Stability Analysis of Landslide near Dewal Village along Murree-Muzaffarabad Road,Pakistan

This study presents a detailed geological and geotechnical analysis of Dewal landslide along Murree-Muzaffarabad road, Pakistan. The study area is situated in a tectonically active region of the earth where mass movements like rock fall, rockslides and slumps cause adverse economic loss through disruption of travelling on roads. The study has the main focus on factors responsible for its instability together with stability analysis using limit equilibrium method by use of computer program Slide (version 5.0). The input parameters of rock mass was evaluated by field investigations and laboratory testing. To analyze the net deposit and net slide mass of the landslide area, multi-date point’s data of 2008 and 2012 of the slide area was obtained and their digital elevation models were generated by using Inverse distance weighting (IDW) technique in ArcGIS 9.3. The study has concluded that the present slope instability is the function of a specific deformation pattern in the rock units (leading towards the possibility of a shear plane under the slid mass), surface and subsurface drainage and the engineering behavior of the overburden and underlying rock units. This study recommends several protection parameters for landslide and suggests that detailed investigation of Dewal landslide is required for long term stability.     

Comparative performance of new hybrid ANFIS models in landslide susceptibility mapping

Natural Hazards - Many landslides occur in the Karun watershed in the Zagros Mountains. In the present study, we employed a novel comparative approach for spatial modeling of landslides given the...     

3D numerical simulation of flow field around twin piles

In this study to identify the flow pattern and local scour mechanism around pile groups, the flow field was simulated using FLOW-3D software. A pair of pile on a flat-bed channel with side by side and tandem arrangements was investigated. To establish Navier–Stokes equations, the RNGk-ε turbulence model was used and the results were verified using experimental data. In case of FLOW-3D capability, it was found that the software was able to properly simulate the expected interaction between the pile groups. The results of flow field simulation showed that Reynolds number and the pile spacing are the most influential variables in forming vortices. The flow around tandem pile and the downward flow around wake vortices were more intense and complicate in comparison with side by side arrangements and single pile.     

Geomorphological study of Bulandshahr District (U.P.) using remotely sensed data

Remote sensing data pertaining to LANDSAT TM FCC of bands 2, 3 and 4 of 9th May 1991 and IRS-1A LISS II digital data of 3rd May 1991, have been utilized for the study of geomorphology of Bulandshahr district, U.P. Visual interpretation technique has been followed for geomorphological mapping and the area has been separated into four broadly defined geomorphic zones, namely Varahasi Older Alluvial Plain, Aligarh Older Alluvial Plain, Terrace Zone and Recent Flood Plains of Ganga and Yamuna, each characterized by its own geomorphic/landform elements discernable on remote sensing data. The Varanasi Older Alluvial Plain represents the oldest geomorphic surface occurring at highest tectonic level in the Gangetic plain. The Aligarh Older Alluvial Plain represents a palaeo-flood plain of a north flowing palaeo-drainage in the area. The Terrace zone represents the older flood plain of Ganga and its tributaries. The Recent Flood Plains of Ganga and Yamuna rivers, which get periodically inundated, constitute the youngest geomorphic surface in the study area. Digital image processing outputs, particularly ratio images have been found to be helpful in identifying certain geomorphic landforms (old/abandoned channels, scars etc.) due to greater contrast within ratio images.     

Prioritization of sub-watersheds based on morphometric and land use analysis using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Watershed prioritization has gained importance in natural resources management, especially in the context of watershed management. Morphometric analysis has been commonly applied to prioritization of watersheds. The present study makes an attempt to prioritize sub-watersheds based on morphometric and land use characteristics using remote sensing and GIS techniques in Kanera watershed of Guna district, Madhya Pradesh. Various morphometric parameters, namely linear and shape have been determined for each sub-watershed and assigned ranks on the basis of value/relationship so as to arrive at a computed value for a final ranking of the sub-watersheds. Land use/land cover change analysis of the sub-watersheds has been carried out using multi-temporal data of IRS LISS II of 1989 and IRS LISS III of 2001. The study demonstrates the significant land use changes especially in cultivated lands, open scrub, open forest, water bodies and wastelands from 1989 to 2001. Based on morphometric and land use/land cover analysis, the sub-watersheds have been classified into three categories as high, medium and low in terms of priority for conservation and management of natural resources. Out of the seven sub-watersheds, two sub-watersheds viz., SW1 and SW6 qualify for high priority, whereas SW7 has been categorised as medium priority based on the integration of morphometric and land use change analysis.     

Ar-Ar Geochronology in a gneiss dome within the Zagros Orogénic Belt

Exhumation of the Tutak mantled gneiss dome without significant cooling has taken place in a doubly plunging anticline within the Sanandaj-Sirjan HP-LT metamorphic belt in the Zagros Thrust System of Iran. Reconstruction of structural evolution of the Tutak gneiss dome at the contact between Arabian and Iranian plates by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology exhibits history of the closure of Neo-Tethyan Ocean. There are two granites of different ages in the core of dome; the oldest corresponds to the central Iranian continental crust and was deformed at about 180 Ma. The younger granite was emplaced in the NE–SW transpression system. The timing of strain-related fabrics and exhumation history of the region illustrates the closure of Neo-Tethys and beginning of continent-continent collision at about 77 Ma, as constrained by a well defined plateau ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age obtained on biotite. Then, the biotite age corresponds to the second stage of emplacement of the Bendenow granite-gneiss which illustrating repeated orogenic events. Continuing deformation without interruption that by now has been created at about 77 Ma, was largely restricted to the transpression and high proportion of simple shear components relative to the pure shear components along the NE–SW.     

Augmentation of seasonal low stream flows by artificial recharge in the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer of Idaho and Washington, USA

Conjunctive management of surface water and groundwater requires sophisticated spatial and temporal analysis. In situations involving multiple jurisdictions such as state boundaries, management problems are magnified due to often conflicting regulations and policies. A transient MODFLOW model of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) aquifer/river system mutually accepted by both the states of Idaho and Washington, USA, was used to evaluate regional solutions to potential water shortages through the use of strategically placed infiltration basins or injection wells. Artificial recharge of the SVRP aquifer was simulated using diversions from Lake Pend Oreille during winter periods when flows are high and excess water is available. Alternative locations for potential wells and detention basins were examined. Lag times for the water to impact stream/groundwater interaction areas along the Spokane River were evaluated to assess the potential for augmenting stream flows from July through September. Results indicated that the aquifer could be used to improve low-flow season streamflow values utilizing both infiltration basins and injection wells with winter surface water diversions. Depending on the location, as much as 30% of the winter diversion rate could be lagged to improve summer flows at the Spokane gage. Thus, a regional mitigation strategy is scientifically feasible.     

Modelling flow and sediment trapping upstream and within grass buffer strips

Grass buffer strips impact the hydrology of flow and consequently the fate of sediment. A complex process‐based model is developed to predict flow characteristics as well as sediment deposition and transport upstream, and within grass strips. The model is capable of estimating the proportion and amount of different sediment particle size classes in the outflow. The modified Green–Ampt equation was used to simulate infiltration. Gradually varied flow and kinematic wave approximation were used to model flow characteristics upstream and within grass strips. The GUEST model approach has been modified in order to use its basic approaches in sediment transport module in grass strips. Model predictions agree well with the results of two sets of controlled experiments. The bias, coefficient of model efficiency and the root mean squared error of the modelled efficiency of grass strips in reducing sediment concentration were 0.93–0.99, 0.58–0.99 and 8.9–12.7, respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that the initial soil moisture and flow rate are the most sensitive parameters in predicting runoff loss. Increasing the slope steepness and flow rate dramatically decreases the efficiency of grass strips in reducing sediment concentration and mass. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Watershed prioritization using morphometric and land use/land cover parameters: A remote sensing and GIS based approach

Jaggar watershed is a constituent of the Gambhir river basin, in eastern Rajasthan and covers an area of 352.82 km², representing arid climate. The drainage network is dendritic to sub-dendritic pattern however parallel to sub-parallel has also developed locally. The Jaggar watershed has been divided into fourteen sub-watersheds, designated as SW1 to SW14, for prioritization purpose. The prioritization of the sub-watersheds has been done on the basis of morphometric analysis and land use/land cover categories. Various morphometric parameters (linear and shape) have been determined for each sub-watershed and assigned rank on the basis of value/relationship with erodibility so as to arrive at a compound value for final ranking of the sub-watersheds. Land use/land cover mapping has been carried out using IRS LISS III data of 1998. Based on morphometric and land use/land cover analysis and their ranks, the subwatersheds have been classified into four categories as very high, high, medium and low in terms of priority for conservation and management of natural resources. The prioritization results based on morphometry reveal that only SW7 and SW10 fall under very high priority, whereas SW6, SW11 and SW13 fall under very high priority on the basis of land use/land cover analysis. However on the integration of morphometry and land use/land cover only SW14 show common priority whereas rest have little or no correlation.     

Probabilistic risk assessment of major accidents: application to offshore blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico

Major accidents are low-frequency, high-consequence accidents which are not well supported by conventional statistical methods due to the scarcity of directly relevant data. Modeling and decomposition techniques such as event tree have been proved as robust alternatives as they facilitate incorporation of partially relevant near accident data–accident precursor data—in probability estimation and risk analysis of major accidents. In this study, we developed a methodology based on event tree and hierarchical Bayesian analysis to establish informative distributions for offshore blowouts using data of near accidents, such as kicks, leaks, and failure of blowout preventers collected from a variety of offshore drilling rigs. These informative distributions can be used as predictive tools to estimate relevant failure probabilities in the future. Further, having a set of near accident data of a drilling rig of interest, the informative distributions can be updated to render case-specific posterior distributions which are of great importance in quantitative risk analysis. To cope with uncertainties, we implemented the methodology in a Markov Chain Monte Carlo framework and applied it to risk assessment of offshore blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico.