The role of Himalayan Massif-Tibetan Plateau and the mid-tropospheric sub-tropical ridge over north India during the advance phase of the southwest monsoon

The advance of monsoon over the Indian sub-continent is not a continuous process. It advances in a phased manner. It has been observed from large sample of the data that the monsoon current often stagnates outside northwest India. Gujarat, northwest Madhya Pradesh and west Uttar Pradesh for a long period resulting in delaying its advance considerably over these areas. The cause of such prolonged stagnation can be identified to the mechanic Himalayas - Tibetan plateau on the mid-tropospheric westerly flow in absence of any synoptic scale forcing over north India. During 1976, 1982 and 1991 there was prolonged stagnation of southwest monsoon over northwest India and neighbouring areas and, in 1985, it was over north Konkan during June-July. In those years, the sub-tropical ridge (STR) in the middle troposphere over India was weak or absent during the initial phase of advance of monsoon. In absence of the STR, the westerly trough activity in the mid-tropospheric levels extended to southern latitude disrupting the monsoon flow and bringing prolonged stagnation. The observation was confirmed on a test study conducted during the prolonged stagnation of the monsoon of 1995. On the other hand, in the year 1990, the mid- tropospheric STR became prominent from middle of June over north India and it helped in restricting southward extension of westerly troughs. Consequently the equatorial trough remained organize gradually over north India and caused the gradual advance of SW monsoon over the entire country without considerable.

A southward range extension of a wreckfish, Stereolepis doederleini (Actinopterygii: Acropomatiformes: Polyprionidae), to tropical water off eastern Taiwan

A wreckfish, Stereolepis doederleini Lindberg et Krasyukova, 1969, inhabits typical cold or temperate waters and was previously known from Great Bay (Sea of Japan), Korea, south to Kyuhu-Palau Ridge of Japan. In the present report, a specimen of this fish was collected from southeastern Taiwan representing the southernmost distribution of the cold-water genus Stereolepis in the Northern Hemisphere, with a southward extension into the tropical region. It is also the first record of a member of the family Polyprionidae from Taiwan. Here we document the species found in Taiwan, with a detailed description of the specimen.

First record of Spotted Knifejaw, Oplegnathus punctatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844) (Oplegnathidae) in the southern South China Sea

Oplegnathus punctatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844) is reported for the first time in the southern South China Sea, off Pulau Tenggol, Malaysia. This species is native to the north-western and central Pacific Ocean and mainly occurs in subtropical and warm temperate waters. This record is a significant southward extension of its range and also represents the first documentation of the family Oplegnathidae in Malaysia. 

Chapter 2.2a Palmer Land and Graham Land volcanic groups (Antarctic Peninsula): volcanology

The break-up of Gondwana during the Early–Middle Jurassic was associated with flood basalt volcanism in southern Africa and Antarctica (Karoo–Ferrar provinces), and formed one of the most extensive episodes of continental magmatism of the Phanerozoic. Contemporaneous felsic magmatism along the proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana has been referred to as a silicic large igneous province, and is exposed extensively in Patagonian South America, the Antarctic Peninsula and elsewhere in West Antarctica. Jurassic-age silicic volcanism in Patagonia is defined as the Chon Aike province and forms one of the most voluminous silicic provinces globally. The Chon Aike province is predominantly pyroclastic in origin, and is characterized by crystal tuffs and ignimbrite units of rhyolite composition. Silicic volcanic rocks of the once contiguous Antarctic Peninsula form a southward extension of the Chon Aike province and are also dominated by silicic ignimbrite units, with a total thickness exceeding 1 km. The ignimbrites include high-grade rheomorphic ignimbrites, as well as unwelded, lithic-rich ignimbrites. Rhyolite lava flows, air-fall horizons, debris-flow deposits and epiclastic deposits are volumetrically minor, occurring as interbedded units within the ignimbrite succession.

The desert hamster Phodopus roborovskii (Satunin, 1903) (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from north-western Tibetan plateau, Ladakh, India: an addition to the mammalian fauna of the Indian subcontinent

During a systematic survey of the small mammals in the relatively unexplored north-western regions of the Tibetan plateau in India, we captured and identified the desert hamster Phodopus roborovskii using molecular phylogenetic methods. We also provide revised distributional estimates for this species using niche modelling (Maxent and 19 bioclimatic variables), taking into account sampling bias. We evaluated suitable habitats for the species, identifying regions in the Trans-Himalayas that may harbour this species. This study improves the knowledge of the desert hamster’s range and is a new record and an addition to the Indian sub-continental mammalian fauna, ~750 km southward extension from its known range.

A new species of the genus Sovia Evans, 1949 from South Central Yunnan, China (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae)

A new species of the genus Sovia Evans, 1949, viz. S. liuzihaoi Huang & Fan sp. nov. is described from Mt. Ailao, Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County, representing a remarkable geographically southward extension of this genus in Yunnan Province, Southwestern China. In general appearance S. liuzihaoi Huang & Fan sp. nov. resembles S. separata magna (Evans, 1932), but in our molecular phylogenetic analyses, this species is clustered with S. lii Xue, 2015. The adults and male genitalia of the new species and related species are illustrated.

Chemical and Noble Gas Isotope Compositions of Formation Gases from a 3 km Deep Scientific Borehole in the Koyna Seismogenic Zone, Western India

A 3 km deep research borehole KFD1 was drilled in the Koyna reservoir-triggered seismicity region, Western India, between December 2016 and May 2017. The 1967 M 6.3 Koyna earthquake had generated a NNE-SSW trending surface fissure zone in the Nanel-Donichawadi-Kadoli sector. KFD1 is located ~5 km south of Kadoli along the trend of the Donichawadi fault zone. Online gas monitoring was carried out during drilling of KFD1 from 1315 m to 2831 m depth to sample and study the composition of crustal gases. Formation gases CO2, CH4, H2, and He were only observed during water flushing of ~100 m intervals following coring runs. Laboratory analyses of gas samples collected between 1737 m and 2831 m depth revealed concentrations of up to 1200 ppmv CO2, 186 ppmv CH4, 139 ppmv H2, and 12.8 ppmv He. Zones enriched in gases are mostly below the 2100 m depth with significant He enhancement ranging from 4.6 to 7.6 ppmv above the atmospheric value. The He-rich zones correlate well with the zones of anomalous physical and mechanical properties identified from geophysical logs and are characterized by high fracture density as revealed from borehole images, indicating that the borehole punctured multiple fracture zones. The helium concentrations are consistent with those previously observed over the surface fissures near Kadoli, suggesting a southward extension of the Donichawadi fault zone up to the KFD1 site and confirming that the fault zone is permeable even after 50 years of the 1967 Koyna earthquake. 3He/4He ratios of eleven gas samples fall between 0.426±0.022 and 0.912±0.059 Ra, with 4He/20Ne values between 0.3449±0.0091 and 0.751±0.020. Air-corrected helium isotope ratios indicate that helium is a mixture of atmospheric and crustal radiogenic components but no mantle contribution within 2σ analytical uncertainties.

On three symbiotic species of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 from the Indo-West Pacific, including one new to science (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Caridea)

Three species of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 associated with burrows of other decapod crustaceans are reported from various Indo-West Pacific localities. Salmoneus venustus sp. nov. is described based on material collected at two distant localities, Nha Trang Bay, southern Vietnam, the type locality of the new species, and the Yiti-Sifah region east of Muscat, northern Oman. Both specimens were collected with the aid of a suction pump applied to burrow entrances or mounds in muddy sand; the holotype was possibly associated with burrows of the callianassid ghost shrimp, Glypturus sp. Salmoneus venustus sp. nov. shares many characteristics with S. latirostris (Coutière, 1897), including the red banding of the pleon, but can be distinguished from S. latirostris and all other species of the genus by a unique combination of morphological characters. The large-sized Salmoneus brucei Komai, 2009 is reported from Sumba, central Indonesia, representing a significant southward extension of the species’ previously known distribution range and the first record since its original description. The callianassid ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus cf. rosae (Nobili, 1904) is recorded as a new host of S. brucei. Finally, Salmoneus colinorum De Grave, 2004, associated with burrows of larger snapping shrimps from the Alpheus malabaricus Fabricius, 1798 species complex, is reported for the first time from Madang, Papua New Guinea, representing an eastward extension of the species’ previously known distribution range.