Late Quaternary sediment, sediment mass flow processes and slope stability on the Scotian Slope, Canada

The study area, just to the west of the Verrill Canyon on the Scotian Slope, eastern Canada, exhibits both large and small scale sediment mass movement features. Study of high resolution seismic reflection and sidescan sonar data shows that a large portion (approximately 70%) of the near surface sediment (<20 m) in the area has undergone erosion, rotational slumping and internal deformation. Remoulded sediment observed in physical properties profiles of piston cores and sediment deformation structures are further evidence of slumping. Small scale mass flow events are recorded by abundant turbidites and debris flow deposits noted in piston cores. Sediment physical properties are highly dependent on sediment type (lithofacies). Frequent facies changes, both temporally and spatially, make correlation between cores difficult. Although the small scale mass movement events correlate with glacial recession on the continental shelf and lower relative sea levels, the triggering mechanisms for the large scale events are less obvious. Slope stability analyses indicate that, at present, the seabed is stable. The most plausible explanation for large scale slope failures in this region are ground accelerations related to earthquake shock. Our analyses demonstrate that it is unlikely that large magnitude, distant earthquakes, such as those previously proposed in the Laurentian Slope Seismic Zone (LSP) model, could initiate failure of sediment in the study region. Our data support the interpretation that more frequent, lower magnitude earthquakes, closer to the study region, as previously proposed in the Eastern Slope Experimental Source Zone (ESX) model, are the likely causes of large scale slope failures. Furthermore, excess pore pressures resulting from shallow gas and/or high sedimentation rates during deglaciation contribute to slope failure.     

不同坡度草地含沙水流水力学特性及其拦沙机理

参照黄土区侵蚀降雨和坡面片蚀产沙特征,采用恒流泥沙输送装置模拟坡面上方来水来沙,探讨不同坡度草地含沙水流的水力学特性及其对上方来沙的拦蓄机理。结果表明,草地坡面的水流弗劳德数随坡度增大而增加,而阻力系数与坡度呈反势。按明渠水流的一般标准,不同坡度草地水流均为层状缓流。草地坡面拦沙效应随坡度增大而减小,且径流前期的减沙作用较后期更为显著。不同坡度草地坡面的出流泥沙平均直径和大颗粒(>10μm)泥沙含量均显著小于上方来沙,这说明草地的拦沙效应主要体现在对大粒径泥沙的拦蓄上。     

A unified criterion for initiation of sediment motion and inception of sheet flow under water waves

A unified criterion is developed for initiation of non‐cohesive sediment motion and inception of sheet flow under water waves over a horizontal bed of sediment based on presently available experimental data. The unified threshold criterion is of the single form, U_o = 2πC[1 + 5(T_R/T)²]^?1/4, where U_o is the onset velocity of sediment motion or sheet flow, T is wave period, and C and T_R are the coefficients. It is found that for a given sediment, U_o initially increases sharply with wave period, then gradually approaches the maximum onset velocity U_o = 2πC and becomes independent of T when T is larger. The unified criterion can also be extended to define sediment initial motion and sheet flow under irregular waves provided the significant wave orbital velocity and period of irregular waves are introduced in this unified criterion.     

Effect of sediment load on the microbenthic community of a shallow-water sandy sediment

Anthropogenic activities, such as construction work, dredging, and different kinds of recreation activities, can alter sediment loading in shallow coastal areas. The effect of increased load of fine sediment on the microbenthos (benthic microalgae, bacteria, and meiofauna) was studied in two experiments using undisturbed cores of a sandy sediment from a microtidal bay on the Swedish west coast. In each experiment, a total of 24 cores were incubated in an outdoor flow-through set-up. Twelve cores were treated with a 2.5-mm thick layer of autoclaved fine-grained, (silt) carbon-rich surface sediment. In the first experiment, estimates of the impact were based on measurements of chlorophylla, biomass of microalgae, bacteria, and meiofauna, and bacterial production. The main purpose of the second experiment was to study the effect on sediment oxygen profiles using microsensors. Within a week, after being covered by fine sediment, benthic microalgae (particularly diatoms) had migrated upward and the oxygen profiles were restored at the sediment surface by photosynthesis. However, the oxygen-producing layer became thinner and the algal composition changed. Bacterial biomass was restored to the same level as in the sandy sediment. Meiofauna also appeared to move upward and the meiofaunal composition was re-established. The results suggest that the microbenthic community of sandy sediment has an inherent capacity to recover after a moderate deposition of fine-particle sediment. Active upward migration of benthic diatoms appears to be a key mechanism for restoring the oxygenation of the sediment surface. The altered sediment type also implies changed species composition, and hence altered benthic trophic interactions, which may affect, for example, flatfish recruitment.     

地震载荷下斜坡稳定性数值模拟分析

地震载荷是影响复杂结构斜坡塌滑的一个重要因素。本文以汶川震区一边坡为实例,利用有限差分法FLAC-3D对地震动力下斜坡进行了数值模拟。并且在用FLAC-3D进行斜坡动力分析时探讨了边界条件设置、动力时程的合成以及输入和转化。从位移场与速度场进行了详细的动力分析,获得该斜坡地震载荷下位移场、速度场的变化规律,指出山体斜坡在非连续介质状态下软弱面区域位移和速度最大,为后续进行复杂的山体破坏力学研究提供理论依据。     

Carbonate platform flanks: slope angle and sediment fabric

More than 20 examples of fossil carbonate platform systems were compared for slope angle and sediment fabric. Plots of slope angle versus sediment fabric show that grainy, non-cohesive, mud-free sediments build steeper slopes than muddy, cohesive, sediments. Examples near the end-members of grainy and muddy carbonate platform flanks are found in the Triassic of the Dolomites in northern Italy and in the Bahamas, respectively. They document the flank geometry and the processes readjusting the slope profile once the limiting slope angle is exceeded. The grainy flank sediments in the Dolomites, modified by shearing and avalanching, produce straight slope profiles with declivities up to 35°, whereas the muddy Bahamian flank sediments, modified by large-scale creep and rotational to translational sliding and slumping, produce a concave-upwards slope profile, inclined at less than 4°. The comparison between slope angle and sediment fabric indicates that the physical behaviour of sediments in the gravity field, angle of shearing and mode of readjustment processes, is linked to the composition of the slope sediment. Among the variables such as sea-level, subsidence, climate, plate motion and oceanographic setting (windward-leeward), sediment fabric is suggested to be a major, if not the major control on slope angle and slope curvature of carbonate platform flanks. Besides the recently documented tendency of carbonate sediments to build steeper slopes than siliciclastics, this proposed relation sheds new light on the analysis and quantification of the variables influencing the geometry and depositional evolution of carbonate systems. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to deduce sediment composition from seismic lines and predict lithology prior to drilling.     

河流水沙运动对污染物迁移转化效应研究进展

河道内水流和泥沙是污染物迁移转化的主要载体,研究河道内污染物迁移转化过程以及水沙运动对其影响对于治理日益恶化的河流水环境非常重要。结合国内外研究最新动态,对水沙运动作用下污染物迁移转化的试验研究、作用机理、理论模式和数学模型等进行了总结和概述,重点对几种典型的理论模式和数学模型进行了比较分析。目前河流水沙运动对污染物迁移转化效应相关研究存在试验方法比较局限、作用机理存在分歧、理论模式和数学模型不完备等问题,需要进一步进行室内和野外试验技术创新、颗粒界面动力学的微观探索以及污染物在上下覆水和界面上迁移转化理论研究。对河流水沙运动对污染物迁移转化效应研究的研究方向提出了展望。     

The influence of slope gradient and gully channel on the run-out behavior of rockslide-debris flow: an analysis on the Verghereto landslide in Italy

Landslides - Rockslide-debris flow may cause catastrophic damages because of its high speed and long run-out distance. The influences of slope gradient and gully channel on the entrainment,...     

金沙江流域不同区域水沙变化特征及原因分析

在金沙江流域水文站控制的不同区间的水文资料和降水量资料,以及大量的长江上游水土流失重点防治区小流域综合防治工程(简称"长治"工程)拦沙减蚀量、水库拦沙量资料的基础上,对金沙江流域各水文站控制的不同区间、不同时段的来水来沙变化特征及其变化原因进行了定量分析.结果表明,金沙江流域水沙在地区分布上有明显的水沙异源特性,不同区间水沙变化特征存在很大的差异,降水/径流变化引起的沙量变化、水库拦沙、"长治"工程减沙在不同区间起着不同的作用.金沙江攀枝花以上地区以冻融侵蚀和坡面侵蚀为主,年产沙量仅0.521亿t,输沙模数200 t/(km2·a),但增沙的趋势较明显;攀枝花至屏山区间新构造运动剧烈,断层发育,岩层松软破碎,地形陡峻,植被稀少,以重力侵蚀为主,年产沙量1.58亿t,输沙模数达2 200 t/(km2·a),1991-2000年来沙量增加,2001-2004年来沙量大幅度减小.     

土坡等圆心角斜条分稳定性分析法

在土坡稳定性计算中,条分法作为一种简单而又实用的方法在实际工程中得到了广泛的应用。传统的条分法大多采用垂直条分,等圆心角斜条分法以斜条分代替垂直条分,使得条间力的假设更为合理。在斜条分的基础上,结合重新定义的应力水平安全系数,使问题的求解也更为简单、迅速,并且求解的结果还可以反映出土条应力状态的差异。     

龙羊峡、刘家峡水库运用对黄河上游水沙关系的调控机制

依据龙羊峡、刘家峡水库进出库水沙定位观测资料,根据河流动力学原理,分析了水库运用对径流泥沙过程的调节作用及其影响,揭示了水库对其下游河道水沙关系的调控机制。结果表明:①大型水库运用对进、出库径流泥沙的调节作用与水库的运用方式有关,多年调节的龙羊峡水库对径流为线性调控,对泥沙为非线性调控,而不完全年调节的刘家峡水库对径流、泥沙均为线性调控;②水库运用对其下游河道水沙关系具有很强的干扰作用,主要是打破了天然条件下河道通过长期自动调整所形成的输沙规律,改变了挟沙水流的本构关系;③大型水库运用对水沙关系动力学机制的影响主要归因于重新调整了挟沙水流的平衡条件,使洪水传播过程中切应力降低,临界弗劳德数增大,改变了相对平衡输沙状态,挟沙水流则需通过淤积增大比降,满足临界弗劳德数状态下的水流切应力要求,重新实现挟沙水流的平稳状态,从而致使水沙关系发生相应变化。     

爆破荷载作用下露天矿边坡稳定性的突变研究

基于二维斜坡平面滑动失稳力学模型,引入爆破荷载因素,建立了露天爆破荷载作用下岩质边坡失稳的尖点突变理论模型。根据建立的突变模型,探讨了爆破荷载幅值和爆破荷载频率对边坡稳定性的影响规律,导出了边坡的动态自稳临界高度,并提出了失稳的判据条件,结果表明：爆破荷载幅值越大,爆破荷载频率越小,后缘裂缝深度越大,边坡失稳的可能性越高;在爆破荷载作用下,边坡的稳定程度是动态变化的,且随着应力波入射角的增大,边坡失稳破坏的可能性不断提高。以大孤山露天矿内的两处边坡为例,计算了边坡的动安全系数及动态自稳临界高度,利用边坡当前实际的稳定情况验证了提出的边坡失稳判据的合理性,为预防露天矿爆破在开挖过程中边坡岩体的动力失稳提供了一定的理论支持。     

Emplacement of massive deposits by sheet flow

Turbidity current and coastal storm deposits are commonly characterized by a basal sandy massive (structureless) unit overlying an erosional surface and underlying a parallel or cross-laminated unit. Similar sequences have been recently identified in fluvial settings as well. Notwithstanding field, laboratory and numerical studies, the mechanisms for emplacement of these massive basal units are still under debate. It is well accepted that the sequence considered here can be deposited by waning-energy flows, and that the parallel-laminated units are deposited under transport conditions corresponding to upper plane bed at the dune–antidune transition. Thus, transport conditions that are more intense than those at the dune–antidune transition should deposit massive units. This study presents experimental, open-channel flow results showing that sandy massive units can be the result of gradual deposition from a thick bedload layer of colliding grains called sheet flow layer. When this layer forms with relatively coarse sand, the non-dimensional bed shear stress associated with skin friction, the Shields number, is larger than a threshold value approximately equal to 0·4. For values of the Shields number smaller than 0·4 the sheet flow layer disappeared, sediment was transported by a standard bedload layer one or two grain diameters thick, and the bed configuration was characterized by downstream migrating antidunes and washed out dunes. Parallel laminae were found in deposits emplaced with standard bedload transport demonstrating that the same dilute flow can gradually deposit the basal and the parallel-laminated unit in presence of traction at the depositional boundary. Further, the experiments suggested that two different types of upper plane bed conditions can be defined, one associated with standard bedload transport at the dune–antidune transition, and the other associated with bedload transport in sheet flow mode at the transition between upstream and downstream migrating antidunes.     

土质边坡的饱和−非饱和渗流分析及特殊应力修正

基于连续多孔介质原理与混合体原理引入流?固耦合模型,采用FISH语言编制程序,建立了初始渗流场设置函数、饱和?非饱和渗流分析模块、特殊应力修正模块以及非饱和单元抗剪强度修正模块,实现了利用FLAC3D进行饱和?非饱和渗流分析,同时基于饱和?非饱和渗流场修正非饱和区土体单元的有效应力以及抗剪强度,完成了将FLAC3D中饱和土流?固耦合计算原理扩展到非饱和土中。在二次开发的分析模块基础上对Liakopoulos砂柱排水试验进行数值模拟,验证了计算模型和计算程序的正确性。同时也研究了降雨入渗对土质边坡的渗流场、位移场以及稳定性演变过程的影响,揭示了降雨诱发边坡失稳的机制。     

Temporal and spatial variations in water flow and sediment load in Narmada River Basin, India: natural and man-made factors

The Narmada River flows through the Deccan volcanics and transports water and sediments to the adjacent Arabian Sea. In a first-ever attempt, spatial and temporal (annual, seasonal, monthly and daily) variations in water discharge and sediment loads of Narmada River and its tributaries and the probable causes for these variations are discussed. The study has been carried out with data from twenty-two years of daily water discharge at nineteen locations and sediment concentrations data at fourteen locations in the entire Narmada River Basin. Water flow in the river is a major factor influencing sediment loads in the river. The monsoon season, which accounts for 85 to 95% of total annual rainfall in the basin, is the main source of water flow in the river. Almost 85 to 98% of annual sediment loads in the river are transported during the monsoon season (June to November). The average annual sediment flux to the Arabian Sea at Garudeshwar (farthest downstream location) is 34.29×10⁶ t year⁻¹ with a water discharge of 23.57 km³ year⁻¹. These numbers are the latest and revised estimates for Narmada River. Water flow in the river is influenced by rainfall, catchment area and groundwater inputs, whereas rainfall intensity, geology/soil characteristics of the catchment area and presence of reservoirs/dams play a major role in sediment discharge. The largest dam in the basin, namely Sardar Sarovar Dam, traps almost 60–80% of sediments carried by the river before it reaches the Arabian Sea.     

Contourite origin for shelf and upper slope sand sheet, offshore Antarctica

A widespread (3200 km²), thick (10 cm to > 100 cm) sand deposit exists on the continental shelf and upper slope offshore of the Pennell Coast, Antarctica. The sand body occurs at water depths between 200 and 1200 m. The mean grain size of the sand varies from 3·3 phi to 1·2 phi, and the composition is dominantly volcanic. The only source for this volcanic material is Cape Adare, a volcanic headland. Sands are transported up to 70 km from Cape Adare by a westward‐flowing circumpolar boundary current that impinges on the upper slope and shelf. Radiocarbon dates from the sand and from the glacial unit beneath it indicate that the deposit formed within the past 9000 years. The occurrence of this sand sheet demonstrates the ability of contour currents to assemble extensive sand bodies on the shelf and upper slope and the relatively rapid rate at which these deposits may form.