An Attempt to Predict the Failure Time of Abandoned Mine Pillars

Summary  Left in place pillars of abandoned mines are subject to weathering (e.g action of water, bacteria) that degrades their mechanical strength and eventually leads to collapse. A simple weathering model is proposed, that is governed by two parameters: the rate of progression of weathered front and the rate of degradation of the compressive strength with time. Both plane strain and axisymmetric analyses are performed and closed form solutions of the variation with time of the bearing capacity of the pillar are given. Experimental data of the tests conducted on gypsum and anhydrite specimens attacked by water are presented. It is shown that in order to fit the experimental data a third parameter must be introduced. New closed form solutions are given and the data are used for estimating the time to failure of abandoned gypsum mines in Northern Italy. Authors’ address: Dr. Riccardo Castellanza, Research Assistant, Department of Structural Engineering, Milan University of Technology (Politecnico), Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy     

Qualitative Linguistic Terms and Geographic Concepts: Quantifiers in Definitions

Definitions of categories in existent geospatial ontologies are an invaluable source of information because they provide us with essential knowledge about concepts and their properties. A closer examination reveals that definitions also contain supplementary linguistic items, which are mainly qualitative expressions, such as quantifiers. This inclusion of modifiers in definitions affects the way values are assigned to the categories’ properties (semantic properties and relations). This paper introduces a methodology for: (1) representing the essence of qualitative information to clarify the identity relations among categories; and (2) assessing their semantic similarity in order to disambiguate the taxonomic structure of existent geospatial ontologies.     

Long-term deforestation in NW Spain: linking the Holocene fire history to vegetation change and human activities

The Holocene fire regime is thought to have had a key role in deforestation and shrubland expansion in Galicia (NW Spain) but the contribution of past societies to vegetation burning remains poorly understood. This may be, in part, due to the fact that detailed fire records from areas in close proximity to archaeological sites are scarce. To fill this gap, we performed charcoal analysis in five colluvial soils from an archaeological area (Campo Lameiro) and compared the results to earlier studies from this area and palaeo-ecological literature from NW Spain. This analysis allowed for the reconstruction of the vegetation and fire dynamics in the area during the last ca 11 000 yrs. In the Early Holocene, Fabaceae and Betula sp. were dominant in the charcoal record. Quercus sp. started to replace these species around 10 000 cal BP, forming a deciduous forest that prevailed during the Holocene Thermal Maximum until ～5500 cal BP. Following that, several cycles of potentially fire-induced forest regression with subsequent incomplete recovery eventually led to the formation of an open landscape dominated by shrubs (Erica sp. and Fabaceae). Major episodes of forest regression were (1) ～5500–5000 cal BP, which marks the mid-Holocene cooling after the Holocene Thermal Maximum, but also the period during which agropastoral activities in NW Spain became widespread, and (2) ～2000–1500 cal BP, which corresponds roughly to the end of the Roman Warm Period and the transition from the Roman to the Germanic period. The low degree of chronological precision, which is inherent in fire history reconstructions from colluvial soils, made it impossible to distinguish climatic from human-induced fires. Nonetheless, the abundance of synanthropic pollen indicators (e.g. Plantago lanceolata and Urtica dioica) since at least ～6000 cal BP strongly suggests that humans used fire to generate and maintain pasture.     

Testing optically stimulated luminescence dating on sand-sized quartz of deltaic deposits from the Sperchios delta plain,central Greece

This study reports on the first investigation into the potential of luminescence dating to establish a chronological framework for the depositional sequences of the Sperchios delta plain, central Greece. A series of three borehole cores(20 m deep) and two shallow cores(4 m deep), from across the delta plain, were extracted, and samples were collected for luminescence dating. The luminescence ages of sand-sized quartz grains were obtained from small aliquots of quartz, using the Single-Aliquot Regenerative-dose(SAR) protocol.The equivalent dose determination included a series of tests and the selection of the Minimum Age Model(MAM) as the most appropriate statistical model. This made it possible to confirm the applicability of quartz Optically Stimulated Luminescence(OSL) dating to establish absolute chronology for deltaic sediments from the Sperchios delta plain.Testing age results of the five cores showed that the deltaic sediments were deposited during the Holocene.A relatively rapid deposition is implied for the top ~14 m possibly as a result of the deceleration in the rate of the sea-level rise and the transition to terrestrial conditions, while on the deeper parts, the reduced sedimentation rate may indicate a lagoonal or coastal environment.     

Investigation of waste disposal areas using electrical methods: a case study from Chania,Crete, Greece

A geophysical investigation of a landfill area was conducted as inextricable phase of a preliminary geotechnical, geological and hydrogeological study of the area under investigation. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), one of the most promising prospecting techniques mainly concerning its effective contribution to resolve several environmental problems, was applied for the geophysical modeling. ERT is a robust imaging method the theory and implementation of which are well documented in geophysical research literature. The survey site is located in Akrotirion Peninsula, about 7 km east of Chania city in Crete I. The geological setting comprises Trypalion limestones, marly limestones and a clayed weathered layer. Cavities are also identified at various scales which are recent tectono-karstic voids. Due to the above-mentioned geological singularity and in the light of the requirement for an environmentally safe construction of the landfill, an ERT survey was carried out. Specifically, seven geoelectrical tomographies were conducted reaching the prospecting depth of 36 m. The resulted images conduced, to overcome geotechnical problems since the spatial distribution of karstic voids was determined, to plan the future sites for waste disposal as the geological conditions were studied in detail and to reliably estimate the thickness of the already deposited wastes. The resulted images were confirmed using available borehole logs and ambient noise measurements.     

Seismic Displacement of Gravity Walls by a Two-body Model

Gravity walls retaining dry soil are modeled as a system of two bodies: (a) the gravity wall that slides along the wall-foundation soil boundary and (b) the critical soil wedge in the soil behind the wall. The strength of the system is defined by both the frictional and the cohesional components of resistance. The angle of the prism of the critical soil wedge behind the wall is obtained using the limit equilibrium method. The model accounts for changes in the geometry of the backfill soil behind the wall by considering the displacements at the end of each time step under limit equilibrium. The model shows that the standard (single) block model is over-conservative for the extreme case of critical-to-applied-seismic acceleration ratios less than about 0.30, but works well for cases where this ratio ranges between 0.5 and 0.8. The model is applied to predict the seismic displacement of gravity walls (a) tested in the shaking-table and (b) studied numerically by elaborate elasto–plastic analyses.     

TL age-estimates for the Middle Palaeolithic layers at Theopetra cave (Greece)

The lowest stratigraphic unit of Theopetra cave (Greece) contains a Middle Palaeolithic sequence radiocarbon dated to between 46 and 35 ka BP; at the limit of this dating method. The upper part of this sequence has yielded late Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblages containing several early Upper Palaeolithic artifacts. To get more precise dates for the human occupation of the cave, burnt flint specimens from these Middle Palaeolithic layers were dated by thermoluminescence. The dates obtained are coherent and indicate that the first human occupation of the cave took place at the end of isotopic stage 6 or more probably at the beginning of stage 5, much earlier than previously proposed. In the light of this new evidence, it is reasonable to assume that: (a) Theopetra contains the oldest dated Middle Palaeolithic deposits of Greece and (b) that the assemblages first interpreted as “Transitional Middle/Upper Palaeolithic” industries may be the result of post-depositional mixing of cultural material.     

Recent past and future patterns of the Etesian winds based on regional scale climate model simulations

The aim of this work is to investigate the recent past and future patterns of the Etesian winds, one of the most persistent localized wind systems in the world, which dominates the wind regime during warm period over the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean. An objective classification method, the Two Step Cluster Analysis (TSCA), is applied on daily data from regional climate model simulations carried out with RegCM3 for the recent past (1961–1990) and future periods (2021–2050 and 2071–2100) constrained at lateral boundaries either by ERA-40 reanalysis fields or the global circulation model (GCM) ECHAM5. Three distinct Etesian patterns are identified by TSCA with the location and strength of the anticyclonic action center dominating the differences among the patterns. In case of the first Etesian pattern there is a ridge located over western and central Europe while for the other two Etesian patterns the location of the ridge moves eastward indicating a strong anticyclonic center over the Balkans. The horizontal and vertical spatial structure of geopotential height and the vertical velocity indicates that in all three Etesian patterns the anticyclonic action center over central Europe or Balkan Peninsula cannot be considered as an extension of the Azores high. The future projections for the late 21st century under SRES A1B scenario indicate a strengthening of the Etesian winds associated with the strengthening of the anticyclonic action center, and the deepening of Asian thermal Low over eastern Mediterranean. Furthermore the future projections indicate a weakening of the subsidence over eastern Mediterranean which is rather controlled by the deepening of the south Asian thermal Low in line with the projected in future weakening of South Asian monsoon and Hadley cell circulations.     

Estimation of the Strength of Stratified Rock Mass

Stratified rock formations are often encountered in engineering structures with large dimensions, such as tunnels, caverns, etc. In the present work, the question of how and when such materials fail is addressed. It is argued that average values cannot provide appropriate measures for the strength of layered rock, as local stresses and strains differ greatly in the various constituents and one may fail, while others remain intact. The present work attempts, therefore, to formulate a solution covering both elasticity and failure in three dimensions, though simple enough to be easy to use in engineering applications. To this end, the local stress and strain state in each constituent were evaluated, assuming the constituents to be orthotropically elastic up to the point of failure. Subsequently, several failure criteria are considered and an example is presented to illustrate the model’s response. A discussion on the effect of geometry and on the values of local versus global quantities follows.     

Sponge epibionts on ecosystem-engineering ascidians: The case of Microcosmus sabatieri

The study of epibionts on habitat engineering ascidians is of increasing interest because changes in the population structure of the latter may affect associated communities, especially in the case of commercially exploited species. The solitary ascidian Microcosmus sabatieri lives on rocky cliffs in the Eastern Mediterranean and is harvested in certain Aegean areas. Its hard, wrinkled tunic is usually fouled by various epibionts both sessile and motile. Sponges are an important component of this complex and their biomass may be higher than that of the ascidian itself, strongly affecting diversity and abundance of the motile epifauna. The aim of this study was to examine in detail the structure of the epibiotic sponge assemblage on ascidians collected from their main fishing grounds in the South Aegean Sea. A rich (41 species) and taxonomically diverse sponge assemblage was found, while only eight species contributed 80% of the total sponge cover. Most of the epibiotic sponges commonly grow on the surrounding sublittoral cliffs. The encrusting sponge growth form prevailed in cover of the ascidian tunic, while two massive species dominated in terms of frequency of appearance and abundance. Ascidian dimensions, weight and volume were significantly correlated with sponge diversity, abundance and cover area, thus structuring the epibiotic sponge assemblage. Spatial patterns in sponge cover were not clear, but a general declining NW to SE trend in sponge richness, abundance and cover appeared in accordance with previous records. Sponge distribution on the ascidian tunic presented a clear pattern related with characteristic features of the ascidian: the posterior zone supported the richest and most expansive sponge fauna. The ecosystem-engineering process performed by the ascidian is enhanced by the diverse epibiotic sponge assemblage, thus further increasing habitat complexity in this space-limited, temperate, sublittoral, rocky environment.