Fragmentation during Rock Falls: Two Italian Case Studies of Hard and Soft Rocks

In recent years, rock fall phenomena in Italy have received considerable attention for risk mitigation through in situ observations and experimental data. This paper reports the study conducted at Camaldoli Hill, in the urban area of Naples, and at Monte Pellegrino, Palermo, Italy. The rocks involved are volcanic Neapolitan yellow tuff (NYT) in the former area and dolomitic limestone in the latter. Both rocks, even though with different strength characteristics, have shown a significant tendency towards rock fragmentation during run out. This behavior was first investigated by comparing the volumes of removable blocks on the cliff faces (V ₀) and fallen blocks on the slopes (V _f). It was assumed that the ratio V _f/V ₀ decreases with the distance (x _f) from the detachment area by an empirical law, which depends on a coefficient α, correlated with the geotechnical properties of the materials involved in the rock fall. Finally, this law was validated by observation of well-documented natural rock falls (Palermo) and by in situ full-scale tests (Naples). From the engineering perspective, consideration of fragmentation processes in rock fall modeling provides a means for designing low-cost mitigation measures.     

Raman spectroscopic study of K-lingunite at various pressures and temperatures

K-lingunite is a high-pressure modification of K-feldspar that possesses the tetragonal hollandite structure. Variations of the Raman spectra of K-lingunite were studied up to ~31.5 GPa at room temperature, and in the range 79–823 K at atmospheric pressure. The Raman frequencies of all bands were observed to increase with increasing pressure, and decrease with increasing temperature for K-lingunite. This behavior is in line with those observed for most of other materials. New sharp Raman bands appear at pressures greater than 13–15 GPa, suggesting a phase transition in K-lingunite with increasing pressure. The transition is reversible when pressure was released. The appearance of these new Raman bands may correspond to the phase transition revealed earlier at around 20 GPa by X-ray diffraction studies. Instead of transforming back to its stable minerals, such as orthoclase, microcline or sanidine, K-lingunite became amorphous in the temperature range 803–823 K at atmospheric pressure.     

Glauconites from the Late Palaeocene — Early Eocene Naredi Formation,western Kutch and their genetic implications

Glauconitic minerals are considered as one of the valuable input parameters in sequence stratigraphic analysis of a basin. In the present study glauconitic minerals are reported from subtidal green shale facies in the lower part of the Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Naredi Formation of western Kutch. On the basis of the foraminiferal assemblage the glauconite bearing beds are interpreted to have formed in a mid shelf depositional settings of an unstable marine conditions. XRD studies confirm the glauconite mineralogy of the green pellets and provide an estimation of glauconite maturity. Textural attributes of the glauconites confirm their derivation by different degrees of alteration of precursor feldspar grains. Because of the authigenic origin and autochthonous nature, these glauconites hold promise for understanding sequence stratigraphy of the Palaeogene succession of the western Kutch.     

Downstream patterns of bed sediment-borne metals,minerals and organic matter in a stream system receiving acidic mine effluent: A preliminary study

Different downstream variation patterns were observed for a range of bed sediment-borne metals (aqua regia-extractable fraction) in a subtropical stream system receiving acid mine drainage. Mine-originated Fe tended to be deposited in the acidic (mean pH < 4.9) upstream reach in forms of goethite and/or hematite. In contrast, other metals tended to be transported farther downstream and settled in a low-gradient reach with high pH (mean pH > 5.6). The peak of sediment-borne Al, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, La, Mn, Ni and Zn corresponded very well with the peak of the sediment-borne organic matter, suggesting a close association between the water-borne organic colloids and the inorganic metal oxides/hydroxides during their transport. The marked increase in the sediment-borne Al and Pb started more upstream than the other metals, suggesting that the water-borne Al and Pb were more susceptible to pH rise-induced precipitation, as compared to the other metals. It appeared that the organic colloids played no important role in Pb transport and settlement. The iron precipitates had a limited role to play in affecting the transport and fates of other metals since they were predominantly formed and deposited in the acidic reach, which made them incapable of scavenging cationic metals by co-precipitation or adsorption.     

The effects of soil sand contents on characteristics of humic acids along soil profiles

It is generally accepted that the compositions and properties of soil organic matter (SOM) are influenced by many factors. In order to reveal the effects of soil texture on characteristics and dynamics of SOM and its sub-fraction, humic acid (HA), along two soil profiles, a yellow soil profile and a purplish soil profile, under the same climate and vegetation conditions were determined. Results indicate that the decomposition and humification degrees of SOM and HA of the purplish soils are higher than those of the corresponding yellow soils indicated by A/O–A ratios of HAs, TOCs and HA yields of bulk soil samples, nevertheless, the development degree of the purplish soil is lower than that of the yellow soil. The variations of E₄/E₆ ratios of HAs along the soil profiles indicate the overall molecular sizes of HAs decreased downward along the soil profiles. A/O–A ratios of HAs decreased downward along both the soil profiles indicate that humification processes decrease downward along both the soil profiles. Leaching of SOM shows significant effects on the distribution and characteristics of HAs in the yellow soil profile but the purplish soil profile, which is consistent with the higher hydrophobicity of HAs in purplish soils, shows that the distribution characteristics of SOM along the soil profiles are a complex result of the combination of soil texture and characteristics of SOM itself. The remarkably different sand contents are concluded tentatively as one of reasons to the different distributions and dynamics of HAs along the soil profiles, however, to profoundly understand the evolution and transport of SOM along soil profiles needs more researches.     

农牧交错带气候变化对土地利用的影响及对策——以内蒙古伊金霍洛旗为例

文章讨论了农牧交错带典型区域的气候变化特点,并运用GIS技术分析了区域土地利用变化。在此基础上,分析了气候变化对土地利用结构的影响,并提出了应对策略。这些对策将促进农牧交错带社会经济增长和生态环境的改善,对实现区域的可持续发展具有重要意义。     

雷电临近预警产品评估方法及其软件

为了适应雷电业务发展的需求,对已经投入业务运行试验的雷电临近预警系统的预警效果做出客观评估,中国气象科学研究院雷电物理和防护工程实验室开展了雷电临近预警产品评估方法的研究,并开发了配套的应用软件.评估方法通过雷电预警结果和实际监测结果的对比,得到命中率POD、虚警率FAR和TS评分三项指标,实现对雷电预警产品的评估.评估软件的实际运行表明:该方法不仅能够检验CAMS_LNWS预报雷电活动的能力,还能对预警方法的改进起到一定的指导作用,能够满足雷电业务产品评估的需要.     

江西省冬季气温异常与区域海温的关联

利用1960-2010年江西省81个台站月平均气温观测资料和NOAA全球月平均海表温度资料(ERSST-V3),分析了江西省冬季气温异常与海温异常的相互联系,并运用超前-滞后相关分析和奇异值分解(SVD)方法初步探讨了关键区海温异常之间的相互作用.结果表明:①影响江西省冬季气温异常的海温关键区和关键时段分别为同期印度洋(10°S～20°N,54°～90°E)、同期西北太平洋(20°～40°N,120°～180°E)和前期8-9月北大西洋中部(24°～44°N,20°～60°W)海域;②西北太平洋关键区暖水年预示暖冬年好于印度洋区,而印度洋区冷水年预示冷冬年稍好于西北太平洋区,冬季西北太平洋与印度洋海温异常可以修正前期8-9月北大西洋中部海温异常对江西省冬季气温的影响.     

华北及其邻区块体转动模式和动力来源

块体的转动是地壳中重要的构造运动形式。根据地质、地球物理和地震活动性等资料，可将华北及其邻区划分为３个亚板块，华北亚板块可进一步细分为多个级块体，这些不同级别的块体或多或少都显示出一定的刚体特性。根据地质构造、地震和古地磁测量等资料，详细地论细地论述了不同级块体的转动问题，即华北及其邻区的黑龙江、华北和华南等３个近东西向亚板块自老第三纪以来相对于新疆地区顺时针转动了１．６°～３．５°；华北亚板块内