Landslides & debris flows formation from gravelly soil surface erosion and particle losses in Jiangjia Ravine

Gravelly soils are made up of gravel, sand, silt and clay. They are widely used in engineering applications such as rock-fill dams with clay cores, which are the main researches at present. The strength and mechanical properties of the gravelly soils are affected by the content of coarse grain, fine particles, and their adhesive states. These Properties can be verified by laboratory unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests with grain size less than 5 mm and by large scale direct-shear tests with original grain content. Fine particles of the loose gravelly slopes are released under rainfalls, alternated the structures and mechanical properties, even affected the slope stability. There are a series of large scale direct-shear tests with different coarse grain contents to study the influence of fine particles releasing and migration, results showed the strength behavior of the gravelly soils were affected by the coarse grain content （5） and the inflection coarse grain contents. In order to study the erosion features of the gravelly soil slopes on rainfall conditions and the slopes stability alteration, we had carried out one sort of artificial rainfall local and model experiments, the runoff sediment contents were monitored during the experiments. Result showed that the shapes of the slopes surface transformed periodically, runoff sediment contents were divided into five phases according to the experiment phenomena, runoff sediment contents maintained downtrend during the rain time and the downtrend was obviouslyinterpreted by one descend belt no matter the rainfall intensity and the slope angels. Particle size analysis released the deposit on the slope surface lost almost all of the clay, most of the silt and sand after the experiments, this meant the fine particles releasing, migration and accumulation process on condition of rainfall resulted in the instability factor of the slopes even induced landslide or debris flow.     

Difference in organic carbon contents and distributions in particle-size fractions between soil and sediment on the Southern Loess Plateau,China

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of long-term cultivation and water erosion on the soil organic carbon （OC） in particle-size fractions. The study site is located at Nihegou Watershed in the Southern Loess Plateau, China. The soil at this site is loess with loose and silty structure, and contains macropores. The results showed that the OC concentrations in sediments and in the particle-size fractions of sediments were higher than those in soils and in the particle-size fractions of soils. The OC concentration was highest in the clay particles and was lowest in the sand particles. Clay particles possessed higher OC enrichment ability than silt and sand particles. The proportions of OC in the silt fractions of soil and sediment were the highest （mean value of 53.87% and 58.48%, respectively）, and the total proportion of OC in the clay and silt fractions accounted for 96% and 98% of the total OC in the soil and sediment, respectively. The loss of OC was highest in silt particles, with an average value of 0.16 Mg ha^-1 y^-1, and was lowest in the sand （0.003 Mg ha^-1 y^-l）. This result suggests that the fine particle-size fraction in the removed sediment may be an important indicator to assess soil OC losses.     

Effects of soil conservation practices on soil erosion and the size selectivity of eroded sediment on cultivated slopes

Soil conservation practices can greatly affect the soil erosion process, but limited information is available about its influence on the particle size distribution(PSD) of eroded sediment, especially under natural rainfall. In this study, the runoff, sediment yields, and effective/ultimate PSD were measured under two conventional tillage practices, downhill ridge tillage(DT) and plat tillage(PT) and three soil conservation practices, contour ridge tillage(CT), mulching with downhill ridge tillage(MDT), and mulching with contour ridge tillage(MCT) during 21 natural rainfall events in the lower Jinsha River. The results showed that(1) soil conservation practices had a significant effect on soil erosion. The conventional tillage of DT caused highest runoff depth(0.58 to 29.13 mm) and sediment yield(0.01 to 3.19 t hm-2). Compared with DT, the annual runoff depths and sediment yields of CT, MDT and MCT decreased by 12.24%-49.75% and 40.79%-88.30%, respectively.(2) Soil conservation practices can reduce the decomposition of aggregates in sediments. The ratios of effective and ultimate particle size(E/U) of siltand sand-sized particles of DT and PT plots were close to 1, indicating that they were transported as primary particles, however, values lower/greater than 1 subject to CT, MDT and MCT plots indicated they were transported as aggregates. The ratios of E/U of claysized particles were all less than 1 independently of tillage practices.(3) The sediments of soil conservation practices were more selective than those of conventional tillage practices. For CT, MDT and MCT plots, the average enrichment ratios(ERs) of clay, silt and sand were 1.99, 1.93 and 0.42, respectively, with enrichment of clay and silt and depletion of sand in sediments. However, the compositions of the eroded sediments of DT and PT plots were similar to that of the original soil. These findings support the use of both effective and ultimate particle size distributions for studying the size selectivity of eroded sediment, and provide a scientific basis for revealing the erosion mechanism in the purple soil area of China.     

Horizontal Normal Force on Buried Rigid Pipelines in Fluctuant Liquefied Silty Soil

The submarine pipelines that are buried in the Yellow River subaqueous delta can be subject to fluctuant local-liquefied soil caused by storm wave action, possibly causing pipeline damage. An experimental investigation was carried out in a wave flume to study the horizontal normal force on buried rigid pipelines in fluctuant liquefied soil. In this experiment, the soil bed was made of silt from the Yellow River Delta, whereas a steel pipe served as pipeline. Under the experimental conditions, the normal force range on the pipeline in fluctuant liquefied soil was several times higher than that in stable soil, specifically on the side of the pipeline exposed to the wave direction. The resultant force of the horizontal normal forces on the buried pipeline grew by about one order of magnitude after soil liquefaction.     

Study on the Liquefaction Properties of Silt at Yellow River Delta

The seabed of the Yellow River Delta is formed by the rapid deposition of sediments from the Yellow River. Recent researches have shown that the geological hazards in the Yellow River Delta are mainly related to the liquefaction of silty seabed under cyclic loading. In this paper, based on the theory of Stokes Viscous Principle, a self-design dragging ball apparatus was used to study the fluid characteristics of liquefied and post-liquefied silt more thoroughly. Wave flume and shaking table were used to apply wave loads and vibration loads. The pore pressure, earth pressure, and moving parameters of the dragging ball were recorded during tests. The effect of cyclic loads and excess pore pressure ratio on viscosity of silty soil is discussed. The constitutive model of flow characteristics of liquefied silt is also established. The results indicate that the apparent viscosity of silty soil is much higher than sand. Cyclic loads accelerated the process of silt liquefaction, resulting in the decrease in apparent viscosity. The excess pore pressure ratio (r_u) has effect on silt liquefaction. When the soil had not reached the completely liquefied state (r_u < 1), the apparent viscosity decreased with the increase of excess pore pressure ratio; when the soil had reached the completely liquefied state (r_u = 1), the shear stress decreased with the increase of strain rate. It was determined that silty soil characterized by shear thinning can be viewed as a type of non-Newtonian fluid. The equation of the shear stress and shear strain rates was established by fitting the test data.     

Numerical Simulation for Shallow Strata Stability of Coral Reef in the Southwest of Yongshu Reef (South China Sea)

In recent years, infrastructure construction on coral reefs has been increasingly developed. Therefore, the shallow strata stability of coral reefs in the South China Sea should be evaluated. This study aims to investigate the profiles for the shallow strata of coral reefs in the southwest of the Yongshu Reef, particularly in the hydrodynamic marine environment, and to establish a geological model for numerical simulation using Geo-Studio. The shallow strata of the coral reefs include mass gravel, sand gravel, mid-coarse sand, silty sand, fine sand, and reef limestone. The shallow reef slope near the lagoon is similar to a ‘layer cake', in which the side close to the sea is analogous to a ‘block cake'. The simulation results showed that coral reef stability depends on wave loads and earthquake strength and on the physical properties of coral reefs. The factor of safety for the outer reef is greater than 10.0 under static, wave, and seismic conditions; this indicated that the outer reefs were less affected by waves and earthquakes. However, the factor of safety next to the lagoon varied from 0.1 to 5.3. The variation was primarily caused by the thick strata of coral reefs close to the sea(reef limestone, typically with the thickness 10 m and equivalent to a block). The soil and rock layers in the coral reef strata with thicknesses 10 m showed weak engineering geological characteristics. Our findings can provide useful information to future construction projects on coral reefs.     

Behavior of different phosphorus species in suspended particulate matter in the Changjiang estuary

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary in June 2006 was separated into five fractions via water elutriation: clay-very fine silt (<8 μm), fine silt (8–16 μm), medium silt (16–32 μm), coarse silt (32-63 μm) and sand (>63 μm). The SPM and fractionated particles were sequentially analyzed by a modified SEDEX sequential extraction method to obtain six species of phosphorus: exchangeable or loosely-sorbed P, organic P, Fe-bound P, authigenic P, detrital P and refractory P. The results indicated that all particulate phosphorus species except for detrital P were negatively correlated to particle size; a high detrital P content was found in coarse silt and very coarse silt. From the inside of the river mouth to the gate of the river mouth, organic P, Fe-bound P and refractory P in the suspended particles decreased and a higher amount of exchangeable P appeared around the gate of the river mouth. From the gate of the river mouth to the sea, exchangeable P and organic P in suspended particles increased distinctly. The total particulate P flux into the estuary from the Changjiang River was about 45.45×10⁸ μmol/s during sampling. Of this, about 8.27×10⁸ μmol/s was associated with the “truly suspended” fraction. The bio-available particulate P flux was about 13.58×10⁸ μmol/s. Of this, about 4.24×10⁸ μmol/s was transported by “truly suspended” particles.     

Thermodynamic effects on particle movement: Wind tunnel simulation results

Sand/dust storms are some of the main hazards in arid and semi-arid zones. These storms also influence global environmental changes. By field observations, empirical statistics, and numerical simulations, pioneer researchers on these natural events have concluded the existence of a positive relationship between thermodynamic effects and sand/dust storms. Thermodynamic effects induce an unsteady stratified atmosphere to influence the process of these storms. However, studies on the relationship of thermodynamic effects with particles (i.e., sand and dust) are limited. In this article, wind tunnel with heating was used to simulate the quantitative relationship between thermodynamic effects and particle movement on different surfaces. Compared with the cold state, the threshold wind velocity of particles is found to be significantly decrease under the hot state. The largest decrease percentage exceedes 9% on fine and coarse sand surfaces. The wind velocity also has a three-power function in the sand transport rate under the hot state with increased sand transport. Thermodynamic effects are stronger on loose surfaces and fine particles, but weaker on compacted surfaces and coarse particles.     

Fractal characterization of sediment particle-size distribution in the water-level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

The combined effect of periodic water impoundment and seasonal natural flood events has created a 30 m high water-level fluctuation zone(WLFZ) around the Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR), China, forming a unique eco-landscape. Siltation, eutrophication, enrichment of heavy metals, and methane emissions in the WLFZ have been widely associated with sediment and soil particles generated from the upstream catchment or upland slopes. However, little attention has been paid to the complexity of sediment particle-size distributions in the WLFZ. In the present study, core samples(from a 345 cm thick sediment core from the base of the WLFZ), slope transect surface samples(across/up a WLFZ slope), and along-river/longitudinal surface samples(from the reservoir reaches) were collected. Laser granulometry and a volume-based fractal model were used to reveal the characteristics of sediment particle-size distributions. Results indicate that the alternation of coarse and fine particles in the sedimentary core profile is represented as a fluctuation of low and high values of fractal dimension(D), ranging from 2.59 to 2.77. On the WLFZ slope transect, surface sediment particles coarsen with increasing elevation, sand content increases from 3.3% to 78.5%, and D decreases from 2.76 to 2.53. Longitudinally, surface sediments demonstrate a downstream-fining trend, and D increases gradually downstream. D is significantly positively correlated with the fine particle content. We conclude that D is a useful measure for evaluating sediment particle-size distribution.     

Shear Wave Speed Dispersion Characteristics of Seafloor Sediments in the Northern South China Sea

To accurately characterize the shear wave speed dispersion of seafloor sediments in the northern South China Sea,five types of sediments including silty clay,clayey silt,sandy silt,silty sand,and clayey sand were selected,on which the measurements of the shear wave speed at 0.5-2.0 kHz and related physical properties were performed.Results reveal that the shear wave speed of sediments increases as the frequency increases,and the dispersion enhanced in the sediments in the order of silty clay,clayey silt,sandy silt,silty sand,and clayey sand,at a linear change rate of 0.727,0.787,3.32,4.893,and 6.967 m s?1 kHz?1,respectively.Through regression analysis,linear and logarithmic regression equations for the correlation between shear wave speed and frequency were established for each sediment type and the determination coefficients of regression equations indicate that the correlation is closer to a logarithmic relationship.The Grain-Shearing(GS)and Biot-Stoll models were used to calculate the shear wave speed dispersion of the five sediment types,and the comparison between theoretical prediction and measured results of shear wave speeds shows that the GS model can more accurately describe the shear wave speed dispersion characteristics of these sediments in the frequency band of 0.5-2.0 kHz.In the same band,the predictions obtained by using the Biot-Stoll model are significantly different from the measured data.     

鲁西地区不同岩性地层热响应试验结果浅析

为研究地埋管换热器在不同岩性地层的换热情况,在鲁西黄河冲洪积平原、山前冲洪积平原和低山丘陵区进行了以粉土、粉质粘土、细砂,粘土、粉质粘土、中粗砂,灰岩和花岗岩为研究对象的热响应试验,初步试验结果表明:每延米换热量(W/m)和平均热导率(W/m·k)花岗岩灰岩粉质粘土、中粗砂粉土、粉细砂。在岩溶地下水富水性强,径流速度快的地段灰岩平均热导率花岗岩。此项研究结果可为不同岩性地层浅层地温能开发利用工程地埋管换热器类型的选择,浅层地温能评价和开发利用提供基础数据。     

Bed load transport rates during scouring and armoring processes

Dambreak-induced bed scouring may undermine the foundation of bridge piers and other structures, and that destruction can pose a serious threat. Consequently, this paper aims at exploring the mechanisms of scouring and armoring. Firstly, the incipient velocity for nonuniform sediment particles was studied, and a formula was derived based on the angle of repose of nonuniform sediment. The results showed that the mechanism of incipient motion for sand and fine gravel differed from that for coarse gravel and cobbles. Also, comparison between experimental and field data shows that the results from the proposed formula agree well with those observed for all conditions. Secondly, a birth-death, immigration-emigration Markov process was developed to describe the bed load transport rate associated with scouring and armoring. The comparison between experimental data and computed results shows that our model can predict the bed load transport rate, although there may be some limitations, the chief of which is that there are many variables in the model to be determined through experiment. This makes its application in river engineering inconvenient.     

A STUDY ON BUFFERING CAPACITY OF THE FOREST SOIL AGAINST ACIDIC PRECIPITATION IN SEVERAL AREAS OF CHINA

Soil samples from several forest areas in China were analyzed by X-ray powder diffractometry after mineral separation and enrichment. The density gradient separation method with sequential extraction by acetone-methylene iodide mixtures was applied for the separation of fine sand fraction of soil samples. The clay fraction (< 2μm) was separated from silt fraction of soil samples prior to examination. Mineral components in some fine sand and clay samples were compared, and their weathering potentiality and buffering capacity against acidic precipitation were discussed.     

Influence of fine sediment on the fluidity of debris flows

Debris flows include a great diversity of grain sizes with inherent features such as inverse grading, particle size segregation, and liquefaction of fine sediment. The liquefaction of fine sediment affects the fluidity of debris flows, although the behavior and influence of fine sediment in debris flows have not been examined sufficiently. This study used flume tests to detect the effect of fine sediment on the fluidity of laboratory debris flows consisting of particles with various diameters. From the experiments, the greatest sediment concentration and flow depth were observed in the debris flows mixed with fine sediment indicating increased flow resistance. The experimental friction coefficient was then compared with the theoretical friction coefficient derived by substituting the experimental values into the constitutive equations for debris flow. The theoretical friction coefficient was obtained from two models with different fine-sediment treatments: assuming that all of the fine sediments were solid particles or that the particles consisted of a fluid phase involving pore water liquefaction. From the comparison of the friction coefficients, a fully liquefaction state was detected for the fine particle mixture. When the mixing ratio and particle size of the fine sediment were different, some other cases were considered to be in a partially liquefied transition state. These results imply that the liquefaction of fine sediment in debris flows was induced not only by the geometric conditions such as particle sizes, but also by the flow conditions.     

DISTRIBUTION AND ORIGIN OF SEDIMENTS ON THE NORTHERN SUNDA SHELF, SOUTH CHINA SEA

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Laboratory and field experiment on measurement of soil thermal conductivity by probe method

The authors presented a new measuring method of the soil thermal conductivity,the probe method,which is designed and made based on the theory of line heat source. This method is used to measure thermal conductivity of coarse sand,fine sand and silty clay in different water contents. The results that measured by the probe method are well consistent with those of QTM-D_2. The soil thermal conductivity increases in different levels with the increase of the water content. Compared the soil thermal conductivity measured by the probe method in laboratory with in-situ experiment,it shows that the measuring gap gradually increases with the increase of the depth. The reason is that the in-situ measuring thermal conductivity can reflect the actual situation of the soil mass.     

断溶体油藏填充物对裂缝闭合影响试验研究

裂缝是断溶体油藏的重要渗流通道,随着地层流体的采出,裂缝将发生闭合,其在地应力作用下的闭合规律对于储层渗透率具有重要影响。采集碳酸盐岩岩样,通过巴西劈裂实验制备裂缝试件,构建基于CT扫描灰度图像的裂缝变形分析方法,通过加压和卸压试验,研究裂缝在被不同填充物填充条件下的闭合规律,裂缝的闭合情况采用岩心渗透率和裂缝开度综合表征,以此研究裂缝填充物性质对裂缝闭合规律的影响。研究结果表明:随着围压的增大,裂缝开度和试件渗透率均逐渐降低;填充物延展性越强,裂缝在压力作用下闭合越明显,渗透率降低幅度越大;对于同样被石英填充的裂缝,不同的填充方式下裂缝闭合规律不同,对于裂缝的支撑效果,单层细砂>厚层细砂>中砂细砂混合（结果）。研究成果可为认识不同矿物填充裂缝在地应力作用下的闭合规律提供参考。      

济南历城巨野河冲洪积扇雨洪水储存调蓄研究

济南市山前分布着南大沙河、北大沙河、玉符河、巨野河、巴漏河等系列山前冲洪积扇,本文以巨野河冲洪积扇为例,通过物探、钻探、抽水试验、回灌试验所取得的数据,了解济南一系列山前冲洪积扇雨洪水储存调蓄条件,查明了冲洪积扇面积、砂层厚度、储水系数,查明影响储存调蓄能力的影响因素,计算储存调蓄量。结果表明：巨野河冲洪积扇含水砂层颗粒从扇顶的粗砂、卵砾石向扇缘粗砂、中细砂过渡,厚度从扇顶向扇缘逐渐变厚,冲洪积扇具有较大的储存调蓄空间,较强的回灌储水条件,良好的供水条件。研究结果对济南系列山前冲洪积扇在海绵城市建设中用于调节城市弃流的雨洪水资源具有重要的指导意义。     

奎屯河流域水土中氟的分布规律

通过对奎屯河流域包气带土壤和地下潜水取样分析,发现从山前洪积砾质倾斜平原到冲洪积平原,氟质量浓度的迁移分布明显具有淋溶-径流、径流-淋溶蒸发、溶滤-强烈蒸发浓缩3个水文地球化学分带。氟质量浓度在细粒粘土粉土层中相对较高,而在砂层中相对较低,无论属于哪种岩性结构在地下潜水位附近氟含量都相对较高。该流域内3条河流氟质量浓度均为上游低下游高,且在流域上游增幅相对较小而在下游增幅相对较大。环河道由近河岸到远河岸水土中氟质量浓度也逐渐增加。初步分析认为,该内陆平原地区氟的富集是以蒸发浓缩作用为主。运用热力学理论进行了验证,水土中氟的水平分布规律是一致的,并可相互转化。     

沈阳市区第四纪沉积物工程地质研究

沈阳市第四纪沉积物分布广泛，北东薄、南西厚。沉积物类型基本为多层砂土复合结构：地表仅有一层较薄的粘土层，其下为较厚的多层递变的细中砂、粗砂、砾砂、圆砾或卵石层。各土层工程地质性质良好，沈阳市区可适合建筑各种类型的建筑物，选择箱形基础形式及桩基础形式较为合适。