Fire Severity,Water Repellency Characteristics and Hydrogeomorphological Changes Following the Christmas 2001 Sydney Forest Fires

Soil water repellency can enhance overland flow and erosion and may be altered by fire. The Christmas 2001 bushfires near Sydney allowed investigation of the relationship between fire severity, water repellency and hydrogeomorphological changes. For two sub-catchments with differences in fire severities in Nattai National Park, south-west of Sydney, this paper considers: (1) the links between fire severity based on SPOT image analysis and ground observation of fire severity and repellency; (2) the textural and organic/minerogenic characteristics of eroded sediment; and (3) erodibility, erosion and deposition of soils in both catchments. Ground surveys show that image analysis reflects well the degree of vegetation consumption by fire, but cannot adequately predict the degree of ground litter consumption, associated soil heating and repellency effects. Fire had varying effects on repellency, leaving it unchanged, destroying it or enhancing it, depending on the soil temperature reached. The main post-fire hydrogeomorphological changes have been widespread erosion and colluvial and alluvial deposition of topsoil in foot-slope locations and river systems, but only localised redistribution of the highly erodible, repellent sandy subsurface layer. The fire did not trigger major geomorphological change in the study area, but fires probably cause important topsoil and nutrient depletion and may also affect water quality.     

A FOOD GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT PLAINS

ABSTRACT. This article explores the regional identity of the Great Plains through its foodways using 744 responses from a mailed survey that asked participants to plan a representative menu for their locale. The strongest association is with beef—not surprising in an area known for cattle ranching. Other commonalities include potatoes, beans, and corn. Differentiation within the region is marked by preparation methods for beef as well as emphases on cornbread and peach cobbler in the south, rhubarb pie in the north, tortillas and sopapillas in the southwest, and pickles in two separate clusterings.     

西加拿大盆地彩虹地区中泥盆统生物礁油藏的地球化学特征及其石油地质意义

彩虹地区存在两类烃源岩，一类形成于深水高盐蒸发环境，另一类形成于较浅水碳酸盐环境。采用多元统计方法对本区来自不同油蘸的26个油样的地球化学特征进行分析，并研究其空间变化规律及其与地质控制因素的关系。研究结果表明该地区油样成分特征和空间展布的两分性明显。油样成分两分主要是由于母源的差别所致。而油气特征在空间上的两分则可能反映盆地演化过程中构造作用对沉积环境和礁体空间展布的控制。礁间盐层的存在限制礁体间的横向连通性。石油就近聚集的结果导致在空间上原油特征沿袭了母岩的分布特点。     

The Effect of the Development of Groundwater Deposits on Its Fluorine Content

Synthesis of regime observations of groundwater quality at deposits under operation and thermodynamic modeling of the geochemical interaction processes that govern the groundwater chemistry were used to recognize the geochemical causes and processes that bring about an increase in the groundwater fluorine content during water withdrawal accompanied by groundwater level drop and partial drying of the aquifer. The causes of the invalidity of previous forecasts are established.     

Evaluation of Sea Water Quality in the Coastal Zone of Primor'e Using the Method of Microbial Indication

The response of marine microorganism community to variations in the concentrations of heavy metals in the environment is investigated for the coastal waters of Peter the Great Bay and the northern part of Primor'e. The fact of the existence and sensitivity of the individual response of plankton community microorganisms to variations in the concentrations of metals in the water under the conditions of water contamination with a complex of metals are confirmed on the basis of microbiological data and the results of their comparison to the data of chemical analysis. Microbial indication is shown to serve as an operative method of monitoring and short-term forecasting of changes in the environmental conditions of sea coastal waters. This method allows obtaining preliminary information at the stage of selecting environmental quality observation stations.     

Analytical Model for Permeability Evolution in Microcracking Rock

— Analytical expressions to predict the enhancement of permeability due to stress-induced microcracking in initially low porosity rock are presented. A fracture mechanical microcrack model is employed to derive integrated effective hydraulic variables as a function of stress, which are then used to calculate the evolution of permeability using the statistically-based Dienes model. The model enables determination of permeability enhancement as a function of two loading parameters and three material parameters. Results are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements and indicate that appreciable increases in permeability can be anticipated during brittle failure. The analytical nature of the model makes it easily incorporatable into numerical models that require quantification of the permeability evolution as a function of stress, for which there is currently no law.     

Modeling Lake Ladoga Zoobenthos and Studying Its Role in Phosphorus Exchange at the Water–Bed Interface

A zoobenthos submodel is included in an ecosystem model. The new model is used to assess the role of zoobenthos in the phosphorus exchange at the water–bed interface, in particular, the phosphorus cycle in the water body ecosystem is described more accurately. The calculated zoobenthos distribution over the bed of a lake can be used in modeling the lake ichthyocenoses.     

A critical state interpretation for the cyclic liquefaction resistance of silty sands

Contrary to many laboratory investigations, common empirical correlations from in situ tests consider that the increase in the percentage of fines leads to an increase of the cyclic liquefaction resistance of sands. This paper draws upon the integrated Critical State Soil Mechanics framework in order to study this seemingly not univocal effect. Firstly the effect of fines on the Critical State Line (CSL) is studied through a statistical analysis of a large data set of published monotonic triaxial tests. The results show that increasing the content of non-plastic fines practically leads to a clockwise rotation of the CSL in (e–ln p) space. The implication of this effect on cyclic liquefaction resistance is subsequently evaluated with the aid of a properly calibrated critical state elasto-plastic constitutive model, as well as a large number of published experimental results and in situ empirical correlations. Both sets of data show clearly that a fines content, less than about 30% by weight, may prove beneficial at relatively small effective stresses (p₀<50–70 kPa), such as the in situ stresses prevailing in most liquefaction case studies, and detrimental at larger confining stresses, i.e. the stresses usually considered in laboratory tests. To the extent of these findings, a correction factor is proposed for the practical evaluation of liquefaction resistance in terms of the fines content and the mean effective confining stress.     

Carbon dioxide and radon gas hazard in the Alban Hills area (central Italy)

The sudden and catastrophic, or slow and continuous, release at surface of naturally occurring toxic gases like CO₂, H₂S and Rn poses a serious health risk to people living in geologically active regions. In general this problem receives little attention from local governments, although public concern is raised periodically when anomalous toxic-gas concentrations suddenly kill humans or livestock. For example, elevated CO₂ concentrations have been linked to the death of at least 10 people in the central Italian region of Lazio over the last 20 years, while it was the CO₂ asphyxiation of 30 cows in a heavily populated area near Rome in 1999 which prompted the present soil-gas study into the distribution of the local health risk. A detailed geochemical survey was carried out in an area of about 4 km² in the Ciampino and Marino districts, whereby a total of 274 soil-gas samples were collected and analysed for more than 10 major and trace gas species. Data were then processed using both statistical and geostatistical methods, and the resulting maps were examined in order to highlight areas of elevated risk. General trends of elevated CO₂ and Rn concentrations imply the presence of preferential pathways (i.e. faults and fractures) along which deep gases are able to migrate towards the surface. The CO₂ and Rn anomalous trends often correspond to and are usually elongated parallel to the Apennine mountain range, the controlling structural feature in central Italy. Because of this fundamental anisotropy in the factors controlling the soil-gas distribution, it was found that a geostatistical approach using variogram analysis allowed for a better interpretation of the data. With regard to the health risk to local inhabitants, it was found that although some high risk areas had been zoned as parkland, others had been heavily developed for residential purposes. For example, many new houses were found to have been built on ground which has soil-gas CO₂ concentrations of more than 70% and radon values of more than 250 kBq m⁻³. It is recommended that land-use planners incorporate soil-gas and/or gas flux measurements in environmental assessments in areas of possible risk (i.e. volcanic or structurally active areas).     

Post-emplacement tilting of lava flows inferred from magnetic fabric study: the example of Oligocene lavas in the Jeanne d’Arc Peninsula (Kerguelen Islands)

Statistical analysis of the magnetic fabric of samples from several successive lava flows emplaced under similar conditions can allow determination of the mean flow direction when magnetic fabric data from individual flows do not lead to reliable results. A difference between the obtained flow direction and the present dip direction indicates that the flows were tilted after emplacement. For 2 successive series of flows on the Jeanne d’Arc Peninsula presently NNW dipping, this method shows lava emplacement along a SSW–NNE direction. This indicates a gentle tilting acquired during a period of weak deformation in the whole archipelago. Additionally, the magnetic fabric data allow the reconstruction of the different conditions of emplacement of these two series of lava flows and of formation of the local thick conglomerate interbedded between these series.