Simulation of debris flow on an instrumented test slope using an updated Lagrangian continuum particle method

We present an updated Lagrangian continuum particle method based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) for simulating debris flow on an instrumented test slope. The site is a deforested area near the village of Ruedlingen, a community in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. Artificial rainfall experiments were conducted on the slope that led to failure of the sediment in the form of a debris flow. We develop a 3D mechanistic model for this test slope and conduct numerical simulations of the flow kinematics using an SPH formulation that captures large deformation, material nonlinearity, and the complex post-failure movement of the sediment. Two main simulations explore the impact of changes in the mechanical properties of the sediment on the ensuing kinematics of the flow. The first simulation models the sediment as a granular homogeneous material, while the second simulation models the sediment as a heterogeneous material with spatially varying cohesion. The variable cohesion is meant to represent the effects of root reinforcement from vegetation. By comparing the numerical solutions with the observed failure surfaces and final free-surface geometries of the debris deposit, as well as with the observed flow velocity, flow duration, and hot spots of strain concentration, we provide insights into the accuracy and robustness of the SPH framework for modeling debris flows.

     

Regional scenarios of sea level rise and impacts on Basque (Bay of Biscay) coastal habitats,throughout the 21st century

Global climate models have predicted a rise on mean sea level of between 0.18 m and 0.59 m by the end of the 21st Century, with high regional variability. The objectives of this study are to estimate sea level changes in the Bay of Biscay during this century, and to assess the impacts of any change on Basque coastal habitats and infrastructures. Hence, ocean temperature projections for three climate scenarios, provided by several atmosphere–ocean coupled general climate models, have been extracted for the Bay of Biscay; these are used to estimate thermosteric sea level variations. The results show that, from 2001 to 2099, sea level within the Bay of Biscay will increase by between 28.5 and 48.7 cm, as a result of regional thermal expansion and global ice-melting, under scenarios A1B and A2 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. A high-resolution digital terrain model, extracted from LiDAR, data was used to evaluate the potential impact of the estimated sea level rise to 9 coastal and estuarine habitats: sandy beaches and muds, vegetated dunes, shingle beaches, sea cliffs and supralittoral rock, wetlands and saltmarshes, terrestrial habitats, artificial land, piers, and water surfaces. The projected sea level rise of 48.7 cm was added to the high tide level of the coast studied, to generate a flood risk map of the coastal and estuarine areas. The results indicate that 110.8 ha of the supralittoral area will be affected by the end of the 21st Century; these are concentrated within the estuaries, with terrestrial and artificial habitats being the most affected. Sandy beaches are expected to undergo mean shoreline retreats of between 25% and 40%, of their width. The risk assessment of the areas and habitats that will be affected, as a consequence of the sea level rise, is potentially useful for local management to adopt adaptation measures to global climate change.     

Paradigmatic responses of marine benthic communities to different anthropogenic pressures, using M-AMBI, within the European Water Framework Directive

The use of AMBI and M-AMBI in benthic quality assessments, within the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), has increased dramatically in recent years. M-AMBI is a multivariate tool, which incorporates AMBI, richness and Shannon diversity within the assessment. The response of this approach to different human pressures in coastal and estuarine waters has been investigated for the Basque Country (Northern Spain). In this contribution, several paradigmatic examples of these applications to different water bodies are presented. The time-series extend to samples collected between 1995 and 2007, showing the evolution of M-AMBI values under different pressures, i.e. urban and industrial discharges, dredging and disposal of sediments, and engineering works (such as land reclamation or marina construction), and, in addition, for illustrating the benthic quality recovery after positive actions have been undertaken, i.e. the removal of point-source discharges or water treatment programmes. In most cases, M-AMBI responds to these pressures as expected, with decreases in the ecological status immediately following the pressure. Conversely, when a pressure is removed, the recovery takes between 2 and 15 years, depending upon the intensity of the pressure and the characteristics of the water body. M-AMBI has been intercalibrated previously in coastal waters. After intercalibration in transitional waters, M-AMBI will be able to be used in the integrative quality assessment of European water bodies.     

Mechanical aspects of thrust faulting driven by far-field compression and their implications for fold geometry

In this paper we present a mechanical model that intends to captures the kinematical aspects of thrust fault related folds induced by regional-scale far-field contraction. Fold shapes may be the only surface evidence of the geometry of underlying faults, so complex fault interactions are assessed in terms of how they influence fold geometry. We use the finite element method to model the fold and finite deformation frictional contact to model the activation and evolution of slip throughout preexisting faults. From several simulated 2D fault patterns we infer how one may form an anticline similar to that observed at Sheep Mountain Anticline, Wyoming.     

Estimating inelastic sediment deformation from local site response simulations

Significant insight into the dynamic local site response of a horizontally layered sediment deposit to seismic excitation can be gained from numerical simulations. In this paper we use a nonlinear local site response analysis code SPECTRA to estimate the coseismic sediment deformation at a seismically active site in Lotung, Taiwan. We address some basic issues relevant for interpreting the simulation results, including the impact of noise and baseline offsets present in the input ground motion. We also consider the sensitivity of the predicted deformation responses to statistical variations of sediment constitutive properties. Finally, we apply a suite of hypothetical strong ground motions to the base of the sediment deposit to better understand the pattern of inelastic deformation likely to result from strong seismic shaking.     

Testing the applicability of a Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) to assessing the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthic communities, in the South America Atlantic region

Recently, several monitoring programmes have been undertaken to evaluate the impact of different anthropogenic activities, upon a range of coastal ecosystems located in the South-western Atlantic. In the present contribution, the applicability of the AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) is tested, to establish the benthic health of the ecosystem using these data sets. As the AMBI was created previously for use in European estuarine and coastal environments, its general applicability to new geographical locations is discussed. In general, the results are in agreement with those obtained using traditional univariate and multivariate methods. Some inconsistent results are observed, when low abundances and/or number of taxa are recorded in the samples. Moreover, when the macrofauna samples are dominated by large nematodes, the classification of the benthic ecosystem health using AMBI is not consistent with previous results achieved applying other statistical techniques. Thus, parallel to the application of this index to a wider extend, the complementary use of different indices and/or methods is recommended to assess confidently the environmental quality of a coastal area.     

How Do Surficial Lithic Assemblages Weather in Arid Environments? A Case Study from the Atacama Desert,Northern Chile

Archaeological sites composed only of surficial lithics are widespread in arid environments. Numerical dating of such sites is challenging, however, and even establishing a relative chronology can be daunting. One potentially helpful method for assigning relative chronologies is to use lithic weathering, on the assumption that the most weathered artifacts are also the oldest. Yet, few studies have systematically assessed how local environmental processes affect weathering of surficial lithics. Using macroscopic analyses, we compared the weathering of surficial lithic assemblages from seven mid‐to‐late Holocene archaeological sites sampled from four different microenvironments in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Changes in polish, texture, shine, and color were used to establish significant differences in weathering between two kinds of locations: interfluves and canyon sites. Lithics from interfluve sites were moderately to highly weathered by wind and possessed a dark coating, whereas canyon lithics were mildly weathered despite greater exposure to moisture, often lacked indications of eolian abrasion, and lacked dark coatings. Our results show that lithic weathering can be used as a proxy for relative age, but only after considering local environmental factors. The power of such chronologies can be improved by combining archaeological, paleoenvironmental, geomorphological, and taphonomic data.