Investigating Landslides Caused by Earthquakes – A Historical Review

Post-earthquake field investigations of landslide occurrence have provided a basis for understanding, evaluating, and mapping the hazard and risk associated withearthquake-induced landslides. This paper traces thehistorical development of knowledge derived from these investigations. Before 1783, historical accounts of the occurrence of landslides in earthquakes are typically so incomplete and vague that conclusions based on these accounts are of limited usefulness. For example, the number of landslides triggered by a given event is almost always greatly underestimated. The first formal, scientific post-earthquake investigation that included systematic documentation of the landslides was undertaken in the Calabria region of Italy after the 1783 earthquake swarm. From then until the mid-twentieth century, the best information on earthquake-induced landslides came from a succession ofpost-earthquake investigations largely carried out by formal commissions that undertook extensive ground-based field studies. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, when the use of aerial photography became widespread, comprehensive inventories of landslide occurrence have been made for several earthquakes in the United States, Peru, Guatemala, Italy, El Salvador, Japan, and Taiwan. Techniques have also been developed for performing ``retrospective' analyses years or decades after an earthquake that attempt to reconstruct the distribution of landslides triggered by the event. The additional use of Geographic Information System (GIS) processing and digital mapping since about 1989 has greatly facilitated the level of analysis that can applied to mapped distributions of landslides. Beginning in 1984, syntheses of worldwide and national data on earthquake-induced landslides have defined their general characteristics and relations between their occurrence and various geologic and seismic parameters. However, the number of comprehensive post-earthquake studies of landslides is still relatively small, and one of the most pressing needs in this area of research is for the complete documentation of landslides triggered by many more earthquakes in a wider variety of environments.     

The molecular universe

Helen J Fraser , Martin R S McCoustra and David A Williams present a simple guide to astrochemistry.
Molecules play a fundamental role in many regions of our universe. The science where chemistry and astronomy overlap is known as astrochemistry, a branch of astronomy that has risen in importance over recent years. In this article we review the significance of chemistry in several astronomical years. IN this article we review the significance of chemistry in several astronomical environments including the early universe, interstellar clouds, starforming regions and protoplanetary disks. We discuss theoretical models, laboratory experiments and observational data, and present several recent and exciting results that challenge our perception of the "molecular universe".     

Comet Ikeya-Zhang rises for the NAM

A possible naked-eye comet that may have been important in early cometary theory is announced by D J Asher , M E Bailey , A Christou , J McFarland , M F Muir and P P Rafferty .
Early indications sugest that Comet C/2002 (Ikeya-Zhang), discovered on 1 February 2002, may brighten to naked-eye visibility in late March 2002. It has also been suggested that it may be identical to one of the brighter comets of the 16th or 17th centuries, namely C/1532 R1 or C/1661 C1. The first of these, observed for more than 100 days towards the end of 1532, played an important role in the development of cometary theory. The second, although identified by Halley as having an orbit similar to that of the comet C/1532 R1, was not seen on its predicted return in 1788/1789 and so was presumably unrelated. Here we present long-term orbital integrations of C/2002 C1 which suggest that it orginated from the Oort cloud, and will be ejected again, within ˜0.3 Myr. There is a chance of 10–20% that it will end its life by falling into the Sun during a Halley-type phase of cometary evolution. The discovery of Ikeya-Zhang so closeto perigee by two amateur astonomers highlights the need for surveys covering both hemispheres to discover long-period and intermediate-period comets on Earth-crossing orbits.     

The CTBT and advances in earth science

David Booth and Peter Maguire report on a two-day meeting organized by the Royal Astronomical Society and the British Geophysical Association, that showed how scientific challenges generated by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty have been addressed, and how they continue to stimulate advances in earth science.     

DNAPL Characterization Methods and Approaches, Part 2: Cost Comparisons

Contamination from the use of chlorinated solvents, often classified as dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) when in an undissolved state, pose environmental threats to ground water resources worldwide. DNAPL site characterization method performance comparisons are presented in a companion paper (Kram et al. 2001). This study compares the costs for implementing various characterization approaches using synthetic unit model scenarios (UMSs), each with particular physical characteristics. Unit costs and assumptions related to labor, equipment, and consumables are applied to determine costs associated with each approach for various UMSs. In general, the direct-push sensor systems provide cost-effective characterization information in soils that are penetrable with relatively shallow (less than 10 to 15 m) water tables. For sites with impenetrable lithology using direct-push techniques, the Ribbon NAPL Sampler Flexible Liner Underground Technologies Everting (FLUTe) membrane appears to be the most cost-effective approach. For all scenarios studied, partitioning interwell tracer tests (PITTs) are the most expensive approach due to the extensive pre-and post-PITT requirements. However, the PITT is capable of providing useful additional information, such as approximate DNAPL saturation, which is not generally available from any of the other approaches included in this comparison.     

Surface vibration due to a sequence of high speed moving harmonic rectangular loads

The transmission of vibrations over the surface of the ground, due to high-speed moving, vertical harmonic rectangular loads, is investigated theoretically. The problem is three-dimensional and the interior of the ground is modelled as an elastic half-space or a multilayered ground. The transformed solutions are obtained using the Fourier transform on the space variable. A new damping model in the spatial wavenumber domain, presented in Lefeuve-Mesgouez et al. [J. Sound. Vibr. 231 (2000) 1289] is used. Numerical results for the displacements on the surface are presented for loads moving with speeds up to and beyond the Rayleigh wave speed of the half-space.     

Gravity and magnetic signatures of volcanic plugs related to Deccan volcanism in Saurashtra, India and their physical and geochemical properties

The Bouguer anomaly and the total intensity magnetic maps of Saurashtra have delineated six circular gravity highs and magnetic anomalies of 40-60 mGal (10⁻⁵m/s²) and 800-1000 nT, respectively. Three of them in western Saurashtra coincide with known volcanic plugs associated with Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP), while the other three in SE Saurashtra coincide with rather concealed plugs exposed partially. The DVP represents different phases of eruption during 65.5±2.5 Ma from the Reunion plume. The geochemical data of the exposed rock samples from these plugs exhibit a wide variation in source composition, which varies from ultramafic/mafic to felsic composition of volcanic plugs in western Saurashtra and an alkaline composition for those in SE Saurashtra. Detailed studies of granophyres and alkaline rocks from these volcanic plugs reveal a calc-alkaline differentiation trend and a continental tectonic setting of emplacement. The alkaline plugs of SE Saurashtra are associated with NE-SW oriented structural trends, related to the Gulf of Cambay and the Cambay rift basin along the track of the Reunion plume. This indicates a deeper source for these plugs compared to those in the western part and may represent the primary source magma. The Junagadh plug with well differentiated ring complexes in western Saurashtra shows well defined centers of magnetic anomaly while the magnetic anomalies due to other plugs are diffused though of the same amplitude. This implies that other plugs are also associated with mafic/ultramafic components, which may not be differentiated and may be present at subsurface levels. Paleomagnetic measurements on surface rock samples from DVP in Saurashtra suggest a susceptibility of 5.5×10⁻² SI units with an average Koenigsberger ratio (Q_n) of almost one and average direction of remanent magnetization of D=147.4° and I=+56.1°. The virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) position computed from the mean direction of magnetization for the volcanic plugs and Deccan basalt of Saurashtra is 30°N and 74°W, which is close to the VGP position corresponding to the early phases of Deccan eruption. Modeling of gravity and magnetic anomalies along two representative profiles across Junagadh and Barda volcanic plugs suggest a bulk density of 2900 and 2880 kg/m³, respectively and susceptibility of 3.14×10⁻² SI units with a Q_n ratio of 0.56 which are within the range of their values obtained from laboratory measurements on exposed rock samples. The same order of gravity and magnetic anomalies observed over the volcanic plugs of Saurashtra indicates almost similar bulk physical properties for them. The inferred directions of magnetization from magnetic anomalies, however, are D=337° and 340° and I=−38° and −50° which represent the bulk direction of magnetization and also indicate a reversal of the magnetic field during the eruption of these plugs. Some of these plugs are associated with seismic activities of magnitude ≤4 at their contacts. Based on this analysis, other circular/semi-circular gravity highs of NW India can be qualitatively attributed to similar subsurface volcanic plugs.     

Geoecological Characteristics of Lake Seliger

Data of hydrological and hydrochemical observations conducted in August 2000 at Lake Seliger and its major tributaries are presented. The analyzed characteristics included: O₂, H₂S, CH₄, microelements; mineral and organic compounds of P and N, ionic composition components (HCO₃ ^–, Cl^–, Na⁺, K⁺, dry residue, pH; color index, electrical conductivity. Bottom sediment samples were analyzed for microelement concentrations, CH₄, oil hydrocarbons. The influence of the basin on the ecological state of the lake was assessed, and tendencies in the evolution of its ecosystem are analyzed. It is shown that the ecological conditions of the lake has not changed significantly since 1960–1991, however, nutrient concentrations in the lake water was found to increase.     

Behavior of Strontium,Fluorine, and Boron in the Kuban and Don Mouth Areas

The distributions of concentrations of dissolved Sr, Ca, F, and B in the Kuban and Don mouth areas are studied. It is found that the behavior of F and B is conservative, whereas that of Sr and Ca is slightly nonconservative and is associated with the spatial heterogeneity of the structure of the zone where the river and sea waters are mixing (this heteromogeneity can arise because of dissimilar transformation of continental river runoff in different areas of the near-mouth coastal waters). It is shown that the parameters of linear relationships between the concentrations of Sr and Ca and the chlorides content of water differ in accordance with the seasonal variations in the chemical composition of the river and the Sea of Azov waters; for F and B, such regularity is not found.     

Use of Structural Characteristics of Bacterio- and Zoobenthos for Assessing the Quality of Bottom Deposits: Case Study of Water Bodies in the Upper Volga Basin

Analysis is given of the modern approaches and methods used to assess the quality of bottom deposits based on the conditions of bacterio- and zoobenthos communities. The structural characteristics of bacterio- and zoobenthos communities of small rivers in the Upper Volga basin are studied. The type of substrate is shown to have appreciable effect on the quantitative characteristics of both the communities. The analysis of these data is used to create a generalized classification of the quality of bottom deposits and assess the extent of their pollution in the examined water bodies.