An investigation of periglacial slope stability in relation to soil properties based on physical modelling in the geotechnical centrifuge

Results are presented from eight scaled centrifuge modelling experiments designed to investigate mass movement processes on thawing ice-rich slopes. Four pairs of simple planar slope models were constructed, one in each pair being of sufficient gradient to promote slope failure during soil thaw and the second having a gradient below the threshold for instability. Four frost susceptible soils were used, three were normally consolidated and had different clay contents (2%, 12% and 20%) and the fourth comprised the 20% clay soil, but was over consolidated prior to model testing. Modelling protocols included freezing from the surface downwards under an open hydraulic system, and thawing from the surface downwards under an enhanced gravitational field within the geotechnical centrifuge, thereby utilising scaling laws to simulate correct prototype self weight stresses during thaw. Slopes below the stability threshold gradient were subjected to between 2 and 4 cycles of freezing and thawing, simulating annual cycles. Those above the stability threshold were subjected to only one cycle, since they failed during the first thaw phase. Thermal conditions, pore water pressures, surface movements, and profiles of displacement are reported. Measured pore pressures are used in slope stability analyses based on a simple planar infinite slope model. Profiles of solifluction shear strain and mechanisms of slope failure are both shown to be sensitive to small changes in soil properties, particularly clay content and stress history. In all cases, pore pressures rose rapidly immediately following thaw, remained below the threshold for failure in low gradient models, but exceeding the threshold to trigger landslides on steeper slopes. Upward seepage of melt water away from the thaw front contributed to loss of shear strength. Mechanisms of slope failure differed between test soils, ranging from mudflow in non-cohesive silt to active layer detachment sliding in over consolidated silt–clay. During solifluction, shear strain was greatest at the surface in non-cohesive silt and decreased rapidly with depth, but in test soils containing clay, the zone of maximum shear strain was located lower in the displacement profiles.     

Characterization of frozen soil-cement mixture for berm construction in cold regions

Lagoon berms in western Alaska are difficult to design and build due to limited resources, high cost of construction and materials, and warm permafrost conditions. This paper explores methods to treat locally available frozen materials and use them for berm construction. The goal is to find an optimized mix ratio for cement and additives that can be effective in increasing the strength and decreasing the thaw settlement of an ice-rich frozen silty soil. Soil of similar type and ice content to the permafrost found at a project site in Eek, Alaska is prepared in a cold room. The frozen soil is pulverized and cement, additives and fibers are added to the samples for enhancing shear strength and controlling thaw settlement. Thaw settlement and direct shear testsare performed to assess strength and settlement characteristics. This paper presents a sample preparation method, data from thaw settlement and direct shear tests, and analyses of the test results and preliminary conclusions.     

Case studies: Frozen ground design and construction in Kotzebue, Alaska

Alaska has many construction design challenges due to permafrost. Due to either climate changes or human activities and development, permafrost often becomes unstable. Unstable soils can cause thaw settlement, frost jacking, or heaving. These can cause damage to infrastructure, increase maintenance costs, and decrease the life of construction projects. Kotzebue, Alaska, a remote village in the northwest arctic part of Alaska, is ideal for observing such permafrost effects on infrastructure. Three case studies of Kotzebue construction projects are reviewed here： the Front Loop Water Main Extension, which shows the importance of both passive and active freeze thaw protection for water service pipes and how to minimize differential movement between pipes and buildings; the Wastewater Lift Station Replacement, which describes methods for reducing thaw settlement in buildings over time when it is not feasible to prevent thaw settlement, and compares the benefits of frozen ground excavation over traditional excavation practices; and the Ted Stevens Way Rehabilitation, which discusses the effectiveness of 2001 best design practices for gravel road construction over tundra and permafrost, identifies their design and construction failures, and proposes future solutions.     

Inferences concerning climatic change from a deeply frozen lake on Rundfjeld,Ellesmere Island,Arctic Canada

A small lake on top of Rundfjeld, central Ellesmere Island, at an elevation of approximately 830 m, is frozen to the bottom, and the thickness of lake ice present is at least 5.45 m. Under present climatic conditions the lake does not thaw to the bottom, even during the warmest summers; i.e., 3 to 4 m of ice still floored the deepest part of the lake in mid-August 1987. A radiocarbon age determination via accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) on a sample of the filamentous green alga Mougeotia sp., recovered from the lake ice at a depth below 4 m, gave 5730±70 BP (TO-530). The date indicates that the lake was probably completely open for an unspecified period of time during the warmest part of the Hypsithermal Interval. This situation is in agreement with data derived from a variety of other sources in Ellesmere Island and adjacent Greenland.     

Measuring rural settlement expansion in Uzbekistan using remote sensing to support spatial planning

Population growth demands sustainable spatial planning strategies for settlements in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, especially in rural areas that are inhabited by approximately 64 percent of the country's population. Where can settlements expand in rural Uzbekistan and does settlement growth affect valuable agricultural land? SPOT-5 data with a resolution of 2.5 m was utilized for mapping building layers and assessing settlement growth between 2006 and 2011 at the example of 53 communities located in the Khorezm province in North-West Uzbekistan. Object based image analysis was conducted, i.e. a multi-scale segmentation for the derivation of building contours, followed by a random forest (RF) classification of the object's spectral and spatial characteristics. A geographical information system (GIS) was used for identifying settlement densification and expansion processes, and for quantifying agricultural land parcels of different soil quality occupied during settlement growth.A calibration routine based on indices of segmentation quality enabled the selection of optimal segmentation parameters. After GIS-based refinements of the RF classification results, the overall accuracy (OA) of the building layers of both years exceeded 95%. The OA of the change map was 92.7%. The results revealed that the building area increased by 20%, whilst settlement expansion amounted to 10% in 2006–2011. Settlements widely expanded in accordance with the existing rules prohibiting the conversion of agricultural land to housing areas. Nevertheless, about 20% of the settlement growth occurred on agricultural production areas, also on those with highly productive soils. The results indicated both, the pressure on land resources for settlement growth and – in face of continuous population growth – an increasing demand for comprehensive spatial planning in rural Uzbekistan. The elaborated methodological approach can be extrapolated to regions throughout Central Asia with similar environmental conditions.     

Use of geosynthetics for performance enhancement of earth structures in cold regions

Earth structures, such as roadways, embankments and slopes, and earth retaining walls, have been commonly used in cold regions for transportation and other applications. In addition to typical design c...     

RATES OF HEAVE AND SURFACE ROTATION OF PERIGLACIAL FROST BOILS IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS,CALIFORNIA

The White Mountains of California have a cold semi-arid climate that has led to the development of large areas of periglacial patterned ground. Rates of activity vary widely, and no present activity has been noted below 3600 m. Three distinct scales of patterned ground—having average diameters of 3–5 m, 0.5–1.0 m, and 0.1–0.5 m—exist together in a nested fashion at a favorable location at 3914 m. Vertical heave, horizontal displacement, and surface rotation were investigated on landforms of each scale, to determine rates of activity and the spatial and temporal variation of heave. No movement was detected in the largest landforms, but frost boils located in the centers of the larger sorted polygons were highly active. Rates of heave increased dramatically at the beginning of the thaw season, approaching 3.6 mm per day. Dowels were heaved an average of 16.8 cm over ten months. Disks used as surface markers demonstrated exceptional rotational and radial displacement over a nine-month period; 29% of the markers were overturned. The processes responsible for the observed movement in the White Mountains are discussed in relation to processes affecting other alpine environments.     

黄河三角洲沉积物的自然固结压实过程及其影响

对黄河三角洲及下伏沉积物的压实量和压实过程及其引起的地面沉降进行了分析研究。分析认为,在厚度为15 m的新淤积的黄河三角洲沉积重压下,前三角洲粘土和下伏海相粘土总固结量可达约1.35 m,海湾或烂泥湾及前三角洲和海相粘土总压缩量为1.48 m。这些粘土层在亚三角洲建设时期就开始受压固结,但是在亚三角洲废弃后,仍要经过几十年自然固结才会基本完成。除去前10年的固结量,前三角洲粘土与下伏海相粘土叠加形成的14 m厚粘土在随后的27年内可能会压缩50 cm;而海湾或烂泥湾及前三角洲和海相粘土叠加成的20 m厚粘土在50年内可能会压缩86 cm,两者的年平均压缩速率都超过17 mm/a。固结量和速率与上负沉积物重量成正比,而亚三角洲沉积厚度从沉积中心向外围逐渐减少,所以下伏粘土固结量和速率也向周围逐渐降低。但从亚三角洲沉积厚度分布情况看,在大范围内,下伏粘土固结引起的地面沉降在几十年内都将比较明显,从而可能加重三角洲地区风暴潮和海岸侵蚀灾害,降低已有灾害防治工程的作用。     

The simulation of LUCC based on Logistic-CA-Markov model in Qilian Mountain area,China

The Qilian mountain area was examined for using the Logistic-CA-Markov coupling model combined with GIS spatial analyst technology to research the transformation of LUCC, driving force system and simulate future tendency of variation. Results show that:(1) Woodland area decreased by 12.55%, while grassland, cultivated land, and settlement areas increased by 0.22%, 7.92%, and 0.03%, respectively, from 1986 to 2014. During the period of 1986 to 2000, forest degradation in the middle section of the mountain area decreased by 1,501.69 km~2. Vegetation cover area improved, with a net increase of grassland area of 38.12 km~2 from 2000 to 2014.(2) For constructing the system driving force, the best simulation scale was 210m×210m. Based on logistic regression analysis, the contribution(weight) of composite driving forces to land use and cover change was obtained, and the weight value was more objectively compared with AHP and MCE method.(3) In the natural scenarios, it is predicted that land use and cover distribution maps of Qilian mountain area in 2028 and 2042, and the Lee-Sallee index test was adopted. Over the next 27 years(2015–2042), farmland, woodland, grassland, settlement areas show an increasing trend, especially settlements with an obvious change of 0.56%. The area of bare land will decrease by 0.89%. Without environmental degradation, tremendous structural change of LUCC will not occur, and typical characteristic of the vertical zone of the mountain would remain. Farmland and settlement areas will increase, but only in the vicinity of Qilian and Sunan counties.     

近30年南极海冰的变化特征

采用NCEP的1973-2002年南极海冰密集度资料,对近30年南极海冰冰密集度的季节变化、年际变化及其与南极海冰涛动指数的长期变化关系进行了分析研究。结果表明,南极海冰的季节变化特点是海冰融化速度远大于凝结速度,而北极海冰融化速度与凝结速度基本相同。南极海冰存在着明显的年际变化,海冰面积指数呈增加趋势,年平均倾向率为28/10a。而北极海冰年际变化则相反,呈减少趋势,年平均面积指数的倾向率-3.5/10a。南极海冰涛动指数能代表南极地区近1/3的海水变化,是南极海冰变化的重要指数,具有10年、3-5年和2年左右的准振荡周期。     

艾比湖地区冻融作用对梭梭群落土壤酶活性及微生物数量的影响

冻融作用对酶和微生物活性具有重要影响,进而影响植物群落的生长发育。为深入了解荒漠优势种梭梭群落冬季土壤生态过程,于2012年10月~2013年10月,对土壤冻融期、冻结期、融冻期和生长季的艾比湖典型样地进行野外实地观测、采样和室内分析。通过对比分析不同冻融阶段土壤含水量、pH值、有机质、全氮、酶活性和微生物数量的变化特征。结果表明:(1)土壤含水量,融冻期 >冻结期 >冻融期 >生长季,土壤pH值,生长季 >融冻期 >冻融期 >冻结期,各土层土壤含水量以浅层土表现最为显著(P <0.05),不同冻融阶段各土层pH值差异性较大,冻融期、冻结期和生长季表层土壤pH值较大,融冻期浅层土壤pH值较大。(2)土壤有机质和全氮含量的波动状况相似,分别在融冻期和生长季呈现波峰和波谷,不同土层间全氮和有机质含量差异性较小,以冻融期和生长季表现最为显著(P <0.05)。(3)土壤酶活性的变化中,过氧化氢酶、脲酶和蛋白酶在融冻期含量最大,冻融期次之,蔗糖酶在冻结期活性最大,土壤微生物数量的变化以融冻期最大,除此之外,各冻融阶段细菌和放线菌占主导,真菌含量相对较少。(4)冻融循环次数分布于冻融期和融冻期,对土壤酶活性和微生物数量具有一定的影响,致使融冻期土壤各因子大于冻融期。     

Population Dynamics and Settlement Systems

The paper uses five broad classes of settlement in the Waikato as a base for exploring age and gender specific changes to population distributions. The trends are assessed over the period 1981 to 1991, an era of significant change to the economic and social fabric of the region. Links between this change and the inferred patterns of movement are suggested. Notable patterns include migration deficits in the youthful and elderly age classes in sparsely settled rural areas, and more substantial numbers of elderly in other non metropolitan settlements than expected. The policy implications of these distributions are considered in the concluding section of the paper.     

Thermal state of ice-rich soils on the Tommot-Yakutsk Railroad right-of-way

This paper summarizes the results of investigations carried out in the northern section of the Tommot-Yakutsk Railroad in eastern Siberia, underlain by ice-rich permafrost. The ongoing permafrost and geotechnical research program in support of railroad construction includes assessment of the ground thermal state on the right-of-way and adjacent areas based on long-term field observations using the method of terrain thermal physics. These studies focus on the upper permafrost within the depth of annual temperature variation. In undisturbed areas, inter-annual variability of the ground thermal state shows little response to recent climatic variations. However, forest clearing and surface disturbance during right-of-way construction cause an increase in permafrost temperature, deepening of the active layer, thaw settlement, and water accumulation along the embankment. The active layer is thickest along the sun-exposed left berm and is thinnest along the more shaded right berm. Measures to prevent thaw-related embankment problems are recommended.     

From Exploration to Systematic Investigation: Development of Geocryology in 19th- and Early—20th-Century Russia

Permafrost occupies 25% of the terrestrial surface of the Northern Hemisphere, but approximately 70% of Russia. Thus, it is not surprising that Russian researchers pioneered its scientific investigation. The first written accounts of perennially frozen ground in Russia appeared in the 17th century during a time of exploration and settlement of remote areas of Siberia. Nineteenth century investigations emphasized mapping, measuring, and describing permafrost and its thermal regime, primarily for reasons of scientific interest. About the turn of the 20th century, construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and other issues related to the large migration of people to Siberia instigated a trend toward more applied investigations. In his 1927 book on permafrost research, Sumgin subdivided the history of Russian permafrost studies into three periods, designated the initial accumulation of facts, the academic period, and the utilitarian period. Although these periods are not separated by precise temporal bounds, it remains a useful scheme for presenting this overview of the history of Russian permafrost studies emphasizing the 19th and early 20th centuries. Developments in geothermal observations, permafrost modeling and mapping, ground-ice investigations, and the organization of observational networks remain important research topics because of their relationships to climate change in the Arctic.     

已建城市排水管网的排涝能力评估方法

以SWMM 模型为平台构建已建城市区域排涝模型,以广州市芳村高尔夫地块为研究区域,基于研究区域实测降雨、径流等资料对模型进行参数率定和验证,模拟在不同暴雨重现期下已建城市区域雨水管网的排涝能力。研究结果表明：该区域遭遇2 a 一遇暴雨时,J14、J15 和J31 等3 个排水节点出现积水;当遭遇5 a 一遇时,J15 片区和J31 节点出现较为严重的积水,其中J15 和J31 节点积水量分别达到1 674、546 m³;积水时间分别为0.5、0.4 h。针对研究区域排水管网排涝能力偏低的现状,建议结合LID（Low Impact Development）措施,削减暴雨洪峰流量,提高区域排涝能力。文章构建的已建城市排水管网排涝能力评估方法,可识别区域主要积水黑点及管道满流管段,提供了一种动态、定性和定量评估排水管网能力的方法。     

环嵩山地区史前时期聚落选址与水系关系研究

采用GIS空间分析方法,按照裴李岗、仰韶、龙山、夏商4个时期对环嵩山地区史前时期聚落选址与水系关系进行分析。结果表明:聚落选址与水系存在密切的关系:(1)聚落选址偏好最强的地区位于距河流水平距离为200~300 m的地区,聚落分布数量随着距离水系水平距离的增大而减少,而且聚落选址距离水系的水平距离基本不超过3 km。(2)距离水系垂直距离为20 m的范围内是聚落选址偏好程度最强的地区,聚落分布数量随着距离河流垂直距离的增加而减少,距离水系垂直距离太大,不利于古人取水,垂直距离超过40 m无聚落分布,说明聚落选址对距离水系垂直距离的偏好度在40 m以内。(3)聚落选址偏好随着水系级别的增大而降低,裴李岗时期、龙山时期、夏商时期3级水系附近聚落密度最大,而仰韶时期1级水系附近聚落密度最大。有可能因为在仰韶时期,气候属于暖湿期,相对于其他3个时期来说,降水较多,3级水系水流量可能较大,没有1级水系附近的居住环境稳定。     

Land change in the central Albertine rift: Insights from analysis and mapping of land use-land cover change in north-western Rwanda

Land change was assessed in the Albertine rift region (ARR) using its central section of north-western Rwanda as case study. This region is one of Africa's most ecologically sensitive environments under severe pressure from human activities. The study maps and quantifies the spatial extent of land use-land cover (LULC) changes between 1987 and 2016 from Landsat images. Transitions between five major land classes were identified in order to understand the trajectory of observed changes. In terms of gains, the forest class, the urban built-up and bare land class increased by 9% and 4% respectively over the study period. The gains of forest were mainly derived from the afforestation of some agricultural lands in the southern part, whereas the gains of built-up and bare lands were mostly from cultivated land which was a net losing class. Forest increase is in line with government's policy to increase the national forest cover to 30% by 2020. Forest losses occurred mostly outside protected areas due to land conversion for settlement and agricultural purposes. Much needed information about changes in LULC over the last three decades is provided. This study demonstrates in a timely manner how to analyse and monitor LULC change and the drivers in an environment where field based research is a challenge due to the mountainous terrain. The ecological richness of the region, which coincides with heightened human population pressure, necessitates the monitoring of land change as input for improving land use planning with focus on conserving biodiversity.     

Tectonic compaction shortening in toe region of isolated listric normal fault,North Taranaki Basin,New Zealand

Industry 2D and 3D seismic data across the North Taranaki Basin displays two listric normal faults that formed during Pliocene shelf edge clinoform progradation. The faults die out in the down‐transport direction with no evidence for contractional structures, except for two small thrust faults in one narrow zone. When active, the detachments lay at depths of about 1000 m below the seafloor. The overlying section had high initial porosities (30–60%). It is estimated that loss of about 17–20% pore volume by lateral compaction, and fluid expulsion over a distance of about 4–6 km in the transport direction occurred in place of folding and thrusting. Seismic and well evidence for abnormally highly compacted shales suggests there is about 6% less porosity than expected for in the prekinematic section, which possibly represents a residual of the porosity anomaly caused by lateral compaction. The observations indicate significant shortening (~20%) by lateral compaction and probably some layer parallel thickening are important deformation mechanisms in near‐surface deepwater sediments that needs to be incorporated into shortening estimates and ‘balanced’ cross‐sections. A key factor in listric fault initiation near the base of slope is inferred to be transient, increased pore fluid pressure due to lateral expulsion of fluids from beneath the prograding Giant Foresets Formation.     

An analysis of mechanisms of ice-wedge casting based on geotechnical centrifuge simulations

Here we interpret the outcomes of scaled geotechnical centrifuge simulation of ice-wedge casting in terms of the likely significance of Quaternary ice-wedge pseudomorphs observed within different host sediments. Six experiments were completed in which 1/30th scale models of an ice-wedge embedded within frozen host sediments beneath a 25 mm thick unfrozen active layer were thawed from the surface downwards in the geotechnical centrifuge under a 30 times gravity (30×g) acceleration. Host sediment granulometry and/or ice contents were varied in each model, with host materials comprising medium sands, fine sandy silts and silty clays. The model ice-wedge was 50 mm at the top, 150 mm deep, and extended across the full width of the 450 mm wide test box. Centrifuge scaling laws indicate that under an acceleration of 30×g, stress distribution was equivalent to a 13.5 m long section of a 4.5 m high and 1.5 m wide full-scale prototype ice-wedge, covered in an active layer of thickness equivalent to 0.75 m. Thermal regimes, measured pore pressures during thaw, observed thaw consolidation and measured host sediment geotechnical properties are utilised in the interpretation of casting mechanisms. During a single uniform thaw event it is shown that arching of infilling sediment and the formation of a void is likely if negative pore pressures are developed in the host sediment. In fine silt and clays high ice contents are more likely than in sands, thaw consolidation is greater, positive pore pressures encourage complete filling of the ice-wedge void, and soft sediment deformation is likely to cause deformation of the cast and reduce its width and depth. Though natural casting mechanisms are likely to be more complex than those simulated here, modelling experiments highlight the need for care when inferring original ice-wedge geometry from observed shape and size of Quaternary ice-wedge casts.     

Observation of electric currents in the Alaska oil pipeline resulting from auroral electrojet current sources

Summary. Currents in the 1.28 × 10³ km Alaska oil pipeline, induced from the ionospheric, auroral electrojet, were measured at three sites, near Fairbanks, Paxson and Valdez, Alaska, using a gradient configuration of two fluxgate magnetometers. The observed pipeline current magnitudes, which reached 50 A during times of mild geomagnetic activity, displayed a linear relationship with the electric earth potential. Using the induction relationship between the electric and magnetic fields and the typical spectral composition of the geomagnetic field at high latitudes, I obtained a spectral appearance of the current that shows a maximum in the range of 4.5- to 10-min period. Near Fairbanks the pipeline current amplitudes, I (Amperes), could be represented, approximately, by I = 0.65 B _x T ^−0.5, where B _x(nT) is the north—south geomagnetic field variation amplitude and T (min) is its apparent period. There is much less pipelines current at the sites south of Fairbanks. A previously established relationship between the local electric field and the planetary geomagnetic activity index, Ap , permitted a prediction of the pipeline current surge amplitudes in the Fairbanks region as approximately I = 5.0 Ap . Current surges larger than 500 A may be expected rather often in the Alaska pipeline during large geomagnetic storms.