Priyom Roy

Mapping damage in the Jammu and Kashmir caused by 8 October 2005 Mw 7.3 earthquake from the Cartosat–1 and Resourcesat–1 imagery

A massive earthquake of Mw = 7.3 struck the western Himalaya on 8 October 2005 at 03:50:40 (UTC) causing widespread damage to property and lives. This earthquake is the result of thrusting of the Indian plate under the Eurasian plate. It is one of the deadliest earthquakes in South Asia in recent times. The recently launched Indian remote sensing satellite Cartosat–1, providing 2.5 m panchromatic along‐track stereoscopic data have been analysed for damage assessment along with Resourcesat–1 multispectral data for understanding the regional tectonics. In this study, nearly 25% of the buildings are identified as fully collapsed in Uri and Punch region of the Jammu and Kashmir, India. Other damage such as bridge collapse, road blockage owing to landslides etc. is also identified from the satellite data. The coseismic landslides show clear spatial association with the pre‐existing faults such as the Jhelum Fault and Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). A new trend in the alignment of landslides is found, which indicates reactivation of a new fault in this region. The effectiveness of the fine resolution stereoscopic satellite data for damage assessment in rugged mountainous terrain is also highlighted in this study.

Wetland Monitoring, Serving as an Index of Land Use Change-A Study in Samaspur Wetlands, Uttar Pradesh, India

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world and any alterations might lead to changes in their bio-physical, socio-economic and climatic conditions. Wetland dynamics as an index of land use change were studied. Satellite remote sensing was utilized to understand the periodic and seasonal dynamics of Samaspur wetlands using Landsat and RESOURCESAT-1 temporal data. Index-based (i.e., Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)) classification resulted in meaningful discrimination of wetland classes. Results indicate (i) effective water spread areas have increased to optimum capacity at 1990 due to the influence of Sharda canal, (ii) expansion of the agricultural area has led to reduction of the wetland buffer area, and (iii) increase in vegetation biomass due to pesticide-fertilizer runoff and sedimentation load. We also reiterate (i) free availability of the Landsat satellite data in public domain facilitating such monitoring studies and (ii) availability and utility of SWIR band information in wetland classification exercise. The study concludes that policy-driven measures have both long and short term impacts on land use and its natural wetland ecosystems; and the characterizing the later serves as indictor of the former and perhaps vice versa.

Kinematic Vorticity Analysis along the Karakoram Shear Zone, Pangong Mountains, Karakoram:Implications for the India-Asia Tectonics

The Karakoram Shear Zone (KSZ) is a northwest-southeast trending dextral ductile shear zone that has mylonitized the Tangste and Darbuk granitoids of the southern margin of the Asian plate. Kinematic vorticity (Wk) has been estimated in 6 mylonitized Tangste granite samples, using Porphyroclast Hyperbolic Distribution (PHD) and Shear Band (SB) Analyses methods on well-developed quartz and feldspar porphyroclasts, and synthetic and antithetic shear bands respectively to visualize the overall deformation of the KSZ. The PHD and SB analyses yield Wk values ranging from Wk=0.29 to 0.43 and 0.45 to 0.93, respectively, thus indicating distinct pure and simple shear dominant regimes during different stages of the evolution of the KSZ. Strain has essentially been pure shear when southern edge of the Asian plate was initially juxtaposed against the Indian plate around 70 Ma, and changed to simple shear, possibly during the reactivation of this shear zone during 21-13 Ma to produce the shear bands.

Structural Control on Occurrence and Dynamics of Coalmine Fires in Jharia Coalfield: A Remote Sensing Based Analysis

In the present study, attempt has been made to understand the structural controls on preservation and dynamics of coal fires by establishing spatial relations of these fires with the faults, in the Jharia coal field. This is carried out, using recent distribution of the coal fires mapped from Landsat 8 TIRS data and historical coal fire distribution data derived from earlier studies (2003, 2006 and 2012). The major mapped fires are restricted to five different locales in the coalfield, namely Kujama, Kusunda, Katras-Mudidih, Shatabdi and Nadhkarkee-Jayramdih. Spatial analysis of different coal fire locales with respect to the geological map indicates that the fires may be associated with faults. Areal extension of fires coincide with the trend of faults (NW-SE around Kusunda and E-W around Katras). Further, the temporal preservation of the fires are also controlled by these faults. Fires associated with faults sustain for longer time than the fires that are not in proximity to the faults. This indicates that, these faults may have acted as conduits in supplying oxygen for preserving the coal fires over a period of time. Further, these faults permit the propagation and spread of the fire, through the arealy exposed fractures developed along their trends.

Integrated Use of LANDSAT 8, ALOS-PALSAR, SRTM DEM and Ground GPR Data in Delineating Different Segments of Alluvial Fan System in Mahananda and Tista Rivers, West Bengal, India

AbstractIn this study, visible near infrared, shortwave infrared spectral bands of Landsat 8 satellite sensor, two polarisation channel of L band ALOS-PALASAR sensor, SRTM-DEM derived digital elevation data were processed to delineate different geomorphic components of alluvial fans of Tista-Mahanada fan complex. We found image composite of independent components, principal components of Landsat 8 bands were effective in delineating proximal and distal fan segments. Fused images of Landsat 8 and ALOS data were used for enhancing incised distributaries and paleochannels. Field data on depositional sequence of fans, were used to substantiate the image based delineation. Topographic breaks along selected longitudinal profiles (identified with the changes in land use and drainage pattern) of digital elevation data were conjugately analysed using Landsat false colour composites. GPR survey along selected transect highlights the vertical dislocation in the recently deposited sequences of alluvial fan regime indicative of post depositional disturbances.

Spatial Potential Analysis of Earthquakes in the Western Himalayas Using b-value and Thrust Association

In this study, we have analysed the spatial variation of b-values (from frequency-magnitude distribution (FMD)) in the western Himalayas as an indicator to demarcate the potential zones of earthquake occurrences. This is done under the acceptance of interpretation that decrease of b-values is correlated with a stress increase in the epicentral region of an approaching earthquake event. In addition to this, the spatial association of the earthquake epicenters with the major thrusts in the region using weights of evidence method, to identify potential zones of earthquake occurrences have also been analysed. Both analyses were carried out using a historical earthquake (Mw> 4) database of the1900-2015 period. Finally, based on the spatial variation of b-values and ‘contrasts’ derived from weights of evidence method (thrust associations), the derived map information was geospatially combined to prepare a “spatial earthquake potential” map of the western Himalayas. This map demarcates the western Himalayas into 3 zones - high, medium and low potential for future earthquake occurrences.

Mapping of hydrothermally altered zones in Aravalli Supergroup of rocks around Dungarpur and Udaipur, India, using Landsat-8 OLI and spectroscopy

We explored the utilization of Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data for mapping of hydrothermal alteration zones. The region in and around the cities of Dungarpur and Udaipur of Rajasthan state in India was selected for this study. The rock types of Dungarpur and Udaipur are serpentinites, talc-carbonate, talc-schist, and quartzite of the Aravalli Supergroup. Hydrothermally altered zones and resultant hydrous minerals play an important role in the genesis of these rocks. We aimed to identify possible locations of hydrothermally altered zones in regional context around Dungarpur and Udaipur using Landsat-8 OLI data. False-color composite maps and band ratios were prepared from Landsat-8 bands. Band ratios such as band 6/band 7 (short-wave infrared 1 (SWIR1)/short wave infrared 2 (SWIR2)), band 4/band 3 (red/green), and band 5/band 6 (near infrared (NIR)/SWIR1) and visual interpretation techniques were used to identify the hydrothermally altered zones. Spectroscopic analyses of field rock samples were done to validate the hydrothermal alteration zones delineated from the analysis of Landsat-8 data. We present the combined results of Landsat-8 and field spectroradiometer analysis which brings out the hydrothermal alteration zones associated with hydrous minerals (antigorite, lizardite, montmorillonite, vermiculite, talc, and saponite). The study demonstrates the utility Landsat-8 OLI (with field spectroradiometer data) in the mapping of hydrothermally altered zones as a key in understanding geological processes.

Multi-sensor Space-Borne Earth Observation Data for Characterizing Fluvial-Geomorphic Provinces: A Case Study from Kosi River, India

The dynamism of geomorphic provinces in fluvial systems present considerable ambiguities in mapping by remote sensing. This necessitates use of multiple satellite data to characterize such depositional provinces. We use, an integrated dataset to characterize the geomorphic provinces (e.g. active flood plain, older food plain, fan etc.) of the Kosi River (Bihar), India. This is done using contrast in spectral signatures derived from multispectral bands (of IRS-P6 LISS III), radiant temperature (from ETM+) and radar-roughness (from radar brightness image RISAT-1). ASTER DEM has been used in deriving topographic profiles. The optical imagery, enables regional characterization through direct tonal changes (e.g. active flood plain is brighter than older flood plain). The radiant temperatures show variations across provinces. Geomorphic transitions are represented by topographic breaks. Radar backscatter imagery, show differences in radar-return from different sub-provinces. Observations made using specific sensor characterize each provinces and is supplementary/complimentary to the parameter(s) from other sensors.

Geological Evaluation of EIGEN-6C4 and GOCE Derived Gravity Models in and around Karakoram Shear Zone, Leh, India

New generation high resolution gravity models derived from space-borne gravity data, integrated with land based surveys, have enabled understanding of regional gravity field over regions, which are till date considered to be inaccessible for land surveys, especially in mountainous terrains. In this study, we evaluate two high resolution gravity models EIGEN-6C4 and GO_CONS_GCF_2_TIM_R5 in order to understand its usability in identification of meso-scale regional geological features and lithological boundaries around the Karakoram shear zone, in Leh, India. The EIGEN-6C4 is a “hybrid” model integrating data from space-borne sensors and terrestrial data, whereas GO_CONS_GCF_2_TIM_R5 is a model derived from the latest space-borne GOCE sensor. Bouguer gravity anomaly has been derived for both the models and compared. It is seen that, the GOCE derived model pertains to the regional gravity field of the region and compares well with the regional derivative of the EIGEN-6C4 model. Further, the EIGEN-6C4 has been analyzed using horizontal derivatives (dx, dy), analytical signal (ANS) and tilt derivative (TDR) techniques. These, derived maps are then overlain on published geological map of the area to understand the correlation between sub-surface geology vis a vis gravitational signal. The major and distinct geological signatures as derived from the various derivative maps correlate well with the existing geological map. The source boundaries derived from the TDR map agrees reasonably well with the lithological boundaries. Further, the anomaly and derivative maps from EIGEN-6C4 indicates towards a possible continuation of the Shyok suture zone in the region. Therefore, for the given spatial extent of the area under consideration, the GOCE derived model represents the regional field, whereas the EIGEN-6C4 data and derivatives are of sufficient resolution for understanding the geological variability in and around the Karakoram shear zone.