Threat from above! Assessing the risk from the Tonghua high-locality landslide in Sichuan,China

Landslides - In tectonically active steep mountain belts, such as those in west Sichuan in China, frequent landslide disasters can occur during the rainy season. High-locality landslides often...     

Guocun landslide in a slate slope with dip structure on 27 March 2021 in Tonglu County,Zhejiang Province,China

On 27 March 2021, a landslide with a volume of approximately 2?×?10⁴ m³ occurred in Guocun Village next to Kengheng road in Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province, China. The landslide caused no casualties as a result of timely road closures, because of the unusual noises detected early by local residents. The motion mechanism of the landslide was studied using video analysis. Slope cutting resulting from road construction might have been the major triggering factor for the landslide. The intrusion of magma and the uplift process of Huangshan led to the metamorphism of mudstone to easily fractured slate, and the brittle layered slate might have controlled the change of motion from transitional sliding to dry debris flow.

     

南海北部琼东南盆地第四系陆架边缘轨迹迁移及深水沉积模式

陆架边缘迁移轨迹综合受控于构造、物源、海平面和气候等多种因素,其迁移演化与深水沉积体系发育关系密切。陆架边缘迁移规律及沉积物输送体制与深水砂体预测是当前国际地学领域的热点议题。本文通过基于琼东南盆地新采集的高精度地震资料,定量表征了第四系陆架边缘轨迹,识别了低角度缓慢上升型、中等角度上升型和高角度急剧上升型等3类陆架边缘轨迹类型。2.4 Ma以来,陆架边缘轨迹时空演化可分为3个阶段且具有侧向差异性:2.4~1.9 Ma以低角度缓慢上升型为主,1.9~0.8 Ma西北部以低角度缓慢上升型为主,东北部则以中等角度上升型为主,0.8 Ma至今西北部以中等角度上升型为主,东北部以高角度急剧上升型为主。琼东南盆地第四系陆架边缘迁移轨迹研究表明:当陆架边缘轨迹角0°<α<4°时,陆坡区峡谷规模较小且下切浅,深海平原区发育多期大型海底扇沉积,块体搬运沉积(MTDs)较少;当4°<α<35°时,陆坡区峡谷规模有所增加,深海平原区海底扇沉积与块体搬运沉积均有出现;当35°<α<90°时,陆坡区峡谷发育较少但下切深,深水平原区沉积以大型块体搬运沉积为主,海底扇几乎不发育。琼东南盆地更新世以来气温不断下降,以及东亚冬季风的显著增强,物源供给增强加之海平面的下降进而导致了西北部陆架边缘表现为进积特征;研究区东北部的断裂活动频繁以及物源供给弱,导致了研究区东北部陆坡推进距离远远小于研究区西北部且发育多期次块体搬运沉积物。以上认识对南海北部陆架边缘体系及深水扇预测具有一定的理论意义。     

不同氧化还原条件下铅锌矿尾砂中重金属元素活化迁移规律

以广西大厂镇鲁塘铅锌矿尾砂为研究对象,通过淋滤实验研究了不同氧化还原条件下尾砂中Cu、Cd、Zn、Pb和As等元素的活化和迁移规律。结果表明：经高浓度氧化、高浓度还原条件处理的尾矿表现为pH<7的酸性环境,经低浓度氧化环境条件处理的尾砂呈现pH>7的弱酸性至弱碱性环境;尾砂中Cu、Cd元素活化迁移受pH值的影响明显,即高浓度还原和高浓度氧化条件可以促进Cu和Cd元素的迁移,酸性条件对Cu和Cd元素的迁移起到促进作用;Zn与Cd元素存在竞争吸附关系,但二者仍有明显差别;Pb和As元素受到还原条件的影响,能有效促进Pb和As元素的释放迁移。在淋滤实验前期,铅锌矿的表面阻力较小,由于环境酸碱性的改变,初始尾砂对重金属元素的吸附位能发生变化,重金属元素初期迁移能力得到加强;淋滤后期,矿物颗粒表面由于发生氧化还原反应,促使颗粒表面的阻力增加,重金属元素的溶出量减少,迁移能力受到抑制。     

Fractional derivative modelling for rheological consolidation of multilayered soil under time-dependent loadings and continuous permeable boundary conditions

Acta Geotechnica - This paper investigates the one-dimensional rheological consolidation problem of multilayered soils subjected to different time-dependent loadings and continuous permeable...     

Exploring efficiency of biochar in enhancing water retention in soils with varying grain size distributions using ANN technique

Acta Geotechnica - Recently, incentives have been provided in many countries, including Canada and Denmark, to produce biochar for construction usage. This is done because biochar is carbon...     

Predicting tunnel squeezing using support vector machine optimized by whale optimization algorithm

Acta Geotechnica - The squeezing behavior of surrounding rock can be described as the time-dependent large deformation during tunnel excavation, which appears in special geological conditions, such...     

A unified constitutive model for cemented/non-cemented soils under monotonic and cyclic loading

Acta Geotechnica - In this paper, an elastoplastic constitutive model is proposed to uniformly describe the mechanical behavior of cemented/ non-cemented soil under different loading conditions. A...     

Evolution of the freeze-thaw cycles in the source region of the Yellow River under the influence of climate change and its hydrological effects

As an important water source and ecological barrier in the Yellow River Basin, the source region of the Yellow River (above the Huangheyan Hydrologic Station) presents a remarkable permafrost degradation trend due to climate change. Therefore, scientific understanding the effects of permafrost degradation on runoff variations is of great significance for the water resource and ecological protection in the Yellow River Basin. In this paper, we studied the mechanism and extent of the effect of degrading permafrost on surface flow in the source region of the Yellow River based on the monitoring data of temperature and moisture content of permafrost in 2013–2019 and the runoff data in 1960–2019. The following results have been found. From 2013 to 2019, the geotemperature of the monitoring sections at depths of 0–2.4 m increased by 0.16°C/a on average. With an increase in the thawing depth of the permafrost, the underground water storage space also increased, and the depth of water level above the frozen layer at the monitoring points decreased from above 1.2 m to 1.2–2 m. 64.7% of the average multiyear groundwater was recharged by runoff, in which meltwater from the permafrost accounted for 10.3%. Compared to 1960-1965, the runoff depth in the surface thawing period (from May to October) and the freezing period (from November to April) decreased by 1.5 mm and 1.2 mm, respectively during 1992–1997, accounting for 4.2% and 3.4% of the average annual runoff depth, respectively. Most specifically, the decrease in the runoff depth was primarily reflected in the decreased runoff from August to December. The permafrost degradation affects the runoff within a year by changing the runoff generation, concentration characteristics and the melt water quantity from permafrost, decreasing the runoff at the later stage of the permafrost thawing. However, the permafrost degradation has limited impacts on annual runoff and does not dominate the runoff changes in the source region of the Yellow River in the longterm.     

Tectonic evolution and geodynamics of the Neo-Tethys Ocean

The Neo-Tethys Ocean was an eastward-gaping triangular oceanic embayment between Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south.The Neo-Tethys Ocean was initiated from the Early Permian with mircoblocks rifted from the northern margin of Gondwana.As the microblocks drifted northwards,the Neo-Tethys Ocean was expanded.Most of these microblocks collided with the Eurasia continent in the Late Triassic,leading to the final closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean,followed by oceanic subduction of the Neo-Tethys oceanic slab beneath the newly formed southern margin of the Eurasia continent.As the splitting of Gondwana continued,African-Arabian,Indian and Australian continents were separated from Gondwana and moved northwards at different rates.Collision of these blocks with the Eurasia continent occurred at different time during the Cenozoic,resulting in the closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and building of the most significant Alps-Zagros-Himalaya orogenic belt on Earth.The tectonic evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean shows different characteristics from west to east:Multi-oceanic basins expansion,bidirectional subduction and microblocks collision dominate in the Mediterranean region;northward oceanic subduction and diachronous continental collision along the Zagros suture occur in the Middle East;the Tibet and Southeast Asia are characterized by multi-block riftings from Gondwana and multi-stage collisions with the Eurasia continent.The negative buoyancy of subducting oceanic slabs can be considered as the main engine for northward drifting of Gondwana-derived blocks and subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean.Meanwhile,mantle convection and counterclockwise rotation of Gondwana-derived blocks and the Gondwana continent around an Euler pole in West Africa in non-free boundary conditions also controlled the evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean.