Monitoring of heat transmission from buildings into geological environment and evaluation of soil deformation consequences in foundation engineering

In engineering geology a number of factors affecting foundation conditions are taken into consideration during engineering-geological investigations. This article deals with the factor of heat sourced from a structure (brick kiln) as a restrictive factor in foundation engineering in clay soils and introduces a documentation of soil deformation observations as an impact of the heat transmission into the geological environment. It was carried out in Southern Moravia in the Czech Republic, where the dominant foundation soils are Neogeneous clays where differential settlements of a tunnel kiln structure occurred as a result of ignoring the boundary conditions of temperature changes in the soil environment. The brick kilns caused heterogeneous spatial changes in the subsoil temperatures. This consequently resulted in differential settlements due to temperature changes originating from the kilns. The differential settlements reached as much as 150 mm. The major objective of the article is to highlight the importance of the heat transmission from buildings into the geological environment as a factor which should be considered in engineering geology and its application in planning. A new procedure for reducing or elimination of ground movements sourced from underlying clayey soils depending on the heat changes was also suggested in this context.     

Zooplankton research off Peru: A review

A review of zooplankton studies conducted in Peruvian marine waters is given. After a short history of the development of zooplankton research off Peru, we review zooplankton methodology, taxonomy, biodiversity, spatial distribution, seasonal and interannual variability, trophodynamics, secondary production, and modelling. We review studies on several micro-, meso-, macro-, and meroplankton groups, and give a species list from both published and unpublished reports. Three regional zooplankton groups have been identified: (1) a continental shelf group dominated by Acartia tonsa and Centropages brachiatus; (2) a continental slope group characterized by siphonophores, bivalves, foraminifera and radiolaria; (3) and a species-rich oceanic group. The highest zooplankton abundances and biomasses were often found between 4–6°S and 14–16°S, where continental shelves are narrow. Species composition changes with distance from the shore. Species composition and biomass also vary strongly on short time scales due to advection, peaks of larval production, trophic interactions, and community succession. The relation of zooplankton to climatic variability (ENSO and multi-decadal) and fish stocks is discussed in the context of ecological regime shifts. An intermediate upwelling hypothesis is proposed, based on the negative effects of low upwelling intensity in summer or extremely strong and enduring winter upwelling on zooplankton abundance off Peru. According to this hypothesis, intermediate upwelling creates an optimal environmental window for zooplankton communities. Finally, we highlight important knowledge gaps that warrant attention in future.     

Volles Gewicht einer im Refraktionsmilieu gemessenen Grösse (Teil I)

Summary As regards the concept of complete weight p with which an observed quantity (e.g., the direction of theA–G net) should enter the net adjustment, according to Eq.(1), apart from the fundamental weight p ₀ ), determined by the number of repetitions, it should also contain the time parameter p_t according to Eq.(11), where c>1 is a constant, and t is the number of days of observation, and also the refraction factor p_r according to Eqs(17, 18), where q is the structural weight of the direction. The condition for being able to determine p_r with the directions is observation by means of the three-directional vertex method[2], because it is not possible to localize lateral refraction by angular methods. The theory of complete weight is in favour of observations with a high fundamental weight p ₀ which automatically yield higher values of t, and also of p_t. The introduction of the complete weight into the experimental directional net in Fig. 2 caused the mean value of the uneliminated refraction error to decrease from 0.24 to 0.12, the mean square error of the adjusted direction being 0.17. The value of the constant c was investigated and the method of determining the parameter p_r was derived also for lengths measured electro-optically. Mention is made of the effect of complete weights on the length adjustment of a net in[6].     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113000595

Magmatic oxide deposits in the～260 Ma Emeishan Large Igneous Province(ELIP),SW China and northern Vietnam,are important sources of Fe,Ti and V.Some giant magmatic Fe-Ti-V oxide deposits, such as the Panzhihua,Hongge,and Baima deposits,are well described in the literature and are hosted in layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the Panxi region,the central ELIP.The same type of ELIP- related deposits also occur far to the south and include the Anyi deposit,about 130 km south of Panzhihua,and the Mianhuadi deposit in the Red River fault zone.The Anyi deposit is relatively small but is similarly hosted in a layered mafic intrusion.The Mianhuadi deposit has a zircon U-Pb age of～260 Ma and is thus contemporaneous with the ELIP.This deposit was variably metamorphosed during the Indosinian orogeny and Red River faulting.Compositionally,magnetite of the Mianhuadi deposit contains smaller amounts of Ti and V than that of the other deposits,possibly attributable to the later metamorphism.The distribution of the oxide ore deposits is not related to the domal structure of the ELIP.One major feature of all the oxide deposits in the ELIP is the spatial association of oxide-bearing gabbroic intrusions,syenitic plutons and high-Ti flood basalts.Thus,we propose that magmas from a mantle plume were emplaced into a shallow magma chamber where they were evolved into a field of liquid immiscibility to form two silicate liquids,one with an extremely Fe-Ti-rich gabbroic composition and the other syenitic.An immiscible Fe-Ti-(P) oxide melt may then separate from the mafic magmas to form oxide deposits.The parental magmas from which these deposits formed were likely Fe-Ti-rich picritic in composition and were derived from enriched asthenospheric mantle at a greater depth than the magmas that produced sulfide-bearing intrusions of the ELIP.     

Exploring the Impact of Contextual Information on Student Performance and Interest in Open Humanitarian Mapping

The opportunity to engage university students in authentic, open humanitarian mapping raises important questions about how to guide the quality and productivity of volunteer spatial contributions while providing a valuable learning experience. It presents the unique chance to pique new mappers’ interest, satisfaction, and confidence in spatial technologies in particular, and technology in general, as well as pique their interest in the people and places that are served by the humanitarian mapping projects. This article shares the findings of a study that explores the importance of sharing authentic contextual information about the purpose of the humanitarian mapping task. Two groups of beginner mappers were given mapping tasks, with only one group being provided details on the purpose. Comparisons were made on their respective performance and changes in affective response to a series of questions about technology, education, good citizenship, and empathy. Measures of the quantity and quality of spatial data produced; their respective levels of interest, satisfaction, and confidence in technology; and affective responses before and after mapping show the relative effects of contextual information. Results provide insights about the potential effectiveness of authentic instruction on the performance of mapping as well as the potential effect on mappers themselves. Key Words: citizenship, data quality, empathy, humanitarian mapping, volunteered geographic information.     

Effects of mechanical and chemical processes on the degradation of plastic beach debris on the island of Kauai, Hawaii

Plastic debris is accumulating on the beaches of Kauai at an alarming rate, averaging 484 pieces/day in one locality. Particles sampled were analyzed to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical processes on the breakdown of polymers in a subtropical setting. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicates that plastic surfaces contain fractures, horizontal notches, flakes, pits, grooves, and vermiculate textures. The mechanically produced textures provide ideal loci for chemical weathering to occur which further weakens the polymer surface leading to embrittlement. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that some particles have highly oxidized surfaces as indicated by intense peaks in the lower wavenumber region of the spectra. Our textural analyses suggest that polyethylene has the potential to degrade more readily than polypropylene. Further evaluation of plastic degradation in the natural environment may lead to a shift away from the production and use of plastic materials with longer residence times.     

Small channels: Their experimental formation,nature, and significance

The manner in which small channels are generated, from plane beds beneath sheet flows, has been experimentally elucidated. On plane, erodible, sand beds, the transition from thin, supercritical sheet flows to the channelled condition was studied over ranges of discharge, slope, and temperature. Secondary flow of the second kind, its action facilitated by steep vertical velocity gradients in the primary flows, caused sheet-flow instability. Along junctions between neighbouring secondary cells, both either raised or lowered elements of the primary flow. In the latter case, fast surface water was lowered to the bed, causing relatively intense, local, longitudinal scour. Dislodged grains were moved divergently to either side, leaving straight, central trenches. Development of positive feedback between cells and trenches led to rapid enlargement of the latter and concomitant growth of paired levees. The resulting structures, ‘protochannels’, were themselves ephemeral, developing two types of instability associated with secondary flow of the first kind. Firstly, small deviations from bilateral symmetry were enhanced, causing evolution into meandering channels. Secondly, headcutting led to multiple tributary development and, at resulting confluences, the action of strong pairs of secondary cells led to the development of braiding channels. Because they are shortlived, protochannels are but rarely seen in nature. Their seeding is markedly temperature-sensitive, reflecting their frictional origin. The erosive power of shallow overland flow largely depends on flow-energy concentration by secondary flow, firstly into channels, then within the channels themselves. Suppression of secondary flow, as by intense raindrop bombardment, can stabilize sheet flows. In deeper water, the effects of secondary flow appear relatively less dramatic. However, even if such motion is weak, bedload divergence from attachment lines can favour entrainment locally and thus affect bed geometry. Analogy between our results and river behaviour appears close and. on continental shelves where water must often flow as sheets, structures resembling giant protochannels evidently persist.     

Magnetic properties of natural Mn-oxides

Summary The paper is devoted to the study of the magnetic properties, of the volume magnetic susceptibility in a weak magnetic field, of the specific magnetic susceptibility in a strong magnetic field, of natural remanent magnetization and its stability in A.C. fields, and of the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility of natural Mn-oxides. Samples of pyrolusite, polianite, manganite, hausmannite, psilomelan and wad from different localities all over the world were studied; the measured values are statistically treated so that the given values are valid in general. Hausmannite displayed typical values of the magnetic susceptibility, different from the values of the other Mn-oxides. In general, many natural Mn-oxides contain heterogeneous admixtures of Fe-oxides, which are responsible for their ferromagnetic properties. A high degree of magnetic hardness, predetermining the minerals for palaeomagnetic research, was proved with many of the natural Mn-oxides.     

The Landscape of Diversity in U.S. Higher Education Geography

Palynological analyses were completed for the A and B horizons of a forested Mollic Hapludalf to determine type, amount, and distribution of pollen and spores within the soil solum. Hypotheses regarding the origin of pollen and the mechanisms of its movement within soil bodies are also advanced. Pollen downwash within the mineral soil seems to be very slow and confined to the uppermost porous and most homogenized part of the solum. The predominance of non-arboreal pollen at depth was believed to be a result of deposition with the loess parent material. High arboreal pollen frequencies in the upper horizons coupled with increases in non-arboreal types at depth indicate gradual ongoing mixing from the present vegetation into the soil.     

Geophysical evidence of the Eastern Marginal Fault of the Cheb Basin (Czech Republic)

The western part of the Bohemian Massif hosts an intersection of two regional fault zones, the SW-NE trending Oh?e/Eger Graben and the NNW-SSE trending Mariánské Lázně Fault, which has been reactivated several times in the geological history and controlled the formation of the Tertiary Cheb Basin. The broader area of the Cheb Basin is also related to permanent seismic activity of M_L 3+ earthquake swarms. The Eastern Marginal Fault of the Cheb Basin (northern segment of the Mariánské Lázně Fault) separates the basin sediments and underlying granites in the SW from the Kru?né Hory/Erzgebirge Mts. crystalline unit in the NE. We describe a detailed geophysical survey targeted to locating the Eastern Marginal Fault and determining its geometry in the depth. The survey was conducted at the Kopanina site near the Nový Kostel focal zone, which shows the strongest seismic activity of the whole Western Bohemia earthquake swarm region. Complex geophysical survey included gravimetry, electrical resistivity tomography, audiomagnetotellurics and seismic refraction. We found that the rocks within the Eastern Marginal Fault show low resistivity, low seismic velocity and density, which indicates their deep fracturing, weathering and higher water content. The dip of the fault in shallow depths is about 60° towards SW. At greater depths, the slope turns to subvertical with dip angle of about 80°. Results of geoelectrical methods show blocky fabric of the Cheb Basin and deep weathering of the granite bedrock, which is consistent with geologic models based on borehole surveys.