Effects of soil-engineering properties on the failure mode of shallow landslides

Some landslides mobilize into flows, while others slide and deposit material immediately down slope. An index based on initial dry density and fine-grained content of soil predicted failure mode of 96 landslide initiation sites in Oregon and Colorado with 79% accuracy. These material properties can be used to identify potential sources for debris flows and for slides. Field data suggest that loose soils can evolve from dense soils that dilate upon shearing. The method presented herein to predict failure mode is most applicable for shallow (depth <5?m), well-graded soils (coefficient of uniformity >8), with few to moderate fines (fine-grained content <18%), and with liquid limits <40.     

Inverse analysis of stochastic moment equations for transient flow in randomly heterogeneous media

We present a nonlinear stochastic inverse algorithm that allows conditioning estimates of transient hydraulic heads, fluxes and their associated uncertainty on information about hydraulic conductivity (K) and hydraulic head (h  ) data collected in a randomly heterogeneous confined aquifer. Our algorithm is based on Laplace-transformed recursive finite-element approximations of exact nonlocal first and second conditional stochastic moment equations of transient flow. It makes it possible to estimate jointly spatial variations in natural log-conductivity (Y=lnK)$(Y=\ln K)$, the parameters of its underlying variogram, and the variance–covariance of these estimates. Log-conductivity is parameterized geostatistically based on measured values at discrete locations and unknown values at discrete “pilot points”. Whereas prior values of Y at pilot point are obtained by generalized kriging, posterior estimates at pilot points are obtained through a maximum likelihood fit of computed and measured transient heads. These posterior estimates are then projected onto the computational grid by kriging. Optionally, the maximum likelihood function may include a regularization term reflecting prior information about Y. The relative weight assigned to this term is evaluated separately from other model parameters to avoid bias and instability. We illustrate and explore our algorithm by means of a synthetic example involving a pumping well. We find that whereas Y and h can be reproduced quite well with parameters estimated on the basis of zero-order mean flow equations, all model quality criteria identify the second-order results as being superior to zero-order results. Identifying the weight of the regularization term and variogram parameters can be done with much lesser ambiguity based on second- than on zero-order results. A second-order model is required to compute predictive error variances of hydraulic head (and flux) a posteriori. Conditioning the inversion jointly on conductivity and hydraulic head data results in lesser predictive uncertainty than conditioning on conductivity or head data alone.     

Rare Earth Element Determination in Olivine by Laser Ablation‐Quadrupole‐ICP‐MS: An Analytical Strategy and Applications

Olivine offers huge, largely untapped, potential for improving our understanding of magmatic and metasomatic processes. In particular, a wealth of information is contained in rare earth element (REE) mass fractions, which are well studied in other minerals. However, REE data for olivine are scarce, reflecting the difficulty associated with determining mass fractions in the low ng g^?1 range and with controlling the effects of LREE contamination. We report an analytical procedure for measuring REEs in olivine using laser ablation quadrupole‐ICP‐MS that achieved limits of determination (LOD) at sub‐ng g^?1 levels and biases of ~ 5–10%. Empirical partition coefficients (D values) calculated using the new olivine compositions agree with experimental values, indicating that the measured REEs are structurally bound in the olivine crystal lattice, rather than residing in micro‐inclusions. We conducted an initial survey of REE contents of olivine from mantle, metamorphic, magmatic and meteorite samples. REE mass fractions vary from 0.1 to double‐digit ng g^?1 levels. Heavy REEs vary from low mass fractions in meteoritic samples, through variably enriched peridotitic olivine to high mass fractions in magmatic olivines, with fayalitic olivines showing the highest levels. The variable enrichment in HREEs demonstrates that olivine REE patterns have petrological utility.     

[Al ii] in the ultraviolet spectrum of the symbiotic star RR Telescopii

An inspection of a GHRS/ HST spectrum of the symbiotic star RR Telescopii reveals the presence of the [Al  ii ] 3s²¹S – 3s3p ³P₂ line at a vacuum wavelength of 2661.06±0.08 Å, 8.89±0.08 Å away from the Al  ii ] 3s²¹S – 3s3p ³P₁ intercombination transition at 2669.95 Å, in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of Δ λ =8.80 Å. We also find that the Al  ii ] line profile is asymmetric, showing a strong low-density component with a weak high-density wing, redshifted by 30 km s⁻¹, in agreement with the findings of Schild & Schmid, which were based on optical observations. Our measurement of the emission-line ratio R I (2661.06 Å)/ I (2669.95 Å)=0.027±0.003 implies log  N _e=5.8±0.2, in good agreement with the densities found from other ions, such as Si  iii . These results provide strong evidence that we have detected the [Al  ii ] line, the first time (to our knowledge) that this feature has been reliably identified in an astrophysical or laboratory spectrum.     

Do galaxy mergers form elliptical galaxies? A comparison of kinematic and photometric properties

We present near-infrared K -band imaging and spectroscopy of a sample of galaxy mergers, which we use to derive light profile indices, absolute magnitudes and central velocity dispersions. We find that the light distributions of mergers more nearly resemble those of ellipticals than those of bulges, but that the mergers lie well away from the Fundamental Plane defined by the ellipticals. We interpret this as being due to enhancement of the K -band surface brightness of the mergers by a significant population of supergiant stars, and independent evidence for such a population is inferred from measurements of the depth of the 2.3-μm CO absorption feature.