Waste dump erosional landform stability – a critical issue for mountain mining

Mining is the largest producer of solid wastes which, when released to land or into waterways, can cause harmful environmental impacts. This is mostly due to fluvial erosion, which is highly increased in mountain areas, due to abrupt slopes. We have analysed this situation at a mountain watershed (192 ha), where steep mined sites and their waste dumps are the main source of sediment in a Natural Park. This problem was tackled by building gabion check dams downstream from the mined sites. We used the DEM of Differences (DoD) method to quantify erosion and sediment yield from three waste dumps (5 ha). Their topography and substrate properties were analysed to understand the erosion problem. The sediment trapped by the check dams was quantified by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The rainfall characteristics triggering an episode that filled the check dams with sediment in the winter 2009–2010, were studied to confirm whether it was a case of extreme precipitation conditions. The waste dumps sediment yield (353 ± 95 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1) suggests severe landform instability. Analysis of topographic and substrate properties confirmed long, steep slopes combined with highly erodible materials. The check dams proved to be inefficient in controlling sediment loads, as they had only functioned for four years of 31 of existence, having trapped 13 000 ± 660 m³ of sediment, whereas we estimated that the waste dumps have yielded approximately three times more sediment for the same period. Rainfall analyses showed that neither intense nor extreme conditions (return period of 25 to 35 years) triggered the mobilization of 37 ± 2 Mg ha^?1 in a month. This study highlights the fact that mining operations in similar mountainous settings, with equivalent waste dump construction and reclamation practices, are currently unfeasible. We conclude that landform stability cannot be achieved at this site without landform changes. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial variation of the vegetative roughness in Mediterranean torrential streams affected by check dams

This study focuses on the spatial variations in vegetative roughness associated with morphological channel adjustments due to the presence of check dams in Mediterranean torrential streams. Manning’s n values were estimated using methods established by previous studies of submerged and non-submerged vegetation in laboratory flume experiments and field work. The results showed a linear decrease in shrub density and rate of variation of the roughness coefficient versus degree of submergence with increasing distance upstream from the check dam, while downstream, the filling of the check dam and the bed incision had the most influence. A regression analysis was applied by fitting the data to different models: relationships between Manning’s n and the flow velocity were found to be of the power type for shrubs in all upstream sections, while relationships of flow velocity versus hydraulic radius in the sections closest to check dams showed a good fit to second-order polynomial equations.     

Intersection and point-to-line solutions for geodesics on the ellipsoid

The paper presents two algorithms for the computation of intersection of geodesics and minimum distance from a point to a geodesic on the ellipsoid, respectively. They are based on the iterative use of direct and inverse problems of geodesy by means of their implementations with machine-precision accuracy in GeographicLib. The algorithms yield the same results as those obtained by Karney’s approach based on the use of auxiliary ellipsoidal gnomonic projections, with the advantage on our side that the algorithms are not limited to distances below 10000 km. This results in our algorithm being the only general solution for the problem of minimum distance from a point to a geodesic on the ellipsoid.     

Advancements in hydrochemistry mapping: methods and application to groundwater arsenic and iron concentrations in Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh,India

The area east of Varanasi is one of numerous places along the watershed of the Ganges River with groundwater concentrations of arsenic surpassing the maximum value of 10 parts per billion (ppb) recommended by the World Health Organization in drinking water. Here we apply geostatistics and compositional data analysis for the mapping of arsenic and iron to help in understanding the conditions leading to the occurrence of elevated level of arsenic in groundwater. The methodology allows for displaying concentrations of arsenic and iron as maps consistent with the limited information from 95 water wells across an area of approximately 210 km²; visualization of the uncertainty associated with the sampling; and summary of the findings in the form of probability maps. For thousands of years, Varanasi has been on the erosional side in a meander of the river that is free of arsenic values above 10 ppb. Maps reveal two anomalies of high arsenic concentrations on the depositional side of the valley, which has started seeing urban development. The methodology using geostatistics combined with compositional data analysis is completely general, so this study could be used as a prototype for hydrochemistry mapping in other areas.     

Late Holocene mangrove dynamics dominated by autogenic processes

Generally, palaeoenvironmental interpretations consider only allogenic processes, when autogenic factors may have a strong influence on proxies of stratigraphic sequences. For instance, the Holocene history of the vegetation along the southern littoral of the State of Bahia in north‐eastern Brazil is characterized by mangrove dynamics controlled by allogenic processes. However, over smaller timescales (~700 years), autogenic processes may have controlled vegetation dynamics and hence observed pollen distribution. This work proposes tidal channel dynamics as one of the main cause for changes in pollen assemblage along the studied stratigraphic profiles during the last centuries, based on sedimentology, pollen and elemental analysis (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C/N) and radiocarbon dating of sedimentary organic matter from two cores sampled from an abandoned meander and a tidal flat at the mouth of the Jucuruçu River. One core was sampled from a mangrove formed during the past ~550 cal yr bp . Another core recorded sediments in a várzea forest (swamp seasonally and permanently inundated by freshwater) located ~2.7 km from the current shoreline, which displayed a maximum age of ~680 cal yr bp . Two facies associations were identified: tidal channel (A) and tidal flat/oxbow lake (B). This work proposes allogenic processes as the main driving forces controlling the wetlands dynamics at the studied site during the Holocene. However, our data also reveal that part of the changes in vegetation over the last ~700 years reflect tidal channels and tidal flats development, which represent autogenic processes. The change in timescale analysis from the Holocene to recent centuries may have weakened the influence of allogenic factors. However, this needs interpretation with reference to the spatial scale of the depositional environment as the larger the depositional system analyzed, the stronger the influence of autogenic processes on stratigraphic sequences over longer timescales. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An integrated magnetic,geochemical and archeointensity investigation of casting debris from ancient metallurgical sites of Michoacán,Western Mesoamerica

The ability of baked clay-elaborated objects to record the temporal variations of both direction and intensity of the geomagnetic field at the time of their elaboration or last use has been widely used during the last decades to fill the gaps left by available time-discrete volcanic-rock logs for a better knowledge of the evolution of the geomagnetic field. Further refinement of the secular variation curves has motivated the search for alternative non-conventional materials as attractive targets for archeomagnetic studies. Both clay and copper have been used since pre-Hispanic times for the elaboration of a wide variety of ornamental and utilitarian objects in Mesoamerica. Previous studies carried out in Europe and Israel have shown the usefulness of copper slags as one of these non-conventional materials. We present the results of an integrated study carried out on ten copper slags from seven ancient metallurgical sites of Michoacán. The analysis included a series of rock magnetism experiments, scanning electron microscope analysis, archeointensity determinations following the Thellier-Coe method and their corresponding dating. Based on the results obtained the slag-set analyzed can be divided in two main groups: low Fe concentrations (associated with high Cu concentrations) for slags comprising the first group, and high Fe concentrations (associated with low Cu concentrations) for slags from second group. Slags from the first group are characterized by almost reversible thermomagnetic curves, while those corresponding to the second group show a quite irreversible behavior. A crystalline (vitreous) structure within the massive surface of the slags is observed for those coming from the second (first) group. These striking features could reflect significant differences in the metallurgical process followed at these sites, which according to archeological and historical evidences correspond to Colonial and pre-Hispanic usage metallurgical sites; first and second group, respectively. The good experimental behavior exhibited by these materials demonstrates the suitability of copper slag to obtaining absolute archeointensity data which can be used to improve the existing Mesoamerican archeomagnetic record. This in turn, can be used both for geomagnetic field modelling purposes and archeomagnetic dating.     

Shake table testing of an elevator system in a full‐scale five‐story building

This paper investigates the seismic performance of a functional traction elevator as part of a full‐scale five‐story building shake table test program. The test building was subjected to a suite of earthquake input motions of increasing intensity, first while the building was isolated at its base and subsequently while it was fixed to the shake table platen. In addition, low‐amplitude white noise base excitation tests were conducted while the elevator system was placed in three different configurations, namely, by varying the vertical location of its cabin and counterweight, to study the acceleration amplifications of the elevator components due to dynamic excitations. During the earthquake tests, detailed observation of the physical damage and operability of the elevator as well as its measured response are reported. Although the cabin and counterweight sustained large accelerations because of impact during these tests, the use of well‐restrained guide shoes demonstrated its effectiveness in preventing the cabin and counterweight from derailment during high‐intensity earthquake shaking. However, differential displacements induced by the building imposed undesirable distortion of the elevator components and their surrounding support structure, which caused damage and inoperability of the elevator doors. It is recommended that these aspects be explicitly considered in elevator seismic design. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simplified procedure for the estimation of local inelastic deformation demands for seismic performance assessment of buildings

The implementation of performance‐based design and assessment procedures in seismic codes leads to the need for an accurate estimation of local component demands. According to Part 3 of Eurocode 8 safety checks should be always conducted in terms of plastic rotations, even when linear elastic methods of analysis are used. This paper demonstrates that linear analysis fails to predict inelastic deformation demands at the member level. Therefore, a simplified procedure that allows for the estimation of beam inelastic deformation demands using linear elastic methods of analysis in a simple and conservative way is presented herein. A number of moment‐resisting steel frames designed according to different criteria and exhibiting different column‐to‐beam strength ratios were analysed and used for the derivation of the proposed procedure. A comparative study between alternative methods of quantifying inelastic deformation demands using linear analysis is also carried out. The results obtained allow concluding about the efficiency and conservativeness of the proposed procedure which makes it attractive to be employed in engineering practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.