Optimal irrigation planning in river basin development: The case of the Upper Cauvery river basin

The study deals with the irrigation planning of the Cauvery river basin in peninsular India which is extensively developed in the downstream reaches and has a high potential for development in the upper reaches. A four-reservoir system is modelled on a monthly basis by using a mathematical programming (LP) formulation to find optimum cropping patterns, subject to land, water and downstream release constraints, and applied to the Cauvery basin. Two objectives, maximizing net economic benefits and maximizing irrigated cropped area, considered in the model are analysed in the context of multiobjective planning and the trade-offs discussed.

Biomass for aviation fuel production in the Fitzroy Basin, Queensland: a preliminary assessment of native and plantation forest potential

SummaryThis scoping study assesses the contribution that woody biomass could make to feedstock supply for an aviation biofuel industry in Queensland. The inland 600?900 mm rainfall zone, including the Fitzroy Basin region, is identified as an area that is particularly worthy of closer study as it has potential for supply of woody biomass from existing native regrowth (brigalow and other species) as well as from new plantings. New analyses carried out for this study of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata trials suggest biomass plantings could produce harvestable yield of aboveground dry mass of about 85 t ha?1 over a 10-year rotation at relatively low-rainfall (600?750 mm mean annual precipitation) sites and about 115 t ha?1 at medium-rainfall (750?900 mm) sites. Estimates of productivity for native regrowth suggest potential productivity should be around 40 t ha?1 during the initial decade after clearing when systems are managed for bioenergy rather than grazing. In this paper, potential production systems are described, and sustainability issues are briefly considered. It is concluded that more detailed studies focused particularly on biomass production would be worthwhile, and further research requirements are briefly discussed.

A conditional random field-based downscaling method for assessment of climate change impact on multisite daily precipitation in the Mahanadi basin

Downscaling to station-scale hydrologic variables from large-scale atmospheric variables simulated by general circulation models (GCMs) is usually necessary to assess the hydrologic impact of climate change. This work presents CRF-downscaling, a new probabilistic downscaling method that represents the daily precipitation sequence as a conditional random field (CRF). The conditional distribution of the precipitation sequence at a site, given the daily atmospheric (large-scale) variable sequence, is modeled as a linear chain CRF. CRFs do not make assumptions on independence of observations, which gives them flexibility in using high-dimensional feature vectors. Maximum likelihood parameter estimation for the model is performed using limited memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (L-BFGS) optimization. Maximum a posteriori estimation is used to determine the most likely precipitation sequence for a given set of atmospheric input variables using the Viterbi algorithm. Direct classification of dry/wet days as well as precipitation amount is achieved within a single modeling framework. The model is used to project the future cumulative distribution function of precipitation. Uncertainty in precipitation prediction is addressed through a modified Viterbi algorithm that predicts the n most likely sequences. The model is applied for downscaling monsoon (June-September) daily precipitation at eight sites in the Mahanadi basin in Orissa, India, using the MIROC3.2 medium-resolution GCM. The predicted distributions at all sites show an increase in the number of wet days, and also an increase in wet day precipitation amounts. A comparison of current and future predicted probability density functions for daily precipitation shows a change in shape of the density function with decreasing probability of lower precipitation and increasing probability of higher precipitation.

Effect of soil variability on the bearing capacity of clay and in slope stability problems

Site-specific geotechnical data are always random and variable in space. In the present study, a procedure for quantifying the variability in geotechnical characterization and design parameters is discussed using the site-specific cone tip resistance data (qc) obtained from static cone penetration test (SCPT). The parameters for the spatial variability modeling of geotechnical parameters i.e. (i) existing trend function in the in situ qc data; (ii) second moment statistics i.e. analysis of mean, variance, and auto-correlation structure of the soil strength and stiffness parameters; and (iii) inputs from the spatial correlation analysis, are utilized in the numerical modeling procedures using the finite difference numerical code FLAC 5.0. The influence of consideration of spatially variable soil parameters on the reliability-based geotechnical deign is studied for the two cases i.e. (a) bearing capacity analysis of a shallow foundation resting on a clayey soil, and (b) analysis of stability and deformation pattern of a cohesive-frictional soil slope. The study highlights the procedure for conducting a site-specific study using field test data such as SCPT in geotechnical analysis and demonstrates that a few additional computations involving soil variability provide a better insight into the role of variability in designs.

Draft genome sequence of caloramator mitchellensis, a thermoanaerobe isolated from the waters of the Great Artesian Basin

The genome sequence of Caloramator mitchellensis strain VF08, a rod-shaped, heterotrophic, strictly anaerobic bacterium iso-lated from the free-flowing waters of a Great Artesian Basin (GAB) bore well located in Mitchell, an outback Queensland town in Australia, is reported here. The analysis of the 2.42-Mb genome sequence indicates that the attributes of the genome are consistent with its physiological and phenotypic traits.

The tectonic significance of lower Permain successions in the Texas Orocline (Eastern Australia)

The Texas Orocline is a prominent orogenic curvature that developed during the early Permian in the southern New England Orogen. Outliers preserving lower Permian sedimentary successions (Bondonga, Silver Spur, Pikedale, Terrica, Alum Rock and Ashford beds) approximately outline the oroclinal structure, but the tectonic processes responsible for the development of these basinal successions, and their relationships to the Texas Orocline, are unclear. Here we address this shortcoming by providing new U–Pb detrital and primary zircon ages from these successions, as well as detailed stratigraphic and structural data from the largest exposed succession (Bondonga beds). Field observations and U–Pb geochronological data suggest that the lower Permian successions in the Texas Orocline are remnants of a single, formerly larger basin that was deposited after ca 302 Ma. Time constraints for formation of this basin are correlative with constraints from the lower Permian Nambucca Block, which was likely deposited in response to regional back-arc extension during and/or after the development of the Texas Orocline. The conclusion that the lower Permian sedimentary basins in the Texas Orocline belong to this back-arc extensional system supports the suggestion that oroclinal bending in the New England Orogen was primarily controlled by trench retreat and associated overriding-plate extension.

Road kills of amphibians in different land use areas from Sharavathi river basin, central Western Ghats, India

A survey of amphibian mortality on roads was carried out in the Sharavathi river basin in the central Western Ghats. Road kills in three different land use areas: agricultural fields, water bodies and forests were recorded for four days along three 100m stretches in each type of area. One-hundred-and-forty-four individuals belonging to two orders, eight families, 11 genera and 13 species were recorded in the survey. Kills/km observed were: in forest 55, agricultural fields 38 and water bodies 27, for an overall average of 40 kills/km. Kill species compositions varied significantly between land use areas, but not overall kill rates.

Influence of spatial variability of permeability property on steady state seepage flow and slope stability analysis

In recent years, spatial variability modeling of soil parameters using random field theory has gained distinct importance in geotechnical analysis. In the present Study, commercially available finite difference numerical code FLAC 5.0 is used for modeling the permeability parameter as spatially correlated log-normally distributed random variable and its influence on the steady state seepage flow and on the slope stability analysis are studied. Considering the case of a 5.0 m high cohesive-frictional soil slope of 30 degrees, a range of coefficients of variation (CoV%) from 60 to 90% in the permeability Values, and taking different values of correlation distance in the range of 0.5-15 m, parametric studies, using Monte Carlo simulations, are performed to study the following three aspects, i.e., (i) effect ostochastic soil permeability on the statistics of seepage flow in comparison to the analytic (Dupuit's) solution available for the uniformly constant permeability property; (ii) strain and deformation pattern, and (iii) stability of the given slope assessed in terms of factor of safety (FS). The results obtained in this study are useful to understand the role of permeability variations in slope stability analysis under different slope conditions and material properties. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) collection 004 (C004) aerosol retrievals at Kanpur, Indo-Gangetic basin

[1] We have compared the spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD, tau lambda) and aerosol fine mode fraction (AFMF) of Collection 004 (C004) derived from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Terra and Aqua platforms with that obtained from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) at Kanpur (26.45 degrees N, 80.35 degrees E), India for the period 2001-2005. The spatially-averaged (0.5 degrees x 0.5 degrees centered at AERONET sunphotometer) MODIS Level-2 aerosol parameters (10 km at nadir) were compared with the temporally averaged AERONET-measured AOD (within +/- 30 minutes of MODIS overpass). We found that MODIS systematically overestimated AOD during the pre-monsoon season (March to June, known to be influenced by dust aerosols). The errors in AOD at 0.66 mu m were correlated with the apparent reflectance at 2.1 mu m (rho*(2.1)) which MODIS C004 uses to estimate the surface reflectance in the visible channels (rho(0.47) = rho*(2.1)/ 4, rho(0.66) = rho*(2.1)/ 2). The large errors in AOD (Delta tau(0.66) > 0.3) are found to be associated with the higher values of rho*(2.1) (0.18 to 0.25), where the uncertainty in the ratios of reflectance is large (Delta rho(0.66) +/- 0.04, Delta rho(0.47) +/- 0.02). This could have resulted in lower surface reflectance, higher aerosol path radiance and thus lead to overestimation in AOD. While MODIS-derived AFMF has binary distribution (1 or 0) with too low (AFMF < 0.2) during dust-loading period, and similar to 1 for the rest of the retrievals, AERONET showed range of values (0.4 to 0.9). The errors in tau(0.66) were also high in the scattering angle range 110 degrees - 140 degrees, where the optical effects of nonspherical dust particles are different from that of spherical particles.

Intrinsic limits of subthreshold slope in biased bilayer graphene transistor

In this work, we investigate the intrinsic limits of subthreshold slope in a dual gated bilayer graphene transistor using a coupled self-consistent Poisson-bandstructure solver. We benchmark the solver by matching the bias dependent band gap results obtained from the solver against published experimental data. We show that the intrinsic bias dependence of the electronic structure and the self-consistent electrostatics limit the subthreshold slope obtained in such a transistor well above the Boltzmann limit of 60 mV/decade at room temperature, but much below the results experimentally shown till date, indicating room for technological improvement of bilayer graphene.

Nile Basin Initiative diskursiivisena areenana

Pro gradu -tutkielma käsittelee Niilin alueen poliittista kehitystä käyttäen viitekehyksenä Barry Buzanin, Ole Wæverin sekä Jaap de Wilden muodostaman Kööpenhaminan koulukunnan teoriaa turvallistamisesta sekä turvallisuuskomplekseista. Niilin kymmenen valtiota kattavan jokialueen poliittista historiaa on vuosikymmenet hallinnut valtioiden välinen epäluottamus, ja erityisesti Egypti, joka on täysin riippuvainen Niilin vesivaroista, on julistanut Niilin vesivarojen olevan sille kansallinen turvallisuuskysymys, ja se on uhannut käyttää myös voimakeinoja puolustaakseen vedenkäyttöoikeuksiaan. Egyptiä on myös voitu Niilin alueen hegemonina, sillä vanhat, alun perin siirtomaa-ajalta peräisin olevat sopimukset ovat antaneet sille lähes yksinoikeuden Niilin vesivarojen käyttöön. Samanaikaisesti erityisesti Etiopia, jonka alueelta suurin osa joen vesivaroista on peräisin, on pitänyt vanhoja sopimuksia epäreiluina, ja vedonnut maassa kasvavaan nälänhätään ja ruokapulaan, mutta myös useat muut alueen valtiot ovat esittäneet tyytymättömyytensä vanhoihin sopimuksiin. Vuonna 1999 kehityksessä tapahtui kuitenkin käänne, sillä jokilaakson valtiot perustivat tuolloin Niilin jokialueen yhteistyöjärjestön Nile Basin Initiativen (NBI). Tutkielma keskittyy NBI:n perustamisen jälkeiseen ajanjaksoon. Keskeinen tutkimuskysymys on, millä tavalla Niilin alueen jäsenvaltiot pyrkivät 2000-luvun alkupuolella keskinäisellä toiminnallaan muuttamaan alueella vallitsevaa kilpailu- ja konfliktiasetelmaa rauhanomaiseen suuntaan. Aineistona käytetään NBI:n omia kausijulkaisuja vuosilta 2006–2010, ja tutkimuksen menetelmänä käytetään diskurssianalyysia. Tutkitun aineiston perusteella on esitettävissä, että Niilin alueen poliittisesta kehityksestä on selvästi erotettavissa diskursseja, jotka ovat NBI:n toiminnan taustalla. Nämä ovat luottamuksen rakentamisen, yhteisten haasteiden voittamisen, yhteistyön tärkeyden sekä saavutusten diskurssit. Aineiston perusteella on nähtävissä, että valtioiden välisen luottamuksen vähitellen lisääntyessä yhteistyötä aletaan yhä enemmän legitimoida aikaisemmin yhteistyöstä saavutetuilla hyödyillä. Toisaalta diskurssianalyysin perusteella on myös nähtävissä, että alueella on ratkaisematta yhä fundamentaalisia ongelmia; uutta vesisopimusta ei ole vielä vuoteen 2010 mennessä aikaansaatu ja NBI:n jäsenvaltioiden suhteissa on myös nähtävissä kiistaa periaatteista, joihin yhteistyön olisi pohjauduttava. Tutkielma pyrkii analyysin avulla kehittämään myös Kööpenhaminan koulukunnan teoriaa turvallistamisesta. Kööpenhaminan koulukunta jättää turvallistamisen purkamiskehityksen kirjoituksissaan taka-alalle keskustelun painottuessa siihen, kuinka jokin asia tuodaan esille julkiseen turvallisuuskeskusteluun. Tältä osin tutkimuksen tavoitteena on esittää mahdollinen kehityskulku turvallistamisen purkamisdiskurssista. Teoriaosuudessa käytetyt keskeiset lähteet: Allan 2001,2009; Buzan 1991; Buzan ja Wæver 2003; Buzan, Wæver ja de Wilde 1998; Jutila 2008; Schulz 1995; Stritzel 2007; Turton 2001; Wæver 1995; Wendt 1992, 1999.

Road kills of amphibians in different land use areas from Sharavathi river basin, central Western Ghats, India

A survey of amphibian mortality on roads was carried out in the Sharavathi river basin in the central Western Ghats. Road kills in three different land use areas: agricultural fields, water bodies and forests were recorded for four days along three 100m stretches in each type of area. One-hundred-and-forty-four individuals belonging to two orders, eight families, 11 genera and 13 species were recorded in the survey. Kills/km observed were: in forest 55, agricultural fields 38 and water bodies 27, for an overall average of 40 kills/km. Kill species compositions varied significantly between land use areas, but not overall kill rates.

Systematic bias in MODIS dust aerosol retrieval at Kanpur (AERONET), Indo-Gangetic Basin - art.no.640816

We have compared the spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol fine mode fraction (AFMF) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) with those of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) at Kanpur (26.45N, 80.35E), northern India for the pre-monsoon season (March to June, 2001-2005). We found that MODIS systematically overestimates AOD during pre-monsoon season (known to be influenced by dust transport from north-west of India). The errors in AOD were correlated with the MODIS top-of-atmosphere apparent surface reflectance in 2.1 mu m channel (rho*(2.1)). MODIS aerosol algorithm uses p*(2.1) to derive the surface reflectance in visible channels (rho(0.47), rho(0.66)) using an empirical mid IR-visible correlation (rho(0.47) = rho(2.1)/4, rho(0.66) = rho(2.1)/2). The large uncertainty in estimating surface reflectance in visible channels (Delta rho(0.66)+/- 0.04, Delta rho(0.47)+/- 0.02) at higher values of p*(2.1) (p*(2.1) > 0.18) leads to higher aerosol contribution in the total reflected radiance at top-of atmosphere to compensate for the reduced surface reflectance in visible channels and thus leads to overestimation of AOD. This was also reflected in the very low values of AFMF during pre-monsoon whose accuracy depends on the aerosol path radiance in 0.47 and 0.66 mu m channels and aerosol models. The errors in AOD were also high in the scattering angle range 110 degrees-140 degrees, where the effect of dust non-spherity on its optical properties is significant. The direct measurements of spectral surface reflectance are required over the Indo-Gangetic basin in order to validate the mid IR-visible relationship. MODIS aerosol models should also be modified to incorporate the effect of non-spherity of dust aerosols.

Numerical simulation of solidification of liquid aluminum alloy flowing on cooling slope

Preparation of semisolid slurry using a cooling slope is increasingly becoming popular, primarily because of the simplicity in design and ease control of the process. In this process, liquid alloy is poured down an inclined surface which is cooled from underneath. The cooling enables partial solidification and the incline provides the necessary shear for producing semisolid slurry. However, the final microstructure of the ingot depends on several process parameters such as cooling rate, incline angle of the cooling slope, length of the slope and initial melt superheat. In this work, a CFD model using volume of fluid (VOF) method for simulating flow along the cooling slope was presented. Equations for conservation of mass, momentum, energy and species were solved to predict hydrodynamic and thermal behavior, in addition to predicting solid fraction distribution and macrosegregation. Solidification was modeled using an enthalpy approach and a volume averaged technique for the different phases. The mushy region was modeled as a multi-layered porous medium consisting of fixed columnar dendrites and mobile equiaxed/fragmented grains. The alloy chosen for the study was aluminum alloy A356, for which adequate experimental data were available in the literature. The effects of two key process parameters, namely the slope angle and the pouring temperature, on temperature distribution, velocity distribution and macrosegregation were also studied.