Strength and stiffness of compacted chalk putty–cement blends

Chalk breaks easily when subjected to human action such as mechanical handling, earthworks operations or pile installation. These actions break the cemented structure of chalk, which turns into a degraded material known as putty, with lower strength and stiffness than the intact chalk. The addition of Portland cement can improve the behaviour of chalk putties. Yet, there are no studies determining the tensile strength of chalk putty–cement blends, the initial stiffness evolution during the curing time and other design parameters such as friction angle and cohesion of this material. This paper addresses this knowledge gap and provides an interpretation of new experimental results based on the dimensionless index expressed as the ratio between porosity and volumetric content of cement (η/C_iv) or its exponential modification (η/C_iv^a). This index aids the selection of the amount of cement and density for key design parameters of compacted chalk putty–cement blends required in geotechnical engineering projects such as road foundations and pavements, embankments, and also bored concrete pile foundations.

     

柴达木盆地新生代以来的气候变化研究:来自碳氧同位素的证据

青藏高原北缘柴达木盆地内部始新世—更新世的碳酸盐中的碳、氧同位素分析结果显示了几次与区域性气候变化和构造运动相关的地质事件,包括青藏高原形成和隆升。新生代厚层的湖相-陆相沉积物记录了在中新世时气候以干旱条件为主。红三旱剖面中出现了两个较短1 Ma到3 Ma的δ13C变化周期。通过稳定同位素的研究可以识别出4个明显的构造事件:(1)上干柴沟组晚期δ13C和δ18O出现明显的增加,反映周边山脉的隆升;(2)上干柴沟组和下油砂山组界限处δ13C和δ18O的剧减,反映了整个柴达木盆地的总体抬升和喜马拉雅山在24 Ma左右的隆起;(3)19~18 Ma同位素数据出现的正异常峰值应该和阿尔金山的强烈隆起有关,同时盆地相对沉降,地貌高差增大,气候变得干旱;(4)12 Ma的明显负异常反映了整个柴达木盆地的海拔又一次增高,而盆地本身相对沉降周边山脉隆升。     

Semantic typing of linked geoprocessing workflows

In Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geoprocessing workflows allow analysts to organize their methods on spatial data in complex chains. We propose a method for expressing workflows as linked data, and for semi-automatically enriching them with semantics on the level of their operations and datasets. Linked workflows can be easily published on the Web and queried for types of inputs, results, or tools. Thus, GIS analysts can reuse their workflows in a modular way, selecting, adapting, and recommending resources based on compatible semantic types. Our typing approach starts from minimal annotations of workflow operations with classes of GIS tools, and then propagates data types and implicit semantic structures through the workflow using an OWL typing scheme and SPARQL rules by backtracking over GIS operations. The method is implemented in Python and is evaluated on two real-world geoprocessing workflows, generated with Esri's ArcGIS. To illustrate the potential applications of our typing method, we formulate and execute competency questions over these workflows.     

Testing Nano-Powder and Fused-Glass Mineral Reference Materials for In Situ Rb-Sr Dating of Glauconite,Phlogopite, Biotite and Feldspar via LA-ICP-MS/MS

Reference materials (RMs) with well-characterised composition are necessary for reliable quantification and quality control of isotopic analyses of geological samples. For in situ Rb-Sr analysis of silicate minerals via laser ablation inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) with a collision/reaction cell, there is a general lack of mineral-specific and matrix-matched RMs, which limits wider application of this new laser-based dating technique to certain minerals. In this work, pressed nano-powder pellets (NP) of four RMs, GL-O (glauconite), Mica-Mg (phlogopite), Mica-Fe (biotite) and FK-N (K-feldspar), were analysed and tested for in situ Rb-Sr dating, complemented by isotope dilution (ID) MC-ICP-MS Rb-Sr analyses of GL-O and Mica-Mg. In addition, we attempted to develop alternative flux-free and fused ‘mineral glasses’ from the above RMs for in situ Rb-Sr dating applications. Overall, the results of this study showed that among the above RMs only two NP (Mica-Mg-NP and GL-O-NP) were suitable and robust for in situ dating applications. These two nano-powder reference materials, Mica-Mg-NP and GL-O-NP, were thus used as primary RMs to normalise and determine Rb-Sr ages for three natural minerals: MDC phlogopite and GL-O glauconite grains, and also Mica-Fe-NP (biotite). Our in situ analyses of the above RMs yielded Rb-Sr ages that are in good agreement (within 8%) of published ages, which suggests that both Mica-Mg-NP and GL-O-NP are suitable RMs for in situ Rb-Sr dating of phlogopite, glauconite and biotite. However, using secondary RMs is recommended to monitor the quality of the obtained ages.     

贵州新民石门坎三叠系关岭组底部火山凝灰岩锆石U-Pb年龄及意义

华南地区三叠系地层发育,安尼阶底界（即下—中三叠统界线）附近广泛发育浅绿色火山凝灰岩或凝灰质碎屑岩,俗称 “绿豆岩”。国际安尼阶底界界线层型候选剖面——位于南盘江盆地内的贵州关刀剖面和广西湾头剖面,已获得可对比的“绿豆岩”锆石U-Pb年龄,但在相邻的上扬子台地上尚缺少对安尼阶底界测年的可对比数据。笔者采集了贵州省盘州市新民镇石门坎剖面三叠系关岭组底部的多层“绿豆岩”,利用LA-ICP-MS获得锆石的U-Pb年龄。结果显示,石门坎剖面关岭组底部的锆石结晶年龄为246. 9±1. 1 Ma,可与南盘江盆地内及上扬子台地区出露安尼阶底界的剖面相对比。其绝对年龄为上扬子台地区内的安尼阶底界年龄对比提供了参照,有助于限定中三叠世海生爬行动物群所代表的海洋生态系统的复苏时间。石门坎剖面地层沉积连续,未来有望继续开展综合地层学的研究。     

Mechanical Behavior of Clayey Soil Reinforced with Recycled Tire Rubber Using Chips and Fibers

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - The volume of discarded tires continues to increase each year, becoming a major topic of concern for society. Motivated by this environmental issue, this...     

A numerical model for the simulation of debris flow triggering,propagation and arrest

Natural Hazards - In this paper, it is described the development and the assessment of a 1D numerical procedure for the simulation of debris flow phenomena. The procedure focuses on: (1) the...     

Late Oligocene–early Miocene olistostromes (sedimentary mélanges) as tectono-stratigraphic constraints to the geodynamic evolution of the exhumed Ligurian accretionary complex (Northern Apennines,NW Italy)

In the Northern Apennines of Italy, mud-rich olistostromes (sedimentary mélanges) occur at different stratigraphic levels within the late Oligocene–early Miocene sedimentary record of episutural/wedge-top basins. They are widely distributed along the exhumed outer part of the Ligurian accretionary complex, atop the outer Apenninic prowedge, over an area about 300 km long and 10–15 km wide. Olistostromes represent excellent examples of ancient submarine mass-transport complexes (MTCs), consisting of stacked cohesive debris flows that can be directly compared to some of those observed in modern accretionary wedges. We describe the internal arrangement of olistostrome occurrences in the sector between Voghera and the Monferrato area, analysing their relationships with mesoscale liquefaction features, which are commonly difficult to observe in modern MTCs. Slope failures occurred in isolated sectors along the wedge front, where out-of-sequence thrusting, seismicity, and different pulses of overpressured tectonically induced fluid flows acted concomitantly. Referring to the Northern Apennines regional geology, we also point out a gradual lateral rejuvenation (from late Oligocene to early Miocene) toward the SE and an increasing size and thickness of the olistostromes along the strike of the frontal Apenninic prowedge. This suggests that morphological reshaping of the outer prowedge via mass-transport processes balanced, with different pulses over a short time span, the southeastward migration and segmentation of accretionary processes. The latter were probably favoured by the occurrence in the northwestern part of the Northern Apennines of major, inherited palaeogeographic features controlling the northward propagation of the prowedge. Detailed knowledge of olistostromes, as ancient examples of MTCs related to syn-sedimentary tectonics and shale diapirism, and of their lateral variations in term of age and size, provides useful information in regard to better understanding of both the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Apenninic prowedge and the submarine slope failures in modern accretionary wedges.     

Tectonically driven deposition and landscape evolution within upland incised valleys: Ambra Valley fill,Pliocene–Pleistocene,Tuscany, Italy

Sedimentation in the upstream reaches of incised valleys is predominantly of alluvial origin and, in most cases, independent from relative sea‐level or lake‐level oscillations. Preserved facies distributions record the depositional response to a combination of allogenic factors, including tectonics, climate and landscape evolution. Tectonics drive fluvial aggradation and degradation through local changes in gradient, both longitudinal and transverse to the valley slope. This article deals with a Pliocene–Pleistocene fluvial valley fill developed in the north‐eastern shoulder of the Siena Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy). Evolution of the valley was not influenced by sea‐level or lake‐level changes and morphological and depositional evolution of valley resulted from extensional tectonics that gave rise to normal and oblique‐slip faults orthogonal and parallel to the valley axis. Data from both field observations and geophysical study are interpreted to develop a comprehensive tectono‐sedimentary model of coeval longitudinal and lateral tilting of the developing alluvial plain. Longitudinal tilting was generated by a transverse, upstream‐dipping normal fault that controlled the aggradation of fining‐upward strata sets. Upstream of the fault zone, valley back‐filling generated an architecture similar to that of classic, sea‐level‐controlled, coastal incised valleys. Downstream of the fault zone, valley down‐filling was related to an overwhelming sediment supply sourced and routed from the active fault zone itself. Lateral tilting was promoted by the activity of a fault oriented parallel to the valley axis, as well as by different offsets along near orthogonal faults. As a result, the valley trunk system experienced complex lateral shifts, which were governed by interacting fault‐generated subsidence and by the topographic confinement of progradational, flank‐sourced alluvial fans.     

Special Issue: Renewable Ocean Energy Development and the Environment

Renewable energy harvested from ocean waves, tides, and winds as part of a portfolio of reliable low-carbon energy sources to address climate change and energy security is under consideration by many nations. Engineering designs and characterization of the harvestable resource are moving forward, particularly in Europe, Asia, and North America. At the same time, stakeholders and regulators have expressed the need to understand potential effects on marine animals, habitats, and ecosystem processes. These potential effects are prompting researchers and resource managers to examine interactions of species and ocean areas with energy conversion devices. This volume demonstrates the breadth of disciplines engaged in the quest to understand potential effects and the proactive efforts to develop these new sources of energy to the world, in a responsible manner.