Avalanche hazards and mitigation in Austria: a review

At all times natural hazards like torrents or avalanches pose a threat to settlements and infrastructures in the Austrian Alps. Since 1950 more than 1,600 persons have been killed by avalanches in Austria, which is on average approximately 30 fatalities per year. In particular, the winter periods 1950/1951 and 1953/1954 stand out with more than 100 fatalities. Those events led to an increase of avalanche control programmes in the following decades. While from the 1950s to the 1970s emphasis was placed on permanent measures (technical structures, afforestations, hazard zoning ...) additional programmes such as avalanche warning and forecasting have supplemented avalanche control measures in the last decades. Current research is focused on avalanche simulation, risk management and the influence of the forest on avalanche formation. An important area of future research is to develop improved methods for avalanche forecasting and to intensify the investigation of the dynamics of avalanches.     

Identification, prediction, and mitigation of sinkhole hazards in evaporite karst areas

Sinkholes usually have a higher probability of occurrence and a greater genetic diversity in evaporite terrains than in carbonate karst areas. This is because evaporites have a higher solubility and, commonly, a lower mechanical strength. Subsidence damage resulting from evaporite dissolution generates substantial losses throughout the world, but the causes are only well understood in a few areas. To deal with these hazards, a phased approach is needed for sinkhole identification, investigation, prediction, and mitigation. Identification techniques include field surveys and geomorphological mapping combined with accounts from local people and historical sources. Detailed sinkhole maps can be constructed from sequential historical maps, recent topographical maps, and digital elevation models (DEMs) complemented with building-damage surveying, remote sensing, and high-resolution geodetic surveys. On a more detailed level, information from exposed paleosubsidence features (paleokarst), speleological explorations, geophysical investigations, trenching, dating techniques, and boreholes may help in investigating dissolution and subsidence features. Information on the hydrogeological pathways including caves, springs, and swallow holes are particularly important especially when corroborated by tracer tests. These diverse data sources make a valuable database—the karst inventory. From this dataset, sinkhole susceptibility zonations (relative probability) may be produced based on the spatial distribution of the features and good knowledge of the local geology. Sinkhole distribution can be investigated by spatial distribution analysis techniques including studies of preferential elongation, alignment, and nearest neighbor analysis. More objective susceptibility models may be obtained by analyzing the statistical relationships between the known sinkholes and the conditioning factors. Chronological information on sinkhole formation is required to estimate the probability of occurrence of sinkholes (number of sinkholes/km² year). Such spatial and temporal predictions, frequently derived from limited records and based on the assumption that past sinkhole activity may be extrapolated to the future, are non-corroborated hypotheses. Validation methods allow us to assess the predictive capability of the susceptibility maps and to transform them into probability maps. Avoiding the most hazardous areas by preventive planning is the safest strategy for development in sinkhole-prone areas. Corrective measures could be applied to reduce the dissolution activity and subsidence processes. A more practical solution for safe development is to reduce the vulnerability of the structures by using subsidence-proof designs.     

Regional debris-flow distribution and preliminary risk assessment from severe storm events in the Appalachian Blue Ridge Province,USA

Storms of high-intensity rainfall, including hurricanes, occur about once every 3 years in small areas of the mountains of the eastern United States posing a high debris-flow hazard. Reported casualties and monetary losses are often an insufficient and inadequate means for comparing the impact from debris flows. A simple GIS technique was used to characterize the distribution and density of debris flows for making a preliminary assessment of risk of impact on roads. This technique was used for comparison of three major severe storms resulting in numerous debris flows: August 10–17, 1940, near Deep Gap, North Carolina; August 19–20, 1969, in Nelson County, Virginia; and June 27, 1995, in Madison County, Virginia. Based on the criteria of the number of debris flows and area covered by debris flows, the August 19–20, 1969, Nelson County, Virginia, event was the most severe of the three storms and posed the greatest risk of debris-flow impact on roads.     

浅议旅游洞穴灯光植物的危害及防治

伴随旅游洞穴照明设施和洞穴游览活动而出现的灯光植物,导致钟乳石硬度、颜色发生改变,洞穴原有的生态系统发生变异,洞穴人文景观遭到破坏,降低了洞穴景观的美学价值、科学价值和历史文化价值,不利于旅游洞穴的可持续发展。对没有出现灯光植物的旅游洞穴,应防患于未然,采取必要的措施进行预防:通过在旅游洞穴洞口设置“双重门”、吸尘器,或在洞穴游道两边设置泡沫等,阻止植物孢子、种子进入洞穴空间;定期清理旅游洞穴内的垃圾和泥土,减少旅游洞穴灯光植物的养分;改善旅游洞穴灯光光谱、光照度,减少洞穴内灯光的光照时间,以抑制或杀死灯光植物。对于已经生长了灯光植物的旅游洞穴,应采取包括人工铲除、高温蒸汽喷射、高温热水浇洒、紫外光照射等物理方法,和向灯光植物喷洒甲醛、除草剂、硫酸、盐酸、氢氧化钠、双氧水、漂白粉,或用稀释的化学药水清洗等化学方法进行处理(其中次氯酸钙的效果最好);此外,一些新技术手段,如利用纳米TiO2光催化氧化技术也可以用于灯光植物的治理。      

云南省威信县地质灾害与防治对策

威信县地质构造较复杂,地质灾害破坏严重。主要地质灾害类型有滑坡、崩塌、泥石流、不稳定斜坡及地裂缝五种。其中以滑坡和不稳定斜坡为主,灾害点分布较广且个体规模小,稳定性较差。调查显示,威信县地质灾害的形成与发生时多种致灾因素相互作用的结果。通过对威信县地质灾害成因分析得出:地质构造、岩土体类型、地形地貌、生态植被等因素是滑坡、泥石流、崩塌及不稳定斜坡形成的基本条件;降雨及人类活动等因素是形成滑坡、泥石流、崩塌、地裂缝及不稳定斜坡的主导因素。对地质灾害的防治应采用以群测群防为基本手段,与搬迁避让、工程防治、生物防治、清除危岩(土)体及排水为主的防治措施相结合的综合治理方法。     

地质灾害防治标准化建设的思考

在回顾我国地质灾害防治标准化建设的历程基础上,明确标准化建设的目的是通过制定共同遵守的行业规则和对话语言规范行业科学技术行为。标准化建设要遵循科学、实用、严谨、简明、完整和先进等基本要求。地质灾害防治标准化建设包括地质灾害调查区划、勘查评价、工程设计、工程施工、监测预警、应急响应、工程监理、信息系统、经费预算和综合管理等方面。基于科学实用的原则,地质灾害调查、勘查、设计、监测和应急等标准按灾害类型编写为宜,如崩塌、滑坡、泥石流等,施工、监理和经费预算(定额)等按工程类型编写为宜,如排水沟,挡土墙、抗滑桩和锚固工程等。     

Rapid natural acid weathering, physical erosion, and debris-flow hazards in scar areas developed on hydrothermally-altered rocks along the Red River Valley near Questa, New Mexico, USA

Prominent erosional scars on hillslopes along the Red River Valley have steep, denuded slopes and associated down-gradient debris fans. The scars developed naturally on stockwork-veined, quartz-sericite-pyrite （QSP）-altered volcanic rocks proximal to porphyry-Mo deposits, including those mined at the Molycorp＇s Questa mine. Downcutting of the Red River, following development of the Rio Grande rift to the west, initiated scar formation. Mineralized rocks in the scars were decomposed chemically （by pyrite oxidation and acid weathering） and physically （by freeze-thaw action and volume expansion from secondary gypsum formation） to produce a weathered veneer of sand- to pebble-size fragments of unweathered rock in a matrix of secondary gypsum, clays, and jarosite. Unoxidized QSP-altered bedrock crops out in steep scar gully bottoms, indicating that the weathered veneer is at most 3-30 m thick. Acidic （pH 2.6 to 4.4）, metal-rich waters develop in the weathered veneer and near-surface bedrock of the scars. Carbonates in the unweathered, QSP-altered bedrock are sufficient to neutralize acid in deeper ground waters, which have near-neutral pH （5.7 to 7.6） and lower metal contents. The scars grow along steep headwalls by slope failure of the weathered veneer.     

Knowing wildfire risk: Scientific interactions with risk mitigation policy and practice in Victoria,Australia

Over the past decade, major landscape wildfires (or ‘bushfires’ in Australia) in fire-prone countries have illustrated the seriousness of this global environmental problem. This natural hazard presents a complex mesh of dynamic factors for those seeking to reduce or manage its costs, as ignitions, hazard behaviour, and the reactions of different human and ecological communities during and after hazard events are all extremely uncertain. But while those at risk of wildfire have been subject to significant research, the social dimensions of its management, including the role of science, have received little attention. This paper reports on a case study of the Barwon-Otway area of Victoria in Australia, a high wildfire risk area that has recently been a pilot site for a new risk mitigation strategy utilising the wildfire simulation model PHOENIX RapidFire. Against simple equations between ‘more science’ and ‘less uncertainty,’ this paper presents results from interviews and a workshop with practitioners to investigate how scientific research interacts with and informs both wildfire policy and practice. We suggest that attending to cultural and social specificities of the application of any technical innovation—such as next generation modelling—raises questions for future research about the roles of narrative, performance, and other knowledges in the sedimentation of science.     

皖南山区地质灾害发育规律与防治对策

皖南山区山高坡陡,是安徽省崩塌、滑坡地质灾害多发、频发、易发地区,也是安徽省地质灾害危害最严重的地区。研究结果表明,脆弱的地质环境是该地区地质灾害发育的基础,强降雨是主要诱因,人类工程活动是加剧地质灾害发生的主要因素。每年的六、七月份,在人类工程活动强烈地区,尤其是砂页岩和千枚岩分布地区,地质灾害呈集中、群发态势。开展地质灾害详细调查、提高地质灾害气象预报精度、减缓人类工程破坏强度、完善群测群防体系将是该地区有效防治地质灾害的主要措施。     

长江三峡库岸带崩滑灾害的预测与预防

三峡水库蓄水后,库区水位的大幅度上涨及水位变动带(消落带)的形成等一系列因素将导致原谷坡地貌过程发生较大的变化。通过长期的野外考察认为,除了原有的几百处大大小小的崩塌滑坡堆积体以外,在今后的库岸再造过程中,必定还会发生大量的崩岸或塌岸事件,对沿岸局部地段的生态安全、工程安全与移民城镇家园的安全将构成较严重的威胁。对三峡水库库岸带各种堆积物的不稳定性及其危害方式和程度进行了评价,并对这些地段的开发利用提出了建议。     

基于GIS的矿井水害防治辅助决策支持系统

为提高矿井水害防治数字化管理水平,辅助矿井防治水决策,从矿区集团公司及其所属煤矿两级防治水管理与决策角度,提出了矿井水害防治信息系统的设计原则,分析了系统信息流程,设计了系统数据库和功能模块,分析了系统的关键技术并给出了在系统中的实现方法,即矿井突水水源判别技术,顶板和底板突水危险性评价方法。系统C/S部分利用GIS组件开发,较好地实现了图件管理,信息提取与分析和模型计算,并通过B/S模式实现图件与数据的网络发布。     

莺歌海盆地断裂活动与地质灾害分析

莺歌海盆地是南海西北部海域地质灾害类型较齐全的地区之一.根据野外调查资料,本文简要地分析了该区的活动断裂和地质灾害类型.区内活动断裂主要走向呈NW向,该方向的活动断裂主要有红河断裂带、中央拗陷东部断裂带和中央拗陷西部断裂带.红河断裂带在地震资料上显示为一倾向SW的正断层,表现为明显的重力梯级带和磁异常分界带,NE向断裂带分布于盆地中部,在重磁异常上表现为明显的异常带,在北部表现为被NW向的断裂切割.莺歌海盆地地质灾害类型主要有地震活动、泥底辟构造、滑坡与崩塌等.同时,还对该区地质灾害基本特征和分布规律进行了初步分析.     

四川泸定地区岩土体类型与地质灾害

岩土体为地质灾害的活动主体。地质灾害的孕育、发生和成灾等,都是岩土体的不同活动形式的反映。不同岩土体具有不同的物理、力学及水理性质,其可能产生的地质环境问题也不同。在进行灾害预测评价时,必须充分考虑不同岩土体与地质灾害的关系。     

四川康定城地质灾害易发分区评价

根据西南地区崩塌、滑坡、泥石流等灾种的形成条件、诱发因素以及稳定状态和发展趋势,建立不同灾种的地质灾害易发程度的判别模式。对四川康定城地质灾害易发性进行分区评价。     

四川康定城市地震地质及地质灾害风险评价

四川康定处于鲜水河、龙门山及安宁河三条地震带的"Y"字形交汇部位,境内地震活动频繁,地震基本烈度达IX度。康定城区位于鲜水河断裂南东段的雅拉河-康定断裂,城区几乎处于康定断裂的次级断层围限之中,断裂发育,岩体破碎,在降雨、地震和人类经济活动的影响下,地质灾害十分发育。康定城发育地质灾害25处,其中滑坡14处,崩塌3处,泥石流5处,不稳定斜坡3处。地质灾害多沿城区河流两岸斜坡和支沟分布,对城区居民的生命财产安全构成巨大的威胁,一旦发生强烈地震及其产生的次生地质灾害,将对康定城市带来灾难性的毁坏。近年来随着城镇化建设速度的加快,城市规模不断扩大,城市容量空前扩张,加之活动断裂活动性增加,城市安全风险增大,正确合理规划城市规模,科学地开展城市环境地质调查,制定有效的减灾防灾预案是确保城市安全的重要方法。     

中国地质灾害(以崩、滑、流为主)危险性分析与区划

论文提出了地质灾害（滑坡、崩塌、泥石流为主）危险性分析的步骤与方法。针对常规的地质灾害危险性分析评价模型，对致灾作用的各种影响因素采用主观赋予权重方法，将所有影响因子作为不变量看待而带来2个突出问题：由于权重确定的主观性，使危险性计算结果的可靠程度受到影响；危险性的过分确定性，与实际不相符。因此提出了利用层次分析方法确定权重，将主观判断工作由一个层次驱赶到下一个比较容易判断的层次上，一定程度上提高了权重取值的可靠性；另一方面，在详细分析了各种影响因素的基础上，突出了降雨的特殊作用。而且一改过去将降雨量作为参算因子的做法，采用临界降雨强度的超越概率参算，突出了其随机性，也提高了危险性计算的可靠程度。     

Potential impact of ash eruptions on dairy farms from a study of the effects on a farm in eastern Bay of Plenty,New Zealand; implications for hazard mitigation

This paper investigates the impact ash fall would have on dairy farming, based on a study of ‘Tulachard’, a dairy farming operation at Rerewhakaaitu, North Island, New Zealand. It includes analysis of the potential effects on the dairy shed and milking machine, electrical supply and distribution, water supply and distribution, tractors and other farm vehicles, farm buildings (haysheds, pump sheds, implement sheds, etc.), milk-tanker access to the farm and critical needs of dairy cows and farm to keep milking. One of the most vulnerable areas identified in the study was the cooling of milk at the milking shed, pending dairy tanker pick-up. The cooling system’s condenser is exposed to the atmosphere and falling ash would make it highly vulnerable. Laboratory testing with wet and dry ash was conducted to determine its resilience to ash ingestion. It was found to perform satisfactorily during dry testing, but during wet testing significant clogging/blocking of the condenser’s radiator occurred, dramatically reducing airflow through the condenser. Specific mitigation recommendations have been developed that include cleaning with compressed air and adapting farm management techniques to lessen usage of the condenser during an ash-fall event. Specific recommendations for management of dairy farm operation are given to mitigate the effects of an ash-fall event.

Monitoring of hazards and urban growth in Villavicencio, Colombia, using scanned air photos and satellite imagery

A method is presented to monitor the development of geomorphic hazard areas by overlaying time series of air photos in a digital image processing system. The present study deals with such hazards affecting an urban area, Villavicencio at the foot of the eastern Andes in Colombia. The relevant windows of the air photos are digitized by flat-bed scanning and then transformed geometrically to be overlain on SPOT panchromatic imagery where available. The 10 m resolution of the satellite imagery allows, in practice, sufficient detail to bring out the differences, which are a yardstick to monitor the development of the phenomenon over time. Where no SPOT panchromatic imagery is available, one of the photos may be taken as a reference; registration to a topographic base map is also possible. A development over time to the present hazardous situations can be read from the analyzed imagery. Air photo series dating back to 1937 are available for this research, in the context of a geomorphic hazards study currently undertaken in the eastern Colombian Andes front where it pushes against the Llanos Orientales. The mountain front is quite steep and high, and the contact with the plains is very abrupt. A thrust fault zone in which the rocks are strongly mylonitized, marks the eastern front. Villavicencio lies just below this zone, but its main access road has to cross it. The terrain is mostly made up of Mesozoic and Palaeozoic sedimentary series, with prominent black lutites; Tertiary sedimentaries are found in the foreland. All rocks are strongly folded and faulted. Precipitation is in the order of 3500–5500 mm per year. Records on river discharge events are scarce or absent. Seismic events are frequent in the area. This area is prone to strong and rapid geomorphic processes posing hazards to the inhabitants. The town of Villavicencio is the gateway to the Llanos Orientales. It is the major town for hundreds of kilometres around, and a commercial, educational and health centre for the whole eastern region of Colombia. It is connected to Santa Fe de Bogotá, the national Capital, by the only highway to the Llanos, which traverses very difficult terrain through the Eastern Andes, and is cut frequently by landslides, bridge collapse etc., as a result of the torrential rainfall and the instability of the terrain. A major hazard is a big landslip known as the Mirador, close to Villavicencio, on the main road to Bogotá. Its rapid advancement has caused numerous road closures; its growth could be monitored on the scanned and registered air photos. The shifting and flooding of the Guatiquía River threatens the left bank, on which the airport of Villavicencio is situated. The development of the flood hazard, and the areal extent of the area threatened, is monitored and measured on the scanned and referenced air photos. The areal growth of the town of Villavicencio itself could likewise be monitored and measured. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Storm extreme levels and coastal flood hazards: A parametric approach on the French coast of Languedoc (district of Leucate)

Coastal flooding is a significant risk on the shores of Languedoc-Roussillon. The storms that periodically hit the coast can generate strong swells and storm surges. Most beach resorts, built on a low elevation dune ridge, are periodically flooded during major storms. Although risks zoning regulations take into consideration coastal flood hazards, the delineation of vulnerable areas is still insufficient and the commonly accepted threshold is regularly exceeded during most severe storms. This paper presents a method to improve the assessment of extreme storm-related water levels. It relies on fieldwork carried out in the Leucate commune (Aude), which is particularly exposed to the risk of sea level rise. It considers both storm surges and wave phenomena that occur within the surf zone (set-up and swash), calculated from the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN^®) numerical wave model and the Stockdon formula. Water levels reached during several recent storm events have been reconstructed and simulations of submerged areas were carried out by numerical modelling.     

Using numerical deformation–fluid-flow simulations to understand and target gold mineralisation around basalt domes in the Stawell Zone, Central Victoria, Australia

We present 3-D deformation–fluid-flow numerical models which place constraints on the importance of basalt dome shape and syn-mineralising shortening direction in localising structurally controlled gold mineralisation around basalt domes near Stawell, Victoria, Australia. Gold mineralisation in the Magdala ore-body at the Stawell Mine occurs predominantly within a thin altered unit named the Magdala Facies which blankets the basalt domes. In numerical models of the Magdala Dome models only the east–northeast–west–northwest and east–west shortened models record high fluid-flow rates in areas of known mineralisation which is consistent with the syn-mineralisation shortening directions. In models of the Kewell Dome (a prospect to the north), the position of areas of high fluid-flow rate when shortened in the east–northeast–west–northwest and east–west direction, combined with information from limited drilling indicated the potential for gold mineralisation at the south-west end of the dome. Diamond drill holes in this area yielded significant gold values.