Hiambok Jones Syiemlieh | North-Eastern Hill University, Hill Univ. Shillong-793022 (India) (original) (raw)

Papers by Hiambok Jones Syiemlieh

... Training Institute, Government of Meghalaya, Byrnihat 4. Member Secretary, State Council for ... more ... Training Institute, Government of Meghalaya, Byrnihat 4. Member Secretary, State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Meghalaya, Shillong 5 ... Apart from the above persons, we are extremely grateful to Professor L. Starkel and Dr P. Prokop, Department of ...

Land Degradation & Development, Jun 15, 2018

A hilly catchment (4 km 2) was selected to quantify the changes in physico-chemical soil properti... more A hilly catchment (4 km 2) was selected to quantify the changes in physico-chemical soil properties when traditional shifting cultivation is converted to sedentary swidden cultivation (elements of slash and burn cultivation with short fallow period), locally called bun (cropping in rows of raised beds formed from soil), in the central part of the Meghalaya Plateau. Assuming that the monsoonal climate, deep-weathered granites, and time are relatively uniform over the small catchment, the differences in soil were compared on two contrasting landforms (flat ridges and steep slopes) and three land use types (natural deciduous forest, sedentary swidden cultivation of potatoes, and fallow land with pine forest) within each landform. In contrast to previous studies in region, soil fertility indices calculated in the present study indicated that the bun system can also improve soil quality. Soil response significantly varied at spatial scales, however, and in terms of the possibility of continuing sustainable cultivation in the future. At a local scale on flat terrain upon granites, soil under swidden cultivation had the higher fertility indices, than fallow land and natural forest, whereas steep slope cultivated soil had the lowest fertility indices, following fallow land and natural forest. Therefore, bun system can be efficient in tropical regions with gentle terrain and limited forest resources. At a regional scale, low potato yield combined with a growing food demand forces farmers to expand potato cultivation on steep slopes, the dominant landform in the Meghalaya, increasing the risk of soil degradation. Introducing agroforestry with pine trees into bun cultivation can mitigate the rates of soil degradation on steep slopes.

Geographia Polonica, 2011

Archaeological Research in Asia

The stone jar sites of Northeast India have been a subject of great interest since their first di... more The stone jar sites of Northeast India have been a subject of great interest since their first discovery in 1929 by James Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton in North Cachar Hills, Assam. In Southeast Asia, they were first reported by McCarthy (1900) in Laos and subsequently by the French archaeologist Madeleine Colani in 1935, who reported them in great numbers and speculated about their connections to Assam within a wider salt trade network. The present paper focuses on the stone jar sites from an unreported region of Northeast India along the Saipung Subdivision in East Jaintia Hills in the state of Meghalaya. The stone jars from the sites form the extreme westerly extension of the stone jar culture reported from Northeast India. The results of preliminary fieldwork undertaken in February 2020 across the Saipung reserved forest of Meghalaya led to the discovery and documentation of eight previously unreported sites. A small-scale excavation of four jars in the East Jaintia Hills have helped to provide key insights on the mortuary practices of the people who made and used these stone jars. Material evidences from the excavation clearly suggest that the stone jars are visible relics which were erected on top of a pit where the post-cremated cultural materials of the dead are buried. Such significant findings bear relevance to the further understanding of stone jar sites within the broader context of Northeast India and Southeast Asia.

AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2018

Geographia Polonia, 2002

This paper should be seen as an inducement to design and implement a grand European Research Prog... more This paper should be seen as an inducement to design and implement a grand European Research Programme testing the idea of regional trajectories in the development of the KBE. Such a Programme will have triple validity: 11

Climate reconstructions from the Third Pole show that climate change is not unif... more Climate reconstructions from the Third Pole show that climate change is not uniform, but tends to exhibit a consistent pattern with changes at the regional scale over the Himalayan axis than elsewhere. To find out the answers related to the questions about the past climate in the Changme Khangpu Basin (CKB), an important region of Eastern Himalayas, the palaeoclimate research has been carried out using the proxy of glacier dynamicity. CKB covering an area of 767.8 km2 and climatically this part mainly controlled by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), limited penetration of Western Disturbances and North-East Monsoon. To reach the objective, the study has opted for geomorphic feature analysis, sedimentological analysis, and associated with geochronological methods using the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry 14C dating and Schmidt Hammer rebound value dating methods to place the glacier variability and associated climate changes over time. In addition, glacier geomorphology has been used to reconstruct the equilibrium line altitude shifts and associated temperature departures. The three valleys such as Changme Khangpu (CK), Khong Kyong Kangse (KKK) and Katao have shown consistency in glacier advances and climatic shifts in different time periods. It has been estimated that the CK valley Phase-II glacier advance was initiated by the peak in ISM and enhanced by the transition climatic phase between MIS 3 (i.e. prior to 32 ka calBP) and MIS 2. The KKK Phase-I glacier advance was related to the CK Phase-II advance. In addition, the post-glacial (between 14.29 to 3.5 ka calBP) relatable climatic phases in the CK valley and Katao valley also have been identified.&#160;Keywords: Changme Khangpu Basin; Eastern Himalayas; Palaeoclimate; Glaciers, 14C AMS dating; Schmidt Hammer rebound value.

&lt;p&gt;The glaciated Changme Khangpu basin (CKB) covering an area of 767.8 km&a... more &lt;p&gt;The glaciated Changme Khangpu basin (CKB) covering an area of 767.8 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;, constitutes an important region in the Eastern Himalayas for palaeoclimate research to assess variability over recent geological times. Climatically, this part of the Himalayas is mainly controlled by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). We provide a combination of multiproxy data, i.e., geomorphological, sedimentological, geochemical, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C dating and Schmidt Hammer rebound value dating methods in reconstructing glacier and climatic changes related to the post global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM) in the Changme Khangpu basin of the Sikkim Himalaya. The four set of well-preserved moraines depicted four advances of this glacier and palaeoclimate has been reconstructed after the Phase-II glacier advances i.e. post gLGM period. The post gLGM glacier recession in the Changme Khangpu (CK) valley witnessed a prolonged humid climate phase from &lt;14.29 &amp;#177; 0.22 ka to 7.08 &amp;#177; 0.08 ka cal BP that inferred from the sedimentary log in this valley and incidentally correlate with the monsoonal reactivation (15 ka to 12 ka BP) in Southern Asia. This humid period was succeeded by dry climatic phases from 7.08 ka to 5.4 ka cal BP and from 5.18 to 4.65 ka cal BP, which well correlates with the dry phases in the Chopta valley, west of this area in Sikkim Himalaya. The glacier had receded from its Phase-III advance in between &lt;4 and &gt;1.3 ka BP. This period was followed by the active paraglacial fan formation and witnessed historical outburst events in this valley.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords&lt;/strong&gt;: Changme Khangpu glacier (Sikkim); Eastern Himalayas; Last Glacial Maximum; Palaeoclimate; Glacier geomorphology; 14C AMS dating; Chemical index of alteration.&lt;/p&gt;

Geosciences (Switzerland), Oct 7, 2019

Validation of satellite-borne precipitation radars by raingauges and disdrometers over the northe... more Validation of satellite-borne precipitation radars by raingauges and disdrometers over the northeastern Indian subcontinent Fumie Murata1, Toru Terao2, Yusuke Yamane3, Masashi Kiguchi4, Azusa Fukushima5, Masahiro Tanoue 6 , Hideyuki Kamimera 7 , Hiambok J. Syiemlieh 8 , Laitpharlang Cajee 8 , Shamsuddin Ahmed 9 , Sayeed Ahmed Choudhury 9 , Prasanta Bhattacharya 10 , Rahul Mahanta 11 , and Taiichi Hayashi 12

Japan Geoscience Union, 2018

Atmosphere, 2020

The rain drop size distribution (DSD) at Cherrapunji, Northeast India was observed by a laser opt... more The rain drop size distribution (DSD) at Cherrapunji, Northeast India was observed by a laser optical disdrometer Parsivel 2 from May to October 2017; this town is known for the world’s heaviest orographic rainfall recorded. The disdrometer showed a 30% underestimation of the rainfall amount, compared with a collocated rain gauge. The observed DSD had a number of drops with a mean normalized intercept log 10 N w > 4.0 for all rain rate categories, ranging from <5 to >80 mm h − 1 , comparable to tropical oceanic DSDs. These results differ from those of tropical oceanic DSDs, in that data with a larger N w were confined to the stratiform side of a stratiform/convective separation line proposed by Bringi et al. (2009). A large number of small drops is important for quantitative precipitation estimates by in-situ radar and satellites, because it tends to miss or underestimate precipitation amounts. The large number of small drops, as defined by the second principal component (&...

Land Degradation & Development, 2018

Given the lack of recommendations for the fertilization of Eucalyptus clones in the second produc... more Given the lack of recommendations for the fertilization of Eucalyptus clones in the second production cycle, the effects of fertilizer rates and the number of sprouts per strain in terms of the soil chemical attributes, biometric characteristics, and the concentrations of N and P in the leaves and in the litter of Eucalyptus L'Hér. in the Brazilian Cerrado were evaluated. The experimental design was a randomized block with four replicates, arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial scheme: one or two sprouts per strain; four fertilizer rates (0, 50, 100, or 200% of 200 kg ha −1 of the formula 06-30-06 + 1.5% Cu + 1% Zn) applied immediately after sprout definition. The option of one sprout per strain yielded higher contents of organic matter (K, S, B, and Mn) in the 0.20-0.40-m layer, the leaf chlorophyll index, the diameter at breast height, and the height of the Eucalyptus 44 months after the definition of sprouts. However, N and P leaf concentrations and the wood volume did not differ as a function of the sprout numbers. The fertilizer dosage did not influence the wood volume, even in sandy soil with low fertility. Approximately 86% of the wood volume was obtained from the supply of soil and root nutrient reserves and 14% of this productivity is due to fertilization minerals. The adequate fertilization in the first cycle of the Eucalyptus supplies almost the entire nutritional demand of the forest in the second production cycle.

Geosciences, 2019

This study provides a high resolution glacier database in the Changme Khangpu Basin (CKB) using L... more This study provides a high resolution glacier database in the Changme Khangpu Basin (CKB) using LANDSAT 8 (2014) and Sentinel-2A image (2016), mapping of 81 glaciers that cover a 75.78 ± 1.54 km2 area. Composite maps of land surface temperature, slope and Normalized differential Snow Index have been successfully utilized in delineating near accurate debris cover boundary of glaciers. The cumulative controlling parameters of aspect, elevation, slope, and debris cover have been assessed to evaluate the nature of glacier distribution and dynamics. The local topographic settings seem to have significantly determined the glacier distribution in the CKB. Almost 20% area erstwhile under glacier cover has been lost since 1975 at an average rate of −0.453 ± 0.001 km2a−1. The recent decade (2001–2016) has witnessed a higher rate of area shrinkage (−0.665 ± 0.243 km2a−1), compared to a relatively lower rate of recession (−0.170 ± 0.536 km2a−1) between 1988 and 2001. The lower rates of glacial ...

Water, 2019

The subtropics within the monsoonal range are distinguished by intensive human activity, which af... more The subtropics within the monsoonal range are distinguished by intensive human activity, which affects stream water chemistry. This paper aims to determine spatio-temporal variations and flowpaths of stream water chemical elements in a long-term anthropogenically-modified landscape, as well as to verify whether the water chemistry of a subtropical elevated shield has distinct features compared to other headwater areas in the tropics. It was hypothesized that small catchments with homogenous environmental conditions could assist in investigating the changes in ions and trace metals in various populations and land uses. Numerous physico-chemical parameters were measured, including temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), major ions, and trace metals. Chemical element concentrations were found to be low, with a total dissolved load (TDS) below 52 mg L−1. Statistical tests indicated an increase with significant differences in the chemical element co...

Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 2018

Abstract Glacial lakes in the Sikkim Himalaya played a most significant role regarding probable g... more Abstract Glacial lakes in the Sikkim Himalaya played a most significant role regarding probable glacial hazard related risk due to several natural or anthropogenic factors, such as rapid melting of glacial ice as a result of climatic variability; landslide or severe earthquake etc. which may cause Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). Thus, burning issue of GLOF and its devastating impact on society, especially on mushroom like continuous growing of socio-economic architectures and tourism along the valley necessitate attention on the glacial lake analysis of Kangchengayo-Pauhunri Massif, a part of Sikkim Himalaya. The main focus of this study is on lake area dynamics and on assessment of lake surface temperature (LST) using Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI-TIRS sensor images of 1988, 2001 and 2014 that were acquired between late October and November (post-ablation period). The glacial lakes have been identified and categorized on the basis of different indices (NDSI and NDWI), elimination of impurities (e.g. shadow, frozen ice etc.) and visual inspection based on PAN-sharpened and Google Earth images. The thermal bands of OLI-TIRS, ETM+ and TM images have been used for calculating the LST on the basis of emissivity values. In the study region, the proximity of glacier, aspect and altitude above mean sea level are the main factors that have strong influence on lake area dynamics as well as on LST. The glacial lake area change detection study shows that the glacial lake area has been expanded by 8.38% from 1988 to 2014. The result also shows that the large expansion of glacial lakes area has occurred for the large sized lakes at high altitudinal zones between 5000 m and 5400 m on the northern aspect of the Kangchengayo-Pauhunri Massif. The lake surface temperature also increases more on the large sized glacial lakes which are situated on the higher elevation and have a low temperature. The proglacial lakes of the northern aspect are more vulnerable to lake surface temperature changes. In addition, the warming monsoon and post-monsoon air temperature are enhancing the lake surface area by contributing glacier meltwater to the proglacial lakes. Hence, large spatial expansion of proglacial lakes is also observed.

Journal of Climate, 2017

The characteristics of active rainfall spells (ARSs) at Cherrapunji, northeast India, where extre... more The characteristics of active rainfall spells (ARSs) at Cherrapunji, northeast India, where extreme high rainfall is experienced, and their relationships with large-scale dynamics were studied using daily rainfall data from 1902 to 2005 and Japanese 55-Year Reanalysis from 1958 to 2005. Extreme high daily rainfalls occur in association with ARSs. The extremely large amounts of rainfall in the monsoon season are determined by the cumulative rainfall during ARSs. ARSs start when anomalous anticyclonic circulation (AAC) at 850 hPa propagates westward from the South China Sea and western North Pacific, and covers the northern Bay of Bengal. The AAC propagates farther westward and suppresses convection over central India during ARSs at Cherrapunji, and continues for 3 to 14 days. Consequently, a northward shift of the monsoon trough during the “break” in the Indian core region occurs. The westerly wind, which prevails in the northern portion of the AAC, transports moisture toward northea...