Anisotropic deformation characteristics of soft marine clay involved the change of b-values and stress direction

In actual engineering, soft clay foundations are in drained or partial drained conditions, it would be useful to establish reasonable constitutive relationship and provide guidance for engineering projects. A hollow cylinder apparatus is used to investigate the anisotropic deformation behavior of natural soft marine clay influenced by intermediate principal stress coefficient b and principal stress direction α. Tests were conducted by maintaining a fixed principal stress direction α relative to the vertical direction, while keeping the intermediate principal stress coefficient b constant. It was found that the anisotropic deformation behavior of natural soft clay is merely influenced by major principal stress direction α, but significantly influenced by intermediate principal stress coefficient b.     

A method predicting the earthquake-induced landslide risk by back analyses of past landslides and its application in the region of the Wenchuan 12/5/2008 earthquake

The work considers critical slopes located at regions with high danger and proposes a method which approximately predicts the risk of earthquake-induced excessive movement of these slopes, in the case where relevant soil strength data along their slip surface do not exist. The method utilizes (1) simplified constitutive equations predicting soil response along slip surfaces and (2) a multi-block sliding system model, both recently proposed. It involves the following steps: (a) collect relevant topographic information and laboratory test results of past landslides at the region of interest, (b) (i) analyze the relevant laboratory tests to estimate the soil constitutive parameters and (ii) estimate the mobilized residual soil strength by back analysis of relevant past landslides, (c) select constitutive model parameters for future applications at the region based on step (b) and validate them based on analysis of the triggering of the past landslides and (d) apply the selected constitutive model parameters in critical slopes in the region under consideration to predict not only whether triggering occurs, but also the post-triggering slide deformation. The paper, after describing in detail the proposed method, applies it at the Wenchuan region, where the 12th May 2008 earthquake triggered many landslides. During the application, four ring shear test results and twelve landslides of the 12th May 2008 earthquake were considered. The application was successful and the following were observed: (i) in the back analyses, the multi-block model predicted reasonably well the final configuration of all slides, (ii) apart from two significantly larger back-estimated values of the residual soil strength, small scatter existed in the other back-estimated values and (iii) the selected model parameters were duly validated under step (c). Furthermore, as the back-estimated friction angle of most landslides was less than 18°, and the materials along the slip surface have a Liquid Limit value less than 25 %, it is inferred that some, or all of the slip surface during these slides, was sheared in an undrained manner.     

A new hybrid procedure for the definition of seismic vulnerability in Mediterranean cross-border urban areas

Assessment of seismic vulnerability of urban areas provides fundamental information for activities of planning and management of emergencies. The main difficulty encountered when extending vulnerability evaluations to urban contexts is the definition of a framework of assessment appropriate for the specific characteristics of the site and providing reliable results with a reasonable duration of surveys and post-processing of data. The paper proposes a new procedure merging different typologies of information recognized on the territories investigated and for this reason called “hybrid.” Knowledge of historical events influencing urban evolution and analysis of recurrent building technologies are used to evaluate the vulnerability indexes of buildings and building stocks. On the other hand, a vulnerability model is calibrated by means of experimental and numerical investigations on prototype buildings representative of the most recurrent typologies. In the final framework, the vulnerability index, calculated through simplified assessment forms, is linked to the seismic intensity expressed by the peak ground acceleration and associated with an index of damage expressing the economical loss. The procedure has been tested on the urban center of Lampedusa island (Italy) providing as the output vulnerability index maps, vulnerability curves, critical PGA maps, and estimation of the economical damage associated with different earthquake scenarios. The application of the procedure can be suitably repeated for medium-to-small urban areas, typically recurring in the Mediterranean by carrying out each time a recalibration of the vulnerability model.     

湖南川口三角潭钨矿床中辉钼矿Re-Os同位素定年及其地质意义

三角潭钨矿是产于衡阳盆地东侧的一个大型石英脉型钨矿床,矿体主要赋存在斑状黑云母二长花岗岩与围岩的内接触带上。为了查明该矿床的形成年代,作者采集了6件石英脉型钨矿中伴生的辉钼矿样品进行ReOs同位素年代学研究。结果表明,三角潭钨矿辉钼矿的Re-Os同位素模式年龄(222.5±3.3)Ma~(226.9±3.2)Ma,加权平均年龄为(224.9±1.3)Ma,等时线年龄为(225.8±4.4)Ma,揭示三角潭钨矿形成于晚三叠世。三角潭钨矿成矿地质事件的厘定,为华南地区印支期成矿提供了新的有力证据。在前人研究的基础上,对华南地区已有的印支期花岗岩高精度年代学数据和矿床年代学数据进行统计,发现花岗岩成岩年龄集中于210~240 Ma,矿床成矿年龄介于211~232 Ma,矿床成矿年龄与与之密切相关的花岗岩成岩年龄基本吻合,指示华南地区存在一次区域性的、与印支期花岗岩有关的成矿作用,成矿潜力大。     

Key Scientific Problems and Challenges of Studying Carbon Cycle Mechanism in Pacific Sector of the Arctic

Challenged by the enormous pressure to reduce the global carbon emission, it is expected that the Arctic Ocean could absorb additional atmospheric CO₂ with the retreating of sea-ice. The Chukchi Sea and adjacent waters, characterized by the highest carbon fixation in the global ocean and large carbon flux into the deep-ocean for sequestration, make substantial contributions to carbon cycling in the entire Arctic Ocean. Understanding the response mechanism of carbon cycling in this region to the rapidly changing environment is the foundation for the prediction of carbon sink in the Arctic Ocean. However, the response of carbon absorption and storage to climate change is still controversial, and the main controlling factors of the carbon cycle process remain unclear.Thus, to establish high-resolution coupled ocean-ice-carbon models can explore the influence of sea ice retreat on atmospheric CO₂ and the vertical sinking carbon fluxes in Chukchi Sea, estimate the effectiveness of growing inflow and slope upwelling on carbon sink/source patterns, discuss the response of deep-ocean carbon sequestration to the changing environment, and evaluate the effectiveness of continental shelf pump in the Chukchi Sea as well as its role in the global carbon sink. Based on the challenge for the research of the Chukchi Sea carbon cycle research with rapidly changing climate, the basic ideas of establishing Arctic Ocean carbon cycling model as well as its key scientific issues to be resolved were proposed.     

Guidelines on the use of inverse velocity method as a tool for setting alarm thresholds and forecasting landslides and structure collapses

Predicting the time of failure is a topic of major concern in the field of geological risk management. Several approaches, based on the analysis of displacement monitoring data, have been proposed in recent years to deal with the issue. Among these, the inverse velocity method surely demonstrated its effectiveness in anticipating the time of collapse of rock slopes displaying accelerating trends of deformation rate. However, inferring suitable linear trend lines and deducing reliable failure predictions from inverse velocity plots are processes that may be hampered by the noise present in the measurements; data smoothing is therefore a very important phase of inverse velocity analyses. In this study, different filters are tested on velocity time series from four case studies of geomechanical failure in order to improve, in retrospect, the reliability of failure predictions: Specifically, three major landslides and the collapse of an historical city wall in Italy have been examined. The effects of noise on the interpretation of inverse velocity graphs are also assessed. General guidelines to conveniently perform data smoothing, in relation to the specific characteristics of the acceleration phase, are deduced. Finally, with the aim of improving the practical use of the method and supporting the definition of emergency response plans, some standard procedures to automatically setup failure alarm levels are proposed. The thresholds which separate the alarm levels would be established without needing a long period of neither reference historical data nor calibration on past failure events.     

Symbiotic state of Chinese land-marine economy

The simultaneous development of both the land and marine-based economy is required to achieve the economic development of coastal regions in China. Based on symbiosis theory, this study discusses land and marine-based economic symbiosis mechanisms and uses a logistic symbiotic function to construct a symbiotic evolution model of the land-marine economy. We conduct a division and feature analysis of the interactive model between the land and marine-based economies of 11 provinces (or cities) along the coast of China between 1996 and 2013, and discuss their economic development. The results show that, during the study period, the coordinated development model of the national land-marine economy is a parabiosis model. Fujian Province exhibits mutualism, Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong, and Guangdong show commensalism, while Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Shanghai display parasitism, Guangxi and Hainan exhibit an antibiosis model, while Liaoning displays a parabiosis model. The land economic development model of Jiangsu and Fujian and the marine economic development model of Guangdong are improving the quality and efficiency of the factors of production. All other provinces’ development models improve the productivity of the production factors to expand the scale of production.     

政区多粒度时空对象建模及其Geodatabase实现

全空间信息系统是将现实世界抽象为由多粒度时空对象组成的数据世界,对动态且复杂的现实世界中的各类时空实体对象进行表达、分析等。时空数据模型是时态地理信息系统（TGIS）核心,在一些特定领域上取得了较好的应用效果,对时空对象的时态信息进行了一定程度的表达,但仍旧无法完整地描述时空对象的变化以及联系。本文在分析时空数据模型的研究现状和存在问题的基础上,以全空间多粒度时空对象建模为指导思想,以北京近百年来的政区演变为例,分析了政区的基本特征,进而将政区看作是多粒度时空对象,探索了多粒度时空对象的建模方法,对政区进行了多粒度时空对象表达,并采用可视化表达的方法进行了实验验证。结果表明：多粒度时空对象建模能较好地反映政区的空间特征、属性特征和时间特征,反映其在时空上的演变过程以及便于更好地支持时空对象的查询、分析和可视化表达等。     

The Pomici di Avellino eruption of Somma–Vesuvius (3.9 ka BP). Part II: sedimentology and physical volcanology of pyroclastic density current deposits

Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) generated during the Plinian eruption of the Pomici di Avellino (PdA) of Somma–Vesuvius were investigated through field and laboratory studies, which allowed the detailed reconstruction of their eruptive and transportation dynamics and the calculation of key physical parameters of the currents. PDCs were generated during all the three phases that characterised the eruption, with eruptive dynamics driven by both magmatic and phreatomagmatic fragmentation. Flows generated during phases 1 and 2 (EU1 and EU3pf, magmatic fragmentation) have small dispersal areas and affected only part of the volcano slopes. Lithofacies analysis demonstrates that the flow-boundary zones were dominated by granular-flow regimes, which sometimes show transitions to traction regimes. PDCs generated during eruptive phase 3 (EU5, phreatomagmatic fragmentation) were the most voluminous and widespread in the whole of Somma–Vesuvius’ eruptive history, and affected a wide area around the volcano with deposit thicknesses of a few centimetres up to more than 25 km from source. Lithofacies analysis shows that the flow-boundary zones of EU5 PDCs were dominated by granular flows and traction regimes. Deposits of EU5 PDC show strong lithofacies variation northwards, from proximally thick, massive to stratified beds towards dominantly alternating beds of coarse and fine ash in distal reaches. The EU5 lithofacies also show strong lateral variability in proximal areas, passing from the western and northern to the eastern and southern volcano slopes, where the deposits are stacked beds of massive, accretionary lapilli-bearing fine ash. The sedimentological model developed for the PDCs of the PdA eruption explains these strong lithofacies variations in the light of the volcano’s morphology at the time of the eruption. In particular, the EU5 PDCs survived to pass over the break in slope between the volcano sides and the surrounding volcaniclastic apron–alluvial plain, with development of new flows from the previously suspended load. Pulses were developed within individual currents, leading to stepwise deposition on both the volcano slopes and the surrounding volcaniclastic apron and alluvial plain. Physical parameters including velocity, density and concentration profile with height were calculated for a flow of the phreatomagmatic phase of the eruption by applying a sedimentological method, and the values of the dynamic pressure were derived. Some hazard considerations are summarised on the assumption that, although not very probable, similar PDCs could develop during future eruptions of Somma–Vesuvius.     

Estimates of effective permeability for non-Newtonian fluid flow in randomly heterogeneous porous media

An understanding of the interplay between non-Newtonian effects in porous media flow and field-scale domain heterogeneity is of great importance in several engineering and geological applications. Here we present a simplified approach to the derivation of an effective permeability for flow of a purely viscous power–law fluid with flow behavior index n in a randomly heterogeneous porous domain subject to a uniform pressure gradient. A standard form of the flow law generalizing the Darcy’s law to non-Newtonian fluids is adopted, with the permeability coefficient being the only source of randomness. The natural logarithm of the permeability is considered a spatially homogeneous and correlated Gaussian random field. Under the ergodic hypothesis, an effective permeability is first derived for two limit 1-D flow geometries: flow parallel to permeability variation (serial-type layers), and flow transverse to permeability variation (parallel-type layers). The effective permeability of a 2-D or 3-D isotropic domain is conjectured to be a power average of 1-D results, generalizing results valid for Newtonian fluids under the validity of Darcy’s law; the conjecture is validated comparing our results with previous literature findings. The conjecture is then extended, allowing the exponents of the power averaging to be functions of the flow behavior index. For Newtonian flow, novel expressions for the effective permeability reduce to those derived in the past. The effective permeability is shown to be a function of flow dimensionality, domain heterogeneity, and flow behavior index. The impact of heterogeneity is significant, especially for shear-thinning fluids with a low flow behavior index, which tend to exhibit channeling behavior.