Geography

Geography is a special branch of social science which deals with all aspects present inside the earth, on its surface and extending beyond it up to universe.

Geography is the way things are, not the way we imagine or wish them to be, and studying it is just as basic to a childs maturation as arithmetic, which teaches 2 + 2 = 4, not 3 or 22. The term GEOGRAPHY was used by the ancient Greek scholar Eratothenes. So he is considered as father of geography. Geography is often
considered as Mother of all sciences for the following reasons :

The science of geography is likely the oldest of all sciences. Geography is the answer to the question that the earliest humans asked, "What, why and how a phenomena is present in his surroundings. Exploration and the discovery of new places, new cultures, and new ideas have been basic components of geography. Knowing various landforms, people led to other scientific fields such as biology, anthropology, geology, mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, economics and so on. Definitions Many famous geographers and non-geographers have attempted to define the discipline in a few short words. The concept of geography has also changed throughout the ages, making a definition for such a dynamic and allencompassing subject difficult. "The purpose of geography is to provide 'a view of the whole' earth by mapping the location of places." - Ptolemy, 150 CE

"Synoptic discipline synthesizing findings of other sciences through the concept of Raum (area or space)." - Immanuel Kant, c. 1780 "Synthesizing discipline to connect the general with the special through measurement, mapping, and a regional emphasis." - Alexander von Humboldt, 1845 "The science concerned with the formulation of the laws governing the spatial distribution of certain features on the surface of the earth." - Fred Schaefer, 1953 "To provide accurate, orderly, and rational description and interpretation of the variable character of the earth surface." - Richard Hartshorne, 1959 "Geography is both science and art" - H.C. Darby, 1962 "Geography is fundamentally the regional or chorological science of the surface of the earth." - Robert E. Dickinson, 1969 "Geography is the study of the patterns and processes of human (built) and environmental (natural) landscapes, where landscapes comprise real (objective) and perceived (subjective) space." - Gregg Wassmansdorf, 1995 Geography is a Sciencea thing not of mere names but of argument and reason, of cause and effect.- William Hughe Geography looks at the spatial connection between people, places, and the earth. Branches of Geography The field of geography is so vast that it provides way for thousands of researchers working in sub-disciplines or branches of geography. In fact, there is no subject in the world without a link in geography.

Physical geography focuses on geography as an Earth science. It aims to understand the physical lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, pedosphere, and global flora and fauna patterns (biosphere). Physical geography can be divided into many broad categories, including: Biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of flora and fauna on the earth surface.

Climatology & Meteorology

This branch investigates the distribution of short term and long-term weather patterns and activities of the earth's atmosphere This branch deals with environment and its management.

Environmental management Geomorphology The study of the landforms, from their development to their disappearance through erosion and other processes is the subject matter of Geomorphology Glaciolgy explores the ice of the earth, especially glaciers and ice sheets.

Glaciology

Geographers look at the past distribution of ice on the planet and icecause features from glaciers and ice sheets. Hydrology Hydrology is the branch of geography that is concerned with the distribution and use of water across the planet within the hydrologic cycle and of human-developed systems for water storage, distribution, and use. Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between urban development and ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, development spatial patterns, and organizational levels of research and policy Oceanography The study of the sea, embracing and integrating all knowledge pertaining to the sea and its physical boundaries, the chemistry and physics of seawater, and marine biology. The scientific study pertaining to soils is known as pedology.

Landscape ecology

Oceanography

Pedology Palaeogeography is the study of the geography of ancient times or ancient epochs Palaeogeography

Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape the human society. It encompasseshuman, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects Human geography can be divided into many broad categories, such as: Cultural geography

The study of different culture in the world is cultural geography.

Economic geography

The branch dealing with production , distribution , market centres trade and so is confined to economic geography

Health geography

The study the geographic distribution of disease (including epidemics and pandemics), illness, death and health care is the subject matter of Health geography.

Demography

Population geography is concerned with the distribution, migration, and growth of population in geographic areas.

Transportation geography

Transportation networks (both private and public) and the use of those networks for moving people and goods are dealt with in Transportation Geography. The branch of geography focusing on improving and developing technologies in map-making is known as cartography.

Cartography
Urban geography The branch of urban geography investigates the location, structure, development, and growth of cities -from tiny village to huge megalopolis.

Geomatics is a branch of geography that has emerged since the quantitative revolution in geography in the mid 1950s. Geomatics involves the use of traditional spatial techniques used in cartography and topography and their application to computers. Geomatics has become a widespread field with many other disciplines using techniques such as GIS and remote sensing.

Career options in geography

A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information. People trained in GIS and geographic analysis work in a variety of industries, government agencies, and educational settings.

SPECIAL LECTURE :

LANDSLIDE HAZARDS AND STAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN HIMALAYA BY Dr. R. ANBALAGAN1 and K .LAKSHMANAN2 anbaiitr@gmail.com, lakb4u@gmail.com

1. Professor, Dept of Erath Sciences, Indian Institute of technology, Roorkee.

2. Research Scholar, Dept of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of technology,

Roorkee.

1. INTRODUCTION The landslides occur commonly in various parts of Himalaya, a region representing young mountain system. Landslides vary in both occurrences and characteristics ranging from small slumps to enormous masses involving huge volume of earth materials. Since the Himalayan terrain is generally characterized by steep slopes, weak geological features, high seismicity and unfavorable hydrogeological conditions, it is move vulnerable for landslide activities. These activities have increased manifold in the recent times due to a sudden spurt in the implementation of developmental activities in the Himalayan region. In view of limited time available for implementation of development projects, they are often executed without adequately incorporating the impacts of existing environmental conditions. Thus, there is a strong necessity for a detailed evaluation of hill slopes with adequate geological inputs before detailed development works are taken up for construction.

2. LANDSLIDE HAZARDS OF HIMALAYA The Himalayan terrain is highly vulnerable for landslide activities. Landslides of varying size and shape occur in different parts of Himalaya. The pattern of sliding varies from vertical to nearly horizontal and in shape from sheets, slabs to blocks, wedges and tongues. Based on types of movements, they can be divided into five groups namely falls, topples, slides, spreads and flows. 2.1 Falls

Falls are abrupt movements of slope materials that become detached from steep slopes of cliffs (Fig 1). Movement occurs by free fall of a series of leaps and bounds down the steep slopes without much of interaction of one fragment with another. Depending upon the type of slope material involved, it may be rock fall, soil fall or earth fall. The falls create major problems in Nainital area for the past many year. They are particularly common in Higher Himalaya and Inner Lesser Himalaya. Fig.1. Rock Fall 2.2 Topples Topples refer to those blocks of rocks that tilt or rotate forward on a pivot or hinge and then separate from the main mass falling on the slope and subsequently bouncing and rolling on the slope(Fig 2). Topples are common on rock slopes, where the beds dip at steep angles.

Fig.2. Topples

2.3 Slides The movement is caused by shear failure along one or several surfaces of rupture, which are visible or whose presence may be reasonably inferred. These are mainly of two types rotational and translational slides (Fig 3 & 4) a) Rotational slides are those in which the surface of rupture is curved and concave upwards. They occur on slopes comprised of nearly homogeneous soil and debris. The movement is more or less rotational about an axis, which is parallel to contour of the slope. The main scarp may be nearly vertical, while the material may bulge upwards and sometimes spread out.

Fig.3. Rotational slide b) Translational slides are mass movements, which include plane and wedge failures. The plane failure refers to a failure, which is more or less planar in nature. The movement is controlled by surfaces of weakness such as bedding planes, joints, faults, shear zones and foliations.

Fig.4. Translational

Slide materials may range from unconsolidated soils to slabs of rocks. Wedge failure is a failure where the movement is basically controlled by two intersecting planes. Block slide is also a type of translational failure where several plane or wedge blocks of rock may move down as a single unit.

2.4 Creep A Creep may be defined as an imperceptibly slow, steady, downward movement of slope forming materials. In case of creep, the movement essentially starts with permanent minor deformation but too small to cause a landslide. A creep is indicated by open ground cracks, bent retaining walls or fences, tilted poles, curved tree trunks and small soil ripples or ridges (Fig 5). The hill slopes above the lake in Nainital shows conspicuous creep movement, which has affected various civil structures including building & roads.

Fig.5. Creep movement seen in Nainital area

2.5 Spreads These failures are caused by over-saturation of loose, cohesionless soil or debris, which may be caused by the process of liquefaction. Rapid ground motions such as earthquakes may be responsible for these phenomena.

2.6 Flows Flows represent a rapid movement on a steep to fairly steep slopes, containing high proportion of water mixed with earth materials and air. Here the movement resembles that of a viscous fluid on steep slopes.

2.6.1 Debris Flow It is a form of rapid mass movement involving loose soil, rock blocks and organic materials along with entrained air and water to form a slurry type material, which flows down

Fig.6. Debris Flow

the slope (Fig 6). It is an important form of movement in the Himalaya because it is often found to be associated with cloudburst phenomenon. In general following are the important conditions for debris flow to occur - (a) Steep slopes (b) Loose rock and soil materials, (c) Clay minerals, (d) Saturated soils, and (e) Rainfall or snow melt generated runoff of sufficient intensity and duration to initiate slope movements.

3. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPEMENT

In view of extensive landslide activities, which often get aggravated due to construction activities, it is essential that the development projects are systematically implemented following the principles of sustainable development. The sustainable development in mountainous region refers to implementation of development schemes' taking into consideration the existing instabilities of the terrain so that the resultant geo-environmental hazards are minimized. Preparation of landslide hazard zonation maps is the first step so that the development can be initially planned in relatively safe areas.

3.1 Strategies for Environmentally Sustainable Development The implementation of development projects needs to be carefully carried out following the principle of 'whole to part', where large areas are initially taken up for studies and the options are' narrowed down to specific areas based on systematic investigations. The landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) maps will provide guidance in identifying the nature of hazards likely to be encountered in different zones. The risk maps of the landslides will provide information on the priority areas where the environmental regeneration measures can be adopted. For human-settlements, housing is the basic requirement. Terraces are to be developed so that the buildings could be properly located. The development of terraces for buildings in hilly regions should be carried out after a detailed study of the local and overall stability of the slopes taking into account the sub-soil characteristics, loading conditions, seismic or other factors. Safety measures in the form of retaining or breast walls, drainage and other measures, wherever required should be identified and implemented. Similarly for communication such as road, the cuttings/ fillings should be made after proper route alignment keeping in view the overall stability of the slopes, the ruling gradients and other environmental implications.

4. Landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) A landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) map depicts the division of land surface into zones of varying degree of stability based on an estimated significance of the causative factors in inducing instability (Anbalagan, 1992). The LHZ map provides the basic data for planning engineering constructions in mountainous terrains taking into consideration the existing instabilities. The basic causative factors can be divided into two major categories namely inherent and external factors. The inherent causative factors are the inherent characteristics of a slope facet and can be studied and evaluated properly. The factors are geology, including lithology and structures, slope morphometry, relative relief, land use and land cover and hydrogeological conditions. The external, factors are rain fall and seismicity. These factors are erratic in their occurrence and cannot be assessed correctly with particular reference to landslide hazards of a slope facet. Hence, LHZ mapping is done largely based on the inherent factors. After a careful study of the topographical map of the region, the hill slopes are divided into a number of facets mostly delimited by ridges, spurs, gullies and rivers. A number of thematic maps are prepared using a numerical ratings scheme called landslide hazard evaluation factor (LHEF) rating scheme (Anbalagan, 1992). This technique has already been published as IS Code [No.IS 14496 (Part 2) 1998]. The data obtained from these maps is synthesized to get a landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) map. The final LHZ map categorizes the area into very high hazard (VHH), high hazard (HH), moderate hazard (MH), low hazard (LH) and very low hazard (VLH) to indicate very high to very low probability of occurrence of landslides (Fig 7). The LHZ maps are prepared on regional scales from 1:25,000 to 50,000 and they are useful for preliminary planning of development schemes to avoid unstable and very unstable areas during planning. Even if unavoidable, their recognition in the initial stages of planning will help to evolve better preventive measures. The LHZ maps are also useful to identify and delineate unstable hazard prone areas so that environmental regeneration measures can be initiated for adopting suitable mitigation measures. This technique can be effectively used during feasibility study of the project planning, when an economical and rapid hazard assessment technique is required (Anbalagan, 1992).

5. ROUTE LOCATIONS IN HILLY REGIONS The route locations in hilly regions need to be based on a careful systematic evaluation of landslide hazards of the terrain as a whole so as to select an alignment with minimum instability problems. The systematic investigation for route locations involve four stages namely (a) Pre-feasibility investigations, (b) Feasibility investigations, (c) Design investigations and (d) Construction investigations. The

landslide hazard zonation mapping technique is suitably modified and used in the above stages of investigations in addition to adopting various Geotechnical investigations. Anbalagan and Sharma (1992) have outlined in detail the investigations involved at various stages. During pre-feasibility investigations on 1:50,000 scale, a number of possible alignments are chosen based on the general geology and topography. Walk-over surveys are carried out along the proposed alignments to obtain field data. The hazard analysis of individual facets along the proposed alignment is then carried out. The average hazard levels (AB) along each alignment can be summed up using the equation 2.

AH

(L.H) -------------------L (2)

Where, L = Length of road section, and H = Estimated hazard One or two alternative alignments having the minimum hazard level are selected for further studies. Feasibility investigations carried out using 1: 15,000 or 25,000 scale, involve hazard analysis using more geological inputs. The total estimated hazard of individual slope facets are calculated by dividing the entire area into different hazard zones such as very low hazard (VLH), low hazard (LH), moderate hazard (MH), high hazard (HH) and very high hazard (VHH). The VHH and HH zones are delineated carefully for further detailed studies. Design investigations involve collection of more precise data in VHH and HH facets incorporating field geological conditions and engineering properties of the slope materials to calculate the factor of safety (FOS). Based on these studies, suitable precautionary and remedial measures are worked out. This includes design of drains, design of retaining walls, breast walls, check dams, design of river protection measures and other similar works. During construction stage, the hazardous reaches are particularly given adequate attention. After excavation, the actual geological conditions are mapped and if required the remedial measures worked out earlier are modified. It is essential to keep a record of the site conditions before they are covered by materials during

construction. Thus, it is evident that for a technically viable and economically feasible route location in hilly region, realistic geological inputs are essential during systematic investigations, adopting the approach of 'whole to part', to arrive at a favorable and safe alignment with minimum possible adverse environmental impacts.

6. SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BULDINGS IN HILLY REGIONS Buildings in hilly regions are constructed on varying types of soil and rock formations and with varying slope characteristics. It is essential to evaluate the site carefully for its stability in static and dynamic conditions. However, certain simple rules can effectively help to plan environmentally safe constructions. Hill slopes with less than 30 in general are noted to be stable as the gradient corresponds to safe angle of repose of slope forming material. Steeper slopes with angles more than 30 having in situ rock exposures may be stable, if the discontinuity surfaces dip into the hill. The foundation of an individual building should be located sufficiently away from the edge of the terraces so that it fulfills the following conditions. i) The minimum horizontal distance of lower edge of the footing shall be at least 1 m away from the sloping surface (Fig 8). ii) The frustum of bearing rock under the footing with sides, which makes 60 angle with horizontal, shall remain within the sloping surface of rock (Fig 8). Hill slopes susceptible to landslides and erosion at the toe of rivers, particularly on the curves, should be avoided. If the hill slopes consist of exposed in situ rocks, which dip at an angle greater than 20 towards the valley, the safety of the rock slope against creep or sliding should be checked so that FOS is not less than 1.2. Where the hill slopes are characterized by both soil and rocks, the buildings may be prone to unequal settlements. Under such conditions, proper foundation treatments are necessary. Since terrace development involves cutting of hill slopes and the attendant instability problems, a careful excavation plan has to be worked out taking into consideration the nature of slope materials and other geological conditions. The following cut slope angles may be preferred for various lithological conditions.

Nature of Slope Materials Fresh, hard and sound rocks with less number of geological discontinuities Fresh, hard and moderately jointed rocks with varying lithology, Moderately weathered, moderately jointed and hard rocks Moderately sound, moderately weathered and well jointed, rocks Highly weathered rocks Dry non-cohesive sand cohesive marls and clay Well consolidated sand-clay mixture

Preferred Cut Slope Angle 65o - 70o 60o - 65o About 60o About 55o 50o - 55o 30o - 33o 35o - 45o 45o 50o

v) Protective works like drains, cut slope trimming, plantations, protective walls and other related works should be completed taking into consideration the geological conditions of the terrace. 7. Conclusions The Himalaya is highly prone to landslide activities due to inherent unfavorable conditions related to topography and geology. Moreover, the construction of engineering structures in hilly regions often adversely affects the existing geoenvironmental balance due to ill-planned construction activities. To avoid such adverse impacts or to reduce it, a strong geological input is essential. The landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) mapping is the first step in safe and efficient planning of development programmes in hilly regions. The development schemes can be implemented in safe areas avoiding the hazard prone areas. Even if the hazard prone areas are unavoidable, their recognition in the initial stages of project planning will help to adopt proper preventive measures. The planning of route locations in mountainous terrains is more systematic with the help of LHZ maps. The selection and development of sites in hilly areas for building constructions are often pursued recklessly. The guidelines indicated above, if properly followed in selecting sites and the development of terraces shall ensure sustainable development of the area.

REFERENCES Anbalagan,R. 199L. "Landslide hazard evaluation and zonation mapping in mountainous terrain". Engineering Geology, 32: 269- 277. Anbalagan,R. and Sharma,S. 1992. "Landslide hazard zonation mapping with special reference to route locations in mountainous terrains" National Get-together on Road Research and its Utilization, New Delhi; B.229-253. Anbalagan,R. and Singh,B. 1996. Landslide hazard and risk assessment mapping of mountainous terrain - a case study from Kumaun Himalaya, India', Engineer Geology, 43: 237-246.

Anbalagan,R., Ranjan,G. and Singh,B. 1996. safe and sustainable development 1.-11 International Conference on Civil Engineering for sustainable development, Roorkee, Vol. II, 695-704.

Fig 7. Landslide Hazard Zonation Map of Tehri Area

Fig 8. Minimum Edge Distance for Buildings Located on Slope Terraces