Disaster risk reduction on non-sovereign islands: La Réunion and Mayotte,France

The Islands of Réunion and Mayotte are French territories in the Indian Ocean and are prone to numerous and recurrent hazards as well as to increasing vulnerabilities. This paper examines disaster risk reduction on non-sovereign islands through the case studies of Réunion and Mayotte. The approach used is embedded in standard geographical approaches to risk analysis, focusing on place-based vulnerability, in order to understand disaster risk and disaster risk reduction on both islands. In addition to establishing baseline information and visiting both islands for further data, 21 semi-structured individual interviews were completed to understand the people’s perceptions of the hazards and of their vulnerabilities. Disaster risk reduction strategies, and attitudes from governing bodies implementing the strategies, tend to assume similar vulnerability contexts as mainland France, despite obvious differences on the islands. Many policies are implemented in a top–down manner by those from mainland France who have little interest in, and who do not fully take into consideration, local realities. This paper contributes new case studies to the literature, especially in comparing two non-Anglophone non-sovereign islands, and reinforces recommendations factoring in local contexts when addressing ‘vulnerability of a place’ to disasters.     

越南西北部大象山超高温变质岩的发现及其区域构造意义

越南西北部大象山群孔兹岩系中发育一套含刚玉+尖晶石+石榴石+夕线石组合的富铝岩石块体,它们呈透镜状包体形式赋存于孔兹岩系内。岩石中刚玉+尖晶石+石榴石+夕线石组合的发育指示岩石经历了超高温变质作用的改造。其中尖晶石和石英的共生组合表明了变质温度高于900℃,而利用岩石退变质矿物组合中的黑云母-石榴石温度计,黑云母-斜长石-石榴石-石英组合温度-压力计估算的变质温度压力条件分别为879~917℃、0.90~0.94GPa。岩石中的早期刚玉+夕线石的组合的存在说明岩石变质作用已经从高角闪岩相进入到了麻粒岩相;而峰期变质矿物组合尖晶石+石英的出现,指示了变质温度高于900℃的超高温变质作用。另一方面,退变质过程中钛铁矿的发育表明岩石经历了快速抬升降压的过程。变质作用的P-T轨迹分析揭示出岩石经历了早期同步升温增压后的快速增温达到峰期条件,后经历快速等温减压过程。这种温压条件的变化与板块会聚过程中由于俯冲板片的断离而使软流圈上涌造成热异常的温压条件变化基本一致。通过对超高温变质岩石进行锆石SIMS U-Pb测年获得的结果大于58Ma,推测这次超高温变质与喜马拉雅运动中印度与欧亚大陆的初期会聚-碰撞作用相关。     

Microstructure and hydraulic conductivity of a compacted lime-treated soil

Under a given compaction energy and procedure, it is known that maximum dry density of a soil is lowered due to lime addition. This modification of maximum dry density could alter the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The main object of this study was to assess the impact of lime-stabilization on a silt soil microstructure and then on saturated hydraulic conductivity. An investigation at the microscopic level with mercury intrusion porosimetry showed that lime treatment induced the formation of a new small class, with a diameter lower than 3 × 10³ Å in the compacted soil. This class is responsible for the difference in dry density between the treated and the untreated sample after compaction. It is shown that this small pores class was not altered by the compaction water content, the compaction procedure or the dry density. As in untreated soils, only the larger pores were modified by the compaction water content and the compaction procedure in the lime treated samples. The hydraulic conductivity appeared to be only related to the largest pores volume of the tested silt, regardless of lime treatment. Therefore, this study demonstrated that even if addition of lime resulted in a dramatic change of the maximum dry density of the tested silty soil, its effect on hydraulic conductivity is limited.     

Analysis of the Excavation Deviations Impact on Geological Radioactive Waste Repository Performance

Numerical simulations of the transport of radionuclide from high-level radioactive waste stored in geological repositories often do not take into account construction defects in the repository. The potential impact of drilling and excavation deviation from the engineer planned design is a priori considered negligible. We conducted computations on repository geometries that contain deviations from horizontal of a few degrees. The analysis of the results shows that the impact of deviation defects varies from 9 to 16%. A perfect control of the galleries and waste repository cell orientations is then of concern for radioactive waste repository construction, failing which numerical simulations must be conducted on the worst geometric configuration or margin errors added. On the other hand, if the orientation control is precise enough, a modification of the repository design including controlled deviations from the horizontal may be of interest.     

改良黄土强度特性与工程处置试验研究

本文针对山西朔州典型黄土,利用素黄土与石灰粉煤灰、石灰水泥、水泥粉煤灰三种改良黄土,进行了击实特性、抗剪强度特性及崩解特性试验研究,提出了黄土改良的最佳方案,并采用该方案对山西某煤矿电梯井填方段进行了数值模拟分析,验证了石灰粉煤灰改良黄土工程应用的可行性。试验结果表明:粉煤灰与黄土形成致密的混合结构,石灰的掺入,激活了粉煤灰的活性,发生了一系列的水化反应,使改良黄土的强度大大提高,改良黄土在物理力学性质方面有明显改善。     

Diatom quantification and their distribution with salinity brines in coastal sediments of Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica)

Benthic diatoms represent an important element of global nutritional productivity; to raise attention on their role, which is often neglected due to analytical difficulties, surface (1 cm top layer) coastal sediments from Gerlache inlet to Penguin Bay at Terra Nova Bay were collected and stored at -20 °C. DNA amplification by real-time PCR, based on diatom-specific oligonucleotide primers designed on small-subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA), was performed in addition to diatom conventional cell counting and spectrophotometric determination of photo-pigments. Moreover, cations and anions were determined in sediments with the aim to identify factors involved in the control of diatom abundance. Diatom distribution was found quite heterogeneous displaying significant differences from site to site. The salinity in sediments ranged from 45.1 at Gerlache inlet to 76.2 at Penguin Bay and it was correlated with cell abundance, biodiversity, amount of pigments and amplified DNA. The dominant species, Fragilariopsis curta, was associated to sediment salinity brines.     

岩层厚度对碳酸盐岩构造裂缝面密度和分形分布的影响

岩层厚度对于碳酸盐岩构造裂缝的发育起到重要作用.新疆柯坪大湾沟、青松和蓬莱坝构造性质比较稳定,剖面的构造裂缝测量结果统计分析表明,碳酸盐岩构造裂缝面密度与层厚呈负相关关系,层厚越大,构造裂缝面密度越小,但裂缝规模较大;随着层厚减薄,构造裂缝面密度线性增大,但裂缝规模较小.碳酸盐岩构造裂缝具有良好的分形特征,统计结果显示...     

Key challenges for maritime governance in West Africa: Fishery-based lessons from Guinea and Mauritania

Maritime governance stakes are important in West Africa, if only due to the dominant role of fisheries, which coastal populations mainly depend on. In this context, with reference to the fishery sector mostly studied in two countries (Guinea and Mauritania), this paper aims to identify and synthesize the challenges to be met towards developing the governance of marine spaces. To this end, the analysis is based on field knowledge, which provides input into a grid set according to the various integration levels of the concept of ICZM. This paper thus reports the major methodological obstacles to be overcome, commensurate to the stakes insofar as marine policies can and must contribute to the economic and social development of this region.     

Stress state in the Cuu Long and Nam Con Son basins, offshore Vietnam

The results presented in this paper are the first published estimates of the complete stress tensor in the Cuu Long and Nam Con Son basins, offshore Vietnam. We analysed in situ stress and pore pressure fields in the sedimentary formations using data from petroleum exploration and production wells to evaluate the stress state in these basins. The data were obtained from the seafloor to 4300 m burial depth and include both hydrostatic and overpressured sections. Minimum horizontal stresses were obtained from extended leak-off tests and mini-fracture tests. Maximum horizontal stresses were estimated from drilling-induced fracture parameters and borehole breakout widths in twelve wells using rock properties measured in the laboratory or estimated empirically from wireline logs. Seven data points are located in sediments, and seventeen data points in igneous basement rocks at depths greater than 3000 m.The estimated magnitudes of σ_H are 70-110% of the σ_v magnitudes. Considering the errors in the stress magnitude estimates, their relative magnitudes suggest that a borderline normal/strike-slip stress regime presently exists in normally pressured sequences of the Nam Con Son and Cuu Long basins. Of the twenty-four data points, twenty have effective stress ratios at a critical stress state for faulting on the assumption that there are faults present that are optimally oriented for failure with friction coefficients of ∼0.5. The results suggest that the stress state in these basins is generally critical.