Distribution characteristics of Geo-hazards in Ganxi Valley after the Wenchuan earthquake

A devastating earthquake of Ms 8.0 struck the Wenchuan area on May 12, 2008. The quake triggered numerous landslides and avalanches in Ganxi Valley. Aerial photo interpretation indicates that the landslides and avalanches, presently in a stable state, are concentrated in 91 subregions of the valley, occupying 10.42 km², about 29% of the valley area. Some laws have been found on the gradient, aspect, elevation, distance of rupture, and formation lithology of geo-hazards in Ganxi Valley: (1) They are mainly situated on slopes between 30° and 50° and increase in number with increasing slope; (2) Failures are mainly in a southerly direction; and most occurred between 1,000 and 1,600 m, especially between 1,000 and 1,400 m; (3) Most are within 2,000 m of the Beichuan fault or within 1,000 m of other major faults; (4) most failures occurred from the T₁f + t formation in the study area. The geo-hazards status quo of Ganxi Valley provides foundation for the scheme of hazard reducing in the future.     

Experimental Evaluation of Construction Waste and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag as Alternative Soil Stabilisers

In this study, the effect of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and recycled construction waste (CW) on bentonite clay stabilisation were investigated. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of specimens was evaluated with different combinations of GGBFS and CW over various curing periods. A series of micro analysis tests consisting of scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction were also conducted to determine the microstructural arrangement and mineralogical effect of the stabilisation treatment. The UCS results showed an increment in strength after introduction of GGBFS and CW and the longer curing period produced more pronounced results. The optimum additive ratio was calculated as 5 % of slag and 20 % of construction waste under all curing conditions. The micro analytical results also indicated formation of structural bonds between admixtures and bentonite in stabilised specimens, as slag crystals and bentonite particles were observed to occupy the cavities and vesicles on the construction waste grains. However, the experimental data shows that the strength improvement is not significant with the addition of only construction waste.     

The Earth’s magnetic field history for the past 400 Myr

Published and new data on the Earth’s past magnetic field have been interpreted in terms of its links with the frequency of magnetic polarity reversals and with tectonic events such as plume-related eruptions and rifting. The paleointensity and reversal frequency variations show an antiphase correlation between 0 and 160 Ma, and the same tendency likely holds for the past 400 Myr. The geomagnetic field intensity averaged over geological ages (stages) appears to evolve in a linearly increasing trend while its variations increase proportionally in amplitude and change in structure. Both paleointensity and reversal frequency patterns correlate with rifting and eruption events. In periods of high rifting activity, the geomagnetic field increases (15 to 30%) and the reversals become about 40% less frequent. Large eruption events between 0 and 150 Ma have been preceded by notable changes in magnetic intensity which decreases and then increases, the lead being most often within a few million years.     

Glacial conglomerates of the Appalachian Plateau,New York

Three generations of Quaternary conglomerates formed by cementation of glacial gravels are found in drift of the Appalachian Plateau in south-central New York. Postglacial conglomerates have been locally cemented by carbonate minerals within limestone-bearing (erratic-rich) gravels of Late Wisconsin (Woodfordian) age. Conglomerates cemented during the Mid-Wisconsin interstade occur as numerous fragments in erratic-rich Late Wisconsin drift, and as a single in situ mound near Syracuse. Mid-Wisconsin conglomerate contains fragments of a still older conglomerate believed to be of possible pre-Wisconsin (Sangamon) age. Both postglacial and Mid-Wisconsin conglomerates were cemented in the same manner, as a result of diagenetic processes in the vadose zones of limestone-bearing terraces. Information gleaned from conglomerate fragments indicates that Early Wisconsin drift was similar to Late Wisconsin drift; the Early and Late Wisconsin glaciations and deglaciations of the plateau probably proceeded in much the same fashion.     

Natural and anthropogenic aquatic environmental changes reconstructed by paleolimnological analyses in Lake Kitaura,central Japan

In order to assess the recent anthropogenic environmental changes in Lake Kitaura, central Japan, changes during the past few centuries were reconstructed from results of radiometric and tephrochlonological age determination, magnetic susceptibility measurements, total organic carbon analyses, total nitrogen analyses and fossil diatom analyses on a sediment core from the lake. A total of six major and sub-zones are recognized according to the diatom fossil assemblages, and we discuss aquatic environmental change in Lake Kitaura mainly based on these diatom assemblage change. Zone Ia and Zone Ib (older than AD 1707) are marine to brackish. In Zone IIa (AD␣1707–AD 1836), most of the brackish diatoms disappeared, and were replaced by freshwater species indicating a decrease in salinity. We interpret the salinity decrease in Zone I–IIa as a sea-level fall during the Little Ice Age. The salinity of the lake decreased to near freshwater conditions in Zone IIb (AD 1836–AD 1970), which could arise from alteration in River Tone or development of a sandspit in the mouth of River Tone in addition to sea-level change. In Zone IIIa (AD 1970–AD 1987), the diatom assemblage indicates a freshwater environment, and sedimentation rates increase rapidly. These changes reflect sedimentary environment change and an ecosystem transition due to the construction of the tide gate. In Zone IIIb (AD 1987–AD 2002), the diatom flux (valves cm⁻² y⁻¹) increased and species composition changed. The changes in Zone IIIb show a good agreement with limnological monitoring data gathered from the lake. These paleolimnological data suggest that the recent human-induced changes of the aquatic environment of the lake after the 1970s exceed rates during the period concerned in this study.     

Regional conductance map of Andaman and Nicobar region

To image the electrical conductivity distribution, fluxgate magnetometers are operated at five sites in Andaman and Nicobar region. Transfer functions are estimated for the period range 8–128 min, from nighttime transient geomagnetic variations, using robust regression analysis. The observed induction arrows in Andaman Islands are found to point towards east despite deep sea located towards its west. This indicates that fore-arc basin (Andaman–Nicobar deep) is more conducting than the region of outer non-volcanic Island arc.Thin sheet model requires the conductance of 10,000–35,000 S (with increase conductivity towards the south) for explaining the observed induction pattern. The observed induction pattern at Andaman–Nicobar stations can be explained in terms of high conducting Cretaceous–Tertiary sediments filling the Andaman–Nicobar deep. High conductivity over Invisible bank has been attributed to the partial melts/volatile fluids derived from the subducting Indian plate that are intruding into the eastern margin of fore-arc basin through the West Andaman Fault (WAF).The induction pattern at Great Nicobar station (Campbell Bay) may be related to the highly conducting sediments filling the Mergui basin along with mafic intrusions. Also crustal transition occurs below the Mergui Terrace at the Malayan coast contributing to the enhanced conductivity anomaly.     

Self-similar magnetogasdynamic cylindrical shock waves,I

Similarity solutions describing the flow of a perfect gas behind a cylindrical shock wave with transverse magnetic field are investigated in an inhomogeneous medium. The total energy of the shock wave is assumed to be constant. A comparative study has been made between the results with and without magnetic field.     

Assessing groundwater storage changes in the Nubian aquifer using GRACE data

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) level two (L2) data is used in estimating the groundwater storage changes (GWSC) in the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS). This set of data consists of spherical harmonics coefficients with specific degree and order. The GRACE data is de-correlated using a sixth degree polynomial in order to reduce the effect of the noise error resulting from the correlation between the spherical harmonics coefficients with the same degree parity. The GRACE estimates of GWSC are smoothed using Gaussian filter with half width of 1000 km. This half width is chosen in order to maximize the correlation between the GRACE estimates of GWSC and previous modeling results of the NSAS. The loss in groundwater storage occurring in each of the four countries sharing the NSAS is calculated to assess the sustainability of using the NSAS as a water resource in each country. The overarching finding in this study is that NSAS is losing its groundwater storage at a very high rate. Also, it is found that Egypt is the fastest in losing its groundwater storage from the NSAS. This loss of groundwater storage in Egypt may not necessarily be resulting from in-country extractions because of the trans-boundary nature of this aquifer. The GRACE-based estimates are found to be close to available data and previous modeling results of the NSAS.     

Application of Deuterium Excess for Identification of Freshwater Sources in the Bays of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago

Doklady Earth Sciences - An isotopic–geochemical study was carried out for waters of Tsivolkii and Sedov bays (southeastern coast of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago). The waters of these bays...     

Groundwater quality assessment using WQI and GIS techniques, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India

The quality of groundwater was assessed by determining the physicochemical parameters (pH, EC, TDS and TH) and major ions concentration (HCO₃, Cl, FSO₄, Ca, Mg, Na and K) around Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India. The groundwater samples were collected from 59 bore wells covering the entire study area and analyzed using standard methods. The GIS mapping technique were adopted to highlight the spatial distribution pattern of physicochemical parameters and major ion concentration in the groundwater. Gibbs diagram reveals that the source of major ions is predominantly derived from rock–water interaction and evaporation dominance process. The salt combinations of the aquifers are dominated by CaHCO₃, mixed CaMgCl, mixed CaMgHCO₃ and CaCl facies type due to leaching and dissolution process of weathered rocks. The Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment Water Quality Index (CCMEWQI) suggests that most of the groundwater quality falls under good to marginal category. The statistical analysis indicates that the presence of major ions and physicochemical parameters are chiefly controlled by rock–water interaction and residence time of the groundwater. However, the major nutrient like nitrite in the groundwater probably comes from anthropogenic process. Based on the groundwater quality standards, majority of the samples are suitable for drinking purposes except few in the study area.