Influence of the spatial variability of shear strength parameters on rainfall induced landslides: a case study of sandstone slope in Japan

Rainfall-induced landslides frequently occur in humid temperate regions worldwide. Research activity in understanding the mechanism of rainfall-induced landslides has recently focused on the probability of slope failure involving non-homogeneous soil profiles. This paper presents probabilistic analyses to assess the stability of unsaturated soil slope under rainfall. The influence of the spatial variability of shear strength parameters on the probability of rainfall-induced slope failure is conducted by means of a series of seepage and stability analyses of an infinite slope based on random fields. A case study of shallow failure located on sandstone slopes in Japan is used to verify the analysis framework. The results confirm that a probabilistic analysis can be efficiently used to qualify various locations of failure surface caused by spatial variability of soil shear strength for a shallow infinite slope failure due to rainfall.     

A hybrid machine learning ensemble approach based on a Radial Basis Function neural network and Rotation Forest for landslide susceptibility modeling: A case study in the Himalayan area,India

In this paper, a hybrid machine learning ensemble approach namely the Rotation Forest based Radial Basis Function (RFRBF) neural network is proposed for spatial prediction of landslides in part of the Himalayan area (India). The proposed approach is an integration of the Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network classifier and Rotation Forest ensemble, which are state-of-the art machine learning algorithms for classification problems. For this purpose, a spatial database of the study area was established that consists of 930 landslide locations and fifteen influencing parameters (slope angle, road density, curvature, land use, distance to road, plan curvature, lineament density, distance to lineaments, rainfall, distance to river, profile curvature, elevation, slope aspect, river density, and soil type). Using the database, training and validation datasets were generated for constructing and validating the model. Performance of the model was assessed using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, area under the ROC curve (AUC), statistical analysis methods, and the Chi square test. In addition, Logistic Regression (LR), Multi-layer Perceptron Neural Networks (MLP Neural Nets), Naïve Bayes (NB), and the hybrid model of Rotation Forest and Decision Trees (RFDT) were selected for comparison. The results show that the proposed RFRBF model has the highest prediction capability in comparison to the other models (LR, MLP Neural Nets, NB, and RFDT); therefore, the proposed RFRBF model is promising and should be used as an alternative technique for landslide susceptibility modeling.     

Estimating the Efficiency of the New Seismic Network in Vietnam

Earthquakes that occur on the territory of Vietnam and especially in the South China Sea are a major hazard to the Vietnam population and infrastructure because of possible destruction and tsunamis, like those took place there in earlier times according to geological data. Therefore, in the early 2000s, the government of Vietnam decided to modernize and expand the network of seismological observations on the territory of the republic. First, it was planned to modernize the seismic network in Vietnam with 20 broadband seismic stations and then increase that number to 30. This raised the problem of the optimal arrangement of these stations in the country to predict earthquakes and study the structure of the crust and upper mantle of Vietnam. The map of Vietnam clearly shows the impossibility of constructing a single optimal observation network to locate earthquake hypocenters over the entire territory, because it is strongly elongated from north to south. Any seismological observation network for such an entire territory will not be optimal. In this case, we can speak about improving local observation networks for some areas, such as the north, center, and south of the country. This work estimates the efficiency (distribution of the minimum representative magnitudes and the error in determining the coordinates of earthquake hypocenters) for the new network of seismological observations in Vietnam, consisting of 30 stations. To improve the quality of the network in central and southern Vietnam, six more seismic stations are proposed. Such a network will allow more accurate determination of the hypocenter parameters in central and southern Vietnam. During the construction of the optimal network configuration, one of the main problems was the choice of an effective network radius. The formula for determining the optimal radius in the seismic observation network is obtained for the case of a uniform distribution of hypocenters in a certain cylindrical region based on the radius of the base and height of this cylinder. In this work, it follows from the formula that the radius of the optimal network should be no less than the radius of the hypocentral region. In our case, the choice of network radius is confined within the state borders and coastline of Vietnam. These restrictions are taken into account in the calculations to optimize the number of seismic stations and the configuration of their location in the country.     

A dual-porosity model for the study of chemical effects on the swelling behaviour of MX-80 bentonite

Significant chemical influence on the swelling potential of MX-80 bentonite was observed during swelling tests where specimens were hydrated with highly concentrated brine. The maximum swelling pressure for specimens hydrated with brine was about 30% of the maximum swelling pressure for the same specimens hydrated with de-ionized water. The maximum swelling pressure was attained within tens of hours of brine infiltration and further decreased by half within a year. A fully coupled hydro–mechanical–chemical (HMC) dual-porosity model is proposed in this paper to interpret the swelling behaviour of MX-80 when infiltrated with brine. The dependence of hydraulic and mechanical properties on such factors as porosity, salinity and water content was investigated. A nonlinear elastic constitutive model was proposed to correlate the swelling pressure with the variation in the microporosity. The chemical effects on the mechanical behaviour were coupled at the micropore level. A number of relationships have been developed for MX-80, i.e. micropore permeability as a function of void ratio, water retention characteristics of micropores and macropores, micropore dependence on water content and the diffusion coefficients of the two types of pore structure. The proposed model was successful in reproducing both quantitatively and qualitatively the experimental results from two sets of infiltration experiments on compacted MX-80 bentonite.

     

Enhanced biological activity by an anticyclonic warm eddy during early spring in the East Sea (Japan Sea) detected by the geostationary ocean color satellite

The high primary production enhanced by anticyclonic eddies and hourly variation pattern in the productivity during the spring season in the East Sea were first investigated using the first Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI). Even though the stratification for a seasonal spring bloom is not well developed in the water column in early April in the East Sea, a physical upward water flux movement at the periphery of the anticyclonic eddies could remain the phytoplankton in euphotic zone to sustain high chlorophyll-a concentration conditions in the Ulleung Basin. At this time, nutrients were no major controlling factor for phytoplankton growth since concentrations of major nutrients (nitrate, silicate, and phosphate) were relatively high in the observed eddy sites based on the observation data from the Korean Oceanographic Data Center (KODC). The estimated mixed layer depth (MLD) significantly shallower at the periphery supports for this mechanism. The hourly primary productivity estimation based on a Carbon-based Productivity Model (CbPM) provides a bimodal pattern along the time especially in L1 with an approximately one order magnitude difference between the lowest and highest values of productivities on 5 April, 2011. Potential possibilities for this large discrepancy in the hourly productivity and some thoughts on a short time in situ incubation method were discussed.     

Detecting massive green algae (Ulva prolifera) blooms in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea using Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) data

The historically massive bloom of the green macroalgae Ulva prolifera reported in June?CAugust 2008 around the Qingdao, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and Japan coasts has recurred in a similar season and region. On June 13, 2011, around Qingdao, China, the world??s first Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) detected an enormous bloom of floating green algae, which originated from the nearshore Subei Bank, China. The large floating green algae patches were observed along and across the Yellow Sea and in the East China Sea during 2011 summer by various oceanic cruises. To detect the massive macroalgae blooms from space, we analyzed their spectral characteristics from in situ optical measurements and satellite-derived green algae spectra. An ??Index of floating Green Algae for GOCI?? (IGAG) was developed from the multiple spectral band ratios using three wavelengths (555, 660, 745 nm), which the spectral response of green algae reflected at 555, 745, and 865 nm and absorbed at 660 and 680 nm. The results were compared with those obtained by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and Korea Ocean Satellite Center (KOSC) approaches. An advantage of the IGAG method was that muted or subtle signals of floating green algae were enhanced and separated from surrounding complex water signals. Although maps of floating green algae derived by the other approaches delineated dense green algae, they were less sensitive to subtle (less dense) features and in cases of nearby cloudy or complex water conditions. The floating green algae maps from IGAG provided a more robust estimate of wide floating green algae blooms than those derived using NDVI, EVI, or KOSC approaches. The IGAG approach should be useful for tracing and monitoring changes in green algae blooms on regional and global scales.     

Initial validation of GOCI water products against in situ data collected around Korean peninsula for 2010–2011

This paper provides initial validation results for GOCI-derived water products using match-ups between the satellite and ship-borne in situ data for the period of 2010?C2011, with a focus on remote-sensing reflectance (R _rs ). Match-up data were constructed through systematic quality control of both in situ and GOCI data, and a manual inspection of associated GOCI images to identify pixels contaminated by cloud, land and inter-slot radiometric discrepancy. Efforts were made to process and quality check the in situ R _rs data. This selection process yielded 32 optimal match-ups for the R _rs spectra, chlorophyll a concentration (Chl_a) and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and with 20 match-ups for suspended particulate matter concentration (SPM). Most of the match-ups are located close to shore and thus the validation should be interpreted limiting to near-shore coastal waters. The R _rs match-ups showed the mean relative errors of 18?C33% for the visible bands with the lowest 18?C19% for the 490 nm and 555 nm bands and 33% for the 412 nm band. Correlation for the R _rs match-ups was high in the 490?C865 nm bands (R²=0.72?C0.84) and lower in the 412 nm band (R²=0.43) and 443 nm band (R²=0.66). The match-ups for Chl_a showed a low correlation (<0.41) although the mean absolute percentage error was 35% for the GOCI standard Chl_a. The CDOM match-ups showed an even worse comparison with R²<0.2. These match-up comparison for Chl_a and CDOM would imply the difficulty to estimate Chl_a and CDOM in near-shore waters where the variability in SPM would dominate the variability in R _rs . Clearly, the match-up statistics for SPM was better with R²=0.73 and 0.87 for two evaluated algorithms, although GOCI-derived SPM overestimated low concentration and underestimated high concentration. Based on this initial match-up analysis, we made several recommendations -1) to collect more offshore under-water measurements of the R _rs data, 2) to include quality flags in level-2 products, 3) to introduce an ISRD correction in the GOCI processing chain, 4) to investigate other types of in-water algorithms such as semianalytical ones, and 5) to investigate vicarious calibration for GOCI data and to maintain accurate and consistent calibration of field radiometric instruments.     

Toward state-of-the-art techniques in predicting and controlling slope stability in open-pit mines based on limit equilibrium analysis,radial basis function neural network,and brainstorm optimization

Acta Geotechnica - This study aims to propose state-of-the-art techniques in predicting and controlling slope stability in open-pit mines based on limit equilibrium analysis, artificial neural...     

Sedimentary Basin Analysis and Petroleum Potential of the Cretaceous Yuchon Group In Haenam Depression, SW Korea

The Yuchon Group in the Late Cretaceous of Haenam and Mokpo area on the southwest coast of Korea peninsula can be divided into two Formations: (1) the intermediate volcanic Formation (Hwawon Formation), about 500m thick, (2)the acidic volcanic Formation (Hwangsan Formation), about 400m thick in ascending order.The former comprises intermediate volcaniclastics interlayered with volcanic rocks, and red mudrock and tuffaceous sandstone indicating fluvial deposits. The latter is subdivided into the upper part (Hwangsan Tuff Member) consisting of subaerial pyroclastics and intercalated rhyolites, and the lower part (Byeongonri Member) including subaqueous volcaniclastics, lake deltaic sandstone and gravelstone, lacustrine black shale and limestone and chert, and lake turbidite sandstone.The Late Cretaceous basin including Haenam subbasin in southwest Korea was largely formed of extensional nonmarine depressions (volcano- tectonic) bounded by NE- SW sinistral fault system.The thermal maturation based on geochemical and mineralogical studies for the black shales and tuffaceous sandstones reached the late stage of oil generation zone or gas generation stage. It seems that black shales and limestones are fairly good as source rock. The porosity of potential reservoir sandstone and tuff ranges from 5 % to 11%, but their permeability except the fractured rocks is very low ( ＜1md) because of fine pore throats reduced by diagenetic cementation of tuffaceous sandstones. Numerous potential traps might have been formed by the later folding and faulting along with lateral facies change and abundant mudrocks and volcaniclastics should make excellent seals.     

Distribution and Variability of the Meiobenthic Assemblages near the Korean Polymetallic Nodule Claim Area of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (Subequatorial NE Pacific)

This study was carried out as part of a baseline long-term environmental project in the proposed mining areas for an environmental impact assessment of future mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ). The community structure and distributional pattern of meiobenthos were investigated in the deep-sea bottom of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the northeastern Pacific in July 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and August 2004, 2005. Twenty one meiobenthic groups were found at the stations in the study area. The most abundant meiobenthos comprised nematodes followed by benthic foraminiferans and harpacticoid copepods. The maximum density of meiobenthos was 306 ind/10 cm² at the station located at 11°N (water depth, 4833 m), and the minimum density was 6 ind/10 cm² at the station located at 14°N (water depth, 5037 m). Oligotrophic conditions in the CCFZ seem to directly reflect the lower standing stocks of meiobenthos in the CCFZ compared to other deep-sea plains of similar depth. The latitudinal distribution pattern of meiobenthos in the study area seemed to be related with surface water primary productivity, which was connected to the water circulation pattern of the Pacific Ocean near the Equator, diverging at 8ºN latitude and converging at 5°N. The horizontal distribution of meiobenthic organisms in the study area showed high densities at the stations within 135–136°W. The densities of meiobenthic organismas within the CCFZ were high at stations with few manganese nodules on the sediment surface at low-latitude sites. In 1998, the observed relative high values of meiobenthic abundance were at stations from 5° to 6°N. Other stations from 7° to 10°N showed no significant fluctuations during the interannual sampling periods. It is considered that the inter-annual fluctuation of meiobenthos abundance is intimately related with a regime shift that may have occurred in the north Pacific between 1998 and 1999, the El Niño period. Vertical distribution of meiobenthic organisms showed the highest individual numbers in the surface sediment layers of 0～2 cm depth and a steep decreasing trend as sediment becomes deeper at the stations of high latitude located in 16～17°N. Size distribution analyses showed that organisms that fit into the sieve mesh size of 0.063 mm were abundant.