The blown sand disaster to the Tarim Desert Highway in Xinjiang, China

The Tarim Desert Highway in Xinjiang, China, the longest one in the world, has a lengthof 562 km, about 80% of which runs across, from north to south, the Taklimakan Desert. Obviously,the main problem of the road maintenance is the blown sand disaster. The research resultsshowed: (1) the physical environment along thedesert highway is characterized by strong winds,fine and loose ground materials, different dunes and so on, which provides the dynamical conditionand material source for the formation of blown sand disaster to the road and its shelter system.Meanwhile, the trend and cross-section of the road and the structure of the shelter system, asdamage objects, play important roles in the formation process of blown sand disaster; (2) theblown sand disaster to the shelter system is original from the intrusion of the drift sands and mobiledunes outside the shelter system, and the wind erosion and sand deposit caused by the air streamchanges on the ground in the shelter system. The main damage object in the Tarim Desert High-way is the shelter system presently. The damage forms include wind erosion, sand burying anddune covering; and (3) the damaged length of the blocking sand fences is 83.7%, 88.4%, 72.4%,72.8% and 40.3% and the damaged area of the straw checkerboard belts is 73.1%, 58.2%, 44.5%,35.4% and 36.6%, in turn, in 5 different landform units from north to south, and, the disasters tofences and the straw checkerboard belts are 79.5% and 57.6% in the compound dunes while theyare 64.6% and 37.7% in the interdunes respectively.     

Lateral migration of linear dunes in the Strzelecki desert,Australia

Linear dunes in the Strzelecki Desert trend roughly south-north. Sand transport, which is toward the NNE, has caused the dunes to migrate eastward while they extend or migrate northward. Eastward lateral migration is evidenced by: (1) asymmetrical shape of the dunes; east-facing slopes are several times as steep as west-facing slopes; (2) asymmetrical accumulation of loose recently transported sand (relatively abundant on east-facing slopes); (3) asymmetrical outcropping of older semiconsolidated aeolian sand on the dune surface (more abundant on west-facing slopes); and (4) east-dipping foreset beds that underly the west-facing flanks of some dunes. Dunes in the Strzelecki Desert are still active in the sense that sand is transported along and across many dune crests. However, the dunes are composed primarily of Pleistocene strata, indicating that the trend of the dunes was established before the Holocene. The obliquity of the dunes to the transport direction is not merely an aberration of the wind regime of the last few decades. Preferential accumulation of sand on east-facing flanks indicates that the dunes migrated eastward several metres during the Holocene. Moreover, the west-facing flanks of some dunes have experienced a minimum of tens of metres of erosion. This asymmetric erosion and deposition were caused by dune obliquity and lateral migration that may have begun as early as the Pleistocene. Dunes in the Strzelecki Desert and in the adjacent Simpson Desert display a variety of grossly different internal structures. Computer graphics experiments demonstrate that many of these differences in structure can be explained by different angles of climb of the dunes.     

汶川地震桥梁震害分析及抗震设计启示

汶川地震中公路桥梁破坏严重,且破坏形式在破裂面南、北两端出现显著的差异。本文从震源机制、断层运动方式和桥梁本身特点等角度,分析了产生这一差异的原因。分析结果表明,断层南端由于释放能量巨大,断层逆冲作用显著,结构在竖向和水平向地震力作用下出现强度破坏;而断层北端右旋走滑作用显著,结构在剧烈的地面错动中出现位移型破坏。在此基础上,本文对强震区的桥梁抗震设计提出了相应的改进措施。     

Runoff‐induced sediment yield over dune slopes in the Negev Desert. 1: Quantity and variability

Although extensive data exist on runoff erosion and rates for non‐sandy hillslopes, data for arid dune slopes are scarce, owing to the widespread perception that the high infiltrability of sand will reduce runoff. However, runoff is generated on sandy dunes in the Hallamish dune field, western Negev Desert, Israel (P ≈ 95 mm) due to the presence of a thin (usually 1–3 mm) microbiotic crust. The runoff in turn produces erosion. Sediment yield was measured on ten plots (140–1640 m²) on the north‐ and south‐facing slopes of longitudinal dunes. Two plots facing north and two facing south were subdivided into three subplots. The subplots represented the crest of the active dune devoid of crust, the extensively crusted footslope of the dune, and the midslope section characterized by a patchy crust. The remaining plots extended the full length of the dune slope. No runoff and consequently no water‐eroded sediments were obtained from the crest subplots devoid of crust. However, runoff and sediment were obtained from the mid‐ and footslope crusted subplots. Sediment yield from the footslope subplots was much higher than from the midslopes, despite the higher sediment concentration that characterized the midslope subplots. The mean annual sediment yield at the Hallamish dune field was 432 g per metre width and was associated with high average annual concentrations of 32 g l^?1. The data indicate that owing to the presence of a thin microbiotic crust, runoff and water erosion may occur even within arid sandy dune fields. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Directional damage due to near-fault and site effects in the M6.4 Changureh–Avaj earthquake of 22 June 2002

The Changureh–Avaj earthquake (M = 6.4) occurred 220 km northwest of Tehran on June 22, 2002. According to the official report, 226 people were killed, 1300 injured and 33,000 houses were seriously damaged or collapsed. Two villages located in the near-fault region with a population more than 200 people were completely destroyed. The damage survey was conducted within 30 km of the epicenter. During damage investigation, an observable pattern of damage in toppled masonry and concrete block fences was recognized. The data of damaged fences were documented and analyzed to study the effect of direction and distance from the epicenter. From the 109 fences, 85 fences were built within 15° of either north or east, providing an opportunity to study the effect of orientation. The results of analysis revealed that the east–west oriented fences toppled 2.6 times more than those oriented north–south. More than 70% of toppled fences were oriented in east–west direction, with more falling towards the north than to the south. This preferred direction of damage for toppled fences was observed in all four quadrants about the epicenter and at distance up to 15 km. In the northern quadrants almost all toppled fences were oriented east–west. Two possibilities, namely, near-fault effect and 2D or 3D site response, are examined to find an explanation for the observed damage pattern at the sites. Since the preferred direction of damage inferred from toppled fences within 15 km of epicenter was found to be parallel to the direction of rupture propagation, the near-fault forwarded rupture directivity was investigated as the most possible reason for the observed phenomenon at the sites. However, there were no records of strong motions available in near-fault zone. Thus, the near-fault ground motions were theoretically simulated by using developed local source parameters and heterogeneous slip model. Next, the principal axes were calculated by using eigenvector analysis of simulated horizontal motions. The preferred direction of damage in over 90% of the sites is well predicted by the directional dependence of near-fault ground motion. Nevertheless, the preferred direction of damage in Avaj station, where the main shock was recorded, demonstrates totally different result from the one predicted by the source. The shear-wave polarization is investigated as an alternative reason at the sites. The polarization of motion is found to be the greatest at frequencies with peaks in maximized and H/V spectra, suggesting that directional motion is associated with local site and geologic conditions. The dominant direction of motion due to source mechanism and local site conditions was identified and compared with the preferred direction of damage observed at the sites. It is found that the near-fault source effects can strongly control the motion directionality and even dictate its dominant direction to the one caused by local geologic or site conditions. Finally, the outcome provides field evidence of directional damage due to near-fault effects and local site conditions. This may aid in predicting the directions of damaging earthquake motions, and serve as an important factor in the design of critical facilities.     

Tectonics of Precambrian basement of the Tarim craton

The Altyn Tagh Mountain is the main area where the Precambrian basements of Tarim craton are exposed. There are two ophiolitic belts in Altyn Tagh: one belt is exposed in the northern margin of Altyn Tagh whose formation age is about (829±60) Ma, the other is situated along the southern margin of Altyn Tagh and has a formation age of about (1449±270) Ma. This paper proposes a simple tectonic model for the Precambrian basement of Tarim craton established from ophiolites in Altyn Tagh area. The south Tarim block had amalgamated with Qaidam block during about 1400-1500 Ma along the present Altyn fault, while the south Tarim-Qaidam united block was still separated from the north Tarim block by an ocean. The united block of south Tarim and Qaidam collided with north Tarim block along the zone of high positive anomaly of central Tarim, Hongliugou and Lapeiquan in about 800 Ma. So since the Sinian (beginning at 800 Ma) there has been an integrated basement for Tarim craton.     

FIELD STUDIES OF SAND PATCH INITIATION PROCESSES ON THE NORTHERN MARGIN OF THE NAMIB SAND SEA

Field studies of protodunes (sand patches) on the northern margin of the Namib Sand Sea suggest that they are initiated in a zone of spatially and temporally fluctuating winds on the distal plinth of one of the south–north linear dunes and migrate northward across granule to gravel substrates. The sand patches disperse as surface roughness increases in the net migration distance. Dispersal of the sand patches is also constrained by sand supply. These studies suggest the importance of interactions between surface and aerodynamic roughness, transport thresholds, and sand supply in the initiation of dunes.     

帕米尔东北缘及塔里木盆地西北部弧形构造的扩展特征

归纳了帕米尔东北缘弧形构造的基本特征 ,分析了塔里木盆地西北部EW向逆断裂背斜带与NNW向隐伏走滑断裂之间的关系。通过塔里木盆地与西南天山和帕米尔东北缘变形特征的对比 ,认为塔里木盆地西北部的变形样式与帕米尔东北缘的弧形构造类似 ,弧形构造具有由帕米尔东北缘向塔里木盆地扩展的特征 ,这种构造是帕米尔向北挤入运动所特有的变形样式     

Experimental study of surface texture and resonance mechanism of booming sand

The sound-producing mechanism of booming sand has long been a pending problem in the blown sand physics. Based on the earlier researches, the authors collected some silent sand samples from Teng- ger Desert, Australian Desert, Kuwait Desert, beaches of Hainan Island and Japanese coast as well as the soundless booming sand samples from the Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang to make washing ex- periments. In the meantime the chemical corrosion experiment of glass micro-spheres, surface coating experiment and SEM examination were also conducted. The experimental results show that the sound production of booming sand seems to have nothing to do with the presence of SiO2 gel on the surface of sand grains and unrelated to the surface chemical composition of sand grains but is related to the resonance cavities formed by porous (pit-like) physical structure resulting from a number of factors such as wind erosion, water erosion, chemical corrosion and SiO2 gel deposition, etc. Its resonance mechanism is similar to that of Hemholz resonance cavity. Under the action of external forces, nu- merous spherical and sand grains with smooth surface and porous surface are set in motion and rub with each other to produce extremely weak vibration sound and then become audible sound by human ears through the magnification of surface cavity resonance. However the booming sands may lose their resonance mechanism and become silent sand due to the damping action caused by the invasion of finer particles such as dust and clay into surface holes of sand grains. Therefore, clearing away fine pollutants on the quartz grain surface is an effective way to make silent sand emit audible sound.     

Comment on Hearty,P.J. and O'Leary,M.J., 2008. Carbonate eolianites,quartz sands,and Quaternary sea-level cycles,Western Australia: A chronostratigraphic approach. Quaternary Geochronology 3: 26–55

A proposal that the yellow sands which commonly overlie Pleistocene eolianites along the west coast of Western Australia may have their origin from major extensions of inland deserts during times of severe aridity, is refuted on several grounds. The eolianites typically are deeply degraded remnants of the original coastal dunes, which contained a high content of non-calcareous detritus. Hence plentiful residual sand will accumulate during weathering of a dune. Studies on heavy mineral content of the yellow sands have shown that there is an inland ageing trend consistent with local derivation from successive dune belts, and have also pointed to local sources for yellow color in the sand, without need to postulate a distant source. Localized denudations have however occurred, during which sand is blown inland to leave tracts of bared limestone. No remnants of the alleged desert extensions exist in the hinterland of the coastal belt.     

On the sand surface stability in the southern part of Gurbantünggüt Desert

Longitudinal dunes are the most widespread dune types in the world sand seas but comprehensive study on the sand surface stability is scarce. The southern part of Gürbantünggüt Desert is mainly covered by longitudinal dune in which fixed and semi-fixed dunes occupy over 80% of the total area. Systematic analysis on the climatic conditions, the soil moisture and vegetation distributions, and the sand surface activities showed that the fixed and semi-fixed dunes are in a comprehensive low-energy wind environment. Snow cover and frozen soil provide a good protection to the ground surface in winter. The temporal distribution of precipitation and corresponding variation of temperature create a favorable condition for the desert plants growth, especially for the ephemeral plants. The occurrence of effective winds for sand moving in April to June coincides with the stage of relatively wet sand surface and good vegetation cover, which effectively keep the sand surface stable at the interdune and the plinth of the dunes. Activity sand surface appears only at the crest and the upper part of the sand dunes.     

Structures of subgrade/pavement and construction techniques for the Taklimakan Desert Highway

With lots of indoor and outdoor experiments, several key technical issues in construction of the Desert Highway have been solved satisfactorily, on the basis of great achievements of the studies in respects of dry compaction on sand base, design parameters, structure combination of subgrade and pavement, stabilization analysis of sand base strengthened with geotextile and a complete set of construction techniques. It is the first time the achievements of the study were successfully applied in the Taklimakan Desert where the natural condition is extremely harsh. It has been proved that it is economic and reasonable with reliable techniques and simple construction methods. The Desert Highway constructed with the achievements is the first-grade highway running through huge migratory desert for long distance in the world.     

The contribution of aeolian processes to fluvial sediment yield from a desert watershed in the Ordos Plateau,China

In arid zones, many active aeolian dunes terminate at ephemeral and perennial desert rivers. The desert rivers show very high rates of sediment transport that cause deleterious downstream effects on the river system and ecology. High sediment loading has been attributed to severe water erosion of sparsely covered watersheds during infrequent but heavy rainfall. Although aeolian erosion is known to lead to high rates of wind‐blown sand transport, direct confirmation of whether the aeolian processes accelerate or inhibit fluvial sediment loss is lacking. Here, we show that an aeolian‐fluvial cycling process is responsible for the high rate of suspended sediment transport in a Sudalaer ephemeral desert channel in the Ordos Plateau of China. Frequent aeolian processes, but low frequency (once every 3 years on average) flooding, occur in this region. Wind‐blown saltating grains appeared to be unable to cross the desert channel because of interruption of channel‐induced recirculating air flow, and therefore tended to settle in the channel during the windy seasons, leading to channel narrowing. During flooding, this narrowed channel was found to yield a threefold increase in suspended sediment loading and a 3.4‐fold increase in the weight percentage of the 0.08–0.2 mm sediment fraction on 18 July 2012. Loss of stored aeolian sand due to channel erosion accounted for about half of the total sediment yield in this watershed. These findings show that aeolian processes play an essential role in accelerating the sediment yield from a watershed characterized by aeolian‐fluvial interplay and also suggest that the drier the region and the greater the aeolian process, the more the aeolian process contributes to fluvial sediment yield. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling aeolian sand transport and morphological development in two beach nourishment areas

The aeolian sand transport model SAFE and the air flow model HILL were applied to evaluate cross‐shore changes at two nourished beaches and adjacent dunes and to identify the response of aeolian sand transport and morphology to several nourishment design parameters and fill characteristics. The main input of the model consisted of data on the sediment, tide and meteorological conditions, and of half‐yearly measured characteristics of topography, vegetation and sand fences. The cross‐shore profiles generated by SAFE–HILL were compared to measured cross‐shore profiles. The patterns of erosion and deposition, and the morphological development corresponded. In general, the rates of aeolian sand transport were overestimated. The impact of parameters that are related to beach nourishment (namely grain size, adaptation length and beach topography) on profile development was evaluated. Grain size affected the aeolian sand transport rate to the foredunes, and therefore the morphology. Adaptation length, which is a measure of the distance over which sediment transport adapts to a new equilibrium condition, affected the topography of the beach in particular. The topography of a beach nourishment had limited impact on both aeolian sand transport rate and morphology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structures of subgrade/pavement and construction techniques for the Taklimakan Desert Highway

With lots of indoor and outdoor experiments, several key technical issues in construc-tion of the Desert Highway have been solved satisfactorily, on the basis of great achievements ofthe studies in respects of dry compaction on sand base, design parameters, structure combinationof subgrade and pavement, stabilization analysis of sand base strengthened with geotextile and acomplete set of construction techniques. It is the first time the achievements of the study weresuccessfully applied in the Taklimakan Desert where the natural condition is extremely harsh. Ithas been proved that it is economic and reasonable with reliable techniques and simple construc-tion methods. The Desert Highway constructed with the achievements is the first-grade highwayrunning through huge migratory desert for long distance in the world.     

Human impact on fixed sand dunes revealed by morphometric analysis

The Nyírség is the second largest alluvial fan in Hungary covered by fixed sand dunes. The primary aim of the paper is to describe the morphology of dunes in the region and classify them based on their morphometric characteristics. The other major aim is to select those dunes which were exposed to significant anthropogenic impact, and to determine the spatial and temporal differences in the intensity of human activity. The following dune types were separated: valley‐marginal, transitional valley‐marginal, transitional parabolic, filled, partially and unfilled parabolic dunes. After defining different dune types and their parameters, certain dunes were selected based on exposure to significant anthropogenic impact. Definite connection was demonstrated between the intensity of human environmental impact and the rate of erosion on fixed sand dunes. The erosion of sand dunes was most intensive in Medieval times, most likely due to concentration of agricultural land use. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于AHP法的宁夏南部中小学地震应急避难场所减灾能力评估研究

地震应急避难场所在应对灾害事件和提高城市综合防灾能力、减轻灾害影响、增强政府应急管理工作能力等方面发挥着重大的作用。本文运用AHP法，在遵循科学性、优化性和完整性原则的基础上，构建一个包含4个一级指标和24个二级指标的中小学地震应急避难场所减灾能力指标体系；并参照《地震应急避难场所运行管理指南》（GB/T 33744—2017）中对地震应急避难场所的启用、运行和管理等方面的要求，建立中小学地震应急避难场所减灾能力综合评价模型，根据专家问卷调查资料，计算并分析各指标的相对权重及结果，将其应用在宁夏南部高烈度区中小学校进行能力检验。结果表明，宁夏南部中小学地震应急避难场所减灾能力相对较弱，应加强该区域中小学地震应急避难场所的建设，提升防范和应对地震灾害的能力。     

Hillslope sediment fence catch efficiencies and particle sorting for post-fire rain storms

Sediment fences are often used to monitor hillslope erosion, but these can underestimate sediment yields due to overtopping of runoff and associated sediment. We modified four sediment fences to collect and measure the runoff and sediment that overtopped the fence in addition to the sediment deposited behind the fence. Specific objectives were to: (1) determine the catch efficiency of sediment fences measuring post-fire hillslope erosion; (2) assess particle sorting of sand, silt/clay, and organic matter from each hillslope through the sediment fence and subsequent runoff collection barrels; (3) evaluate how catch efficiency and particle size sorting relate to site and rainfall-runoff event characteristics; and (4) use runoff simulations to estimate sediment fence volumes for future post-fire monitoring. Catch efficiency ranged from 28 to 100% for events and 38 to 94% per site for the entire sampling season, indicating a relatively large underestimation of sediment yields by sediment fences. Most of the eroded sediment had similar proportions of sand and silt/clay as the hillslope soils, but the sediment behind the fence was significantly enriched in sand while the sediment that overtopped the fence was more strongly enriched in silt/clay. The sediment fences had capacities of 3 m³ for hillslopes of 0.19–0.43 ha, but simulations of runoff for 2- to 100-year storms indicate that the sediment fences would need a capacity of up to 240 m³ to store all of the runoff and associated sediment. More accurate measurements of sediment yields with sediment fences require either increasing the storage capacity of the sediment fence(s) to accommodate the expected volume of runoff and sediment, reducing the size of the contributing area, or directly measuring the runoff and sediment that overtop the fence. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lateral migration,thermoluminescence chronology and colour variation of longitudinal dunes near Birdsville in the Simpson Desert,central Australia

The longitudinal dunes of the Simpson Desert, in the vicinity of Birdsville, have been reworked largely during the Holocene from dunes deposited up to 80000 years ago or earlier. The widespread asymmetry of these roughly northward-trending dunes, with steeper eastern faces and more gentle western faces, supports wind-rose data showing sand-transporting winds from the southwest obliquely intersecting the dunes. While this suggests a change in the wind pattern since the dune field was oriented, it does not indicate that the dunes are necessarily shifting leeward (eastward) as a consequence. It is hypothesized that the direction of migration is controlled by the extent to which the dunes are vegetated. Relatively well-vegetated dunes can accrete sand on their gentle stoss slopes and erode on their lee slopes causing them to shift westward and hence obliquely into the wind, a condition that probably prevails in wetter regions and during episodes of relatively humid climate. In contrast, in very dry areas or during arid phases, sand can move unimpeded up a sparsely vegetated stoss face and over the crest to form an avalanche or slip face on the lee side, thereby causing the dunes to shift eastward. Despite evidence that longitudinal dune crests can shift laterally to some extent, the dunes in the western part of the Simpson Desert have not migrated, either westward or eastward, more than 100m or so from their Pleistocene cores. Aeolian transport and partial or complete removal of iron cutans from around quartz grains results in dunes of widely varying colour yet of similar age.     

Migration of barchan dunes in the western Quruq Desert,northwestern China

Barchan dunes are common on Earth, Mars and Titan. Previous studies have shown that their formation, migration and evolution are influenced by the wind regime and other factors, but details vary among regions. Understanding barchan morphology and migration will both improve our understanding of dune geomorphology and provide a basis for describing the environmental conditions that affect the formation and development of these dunes on Earth and other planets. Here, we provide detailed measurements of barchan dune migration in China's Quruq Desert, in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. We monitored their migration direction and rate, and their morphological changes during migration, by comparing Google Earth images acquired in 2003 and 2014. The dunes migrated west-southwest, close to the local resultant drift direction. The migration rate averaged 8.9 to 32.1 m year⁻¹, with obvious spatial variation. In addition to the wind regime, the migration rate depended on dune morphology, density and vegetation cover; the rate was negatively related to dune height, density and vegetation cover, but positively linearly related to the length/width ratio (L_U/W) and to the decrease in this ratio from 2003 to 2014. We found correlations among the dune morphometric parameters, but the relationships were weaker than in previous research. Due to the complexity of the factors that affect the processes that underlie sand dune development and migration, the morphological changes during dune migration were also complex. Our measurements suggest that the aeolian environment played a dominant role in dune migration and its spatial variation in the Quruq Desert. These results will support efforts to control dune migration in the western Quruq Desert and improve our understanding of dune morphodynamics. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.