Extreme deformation characteristics and countermeasures for a tunnel in difficult grounds in southern Shaanxi,China

The Qingling–Bashan (QB) mountain region in southern Shaanxi mainly consists of strongly compressive zones from east to west, with tight folds and compressive fractures. There is a wide distribution of soft rocks of various types, such as phyllite and slate, accompanied by complex geological structures. Ironically, tunnel construction in these difficult grounds with complicated geological conditions embraces a high risk of extreme deformation due to various unpredictable reasons, which can frequently cause collapse and result in budget overruns during the construction period. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct effective countermeasures to eliminate or avoid such adverse impacts. This paper provides a case study on the “Yingfeng tunnel” (a tunnel constructed in soft rock consisting of a slate ground) based on a geological survey, indoor experiments and in situ monitoring. A successive rock mass deformation resulted in the tunnel lining seriously intruding into construction clearance and some other sections, even collapsing during the construction. The maximum displacement amount was 62.5 cm, while the maximum deformation speed reached as high as 34.18 mm/day. Additionally, to evaluate the construction impacts of tunnelling-induced geo-hazards, an investigation on extreme deformation was conducted. Considering the time-dependent features of the rock mass deformation, the constraint-convergence method was used to put forward applicable countermeasures in this paper. Finally, from the feedbacks of monitoring results, extreme deformation of the Yingfeng tunnel was effectively controlled.     

School vulnerability to disaster: examination of school closure,demographic, and exposure factors in Hurricane Ike’s wind swath

Damage and destruction to schools from climate-related disasters can have significant and lasting impacts on curriculum and educational programs, educational attainment, and future income-earning potential of affected students. As such, assessing the potential impact of hazards is crucial to the ability of individuals, households, and communities to respond to natural disasters, extreme events, and economic crises. Yet, few studies have focused on assessing the vulnerability of schools in coastal regions of the USA. Using Hurricane Ike’s tropical storm wind swath in the State of Texas as our study area, we: (1) assessed the spatial distribution patterns of school closures and (2) tested the relationship between school closure and vulnerability factors (namely physical exposure and school demographics) using zero-inflated negative binomial regression models. The regression results show that higher probabilities of hurricane strikes, more urbanized school districts, and school districts located in coastal counties on the right side of Ike’s path have significant positive associations with an increase in the number of school closure days. Socioeconomic characteristics were not significantly associated with the number of days closed, with the exception of proportion of Hispanic youth in schools, a result which is not supported by the social vulnerability literature. At a practical level, understanding how hurricanes may adversely impact schools is important for developing appropriate preparedness, mitigation, recovery, and adaptation strategies. For example, school districts on the right side of the hurricane track can plan in advance for potential damage and destruction. The ability of a community to respond to future natural disasters, extreme events, and economic crises depends in part on mitigating these adverse effects.     

Socioeconomic vulnerability and electric power restoration timelines in Florida: the case of Hurricane Irma

Large-scale damage to the power infrastructure from hurricanes and high-wind events can have devastating ripple effects on infrastructure, the broader economy, households, communities, and regions. Using Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida as a case study, we examined: (1) differences in electric power outages and restoration rates between urban and rural counties; (2) the duration of electric power outages in counties exposed to tropical storm force winds versus hurricane Category 1 force winds; and (3) the relationship between the duration of power outage and socioeconomic vulnerability. We used power outage data for the period September 9, 2017–September 29, 2017. At the peak of the power outages following Hurricane Irma, over 36% of all accounts in Florida were without electricity. We found that the rural counties, predominantly served by rural electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities, experienced longer power outages and much slower and uneven restoration times. Results of three spatial lag models show that large percentages of customers served by rural electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities were a strong predictor of the duration of extended power outages. There was also a strong positive association across all three models between power outage duration and urban/rural county designation. Finally, there is positive spatial dependence between power outages and several social vulnerability indicators. Three socioeconomic variables found to be statistically significant highlight three different aspects of vulnerability to power outages: minority groups, population with sensory, physical and mental disability, and economic vulnerability expressed as unemployment rate. The findings from our study have broader planning and policy relevance beyond our case study area, and highlight the need for additional research to deepen our understanding of how power restoration after hurricanes contributes to and is impacted by the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of communities.     

基于支持向量机的喀斯特山区土壤环境质量评价——以贵州北部一茶叶园区为例

以贵州北部一茶叶园区80个表层土壤样品为研究对象,对其Hg、As、Cd、Pb、Cr和Cu含量进行测定,在MATLAB中应用支持向量机构建土壤环境质量评价模型,并与模糊综合评价法和内梅罗综合污染指数法的评价结果对比分析,探究支持向量机模型在喀斯特山区土壤环境质量评价中的适用性,其结果表明:研究区土壤质量Ⅰ类与Ⅱ类样品比例为33∶7,土壤环境质量大多数为I类;支持向量机方法的评价结果与模糊综合评价法和内梅罗综合污染指数法结果的相同率分别达到82.5%和80.0%,并分析结果有差异的样品,发现支持向量机评价结果更符合实际情况,这说明该模型适用于土壤环境质量的评价。      

2021年6-9月广西异常高温成因分析

2021年6-9月广西经历了1951年以来最高的月平均气温,大范围高温天气频发.利用1961-2021年广西国家地面气象观测站日平均气温和日最高气温观测资料、1991-2021年ERA5再分析资料和西太平洋副热带高压指数资料,对此次广西异常高温的特征和成因进行了研究分析.结果 表明,气候变暖是导致此次高温事件的重要气候背景,西太平洋副热带高压异常偏强位置偏西偏北、中纬度西风带扰动影响偏北以及热带气旋影响偏弱是造成广西气温异常偏高的主要原因.     

Study on failure mechanism of a plain irrigation reservoir soil bank slope under wind wave erosion

Natural Hazards - The wind wave erosion is one of the main factors of the soil bank slope retreat in plain irrigation reservoirs, which plays an important role in the bank profile evolution and...     

Polar WRF模式海冰密集度方案对北极海雾模拟效果的个例研究

全球变暖的背景下,北极航线的常规通航甚至商业运营有望实现,而海雾会严重影响航道上船只的航行安全。海冰的存在使海气之间相互作用变得更为复杂,是研究北极海雾不可忽略的因素。船载观测发现,与中纬度常见平流冷却雾形成时气温下降速度往往超过海水降温速度不同,北极海雾发生时海冰的存在还会使海水降温速度超过空气降温速度。然而目前海冰分布是否会影响模式模拟海雾的准确性还不得而知,因此本文利用Polar WRF（Polar Weather Research and Forecasting）模式模拟了中国第七次北极考察中观测到的一次海雾过程,并进行海冰密集度敏感性试验。通过与船载观测和欧洲中期天气预报中心再分析数据比对发现,在低浮冰区内（海冰密集度小于50%）考虑海冰分布时可以更加准确地刻画潜热通量与水汽通量,模拟出与观测事实相符的表层空气降温与增湿过程以及相对湿度的变化,因此能够更好地刻画海雾的三维结构及其生消演变。     

伽师近场观测地震资料的三维Q值成像

为了研究震源区介质的物性特征,利用振幅谱拟合和有限差分三维Q值成像方法处理了伽师地震区临时台网的地震波形资料,获得了该地震区上地壳的S波三维Q值图像。结果表明:不同深度的Q值图像都存在低Q值带,主要展布方向为EW向、NNE向和NNW向,与研究区的柯坪断裂、羊达曼断裂和麦盖提断裂有一定的对应关系,并且NNE向的低Q值带与强震群分布和余震分布的条带位置接近,推测低Q值带可能是震源区的几条深部断裂。     

预应力混凝土连续梁桥振动特性变异及舒适度评价

由于预应力损失、混凝土收缩徐变、超载等原因,预应力混凝土桥梁出现了较强的振动。本文通过对福建省福州市闽江三桥全桥环境振动试验和正常运营条件下24小时的监测,研究预应力混凝土连续梁桥的动力特性及其变异和振动舒适度,结果表明:在较为稳定的风和温湿度环境下,固有频率在一天内的最大变化为3.06%,模态阻尼比的最大变化为37.93%,舒适度的狄克曼指标降到“能忍受短时间振动”的区域。