Field measurements of the flux and speed of wind-blown sand

A field experiment was conducted to measure the flux and speed of wind-blown sand under known conditions in a natural setting. The experiment, run at Pismo Beach, California, involved a tract 100 m long (parallel with the wind) by 20 m wide. The site was instrumented with four arrays of anemometers to obtain wind velocity profiles through the lower atmospheric boundary-layer, temperature probes to determine atmospheric stability and wind vanes to determine wind direction. From these measurements, wind friction speeds were derived for each experimental run. In order to measure sand saltation flux, a trench 3 m long by 10 m wide (transverse to the wind direction) by 0·5 m deep was placed at the downwind end of the tract and lined with 168 collector bins, forming an ‘egg-box’ pattern. The mass of particles collected in each bin was determined for four experimental runs. In order to assess various sand-trap systems used in previous experiments, 12 Leatherman traps, one Fryberger trap and one array of Ames traps were deployed to collect particles concurrently with the trench collection. Particle velocities were determined from analysis of high-speed (3000 and 5000 frames per second) motion pictures and from a particle velocimeter. Sand samples were collected from the trench bins and the various sand traps and grain size distributions were determined. Fluxes for each run were calculated using various previously published expressions, and then compared with the flux derived from the trench collection. Results show that Bagnold's (1941) model and White's (1979) equation most closely agree with values derived from the trench. Comparison of the various collector systems shows that the Leatherman and Ames traps most closely agree with the flux derived from the trench, although these systems tended to under-collect particles. Particle speeds were measured from analysis of motion pictures for saltating particles in ascending and descending parts of their trajectories. Results show that particle velocities from the velocimeter are in the range 0·5–7·0 m s^?1, compared to a wind friction velocity of 0·32–0·43 m s^?1 and a wind velocity of 2·7–3·9 m s^?1 at the height of the particle measurements. Descending particles tended to exceed the speeds of ascending particles by ～ 0·5 m s^?1.     

A unique human‐made trench at Tell es‐Sâfi/Gath,Israel: Anthropogenic impact and landscape response

Tell es‐Sâfi/gath is situated in the semiarid foothills of central Israel, adjacent to the coastal . plain. An enigmatic landscape feature, noted on aerial photographs, encircles the tell on three sides. This unique feature, unknown from other Near Eastern tells, was investigated. Methods of analysis include aerial photographs, field surveys, excavations, soil analyses, chronotypological ceramic classification, and radiocarbon dating. We concluded that (1) the peculiar landscape feature is a huge human‐made trench, over 2 km long, 5–6 m deep, and more than 8 m wide, cut through bedrock; (2) the trench was excavated during the Iron Age IIA (ca. 1000–800 B.C.E.), apparently as part of a siege system; (3) the extracted rock and soil material was dumped on the Iron Age landscape surface on one side of the trench, forming an elevated “berm”; (4) erosion processes transformed this landscape scar, as the trench filled with sediment; (5) stratigraphic analysis indicates two major phases of filling, separated by a period of landscape stability and soil formation (A horizon); (6) the two filling phases, exhibiting Iron Age IIA and Byzantine pottery (ca. 324—638 C.E.), appear to coincide with more intense human activity; and (7) the possible effect of climatic variations seems less obvious. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Unknown large ancient earthquakes along the Kurai fault zone (Gorny Altai): new results of palaeoseismological and archaeoseismological studies

Palaeoseismological and archaeoseismological studies in the Kurai fault zone, along which the Kurai Range is thrust onto Cenozoic deposits of the Chuya intramontane basin, led to the identification of a long reverse fault scarp 8.0 m high. The scarp segments are primary seismic deformations of large ancient earthquakes. The scarp’s morphology, results of trenching investigations, and deformations of Neogene deposits indicate a thrusting of the piedmont plain onto the Kurai Range, which is unique for the Gorny Altai. Similarly for Northern Tien Shan, we explain this by the formation of both a thrust transporting the mountain range onto the depression and a branching thrust dislocation that forms the detected fault scarp. In a trench made in one of the scarp segments, we identified the parameters of the seismogenic fault – a thrust with a 30° dipping plane. The reconstructed displacement along the fault plane is 4.8 m and the vertical displacement is 2.4 m, which indicates a 7.2–7.6 magnitude of the ancient earthquake. The ¹⁴C age of the humus-rich loamy sand from the lower part of the colluvial wedge constrains the age of the earthquake at 3403–3059 years BP. Younger than 2500 years seismogenic displacements along the fault scarp are indicated by deformations of cairn structures of the Turalu–Dzhyurt-III burial mound, which was previously dated as iron age between the second half of I BC and I AD.     

Investigation of Induced Trench Method Using a Full Scale Test Embankment

The construction of highway embankments in urban areas often interferes with existing underground facilities such as sewer lines and other buried conduits. In many instances, the extra loads imposed by embankment construction on buried conduits would be unacceptably high. Severe consequences of overstressing an underground utility conduit include damage and interruption of services for both the utility and highway. Typical alternatives considered to address this problem include: relocation of utility lines; embankment load reduction using lightweight fill; at-grade pile cap bridging; at-grade geogrids-reinforced bridging; and induced (imperfect) trenches. The relocation, lightweight fill and pile cap alternatives are usually cost prohibitive. A full-scale instrumented test embankment is constructed by Ontario Ministry of Transportation to study the effects of embankment construction on the underground utilities. The test embankment comprised four sections, which facilitated the evaluation of four configurations including the conventional backfill, induced trenching and two at-grade geogrid-reinforcing bridging with different spans. Each configuration consisted of a 3 m deep trench overlain by a 10 m wide, 10 m long and 6 m high embankment section. Earth load cells were installed to monitor stresses at the fill/ground interface and at depths of 1.5 and 3 m. The numerical models of the test embankment are generated using the finite difference program FLAC. This paper presents the results of stress measurements in the 3 m wide trench under embankment loads and the results of numerical varification analyses. The results showed that the use of induced trench method (ITM) resulted in substantial reduction in vertical stresses relative to positive projection method case. It was also observed that horizontal stresses increased when ITM is employed.     

Recurrence Characteristics of Major Earthquakes in the Tangshan area,North China

The Tangshan area lies in the North China plain where an Ms 7.8 earthquake occurred in 1976,which is associated with a hidden active fault.To reveal the recurrence characteristics of major quakes in this area over a relatively long time,we have conducted a comprehensive study using geological investigations,shallow seismic exploration,boreholes,trench observations and geological dating.Five paleoearthquakes were recognized in a 6.4m-deep trench west to the Tangshan Asylum. Among them,the former three events occurred between 56.78±4.83ka and 89.39±7.60 ka,and the fourth event occurred around 6.9 ka,respectively,and then followed by the fifth in 1976.Seven boreholes were deployed crossing the ground fissure formed by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake at the site of No.10 Middle School,where we have identified 25 liquefaction events in the boreholes TZC6-5 and 6-7.By the comprehensive analysis of the trench,the liquefaction events from the boreholes and the depth-time curves of drill cores,we suggest a new recurrence model of major quakes in this area. It is not a constant recurring cycle since 210 ka,instead consisting of six alternating seismically quiet and active stages.Of them,stageⅠ(>177 ka) was a quiescent period in seismicity,stageⅡ(from 143 ka to 177 ka) was an active one,stageⅢ(from 102 ka to 143 ka) was quiescent again,stageⅣ(from 56 ka to 102 ka) had many quakes,stageⅤ(from 6.9 ka to 56 ka) became quiet,and stageⅥ(from 6.9 ka to now) was the beginning of a new seismically active period.     

空沟对冲击荷载隔离的现场试验与数值模拟

在场地开挖了一条空沟,以落锤式弯沉仪（falling weight deflectometer,简写为FWD）的荷载模拟冲击荷载,通过FWD自带的传感器测得空沟后一定范围内的竖向位移。通过室内试验,获取试验场地的岩土参数,采用非线性动力有限元软件ABAQUS建立二维模型（将远处单元定义为无限单元来模拟吸收边界,从而避免振动波的来回反射）。以空沟中心线的现场测试数据为依据,校核有限元模型。通过分析不同工况模拟的竖向位移,研究得出空沟-荷载间距、沟深、沟宽等对隔振效果的影响。结果表明,(1) 空沟-荷载间距越小,隔振效果越好,但实际隔振工程中,为避免振动对空沟侧壁的稳定性的影响,空沟与振源不宜太近,因此可以不计空沟-荷载间距对隔振效果的影响;(2) 就提高隔振效果而言,增大沟深比增大沟宽更有效,而相同的隔振效果,窄-深沟的挖方量远小于宽-浅沟;(3) 在对冲击荷载进行隔振设计时,对于一般的民用和工业建筑,综合隔振效果、开挖和支护费用等因素,采用宽度为0.5～1.0 m,深度为2.0～2.5 m的空沟较为合理,与某工程实例进行比对,验证结论的合理性。     

Archaeological geophysics investigation of the Wright Brothers 1910 hangar site

An archaeological geophysics investigation was conducted at the site of the Wright Brothers' 1910 hangar near Dayton, Ohio. The hangar was destroyed as part of base renovation during the buildup to World War II, and its exact location is unknown. The purpose of the investigation is to confirm the exact location of the hangar and to locate any buried artifacts from the Wright Brothers occupation of the site. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic, and magnetic surveys were conducted over a 68 × 100 m area, approximately centered on the suspected location of the hangar. Localized anomalies as well as areal anomalies are identified in the geophysical data. Rectangular anomalous areas are identified that are generally consistent with the suspected location of the hangar. A 1924 aerial photograph showing the hangar was digitally scanned and georeferenced to the site survey area. Two of the rectangular geophysical anomalous areas are consistent with the hangar location from the aerial photograph location. A third rectangular area, defined from GPR survey data, is immediately adjacent to the aerial photograph location. It is postulated that base engineers may have bulldozed the hangar debris onto an area adjacent to its original location and either burned it there or buried it in a trench. A prioritized exploratory program is proposed for investigating the sources of the geophysical anomalies. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

田玉在中国古玉器中的地位

中国和田玉的开发利用历史悠久,在中国古玉器中地位显著.从新石器时代晚期开始到清代,和田玉一直是中国古玉器的主要玉材;而和田玉又具有其他产地软玉无法比拟的颜色,具有独特的羊脂白色;用和田玉制成的玉器,是中国传统玉文化的主要载体,具有不可复制的惟一性.     

基于LiDAR的海原断裂松山段断错地貌分析与古地震探槽选址实例

基于高精度机载Li DAR数据在GIS平台的地貌因子渲染分析,对海原断裂老虎山段松山地区古地震研究点进行高精度大比例尺(1∶1000)地貌填图,勾勒出研究点微地貌空间展布和断裂高精度几何形态。通过对松山古地震研究点2个新探槽的开挖,结合细致的探槽解译、地震事件识别与分期、年代学样品测试,得出5次37380±880BP以内的不连续古地震序列。通过对比此处已经开挖的各自相距不足150m、分布于断裂同一段落的4个古地震探槽的微地貌位置、沉积特征和地震事件信号强弱,发现即使相距不远,不同微地貌位置古地震探槽揭示的古地震现象也会有显著差别。这种差别凸显了古地震研究结果,如揭示的事件证据和个数等与探槽点位置的选取有较强的依赖性。综合对比分析表明,较低的地势、低能静水环境、高沉积速率、细粒的沉积物源区及连续的沉积环境是走滑断裂上开展古地震研究的优选地貌位置。实例表明,基于高精度地形数据对研究点开展精细地貌填图揭示微地貌时空演化,从而在探槽开挖前对古地震研究点的构造地貌优劣进行充分评价是提高古地震研究质量的必要程序,同时也显示出高精度机载Li DAR数据在活动构造研究中的重要新应用。     

Volume estimation and stage division of the Mahu landslide in Sichuan Province,China

The Mahu lake, the third deepest lake in China, is located on the west bank of the Jinsha River in Leibo county, Sichuan Province. It is a dammed lake created by an old landslide on the ancient Huanglang river, a tributary on the west bank of the Jinsha River. Previous studies (Wang and Lu in J Mt Res S1:44–47, 2000) suggested that this landslide was caused by an earthquake approximately 372 ka (Middle Pleistocene), during which a few hundreds of million cubic meters of debris were deposited between 1177 and 900 m a.s.l. (above sea level), covering an area of around 15 km². Our further investigations, including geodetic survey, borehole drilling, and field reconnaissance, combining with five chronological data, have made some new discoveries at this site. First, the toe of the landslide extends from 900 m a.s.l. down to 320 m a.s.l., i.e., the local bed elevation of the contemporary Jinsha River. Second, the area of the landslide deposits is 17.3 km² with a volume of 2.38 km³, much larger than the previous estimation. Thus, it should be one of the largest known landslides in China. And the lower elevation of the landslide’s toe also rules out the possibility that it is a hanging valley on the ancient Huanglang river. Our work suggests that this landslide was created by five events according to the overlapping characteristics of the deposits and five chronological data, which are old than 52,600 years, old than 16,000 years, old than 15,500 years, 5800 years, and old than 4200 years, respectively.     

Reply to the discussion by F. Gutiérrez,P. Lucha,J. Guerrero,M. Gutiérrez and D. Carbonel on the article ‘Paleoseismological analysis of an intraplate extensional structure: the Concud fault (Iberian Chain,eastern Spain)’

This reply tackles the three main points of discussion of the comment, carefully distinguishing those constructive contributions from the potentially confusing ones. (1) We accept that we should have utilised previously published datings of the middle terrace, even if we consider them to be less reliable than the used ones, so broadening the slip-rate range from 0.23–0.33 mm/y to 0.16–0.33 mm/y. Nevertheless, their revision of the post-middle terrace slip rate charges us two contradictory imputations: that we underestimate the throw in a 25% (36 m vs. 47 m) and that this results in ‘anomalously high slip rates’. We analyse the adduced error, and we confirm our initial estimate based on our more reliable stratigraphic marker, so rejecting both criticisms. (2) About the paleoseismological interpretation at Los Baños trench, we appreciate the hint about displacement partitioning on the master fault and in our hypothetical blind normal fault during the last three events; however, such partitioning was already considered in our retrodeformation analysis. We believe that there is enough evidence for the two events questioned by the commenters, as well as for the interpretation of the colluvial wedge that evidences one of them. (3) With respect to the fault affecting the youngest terrace: (a) both traces exposed on orthogonal road-cut slopes belong to the same normal fault, and we prove it by means of basic structural constructions, and (b) it does not exhibit any feature suggesting a non-tectonic origin, as the commenters state.     

Source zones of the catastrophic Simushir earthquakes on November 15, 2006 (M w = 8.3) and January 13, 2007 (M w = 8.1) and the deep crust structure beneath the Middle Kuril segment

The data on catastrophic earthquakes with magnitudes of 8.3 and 8.1 that occurred in the Simushir Island area on November 15, 2006, and January 13, 2007, respectively, were compared with the results of land-sea deep seismic studies by different methods (deep seismic sounding, the correlation method of refracted waves, the earthquake converted-wave method, the common mid-point) in the Central Kuril segment. The structure of the Earth’s crust and the hypocentral zones of these earthquakes were analyzed. It was established that the hypocenter of the main shock of the first earthquake was located at the bend of the seismofocal zone under the island slope of the trench on the outer side of the subsiding lithospheric plate in the rapidly rising granulite-basite (ìbasalticî) crustal layer, which, at depths of 7–15 km, replaced the granulite-gneiss layer. This was accompanied by an increase of the seismic wave velocity from 6.4 to 7.1 km/s. The focus of the second earthquake was located beneath the axis of the deep-sea trench. The aftershocks were concentrated in two bands 60–120 km wide that extend along the trench, as well as in the third zone orthogonal to the island arc. It was shown that the epicenters of the earthquakes are linked with regional faults. The main shock of the first earthquake (November 15, 2006) was interpreted as a thrust fault and the second one (January 13, 2007) was attributed to a normal fault.     

Historical environmental changes at phalasarna harbor,West Crete

The ongoing archaeological excavations that started in 1986 on the site of the harbor of Phalasarna have confirmed that the ancient port described as a closed harbor by ancient geographers is, due to the regional uplift of west Crete, now situated on dry land, about 6.6 m above sea level. In this paper, after summarizing the geological background, the main historical sources and recent archaeological results, new stratigraphical data obtained from the sediments filling the harbor basin are presented and discussed. The harbor was fortified in the second part of the 4th century B.C. It was a military port, probably a base for pirates, and was destroyed and abandoned in the second part of the first century B.C. After that time the harbor basin was rapidly silted by marine then terrestrial sedimentation. Deposits corresponding to two tsunami waves have been identified and ascribed to events occurring in 66 A.D. and 365 A.D., respectively. About 1530 ± 40 yr B.P., probably in 365 A.D., when west Crete was suddenly uplifted by 6–9 m, Phalasarna harbor was removed permanently from marine influence. Radiometric dating confirms that the harbor could not have been in use in Roman times, in contradiction with ancient Periploi, which continue to mention Phalasarna port until at least the second or third century A.D.     

Characterization of subsurface geometry and radioactivity distribution in the trench containing Chernobyl clean-up wastes

Several radiometric and geophysical methods were applied to characterize the subsurface geometry and radioactivity distribution (especially ¹³⁷Cs) in a trench with low-level wastes at the Chernobyl site. While surface dose rate measurements and electromagnetic soil conductivity survey produced uninterpretable fields of signals, the ground penetrating radar appeared to be an efficient method for characterization of the subsurface geometry of the waste burial. It was established that the trench had the following dimensions: the length was 70 m; average width 6–8 m, and depth 2–2.5 m. Data on ¹³⁷Cs distribution in the trench were obtained by means of a borehole gamma-logging technique. The total inventory of ¹³⁷Cs was estimated at 600±200 GBq. Geostatistical analysis using the semivariogram function has shown regular spatial correlation patterns for the logarithm-transformed ¹³⁷Cs activity of waste material. The correlation length along the trench was 17 m, while across the trench, and in the vertical direction, it was 4 m. The observed correlation patterns supposedly were caused by the method used to dispose the contaminated topsoil: the bulldozing in the direction perpendicular to a trench axis. Obtained results may be useful for selecting a characterization method and for optimization of sampling strategies for similar waste sites.     

On the birth of ancient civilizations: Comments on a paper by Eric R. Force

Force's (2008) theory cannot explain the birth of several major ancient civilizations, including those in Egypt and China. In addition, most of the ancient civilizations considered in Force's research were not primary civilizations and they had been influenced to some extent by other, earlier civilizations. If one considers the world's major primary civilizations, then rivers and their cyclic nature of annual floods—not tectonic plate boundaries and earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions—were a greater catalyst to the birth of the world's oldest civilizations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The sedimentological evolution of a Lower Palaeozoic accretionary fore-arc in the Southern Uplands of Scotland

Thick turbidites accumulated along the northern margin of the Iapetus Ocean in Britain from mid-Ordovician to late Silurian times. Recent plate tectonic reconstructions hold that, during subduction, packets of these sediments, together with the underlying pelagic facies and thin portions of the uppermost ocean crust, were stripped from the descending plate and accreted to the inner trench wall on the Laurentian (North American) continental margin. The resulting accretionary prism is represented today by the Ordovician and Silurian rocks of the Southern Uplands of Scotland and the Longford-Down massif of Ireland. In these areas major reverse faults separate tracts of steeply dipping greywackes and mudstones with minor amounts of cherts and basalts. These tracts are up to several kilometres wide; their constituent beds face predominantly to the northwest, away from the site of the ancient ocean, while becoming progressively younger in each major fault slice towards the Iapetus suture in the southeast. From the stratigraphic sequences in these fault slices the sedimentary history of a portion of the Iapetus Ocean, and the British sector of its northern margin, can be reconstructed. In the Southern Uplands the earliest turbidites (mid- and late-Ordovician) are preserved in the northernmost fault slices. Regional facies trends, and vertical facies analysis, suggest that they accumulated in a trench dominated by a series of relatively small lower trench slope-derived fans. Pelagic sediments of the same age are found in the fault slices to the south, suggesting that the Ordovician turbidites were confined to the trench. During the lower and middle Llandovery, volcaniclastic trench turbidites were separated from quartz-rich ocean-floor turbidites (represented in the southern fault slices) by an elongate rise, on which pelagic deposits accumulated. This is interpreted as the outer trench high. In late Llandovery times the rise was overwhelmed, and thick laterally derived quartzose turbidites blanketed both the trench and the ocean floor. Sedimentation was strongly influenced by the evolution of the accretionary prism. By Llandovery times a trench slope break had emerged, supplying sediment both south to the trench and north to an upper slope basin in the Midland Valley of Scotland. In this basin early Silurian turbidites were followed by shallow-water and terrestrial sediments. Most of the sediment was derived from the emergent trench slope break: the volcanic arc and the Grampian orogenic belt to the north provided little or no detritus. Throughout the Ordovician and Silurian, sediment in the trench and on the ocean floor was derived from the volcanic arc, from the lower trench slope/trench slope break, from a degrading plutonic/metamorphic terrain (the Grampian Orogen), and locally by a minor amount of submarine sliding from carbonate-capped volcanic seamounts. Progressive elevation of the trench slope break in Silurian (and perhaps late Ordovician) times indicates that sediment from the arc-orogen hinterland must have bypassed the upper slope in the unexposed section of the margin to the northeast of the Southern Uplands, and travelled into the area axially along the trench floor.     

陕西禾草沟煤矿工业场地主厂房段古滑坡变形破坏特征及稳定性分析

工程建设引发禾草沟煤矿工业场地主厂房段古滑坡复活,通过野外调查和测量、钻探、探槽、变形监测、室内试验和数值计算,分析该古滑坡的复活原因及变形破坏特征;采用改进的数值计算法对古滑坡的稳定性进行分析,古滑坡在天然条件下处于稳定状态;对古滑坡复活采用"削头压脚"措施后,稳定性满足安全要求,这对古滑坡的治理设计提供了理论依据。同时,该措施能节约工程投资,缩短工期,具有良好的经济效益。     

OSL ages and possible bioturbation signals at the Upper Paleolithic site of Lagoa do Bordoal,Algarve, Portugal

Three sediment samples were collected from a soil profile at the Lagoa do Bordoal site, Algarve, Portugal. Quartz extracted from soil horizons within the profile, was optically dated using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol outlined by Murray and Wintle (Radiation Measurements 5 (2000) 523). The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) emitted by quartz within the 90–150 μm size range was measured using three aliquot sizes. The equivalent doses (D_E) that were obtained show an asymmetric distribution. As the numbers of grains in each aliquot are reduced, the distribution of doses is clearly shifted to lower D_E values including zero doses on single grain aliquots. This shift is accompanied by an increase in the asymmetry of the distribution. These patterns indicate that as the aliquot size decreases, the distributions are increasingly characterized by aliquots with lower D_E's. With respect to the present day modern surface, this shift is most evident in the sample collected from a depth of 37 cm, within an ancient B-horizon. It is least evident in the sample located only 10 cm below it, within a sand unit. An asymmetric distribution of D_E's can be a result of a large number of grains that were well bleached at burial being mixed with a small number of grains that were partially bleached at that time (Radiation Measurements 30 (1999) 207). However, the shift in D_E's that is seen in the Lagoa East samples is most likely due to the postburial downward movement of fully and partially bleached grains from the surface, with possible contributions from the downward movement of grains that received low doses while buried in overlying horizons. The simplest explanation for our results is that grains carrying zero or small D_E's have been moved downward during bioturbation events. These results suggest that downward bioturbation in ancient soil profiles can be identified based on the OSL characteristics of quartz grains. We are also able to provide a minimum age of 24.4±3.2 ka for the Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblage at the site.