Discrete modelling of time‐dependent rockfill behaviour

This modelling study deals with the time‐dependent behaviour of rockfill media, which is of particular interest during the life of rockfill dams. Breakage of rock blocks and crack propagation are the main processes responsible for rockfill creep and collapse. The modelling procedure presented here is performed on two scales: on the rock block scale, where the grain is taken to be an assembly of rigid particles initially endowed with cohesive bonds, and on the rockfill scale, which is taken to involve a set of breakable grains interacting via contact and friction processes. The grain breakage process is described in term of a thermodynamically consistent damage interface model, where the damage is a gradual delayed process. This model was implemented in a non‐smooth contact dynamics code. The effects of the main parameters involved were analysed by performing numerical studies. The ability of the model to predict the creep behaviour of rockfill media is confirmed by presenting several simulations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An analysis and comparison of observed Pleistocene South Carolina (USA) shoreline elevations with predicted elevations derived from Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages

Geological maps of South Carolina, covering > 6800 km², confirm the existence of eight preserved Pleistocene shorelines above current sea level: Marietta (+ 42.6 m), Wicomico (+ 27.4 m), Penholoway (+ 21.3 m), Ladson (+ 17.4 m), Ten Mile Hill (+ 10.7 m), Pamlico (+ 6.7 m), Princess Anne (+ 5.2 m), and Silver Bluff (+ 3 m). Current geochronologic data suggest that these eight shorelines correlate with Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages (MIS) as follows: Marietta—older than MIS 77; Wicomico—MIS 55–45; Penholoway—MIS 19 or 17; Ladson—MIS 11; Ten Mile Hill—MIS 7; Pamlico—MIS 5; Princess Anne—MIS 5; and Silver Bluff—MIS 5 or 3. Except for the MIS 5e Pamlico, and possibly the MIS 11 Ladson, the South Carolina elevations are higher than predicted by isotope proxy-based reconstructions. The < 4 m of total relief from the Pamlico to the Silver Bluff shoreline in South Carolina, for which other reconstructions suggest an expected relief of ~ 80 m, illustrates the lack of match. Our results suggest that processes affecting either post-depositional changes in shoreline elevations or the creation of proxy sea-level estimates must be considered before using paleo sea-level position on continental margins.     

The information system of the French Peatland Observation Service: Service National d'Observation Tourbières – A valuable tool to assess the impact of global changes on the hydrology and biogeochemistry of temperate peatlands through long term monitoring

Mitigating and adapting to global changes requires a better understanding of the response of the Biosphere to these environmental variations. Human disturbances and their effects act in the long term (decades to centuries) and consequently, a similar time frame is needed to fully understand the hydrological and biogeochemical functioning of a natural system. To this end, the ‘Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique’ (CNRS) promotes and certifies long-term monitoring tools called national observation services or ‘Service National d'Observation’ (SNO) in a large range of hydrological and biogeochemical systems (e.g., cryosphere, catchments, aquifers). The SNO investigating peatlands, the SNO ‘Tourbières’, was certified in 2011 ( https://www.sno-tourbieres.cnrs.fr/ ). Peatlands are mostly found in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere and French peatlands are located in the southern part of this area. Thus, they are located in environmental conditions that will occur in northern peatlands in coming decades or centuries and can be considered as sentinels. The SNO Tourbières is composed of four peatlands: La Guette (lowland central France), Landemarais (lowland oceanic western France), Frasne (upland continental eastern France) and Bernadouze (upland southern France). Thirty target variables are monitored to study the hydrological and biogeochemical functioning of the sites. They are grouped into four datasets: hydrology, fluvial export of organic matter, greenhouse gas fluxes and meteorology/soil physics. The data from all sites follow a common processing chain from the sensors to the public repository. The raw data are stored on an FTP server. After operator or automatic processing, data are stored in a database, from which a web application extracts the data to make them available ( https://data-snot.cnrs.fr/data-access/ ). Each year at least, an archive of each dataset is stored in Zenodo, with a digital object identifier (DOI) attribution ( https://zenodo.org/communities/sno_tourbieres_data/ ).     

Electron Temperatures and Flow Speeds of the Low Solar Corona: MACS Results from the Total Solar Eclipse of 29 March 2006 in Libya

An experiment was conducted in conjunction with the total solar eclipse on 29 March 2006 in Libya to measure both the electron temperature and its flow speed simultaneously at multiple locations in the low solar corona by measuring the visible K-coronal spectrum. Coronal model spectra incorporating the effects of electron temperature and its flow speed were matched with the measured K-coronal spectra to interpret the observations. Results show electron temperatures of (1.10±0.05) MK, (0.70±0.08) MK, and (0.98±0.12) MK, at 1.1 R _⊙ from Sun center in the solar north, east and west, respectively, and (0.93±0.12) MK, at 1.2 R _⊙ from Sun center in the solar west. The corresponding outflow speeds obtained from the spectral fit are (103±92) km s⁻¹, (0+10) km s⁻¹, (0+10) km s⁻¹, and (0+10) km s⁻¹. Since the observations were taken only at 1.1 R _⊙ and 1.2 R _⊙ from Sun center, these speeds, consistent with zero outflow, are in agreement with expectations and provide additional confirmation that the spectral fitting method is working. The electron temperature at 1.1 R _⊙ from Sun center is larger at the north (polar region) than the east and west (equatorial region).     

A robust debris-flow and GLOF risk management strategy for a data-scarce catchment in Santa Teresa,Peru

The town of Santa Teresa (Cusco Region, Peru) has been affected by several large debris-flow events in the recent past, which destroyed parts of the town and resulted in a resettlement of the municipality. Here, we present a risk analysis and a risk management strategy for debris-flows and glacier lake outbursts in the Sacsara catchment. Data scarcity and limited understanding of both physical and social processes impede a full quantitative risk assessment. Therefore, a bottom-up approach is chosen in order to establish an integrated risk management strategy that is robust against uncertainties in the risk analysis. With the Rapid Mass Movement Simulation (RAMMS) model, a reconstruction of a major event from 1998 in the Sacsara catchment is calculated, including a sensitivity analysis for various model parameters. Based on the simulation results, potential future debris-flows scenarios of different magnitudes, including outbursts of two glacier lakes, are modeled for assessing the hazard. For the local communities in the catchment, the hazard assessment is complemented by the analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery and fieldwork. Physical, social, economic, and institutional vulnerability are considered for the vulnerability assessment, and risk is eventually evaluated by crossing the local hazard maps with the vulnerability. Based on this risk analysis, a risk management strategy is developed, consisting of three complementing elements: (i) standardized risk sheets for the communities; (ii) activities with the local population and authorities to increase social and institutional preparedness; and (iii) a simple Early Warning System. By combining scientific, technical, and social aspects, this work is an example of a framework for an integrated risk management strategy in a data scarce, remote mountain catchment in a developing country.     

Sediment flux-driven channel geometry adjustment of bedrock and mixed gravel–bedrock rivers

Sediment supply (Q_s) is often overlooked in modelling studies of landscape evolution, despite sediment playing a key role in the physical processes that drive erosion and sedimentation in river channels. Here, we show the direct impact of the supply of coarse-grained, hard sediment on the geometry of bedrock channels from the Rangitikei River, New Zealand. Channels receiving a coarse bedload sediment supply are systematically (up to an order of magnitude) wider than channels with no bedload sediment input for a given discharge. We also present physical model experiments of a bedrock river channel with a fixed water discharge (1.5 l min⁻¹) under different Q_s (between 0 and 20 g l⁻¹) that allow the quantification of the role of sediment in setting the width and slope of channels and the distribution of shear stress within channels. The addition of bedload sediment increases the width, slope and width-to-depth ratio of the channels, and increasing sediment loads promote emerging complexity in channel morphology and shear stress distributions. Channels with low Q_s are characterized by simple in-channel morphologies with a uniform distribution of shear stress within the channel while channels with high Q_s are characterized by dynamic channels with multiple active threads and a non-uniform distribution of shear stress. We compare bedrock channel geometries from the Rangitikei and the experiments to alluvial channels and demonstrate that the behaviour is similar, with a transition from single-thread and uniform channels to multiple threads occurring when bedload sediment is present. In the experimental bedrock channels, this threshold Q_s is when the input sediment supply exceeds the transport capacity of the channel. Caution is required when using the channel geometry to reconstruct past environmental conditions or to invert for tectonic uplift rates, because multiple configurations of channel geometry can exist for a given discharge, solely due to input Q_s. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Electricity consumption patterns within cities: application of a data-driven settlement characterization method

ABSTRACT

Urban areas presently consume around 75% of global primary energy supply, which is expected to significantly increase in the future due to urban growth. Having sustainable, universal energy access is a pressing challenge for most parts of the globe. Understanding urban energy consumption patterns may help to address the challenges to urban sustainability and energy security. However, urban energy analyses are severely limited by the lack of urban energy data. Such datasets are virtually non-existent for the developing countries. As per current projections, most of the new urban growth is bound to occur in these data-starved regions. Hence, there is an urgent need of research methods for monitoring and quantifying urban energy utilization patterns. Here, we apply a data-driven approach to characterize urban settlements based on their formality, which is then used to assess intra-urban urban energy consumption in Johannesburg, South Africa; Sana’a, Yemen; and Ndola, Zambia. Electricity is the fastest growing energy fuel. By analyzing the relationship between the settlement types and the corresponding nighttime light emission, a proxy of electricity consumption, we assess the differential electricity consumption patterns. Our study presents a simple and scalable solution to fill the present data void to understand intra-city electricity consumption patterns.     

Ecological niches of Arctic deep-sea copepods: Vertical partitioning,dietary preferences and different trophic levels minimize inter-specific competition

The biodiversity of pelagic deep-sea ecosystems has received growing scientific interest in the last decade, especially in the framework of international marine biodiversity initiatives, such as Census of Marine Life (CoML). While a growing number of deep-sea zooplankton species has been identified and genetically characterized, little information is available on the mechanisms minimizing inter-specific competition and thus allowing closely related species to co-occur in the deep-sea pelagic realm. Focussing on the two dominant calanoid copepod families Euchaetidae and Aetideidae in Fram Strait, Arctic Ocean, the present study strives to characterize ecological niches of co-occurring species, with regard to vertical distribution, dietary composition as derived from lipid biomarkers, and trophic level on the basis of stable isotope signatures. Closely related species were usually restricted to different depth layers, resulting in a multi-layered vertical distribution pattern. Thus, vertical partitioning was an important mechanism to avoid inter-specific competition. Species occurring in the same depth strata usually belonged to different genera. They differed in fatty acid composition and trophic level, indicating different food preferences. Herbivorous Calanus represent major prey items for many omnivorous and carnivorous species throughout the water column. The seasonal and ontogenetic vertical migration of Calanus acts as a short-cut in food supply for pelagic deep-sea ecosystems in the Arctic.     

THE IMPACT-FLOOD CONNECTION: DOES IT EXIST?*

In a recent article in Terra Nova, Kristan-Tollmann and Tollmann (1994) suggested that the Biblical Flood can be explained by seven fragments of a comet that impacted the ocean at seven locations on Earth at 03.00h (C.E.T.) on 23 September, 9545 yr BP. We demonstrate that all the ‘geological proofs’ that allegedly support their conclusions are not supported by the available data on impact cratering. Their hypothesis is based on insufficient and ambiguous data, selective citation, and incomplete comprehension of previous research.