Effects of soil–plant-biochar interactions on water retention and slope stability under various rainfall patterns

Landslides - Due to climate change, extreme rainfalls happen more frequently with different patterns. Biochar and plant roots can affect soil water retention curve (SWRC) and hence slope stability....     

Rapid sampling of organic matter in flooded soils and sediments

Estuaries and Coasts - A coring system using a compressed air supply and a sediment shaking procedure using a soil dispersant are described which greatly simplify and shorten the task of...     

Geologic assessment of environmental impact in Lake Macatawa,Michigan

A historical record of the effects of human development upon Lake Macatawa is established using geologic criteria. Significant cultural events are recognized using the pollen record, particularly ambrosia/vesiculate pollen ratios, and occurrences of detrital and chemical contaminants within the more recent sedimentary column. Detrital contaminants include such things as cinder and ash from coal burning power plants and animal hair from early tanning operations. Trace metal contaminants, frequently associated with specific industrial events, are particularly useful in establishing a modern sedimentary chronology. The impact of human activity upon Lake Macatawa is measured using fossil diatoms. The advantage of this method of environmental impact assessment is that it provides a historical perspective in which changes within an environment are related to its natural conditions.     

Stability of Kerogen Classification with Regard to Image Segmentation

This paper investigates the stability of an automatic system for classifying kerogen material from images of sieved rock samples. The system comprises four stages: image acquisition, background removal, segmentation, and classification of the segmented kerogen pieces as either inertinite or vitrinite. Depending upon a segmentation parameter d, called “overlap”, touching pieces of kerogen may be split differently. The aim of this study is to establish how robust the classification result is to variations of the segmentation parameter. There are two issues that pose difficulties in carrying out an experiment. First, even a trained professional may be uncertain when distinguishing between isolated pieces of inertinite and vitrinite, extracted from transmitted-light microscope images. Second, because manual labelling of large amount of data for training the system is an arduous task, we acquired the true labels (ground truth) only for the pieces obtained at overlap d=0.5. To construct ground truth for various values of d we propose here label-inheritance trees. With thus estimated ground truth, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the robustness of the system to changes in the segmentation through varying the overlap value d. The average system accuracy across values of d spanning the range from 0 to 1 was 86.5%, which is only slightly lower than the accuracy of the system at the design value of d=0.5 (89.07%).     

The geoarchaeology of Iron Age “moated” sites of the Upper Mae Nam Mun Valley,N.E. Thailand. I: Palaeodrainage,site–landscape relationships and the origins of the “moats”

The study focuses on the “moated” Iron Age sites of N.E. Thailand, first identified as significant prehistoric settlement sites in the 1940s from aerial photography. Two more recent photograph sets are used to map the surficial geology and prehistoric site distribution for a study area west of Phimai, N.E. Thailand, with a focus on site–landscape relationships and, in particular, relationships between site location and form and patterns of palaeodrainage. The derived record of the surficial geology reflects several phases of palaeodrainage, characterized by differing locations and types of former river channels. Of note is the differentiation between a recent period in which river channels, including those presently active, are single-string meandering channels, and an older period of broad belts of meandering multistring channels. The prehistoric site distribution correlates closely with the older drainage, and for many, the encircling channels (the “moats”) are closely associated with former river channels. These relationships provide a critical and novel model for site distribution; several implications arise, supported by emerging field evidence, and introducing issues for archaeological debate: (i) there is no need, as has been done in the past, to invoke prehistoric artificial forms of drainage associated with the sites; (ii) the definition of the encircling channels as “moats” is seriously called into question; and (iii) the inferred geomorphological evolution of the floodplain implies past changes in environmental parameters such as run-off, climate or biophysical environments. Since the sites are all located in or beside ancient meander belts, these parameters should now be introduced into archaeological discussions regarding the establishment, history, evolution, and abandonment of the Iron Age sites. Methodologically, this article illustrates the need to be aware of the complexity of aerial photograph interpretation in archaeological survey, showing that careful analysis of aerial photograph information may have a significant impact upon the modeling of prehistoric interpretations. Further stratigraphical studies will be reported subsequently, and will refine the models presented here. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

U–Pb and Hf isotopic study of zircons from migmatised amphibolites in the Cathaysia Block: Implications for the early Paleozoic peak tectonothermal event in Southeastern China

Amphibolites occur in a number of localities in the Cathaysia Block, some of them have been migmatised and their protoliths represent basaltic magmas erupted in various tectonic settings. Four migmatised amphibolites were collected from Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces. Cathodo-luminescence images of zircons extracted from the representative amphibolites show unzoned or sector-zoned structure. LA-ICP-MS analysis indicates that most zircons have high Th/U ratios and yield U–Pb zircon ages of 446 ± 5, 435 ± 2, 434 ± 4 and 423 ± 2 Ma, respectively. Lu–Hf isotopic analysis on these zircons gives Hf model ages ranging from 900 to 1200 Ma. Based on lithological observations and previously published geochronological data, we interpret that these U–Pb ages record an important tectonothermal event that led to the migmatization. This early Paleozoic (Caledonian) tectonothermal event in the Southeastern China has a great tectonic implication for the evolutionary history of the Cathaysia Block.     

Investigating the swelling pressure of highly compacted bentonite/sand mixtures under constant-volume conditions

Acta Geotechnica - Compacted bentonite/sand mixtures are often considered as sealing/backfilling materials in deep geological disposal for radioactive waste. This study investigates the swelling...     

Modelling of major elements in mantle-melt systems using trace element approaches

Major elements can be modelled in ways similar to the quantitative petrogenetic modelling used for trace elements. In contrast to modelling with trace elements, however, modelling with major elements is constrained by the stoichiometry of the solid phases. Within these constraints, the same equations for partial melting and crystallization which have been used to such advantage for trace elements may be used for major elements.Calculated MgO and FeO abundances in a mantle-melt system are used as an example of the modelling technique. Such modelling yields limited fields of permissible melts and residues for a given parent composition, but does not give the paths of melting. It does allow the temperature and extent of melting which gave rise to a melt to be determined from the MgO and FeO abundances of the melt or residual solid. Applying the results of the modelling to igneous rocks and ultramafic nodules leads to the following conclusions, which are subject to the uncertainties in the available distribution coefficients. Least differentiated basalt glasses from the ocean floor are derived from parent melts with less than 15.5 weight % MgO and 8.2 wt. % FeO. Komatiites may be derived by less than 60% melting of a pyrolite source leaving a residue of olivine and pyroxene. Many nodules from the subcontinental mantle appear to be residues of large fractions of melting (>30%) at high temperature and pressure, whereas ultramafic nodules from oceanic basalts appear to be residues of smaller fractions of melting (<30%) at lower temperatures and pressures.     

Early Estimation of Seismic Hazard for Strong Earthquakes in Taiwan

A shakemap system providing rapid estimates of strong ground shaking could be useful for emergency response providers in a damaging earthquake. A hybrid procedure, which combines site-dependent ground motion prediction models and the limited observations of the Real-Time Digital stream output system (RTD system operated by Central Weather Bureau, CWB), was set up to provide a high-resolution shakemap in a near-real-time manner after damaging earthquakes in Taiwan. One of the main factors that affect the result of ground motion prediction analysis is the existence of site effects. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the local site effects and their influence in the ground shaking and then establish an early estimation procedure of potential hazard for damaging earthquakes. Based on the attenuation law, the site effects of each TSMIP station are discussed in terms of a bias function that is site and intensity-level dependent function. The standard deviation of the site-dependent ground motion prediction model can be significantly reduced. The nonlinear behavior of ground soil is automatically taken into account in the intensity-level dependent bias function. Both the PGA and the spectral acceleration are studied in this study. Based on the RTD data, event correctors are calculated and applied to precisely estimate the shakemap of damaging earthquakes for emergency response.     

The Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian boundary (Upper Permian) at Meishan of Changxing County, South China

Section D at Meishan, Changxing County in the Zhejiang Province, China, has been extensively studied in various aspects of the stratigraphy during the past 20 years. It was ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) as the Global Standard Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Permian–Triassic boundary in 2000, and is also a potential stratotype for the Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian boundary. However, the contact relationship between the Longtan (Wuchiapingian) and Changxing (Chainghsingian) formations has been a controversial subject for years. Recent studies on Section C, about 300 m west of Section D, at Meishan confirm a complete depositional succession around the boundary and suggest that the proposed boundary level, the FAD of Clarkina wangi within the lineage from C. longicuspidata to C. wangi, is consistent with the first appearance of the index Changhsingian fusulinid Palaeofusulina sinensis and tapashanitid ammonoids.