The role of geodiversity on the groundwater resource potential in the upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia

Groundwater has been the main source of water supply for large cities and towns over the last few decades in the upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia. However, provision is often unsuccessful because of poor well productivity, difficult drilling conditions, poor well positioning, or sometimes due to poor water quality. The growing pressure of urban population and industrial development is focusing unprecedented attention on the groundwater potential of the basin. The purpose of this work is to spatially characterize the groundwater potential of the upper Blue Nile River Basin with respect to variable recharge and geodiversity. The study shows that from the annual recharge obtained using the base flow separation method, the renewable groundwater potential in the basin was estimated to be in the range of 1.2 and 2 billion m³/year. The aquifers in the area are divided into three categories: low to moderate productivity (≈3.5 l/s) which includes crystalline basement rocks, acidic lava flows and domes, and very fine alluvial sediments; moderate to high productivity (≈5.5 l/s) that includes Mesozoic sedimentary rocks (sandstone, limestone, gypsum, dolomite); and high to very high productivity (≈20 l/s) which includes basic lava flows of the Trap series, Quaternary lava flows and alluvial sediments.     

Geotechnical Aspects and Stability of Road Cuts in the Blue Nile Basin,Ethiopia

Road construction in the Blue Nile basin is largely determined by geotechnical factors. The area is characterized by steep slopes and has a history of landsliding. The geological formations range from Mesozoic sedimentary to Tertiary volcanic rocks making the stratigraphic makeup sensitive to deformation and failure. The heterogeneity of these rocks also means it is difficult to depend on results of stability analyses alone for road design and construction. As an alternative, ratios of cut-slope lengths to cut-slope heights have been developed in this study based on the performances of unsupported natural and artificial cuts and some stability analyses. Hence, road cuts on cliffs of hard rocks need a horizontal to vertical ratio of 0.25:1. Slopes made up of weak rocks can remain stable at a threshold angle of 45°. For heterogeneous slopes, it is advisable to use different road cuts depending on material makeup, and the degree of weathering and consolidation.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping using the weight of evidence method in the Tinau watershed, Nepal

Mountainous areas in Nepal are prone to landslides, resulting in an enormous loss of life and property every year. As a first step towards mitigating or controlling such problems, it is necessary to prepare landslide susceptibility maps. Various methodologies have been proposed for landslide susceptibility mapping. This study applies the weight of evidence method to the Tinau watershed in west Nepal. A landslide susceptibility map is prepared on the basis of field observations and available data of geology, land use, topography and hydrology. Predicted susceptibility levels are found to be in good agreement with the locations of past landslides. The results show that about 30?% of the area is highly susceptible to landsliding. The present results provide useful information to the authorities concerning the landslide susceptibility zones and possible improvements for disaster management activities and sustainable development.     

Groundwater recharge,circulation and geochemical evolution in the source region of the Blue Nile River,Ethiopia

Geochemical and environmental isotope data were used to gain the first regional picture of groundwater recharge, circulation and its hydrochemical evolution in the upper Blue Nile River basin of Ethiopia. Q-mode statistical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to classify water into objective groups and to conduct inverse geochemical modeling among the groups. Two major structurally deformed regions with distinct groundwater circulation and evolution history were identified. These are the Lake Tana Graben (LTG) and the Yerer Tullu Wellel Volcanic Lineament Zone (YTVL). Silicate hydrolysis accompanied by CO₂ influx from deeper sources plays a major role in groundwater chemical evolution of the high TDS Na–HCO₃ type thermal groundwaters of these two regions. In the basaltic plateau outside these two zones, groundwater recharge takes place rapidly through fractured basalts, groundwater flow paths are short and they are characterized by low TDS and are Ca–Mg–HCO₃ type waters. Despite the high altitude (mean altitude ∼2500 masl) and the relatively low mean annual air temperature (18 °C) of the region compared to Sahelian Africa, there is no commensurate depletion in δ¹⁸O compositions of groundwaters of the Ethiopian Plateau. Generally the highland areas north and east of the basin are characterized by relatively depleted δ¹⁸O groundwaters. Altitudinal depletion of δ¹⁸O is 0.1‰/100 m. The meteoric waters of the Blue Nile River basin have higher d-excess compared to the meteoric waters of the Ethiopian Rift and that of its White Nile sister basin which emerges from the equatorial lakes region. The geochemically evolved groundwaters of the YTVL and LTG are relatively isotopically depleted when compared to the present day meteoric waters reflecting recharge under colder climate and their high altitude.     

Sedimentation and depositional environments of the Barremian-Cenomanian Debre Libanose Sandstone,Blue Nile (Abay) Basin,Ethiopia

Exploration of oil and gas deposits in the Blue Nile Basin targeted the Debre Libanose Sandstone as a reservoir objective. The unit was deposited in broad alluvial plains, and shows some elements of the Platte type braided river sedimentation in the lower and middle succession. The braided river sedimentation is dominated by single storey and multistorey amalgamated sandstone bodies, and is characterized by high- and low-flow regime sedimentation.The upper part of the unit is characterized by well-developed cyclicity, fining-upward trend, lateral accretion surfaces, flood-plain sediments, point bar deposits, and calcrete are consistent with of meandering river sedimentation. The siltstones, mudstones, and shales were developed from suspension-dominated waning flood water. The presence of black mudstones and black shales in the uppermost part of the unit possibly indicate lacustrine environments.The unit has a complex diagenetic history and is cemented dominantly by silica, calcite, kaolinite, and hematite. The maximum porosity and permeability reaches up to 22.2% and 809 mD, respectively. The fine- to medium-grained sandstones are potential oil and gas reservoirs. The low-permeability siltstones and mudstones are possible gas reservoirs.     

Landslide susceptibility zonation in Greece

The objective of this study is to perform a preliminary national-scale assessment of the landslide susceptibility in Greece using a landslide inventory derived from historical archives. The effects of controlling factors on landslide susceptibility combined with multivariate statistics have been evaluated using GIS aided mapping techniques. Thousand six hundred thirty-five landslide occurrences, mainly earth slides obtained from Public Authorities archives, covering a long time period were recorded and digitally stored using a spatial relational database management system. Ten landslide predisposing factors (predictors) were identified, while digital thematic maps on the spatial distribution of those factors were generated. The correlation between the landslide locations and predictor classes was analyzed by using the Landslide Relative Frequency. R-mode factor analysis was applied to study the interrelations between predictors (independent variables) while weighting coefficients were determined. Landslide susceptibility was derived from an algorithm which modeled the influence of predictors, and a susceptibility map was compiled. The landslide susceptibility map was verified using a data set of 375 new landslide locations. It is the first comprehensive attempt to illustrate the landslide susceptibility in the total country based on the interpretation of historical data only.     

基于粗糙集和BP神经网络的滑坡易发性评价

区域滑坡易发性评价是国土规划和滑坡中长期防治的重要依据。为进一步提高滑坡易发性评价的准确性,以恩施市龙凤镇为研究区,运用地理信息系统GIS技术,获取了包括工程岩组、坡度、地质构造等在内的13个初始评价因子,利用基于遗传约简算法的粗糙集理论对初始评价因子进行属性约简,去掉冗余属性后获得最小约简,即8个核评价因子：工程岩组、高程、地形曲率、道路、水系、坡度、坡向、径流强度指数,并以此作为BP神经网络的输入层,构建RS-BPNN预测模型,获得滑坡易发性指数LSI及滑坡易发性等级分区图。其中高易发区面积占总面积的12.82%,该区包含的滑坡面积占总滑坡面积的78.11%,通过ROC曲线测试,模型预测精度为90.9%。结果表明,RS-BPNN模型预测性能良好,进一步提高了滑坡易发性评价的精度和准确性,有较高的工程实用价值。     

Late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Tana,source of the Blue Nile

High-resolution seismic data from Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile in northern Ethiopia, reveal a deep sedimentary sequence divided by four strong reflectors. Data from nearshore cores show that the uppermost strong reflector represents a stiff silt unit, interpreted as a desiccation surface. Channel cuts in this surface, bordered by levee-like structures, are apparent in the seismic data from near the lake margin, suggesting fluvial downcutting and over-bank deposition during seasonal flood events. Periphytic diatoms and peat at the base of a core from the deepest part of the lake overlie compacted sediments, indicating that desiccation was followed by development of shallow-water environments and papyrus swamp in the central basin between 16,700 and 15,100 cal BP. As the lake level rose, open-water evaporation from the closed lake caused it to become slightly saline, as indicated by halophytic diatoms. An abrupt return to freshwater conditions occurred at 14,750 cal BP, when the lake overflowed into the Blue Nile. Further reflection surfaces with downcut structures are identifiable in seismic images of the overlying sediments, suggesting at least two lesser lake-level falls, tentatively dated to about 12,000 and 8000 cal BP. Since Lake Victoria, the source of the White Nile, was also dry until 15,000 cal BP, and did not reach overflow until 14,500 cal BP, the entire Nile system must have been reduced to intermittent seasonal flow until about 14,500 cal BP, when baseflow was re-established with almost simultaneous overflow of the headwater lakes of both the White and Blue Nile rivers. Desiccation of the Nile sources coincides with Heinrich event 1, when cessation of northward heat transport from the tropical Atlantic disrupted the Atlantic monsoon, causing drought in north tropical Africa. The strong reflectors at deeper levels in the seismic sequence of Lake Tana may represent earlier desiccation events, possibly contemporaneous with previous Late Pleistocene Heinrich events.     

Stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Blue Nile Basin,Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau

The Blue Nile Basin, situated in the Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau, contains ∼1400 m thick Mesozoic sedimentary section underlain by Neoproterozoic basement rocks and overlain by Early–Late Oligocene and Quaternary volcanic rocks. This study outlines the stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Blue Nile Basin based on field and remote sensing studies along the Gorge of the Nile. The Blue Nile Basin has evolved in three main phases: (1) pre‐sedimentation phase, include pre‐rift peneplanation of the Neoproterozoic basement rocks, possibly during Palaeozoic time; (2) sedimentation phase from Triassic to Early Cretaceous, including: (a) Triassic–Early Jurassic fluvial sedimentation (Lower Sandstone, ∼300 m thick); (b) Early Jurassic marine transgression (glauconitic sandy mudstone, ∼30 m thick); (c) Early–Middle Jurassic deepening of the basin (Lower Limestone, ∼450 m thick); (d) desiccation of the basin and deposition of Early–Middle Jurassic gypsum; (e) Middle–Late Jurassic marine transgression (Upper Limestone, ∼400 m thick); (f) Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous basin‐uplift and marine regression (alluvial/fluvial Upper Sandstone, ∼280 m thick); (3) the post‐sedimentation phase, including Early–Late Oligocene eruption of 500–2000 m thick Lower volcanic rocks, related to the Afar Mantle Plume and emplacement of ∼300 m thick Quaternary Upper volcanic rocks. The Mesozoic to Cenozoic units were deposited during extension attributed to Triassic–Cretaceous NE–SW‐directed extension related to the Mesozoic rifting of Gondwana. The Blue Nile Basin was formed as a NW‐trending rift, within which much of the Mesozoic clastic and marine sediments were deposited. This was followed by Late Miocene NW–SE‐directed extension related to the Main Ethiopian Rift that formed NE‐trending faults, affecting Lower volcanic rocks and the upper part of the Mesozoic section. The region was subsequently affected by Quaternary E–W and NNE–SSW‐directed extensions related to oblique opening of the Main Ethiopian Rift and development of E‐trending transverse faults, as well as NE–SW‐directed extension in southern Afar (related to northeastward separation of the Arabian Plate from the African Plate) and E–W‐directed extensions in western Afar (related to the stepping of the Red Sea axis into Afar). These Quaternary stress regimes resulted in the development of N‐, ESE‐ and NW‐trending extensional structures within the Blue Nile Basin. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于SOM-I-SVM耦合模型的滑坡易发性评价

在使用机器学习模型对滑坡进行易发性评价时,通常会在滑坡影响范围之外随机选取非滑坡样本点,具有一定的误差。为了提高滑坡易发性评价的精度,将自组织映射（self-organizing map,SOM）神经网络、信息量模型（information,I）以及支持向量机模型（support vector machine,SVM）进行耦合,提出一种基于SOM-I-SVM模型的滑坡易发性评价方法,并将SOM神经网络与K均值聚类算法进行对比,验证模型的可靠性。以十堰市茅箭区为例,首先通过对环境因子的相关性及重要性分析,筛选出距水系距离、坡度、降雨量、距构造距离、相对高差、距道路距离、地层岩性等7个因子,建立滑坡易发性评价指标体系,在此基础上计算出各因子的分级信息量值,并作为模型的输入变量进行滑坡易发性评价。分别采用SOM神经网络和K均值聚类算法选取非滑坡样本,然后将样本数据集代入I-SVM模型预测滑坡易发性。将SVM、I-SVM、KMeans-I-SVM、SOM-I-SVM等4种模型预测精度进行对比,其ROC曲线下面积（AUC）分别为0.82,0.88,0.90,0.91,说明SOM-I-SVM模型能有效提高滑坡易发性预测准确率。     

石门水库集水区的山崩潜感分析

<正>石门水库集水区位于台湾北部淡水河支流大汉溪中上游,集水区面积763.4 km~2。研究以多变量分析中的罗吉斯回归(logistic regression)方法进行山崩潜感分析,绘制山崩发生机率图,供集水区山崩潜势暨土砂灾害评估。山崩潜感分析系以2004年艾利台风诱发的浅层滑动型山崩数据,选取岩性、坡度、坡度粗糙度、地形曲率、相对坡高、全坡高、植被指     

基于遥感影像多尺度分割与地质因子评价的滑坡易发性区划

区域滑坡易发性的研究是滑坡空间预测的核心内容之一。从影像多尺度分割和面向对象的分类理论出发,以研究区遥感影像的熵、能量、相关性、对比度共4个参数作为影像纹理因子提取易发性特征,利用滑坡所处区域的库水影响等级、坡度、斜坡结构、工程岩组4类地质因子分析地质背景,搭建C5.0决策树的易发性分类模型,实现了对研究区内4类滑坡易发性单元的预测。结果表明：高易发性单元的工程岩组通常发育为软岩岩组和软硬相间岩组,且坡度在15°～30°之间;模型显示该区域训练样本和测试样本平均正确率达91.64%,Kappa系数分别为0.84,0.51,因此这种基于影像多尺度分割与地质因子分级的滑坡易发性分类研究具有一定的适用性。     

Landslide susceptibility assessment along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea,Iran

China is a disaster-prone country, and these disasters have diverse characteristics, a wide scope of distribution, high frequency, and large losses. China has advanced community-based disaster management (CBDM) capacity. Community is the bottom unit of the society, and CBDM is the foundation of the entire society’s disaster management system. A series of domestic major emergency incidents and disasters and international disaster reduction activities have promoted the formation of the CBDM concept, the implementation of capacity building activities, and the improvement of policy and laws. Thus far, the CBDM system has been preliminarily formed in China, and relevant rules and regulations have been promulgated and implemented. Furthermore, disaster reduction activities, such as the construction of the national comprehensive disaster reduction community and national safe community, have been promoted nationwide. As a result, China’s disaster-resistance capacity has largely improved. However, it is only in the initial phase of CBDM implementation, which remains plagued by several challenges and problems, such as the deficiency of community resident participation, management organizations, disaster risk assessment methods, NGO development, and safety culture cultivation.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping using AHP and fuzzy methods in the Gilan province,Iran

GeoJournal - Landslides are natural destructive phenomena that can cause great damage to property and life loss. One of the fundamental proceedings to reduce the possible damage is identifying...