication of threat perception in a probabilistic manner for
which public awareness is to be progressively promoted.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Measurement of Aerosol and Trace Gas of Acidifying
S and N Compounds and Dry Deposition to Natural
Surface at a Forest Site in India
Ranjit Kumar1, S.S. Srivastava and K. Maharaj Kumari2,
P. Hegde3 and P. Pant3
1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Technical College,
2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Dayalbagh, Agra -282005
3. Department of Atmospheric Science, ARIES, Nainital
rkschem@rediffmail.com; maharajkumari.k@rediffmail.com
Major irritants of the environment are global warming, climate
change, ozone depletion, acid rain, visibility impairment etc.
Aerosol and its constituents play an important role in climate
change, and deposition of atmospheric components to the earth
surfaces. Knowledge of chemistry of aerosols is required for the
assessment of its role in the total deposition of acidity at the
earth’s surface and size distribution to estimate aerosol optical and
radiative properties, deposition rates, formation of cloud droplets
and cloud droplet size distributions and cloud radiative properties.
Nainital which is a famous tourist place has now attracted attention
of scientific community due to deterioration of the environment.
The main pollutants of concern are S and N species. This paper
deals with the atmospheric load of SPM, chemical characterization
acidifying components, precursors gases and role of meteorology at
a Himalayan forest site in Indo Gangetic plain. The mean TSPM
load was lower than the NAAQS value for residential areas. The
level of acidifing components SO2, NO2, HNO3, SO42- and NO310
National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
were lower than earlier study reported from different parts of India.
Dry deposition is an important pathway for removal of pollutants
from the atmosphere to earth surfaces. Dry deposition flux was
lower than deposition flux reported earlier on natural surface.
Direct measurements study are cumbersome and tedious so an
alternate method of parameterization based on meteorological
parameters for calculation of dry deposition of S and N
compounds to natural surface are simulated and deposition
velocity of SO2, HNO3, SO42- and NO3- obtained by current
parameterization method are in the reported range. Dry deposition
fluxes obtained by the current parameterization method and direct
measurements are in the range.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Erosion of Krishna-Godavari Delta Front Coast – A
Case of Human-Induced Disaster
K. Nageswara Rao1*, P. Subraelu1, A.S. Rajawat2 and Ajai2
1. Department of Geo-Engineering, Andhra University,
Visakhapatnam 530 003
2. Marine and Water Resources Group, Space Applications Centre,
Ahmedabad 380015
*nrkakani@yahoo.com
River deltas, the cradles of civilizations as they are known, are
densely populated regions of intense economic activity. The very
existence of the deltas along the interface between the land and
ocean indicate relative dominance of the fluvial forces over that of
the marine agents. Contrary to their natural state of shoreline
advance into the sea by net accretion of land, most of the river
deltas are of late experiencing more of erosion than deposition
leading to loss of land, due to human activities.
Analysis of multi-date satellite imagery and maps covering the
Krishna and Godavari deltas along the east coast of India revealed
a net accretion of land by shoreline progradation by about 48.7
km2 between 1930 and 1965. However, the trend had reversed
subsequently resulting in a net erosion of 76 km2 area along the
entire 312-km-long twin delta coast during the past 43 years
(1965-2008) with an accelerating rate from 1.39 km2 per year
during 1965-1990 to 2.32 km2 per year during 1990-2000; which
was, more or less, sustained at 2.25 km2 per year during 20002008. Water discharges through the Krishna River into the sea
decreased from 61.88 km3 during 1951-1959 to 11.82 km3 by
2000-2008; while the suspended sediment loads diminished from 9
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
million tons during 1966-1969 to as low as 0.4 million tons by
2000-2005. In the case of the Godavari delta, although the water
discharge data do not show any major change, there was almost a
three-fold reduction in its mean annual suspended sediment flux
from 150.2 million tons during 1970-1979 to 57.2 million tons by
2000-2006. Sediment retention at the dams is evident from the
consistently lower amounts of suspended sediment loads recorded
at the gauging stations downstream of some of the dams than at
their upstream counterparts. Evidently sediment trapping at the
dams is largely responsible for the pronounced coastal erosion at
the Krishna and Godavari deltas during the past four decades,
which is coeval to the hectic dam construction activity in these two
river basins.
In the absence of the riverine contribution which is a fundamental
input for the delta-building activity, continued land subsidence by
sediment compaction as well as subsurface fluid extractions and
draining of wetlands is leading to relative sea-level rise and
consequent erosion of the Krishna-Godavari delta coast.
Considering the present trends in the sediment supply through the
rivers which might further decrease what with more number of
dams being constructed/contemplated, coupled with the possible
sea-level rise due to global warming and consequent increase in
the volume of ocean water, it is estimated that by the 2100 AD, an
area of about 2000 km2 would be eroded / submerged along the
Krishna-Godavari delta coast displacing about 0.66 million people
living within 2.0m elevation in 117 coastal habitations in the
region. Concerted management plans are necessary to mitigate this
kind of major disasters along the country’s resource-rich coastal
environments.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Soils and Their Mineral Formation as Tools in
Climate Change and Geomorphological Research
D.K. Pal
Division of Soil Resource Studies, National Bureau of Soil Survey
and Land Use Planning, Amravati Road,
Nagpur 440 010, India
paldilip2001@yahoo.com
Despite the fact that secondary minerals at a less advanced stage of
weathering may adjust to subsequent environmental changes and
thus lose their interpretative value, pedogenic minerals like di- and
trioctahedral smectite, smectite-kaolin interstratified mineral and
pedogenic calcium carbonate have been found to be useful as
paleo-environmental indicators because these pedogenic minerals
in three major soil types (red, black and alluvial soils) of semi-arid
parts of India, could be preserved unchanged amidst climate
change from humid to semi-arid climate. Studies on the genesis of
these pedogenic minerals so far conducted at the NBSS&LUP
(ICAR), Nagpur, India for the last two and a half decades have
helped the pedologists not only to unravel the past geomorphic
processes in the formation of spatially associated red (Alfisols) and
black (Vertisols) soils of the Peninsular India and the existence of
Vertisols amidst micaceous Indo-Gangetic alluvial Plain, but also
to infer the climate change and polygenesis in the major soil types
of the Indian subcontinent. The review on the research results
obtained by the NBSS&LUP indicate that the X-ray diffraction
analysis of the soil clay fractions and also the micromorphological
thin section studies specially of carbonate minerals and plasmic
fabrics have become formidable analytical tools in
paleopedological studies.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Himalayan Glacier Resources and Climate Change
Deepak Srivastava
3/116, Vikas Khand,
Gomati Nagar
Lucknow
pdsrivas@gmail.com
Himalayas, the store house of fresh water in form of snow and ice,
supports million of population for their livelihood. The major
Himalayan Rivers flowing through the fertile Indogangetic plain
derive their water needs from glaciers in the himalayas.Any
imbalance in the glacier regime of himalayas affects the water
balance of the region. Global warming or the climatic changes
whether anthropogenic or natural leads to the imbalances in the
glacier regime and consequently in water regime. The paper gives
an assessment of the total glacier resources and the impact of
climate change on these resources. Affect of climate change on
glacier regimes of different regions have also been reviewed.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Centre for Earth Science Studies - An Experiment in
Multidisciplinary Research on Surface Processes
Dr. M. Baba
Centre for Earth Science Studies
Thiruvanantapuram-695031
dr.mbaba@gmail.com
In India, various national scientific organizations and educational
institutions are conducting and supporting studies on different
fields of Earth Sciences. Some of these institutions have
developed into specialized agencies for carrying out research and
surveys on more specific branches of Earth Sciences. Although
the relevance to and possible impact on applied and practical fields
of national interest of the new dimension of geosciences,
enumerated above, are being realized in India, co-ordinated and
multidisciplinary approach in Earth Science Studies has not yet
been given due functional emphasis. In the present state of
modern scientific and technological development, specialization is
indeed desirable, but at the same time it is necessary that a country
needs institutions where meaningful interaction between the
specialists can be effectively fostered.
This aspect is of
paramount importance in a country like India where scientific
know-how and the results of research activities should be involved
and linked with the developmental activities and national
perspective planning. The Earth Scientists of the country can play
a vital role in this endeavour, because they are trained and
equipped for evaluation and exploitation of the natural resources of
all types that constitute the basic materials for national growth and
prosperity and for dealing with the environment, the influence of
which needs immediate assessment and futuristic projections, In
view of these, the need for the establishment of an institution
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
dealing with Earth Science problems of India, either sector-wise or
region-wise, in a co-ordinated manner through multidisciplinary
approaches, as practiced in many countries of the world was
realized with the creations of the Centre for Earth Science Studies.
Although initially the Centre proposed to deal with Earth Science
and environmental problems on a somewhat restricted scale within
the Kerala region, has now slowly expanded and grown with time
into an institution attracting national attention.
CESS was established at a time when the negative aspects of
unscientific development with its cascading effects on society have
dawned upon us the urge to understand the intricate dynamics of
the earth. This urge, in fact, catalyzed the genesis of CESS in
1978 and shaped its trajectory with a view to streamline the
scientific development in earth sciences on sustainable lines.
Moulded to carry out multidisciplinary research in various facets
of Earth Sciences, CESS has developed a unique multidisciplinary
scientific culture unheard of till that time. This holistic approach
of earth was translated into reality by organizing the activities of
CESS in the realms of land, water and atmosphere.
Looking ahead, with the increasing conflicts between
developmental pressures and the need for resource conservation
and environmental protection, the scope for the R & D strategy
originally evolved by CESS has great significance. Time and
again it has been proved by several initiatives in the country and
the worldover that the multidisciplinary approach envisioned
originally by CESS was in the right direction for achieving the
goal of sustainable development.
Earth science plays a key role in catering to the needs of human
society in solving the problems related to environment, population
and natural resources. Resource/terrain data base developed by
CESS have already been put to use by the Government . The
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
developments in earth sciences has been reasonably used in
solving various societal problems.
Centre for Earth Science Studies with its motto “Vasudhava
Kudumbakam” meaning ‘earth is one family’ will continue to
approach the process of geospehre, hydrosphere and atmosphere
under the holistic umbrella of earth system studies. While there
are some expert groups in the country to handle the individual
components of the earth systems, the land-water-air interactive
processes are dealt with only a few. With the strong ‘commitment
of CESS to our earth and our future’, which is nothing but
achieving the ultimate goal of sustainability in the natural
processes and resources, the multi-disciplinary approach adopted
in studying the interactions between land water and air has become
highly relevant.
The biosphere component, which is also
important in this context, is integrated through the studies of other
specialized institutions, wherever applicable. Optimisation of the
use of natural resources and to protect it from natural hazards has
also become essential in the context of sustaining life. Further, the
assessment of the impact of human activities on the environment is
also needed. Therefore CESS has now organized its R & D
activities in the study of earth system sciences dovetailing natural
resource
management,
environmental
assessment
and
understanding of natural hazards.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Various Facets of Recession Recorded in Dakshin
Gangotri Glacier Snout, Schirmacher Oasis, East
Antarctica
S.Mukerji, Amit Dharwadkar and P.K.Shrivastava
Geological Survey of India Antarctica
Division, N.H. 5-P, N.I.T.,
Faridabad 121 001
mukherjeesharad@rediffmail.com
A prominent tongue of the polar ice sheet overrides Schirmacher
Oasis in central Dronning Maud Land of East Antarctica. Way
back in 1982-83 austral summer Indian geoscientists identified this
protrusion of the ice sheet for long term monitoring and christened
it as “Dakshin Gangotri Glacier”. Since then the snout of DG
Glacier, as it is commonly called, has been continuously monitored
every year and behavior of its movement has been recorded over
more than two decades.
During this period of observation the methodology has been
modified once or twice in 1996 and 2001 but overall, the Glacier
has shown recession every year. In the initial years when glacier
boundary was plotted with respect to the boundary position of
previous year, the area vacated by ice was calculated. Today the
recession at and from multiple observation points is calculated to
compute the overall recession.
Some interesting points have emerged e.g. i) in three year periods
1983-86, 1986-89 & 1989-92, the area vacated by ice was almost
same irrespective whether both the flanks of the glacier retreated
or one retreated while the other flank advanced; ii) in first twelve
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
years (1983-1995) average recession had been of the order of 0.57
m per year while in last thirteen years (1986-2009) the recession
rate has increased to 0.78 m per year ; iii) a five yearly cycle of
sudden increase in recession rate has been noticed – in 1997-98,
2002-03, and 2007-08. In between these years the recession rate
remained markedly less although an increase in the annual
recession has been noticed even in these two chronologic blocks
viz. from 1998-99 to 2001-02 and 2003-04 to 2006-07. In 2008-09
the recession rate has fallen again as expected if one anomalous
reading is kept out of consideration in the computation. Some
amount of correlation is also noticed in the recession rate and the
surface air temperature recorded from the area in the preceding
year.
Does it all indicate a ‘pulsating’ continental ice sheet in this region
of Antarctica? More persistent and wide scale monitoring over at
least a decade in future will confirm or negate these observations
but the data input from DG Glacier area is certainly going to be
vital in the study of the behavior of Antarctic ice sheet and its
relationship to global climatic changes.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Shallow Subsurface Studies in India- Future Thrust
K. R. Gupta
Former Adviser/ Scientist-G (DST)
H - 44/B, Saket, New Delhi-110017
khemgupta@yahoo.com
Shallow subsurface of the Earth down to a maximum depth of 200
meters is the critical layer on which, in which and with which we
build and live. All types of developmental activities meant for the
welfare of mankind are closely inter-related with shallow
subsurface of the earth. Developmental activities cause global
warming, air and water pollution, health hazards and degradation
of natural environment, unfavourable for the existence of living
beings. Motivated by a mix of scientific, environmental, economic,
health and safety concerns, it is imperative to study and understand
the shallow subsurface.
India is a vast country integrating a variety of geological features
and phenomena, thus making it a natural laboratory offering
exciting possibilities to study and understand the shallow
subsurface in a host of geologically significant terrains which are
of global and regional interest. With its huge mountain chain,
inter- mountain basins , major river systems, coastal basins and
lagoons, island eco-system and above all its unique monsoonal
system, India offers the right settings for studying and
understanding the shallow subsurface of the Indian landmass.
Therefore, we need to study and understand the shallow subsurface
in an integrated manner for all its properties and processes, under
different geographical and geological terrains.
A beginning in this direction has been made by Dept. of Science &
Technology (DST), Govt of India, by launching an integrated
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
multi-disciplinary and multi- institutional programme on Shallow
Subsurface Studies (SSS) during 2005.
Recognising that there is an urgent need to study the areas of
floodplains and deltas because these areas have seen maximum
land use density for long periods and could provide valuable
information on Quaternary climatic and geological history of the
region, a few selected corridors are the focus of study
under this programme . These corridors are as under:

Ganga Plain

Cauvery – Pennar Deltaic Plain

Gujarat Alluvial Plains

Brahmaputra Valley
Some significant achievements have been made in the study of
above corridors during the last 3 years. However, it is necessary to
focus our attention on what needs to be done in the future.
Future thrust in SSS should be on following issues:
•
National Database for subsurface information
•
•
Data generated / likely to be generated under
DMR in the NCR , Calcutta Metro , Bangalore
and Hyderabad etc need to be collected,
assessed & dovetailed.
Data generated under Microseismic studies
carried out by DST / MOES related to NCR /
Jabalpur / Sikkim/ Guwahati etc need to be
linked/ dovetailed.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
•
Marine Geophysical data generated by DOD/
MOES for EEZ of India needs to be dovetailed
wherever feasible.
•
Status Reports for launching of New Programmes in some
of the critical Windows :
- region specific
- theme specific
•
Suggested Corridors
1. Intermountain Basins (i.e. Kashmir,
Pinjore, Dehradun
and Imphal
Valley)
2. Island
environments
(i.e.
Laskhadeep, Andaman and Nicobar
Islands)
3. Deccan Trap Region (for Carbon
Sequestration and West Disposal/
Radioactive Disposal)
•
Augmentation of existing facilities and creation of new
facilities for Geochronology/ Isotope Geology (w.r.t dating
of Quaternary sediments- C14, AMS, U/Pb)
•
Interlinking of the Programme/ Results vis a vis Climate
Change, Groundwater and Natural Hazards – Active
Tectonics, Palaeoseismicity)
•
Drill Core Libraries and Documentation of cores.
- Augmentation of the existing drill core libraries
- Creation of new facilities
- Interlinking of existing facilities
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
•
Popularization of the Programme / Studies to the Masses
particularly the students and their involvement in data
gathering and analysis wherever possible.

SSS Joint Venture ; With a view to broadening the scope of
the programme , maximising the ouput and making this as
vibrant “ Indian National Programme on SSS “ there is a
need for “SSS Joint Venture “ comprising DST , MOES ,
GSI , CGWB with other relevant state agencies ,i.e.
Universities and Teaching / Research Institutes.
The vision of our future geological work and research must have
substantial inputs in the area of natural hazards, risk evaluation,
water resources, climate change and interfacing of geological and
agricultural sciences. At the same time our long term activities
around geological resources, particularly energy and mineral
resources, need to be pursued in a synergetic mode by the relevant
government, industrial and academic organizations.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Exploring for Extended Contiental Shelves Beyond
200 Nautical Miles
S. Rajan
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research
Goa 403 804
rajan@ ncaor.org
From times as early as the Roman conquests, the strips of ocean
bordering the land have been viewed as sovereign entities of a
coastal state. The extent of such “property rights” was dictated
solely by the maritime strength of the State as well as by the
offshore fisheries resources.
However, it was only in the
aftermath of the Second World War and the “reorganisation” of
the world community that the need for a proper codification of the
ocean space became evident. This need was also spurred by the
discovery of offshore hydrocarbon resources, an increasing
awareness of the physiography and mineral wealth of the deep
ocean floor, the technological advancements, and the evolving
concept of the Oceans as a common heritage of mankind. The 32year period following the 1950 directive of the United Nations to
the International Law Commission to attempt to codify the Law of
the Sea witnessed, what till date remains the largest, most complex
and most difficult negotiations ever hosted by the United Nationsthe three UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The
fact that it took over three years to merely agree upon the agenda
of the 150 issues to be discussed at UNCLOS and over 150 nations
nearly 10 years (1973-82) to produce carefully crafted
compromises between the competing political interests only
highlights the complexity of the issues involved. UNCLOS III
finally opened for signature in Jamaica on the 10th December
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
1982 for a period of two years, during which 158 signatures were
recorded. The Convention finally entered into force on the 16
November 1994 and India ratified it on 29 June 1995.
Primarily UNCLOS seeks to codify subdivision of ocean space
into such maritime zones such as the Territorial Sea, the
contiguous zone, the EEZ and the continental shelf. Sovereign
rights of coastal states are extended to specific distances offshore,
with powers being phased down through several successive zones.
Thus, under the Convention, every coastal Nation has sovereign
rights to a continental shelf out to 200 nautical miles from its
coastal baselines, (or out to a maritime boundary with an adjacent
or opposite coastal State) and beyond that distance, if certain
criteria are met. Although out to a distance of 200 nautical miles
the continental shelf is coincident with the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) of a country, the shelf beyond 200 nautical miles is not
an extension of the EEZ. Sovereign rights that apply to the EEZ,
such as the rights to the resources of the water column above do
not apply to this extended shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.
Article 76 of the UN Convention sets forth the criteria upon which
a coastal State may normally determine the outer limits of its
continental shelf that extends beyond 200 nautical miles. The
Convention also makes an exception to these criteria for the
continental margins of the coastal States in the southern part of the
Bay of Bengal (“Statement of Understanding” adopted by the
Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea on the 29th
August 1980). Although seemingly simple in its formulation, the
provisions of article 76 and the Statement of Understanding
necessitate the gathering of multifaceted scientific information,
can give rise to a number of interpretational challenges and can be
even misunderstood.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
In this presentation, I trace the history of UNCLOS and describe
what is doubtless the most comprehensive multi-institutional
marine geophysical work programme ever undertaken by India to
define and delineate the outer limits of its continental shelf in the
Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal including the western offshore
areas of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands. Spread over nearly two
years, over 31,000 line km of multichannel seismic
reflection, gravity and magnetic data together with bathymetric
information was acquired along 42 pre-determined profiles. In
addition, 100 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) were deployed
for the first time by the country, with a significant retrieval rate of
92% and high quality wide angle seismic reflection and refraction
data were obtained at critical locations. With an UN-specified
deadline to meet and geoscientific data of about 1.2 million square
kilometers of offshore area to be gathered, analysed, interpreted
and documented according to the UNCLOS guidelines, the work
programme which culminated in a formal submission of the first
set of documents to the UN on the 11th May 2009 represents one of
the most significant achievements of the Ministry in recent times.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Role of Geophysical Surveys in Natural Hazard
Management, Bhachau Area, Gujarat
L.N. Singh, Babu Lal, S.L. Singh and A.K.Mukherjee*
Geological Survey of India, Western Region, Jaipur-302004
*Geological Survey of India, Eastern Region, Kolkata-700091
lns_gsi@yahoo.com
Kachchh district of Gujarat was severely jolted by a powerful
earthquake in the morning of 26th January 2001. Shallow seismic
refraction (Hammer source), gravity and magnetic surveys were
carried out by Geological Survey of India in Bhachau area, Bhuj
District, Gujarat after the devastating i.e. earthquake of 26th
January 2001. The objective of the investigation was to delineate
different lithological units based on their P-wave velocities in
earthquake-affected areas of Bhachau. The seismic survey carried
out over 6 locations in township areas of Bhachau has reflected
two layer structures. The P-wave velocity in the area varies from
482m/s to 1111m/s for first layer while the velocity of second layer
varies from 1471m/s to 3077m/s. The first layer corresponds to top
soil/overburden and the higher P-wave velocity representing the
second layer corresponds to weathered rock. Gravity and magnetic
survey along a transect reflects deepening of basement from north
to south i.e. towards Gulf of Kachchh and is traversed by Kachchh
Main Land fault (KMF). Spectral analysis of both gravity and
magnetic fields has shown two interfaces at average depth of 0.80
km and 2.5 kms.
Six vertical boreholes of 30-40m depths have been drilled to
understand the properties of the top soil / overburden. The drilling
results have excellent corroboration with the results obtained by
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
seismic refraction survey. This lends additional credence to
geophysical results obtained in the area. Based on the results of
seismic survey, it is suggested that the foundation of building
structures in the earthquake-affected areas should be sunk in the
compact soil/weathered rock. The geophysical survey in and
around Bhachau have been helpful for social development
programmes in the area.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources
Manohar Arora, Rakesh Kumar and R. D. Singh
Scientist, National Institute of Hydrology
Roorkee
arora@nih.ernet.in
Concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has
increased over the last century. Recently, IPCC (Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change), 2007 has indicated that the global
average air temperature near earth’s surface rose to 0.74±0.18 0C
in the last century. Studies show that the extent of global snow
covered and glacierized area has been reduced due to climatic
changes over the last century. Recent global climate analysis has
indicated that the climate change is likely to change stream flow
volume, as well as the temporal distribution throughout the year
over Asian region, imposing significant stress on the water
resources in the region.
The vulnerability of the Indian subcontinent to the impact of
changing climate is of vital importance because the major impact
of climate change in this continent would be on the hydrology,
affecting water resources and agricultural economy. However,
very little work has been carried out in India on the impact of
climate change on hydrology. The major river systems of the
Indian subcontinent, namely Brahmaputra, Ganga and Indus which
originate in the Himalayas, are expected to be vulnerable to
climate change because of substantial contribution from snow and
glaciers into these river systems. It is understood that the global
warming and its impact on the hydrological cycle and the nature of
hydrological events would pose an additional threat to the
Himalayan region.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
The present paper is focused at highlighting the Science of climate
change and its impacts on the water resources, IPCC projections
and evidence from recent observations in India. NIH has initiated
the climate impact studies on some of the Himalayan rivers. In
these studies a conceptual snowmelt model was used to simulate
the hydrological response of the basin under changed climatic
scenarios. Preliminary results of some of the studies carried out are
briefly discussed in this paper.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Indo-Gangetic Plains and Earthquake Hazard
R. K. Chadha
National Geophysical Research Institute
Hyderabad – 500 007
chadha@ngri.res.in
In the recent times, people in India have been subjected to severe
earthquakes which claimed several thousands of human lives.
Beginning with the Uttarkashi earthquake in 1991 Himalaya, 1993
in Latur in the Indian shield, Jabalpur in 1997, Chamoli in 1999,
Bhuj in 2001, tsunamigenic earthquake in 2004 in the Indian
Ocean and the 2005 Muzaffarabad earthquake, the country has
been experiencing earthquakes at an alarming frequency. Several
steps have been taken by the concerned ministries to step up the
efforts in the field of seismic hazard assessment and mitigation.
As a result the earth scientists in the country have taken up several
earthquake hazard assessment related projects. A major initiative
in this direction is related to the Indo-Gangetic plains which runs
parallel to the Himalayan trend and lies in the Seismic Zone IV
and III. The plains which comprises the thick alluvium ranging
from 500 m to 3 km is highly vulnerable to earthquakes in the
Himalaya as this can cause amplification of accelerations from far
source earthquakes up to 300 to 400 km. The rapid urbanization of
the major cities in the Indo-Gangetic plains is thus; face a grave
threat of earthquake damage. The great earthquake of Bihar-Nepal
in 1934 caused widespread liquefaction up to distances of 200-250
km. In this talk I will be presenting the new initiatives and studies
taken up in the region to understand the tectonics and hazard in the
Indo-Gangetic plains in general and Lucknow city in particular
where initial results on site response investigations have shown
very encouraging results.
32
National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
River Dynamics and Flood Risk: A Case Study from
Kosi river, North Bihar
Rajiv Sinha
Engineering Geosciences Group, Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016
rsinha@iitk.ac.in
The Kosi river draining the parts of north Bihar in eastern India
avulsed by ~120 kilometers eastward triggered by the breach of
the eastern afflux bund at Kusaha in Nepal The Kosi river in north
Bihar plains, eastern India is a major tributary to the Ganga river
system and has long been considered as a dynamic river due to
frequent changes in its course and extensive flooding. A
preferentially westward movement (150 kms in the last 200 years)
has been recorded by the previous workers However, the August
18, 2008 event was different in two ways. Firstly, the river moved
eastward of the modern course – unlike the westward migration
trend over the last 200 years, and secondly, the total movement
was of the order of ~120 km – an order of magnitude higher than
any single movement recorded in historical times. The avulsed
channel ‘reoccupied’ one of the paleochannels of the Kosi and 8085% of the flow of the river was diverted into the new course.
Since the new course had a much lower carrying capacity, the
water flowed like a sheet, 15-20 km wide and 150 km long with a
velocity of 1m/s at the time of breach. The new course did not join
back the Kosi nor did this find any through-drainage into the
Ganga as a result of which a very large area was inundated. It is
important to understand that this inundation is different from
‘regular’ flooding by the river through overbank spilling. This
paper will highlight the causative factors responsible for the
avulsive shift (and consequent inundation) of the Kosi river and
33
National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
will also make a case that such events need an altogether different
strategy for river management.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Tsumani Warming System and the Significance of the
Data Generated By the Centre in Understanding the
Earth System Processes
S.S.C. Shenoi
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)
Hyderabad – 500055
shenoi@incois.gov.in
Following the devastating great tsunami in the Indian Ocean on 24
December 2004, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) then the
Department of Ocean Development (DOD) formulated a project,
in consultation with other departments (DST, DOS and CSIR) to
set up an Early Warning Centre for Tsunami and Storm Surges.
This project was approved by the Government of India in October
2005 for implementation at a cost of Rs.125 Crores. Accordingly,
the Early Warning Centre was set up at Indian National Centre for
Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. The state-ofthe-art early warning centre established at INCOIS has the
necessary computational and communication infrastructure that
enables reception of data from all the sensors (seismic and sea
level) in real-time, facility to analyse the data and to generate and
disseminate the warnings following standard operating procedures.
The early warning system became operational in October 2007.
The early warning centre continuously monitors the seismic
activity in the two tsunamigenic regions of Indian Ocean through a
network of national and international seismic stations and a series
of tide gauges along the Indian Ocean rim countries. In addition,
the centre also receives real time data from the bottom pressure
recorders (BPRs) deployed by India as well as by other countries.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
This network enables the confirmation of the occurrence of a
tsunami following the earthquake. All data are continuously
monitored using a custom-built software application that generates
alarms/alerts in the warning centre whenever it crosses the pre-set
threshold. Tsunami bulletins are then generated based on pre-set
decision support rules and disseminated to the concerned
authorities for action and follow up.
The criteria for the generation of different levels of advisories
(watch/alert/warning) for a particular region of the coast are done
based on the available warning time (i.e. time taken by the tsunami
wave to reach the particular location). To reduce the rate of false
alarms, even in the near source regions, the centre first analyses
the pre-run model scenarios and later compares against the sea
level data received from BPRs and tide gauges.
Host of communication systems (INSAT DRT & MSS) are
employed for the timely reception of data from the sensors and for
dissemination of bulletins. To be fail proof, a high level of
redundancy also is built into the communication system. In
addition, the dedicated broadband internet is used to receive nearreal time data from international seismic stations, tide gauges, and
BPR’s.
The significance of data received from seismic stations, tide
gauges and BPR network for the understanding of earth system
processes are discussed.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Landslide and its Mitigation – A Case History from
Varunavat in Uttarakhand Himalaya
P. C. Nawani
National Institute of Rock Mechanics
Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka
drnawanipc@indiatimes.com
Landslides are very destructive in hilly areas and they often take
catastrophic events. A massive landslide from Varunavat hill, over
looking Uttarkashi town in Uttarakhand state, was triggered on
23rd/24th September 2003 subsequent to incessant rains and the
landsliding continued for about 20 days.
A number of
governments, commercial and residential buildings were buried
and almost 3000 people were directly affected and property worth
Rs.5000 lacs was damaged. A proactive action by the district
authority, in the light of fore-warning given by GSI, by shifting the
local population from the toe of the hill has saved human lives and
there was no loss of life due to this catastrophic landslide.
An integrated approach was adopted for the long-term stabilization
of the area. Based on the geotechnical data inputs generated
during engineering geological investigations coupled with
geophysics and drilling and also the techno-economic
considerations, most effective design solutions were adopted for
long-term slope stabilization and thus averting any possibility of
any such incident in future.
This paper deals with the geology, tectonics, seismicity of the area
and causes & mechanism of the landslide, stability analysis, failsafe designing and the geotechnical / biotechnical measures
adopted for mitigation. Recommendations for post-stabilisation
real time monitoring by slope stability radar and microseismic /
nanoseismic are also given.
37
National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Imperative Need for Exploration of Deep Sea Mineral
Deposits
G. S. Roonwal
AMS group
Inter-University Accelerator Centre,
Aruna Asaf Ali Road,
New Delhi 110 067
gsroonwal@hotmail.com
Because of increased demand and prices n the world metal
supplies, interest in he mineral resources of the deep sea bed has
seen revival in the recent years. These offers competitive
opportunity on the all types of underwater technology. Both oxide
deposits comprising pollymetallic manganese nodules and crusts
have been found to contain high levels of Cu, Ni ad Co
respectively. Seabed sulfide deposits on the plate boundaries are
rich in Cu, Zn, Pb Au. These deposits would possibly first to be
mined on the deep sea bed.
Ocean scientists community have been active in the past decade
accessing the deep sea from pioneering efforts of Human Occupied
Submersible(HOV) to much improved remotely operated
vehicles(ROVs) for precise research plans. The newest attempt has
been
the
development
of
Autonomous
Underwater
Vehicles(AUVs) in the improved technology. Similarly, the
mining equipment is being developed in a way that would do
minimum disturbance to the marine life. We continue to respond to
the challenges of engineering technology to enhance efficiency
and personnel safety.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
In the futuristic term, increases in demand as well as level of
economic growth in the emerging economy of Brazil, China,
Russia, India and other would possibly lead to tighter supplies and
higher prices. These trends would support serious consideration of
the commercial development of deep sea bed minerals.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Identification and Assessment of Gas-hydrates: A
Viable Major Potential Source of Energy in India
Kalachand Sain
National Geophysical Research Institute, Uppal Road, Hyderabad,
500 007, India
(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research)
kalachandsain@yahoo.com
Gas-hydrates are crystalline form of methane and water, and have
attracted the global attention because of their widespread
occurrences in permafrost and outer continental margins and huge
potential as major energy resource. Several parameters such as the
bathymetry, seafloor temperature, sedimentary thickness, rate of
sedimentation and total organic carbon content indicate good
prospects of gas-hydrates in the shallow sediments along the
continental margins of India. The seismic experiment is the most
efficient tool for delineating the hydrate- and underlying gasbearing sediments. The bottom simulating reflector (BSR) is the
prime marker for the identification of gas hydrates by seismic
studies. By reprocessing and analyzing available surface seismic
data, the BSRs have been identified in both the Bay of Bengal and
the Arabian Sea. The coring and drilling, mostly confined to the
eastern Indian offshore, by the Indian National Gas Hydrate
Program have established the presence of gas-hydrates in the
Krishna-Godavari, Mahanadi and Andaman regions. Further
research is going on to establish gas-hydrates in the western Indian
margin. It has become essential now to identify new areas with and
without BSR; demarcate the lateral/areal and vertical extension of
gas-hydrates and free-gas bearing sediments and evaluate their
resource potential. Based on seismic traveltime tomography;
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
waveform inversion; amplitude versus offset (AVO) modeling;
AVO attributes; seismic attributes and rock physics modeling, we
have developed some techniques for the detection, delineation and
quantification of gas-hydrates. Various seismic attributes like the
blanking, reflection strength, instantaneous frequency and
attenuation (Q-1) are found very useful for the detection of gashydrates in areas, particularly where BSR is not obvious. These
attributes can also be used to ascertain whether a BSR is related to
gas-hydrates. Since seismic velocity of pure gas-hydrates is much
higher than that of host sediments, hydrates-bearing sediments
exhibit higher velocities than normal oceanic sediments, whereas
underlying free-gas laden sediments are associated with low Pwave velocity. Thus traveltime tomography of large offset multi
channel seismic (MCS) data has been used to demarcate the
extension of gas-hydrates and free-gas bearing sediments.
Estimating accurate velocities using AVO modeling or fullwaveform inversion and followed by rock physics modeling
provides an excellent tool for quantitative assessment of gashydrates and free-gas. All these approaches are employed to the
marine MCS reflection data for the investigation of gas-hydrates
along the margins of India.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Modern Techniques of Gold Exploration, Gadag A Case History
S.K. Bhushan
Baldota Group
Hospet - 583 203
sk.bhushan@rmmpl.com
The unpredictable nature of gold occurrence in nature is a
challenge to any exploration geologist. Gold occurs in igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, either independently or
associated with sulphides, Auriferous, quartz veins, placer, detrital
clastics, contain free native gold, whereas sulphide co-occurrence
results in refractory gold. The gold bearing fluids are low saline
aqueous carbonic in composition. The gold mineralization is the
outcome of interaction between auriferous ore fluids with
Archaean greenstone terrain coupled by phase separation due to
upward advection through deep seated shear zones.
The
epithermal gold deposits are generated by hydrothermal systems
commonly related to volcanogenic massive sulphides, either
through high sulfidation or low sulfidation. Exploration for
epithermal gold deposits should be based on geological characters
like deposit form, textures, ore minerals, gangue and metal
content.
The Gadag Schist Belt (GSB) is the northern culmination of 400
kms Chitradurga Schist Belt, hosted by Peninsular gneisses. The
main rock types are metavolcanics in the west and
metasedimentaries to the east. Acid volcanics occur near the
contact with metasedimentaries. The contact is also marked by
banded chert at places. The general trend of the litho units is
NNW – SSE with foliation dip varying from 30º-35º towards east.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
The metasedimentaries are represented by greywacke – argillite
suit which starts with a zone of greywacke followed by alternating
sequence of argillite and arenite and their compositional variants.
Milky white quartz veins of variable thickness devoid of any
mineralization traverse the litho-units both concordantly and
discordantly.
Both non diastrophic primary structures which includes bedding,
graded bedding, cross bedding, ripple marks, convolute
laminations, and different types of penecontemparaneous
deformational structures in the metasedimentaries and pillows in
metavolcanics are found in the area. The diastrophic structures,
both planar and linear have developed. The most widespread and
prevalent diastrophic planar structure is the early schistocity (S1)
developed both in metasedimentaries and metavolcanics trending
parallel to sub parallel to the bedding (S0), but dips essentially
eastward at relatively steep angle than the bedding. This
schistosity corresponds to the axial plane schistosity of the
regional synform (FD1). The linear element includes intersection
lineation (L1) due to the development of S1 over S0.
Gold deposits of GSP are confined to a 20 km x 10 km (N-S) wide
corridor occurring in three distinct auriferous zones, known as
western, central and eastern lode systems. Quartz-sericite-schist &
metavolcanics constitute the host rock of mineralization.
Arsenopyrite is the dominant sulphide mineral followed by pyrite
pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite in order of abundance. The auriferous
zone represented by white to smoky quartz veins of varying width
along shear zones exhibit strong evidence of replacement through
biotitisation, sericitisation and chloritisation. The wall rock
alteration of silicified zones indicate strong ferrugination,
chloritisation and carbonization. Gold occurs as veins, veinlets,
stringer and dissemination in the dilation zones of shear plane and
when occupied by quartz veins then these are potential sites for
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
concentration of gold. The carbon hosted refractory gold lodes are
very rich in Kabuliyatkatti but has constraints for extraction. In
the southern end of GSB, the Sangli block has shear controlled
three lodes of gold, whereby detailed exploration has proved and
probable resource of 2.5 million tones with average of 2.45 ppm
Au at 0.5gm/t cut off ore grade.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Fascination of Reconstructing Past Climate through
Microfossils [Foraminifera]: Examples from the
Arabian Sea
Rajiv Nigam
National Institute of Oceanography
Dona Paula Goa-403004
nigam@nio.org
The present global scenario poses multiple environmental
problems associated with global warming due to green house
effect. Anthropogenic contributions are now considered as cause
for accelerated sea level rise, changes in monsoonal rainfall
pattern, increase in intensity and frequency of storms etc.
Obviously, In order to foresee the future variability in climate,
there is an increased awareness about the past climatic changes.
However, climate prediction is a very delicate task and needs a
thorough knowledge about the past. Past records have been
maintained for not more than past 100-150 years, beyond which
we would need proxies to give us information about the past
climate. During the past few decades, microfossils, especially
foraminifers have become the prime source to paleoclimatic
reconstructions. Extreme sensitivity of foraminifera to changing
environmental conditions have led to development of techniques to
understand the past sea level fluctuations, monsoons, cyclones and
storms, using specific characteristics of foraminifera assemblages.
In order to obtain knowledge about past changes in the relative sea
levels, a two-fold strategy should be adopted. We have to look for
the position of past sea levels with respect to the present day sea
level: (i) when sea level was higher (for this coastal areas explored
for erosion or depositional features), and (ii) when sea levels was
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
lower (for this sea floor sediments examined for shoreline
movements and depth variations). Armed with the above
information, we have generated an updated sea level curve for Late
Pleistocene-Holocene sea level fluctuations. This corresponds to
the time interval ~last 15000 years. We successfully demonstrated
that as compared to the present, sea level was lower by ~100 m
about 14,500 years BP (Before Present), and ~60 m about 10,000
years BP. It has been reported that since the last 10,000 years,
three major episodes of sea level variation have resulted. Similarly,
we have gleaned evidences that attest to higher strands of sea level
~6000 years BP. Utilising the sea level curve and occurrence of
foraminifera (exclusively marine microfossils) it was conclusively
established that the rectangular structure at Lothal (a Harappan
Settlement, near Ahmadabad) was a dockyard (first Naval dock
yard of the world as claimed by archaeologists) and not, as earlier
proposed, a fresh water storage tank. Further, with the help of this
sea level curve, we have explained the discovery of Neolithic
settlements (at 30-40 m water depth) in the Gulf of Khambhat - the
oldest civilisation site known to man, particularly in the Indian
subcontinent.
Similarly, foraminifera in marine sediments particularly from
microenvironments off river mouths can be used for
reconstructions of paleomonsoons. Studies on core samples off
Karwar, west coast of India showed the clear signals of marked
high rainfall around 4000 and 3500 years BP and reversal of
rainfall condition since 3500 B.P. with a marked low at 2000 years
BP. These findings gathered support from palynological
investigations of the same core and foraminiferal studies off
Oman, western Arabian Sea. In addition to this, a cyclicity of
approximately 77 years in concentration of drought years was
deciphered which is possibly regulated by Gleissberg cycle in the
radius of the sun.
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Although foraminifera have acquired the position of a very
important and a very essential tool for many studies aimed to
tackle environmental issues of the past and the present. But there
still exists a need and scope for further development of
foraminiferal techniques to addresses successfully the new type of
problems cropping up with development without sustainability.
Supplementary to the traditional hard part studies, a detailed
foraminiferal-culture program with molecular biological approach
is the need of the hour. Through such programs, existing
techniques (based on circumstantial field correlations) can be
validated and new techniques can be developed. These studies may
also lead to development of new molecules- a first step in
application of foraminifera in drug development and thus in
medical industry.
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Assessment of Impact of Climate Change
On Himalayan Glaciers & Fresh Water Reserves
A. K. Tangri
Remote Sensing Applications Centre,
U.P., Lucknow
aktangri@rediffmail.com
Ever since the planet earth came into existence, it has undergone
numerous cycles of climatic fluctuations from extreme cold to
intense warm conditions. The known geological record also
speaks of different glacial and interglacial periods, which are
discernible in geological records. The Precambrian tillites and
boulder beds of glacial origin are reported in many parts of the
world. Permo-Carboniferous glaciation has also been wide spread
in the erstwhile Gondwanaland and it’s evidences in our country
are also the well known Talchir boulder beds. The PermoCarboniferous glaciation was followed by Mesozoic era during
which the overall global temperatures were much higher than that
of today. Subsequently, the Cenozoic large scale glaciation was
again experienced on earth and this included the glaciation during
Pleistocene and Quaternary periods.
During Pleistocene the earth’s surface has experienced extensive
glaciation over a large landmass, and during it’s maxima, almost
46 million sq. kms. area was covered by the glaciers. This is more
than three times the present ice cover of the earth. Available data
indicates that during the Pleistocene the earth has experienced four
or five glaciation periods separated by interglacial periods. During
the interglacial periods, climate was warmer and deglaciation
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occurred on a large scale. This suggests that glaciers are constantly
changing with time and space.
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Relevance of Palaeo-Phyto-Resource (PPR) Studies in
Earth System Science (ESS)
A. Rajanikanth
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany
53 University Road, Lucknow 226 007 U.P. India
rajanikanth.annamraju@gmail.com
The potential of fossil plant parts in understanding climatological,
sedimentological, geographical and botanical attributes is
remarkable. Bygone eras witnessed colossal accumulation of
phytomass due to natural disturbances coupled with dynamic earth
processes. The role of phytomass exemplified by the records of
plant fossils bear a wide application in exploration studies.
Degradation of accumulated organic matter in the form of
spore/pollen/dinoflagellates/micro-algae/vegetal
debris/fungal
remnants/wood pieces/other plant parts along with faunal remains
contributed to the formation of non-renewable resources (fossil
fuels). Integration of micro- and macro-plant relics through an
interdisciplinary approach involving geological and biological
components signifies fundamental understanding of fossil resource
formation.
Nature’s own archives-plant fossils have been increasingly utilized
to understand evolution of bioshere over 3600 million years of the
earth’s existence and also for precise dating and correlation of
sequences distributed in various sedimentary basins. Hunting of
plant fossils (micro- mega) from different horizons from distant
geological horizons to the immediate past and subsequent
investigations significantly contribute to expand knowledge on
form and function, evolutionary orders, patterns of floral
development, role of phytomass in the formation of source rock for
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non-renewable energy resources, analysis of history of modern
vegetation and origin/development of agriculture and plant
utilization Stratified succession of sediments embody past plant
relics preserved in the form of impressions, compressions,
petrifications, cast/molds etc and represent micro- mega-evidences
of green life. Taphonomic settings like coastal, fluvial/ lacustrine,
volcanic and others variously preserve plant parts and are
suggestive of nature of depositional environment. Phyto-fossil
evidences are reliable tools to chronologically decipher past
changes. Factors like landslides, glaciations, erosion cycles and
other physical happenings can be better understood through an
understanding of plant architecture/engineering.
Relative latitudinal positions of different continents at different
periods of time due to drift of the landmasses presumably
influenced climatic regimes and consequent floral changes. Many
marine and most terrestrial plants are sedentary and they must
have tolerated or modified the existing environment in order to
survive. Effect of plants on environment vice-versa during the
geologic past can be brought about by the studies on succession
patterns as applied to modern plant communities. Successive
ecological groupings of plants modify their physical environments
such as -to ensure their own local disappearance and pave the way
for the expansion of the next ecological group. Evolution of stress
tolerant inter-tidal and sub-tidal phyta adapted to a degree of
desiccation and possessed potential to explore terrestrial
environments on land subsequently contributed to significant
phytomass, which established the basis for a terrestrial food chain.
Thus vegetation in a particular geological regime bears the
potential of contributing to hydrocarbon formation. Introduction of
plants to land influenced chemical composition and sedimentary
regimes of fresh and marine waters. Land plants secrete substances
that speeded up weathering and presumably alter the amounts and
kinds of chemicals entering the atmosphere and oceans. They also
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physically break up rock materials. Concomitantly they serve to
retard rates of erosion by binding the soil with their roots and
rhizomes. They also represent a chemically distinct source of
carbon in the biosphere. Plants store energy from the sun by
photosynthesis and resulted phytomass was buried before reoxidation and the reduced carbon is preserved as fossil fuels. The
processes of burial and compaction through time separated solid
(Coal), liquid (Oil) and gaseous (Natural Gas) fractions. Coal
being a mummified vegetation constitute the most abundant fossil
fuel resource and is a complex mixture of organic chemical
substances. Source materials such as organic debris
(phytoplankton, marine & terrestrial algae, lipid-rich land plants)
contribute to liquid hydrocarbons like petroleum constituted
chiefly by hydrogen and carbon. Microscopic structures of plant
origin (5 µm- 500 µm) are composed of compounds that are highly
resistant to most forms of decay other than oxidation, composed of
sporopollenin, chitin or related compounds and these are abundant
in most sediments and sedimentary rocks, and are resistant to
chemical treatment. Other micro structures possess siliceous,
calcareous, phosphatic or cellulose walls, and most are marine or
freshwater organisms. Constantly moving earth plates and
changing phytomass components in the geologic past partially
contributed to the fossil fuel resources of the earth.
The southern landmass of the globe separated from the northern,
bear a characteristic flora, which got transitioned to various other
floras through time. The sediments referred as Gondwana are
invariably fluvio-lacustrine deposits with occasional paralic
intercalations holding records of land plants of the southern
landmass exhibited characteristic Gondwana Flora. These floral
elements variously contributed to Indian coal formation. The
hydrocarbon accumulation in marine and peri-intra- cratonic
basins during Mesozoic and Cenozoic times was a result of
dynamic organic and inorganic earth mechanisms. Integrated
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studies
involving
palaeobiologists,
environmentalists,
geoscientists, climatologists and oceanographers help to
understand biosphere-geosphere intricacies. The dynamic history
of the Earth from the age of the initial crustal formation to the final
dispersal provides fundamental information to understand and to
predict the future of the Earth.
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Southwest Monsoon Wind vs. Precipitation:
Comparison between Western & Eastern Arabian
Sea Palaeoclimate Records
Manish Tiwari
National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research,
Vasco-da-Gama, 403804
manish@ncaor.org
The Southwest (SW) monsoon is initiated because of the land-sea
temperature contrast that results in lower atmospheric pressure
gradient over south Asia but is further intensified because of the
latent heat released during precipitation, which results in the
strengthening of the low pressure cell over land. If so, a strong
temporal correlation between the wind strength and precipitation
intensity is expected. The wind-induced, upwelling-related
productivity record (e.g. % Globigerina bulloides) from the
western Arabian Sea has been used to reconstruct past variations in
the SW monsoon wind strength. In contrast, the eastern Arabian
Sea records precipitation signal as it receives abundant freshwater,
either as overhead precipitation or as surface runoff from the
adjacent Western Ghats during the SW monsoon; this alters the
oxygen isotopic composition of seawater, which gets reflected in
stable oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of planktic
foraminiferal tests. A sediment core, SK145-9 (12.6ºN, 74.3ºE;
water depth 400 m, AMS dated length 50 cm spanning past ~2900
yrs) from the eastern Arabian Sea, was analyzed with highresolution (sub-centennial) for δ18O variations of two different
species of planktic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber,
Globigerinoides sacculifer) that documents past precipitation
changes. The top 50 cm of the core spanning ~2900 calendar years
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(based on four AMS C-14 dates) were analyzed. Periods of aridity
are observed at ~2000, 1500, 1100, 850 and 500 calendar yr BP in
the eastern Arabian Sea. This high-resolution precipitation record
from the eastern Arabian Sea also indicates that solar forcing
appears to govern the SW monsoon on centennial time scales. The
data from this core has been compared with that from another core
from the western Arabian Sea, which had provided SW monsoon
wind record. The wind strength exhibits good correlation with the
precipitation intensity; reduced precipitation is accompanied by
weakened winds, thus providing the first paleoclimatic evidence
for the control exhibited by SW monsoon precipitation over the
wind strength via latent heat release.
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Climate Variability during the Past Few Centuries as
Depicted In Ice Cores from Antarctica and Its
Implications on Global Climatic Teleconnections
Meloth Thamban1, C.M. Laluraj1, Sushant S. Naik1, Rasik
Ravindra1 and Arun Chaturvedi2
1
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research
Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama
Goa - 403 004
2
Geological Survey of India (Antarctica Division)
NH-5P, N.I.T., Faridabad - 121001
meloth@ncaor.org
Meteorological observations, numerical models and palaeoclimatic
proxy studies have uncovered that the global climate system has
experienced remarkable changes on decadal, centennial and
millennial time scales in the past is undergoing substantial changes
and. The role of Antarctic cryosphere within the global climate
system and the spatial and temporal complexity of its climate are
still poorly understood because of the limited and very short
periods of observational data on the environmental variables
collected over the last few decades. One of the most direct and
accurate method to study the Antarctic climate change beyond the
instrumental limits is to examine and interpret the ice core proxy
records that offer continuous, highly resolved long-term records of
not only temperature and precipitation, but also on atmospheric
composition and transport.
In order to reconstruct the recent coastal Antarctic climate change
with annual to sub-annual time resolution and to understand its
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spatial variability, several shallow depth ice cores were retrieved
from the central Dronning Maud Land region of East Antarctica as
part of the Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (InSEA). The
cores were studied in detail using established ice core proxy
parameters like stable isotope records (δ18O & δD) and major ion
chemistry as well as accreted micro-particles and microbial
components. Chronological dating of two cores using standard
methods revealed that these cores provide exceptionally highresolution records of climate and environmental change in coastal
Antarctica during the past few centuries. Major ion chemistry of
the ice cores revealed the existence of several prominent volcanic
events that are historically recorded and had global implications.
The micro-tephra accreted in the ice core during the Agung (1963)
and Krakatau (1883) volcanic eruptions also harboured microbial
cells, suggesting that volcanic tephra may provide a significant
micro-niche for microbes, hitherto unexplored in the Antarctic ice.
Study of the nitrate and sulphate profiles in this core revealed that
the enhanced sulphate concentrations of major volcanic eruptions
activated the production of nitric acid, then scavenged by ion
induced nucleation and transported and deposited to the Antarctic
atmosphere. Correlation between the nitrate and 18O records
further reveals a close link between the atmospheric temperature
and nitrate accumulation, with lower temperature leading to higher
nitrate preservation and vice versa. Interestingly, major temporal
shifts in the nitrate profile of the core are comparable to the South
Pole 10Be record, suggesting the influence of solar activity in
controlling the temporal production of nitrate and its deposition to
Antarctic snow.
An exceptionally high-accumulation (~13 samples/ year) ice core
record from higher altitudes of the coastal Dronning Maud Land
revealed detailed environmental fluctuations during the past
century (1904-2006). Such elevated accumulation rates provided
an opportunity to study the inter-annual to decadal climate
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variability in the region in relation to major climate modes like
Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and El Nino Southern Oscillation
(ENSO). The δ18O and δD records of the core used as a proxy for
the mean air temperatures revealed a significant relation to SAM,
except during periods when the effect of ENSO was significant.
The positive correlation between SAM, Southern Oscillation Index
(SOI) and ice core δ18O record indicates a combined forcing on
austral air temperatures in the region. The most significant
relationship between δ18O and SAM is observed on a decadal scale
which overrides the influence of ENSO. Estimated air
temperatures at the core site using the derived δ18O-T spatial slope
for this region depict a significant warming of 1°C for the past
century which is an exception for the east Antarctic region.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Tectonic Geomorphology of the upper Reaches of
Beas Valley, Kullu District H.P.
A.C. Pande and S. S. Srivastava
Geological Survey of India
prabhaspande@hotmail.com
The Beas River, one of the famous quintet of rivers in northwestern India, originates from ‘Beas Rikhi’ near Rohtang Pass,
about 3800m amsl in the greater Himalayan ranges in Kullu
district of Himachal Pradesh before debouching into reservoir of
Pandoh Dam downstream of Kullu. The river, in its upper reaches,
traverses through Proterozoic rocks (gneiss, quartzite, schist) of
Rohtang Gneissic Complex (Vaikrita Group). Beas Valley has an
average width of 1100m between Palchan and Kullu
(approximately 40 km) and then suddenly starts narrowing in the
stretch between Kullu and Aut (25 km) to about 300m. The terrain
is highly dissected and traversed by four major sets of lineaments
i.e. E-W, NNE-SSW, NNW-SSE, and N-S. These lineaments
apparently exercise a profound control over the course of the Beas
river and its channel morphology. The dominant geomorphic
processes are denudo-structural, glacial, glacio-fluvial in the upper
reaches between Beas Rikhi and Manali and downstream of
Manali fluvial processes dominate. The adjacent modified glacial
deposit, the complex of large terraces, fan cut terraces display
spectacular assemblage of aggradational and degradational
landforms which bear imprints of recent tectonic activity.
Study of high resolution (Resolution Merged IRS 1D PAN and
LISS III MX,) geocoded, digital imagery and SOI topographic
maps with limited field traverses has helped in the identification of
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a number of morphotectonic features viz., unpaired terraces,
escarped terraces, alluvial fan cut terraces, preferential alignment
of river channel along lineaments etc. which bear testimony to the
Himalayan tectonics. The objective of this paper is to understand
the various morphotectonic features of the terrain in relation to the
pattern of the recent tectonics.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
“Scenario Shake Maps” For Reclaimed Islands in the
Arabian Gulf: Predicting the Impact of Probable
Future Earthquakes
Arun Kumar
Center for Petroleum and Minerals, Research Institute
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
P. O. Box 1945, Dhahran 31261
Saudi Arabia
Several new townships are being constructed in the Arabian Gulf
on reclaimed islands. Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain are developing
vast urban development projects on them. These islands have been
designed for maximum possible length of coastline so that a large
number of beachside homes could be built. Thousands of luxury
homes, apartments, hotels, marinas, golf courses, and other types
of commercial and recreational complexes are being developed.
Such projects in Qatar and Bahrain also include high rise
apartment complexes. These structures are very modern and
designs are quite novel. Long term sustainability of these projects
needs to be assessed in view of possible earthquakes that
commonly occur in this region. This region is prone to seismic
activity despite Arabian Peninsula being a relatively stable region.
The Zagros Thrust Fault in Iran demarcates boundary between the
Arabian and the Eurasian tectonic plates. Due to subduction
pressure of the Arabian Plate under the Eurasian Plate, Iran and
surrounding regions are prone to seismic activity. The
consequence of earthquakes is higher in the reclaimed islands and
their tall buildings because reclaimed land is potentially more
susceptible to liquefaction and slope failure. Reclamation material
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here is mainly dredged carbonate sand and little is known about
the underlying or nearby fracture zones and seismicity.
ShakeMap program originally conceived by Wald et al. (1999) and
later developed by Kaka and Atkinson (2006) can be used to
predict ground shaking for a hypothetical earthquake of assumed
magnitude at any given location. Such predictions are called
“Scenario ShakeMaps” that provide meaningful insight on the
potential consequences of earthquakes. These maps can be
generated for historical and instrumentally monitored past
earthquakes of any region. Such studies should be carried out for
major urban centers in the Arabian Gulf especially for the offshore
reclaimed islands to get valuable information about potential
earthquake ground shaking effects. “Scenario Shakemaps” are
very practical method for planning and education for future
earthquake preparedness and a useful guide on the potential
consequences of regional earthquakes.
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Cloud Bursts; Assessment of Hazard and Strategies
for Risk Mitigation – A Case Study from Govind
Ghat, District Chamoli, Uttarakhand
Harish Bahuguna and D. P. Dangwal
Geological Survey of India, Dehradun
The hilly districts of Uttarakhand state are frequently affected by
the phenomenon of cloud bursts and the incidences are higher in
the Central Himalayan region. The sudden heavy downpour
concentrated over a small or confined area unleashes havoc in the
areas located down slope. Occurrence of the cloud bursts in
geologically fragile and seismically sensitive terrain presents the
ideal recipe for disaster. Local geological, geomorphological
conditions, ground water regime and surface drainage can
aggravate the associated hazard potential of the area manifold.
Anthropogenic interference converts the hazard into risk and more
often than not colossal loss of life and property is involved with
most of these events.
Govindghat is located on Josimath – Badrinath National Highway,
and it is en-route to the famous shrine of Shri Badrinath. This
small hamlet is the base camp for the pilgrims going to the sacred
shrine of Hemkund Saheb and every year thousands of Sikh
pilgrims flock here. The pilgrimage time coincides with the
monsoon season in the area when the chances for cloud bursts are
more. Geologically the area is located in the central Himalayan
region and seismically it falls in zone V (indicating high seismic
sensitivity). The Govindghat area has experienced three incidences
of cloud bursts so far and every event has brought some inevitable
changes in the land use.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
The paper aims at discussing the last event of cloud burst in
Govindghat area which occurred in June 2005 and caused heavy
loss of life and property and take this as a case study for
understanding the domains of hazard assessment and the strategies
for mitigation of risk.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Sedimentology and Environment of Deposition of
Manjir formation, Camba District, H.P.
D.D. Bhattacharya
Geological Survey of India
Chamba basin constitutes the southern margin of the Tethyan basin
where rocks of Chamba, Manjir, Salooni, and Kalhel formations
ranging in age from late Proterozoic to lower Triassic have been
exposed in a NW-SE trending Chamba syncline. Section
measurement studies have been undertaken in Manjir Formation
between Khundimaral and Raula in Chamba district to understand
the depositional characteristics.
The present study for the first time, recorded the presence of
palynoflora in the Manjir Formation indicating an early Permian
age, which till now is being considered to be of late Proterozoic.
Sedimentation of Manjir Formation indicates an oscillatory basin
environment of deposition represented by dominant argillaceous
sequence and intervening paraconglomerate. Sedimentation took
place in a cyclic manner and led the deposition of four
paraconglomerate bands with intervening three argillaceous non
pebbly bands. The impact of regional tectonics led to basin
turbulence and inducing turbidity current resulting in the formation
of polymictic paraconglomerate with a muddy matrix resembling
to greywacke.
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Utility of Remote Sensing Technique for Temporal
Monitoring of Landslides in Tehri Reservoir Area
Deepali Kapoor
Photogeology and Remote Sensing Division
Geological Survey of India, Northern Region
Lucknow
The Tehri reservoir area has been affected by several historical
landslides and is at risk for future landslide events. In the post
impoundment stage, the fluctuations in the reservoir water as a
result of successive filling and drawdown create readjustments in
the valley slopes and aggravate the instability of already
vulnerable slopes. Hence, monitoring of landslide incidences in the
Tehri reservoir rim area is imperative during initial years of Tehri
reservoir filling. With this objective, mapping of landslide
incidences was undertaken along the left bank of Bhagirathi River
covering an area of approximately 43.0 sq. km area. Steep slopes
and weathered profiles comprising of sheared phyllites of
Chandpur Formation predispose the area of study to frequent
landsliding events.
Interpretation and analysis of pre and post reservoir filling IRS P6
LISS IV MX satellite imagery of Tehri reservoir area in
conjunction with Survey of India toposheets was carried out for
delineating landslide incidences. All the recent and old landslides
that could be identified on FCC were mapped utilising the
diagnostic spectral and morphological signatures. Many active
landslides mapped from remote sensing technique were verified in
the field which indicates that landslides along the left bank of
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Bhagirathi River exhibit a considerable spatial as well as temporal
distribution.
The progressive headward retreat of the landslides in the vicinity
of settlements as well as slides in incipient stages of development
need to be carefully monitored for detailed risk assessment which
will be of immense utility in planning and implementation of
preventive measures/ rehabilitation.
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Hydrogeochemical Quality of Groundwater in
Dharwad Municipal Area - A Case Study.
J. T. Gudagur and B. B. Alagawadi
1
2
Department of Geology, Karnataka Science College, Dharwad. 01
District Project Office, JSYS., Ramathirth Nagar, Belgaum.
b.alagawadi@yahoo.in.; gudagur@yahoo.com;
jagadishgeo@gmail.com.
The present study deals with the hydrogeochemical aspects of
groundwater of Dharwad Municipal area of Dharwad District,
Karnataka State. The results are based on the chemical analysis
and various hydrogeochemical interpretations of 23 groundwater
samples collected from different borewells in selected location.
According to USSL classification, nearly 70% of groundwater
samples fall in C3S1 category indicating medium to high salinity
with low sodium (Alkali) hazard. Groundwater of the region have
SAR ranging from 0.28 to 7.80 suggesting their excellent quality
for irrigation (Richards, 1954). Based on Handa’s classification the
groundwater salinity and sodium hazard are characterized by C 2S1,
C3S2, C3S1 & C4S2 zones suggesting both permanent hardness of
water (A1, A2 & A3) and temporary hardness of waters (B1 & B2 ).
According to Schoellers (1965, 67) most of the groundwater
samples are falling under type III & IV (21 samples) and two
samples falling under type I & type II.
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Some Major Geoenvironmental Hazards
of Western Rajasthan
V.P. Laul
Director (Rtd.) GSI
10/805, Malviya Nagar,
Jaipur 302017
Western Rajasthan forms part of Thar Desert. Rocky terrain is
mainly represented by Malani Igneous suite of rocks which in turn
is overlain by sediments of Marwar Supergroup (Neoproterozoic –
Lower Cambrian) and Mesozoic–Tertiary sequences. Quaternary
sediments and deserts sands over lying rocks of all ages are wide
spread. Some of major geohazards and geoenvironmental
problems of the region are discussed here. Western Rajasthan is
prone to earthquakes. Seismicity of Jaisalmer area is
comparatively more due to active Kanoi and Ramgarh faults.
Reactivation of Kanoi fault caused earthquake in November 1991.
However, recent earthquake of April 2009 may be related to
Ramgarh fault. Salinity and saline ground water is also a big
problem. A major part of saline ground water is contained in
sediments of marine sequences. However, sandstones and
limestone (Marwar Supergroup) and aquifers of continental Lathi
(Jurassic), Pariwar (Cretaceous) and Sanu (Paleocene) Formations
provide water suitable for human and animal consumption. Lathi
sandstone is well known aquifers. However, ground water
resources of the region are fast depleting due to over exploitation
and low rain fall. In Western Rajasthan, perched water zones also
provide drinking water. In addition to saline ground water, saline
soils are also posing problems for growth of vegetation and
cultivation. Plains and depressions in Mesozoic-Cenozoic terrain
of Western Rajasthan particularly those underlain by shales-clays
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and gypsite are suitable places for flash floods and water logging
after rains. In recent past, floods due to heavy rains in different
parts of Barmer Districts resulted into great loss and damage of
property and human and animal population. Water logging is
posing problems along Indira Gandhi canal and spoiling land by
induced salinity. Building and other civil structures having
foundations in swelling clays and shales may develop cracks due
to destabilization of foundation during water logging after rains.
Such cracks were observed in past in Sam area (Jaisalmer District).
Such problems may also occur in other such areas of Western
Rajasthan. Sand dunes and desert sands pose major problems in
carrying out developmental activities in desert areas of Western
Rajasthan. However, increasing population, mining, tourism and
other human activities are also responsible for destabilization of
sand dunes and wind migration of sands to human settlements,
agricultural fields, blocking roads and canals and changing
topographic and other land features of the area. Mining of granite,
limestone and sandstone on large scale and quarrying of building
stones at different places are fast changing the topographic and
other land features. Quarrying and processing of rocks and
minerals produced dust on large scale and workers have already
started suffering from silicosis due to large scale mining and
processing of sandstones in and around Jodhpur. Quarrying and
processing of granites are also posing such threats. Western
Rajasthan is already facing geomedical problems like fluorosis,
silicosis and other rock dust problems in certain areas which may
increase in future due to increase in mining and processing
activities. World famous Jaisalmer golden fort has been built on
hill having wide base and comparatively less top surface. In hill
section soft sandstones associated shale – marl beds grade upward
into shale – marl zone and is finally capped by jointed yellow
limesone (calcarenite). Increasing population and construction has
increased considerable load on the hill.
Acid discharges
particularly from hotels and guest houses may consume calcareous
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
sediments and may pose great threat to fort and buildings. In due
course of time fort may turn into ruins.
It is suggested that recharging of suitable aquifers by waters of
Indira Gandhi Canal and its network of minor canals may help in
increasing ground water resources. Water from water logging areas
may be diverted and / or injected into suitable aquifers. Recharging
of ground water, rain water harvesting, revival and maintenance of
ancient system of water conservation and storage may help in
reducing water shortage and problem like fluorosis. Availability of
gypsum and gypsite on large scale may help in neutralizing the
salinity of soils. In order to manage the rock and mineral dust
problems like silicosis, water spraying and sprinkling may be
employed for suppressing dust. To save fort, buildings and
population, it is required to check population growth, acid
discharges and new / additional construction. Proper drainage and
supports to hill base and soft sediments of hill sections are to be
provided as remedial measures.
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Can Earthquakes Change the Atmospheric Ozone
Concentration?
Nandita D. Ganguly
Department of Physics, St. Xavier’s College,
Ahmedabad -380009, Gujarat
ganguly.nandita@gmail.com
The changes in atmospheric ozone concentration for earthquakes,
with a magnitude greater than 5.0 on the Richter scale and a depth of
focus less than 35 km, which have occurred world wide during
winter for the years 1991 - 2006, have been studied with the help
of the Satellite data obtained from Nimbus – 7 TOMS, Earth probe
TOMS and Ozone Monitoring Instrument. The trend of variation in
total ozone concentration after all these earthquakes was found to
be similar. The ozone concentration was low on the day of
earthquake, increased gradually after the earthquake and reached a
maximum value and thereafter decreased to its normal value. The
increase in ozone concentration was found to be dependent on the
magnitude of the quake, depth of focus, wind direction and
geographical the location of the epicenter.
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Slope Susceptibility and Instability in Aizawl
Township
Rahul Verma
Department of Geology, PUC, Mizoram University,
Aizawl – 796 009
vrahul24@gmail.com
Mizoram is one of the most landslide prone zones of the country,
and has always suffered extensive damage to life and property.
The present work is an attempt to evaluate the causes of these
landslides, in and around Aizawl Township, Mizoram.
Majority of the landslides in this region, are controlled by the
natural elements like Climate, physiography and geology. The
prominent Tertiary geology of the region consists of sandstone and
shale of Bhuban Formation of Surma Group. Being situated in one
of the heaviest rainfall zones of the country, the frequency of
landslide and mud flows, increases multifold, during the monsoon
and post monsoon period, in this region. The weakening of slope
material at the shale –sandstone contacts, is induced by block
failure, slope disequilibrium, reduction in cohesive strength etc. As
a result, the larger rock masses slide down to create greater havocs.
Human activities such as very rapid, unplanned and uncontrolled
urbanization are no less responsible to engrave the problem of
landslides further. Extensive and destructive undermining, large
scale deforestation along the hill slopes, construction of buildings
on the weak and unstable zones, improper waste disposals and
sanitation in lieu of rapid urbanization and last but not the least the
practice of “jhoom” (burning forests), has worsened the situation.
In last two decades, the frequency of landslides has increased
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
many times in the fast developing townships like Aizawl, Lunglei
and Saiha, thereby, clearly indicating the role of human activities
in destabilizing the slopes.
With a prime motive to reduce the score of landslide frequency in
the region, preventive measures must be taken on high priority
basis to provide stability and strength to the slope material. Some
important suggested control measures are: construction of
retaining walls, concrete foundation and plantation along the
slopes, reduce forest cutting and burning, regulate surface runoff.
A rational approach towards the sustainable urban growth alone,
can provide a check & control over the frequency of landslides in
the region, and in turn can save human lives.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Sea Level High Stand during Late Cretaceous:
Evidences from Greater Indian Plate
S. C. Tripathi
Sikkim Unit, Geological Survey of India, Gangtok
The Late Cretaceous global marine transgression is marked by the
flooding of continental margins and interiors (epicontinental sea).
The break up of Greater Indian plate from Gondwana land and its
rapid northward movement greatly influenced palaeogeography
and palaeoclimatology. The isolated Greater Indian plate was at a
palaeolatitude of 28°S±3° during Late Cretaceous. The Cretaceous
of south India and Tethys in the north represent flooding of
continental margins, where as the western part of the Indian plate
represent continental – marine – continental sequence (e.g. Pub,
Barmer and Bagh sequences). The Late Cretaceous sea level
maxima is represented by transgressive-regressive carbonate facies
(Bagh Group) deposited in the epicontinental sea along the
Narmada graben. The marine transgression after the deposition of
fresh water Nimar Sandstone Formation gave rise to the deposition
of Bagh Group. The sequence stratigraphic study of Bagh Group
of lower Narmada valley suggests several marine oscillations prior
to marine regression. The youngest of these marine strata
(Coralline Limestone Formation) is present about 600 km. interior
of India from west (at Barwah, Madhya Pradesh) along the
Narmada valley. The coralline limestone directly overlies the
basement. Thus, it records the highest sea level in Greater Indian
plate during Late Cretaceous. During the global sea level rise in
Late Cretaceous, the marine transgression from the west along the
Narmada graben encroached area up to Barwah. The sea regressed
despite the fact that the area remained low land and continental
Lameta sediments deposited over marine strata. It may or may not
be the global maxima, however, the rapid northward and counter
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
clockwise movement of Greater Indian plate and consequent
change in climate must have an impact on the local sea water
circulation. Late Cretaceous intra-cratonic sedimentation, palaeooceanography and sea-level changes based on sequence boundaries
in Greater Indian plate has been analysed in this paper.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Fluoride Contamination in Ground Water in Parts of
Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh
V. Sunitha and M. Ramakrishna Reddy
Department of Geology & Geoinformatics,
Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa. A.P
vangala_sunitha@yahoo.com
Increasing population in developing countries and high
industrialization of the advanced countries are creating
environmental problems of enormous dimensions. Groundwater
provides drinking water for more than one-half of the nation’s
population and is the sole source of drinking water for many rural
communities and some large cities. Fluoride concentrations in
groundwater samples were determined in three mandals of
Anantapur District in India. One hundred groundwater samples
were analyzed for fluoride along with other chemical parameters.
Granite gneisses, schists are the main geological formations which
are overlain by black cotton soils. Anomalous high fluoride
concentration up to 7.2 mg/l is found in groundwater samples of
Uravakonda, Wajrakarur and Guntakal villages of Anantapur
District. Probable sources of fluoride are weathering and leaching
of fluoride bearing minerals under the alkaline environment.
Fluoride is in negative correlation to calcium concentration.
Geochemistry
of
groundwater,
relationship
between
physicochemical parameters, hydrogeology and geologic setting
were correlated to define the origin and geochemical mechanisms
of groundwater fluorine enrichment. Dental and skeletal fluorosis
and deformation of bones in children as well as adults were
observed in the study area indicating the health impact of fluoride
in groundwater. This paper presents the extent of fluoride toxicity,
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
geochemistry of fluoride and the study area therefore needs urgent
remedial measures.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Dynamic Slope Stability Analysis in Luhri Area,
Himachal Pradesh
T.N. Singh, Amit K. Verma and Kripamoy Sarkar
Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Bombay,
Powai – 400 076
tnsingh@iitb.ac.in
Slope instability is a frequent phenomenon in hilly regions. It is
hazardous because of the accompanying rapid mass movement of
the massive soil and rock mass. To mitigate the landslide damage,
slope-stability analyses and stabilization require in depth
understanding and evaluation of the process that govern the
behavior of slopes.
The paper presents deals a comparative study used for the analysis
of the stability of slopes along road cut slope along Luhri area,
Himachal Pradesh, assuming that the rock mass follow mainly
Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. The Satluj valley is
geodynamical active and needs special attention because it drains
through all physiographic divisions of the Himalaya. The study
area experiences heavy rainfall combined with anthropogenic
activities, increase population load, widening of road and
development of various water related projects from last few
decades.
The area always experience local as well as regional slides.
Extensive field study has been carried out. Laboratory experiments
have been conducted to calculate the various Physio-mechanical
properties of rock mass. These properties have been used as input
parameters for the numerical simulation. The computed
deformations and the stress distribution, along the failure surface
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almost match with the field observation. Three dimensional finite
difference method (FDM) has been applied on the stability
analysis of Luhri slope and the FOS obtained without dynamic
loading is 2.15 in dry and 1.46 in wet conditions. The dynamic
loading further detoriate the factor of safety and slope is critically
stable require special attention.
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
Neoproterozoic Hydrocarbon Potential of the Indian
Sedimentary Basins
Vinod C. Tewari
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
Dehradun – 248 001
vtewari@wihg.res.in
Recently held World Summit on the Ancient Microscopic Fossils
in USA has created lot of interest amongst the Precambrian
palaeobiologists and organic geochemists to detect the
hydrocarbons (Kerogens and other biomolecules) using new
techniques of Laser Raman Spectroscopy (LRS), Confocal Laser
Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), Nano SIMS, Synchrotron X-ray
Micro Tomography and Atomic Force Microscopy of the
molecular fossils. The Neoproterozoic ((1000-600 Ma) life
(Stromatolites, cyanobacteria, algae, acritarcls and Ediacaran
biota) has global significance since the sediments yielding them
are hosts of indigenous oil and gas in Siberia (LenaTungusca),
Oman (Haqf Group), China (Dengying Formation), USA (Mid
Continental system), parts of Europe and Australia.
In India, The Bilara Limestone in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Marwar
Group) has yielded oil in Neoproterozoic sediments. The other
potential Proterozoic basins in India include Vindhyan Supergroup
and Chhattisgarh basins in Central India. The Lesser Himalayan
inner sedimentary belt (Jammu-Dharamkot, -Shali-DeobanLameri–Gangolihat,) and outer Krol belt (Solan – Nigalidhar –
Korgai Mussoorie – Garhwal – Nainital synclines) are also rich in
organic matter and microbial communities. In the NE Lesser
Himalaya, the Buxa Dolomite in the Sikkim and Arunachal
Pradesh has shown moderate presence of organic matter (Keogen)
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
in the microbial fossils detected by LRS and CLSM for the first
time. Source rocks of hydrocarbons have been recognized in the
Riphean and Vendian of Russia, Bitter Springs Formation of
Amadeus Basin, Australia. Sinian (Meso – Neoproterozoic) in
Yanshan and Bohai Bay Basin China are source rocks of
hydrocarbons. Source rock is also found in the Ediacaran Haqf
Group carbonates in Oman. These economic discoveries of oil in
Meso-Neoproterozoic basins of the World clearly indicate that
similar basins are also located paleogeographically in the Indian
subcontinent (Peninsular and Lesser Himalayan regions) should be
extensively explored for future potential of oil and gas using new
techniques. An integrated structural, sedimentological, seismic,
palaeobiological and organic geochemical investigations of Indian
Meso-Neo-proterozoic basins will locate the source rock of
indigenous hydrocarbons.
In the present paper, MesoNeoproterozoic mega and microfossils, their depositional
environment, organic matter etc. and possible occurrence of
hydrocarbons in Indian basins is discussed.
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NOTES
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National Conference on ‘Earth System Processes and Disaster Management’, 15-17 September 2009
NOTES
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