Creep behavior of submarine sediments

A series of experiments on drained creep of marine sediment indicates that strength degradation results from the creep process, which implies an associated reduction in slope stability. Furthermore, the highest creep potential of a sediment may be at its preconsolidation stress. Results from the experiments on samples from Georges Bank continental slope were also used in conjunction with a preliminary theoretical model to predict creep displacements. For the case illustrated in this report, steep slopes (>20°) and thick sections (>30 m) give rise to substantial creep and probable creep rupture; as angles or thicknesses decrease, displacements rapidly become negligible.Creep may be a significant geologic process on many marine slopes. Not only can it cause major displacements of surface sediment, but it may also be the precursor to numerous slope failures.     

Impact Compressive Creep Characteristics of Simulative Soil for Deep-Sea Sediment

The impact load (equivalent impact height) applied to deep-sea sediment by a walking mining machine was first deduced by the energy conservation principle, and the simulative soil was prepared based on the deep-sea sediment collected from the Pacific C-C mining area. The self-designed impact compressive creep tests of the simulative soil were conducted under different ground stresses and impact heights, in order to determine impact compressive creep parameters using a K-H rheological model. Test results show that the impact compressive creep curves have three similar creep stages (transient creep, unstable creep, and stable creep) to static compressive creep curves, where the transient creep deformation and total deformation at the unstable creep stage decrease with the impact load. Among the three impact compressive creep parameters (K₁, K₂, β) of the simulative soil, K₁ is first increased with impact height and finally fluctuated to a certain stable value, while K₂ and β are approximately linearly increased with impact height. The maximum subsidence of the mining machine under a specific designed ground stress and walking velocity predicted by the impact compressive creep constitutive equation can be used for safety assessment of the mining machine.     

考虑软土蠕变对强度影响的高桩码头岸坡时变可靠度分析

考虑软土蠕变导致的土体抗剪强度的衰减效应,建立了软土长期强度模型,用以量化由于土体蠕变导致的土体抗剪强度参数随时间的变化规律。将时变可靠度理论结合有限元强度折减法,提出了考虑软土蠕变对强度影响的高桩码头岸坡时变可靠度算法。采用拉丁超立方抽样方法来改进传统蒙特卡罗法的随机抽样过程,提高计算效率。针对某一岸坡实例,将采用本文算法计算得到的可靠度结果与其他算法评估的结果进行对比分析,验证本文算法的可靠性。最后以我国沿海某高桩码头岸坡为例,基于本文算法评估了该码头岸坡的时变可靠度,分析了岸坡稳定性的时变规律。文中提出的时变可靠度分析方法不仅可以为在役高桩码头岸坡的安全评估提供强有力的技术支撑,同时也能为一些新建工程项目提供一定的参考应用价值。     

深基坑支护设计的弹性抗力有限元法

采用弹性抗力有限元方法讨论多支撑锚桩的深坑支护设计问题。该方法与传统的静力平衡法相比有其优越性,能够计算出不同开挖阶段的桩顶位移,桩身弯距随深度的变化,模拟开挖过程,最大限度地协调支护结构与土体的变形关系,并能确定出最小的桩身弯距设计值及各层锚杆的锚固力。并以实例运用该方法对青岛某基坑工程的支护进行了设计,取得了满意效果     

考虑蠕变特性的斜坡堤软土地基变形数值分析

目前在防波堤设计和施工中,较少考虑软粘土的蠕变特性对软土地基长期变形的影响.为准确预测斜坡堤软土地基的变形水平,研究采用Plaxis二维有限元程序,利用不考虑蠕变的摩尔-库仑模型和能反映土体时间效应的软土蠕变模型,模拟某斜坡堤地基软土层施工期和工后的地基变形过程,对比分析了两种不同模型的计算结果,表明由软土蠕变模型得到...     

长江口及其邻近海区环流和温、盐结构动力学研究IV 盐度结构

盐度的数值模拟结果表明: 一年四季长江口及其邻近海区的盐度分布均为近岸低, 外海高,近岸与外海盐差大。冬季近岸和外海的上层盐度呈垂直均匀分布, 陡坡及外海的底层出现层化; 近岸特别是长江口及其以南近岸盐度的水平变化显著, 外海变化缓慢。春季在长江口以北, 近岸至外海的表层至近底层盐度呈垂直均匀分布, 近岸至外海的底层存在一个向北延伸的盐舌; 长江口及其以南近岸和外海的表层至次表层盐度呈垂直均匀分布, 在近岸稍远的表层至次表层形成盐跃层, 其强度自近岸至外海和自表层至底层逐渐减弱; 在陡坡区的底层盐度几乎呈均匀分布, 并保持高盐特征。夏季除长江口及其以南近岸浅水区盐度呈垂直均匀分布外, 其它区域盐度均出现剧烈分层, 在长江冲淡水区形成强盐跃层, 其强度自表层至底层迅速减弱, 陡坡至外海的底层盐度大致呈均匀分布且保持高盐特征。秋季长江口以北近岸浅水区表层盐度低且出现层化, 表层以下盐度高且呈垂直均匀分布; 近岸以远自表层至底层呈垂直均匀分布, 在外海上层盐度低且呈垂直均匀分布, 而底层盐度高并出现分层;长江口及其以南近岸浅水区盐度呈垂直均匀分布, 陡坡区出现层化, 其盐度为表层低, 底层高; 层化自表层至底层逐渐增强, 并随陡坡至外海的减弱, 上层又逐渐变为垂直均匀分布。     

Assessment of relative slope stability of Kodiak shelf,Alaska, using high‐resolution acoustic profiling data

Abstract

The use of marine high‐resolution geophysical profiling data, seafloor soil samples, and accepted land‐based methods of analysis have provided a means of assessing the regional geotechnical conditions and relative slope stability of the portion of the Gulf of Alaska Continental Margin known as the Kodiak Shelf. Eight distinct types of soils were recognized in the study; the seafloor distribution of these indicates a complex geotechnical setting. Each soil unit was interpreted as having a distinct suite of geotechnical properties and potential foundation engineering problems. Seven categories of relative slope stability were defined and mapped. These categories range from “highest stability”; to “lowest stability,”; and are based on the degree of slope of the seafloor, type of soil underlying the slope, and evidence of mass movement. The results of the analysis indicate that the highest potential for soil failure exists on (1) the slopes forming boundaries between the submarine banks and the broad sea valleys, and (2) the upper portion of the continental slope, where evidence of past slope failure is common. Also of concern are gently sloping areas near the edges of submarine banks where evidence of possible tension cracks and slow downhill creep was found.     

Mounded seismic units in the modern canyon system in the Shenhu area,northern South China Sea: Sediment deformation,depositional structures or the mixed system?

The canyon system, including 17 small slope-confined canyons in the Shenhu area, northern South China Sea, is significantly characterized by mounded or undulating features on the canyon flanks and canyon heads. However, the mechanism underlying the formation of these features has yet to be elucidated. In previous studies, most of them were interpreted as sediment deformation on the exploration seismic profiles. In this paper, we collected high-resolution bathymetric data, chirp profiles and geotechnical test data to investigate their detailed morphology, internal structures, and origin. The bathymetric data indicated that most mounded seismic units have smooth seafloors and are separated by grooves or depressions. The distance between two adjacent mounded units is only hundreds of meters. On chirp profiles, mounded seismic units usually exhibit chaotic reflections and wavy reflections, of which the crests migrate upslope. The slope stability analysis results revealed that the critical angle of the soil layers in the study area tends to be 9°, indicating that most mounded seismic units on the canyon flanks and heads are stable at present. The terrain characteristics and seismic configurations combined with the slope stability analysis results indicated that most mounded seismic units are not sediment deformation but depositional structures or mixed systems composed of deformation and depositional structures.     

西沙海槽海域地形地貌特征及成因

应用多波束测量资料绘制了详细的西沙海槽海域地形图、地貌图,并把研究区划分为3个地貌单元。其中陆坡斜坡位于北部,呈北东向延伸,地形较为简单,斜坡面单一平整,地貌类型单一,主要为堆积型斜坡;西沙海槽位于中部,呈北东东向延伸,地形起伏较大,主要由槽底平原和槽坡组成,且在槽坡上发育陡坎、冲刷沟谷、阶地等次一级地貌类型;西沙海台位于南部,呈近东西向展布,地形变化复杂,地貌类型众多,表现为海山、海丘、小台地、洼地等相间排列的波状起伏的地貌特征。地貌形成与演化主要受南海新生代两次海底扩张控制。第1次海底扩张期间,西沙海槽可能已开始发生张裂。第2次海底扩张期间,西沙海槽分3个阶段发生张裂断陷,而且其强弱在东西方向上差别巨大,致使形成了现今东深西浅、东窄西宽、槽壁陡峭的近东西向延伸的海槽地貌,奠定了研究区内地貌的基本轮廓。而地质构造、火山活动、海平面变化等内外营力的共同作用则控制次级地貌类型的形成与演化。     

Movement of sediment on the Gulf of Mexico,continental slope and upper continental shelf

Abstract

Grain size, coarse fraction analyses, and depositional environment as interpreted from microfauna are related to the character of sparker reflections at the location of core holes drilled by Exxon, Chevron, Gulf, and Mobil on the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Continuous sparker reflections are correlated with slowly deposited, evenly bedded sediments containing bathyal faunas. The coarse fraction is dominated by the tests of foraminifera. Discontinuous, discordant reflections and diffractions are correlated with sediments more rapidly emplaced in the bathyal environment of the continental slope by slumping and sliding from the continental shelf. Their coarse fraction is dominated by terrigenous sand grains. A large portion of the volume of continental slope sediments appears to consist of these “displaced”; sediments, including an area 3–24 km wide and 80 km long, southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. Comparable processes of movement of sediments are interpreted on the continental shelf south of the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River. Bathymetry in this area is characterized by a series of subaqueous “gullies”; radiating from the river mouth and leading to terraces at their southern extremities. Side‐scan sonar and PDR surveys show a rough bottom in these “gullies”; and terraces, as contrasted with a relatively smooth bottom elsewhere. The rough bottom is interpreted as indicative of slump and creep of the sediments from shallower water. Some foundation soil borings in this area south of Southwest Pass find a low‐strength material gradually increasing in strength with depth. Other borings find a “crust”; of anomalously strong material 8–15 m below the mudline. The microfauna recovered from the “crust”; has moved to its present position by slump or creep from shallower water along a pattern comparable to the gullies shown in the present‐day bathymetry.     

Mass wasting along the Labrador shelf margin: Submersible observations

A dissected valley system along the central portion of the Labrador upper slope has been investigated using geophysical and submersible observations. The complex slope is a result of mass wasting on a steep slope gradient which appears to be independent of processes on the bank top. Small scale slumping and creep, a result of biological activity and iceberg rafting, and large-scale debris flows occur presently below 750 m water depth. A recent debris flow in the valley was examined in detail. Degraded iceberg scour marks are the principal sea bed feature above 750 m water depth.     

Transmission and reflection of the Rossby waves in a stratified ocean with bottom topography

Transmission and reflection coefficients are calculated for Rossby waves incident on a bottom topography with constant slope in a continuously stratified ocean. The characteristics of the coefficients are interpreted in terms of the quasigeostrophic waves on the slope. In the parameter range where only the barotropic Rossby waves can propagate in the region outside the slope, the bottom trapped wave plays the same role as the topographic Rossby wave in a homogeneous ocean, and hence the transmission is weak unless phase matching takes place. When both of the barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves can propagate outside the slope, the total transmission can be strong. The bottom trapped wave affects the transmission and reflection, and it leads to the possibility that the Rossby wave is transmitted as a mode different from the incident mode. When the number of the wavy modes on the slope is smaller than that of the Rossby wave modes outside the slope, strong reflection occurs.The results for an ocean with linear distribution of the squared Brunt-Väisälä frequency are compared to those in a uniformly stratified ocean. The weakening of the stratification near the bottom is almost equivalent to reducing the effect of the slope.     

Structure of the Sunda Trench lower slope off sumatra from multichannel seismic reflection data

Multichannel seismic reflection profiles across the Sunda Trench slope off central Sumatra reveal details of subduction zone structure. Normal faults formed on the outer ridge of the trench offset deep strate and the oceanic crust, but die out upsection under the trench sediments. At the base of the inner trench slope, shallow reflectors are tilted seaward, while deeper reflectors dip landward parallel to the underlying oceanic crustal reflector. Intermediate depth reflectors can be traced landward through a seaward-dipping monocline. We interpret this fold as the shallow expression of a landward-dipping thrust fault at depth. Landward of this flexure, relatively undeformed strata have been stripped off the oceanic plate, uplifted 700 meters, and accreted to the base of the slope. The oceanic crust is not involved in the deformation at the toe of the slope, and it can be observed dipping landward about 25 km under the toe of the accretionary prism.The middle portion of the trench slope is underlain by deformed accreted strata. Shallow reflectors define anticlinal structures, but coherent deep reflectors are lacking. Reflectors 45 to 55 km landward of the base of the slope dip 4°-5° landward beneath a steep slope, suggesting structural imbrication.A significant sediment apron is absent from the trench slope. Instead, slope basins are developed in 375–1500 m water depths, with an especially large one at about 1500 m water depth that is filled with more than 1.1 seconds of relatively undeformed sediments. The seaward flank of the basin has recently been uplifted, as indicated by shallow landward-dipping reflectors. Earlier periods of uplift also appear to have coincided with sedimentation in this basin, as indicated by numerous angular unconformities in the basin strata.Contribution of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, new series.     

Bannock Basin,Sirte Abyssal Plain and Conrad Spur: structural relationships between Mediterranean Ridge and its western foreland and implications on the character of the accretionary complex (eastern Mediterranean)

In previous publications, the relationship between the Sirte Abyssal Plain as foreland and the Mediterranean Ridge as accretionary complex was considered to be simple: the foreland is undeformed, the accretionary complex consumes the foreland, the Messinian evaporites control the internal structure of the growing complex. The compilation of our own and published data results in a more complex tectonic pattern and a new geodynamic interpretation. The Sirte Abyssal Plain is imprinted by extensional tectonics which originated independently from and prior to the approaching process of accretion. The structural setting of the pre-Messinian and Messinian Sirte Abyssal Plain is responsible for the highly variable thickness of Messinian evaporites. The foreland setting in the Sirte Abyssal Plain also controls the internal structure of the Mediterranean Ridge, at least between the deformation front and Bannock Basin, following sediment deformation within the accretionary wedge with a dominating inherited SW-NE orientation. The taper angle of the post-Messinian Mediterranean Ridge is unusually small compared with other accretionary wedges. In the studied area, within a distance of about 45 km from the deformation front, there is no appreciable dip in the décollement. Therefore, the slope of the outer 45 km of the Mediterranean Ridge is considered to be caused only by gravitational spreading of Messinian evaporites deposited on the slope of pre-Messinian accretionary wedge. As a consequence, the Mediterranean Ridge underlying such slope is interpreted to belong to the foreland. The allochthonous evaporites overlie autochthonous evaporites of the Sirte Abyssal Plain. The NE-dipping décollement (and thus of the true tectonically driven deformation front) is expected to initiate at about the present position of Bannock Basin. The Sirte Abyssal Plain, the adjacent Cyrene Seamount and neighbouring seafloor relief on the African continental margin are considered to be the product of tectonic segmentation of the continental crust.     

Characteristics and occurrence of submarine canyon-associated landslides in the middle of the northern continental slope,South China Sea

High-resolution and high-density 2-D multichannel seismic data, combined with high-precision multibeam bathymetric map, are utilized to investigate the characteristics and distribution of submarine landslides in the middle of the northern continental slope, South China Sea. In the region, a series of 19 downslope-extending submarine canyons are developed. The canyons are kilometers apart, and separated by inter-canyon sedimentary ridges. Numerous submarine landslides, bounded by headscarps and basal glide surfaces, are identified on the seismic profiles by their distorted to chaotic reflections. Listric faults and rotational blocks in head areas and compressional folds and inverse faults at the toes of the landslides are possibly developed. Three types of submarine landslides, i.e., creeps, slumps, and landslide complexes, are recognized. These landslides are mostly distributed in the head areas and on the flanks of the canyons. As the most widespread landslides in the region, creeps are usually composed of multiple laterally-coalesced creep bodies, in which the boundaries of singular component creep bodies are difficult to delineate. In addition, a total of 77 landslides are defined, including 61 singular slumps and 16 landslide complexes that consist of two or more component landslides. Statistics show that most landslides are of a small dimension (0.53–18.09 km² in area) and a short runout distance (less than 3.5 km). Regional and local slope gradients and rheological behavior of the displaced materials might play important roles in the generation and distribution of the submarine landslides. A conceptual model for the co-evolution of the canyons and the associated landslides in the study area is presented. In the model it is assumed that the canyons are initiated from gullies created by landslides on steeper sites of the continental slope. The nascent canyons would then experience successive retrogressive landsliding events to extend upslope; at the same time canyon downcutting or incision would steepen the canyon walls to induce more landslides.     

火成岩体在现今陆坡形态调整中的作用：来自南海东沙群岛近海陆坡的启示

对从南海东沙群岛近海陆坡（水深约500-3100m）采集到的二维地震剖面提取地形数据后进行统计学分析,结合地震相研究,发现研究区陆坡形态的变化与火成岩体,以及与火成岩体相关联的沉积过程存在着紧密地联系。共识别出了3种陆坡类型：（a）发育多个火成岩体的粗糙、陡的陆坡（类型1）;（b）发育单个火成岩体的较为光滑、平缓的陆坡（类型2）;（c）无火成岩体发育的光滑并且平缓的陆坡（类型3）。这些火成岩体形成于南海海底扩张之后,具有较为复杂的形态,在地震剖面上多表现为强振幅的杂乱反射。在类型1中,多个火成岩体将陆坡分为上部的两个或者多个次凹和下部的一个主凹,这些凹陷可以同时被沿坡流带来的沉积物充填。然而在类型2中,单个火成岩体将陆坡为一个上部的次凹和一个下部的主凹,只有当上部的次凹被沉积物填满后,沉积物才可以开始充填主凹。类型3为发育斜坡沉积的正常陆坡。研究区现今的陆坡形态是由于火成岩体的侵入和与火成岩体相关的沉积过程所共同导致的陆坡形态调整的结果。三种陆坡类型现今陆坡形态间的差异指示不同的沉积条件和陆坡形态调整。     

Deformation Patterns of an Accretionary Wedge in the Transition Zone from Subduction to Collision Offshore Southwestern Taiwan

Swath bathymetry data and seismic reflection profiles have been used to investigate details of the deformation pattern in the area offshore southwestern Taiwan where the Luzon subduction complex encroaches on the passive Chinese continental margin. Distinctive fold-and-thrust structures of the convergent zone and horst-and-graben structures of the passive margin are separated by a deformation front that extends NNW-ward from the eastern edge of the Manila Trench to the foot of the continental slope. This deformation front gradually turns into a NNE–SSW trending direction across the continental slope and the Kaoping Shelf, and connects to the frontal thrusts of the mountain belt on land Taiwan. However, the complex Penghu submarine canyon system blurs the exact location of the deformation front and nature of many morphotectonic features offshore SW Taiwan. We suggest that the deformation front offshore SW Taiwan does not appear as a simple structural line, but is characterized by a series of N–S trending folds and thrusts that terminate sequentially in an en-echelon pattern across the passive Chinese continental slope. A number of NE–SW trending lineaments cut across the fold-and-thrust structures of the frontal accretionary wedge and exhibit prominent dextral displacement indicative of the lateral expulsion of SW Taiwan. One of the prominent lineaments, named the Yung-An lineament, forms the southeastern boundary of the upper part of the Penghu submarine canyon, and has conspicuous influence over the drainage pattern of the canyon     

New evidence of slope instability in the Outardes Bay delta area, Quebec, Canada

The Outardes Bay delta constitutes one of the best sites to study the formation of failure deposits in a modern lowstand environment. These deposits are located in a pseudo-shelf-edge position along the northern part of the Laurentian Channel in the St. Lawrence Estuary. The site has been investigated over the past 20 years with a Raytheon model RTT1000 boomer (3.5 kHz, 400 J) on the shelf, and most recently with a Simrad model EM 1000 multibeam sonar (95 kHz) on the slope to provide high-resolution seismic and bathymetric data. The seismic data show wavy, chaotic and contorted reflectors which are typical in marine environments characterised by instability features. The multibeam sonar data have revealed many slope instability features such as creep folds, channel incisions, debris flows, and rotational slide scars. Thus, these interpreted features are in direct relationship with the seismic interpretation of the data collected upslope. These geomorphological and geophysical signatures express both past and present sedimentological processes. Some of the mass movement signatures observed in the surveyed area are believed to be related with the great MS~7 Charlevoix earthquake in 1663.     

New evidence of slope instability in the Outardes Bay delta area, Quebec, Canada

The Outardes Bay delta constitutes one of the best sites to study the formation of failure deposits in a modern lowstand environment. These deposits are located in a pseudo-shelf-edge position along the northern part of the Laurentian Channel in the St. Lawrence Estuary. The site has been investigated over the past 20 years with a Raytheon model RTT1000 boomer (3.5 kHz, 400 J) on the shelf, and most recently with a Simrad model EM 1000 multibeam sonar (95 kHz) on the slope to provide high-resolution seismic and bathymetric data. The seismic data show wavy, chaotic and contorted reflectors which are typical in marine environments characterised by instability features. The multibeam sonar data have revealed many slope instability features such as creep folds, channel incisions, debris flows, and rotational slide scars. Thus, these interpreted features are in direct relationship with the seismic interpretation of the data collected upslope. These geomorphological and geophysical signatures express both past and present sedimentological processes. Some of the mass movement signatures observed in the surveyed area are believed to be related with the great MS~7 Charlevoix earthquake in 1663.     

A Non-Linear Rheological Model of Soft Clay and Its Application in Settlement of Sunk Ship

A one-dimensional consolidation-creep model test on the creep deformation of soft muddy clay in the littoral area of Tianjin is performed. A nonlinear rheologic model is established and the model coefficients are determined, in consideration of the characteristics of soft muddy clay. Furthermore, a settlement equation is deduced from the theologic model and verified by the field settlement measurements of Beitang Reservoir dam in Tianjin littoral area. Finally, the settlement e- quation is applied in calculating the settlement of ＂FAIRWAY-＂ suction dredger, which sunk in the external channel of Tianjin Port, induced by the soft clay consolidation of seabed. These results provide useful information for the decision of salvage plan.