Land tenure type as an underrated legal constraint on the conservation management of coastal dunes: examples from Ireland

Legal factors play an underrated but significant role as constraints on conservation management. In this paper, based on observations in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, mode of land tenure is assessed to determine its influence on the conservation management of coastal dunes. The tenure types considered are: private ownership, corporate private ownership, tenancy, secured tenancy, leasing, common (joint) ownership, uncertain ownership, public ownership and its subset military ownership. It is suggested that multiple private ownership is least likely to favour effective conservation management. Public ownership by a statutory conservation authority and corporate private ownership by a conservation-orientated NGO are regarded as the optimum tenure types for conservation management of coastal dunes.     

Probabilistic landslide susceptibility mapping in the Lai Chau province of Vietnam: focus on the relationship between tectonic fractures and landslides

This study evaluates the susceptibility of landslides in the Lai Chau province of Vietnam using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing data to focus on the relationship between tectonic fractures and landslides. Landslide locations were identified from aerial photographs and field surveys. Topographic, geological data and satellite images were collected, processed, and constructed into a spatial database using GIS data and image-processing techniques. A scheme of the tectonic fracturing of crust in the Lai Chau region was established. Lai Chau was identified as a region with many crustal fractures, where the grade of tectonic fracture is closely related to landslide occurrence. The influencing factors of landslide occurrence were: distance from a tectonic fracture, slope, aspect, curvature, soil, and vegetative land cover. Landslide prone areas were analyzed and mapped using the landslide occurrence factors employing the probability–frequency ratio model. The results of the analysis were verified using landslide location data and showed 83.47% prediction accuracy. That emphasized a strong relationship between the susceptibility map and the existing landslide location data. The results of this study can form a basis stable development and land use planning for the region.     

On Tension Failure of 2-D Rock Specimens and Associated Acoustic Emission

Summary To understand the failure mechanism of quasi-brittle materials like rock under tensile stress, observations on the failure process of granite and marble plate specimens under tension are summarized and presented. Micro- and macro-failure properties of rock plates under uniaxial tension have been characterized by using an acoustic emission technique. Acoustic emission signals associated with micro-fractures are captured to locate the sources. An algorithm based on arrival time difference is developed for this purpose. The results reveal clearly the failure processes of rock which include initiation, nucleation and propagation of micro-fractures when the axial stress is close to the peak strength of rock. It is believed that the difference in heterogeneity between granite and marble specimens leads to different fracture shapes and different behaviors of associated acoustic emissions. Numerical simulation of acoustic emissions for two-dimensional tensile test is also carried out. The simulated characteristics are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Characterization of hydrogeologic properties for a multi-layered alluvial aquifer using hydraulic and tracer tests and electrical resistivity survey

A multi-layered aquifer, typical of riverbank alluvial deposits in Korea, was studied to determine the hydrologic properties. The geologic logging showed that the subsurface of the study site was comprised of four distinctive hydrogeologic units: silt, sand, highly weathered and fresh bedrock layers. The electrical resistivity survey supplied information on lateral extension of hydrogeologic strata only partially identified by a limited number of the geologic loggings. The laboratory column tracer test for the recovered core of the sand layer resulted in a hydraulic conductivity of 5.00×10⁻² cm/s. The slug tests performed in the weathered rock layer yielded hydraulic conductivities of 4.32–7.72×10⁻⁴ cm/s. Hydraulic conductivities for the sand layer calculated from the breakthrough curves of bromide ranged between 2.08×10⁻³ and 2.44×10⁻² cm/s with a geometric mean of 6.89×10⁻³ cm/s, which is 7 times smaller than that from the laboratory column experiment. The trend of increasing hydraulic conductivity with an increase in tracer travel length is likely a result of the increased likelihood of encountering a high conductivity zone as more of the aquifer is tested. The combined hydrogeologic site characterization using hydraulic tests, tracer tests, and column test with geologic loggings and geophysical survey greatly enhanced the understanding of the hydrologic properties of the multi-layered alluvial aquifer.     

Accurate measurement of silver isotopic compositions in geological materials including low Pd/Ag meteorites

Very precise silver (Ag) isotopic compositions have been determined for a number of terrestrial rocks, and high and low Pd/Ag meteorites by utilizing multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS). The meteorites include primitive chondrites, the Group IAB iron meteorites Canyon Diablo and Toluca, and the Group IIIAB iron meteorite Grant. Silver isotopic measurements are primarily of interest because ¹⁰⁷Ag was produced by decay of the short-lived radionuclide ¹⁰⁷Pd during the formation of the solar system and hence the Pd-Ag chronometer has set constraints on the timing of early planetesimal formation. A 2σ precision of ±0.05‰ can be obtained for analyses of standard solutions when Ag isotopic ratios are normalized to Pd, to correct for instrumental mass discrimination, and to bracketing standards. Caution must be exercised when making Ag isotopic measurements because isotopic artifacts can be generated in the laboratory and during mass spectrometry. The external reproducibility for geological samples based on replicate analyses of rocks is ±0.2‰ (2σ).All chondrites analyzed have similar Ag isotopic compositions that do not differ significantly (>0.3‰) from the ‘terrestrial’ value of the NIST SRM 978a Ag isotope standard. Hence, they show no evidence of excess ¹⁰⁷Ag derived from ¹⁰⁷Pd decay or, of stable Ag isotope fractionation associated with volatile element depletion within the accretion disk or from parent body metamorphism. The Group IAB iron meteorite samples analyzed show evidence of complex behavior and disturbance of Ag isotope systematics. Therefore, care must be taken when using this group of iron meteorites to obtain chronological information based on the Pd-Ag decay scheme.     

Chemical weathering in the Upper Huang He (Yellow River) draining the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

We examined the fluvial geochemistry of the Huang He (Yellow River) in its headwaters to determine natural chemical weathering rates on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where anthropogenic impact is considered small. Qualitative treatment of the major element composition demonstrates the dominance of carbonate and evaporite dissolution. Most samples are supersaturated with respect to calcite, dolomite, and atmospheric CO₂ with moderate (0.710-0.715) ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, while six out of 21 total samples have especially high concentrations of Na, Ca, Mg, Cl, and SO₄ from weathering of evaporites. We used inversion model calculations to apportion the total dissolved cations to rain-, evaporite-, carbonate-, and silicate-origin. The samples are either carbonate- or evaporite-dominated, but the relative contributions of the four sources vary widely among samples. Net CO₂ consumption rates by silicate weathering (6-120 × 10³ mol/km²/yr) are low and have a relative uncertainty of ∼40%. We extended the inversion model calculation to literature data for rivers draining orogenic zones worldwide. The Ganges-Brahmaputra draining the Himalayan front has higher CO₂ consumption rates (110-570 × 10³ mol/km²/yr) and more radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.715-1.24) than the Upper Huang He, but the rivers at higher latitudes are similar to or lower than the Upper Huang He in CO₂ uptake by silicate weathering. In these orogenic zones, silicate weathering rates are only weakly coupled with temperature and become independent of runoff above ∼800 mm/yr.     

The influence of coupled physical swelling and chemical reactions on deformable geomaterials

Coupled thermo‐hydro‐mechanical‐chemical modelling has attracted attention in past decades due to many contemporary geotechnical engineering applications (e.g., waste disposal, carbon capture and storage). However, molecular‐scale interactions within geomaterials (e.g., swelling and dissolution/precipitation) have a significant influence on the mechanical behaviour, yet are rarely incorporated into existing Thermal‐Hydro‐Mechanical‐Chemical (THMC) frameworks. This paper presents a new coupled hydro‐mechanical‐chemical constitutive model to bridge molecular‐scale interactions with macro‐physical deformation by combining the swelling and dissolution/precipitation through an extension of the new mixture‐coupling theory. Entropy analysis of the geomaterial system provides dissipation energy, and Helmholtz free energy gives the relationship between solids and fluids. Numerical simulation is used to compare with the selected recognized models, which demonstrates that the swelling and dissolution/precipitation processes may have a significant influence on the mechanical deformation of the geomaterials.     

Late Quaternary sea‐level change and evolution of Belfast Lough,Northern Ireland: new offshore evidence and implications for sea‐level reconstruction

The interplay of eustatic and isostatic factors causes complex relative sea‐level (RSL) histories, particularly in paraglacial settings. In this context the past record of RSL is important in understanding ice‐sheet history, earth rheology and resulting glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Field data to develop sea‐level reconstructions are often limited to shallow depths and uncertainty exists as to the veracity of modelled sea‐level curves. We use seismic stratigraphy, 39 vibrocores and 26 radiocarbon dates to investigate the deglacial history of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland, and reconstruct past RSL. A typical sequence of till, glacimarine and Holocene sediments is preserved. Two sea‐level lowstands (both max. ?40 m) are recorded at c. 13.5 and 11.5k cal a bp . Each is followed by a rapid transgression and subsequent periods of RSL stability. The first transgression coincides temporally with a late stage of Meltwater Pulse 1a and the RSL stability occurred between c. 13.0 and c. 12.2k cal a bp (Younger Dryas). The second still/slowstand occurred between c. 10.3 and c. 11.5k cal a bp . Our data provide constraints on the direction and timing of RSL change during deglaciation. Application of the Depth of Closure concept adds an error term to sea‐level reconstructions based on seismic stratigraphic reconstructions.