Engineering geomorphological characterisation of the Vajont Slide,Italy, and a new interpretation of the chronology and evolution of the landslide

Although the 1963 Vajont Slide in Italy has been extensively studied for over 50 years, its regional geological and geomorphological context has been neglected. In this paper, we use field observations and remote sensing data to elucidate the interaction between endogenic and exogenic processes that brought the north slope of Monte Toc to failure. We present the first detailed pre- and post-failure engineering geomorphology maps of the slide area. The maps delineate two main landslide blocks, several sub-blocks, compressional and extensional zones, and secondary failures in the deposit. The maps provide new insights into the kinematics, dynamics and evolution of the slide. Finally, we discuss the origin of Vajont Gorge and a prehistoric failure that occurred at the same location as the 1963 slide. We propose, as part of a newly developed multi-stage landscape evolution sequence, that the prehistoric failure was a deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (sackung) that initiated during deglaciation and continued to slowly move until the catastrophic failure in 1963. We argue that the gorge was created by these deep-seated slow movements.     

The August 27, 2014, rock avalanche and related impulse water waves in Fuquan,Guizhou, China

At about 8:30 p.m. on 27 August 2014, a catastrophic rock avalanche suddenly occurred in Fuquan, Yunnan, southwestern China. This landslide and related impulse water waves destroyed two villages and killed 23 persons. The impulse waves occurred after initiation of the landslide, caused by the main part of the slide mass rapidly plunging into a water-filled quarry below the source area. The wave, comprising muddy water and rock debris, impacted the opposite slope of the quarry on the western side of the runout path and washed away three homes in Xinwan village. Part of the displaced material traveled a horizontal distance of about 40 m from its source and destroyed the village of Xiaoba. To provide information for potential landslide hazard zonation in this area, a combined landslide–wave simulation was undertaken. A dynamic landslide analysis (DAN-W) model is used to simulate the landslide propagation before entering the quarry, while Fluent (Ansys Inc., USA) is used to simulate the impulse wave generation and propagation. Output data from the DAN-W simulation are used as input parameters for wave modeling, and there is good agreement between the observed and simulated results of the landslide propagation. Notably, the locations affected by recordable waves according to the simulation correspond to those recorded by field investigation.     

Use of targets to track 3D displacements in highly vegetated areas affected by landslides

Monitoring landslides with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is currently a well-known technique. One problem often encountered is the vegetation that produces shadow areas on the scans. Indeed, the points behind a given obstacle are hidden and thus occluded on the point cloud. Thereby, locations monitored with terrestrial laser scanner are mostly rock instabilities and few vegetated landslides, being difficult or even impossible to survey vegetated slopes using this method with its classical non-full wave form. The Peney landslide (Geneva, Switzerland) is partially vegetated by bushes and trees, and in order to monitor its displacements during the drawdown of the Verbois reservoir located at its base, an alternative solution has been found. We combined LiDAR technique with 14 targets made of polystyrene placed at different locations inside and outside the landslide area. The obtained displacements were compared with classical measurement methods (total station and extensometer), showing good resemblance of results, indicating that the use of targets in highly vegetated areas could be an efficient alternative for mass movements monitoring.     

船舶测报标准存在的问题及修订建议

文章根据《船舶海洋水文气象辅助测报规范》(GB/T 17838—1999)的使用情况和海上观测技术的发展,针对目前存在的主要问题,提出修订标准的几点建议,探讨进一步完善修订的思路和方法,为标准的修订提供参考。     

Atmospheric insight to climatic signals of δ~(18)O in a Laohugou ice core in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau during 1960–2006

δ~(18)O variations;;ice core;;outgoing longwave radiation;;meridional wind;;northeastern Tibetan Plateau     

Spatio-temporal evolution of urban innovation structure based on zip code geodatabase: An empirical study from Shanghai and Beijing

In today’s world, the innovation of science and technology has become the key support for improving comprehensive national strength and changing the mode of social production and lifestyle. The country that possesses world-class scientific and technological innovation cities maximizes the attraction of global innovation factors and wins a strategic initiative in international competition. Based on the urban zip code geodatabase, an evaluation system of urban innovation with the perspective of innovation outputs, and the spatial evolutionary mode, concerning the structure of innovation space of Shanghai and Beijing from 1991 to 2014, was developed. The results of the research indicated that the zip code geodatabase provided a new perspective for studying the evolving spatial structure of urban innovation. The resulting evaluation of the spatial structure of urban innovation using the urban zip code geodatabase established by connecting random edge points, was relatively effective. The study illustrates the value of this methodology. During the study period, the spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai and Beijing demonstrated many common features: with the increase in urban space units participating in innovation year by year, the overall gap of regional innovation outputs has narrowed, and the trend towards spatial agglomeration has strengthened. The evolving spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai and Beijing demonstrated differences between the common features during the 25 years as well: in the trend towards the suburbanization of innovation resources, the spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai evolved from a single-core to a multi-core structure. A radiation effect related to traffic arteries as spatial diffusion corridors was prominent. Accordingly, a spatial correlation effect of its innovation outputs also indicated a hollowness in the city center; the spatial structure of innovation of Beijing had a single-core oriented structure all the way. Together with the tendency for innovation resources to be agglomerated in the city center, the spatial correlation effect of innovation outputs reflected the characteristics of the evolutionary feature where “rural area encircles cities”. The innovation spatial structure of Shanghai and Beijing have intrinsic consistency with the spatial structure of their respective regions (Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region), which suggested that the principle of proportional and disproportional distribution of a city-scale pattern of technological and innovational activities is closely related to its regional innovation pattern.     

Factors driving riverbed scouring and sedimentation in the Bayangaole to Toudaoguai reaches of the Upper Yellow River

The Inner Mongolia reaches of the Yellow River face problems of severe sedimentation caused by a variety of complex factors. The sedimentation process in those reaches has been characterized using the sediment balance method, and the key factors affecting the process have been analyzed using the correlation analysis method. The results show that during the period 1952–2012 the Bayangaole (Bayan Gol) to Toudaoguai reaches in Inner Mongolia have undergone successive processes of accumulative sedimentation, then relative balance, and then accumulative sedimentation once again. The total annual sedimentation is 12.0341×10⁸ m³, of which accumulations from July to October account for 95.1% and the reaches from Sanhuhekou to Toudaoguai account for 98.5%. The main factor affecting scouring and sedimentation of the Bayangaole to Sanhuhekou reaches is the combined water and sediment condition. The critical conditions for equilibrium are an incoming sediment coefficient < 0.007 kg·s·m^–6 and a flow discharge > 700 m³·s^–1. The main factor affecting scouring and sedimentation of the Sanhuhekou to Toudaoguai reaches is the incoming sediment from the tributaries on the south bank and the combined water and sediment condition of the main stream. The critical conditions of the main stream for maintaining equilibrium status are a flow discharge of the main stream exceeding 800 m³·s^–1 and a comprehensive incoming sediment coefficient < 0.005 kg·s·m^–6. The incoming sediment from the tributaries has little impact on the main stream when the annual sediment load is less than 0.1×10⁸ t. The incoming sediment coefficient of the main stream and the incoming sediment from the tributaries both play vital roles in the riverbed evolution of the Inner Mongolia reaches, but the latter contributes the most.     

Spatiotemporal distribution and historical evolution of polders in the Dongting Lake area,China

Dongting Lake is the largest lake in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China. For centuries, people inhabiting the Dongting Lake area have been reclaiming land and constructing dams for flood resistance, agricultural production, and rural settlement, forming geographical entities known as polders. In this study, the regional spatial distributions of polders in the Dongting Lake area in 1949, 1998, and 2013 were obtained using historical maps and modern remotely sensed data, revealing changes since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Nanxian County was then selected to demonstrate polder changes at the county level, because it has undergone the most dramatic changes in the area. Different polder change models for the Datonghu, Yule, and Renhe polders were analyzed for eight periods: 1644 (the early Qing Dynasty), 1911 (the late Qing Dynasty), 1930 (the Republic of China), 1949 (the People’s Republic of China), 1963, 1970, 1998, and 2013. Three resulting polder evolution models are: 1) reclaiming polders from lakes, 2) integrating polders by stream merging, and 3) abandoning polders for flood release. The polder evolution models demonstrate the wisdom of local people in using land resources according to the specific regional conditions. Throughout their long-term historical evolution, the spatial distribution of polders in the Dongting Lake area tended to be homogeneous, and the degree of human disturbance tended to be stable. However, a shift occurred, from pure polder area growth or removal to more comprehensive management and protection of the regional environment.     

Progress in China’s sustainable development research: Contribution of Chinese geographers

Sustainable development has always been a hotspot in Chinese geographical research. Herein, we conduct a systematic statistical analysis of the contribution of Chinese geographers to sustainable development research using bibliometric methods. Based on the review of a vast amount of literature, we identify the main research teams, research funding sources, journals, and key research fields. The findings are as follows: (1) the resources and environmental institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have a significant influence on sustainable development research; (2) China’s central government foundations (the National Natural Science Foundation of China and National Social Sciences Fund) are the main research funding sources; (3) most of the highly cited articles are published in journals sponsored by the Geographical Society of China; and (4) sustainable development theory and its research areas are being constantly enriched and perfected. Based on the statistics of keywords, the theory, research methods, research regional scales, and key research areas are summarized and expounded.