Analysis of the 2003 Varunawat Landslide,Uttarkashi, India using Earth Observation data

Mass movements such as landslides in mountainous terrains are natural degradation processes and one of the most important landscape-building factors. Varunawat Parbat overlooking Uttarkashi town witnessed a series of landslides on 23 September 2003 and the debris slides and rock falls continued for 2 weeks. This landslide complex was triggered due to the incessant rainfall prior to the event, and its occurrence led to the blockage of the pilgrim route to Gangotri (source of the Ganges river) and evacuation of thousands of people to safer places. Though there was no loss of lives due to timely evacuation, heavy losses to the property were reported. High-resolution stereoscopic earth observation data were acquired after the incidence to study the landslide in detail with emphasis on the cause of the landslide and mode of failure. Areas along the road and below the Varunawat foothill region are mapped for landslide risk. It was found that the foothill region of the Varunawat Parbat was highly disturbed by man-made activities and houses are dangerously located below steep slopes. The potential zones for landslides along with the existing active and old landslides are mapped. These areas are critical and their treatment with priority is required in order to minimise further landslide occurrences.     

Finite Element Modeling of Swelling Soil Pressures Using Joint/Interface Elements

There could be some discontinuities in a soil media such as layers, earth structures, cracks, and fissures so that estimation of stresses and deformations in these types of soil masses are somewhat different from continuous masses. The discontinuities in a soil mass could be considered as a special link between two blocks. Transmitted swelling pressures affected by the soil properties of the backfill especially at the interface between the backfill and retaining wall. In order to estimate the transmitted swelling pressure distribution behind a retaining wall, using with interface element, a new finite element model and a code (SWELPRES) have been developed. To evaluate the effect of backfill characteristics and interface element from the transmitted lateral swelling pressures, four cases of thickness of backfills with or without interface elements are investigated.     

Monitoring Large-Scale Tests for Nuclear Waste Disposal

Two large-scale “in situ” demonstration experiments and their instrumentation are described. The first test (FEBEX Experiment) involves the hydration of a compacted bentonite barrier under the combined effect of an inner source of heat and an outer water flow from the confining saturated granite rock. In the second case, the progressive de-saturation of Opalinus clay induced by maintained ventilation of an unlined tunnel is analyzed. The paper shows the performance of different sensors (capacitive cells, psychrometers, TDR’s) and a comparison of fill behaviour with modelling results. The long term performance of some instruments could also be evaluated specially in the case of FEBEX test. Capacitive sensors provide relative humidity data during long transient periods characterised by very large variations of suction within the bentonite.     

Ionospheric conditions

A general analysis of ionospheric conditions has been made in the light of possible ionic reactions occurring in the upper atmosphere. Data obtained on various parameters, such as ionic production and recombination, show that precise knowledge of the spectral distribution of solar radiation is needed and that other experimental determinations on dissociative recombinations are required.

The ionic complexity of the ionosphere is underlined by describing how the atomic ions O⁺ and N⁺ react with N₂, O₂ and NO molecules. The behavior of the molecular ions N⁺₂, O⁺₂and NO⁺depends on a group of simultaneous processes involving charge transfers and ionatom interchanges which are more important than dissociative recombinations. The altitude distribution of ions is exemplified by discussing the relative importance of various loss coefficients in the D-, E- and F-regions. It is seen that molecular nitrogen ions are subject to important charge transfer processes, that nitric oxide ions are always final products destroyed only by dissociative recombination. Additionally, the entire production of atomic oxygen ions is related to the photoionization of molecular nitrogen. Some information is also given on possible anomalies in the ratio of O⁺₂ and NO⁺ densities in the lower ionosphere. From the lack of sufficient experimental information on ionic processes it is shown that a precise analysis of ionospheric behavior remains highly speculative.     

A digital event-recording ocean bottom seismometer capsule

The ocean bottom seismometer capsule contains a 1 Hz. vertical seismometer and triggerable or programmable digital recording system. The output of the seismometer is continuously digitized at a preselected rate of 64, 128, or 256 samples/sec. The digital data words are mixed with a time code and synchronization characters, serialized and passed through a 1536 sample shift register which acts as a delay line. The serial output bits are then encoded and recorded on a SONY TC800B tape recorder which is turned on when a seismic event occurs. The event trigger occurs when the seismic signal jumps to 8 times the time averaged input signal. A memory may be programmed to run the recorder on a schedule so that small amplitude signals from refraction shots are sure to be recorded. Data are recovered using the same recorder for playback and a decoder which provides an analog output for field data interpretation or a digital output for computer analysis. An acoustic transponder allows precise ranges between the capsule and ship to be determined. In addition, commands for the capsule to release or to transmit diagnostic data may be given from the surface ship. The capsule falls freely to the ocean bottom. After a predetermined time or when a release command is received, it is released from a 68 kg steel tripod and floats to the surface. A dual timer and explosive bolt system is used to increase recovery reliability.The first capsules were designed and constructed between October 1972 and October 1973. Good results were obtained from 38 out of 43 launchings made on six expeditions in 1974, 1975, and 1976. Four capsules have been lost.     

Constraining the origin and evolution of confined turbidite systems: southern Cretan margin,Eastern Mediterranean Sea (34°30–36°N)

Bathymetric, 9.5-kHz long-range sidescan sonar (OKEAN), seismic reflection and sediment-core data are used in the analysis of two tectonic troughs south of Crete, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Here, up to 1.2 s two-way travel time (TWTT) of strata have accumulated since the Middle Miocene in association with extension in the South Aegean region. The study area comprises >100-km- long by >25-km-wide basins filled by sediments subdivided into two seismic units: (1) an upper Unit 1 deposited in sub-basins which follow the present-day configuration of the southern Cretan margin; (2) a basal Unit 2, more than 500 ms (TWTT) thick, accumulated in deeper half-graben/grabens distinct from the present-day depocentres. Both units overlap a locally stratified Unit 3 comprising the pre-Neogene core complex of Crete and Gavdos. In this work, the interpreted seismic units are correlated with the onshore stratigraphy, demonstrating that denudation processes occurring on Crete and Gavdos in response to major tectonic events have been responsible for high sedimentation rates along the proximal southern Cretan margin. Consequently, topographically confined sedimentary units have been deposited south of Crete in the last 12 Ma, including turbidites and other mass-flow deposits fed by evolving transverse and axial channel systems. Surface processes controlling facies distribution include the direct inflow of sediment from alluvial-fan systems and incising mountain rivers onto the Cretan slope, where significant sediment instability processes occur at present. In this setting, seismic profiles reveal eight different types of stratigraphic contacts on basin-margin highs, and basinal areas show evidence of halokinesis and/or fluid escape. The acquired data also show that significant changes to the margin’s configuration occurred in association with the post-Alpine tectonic and eustatic episodes affecting the Eastern Mediterranean.     

Mussels document loss of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the return to baseline conditions for oiled shorelines in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in mussels (Mytilus trossulus) collected between 1990 and 2002 from 11 sites on the shores of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, that were heavily oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). This study, utilizing the methods of the NOAA Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program, found that concentrations of PAH released from spill remnants have decreased dramatically with time and by 2002 were at or near the range of total PAH (TPAH) of 3-355 ng/g dry weight obtained for mussels from unoiled reference sites in PWS. Time-series TPAH data indicate a mean TPAH half-life in mussel tissues of 2.4 years with a range from 1.4 to 5.3, yielding an annual mean loss of bioaccumulated TPAH of 25%. The petroleum-derived TPAH fraction in mussel tissues has decreased with time, reflecting the decreasing release of EVOS residues in shoreline sediments. These results show that PAH from EVOS residues that remain buried in shoreline sediments after the early 1990s are in a form and at locations that have a low accessibility to mussels living in the intertidal zone.     

Distribution, texture and composition of modern phosphate pellets in Peru shelf muds

Textural analysis, including estimates of concentrations of authigenic phosphate pellets, were made for eight sediment cores from the Peru continental margin. Phosphatic pellets separated from these modern organic-rich sediments are black, spherical-ovoidal in shape, and in thin section often display a concentric structure around a nucleus consisting of inorganic mineral grains. Some pellets have a gray-white exterior coating which appears to be secondary diagenetic calcite. Phosphatic pellets account for upwards of 80% of the sediment mass in some cores. Pellets concentrate in specific size classes, generally between 125 and 500 μm in diameter, and occur within a poorly sorted sediment.