Laboratory Investigation on the Effects of Overconsolidation and Saturation on Undrained Monotonic Shear Behavior of Granular Material

In order to study pore water response and static liquefaction characteristics of silty sand, which has previously experienced liquefaction, two series of monotonic triaxial tests were run on medium dense sand specimens (RD = 50%) at confining pressure of 100 kPa. In the first test series, the influence of the soil saturation under undrained static loading has been studied. It summarizes results of monotonic tests performed on Chlef sand at various values of the Skempton's pore pressure coefficient. Analysis of experimental results gives valuable insights on the effect of soil saturation on sand response to undrained monotonic paths. In the second series of tests, the overconsolidation influence on the resistance to the sands liquefaction has been realized on samples at various values of overconsolidation ratios (OCR). It was found that the increase of overconsolidation ratio (OCR) increases the resistance of sands to liquefaction.     

Effects of limestone petrography and calcite microstructure on OPC clinker raw meals burnability

Mineralogy and Petrology - Limestone represents the main raw material for ordinary Portland cement clinker production. In this study eight natural limestones from different geological environments...     

Water temperature dynamics in High Arctic river basins

Despite the high sensitivity of polar regions to climate change and the strong influence of temperature upon ecosystem processes, contemporary understanding of water temperature dynamics in Arctic river systems is limited. This research gap was addressed by exploring high‐resolution water column thermal regimes for glacier‐fed and non‐glacial rivers at eight sites across Svalbard during the 2010 melt season. Mean water column temperatures in glacier‐fed rivers (0.3–3.2 °C) were lowest and least variable near the glacier terminus but increased downstream (0.7–2.3 °C km^–1). Non‐glacial rivers, where discharge was sourced primarily from snowmelt runoff, were warmer (mean: 2.9–5.7 °C) and more variable, indicating increased water residence times in shallow alluvial zones and increased potential for atmospheric influence. Mean summer water temperature and the magnitude of daily thermal variation were similar to those of some Alaskan Arctic rivers but low at all sites when compared with alpine glacierized environments at lower latitudes. Thermal regimes were correlated strongly (p < 0.01) with incoming short‐wave radiation, air temperature, and river discharge. Principal drivers of thermal variability were inferred to be (i) water source (i.e. glacier melt, snowmelt, groundwater); (ii) exposure time to the atmosphere; (iii) prevailing meteorological conditions; (iv) river discharge; (v) runoff interaction with permafrost and buried ice; and (vi) basin‐specific geomorphological features (e.g. channel morphology). These results provide insight into the potential changes in high‐latitude river systems in the context of projected warming in polar regions. We hypothesize that warmer and more variable temperature regimes may prevail in the future as the proportion of bulk discharge sourced from glacial meltwater declines and rivers undergo a progressive shift towards snow water and groundwater sources. Importantly, such changes could have implications for aquatic species diversity and abundance and influence rates of ecosystem functioning in high‐latitude river systems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pesticides Removal by Filtration over Cactus Pear Leaves: A Cheap and Natural Method for Small‐Scale Water Purification in Semi‐Arid Regions

This study aims to examine the efficiency of Opuntia ficus‐indica for removing organochlorine pesticides from surface waters. Adsorption properties such as size, dose, and time of O. ficus‐indica for aldrin, dieldrin, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) were studied through stirring and column methods. Because of their high affinity and swelling characteristics, dried O. ficus‐indica was studied in stirring while fresh unpeeled O. ficus‐indica was applied in both stirring and column experiments and proved to be well‐suited to column application. Before removing pesticides, the column was flashed with distilled water eliminate the turbidity and smell from fresh unpeeled cactus. The removal of pesticides increased with an increasing adsorbent dose and decreased with adsorbent particle sizes. The optimum adsorbent dose is 10 g for dried and 15 g for fresh unpeeled O. ficus‐indica. The experimental results show that O. ficus‐indica possesses strong adsorption ability for aldrin, dieldrin, and DDT, and the adsorption isotherm data obeyed the Freundlich model. The results of our small‐scale experiments suggest a strong potential to develop local small‐scale water treatment units that can be used at the level of individual households or local communities, using a widely available adsorbent.     

Experimental Study of Undrained Shear Strength of Silty Sand: Effect of Fines and Gradation

Two strong earthquakes occurred in the region of Chlef (north western part of Algeria) during the last century. From the geological context, there were several great masses of sandy soil ejections on to the ground surface level and severe damages to civil and hydraulic structures. These damages were due to the soil liquefaction phenomenon. The objective of this laboratory investigation is to study the effect of low plastic fines and gradation characteristics on the undrained shear strength (liquefaction resistance) response of sand-silt mixture samples. For this purpose, a series of undrained monotonic triaxial tests were carried out on reconstituted saturated silty sand samples with different fines content ranging from 0 to 50?% at two initial relative densities (D_r?=?20 and 91?%). The initial confining pressure was kept at 100?kPa. The evaluation of the data indicates that the undrained shear strength at the peak (q_peak) can be correlated to the undrained residual strength (S_us), the excess pore pressure (Δu), the fines content (F_c) and the intergranular void ratio (e_s). The test results indicate also that the undrained shear strength at the peak decreases with the increment of the coefficient of uniformity and fines content as well as with the decrement of the mean grain size in the range of 0–50?% fines content for both relative densities (D_r?=?20 and 91?%).     

The thermal stability of sideronatrite and its decomposition products in the system Na2O–Fe2O3–SO2–H2O

The thermal stability of sideronatrite, ideally Na₂Fe³⁺(SO₄)₂(OH)·3(H₂O), and its decomposition products were investigated by combining thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, in situ high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction (HT-XRPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (HT-FTIR). The data show that for increasing temperature there are four main dehydration/transformation steps in sideronatrite: (a) between 30 and 40 °C sideronatrite transforms into metasideronatrite after the loss of two water molecules; both XRD and FTIR suggest that this transformation occurs via minor adjustments in the building block. (b) between 120 and 300 °C metasideronatrite transforms into metasideronatrite II, a still poorly characterized phase with possible orthorhombic symmetry, consequently to the loss of an additional water molecule; X-ray diffraction data suggest that metasideronatrite disappears from the assemblage above 175 °C. (c) between 315 and 415 °C metasideronatrite II transforms into the anhydrous Na₃Fe(SO₄)₃ compound. This step occurs via the loss of hydroxyl groups that involves the breakdown of the [Fe³⁺(SO₄)₂(OH)] _∞ ^2? chains and the formation of an intermediate transient amorphous phase precursor of Na₃Fe(SO₄)₃. (d) for T > 500 °C, the Na₃Fe(SO₄)₃ compound is replaced by the Na-sulfate thenardite, Na₂SO₄, plus Fe-oxides, according to the Na₃Fe³⁺(SO₄)₃ → 3/2 Na₂(SO₄) + 1/2 Fe₂O₃ + SO_x reaction products. The Na–Fe sulfate disappears around 540 °C. For higher temperatures, the Na-sulfates decomposes and only hematite survives in the final product. The understanding of the thermal behavior of minerals such as sideronatrite and related sulfates is important both from an environmental point of view, due to the presence of these phases in evaporitic deposits, soils and sediments including extraterrestrial occurrences, and from the technological point of view, due to the use of these materials in many industrial applications.     

Insights into syndepositional fault movement in a foreland basin; trends in seismites of the Upper Cretaceous,Wahweap Formation,Kaiparowits Basin,Utah, USA

The Upper Cretaceous Wahweap Formation accumulated in the active Cordilleran foreland basin of Utah. Soft‐sediment deformation structures are abundant in the capping sandstone member of the Wahweap Formation. By comparing with well‐established criteria, a seismogenic origin was determined for the majority of structures, which places these soft‐sediment deformation features in a class of sedimentary features referred to as seismites. A systematic study of the seismite trends included their vertical and horizontal distribution and a semi‐quantitative intensity analysis using a scale from 1 to 5 that is based on magnitude, sedimentary structure type, and the predominance of inferred process of hydroplastic deformation, liquefaction or fluidization. In addition, orientations of soft‐sediment fold axes were recorded. Construction of a northwest‐to‐southeast stratigraphic and seismite intensity cross‐section demonstrates: (1) reduction in stratigraphic thickness and percentage of conglomerates to the southeast, (2) the presence of lower seismite, middle nonseismite, and upper seismite zones within the capping sandstone (permitting subdivision of the capping sandstone member), and (3) elimination of the nonseismite zone and amalgamation of the lower and upper seismite zones to the southeast. Regional isoseismal contour maps generated from the semi‐quantitative analysis indicate a decrease in overall intensity from northwest to southeast in the upper and lower seismic zones and in sandstone within 5 m stratigraphically of the contact between the upper and capping sandstone members. In addition, cumulative seismite fold orientations support a west–northwest direction towards regional epicentres. Isoseismal maps are used to distinguish the effects of intrabasinal normal faulting from those of regional orogenic thrusting. Thus, this study demonstrates the utility of mapping seismites to separate the importance of regional vs. local tectonic activity influencing foreland basin sedimentation by identifying patterns that delineate palaeoepicentres associated with specific local intrabasinal normal faults vs. regional trends in soft‐sediment deformation related to Sevier belt earthquakes.     

Bacterial response to seasonal changes in labile organic matter composition on the continental shelf and bathyal sediments of the Cretan Sea

Bacterial abundance, biomass and cell size were studied in the oligotrophic sediments of the Cretan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean), in order to investigate their response to the seasonal varying organic matter (OM) inputs. Sediment samples were collected on a seasonal basis along a transect of seven stations (ranging from 40 to 1570 m depth) using a multiple-corer. Bacterial parameters were related to changes in chloroplastic pigment equivalents (CPE), the biochemical composition (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) of the sedimentary organic matter and the OM flux measured at a fixed station over the deep basin (1570 m depth). The sediments of the Cretan Sea represent a nutrient depleted ecosystem characterised by a poor quality organic matter. All sedimentary organic compounds were found to vary seasonally, and changes were more evident on the continental shelf than in deeper sediments. Bacterial abundance and biomass in the sediments of the Cretan Sea (ranging from 1.02 to 4.59 × 10⁸ cells g⁻¹ equivalent to 8.7 and 38.7 μgC g⁻¹) were quite high and their distribution appeared to be closely related to the input of fresh organic material. Bacterial abundance and biomass were sensitive to changes in nutrient availability, which also controls the average cell size and the frequency of dividing cells. Bacterial abundance increased up to 3-fold between August '94 and February '95 in response to the increased amount of sedimentary proteins and CPE, indicating that benthic bacteria were constrained more by changes in quality rather than the quantity of the sedimentary organic material. Bacterial responses to the food inputs were clearly detectable down to 10 cm depth. The distribution of labile organic compounds in the sediments appeared to influence the vertical patterns of bacterial abundance and biomass. Cell size decreased significantly with water depth. Bacterial abundance and biomass were characterised by clear seasonal changes in response to seasonal OM pulses. The strong coupling between protein flux and bacterial biomass together with the strong bacterial dominance over the total biomass suggest that the major part of the carbon flow was channelled through the bacteria and the benthic microbial loop.     

Indicators of the Anthropocene: is there a case for conservation?

The Earth's atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere are increasingly being modified by human activity. Given this anthropogenic influence on the natural environment, the case for recognizing an Anthropocene Epoch has recently been made and there is ongoing debate as to whether, and how, to formally characterize and define such an epoch. As a contribution to this debate, this article explores whether or not the landscapes, deposits, landforms and key marker horizons that may be used to characterize and define an Anthropocene Epoch could, and should, be identified and conserved in the same manner as other parts of the geological succession. Anthropogenic features pose a conservation challenge, however, as they often cross cut existing conservation frameworks which tend to focus on the natural, historic or cultural environment. Developing a coherent approach to the conservation of the indicators of an Anthropocene Epoch would, therefore, require an integrated system of describing, auditing and designating features for conservation. A major benefit of such an approach would be the opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration between the wide range of researchers interested or involved in studying and conserving the record of anthropogenic activity.     

Differential uplift on the boundary between the Eastern and the Southern European Alps: Thermochronologic constraints from the Brenner Base Tunnel

The Brenner Base Tunnel will connect Innsbruck (Austria) and Franzensfeste (Italy) by piercing two of the most important fault structures of the Alps: the Periadriatic fault system (PFS) and the Southern limit of Alpine metamorphism (SAM). (U‐Th)/He dating (apatite) and fission‐track analysis (apatite and zircon) on samples taken during excavation reveal a complex pattern of exhumation through time. The results yield temporal constraints for relative vertical block movement and fault activity. Furthermore, they indicate differential uplift of the northern block along the ~E–W striking PFS and allow locating the position of the SAM in the overtilted nappe stack south of the Tauern Window. Our data strongly support, for the first time, an ongoing north‐side‐up movement along this section of the PFS until at least the end of Miocene.