Modeling the natural degradation of earthworks

Stratigraphic, topographic, and ground‐penetrating radar data obtained from a ca. 1800‐year‐old embankment and adjacent ditch at the Hopewell Mound Group (Chillicothe, Ohio) are used to validate the archaeological application of a simple finite‐differences diffusion model employed frequently to assess geomorphic change in natural landscapes. Although diffusion models have been used to describe the topographic degradation of landforms in a variety of geomorphic terrains, the approach has not been applied to ancient earthworks in an archaeological context. The results of this study indicate that a variety of initial earthwork forms can result in the sinusoidal profile apparent on the current landscape. Using the model results to interpret the field data, we suggest that the initial embankment form was steeper and the adjacent ditch was deeper. As a result of natural degradation processes, the earthwork widened and flattened over time. These results have broad implications for any study aimed at: (1) assessing the function of original earthwork forms, (2) determining the formation processes of complicated stratigraphies or artifact assemblages, (3) estimating the time and labor investment required for construction, or (4) identifying the socio‐political structures necessary to build earthworks. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Physicochemical behavior of tropical laterite soil stabilized with non-traditional additive

Non-traditional soil stabilizers are widely used for treating weak materials. These additives are cost- and time-effective alternatives to more traditional materials such as lime and cement. It has been well established that the treatment of natural soil with chemical additives will gradually affect the size, shape, and arrangement of soil particles. Furthermore, the degree of improvement is dependent on the quantity and the pattern of new products formed on and around the soil particles. In this paper, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test was performed as an index of soil improvement on mix designs treated with calcium-based powder stabilizer (SH-85). The time-dependent changes in shear strength parameter and compressibility behavior of treated soil were also studied using standard direct shear and one-dimensional consolidation tests. In order to better understand the shape and surface area of treated particles, FESEM, N₂-BET, and particle size distribution analysis were performed on soil-stabilizer matrix. From engineering standpoint, the UCS results showed that the degree of improvement for SH-85-stabilized laterite soil was roughly five times stronger than the untreated soil at the early stages of curing (7-day period). Also, a significant increase in the compressibility resistance of treated samples with curing time was observed. Based on the results, less porous and denser soil fabric was seen on the surface of clay particles. FESEM images of the treated mix designs showed the formation of white lumps in the soil fabric with the cementitious gel filling the pores in the soil structure.     

Soil improvement with coal ash and sewage sludge: a field experiment

A field experimental study was carried out successfully to improve the quality of the sandy soil by adding coal ash and sewage sludge. One ha of barren sandy soil field was chosen for the experiment in Shanghe County, Shandong Province, China. For soil amelioration and tree planting, two formulas of the mixture:coal ash, sewage sludge and soil, in ratios of 20:10:70 and 20:20:60, respectively, were used. Poplar trees were planted in pits filled with soils with additives (mixture of ash and sludge) as well as in the original sandy soil. In the 19th months after the trees were planted, the soils with additives were sampled and analyzed. The results show that the barren sandy soil was greatly improved after mixing with coal ash and sludge. The improved soils have remarkably higher nutrient concentrations, better texture, smaller bulk density, higher porosity and mass moisture content, and higher content of fine-grained minerals. During the first 22 months after planting, the annual increase in height of the trees grown in the soil with additives (4.78 m per year) was 55% higher than that of the control group (3.07 m per year), and the annual increase in diameter at the breast height (1.3 m) was 33 % higher (43.03 vs. 32.36 mm). Trees planted in soils with additives appeared healthier and shed leaves later than those in the control group. As the volume of the additives (30–40% in both formulas) is less than that of the sandy soil in and around the tree pits, it appears that the use of coal ash and sludge for tree planting and soil amelioration is environmentally safe even though the additives have relatively high heavy metal concentrations.     

Soil organic carbon within the vadose zone of a floodplain

Past studies have focused on carbon variation in the upper 1 m of the soil profile. However, there is limited information on carbon variation at deeper depths (e.g., 0–4 m) and mathematical functions to extrapolate carbon content at these depths. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the vertical variation in SOC (reached 4 m) of the Tarim River floodplain in northwestern China. The vertical distribution in SOC was described by exponential and power functions based on (1) soil depth, (2) soil depth and silt content, (3) soil depth and SOC at the shallowest and deepest depths, (4) soil depth, silt content, and SOC at the shallowest and deepest depths, and (5) soil depth and SOC at the shallowest depth. We found SOC content decreased with depth from 6.82 g kg^?1 at 0–0.2 m to?<?1.0 g kg^?1 below 3.2–3.4 m averaged across five locations along the floodplain. Both the power and exponential functions provided a good fit to the measured data in the upper 1 m of the soil profile, whereas the power function provided a better fit to the data when extrapolating to a depth of 3–4 m. The power function describing SOC as a function of soil depth, silt content, and SOC at the shallowest and deepest depths best portrayed the distribution in SOC with depth. Considering the cost and labor in measuring soil properties, our results suggest that SOC at the shallowest depth can provide good estimates of the vertical distribution in SOC in a floodplain.     

Study in laboratory of treatment with cement of silty material: improvement of the mechanical properties

The addition of the agent of treatment allows to obtain a better traficability and improves the capacity of the soil to compaction while assuring a correct implementation. Besides, the binder provides to the soil a direct, maintained, or increasing lift at the same time. The choice of the agent of treatment and its dosage is determined by the type of soil, its moisture content at the time of the treatment, and by the aimed characteristics. The technique of treatment of soil in place in the hydraulic binders consists in valuing the natural soil (existing at the site of construction) by mixing them with a hydraulic binder and some water. It allows to avoid the transport and implies their stabilization in very interesting costs before the implementation of the superficial layers. In this context, this paper presents the results of the shear strength parameters of a study in laboratory with the aim of using the fine soil, in particular an Algerian western resulting silt, after a treatment with the cement by dry mixing method. Our goal is to realize pavement structures (base layer and subgrade layer) with this material. This type of treatment requires to know well the material which we wish to treat. A geotechnical complete characterization before treatment is approached on samples compacted in different water content, followed by the study of the influence of the addition of 2, 4, and 6 % cement on the characteristics of portance and of strength to shearing. Shear test was performed after curing the samples for 24 h to evaluate the shear strength parameters. The obtained results highlight a clearly better and marked improvement of the characteristics such as the lift and the strength to shearing.     

非传统安全视角下的城市水安全概念辨析

城市水安全研究正从水治理向水安全管理方向发展,研究视角也从自然科学领域转向社会人文领域。然而国内外对城市水安全的研究还处于实践探索和经验分享的阶段,尚未形成一个完整、清晰的概念和理论体系。为此试图将城市水安全研究纳入非传统安全范畴来构建其理论体系,首先从安全的原义出发探讨城市水安全的学科归属,从主体间性来理解城市水安全的主体关系,从安全的物质和社会建构角度来剖析城市水安全化的动态过程,从非传统安全理论构建的一般框架来解构城市水安全的指涉对象及其安全价值,进而总结城市水安全的概念,为城市水安全乃至其他资源安全研究提供一种兼顾自然和人文的新思维方向。     

用于有机废水处理的改性膨润土的制备新方法研究

提出一套不同于传统工艺的有机化膨润土制备方法,并首次采用COD(化学需氧量)与XRD(X射线衍射)双重指标衡量有机化膨润土的合成效果。COD测试表明,选择合适的改性剂种类和用量,是制备废水处理用有机化膨润土的两个前提。XRD分析说明,新工艺制备的有机化膨润土中蒙脱石的d001明显增大,有机改性剂长链分子已经插入蒙脱石矿物层间,合成效果良好。新的有机化膨润土合成工艺省去了过滤、洗涤、烘干、粉碎等步骤,能耗大大降低,成本优势明显,能够有力地促进有机化膨润土在废水处理领域的规模化应用。     

采取合理井灌比例对银川平原盐渍化防治与改良对策

土壤盐渍化是影响银川平原农业生产的最大重大问题之一,多年来一直制约着银川平原社会经济的发展。本文采用渠灌和井灌相结合的灌溉方式,通过对各种方案的对比,对土壤盐渍化防治与改良进行分析研究。最终确定合理的井灌比例,合理地开发利用部分潜水,以改变目前单一引用黄河水进行灌溉的灌溉模式。这样不仅能防治和改良土壤盐渍化,使土壤质量得到改善,而且还能减少潜水的无效蒸发,提高水资源的利用效率,减轻平原的排水负担,缓解平原水资源的供需矛盾。     

地下水中常见有机污染物的原位治理技术现状

随着人类活动的加剧,地下水的污染日益严重,而有机污染的调查与防治也已受到了更多的关注。国外的地下水有机污染治理技术研究和实践已有较长的历史,取得了较多的成果。主要技术方法有曝气法、生物处理法,化学氧化法、植物修复、渗透性反应墙法等。近年来,国内也开始了地下水有机污染治理的研究和试验,但尚处于起步阶段。本文以地下水中常见的有机污染物为线索,总结了它们的来源、危害及国内外治理技术的现状,以期对地下水污染的调查与治理工作有所借鉴。     

Co-carbonization of selected American coals with commercial additives

Because of the short supply of high-quality coking coals in certain areas of the world, many methods of improving the coking characteristics of poorly coking or noncoking coals have been examined as alternatives to importing more expensive, better quality coals. Co-carbonization, or the addition of coal-derived or petroleum-derived materials to the coal charge prior to carbonization, has been used on a commercial basis in the Japanese coking industry. These additives have been used in both solid and liquid form as binders in coal briquettes or as direct additions to the coal blend.In this study three different coal lithotypes were sampled from each of three United States bituminous coal seams: (1) a marginally coking high-volatile B-rank Illinois No. 6 Seam; (2) a highly fluid, good coking quality, high-volatile A-rank Pittsburgh Seam; and (3) a strongly coking low-volatile Blue Creek Seam. Each lithotype sample was carbonized in small-scale (50 g) charges with each of three additives at 0, 2, 5, and 10% additive by weight. The additives included ASP, an asphalt pitch; KRP, a petroleum residue pitch; and SRC, a solvent-refined coal product. The different lithotypes were sampled to examine the effects of coal type as well as rank. A micro-tumbler test was used to give at least a relative coke-strength value for the cokes produced. In addition, all the cokes produced were examined microscopically to determine the effects of co-carbonization on the coke structure.The Illinois No. 6, Pittsburgh, and Blue Creek Seam coals all showed substantial strength increases when co-carbonized with 2, 5, and 10% of each of the three additives, particularly at the 5 and 10% levels. The SRC appears to be the best additive overall for the three ranks of coal, as judged by its ability to combine with the coal to make a higher strength coke. There appear to be no conclusive coke-strength differences among lithotype samples for any of the three coals, probably because of the small scale of the tests and the relatively small differences in inert maceral content among the lithotypes. Five percent by weight of additive appears to be sufficient, if properly blended with the coal charge, to produce higher strength cokes. This is also probably the maximum economically viable level, particularly in the United States coking industry. Two percent is probably the minimum additive level for adequate mixing on a commercial scale.     

微生物灌浆加固土体研究进展

水泥和化学浆材是土体加固中最为常用的胶凝材料,但由于存在着高能耗、高污染排放和高成本等缺点而限制了它们的应用。微生物灌浆加固技术是最近发展起来的一种新型的土体加固方法,通过向松散砂土中灌注菌液以及营养盐,利用微生物矿化作用在砂颗粒间快速析出方解石凝胶,改善土体的物理力学性质。系统总结了国内外关于微生物灌浆加固土体的室内及现场试验研究,同时对固化土体的工程特性、原位无损测试方法以及灌浆效果的影响因素等进行了论述。研究表明,微生物灌浆技术具有施工扰动小、灌浆压力低、环境友好等优势,并可显著提高土体的强度、刚度及抗液化性能,在土体加固领域有着非常广阔的应用前景,但关于微生物固化土体的耐久性以及灌浆的经济性等问题仍需进行深入的探讨与研究。     

Models of natural organic matter and interactions with organic contaminants

Adsorption of organic contaminants onto soils, sediments and other particulates has the potential to be a major controlling factor in their bioavailability, fate and behavior in the environment. Models for estimating the amount and stability of sorbed organic contaminants based on the fraction of organic carbon in a soil or sediment can oversimplify the process of sorption in the environment. In order to help understand sorption of organic contaminants in soils and sediments, we modeled various components of natural organic matter (NOM) that are possible substrates for sorption. These substrates include soot particles, lignin, humic and fulvic acids. The molecular scale interactions of selected aromatic hydrocarbons with different substrates were also simulated. Results of the simulations include the 3-D structures of the NOM components, changes in structure with protonation state and solvation and the sorption energy between PAH and substrate. This last parameter is an indicator of the amount of contaminant that will sorb and the energy required to free the contaminant from the substrate. Although the simulation results presented in this paper represent a first-order examination of NOM and contaminant interactions, the findings highlight a number of essential features that should be included in future molecular models of NOM and contaminant sorption.     

Effect of sodium sulphate on the shear strength of clayey soils stabilised with additives

The effect of sulphates on the soil stabilisation using mineral additives such as lime, cement and fly ash has been reported by several researchers. The effect of sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) (0–6% by dry weight of soil) on the behaviour of the grey clayey soil (GS) and red clayey soil (RS) stabilised with lime (L) (0–8%), natural pozzolana (NP) (0–20%) and with a combination of lime-natural pozzolana (L–NP) was investigated. The soil specimens were subjected to testing of direct shear strength after 7, 30, 60 and 120 days of curing period. In the absence of Na₂SO₄, the results show that both clayey soils can be successfully stabilised with L or with a combination of L–NP, which substantially increases their shear strength and produces high values of shear parameters. However, at short curing period and for any content of Na₂SO₄, a further increase in shear strength and shear parameters is observed. Moreover, after 30 days of curing, the RS specimens stabilised with L or with NP alone are altered when the Na₂SO₄ is greater than 2%, whereas the GS specimens are not altered. However, the alteration of RS specimens is little when the L and NP are combined on curing with a high content of Na₂SO₄. Generally, the effect of Na₂SO₄ on both stabilised clayey soils depends on the curing time, percentage of additives used and their type, mineralogical composition of stabilised soils and Na₂SO₄ content.     

A radical pathway for organic phosphorylation during schreibersite corrosion with implications for the origin of life

Phosphorylated compounds (e.g., DNA, RNA, phospholipids, and many coenzymes) are critical to biochemistry. Thus, their origin is of prime interest to origin of life studies. The corrosion of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite ((Fe, Ni)₃P) may have significantly contributed to the origin of phosphorylated biomolecules. Corrosion of synthetic schreibersite in a variety of solutions was analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. These methods suggest a free-radical reaction pathway for the corrosion of schreibersite to form phosphite radicals () in aqueous solution. These radicals can form activated polyphosphates and can phosphorylate organic compounds such as acetate to form phosphonates and organophosphates (3% total yield). Phosphonates (O₃P-C) are found in the organic P inventory of the carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. While phosphonates are rare in biochemistry, the ubiquity of corroding iron meteorites on the early Earth could have provided a source of organic phosphorous compounds for the origin of life, and may have led to the role of organophosphates as a product of early evolution.     

改进评价生油岩有机质含量的CARBOLOG法及其初步应用

对法国石油研究院利用测井资料计算烃源岩有机碳含量的CARBOLOG法的原理进行了剖析,推导出利用声波测井及电阻率测井资料计算总有机碳含量的理论关系式,弥补了CARBOLOG法利用电测资料作图评价有机质丰度的不足,较大程度地改进了方法的可操作性。以取芯较好的牛38井分析测试资料为基础,进行回归计算,标定了理论关系式的相应系数,相关系数为0．90,该成果在东科1、丰112、富15等井的生油岩评价中得了到进一步的检验。     

Soil organic carbon stock and carbon efflux in deep soils of desert and oasis

An experiment was carried out in two soils of oasis farmland and the surrounding desert at the southern periphery of the Gurbantonggut Desert, in central Asia, to test the effects of land use on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and carbon efflux in deep soil. The result showed that although SOC content in the topsoil (0–0.2 m) decreased by 27% after desert soil was cultivated, total carbon stock within the soil profile (0–2.5 m) increased by 57% due to the significant increase in carbon stock at 0.2- to 2.5-m depth, and carbon efflux also markedly increased at 0- to 0.6-m depth. In the topsoil, the carbon process of the oasis was mainly dominated by consumption; in the subsoil (0.2–0.6 m) it was likely to be co-dominated by storage and consumption, and the greatest difference in SOC stock between the two soils also lay in this layer; while in the deep layer (0.6–2.5 m) of the oasis, with a more stable carbon stock, there was carbon storage dominated. Moreover, carbon stocks in the deep layer of the two soils contributed about 65% of the total carbon stocks, and correspondingly, microbial activities contributed 71% to the total microbial activity in the entire soil profile, confirming the importance of carbon cycling in the deep layer. Desert cultivation in this area may produce unexpectedly high carbon stocks from the whole profile despite carbon loss in the topsoil.     

Using dissolved gas analysis to investigate the performance of an organic carbon permeable reactive barrier for the treatment of mine drainage

The strongly reducing nature of permeable reactive barrier (PRB) treatment materials can lead to gas production, potentially resulting in the formation of gas bubbles and ebullition. Degassing in organic C based PRB systems due to the production of gases (primarily CO₂ and CH₄) is investigated using the depletion of naturally occurring non-reactive gases Ar and N₂, to identify, confirm, and quantify chemical and physical processes. Sampling and analysis of dissolved gases were performed at the Nickel Rim Mine Organic Carbon PRB, which was designed for the treatment of groundwater contaminated by low quality mine drainage characterized by slightly acidic pH, and elevated Fe(II) and SO₄ concentrations. A simple 4-gas degassing model was used to analyze the dissolved gas data, and the results indicate that SO₄ reduction is by far the dominant process of organic C consumption within the barrier. The data provided additional information to delineate rates of microbially mediated SO₄ reduction and confirm the presence of slow and fast flow zones within the barrier. Degassing was incorporated into multicomponent reactive transport simulations for the barrier and the simulations were successful in reproducing observed dissolved gas trends.