Field observations on hyperconcentrated flows in mountain torrents

Field observations on hydraulics and sediment dynamics during extreme floods in two mountain torrents show the influence of man-made constructions such as bridges and check dams, in addition to the sediment supplied naturally by the basin and the channel network, on the formation of hyperconcentrated flows. In the Pyrenean Arás basin, hyperconcentrated flow occurred after collapse of a bridge, which in turn mobilized large volumes of sediment from the stream channel and, subsequently, destroyed a series of check dams. Boulders up to several metres in size were transported in a mixture of sand and fine material. A minimum of 100000 tonnes of sediment were deposited on the alluvial fan during the event. Prior to bridge destruction, mean bedload transport rates had reached 0.4t m⁻¹ s⁻¹ upstream. In the alpine Lainbach basin, the flood was characterized by transportation of large amounts of slope material, including debris flows. Along its main tributary an intensive hyperconcentrated flow occurred during the rising stage, whereas in the main valley smaller flows occurred after failure of check dams. The depth of coarse material deposited reached 80 cm. The effectiveness of the Aràs and Lainbach floods was attained due to exceptional rates of energy expediture. Flood power ranged from 20000 W m⁻² to 40000 W m⁻² on average. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three-dimensional topography corrections of magnetotelluric data

Topographic effects due to irregular surface terrain may prevent accurate interpretation of magnetotelluric (MT) data. Three-dimensional (3-D) topographic effects have been investigated for a trapezoidal hill model using an edge finite-element method. The 3-D topography generates significant MT anomalies, and has both galvanic and inductive effects in any polarization. This paper presents two different correction algorithms, which are applied to the impedance tensor and to both electric and magnetic fields, respectively, to reduce topographic effects on MT data. The correction procedures using a homogeneous background resistivity derived from a simple averaging method effectively decrease distortions caused by surface topography, and improve the quality of subsurface interpretation. Nonlinear least-squares inversion of topography-corrected data successfully recovers most of structures including a conductive or resistive dyke.     

Derivative‐Assisted Classification of Fractured Zones Crossing a Deep Borehole

In this study, the derivative analysis using the derivative of drawdown with respect to log‐time was utilized to determine candidates for hydraulic conductor domains (HCDs). At a 500‐m deep borehole in the study site, the fractured rocks crossing the borehole were first classified in fractured and nonfractured zones by core logging and geophysical loggings, such as acoustic televiewing, density, and flow loggings. After conducting the hydraulic tests such as constant head withdrawal and recovery tests at the fractured zones and the nonfractured zones, the derivative analyses were carried out, of which the results were evaluated to determine the candidates for HCDs. For the nonfractured zones, the diagnostic plot has only a big hump indicating poor connection of the background fractures to the permeable geologic media, while those of the candidates for HCDs show various flow regimes. On the basis of these results, the candidates for HCDs among the fractured zones were determined. From discussion on the results, the combination of the spacing analysis and derivative analysis following a hydraulic test is recommended for determining the candidates for HCDs rather than other geophysical loggings.     

Statistical models for shear strength of RC beam‐column joints using machine‐learning techniques

This paper proposes a new set of probabilistic joint shear strength models using the conventional multiple linear regression method, and advanced machine‐learning methods of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) and symbolic regression (SR). In order to achieve high‐fidelity regression models with reduced model errors and bias, this study constructs extensive experimental databases for reinforced and unreinforced concrete joints by collecting existing beam‐column joint subassemblage tests from multiple sources. Various influential parameters that affect joint shear strength such as material properties, design parameters, and joint configuration are investigated through tests of statistical significance. After performing a set of regression analyses, the comparison of simulation results indicates that MARS approach is the best estimation method. Moreover, the accuracy of analytical predictions of the derived MARS model is compared with that of existing joint shear strength relationships. The comparison results show that the proposed model is more accurate compared to existing relationships. This joint shear strength prediction model can be readily implemented into joint response models for evaluation of earthquake performance and inelastic responses of building frames. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental Evaluation of Leaching Effects on the Compressibility of Marine Clay and its Strain Rate Dependency

This study investigated how leaching affects compressibility behavior of marine clay and its strain rate dependency based on laboratory tests using three pairs of specimens. Each pair of specimens consisted of leached and unleached samples with identical geotechnical properties except soil salinity. The behavior characteristics of the leached and unleached specimens were evaluated using several series of constant rate-of-strain (CRS) tests with differing strain rates. The results revealed that the compressibility of leached clay increased as its salinity decreased. However, void ratio, Atterberg limits, and preconsolidation pressure in leached samples were lower than those in unleached clay. The increased compressibility and decreased preconsolidation pressure may be induced from a weakening of the interparticle bonds in the leached soil skeleton. The CRS test results with differing strain rates revealed that higher strain rates corresponded with higher levels of effective stress and higher apparent preconsolidation pressure in both leached and unleached clays.     

Source and Formation of the Arsenic in Ground Water in Hanoi,Vietnam

The problem of Arsenic source in groundwater has yet been addressed thoroughly. From the results of the analysis of samples, this article gives the statement that the Arsenic in groundwater of Quaternary sediments in Hanoi has mainly natural source, with the impact of man-made factors (industrial waste water, use of crop protection products, etc.). The article also explains the formation of Arsenic in groundwater in Hanoi area is closely related to the reduction by two main mechanisms, reducing mechanism of oxyhydroxit (Fe3 + OHAs) As liberation by microorganisms and reducing mechanism of As adsorbed on iron oxide or oxyhydroxit replaced by bicarbonate. The process of oxidation of minerals containing As is needed to be researched more.     

Outsider and insider views of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City: The Lover/L'Amant, Cyclo/Xích lô, Collective Flat/Chung c and Bargirls/Gái nh y

This article addresses representations of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City in four films made since đ     i m     i , the opening up of Vietnam to western influences, initiated in 1986. The Lover/L'Amant (1992) is a Franco-British heritage film which reconstructs the city from a Eurocentric neocolonial perspective, while Cyclo/Xích lô (1995), a French-funded film made by a France-based Vietnamese filmmaker, is a contemporary poetic thriller which treats the city expressively as the site of present-day corruption and violence. The nostalgia evident in these two 'outsider' films is contrasted with the more complex views of the city in two state-funded low-budget 'insider' films by local Vietnamese filmmakers, Collective Flat/Chung c     (1999) and Bargirls/Gái nh     y (2003); the first, an intellectual fable set in the decade or so following reunification/Independence in 1975 which recalls an attempt at collective living, the second, a hugely popular treatment of contemporary urban realities, both corrupt and progressive. Examining how the mise-en-scène and narratives of the city differ from film to film, the essay takes the representation of the city through changing historical, political, social and economic times, from colonial-orientalist Saigon to corrupt, capitalist Ho Chi Minh City via the slow degeneration of the postwar socialist/collectivist experiment. In so doing, it confirms the importance of the films' moments and contexts of production in the construction of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City as a cinematic 'city-text'.     

Seismic characterization of switching platform geometries and dominant carbonate producers (Miocene,Las Negras,Spain)

The primary goals of seismic interpretation and quantification are to understand and define reservoir architecture and the distribution of petrophysical properties. Since seismic interpretation is associated with major uncertainties, outcrop analogues are used to support and improve the resulting conceptual models. In this study, the Miocene carbonates of Cerro de la Molata (Las Negras, south‐east Spain) have been selected as an outcrop analogue. The heterogeneous carbonate rocks of the Cerro de la Molata Platform were formed by a variety of carbonate‐producing factories, resulting in various platform morphologies and a wide range of physical properties. Based on textural (thin sections) and petrophysical (porosity, density, carbonate content and acoustic properties) analyses of the sediments, eleven individual facies types were determined. The data were used to produce synthetic seismic profiles of the outcrop. The profiles demonstrate that the spatial distribution of the facies and the linked petrophysical properties are of key importance in the appearance of the synthetic seismic sections. They reveal that carbonate factory and facies‐specific reflection patterns are determined by porosity contrasts, diagenetic modifications and the input of non‐carbonate sediment. The reflectors of the seismograms created with high‐frequency wavelets are coherent with the spatial distribution of the predefined facies within the depositional sequences. The synthetic seismograms resulting from convolution with lower frequency wavelets do not show these details – the major reflectors coincide with: (i) the boundary between the volcanic basement and the overlying carbonates; (ii) the platform geometries related to changes in carbonate factories, thus sequence boundaries; and (iii) diagenetic zones. Changes in seismic response related to diagenesis, switching carbonate producers and linked platform geometries are important findings that need to be considered when interpreting seismic data sets.     

利用卫星长波长地球物理位场对东亚地区深部结构的研究

有研究表明从中国北部经黄海、朝鲜半岛、日本海至日本本州岛存在一个大型断裂带,被称为“北纬40°断裂带”.为了验证该断裂带的存在性,本文通过GRACE和CHAMP卫星的位场数据中的大尺度区域重力和磁力异常来研究该区的大型构造特征.区域性研究范围为24°N~56°N,90°E~150°E,详细研究范围为32°N~42°N,122°E~132°E.2008年Taylor等利用CHAMP卫星2005年6月至12月收集的轨道数据,从测量数据中消除地核和外部产生磁场效应,经化磁极之后得到磁异常图,从中来追踪构造特征,并根据地质和地球物理资料建立了数学模型来进行解释.本文在此基础上,增加了GRACE卫星2003年10月份测量的重力异常场数据.实测差分位场数据利用高斯-勒让德求积法转换为垂向重力异常值,通过减去最新地球重力场模型（EGM96）的场值来去除波长超过1100 km的长波长异常,所得的重力异常数据和磁场数据进行比较.为了能从中得到研究区的共同构造特征,建立一个球面棱柱模型进行正演模拟、并进行重、磁异常场的波数相关性分析.研究发现在重、磁异常中均发现一个呈负相关的纬向构造特征,东亚地区“北纬40°断裂带”横穿了整个朝鲜半岛.