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[1] Timing of breakup of the Indian continent from eastern Gondwanaland and evolution of the lithosphere in the Bay of Bengal still remain as ambiguous issues. Geoid and free-air gravity data of Bay of Bengal and Enderby Basin are integrated with shipborne geophysical data to investigate the early evolution of the eastern Indian Ocean. Geoid and gravity data of the Bay of Bengal reveal five N36°W fracture zones (FZs) and five isolated NE-SW structural rises between the Eastern Continental Margin of India (ECMI) and the 85°E Ridge/86°E FZ. The FZs meet the 86°E FZ at an angle of $39°. The rises are associated with low-gravity and geoid anomalies and are oriented nearly orthogonal to the FZs trend. The geoid and gravity data of the western Enderby Basin reveal a major Kerguelen FZ and five N4°E FZs. The FZs discretely converge to the Kerguelen FZ at an angle of $37°. We interpret the FZs identified in Bay of Bengal and western Enderby Basin as conjugate FZs that trace the early Cretaceous rifting of south ECMI from Enderby Land. Structural rises between the FZs of Bay of Bengal may either represent fossil ridge segments, possibly have extinct during the early evolution of the Bay of Bengal lithosphere or may have formed later by the volcanic activity accreted the 85°E Ridge. Two different gravity signatures (short-wavelength high-amplitude negative gravity anomaly and relatively broader low-amplitude negative gravity anomaly) are observed on south and north segments of the ECMI, respectively. The location of continent-ocean boundary (COB) is at relatively far distance (100-200 km) from the coastline on north ECMI than that (50-100 km) on the south segment. On the basis of geoid, gravity, and seismic character and orientation of conjugate FZs in Bay of Bengal and western Enderby Basin, we believe that transform motion occurred between south ECMI and Enderby Land at the time of breakup, which might have facilitated the rifting process in the north between combined north ECMI-Elan Bank and MacRobertson Land and in the south between southwest Sri Lanka and Gunnerus Ridge region of East Antarctica. Approximately during the period between the anomalies M1 and M0 and soon after detachment of the Elan Bank from north ECMI, the rifting process possibly had reorganized in order to establish the process along the entire eastern margins of India and Sri Lanka.

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In this study, an attempt has been made to estimate land surface temperatures (LST) and spectral emissivities over a hard rock terrain using multi-sensor satellite data. The study area, of about 6000 km 2 , is a part of Singhbhum-Orissa craton situated in the eastern part of India. TIR data from ASTER, MODIS and Landsat ETM+ have been used in the present study. Telatemp Model AG-42D Portable Infrared Thermometer was used for ground measurements to validate the results derived from satellite (MODIS/ASTER) data. LSTs derived using Landsat ETM+ data of two different dates have been compared with the satellite data (ASTER and MODIS) of those two dates. Various techniques, viz., temperature and emissivity separation (TES) algorithm, gray body adjustment approach in TES algorithm, Split-Window algorithms and Single Channel algorithm along with NDVI based emissivity approach have been used. LSTs derived from bands 31 and 32 of MODIS data using Split-Window algorithms with higher viewing angle (50 • ) (LST1 and LST2) are found to have closer agreement with ground temperature measurements (ground LST) over waterbody, Dalma forest and Simlipal forest, than that derived from ASTER data (TES with AST 13). However, over agriculture land, there is some uncertainty and difference between the measured and the estimated LSTs for both validation dates for all the derived LSTs. LST obtained using Single Channel algorithm with NDVI based emissivity method in channel 13 of ASTER data has yielded closer agreement with ground measurements recorded over vegetation and mixed lands of low spectral contrast. LST results obtained with TIR band 6 of Landsat ETM+ using Single Channel algorithm show close agreement over Dalma forest, Simlipal forest and waterbody with LSTs obtained using MODIS and ASTER data for a different date. Comparison of LSTs shows good agreement with ground measurements in thermally homogeneous area. However, results in agriculture area with less homogeneity show difference of LST up to 2 • C. The results of the present study indicate that continuous monitoring of LST and emissivity can be undertaken with the aid of multi-sensor satellite data over a thermally homogeneous region.

The 85 • E Ridge extends from the Mahanadi Basin, off northeastern margin of India to the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount in the Central Indian Basin. The ridge is associated with two contrasting gravity anomalies: negative anomaly over the north part (up to 5 • N latitude), where the ridge structure is buried under thick Bengal Fan sediments and positive anomaly over the south part, where the structure is intermittently exposed above the seafloor. Ship-borne gravity and seismic reflection data are modelled using process oriented method and this suggest that the 85 • E Ridge was emplaced on approximately 10-15 km thick elastic plate (Te) and in an off-ridge tectonic setting. We simulated gravity anomalies for different crust-sediment structural configurations of the ridge that were existing at three geological ages, such as Late Cretaceous, Early Miocene and Present. The study shows that the gravity anomaly of the ridge in the north has changed through time from its inception to present. During the Late Cretaceous the ridge was associated with a significant positive anomaly with a compensation generated by a broad flexure of the Moho boundary. By Early Miocene the ridge was approximately covered by the postcollision sediments and led to alteration of the initial gravity anomaly to a small positive anomaly. At present, the ridge is buried by approximately 3 km thick Bengal Fan sediments on its crestal region and about 8 km thick pre-and post-collision sediments on the flanks. This geological setting had changed physical properties of the sediments and led to alter the minor positive gravity anomaly of Early Miocene to the distinct negative gravity anomaly.