Modeling the 2D behavior of dry‐stone retaining walls by a fully discrete element method

The dry‐stone retaining walls (DSRW) have been tipped as a promising solution for sustainable development. However, before recently, their behavior is relatively obscure. In this study, discrete element method (DEM) approach was applied to simulate the plane strain failure of these walls. A commercial DEM package (PFC2D™) was used throughout this study. The authors used a fully discrete approach; thus, both the wall and the backfill were modeled as discrete elements. The methodology for obtaining the micromechanical parameters was discussed in detail; this includes the three mechanical sub‐systems of DSRWs: wall, backfill and interface. The models were loaded progressively until failure, and then the results were compared with the full‐scale experimental results where the walls were loaded, respectively, with hydrostatic load and backfill. Despite its complexity and its intensive calculation time, DEM model can then be used to validate a more simplified approach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-P (P = 1.5–1.8 GPa) blueschist from Elba: Implications for underthrusting and exhumation of continental units in the Northern Apennines

The Acquadolce Subunit on the Island of Elba, Italy, records blueschist facies metamorphism related to the Oligocene–early Miocene stages of continental collision in the Northern Apennines. The blueschist facies metamorphism is represented by glaucophane- and lawsonite-bearing metabasite associated with marble and calcschist. These rock types occur as lenses in a schistose complex representing foredeep deposits of early Oligocene age. Detailed petrological analyses on metabasic and metapelitic protoliths, involving mineral and bulk-rock chemistry coupled with P–T and P–T–X(Fe₂O₃) pseudosection modelling using PERPLE_X, show that the Acquadolce Subunit recorded nearly isothermal exhumation from peak pressure–temperature conditions of 1.5–1.8 GPa and 320–370°C. During exhumation, peak lawsonite- and possibly carpholite- or stilpnomelane-bearing assemblages were overprinted and partially obliterated by epidote-blueschist and, subsequently, albite-greenschist facies metamorphic assemblages. This study sheds new light on the tectonic evolution of Adria-derived metamorphic units in the Northern Apennines, by showing (a) the deep underthrusting of continental crust during continental collision and (b) rapid exhumation along ‘cold’ and nearly isothermal paths, compatible with syn-orogenic extrusion.     

The groundwater recharge regime of some slightly metamorphosed neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks: an application of natural environmental tracers

Isotope data of precipitation and groundwater in parts of the Voltaian Basin in Northern Ghana were used to explain the groundwater recharge regime in the area. Groundwater recharge is an important parameter in the development of a decision support system for the management and efficient utilization of groundwater resources in the area. It is therefore important to establish the processes and sources of groundwater recharge. δ¹⁸O and δ²H data for local precipitation suggest enrichment relative to the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL) and indicate that precipitation takes place at a relative humidity less than 100%. The groundwater data plot on an evaporation line with a slope of 5, suggesting a high degree of evaporative enrichment of the precipitation in the process of vertical infiltration and percolation through the unsaturated zone into the saturated zone. This finding is consistent with the observation of high evapotranspiration rates in the area and ties in with the fact that significant clay fraction in the unsaturated zone limits vertical percolation and thus exposes the percolating rainwater to the effects of high temperatures and low humidities resulting in high evapotranspiration rates. Groundwater recharge estimates from the chloride mass balance, CMB, method suggest recharge in the range of 1.8–32% of the annual average precipitation in the form of rainfall. The highest rates are associated with areas where open wells encourage significant amount of groundwater recharge from precipitation in the area. In the northern parts of the study area, groundwater recharge is lower than 12%. The recharge so computed through the application of the CMB methodology takes on a spatial distribution akin to the converse of the spatial pattern of both δ¹⁸O and δ²H in the area. As such, the locations of the highest recharge are associated with the most depleted values of the two isotopes. This observation is consistent with the assertion that low vertical hydraulic conductivities slow down vertical percolation of precipitation down to the groundwater water. The percolating precipitation water thus gets enriched in the heavier isotopes through high evapotranspiration rates. At the same time, the amount of water that finally reaches the water table is considerably reduced. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stately home geology: Kelmscott Manor,Oxfordshire, UK

Kelmscott Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames in Oxfordshire is a place of pilgrimage for social historians and conversationalists as well as those who simply want to turn the clock back to a rural England long departed. The manor was leased to William Morris in 1871 to be his family home until long after his death in 1896—their escape from the hectic daily life in London. At that point, Morris spent the previous 10 years building up the crafts business for which he is best known, the patterned textiles and wallpaper designs and the basic wooden furniture we associate with the Arts and Crafts Movement. It can be difficult to remember that much of the respected craftwork was generated in the East End of London by gifted craftsmen.     

Modelling atmospheric and hydrologic processes for assessment of meadow restoration impact on flow and sediment in a sparsely gauged California watershed

The restoration of meadowland using the pond and plug technique of gully elimination was performed in a 9‐mile segment along Last Chance Creek, Feather River Basin, California, in order to rehabilitate floodplain functions such as mitigating floods, retaining groundwater, and reducing sediment yield associated with bank erosion and to significantly alter the hydrologic regime. However, because the atmospheric and hydrological conditions have evolved over the restoration period, it was difficult to obtain a comprehensible evaluation of the impact of restoration activities by means of field measurements. In this paper, a new use of physically based models for environmental assessment is described. The atmospheric conditions over the sparsely gauged Last Chance Creek watershed (which does not have any precipitation or weather stations) during the combined historical critical dry and wet period (1982–1993) were reconstructed over the whole watershed using the atmospheric fifth‐generation mesoscale model driven with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and US National Center for Environmental Prediction reanalysis data. Using the downscaled atmospheric data as its input, the watershed environmental hydrology (WEHY) model was applied to this watershed. All physical parameters of the WEHY model were derived from the existing geographic information system and satellite‐driven data sets. By comparing the prerestoration and postrestoration simulation results under the identical atmospheric conditions, a more complete environmental assessment of the restoration project was made. Model results indicate that the flood peak may be reduced by 10–20% during the wet year and the baseflow may be enhanced by 10–20% during the following dry seasons (summer to fall) in the postrestoration condition. The model results also showed that the hydrologic impact of the land management associated with the restoration mitigates bank erosion and sediment discharge during winter storm events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Oblique oceanic opening and passive margin irregularity,as inherited in the Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt

The Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt of SW Iran represents deformation of the former Arabian passive margin since Permian–Triassic opening of the Neo‐Tethys ocean. The Zagros belt is characterized by a present‐day structural salient‐recess setting inherited from past marginal embayment‐promontory geometry, which was involved in discontinuous ophiolite obduction and diachronous continental collision. We examine outcrop‐scale Mesozoic extensional brittle tectonics, preserved as syn‐depositional normal faults within the folded strata, in terms of stress tensor inversion. The result is then integrated with belt‐scale isopach, seismic and topographical data to delineate the geometry of a major irregularity along the passive margin originating from oblique oceanic opening. The implication of this configuration within the tectonic framework of oceanic closure is discussed.     

Erodibility of low‐compaction steep‐sloped reclaimed surface mine lands in the southern Appalachian region,USA

The use of loose spoils on steep slopes for surface coal mining reclamation sites has been promoted by the US Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining for the establishment of native forest, as prescribed by the Forest Reclamation Approach (FRA). Although low‐compaction spoils improve tree survival and growth, erodibility on steep slopes was suspected to increase. This study quantified a combined K_C factor (combining the effects of the soil erodibility K factor and cover management C) for low compaction, steep‐sloped (>20°) reclaimed mine lands in the Appalachian region, USA. The combined K_C factor was used because standard Unit Plot conditions required to separate these factors, per Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) experimental protocols, were not followed explicitly. Three active coal mining sites in the Appalachian region of East Tennessee, each containing four replicate field plots, were monitored for rainfall and sediment yields during a 14‐month period beginning June 2009. Average cumulative erosivity for the study sites during the monitoring period was measured as 5248.9 MJ·mm·ha^?1·h^?1. The K_C ranged between 0.001 and 0.05 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1, with the highest values occurring immediately following reclamation site construction as rills developed (June – August 2009). The K_C for two study sites with about an 18–20 mm spoil D₈₄ were above 0.01 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1 during rill development, and below 0.003 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1 after August 2009 for the post‐rill development period. The K_C values for one site with a 40 mm spoil D₈₄ were never above 0.008 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1 and also on average were lower, being more similar to the other two sites after the rill development period. Based on an initial K_C factor (K_e) measured during the first few storm events, the average C factor (C_e) was estimated as 0.58 for the rill development period and 0.13 for the post‐rill development period. It appears that larger size fractions of spoils influence K_C and C_e factors on low‐compaction steep slopes reclamation sites. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.