Strength of two structured soils in triaxial compression

Oil sands are dense granular materials with interlocked structure and clay shales are heavily overconsolidated clays. They are classified as structured soil or weak rock, exhibiting high peak strength with severe softening and dilation, particularly at low confining stress. The triaxial compression test results indicate that both materials yield linear Mohr–Coulomb envelopes with an apparent cohesion for peak and residual strengths. However, the strength components mobilized from these two materials are very different. This paper investigates if these strength parameters are intrinsic properties or responses derived in triaxial compression conditions. Computer tomography scanning technique is used to aid in examining the micro‐structural features of the sheared specimens such as shear banding pattern, shear band thickness, spatial porosity distributions inside and outside shear bands. These micro‐structural features are used to explain the macro‐deformation response observed in the triaxial compression tests. Mobilization of strength components derived from interlocked structure, cementation, dilation, rolling and critical state are analysed for pre‐, post‐peak softening and residual stages. It is found that the empirical correlation such as Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion based on triaxial compression test results does not necessarily reflect the intrinsic properties of the test materials. Testing conditions are embedded in the empirical correlation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The trans-Atlantic connection: ‘Anglo-American’ geography reconsidered

Geography in the United Kingdom and geography in the United States have common roots in nineteenth-century German and French practices. For the first half of the twentieth century they had relatively separate trajectories with few inter-personal contacts linking them. From the 1950s on, contacts developed rapidly, through both greater trans-Atlantic movement by geographers and shared journals. Nevertheless, after some convergence in the period from the 1960s to the 1980s, the two have diverged again somewhat because of the different contexts within which they operate.     

Seismic reflection imaging of thin, kimberlite dykes and sills: exploration and deposit characterization of the Snap Lake dyke, Canada

Seismic reflection techniques are, for the first time, used to image a thin, diamondiferous, kimberlite dyke from subcrop to depths greater than 1300 m. Exploration for vertical kimberlite pipes generally utilizes potential field techniques that often fail to reveal subhorizontal or shallow-dipping intrusions. In contrast, seismic reflection methods are well suited for imaging targets with this geometry. Therefore, in order to evaluate seismic reflection as a tool for subhorizontal kimberlite dyke/sill exploration and mine planning, a feasibility study and subsequent seismic survey were undertaken on the diamondiferous Snap Lake dyke (Northwest Territories, Canada). A substantial drilling program has mapped the dyke as a gently dipping sheet that averages 2–3 m in thickness. The detailed structural and composition data available at Snap Lake provides a unique opportunity to test reflection techniques on a well-sampled deposit. The feasibility study involved measuring P-velocities and densities of cores drilled from the kimberlite and host rocks. These data were used to model reflection amplitudes, evaluate resolution limitations, and determine the acquisition parameters for the reflection survey. Two 2-D lines were acquired that provide comparative datasets for different sources (explosive and vibroseis) and ground types (land and lake ice). In addition, the exploration-scale survey incorporated high fold (40–260 nominal) and long offsets (3260 m). The explosive-source profile recorded on land yielded a superb image of the dyke from depths of 60 m to more than 1300 m over a lateral distance of 5700 m. The seismic image correlates well with adjacent drill hole data and adds considerable detail to the topography of the kimberlite sheet determined by drilling. The vibroseis source also imaged the dyke, but only when sources and geophones were on land; the dyke was not imaged beneath the ice due to reverberation and attenuation effects. The frequency response and unusually strong reflection amplitudes from the dyke indicate the importance of tuning effects and multiples for this type of target and acquisition environment. Apparent correlations between reflection amplitudes and dyke structure (e.g., thickness, feathering, 3-D geometry) suggest that seismic reflection data may be valuable for guiding drilling programs. The results demonstrate that, in the appropriate situation, seismic methods have great potential for use in kimberlite exploration, subsurface mapping, and detailed imaging for mine development purposes.     

Tectonic evolution of the Brooks Range ophiolite, northern Alaska

Analysis of internal structures of the Brooks Range ophiolite at the three largest and well-exposed klippen reveals a NE–SW structural grain that may parallel the original axis of magmatism of a slow spreading marginal ocean basin. Sub-parallel directions of lattice fabrics in olivine of mantle peridotite and shape fabrics in pyroxene and plagioclase of layered gabbro indicate that asthenospheric and magmatic flow was closely coupled. These structures, including the petrologic moho, mostly dip steeply to the NW and SE, with slightly oblique flow lineations. Sedimentary and volcanic cover deposits also dip SE. The few exposures found of sheeted dike complexes generally strike parallel, but dip orthogonal to both the petrologic moho and cover deposits. These structural features are locally disturbed by syn- and post-magmatic normal faults emblematic of slow-spreading ridge processes. However, the consistent geometry of structures over a distance of 200 km demonstrates not only that the magmatic system was organized in a similar manner to an oceanic ridge, but that there was little to no rotation of individual klippe during tectonic emplacement.Ductile fabrics related to tectonic emplacement yield top-to-the NNW sense of shear indicators. The basal thrust and accompanying serpentinized shear zone is mostly flat-lying and truncates the steeply dipping ductile fabric of the ophiolite. This relationship and paleomagnetic data from the igneous sequence suggest that flow fabrics were most likely moderately inclined at the time the ophiolite formed. Similar relationships are found at diapiric centers along oceanic ridges and in other ophiolite bodies.     

Role of autoretreat and A/S changes in the understanding of deltaic shoreline trajectory: a semi-quantitative approach

ABSTRACT There is continued interest in how the rate of relative sea‐level rise [A ( > 0)] and the rate of sediment supply [S] function during the growth and evolution of deltaic shorelines. The theory of shoreline autoretreat, recently corroborated in flume experiments, claims that (1) A( > 0) and S can never be in equilibrium, and (2) shoreline or shelf‐edge progradation inevitably turns to retrogradation, when relative sea level is rising even modestly and even if A/S = const (> 0). Autoretreat arises because the area of the clinoform surface of the delta (or shelf edge) per kilometer of shoreline must increase as the relative sea level rises, and the delta (or shelf edge) progrades into deeper water. A finite sediment supply rate is thus liable to become inadequate to sustain progradation. The problem increases further as a rising sea level also greatly increases the delta‐plain volume that needs to be filled, further limiting the progradation of the system. The fundamental trajectory of shoreline migration is thus one characterized by a concave‐landward shape, even under the steady forcing of the basin. The magnitudes of A (> 0) and S, or A/S do not determine whether the landward turnaround of the shoreline is realized or not, but affect merely the length and height of the fundamental trajectory curve. Thus, any attempt to detect and interpret temporal changes in A and S from the observed stratigraphic record of shoreline trajectory needs first to take full account of the inbuilt autoretreat mechanism. We develop here a simple, semi‐quantitative method of reconstructing the basin conditions (A and S) from the stratigraphic record of prograding deltaic shorelines (or prograding shelf‐margin clinoforms) on the basis of the theory of shoreline autoretreat. The deterministic nature of the autoretreat theory is advantageous in managing this latter issue, because any expected or unexpected change emerges as some discrepancy from a trajectory that was predicted for the initial conditions. The autoretreat theory also provides a convenient graphical method of dealing with the uncertainty of the field data, and with evaluating the accuracy of any reconstruction. Our methodology has been developed to deal with the behaviour of deltaic shorelines, but is basically applicable to any clinoform system, the development of which is affected by relative sea level. The suggested method is applied to an Early Eocene (Ypresian) regressive shoreline succession in the Central Tertiary Basin on Spitsbergen. The studied regressive wedge developed as a delta‐driven, progradational shelf‐margin system under a regime of overall (i.e. long‐term) rise of relative sea level, but also suffered short‐term sea‐level falls associated with valley incisions on the coastal plain and shelf. On the assumption that S was constant or was steadily decreasing, the analysis of field data obtained from three sites within the basin suggests that the initial water depth in the basin was around 0.45 km, and that the overall relative sea‐level rise (c. 0.80 km) happened largely during an early time period and was followed by a longer period of much lower rate of rise. This pattern of relative sea‐level rise is consistent with the Palaeogene tectonic subsidence trend of the basin which was determined independently through a geohistory analysis. The uncertainty of the field data does not negate our reconstruction. The combined effects of autoretreat and A/S changes on a deltaic shoreline trajectory are confirmed through the development of an autoretreat‐based methodology. Conventional sequence stratigraphic models that assume a possible equilibrium condition between A and S are both conceptually misleading and insufficient to analyse basin conditions quantitatively. Sequence stratigraphic analyses of shorelines need to incorporate the autoretreat concept.     

Pinch-out style and position of tidally influenced strata in a regressive–transgressive wave-dominated deltaic sandbody, Twentymile Sandstone, Mesaverde Group, NW Colorado

The Upper Cretaceous Twentymile Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group in NW Colorado, USA, has been analysed with respect to its pinch‐out style and the stratigraphic position of tidally influenced facies within the sandstone tongue. Detailed sedimentological analysis has revealed that the Twentymile Sandstone as a whole is a deltaic shoreface sandstone tongue up to 50 m thick proximally. Facies change character vertically from very fine‐grained, storm wave‐dominated shelf sandstones and mudstones to fine‐grained, wave‐dominated sandstones and, finally, to fine‐ to coarse‐grained tidally dominated sandstones. The pinch‐out style is characterized by a basinward splitting of the massive proximal sandbody into seven coarsening‐upward fourth‐order sequences consisting of a lower shaly part and an upper sandy part (sandstone tongue). These are stacked overall to reflect the regressive‐to‐transgressive development of the tongue. Each of the lower sandstone tongues 1–3 are gradationally based, very fine‐grained and dominated by hummocky cross‐stratification and were deposited on the lower to upper shoreface. Sandstone tongues 4 and 5 prograded further basinwards than the underlying tongues, are erosively based, fine‐ to coarse‐grained and mainly hummocky, herringbone and trough cross‐stratified. Especially in tongue 5, tidal indicators, such as bipolar foresets and double mud drapes, are common. These tongues were deposited as upper shoreface and tidal channel sandstones respectively. Sandstone tongues 6 and 7 retrograded in relation to tongue 5, are very fine‐ to fine‐grained and hummocky cross‐stratified. These tongues were deposited in lower shoreface to offshore transition environments. The two lower fourth‐order sequences were deposited during normal regressions during slowly rising or stable relative sea level and represent the highstand systems tract. The three succeeding fourth‐order sequences, which show succeedingly increasing evidence of tidal influence, were deposited during falling and lowstand of relative sea level and represent the falling stage (forced regressive) and lowstand systems tracts. The uppermost two fourth‐order sequences were deposited during rapidly rising sea level in the transgressive systems tract. The maximum tidal influence occurred during lowstand progradation, in contrast to most other published examples reporting maximum tidal influence during transgression.     

Detecting and mapping slums using open data: a case study in Kenya

ABSTRACT

The worldwide slum population currently stands at over one billion, with substantial growth expected in the coming decades. Traditionally, slums have been mapped using information derived mainly from either physical indicators using remote sensing data, or socio-economic indicators using census data. Each data source on its own provides only a partial view of slums, an issue further compounded by data poverty in less-developed countries. To overcome such issues, this paper explores the fusion of traditional with emerging open data sources and data mining tools to identify additional indicators that can be used to detect and map the presence of slums, map their footprint, and map their evolution. Towards this goal, we develop an indicator database for slums using open sources of physical and socio-economic data that can be used to characterize slum settlements. Using this database, we then leverage data mining techniques to identify the most suitable combination of these indicators for mapping slums. Using three cities in Kenya as test cases, results show that the fusion of these data can improve the mapping accuracy of slums. These results suggest that the proposed approach can provide a viable solution to the emerging challenge of monitoring the growth of slums.