Use of incipient motion data for backward erosion piping models

Backward erosion piping involves the gradual removal of granular material under the action of water flow from the foundation of a dam or levee, whereby shallow pipes are formed that grow in the direction opposite to the flow. This pipe-forming process can ultimately lead to failure of a water-retaining structure and is considered one of the most important failure mechanisms for dikes and levees in the Netherlands and the United States. Modeling of this mechanism requires the assessment of hydraulic conditions in the pipe, which are controlled by the particle equilibrium at the pipe wall. Since the pipe's dimensions are controlled by the inflow to the pipe from the porous medium, the flow through the pipe is thought to be laminar for fine- to medium-grained sands. The literature provides data for incipient motion in laminar flow, which is reviewed here and complemented with data from backward erosion experiments. The experiments illustrate the applicability of the laminar incipient motion data to determine the erosion pipe dimensions and corresponding pipe hydraulics for fine- to medium-grained sands, for the purpose of backward erosion piping modeling.     

Seismic risk ranking for large dams in South Africa

Earthquake motion is one of the extreme loads acting on large dams. Dam owners and regulators must therefore ensure that dams are safely operated and present minimal risk to the public in case of extreme loads such as floods and earthquakes. Owners of many dams or officials in charge of dam safety programs may consider comparative assessment of the seismic risk associated with their dams and establish priorities for detailed evaluation. South Africa has in excess of 100 large state-owned dams and the characteristics of these dams have been used to perform a basic seismic hazard assessment and rank the vulnerability of these dams from the lowest to highest. One of the most decisive factors that contributes to the risk of a dam is the wall type; with gravity and earthfill dams being the most vulnerable to earthquake motion. Another aspect that needs further investigation is the downstream hazard potential which, if known to a better degree of accuracy, can provide more reasonable estimates of the risk factors.     

Rapid,high-resolution detection of environmental change over continental scales from satellite data – the Earth Observation Data Cube

The effort and cost required to convert satellite Earth Observation (EO) data into meaningful geophysical variables has prevented the systematic analysis of all available observations. To overcome these problems, we utilise an integrated High Performance Computing and Data environment to rapidly process, restructure and analyse the Australian Landsat data archive. In this approach, the EO data are assigned to a common grid framework that spans the full geospatial and temporal extent of the observations – the EO Data Cube. This approach is pixel-based and incorporates geometric and spectral calibration and quality assurance of each Earth surface reflectance measurement. We demonstrate the utility of the approach with rapid time-series mapping of surface water across the entire Australian continent using 27 years of continuous, 25?m resolution observations. Our preliminary analysis of the Landsat archive shows how the EO Data Cube can effectively liberate high-resolution EO data from their complex sensor-specific data structures and revolutionise our ability to measure environmental change.     

Biologisch-chemische Untersuchungen im Zürichsee

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The CM carbonaceous chondrite regolith Diepenveen

A carbonaceous chondrite was recovered immediately after the fall near the village of Diepenveen in the Netherlands on October 27, 1873, but came to light only in 2012. Analysis of sodium and poly‐aromatic hydrocarbon content suggests little contamination from handling. Diepenveen is a regolith breccia with an overall petrology consistent with a CM classification. Unlike most other CM chondrites, the bulk oxygen isotopes are extremely ¹⁶O rich, apparently dominated by the signature of anhydrous minerals, distributed on a steep slope pointing to the domain of intrinsic CM water. A small subset plots closer to the normal CM regime, on a parallel line 2 ‰ lower in δ¹⁷O. Different lithologies in Diepenveen experienced varying levels of aqueous alteration processing, being less aqueously altered at places rather than more heated. The presence of an agglutinate grain and the properties of methanol‐soluble organic compounds point to active impact processing of some of the clasts. Diepenveen belongs to a CM clan with ~5 Ma CRE age, longer than most other CM chondrites, and has a relatively young K‐Ar resetting age of ~1.5 Ga. As a CM chondrite, Diepenveen may be representative of samples soon to be returned from the surface of asteroid (162173) Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft.     

Evaluation of potential productivity of woody energy crops on marginal land in China

Energy crops are a basic material in the bioenergy industry, and they can also mitigate carbon emissions and have environmental benefits when planted on marginal lands. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential productivity of energy crops on marginal lands in China. A mechanistic model, combined with energy crop and land use characteristics, and meteorological and soil parameters, was used to simulate the potential productivity of energy crops. There were three main results. 1) The total marginal land in China was determined to be 104.78 × 10~6 ha. The 400-mm precipitation boundary line, which is the dividing line between the semi-humid and semi-arid zones in China, also divided the marginal land into shrub land and sparse forest land in the southeast and bare land, bare rock land, and saline alkali land in the northeast. 2) The total area of the marginal land suitable for planting energy crops was determined to be 55.82 × 10~6 ha, with Xanthoceras sorbifolia and Cerasus humilis mainly grown in the northern China, Jatropha curcas and Cornus wilsoniana mainly grown in the southwest and southeast, and Pistacia chinensis mainly grown in the central area, while also having a northeast-southwest zonal distribution. 3) Taking the highest yield in overlapping areas, the potential productivity of target energy crops was determined to be 32.63 × 10~6 t/yr. Without considering the overlapping areas, the potential productivity was 6.81 × 10~6 t/yr from X. sorbifolia, 8.86 × 10~6 t/yr from C. humilis, 7.18 × 10~6 t/yr from J. curcas, 9.55 × 10~6 t/yr from P. chinensis, and 7.78 × 10~6 t/yr from C. wilsoniana.     

Stratigraphy and paleomagnetism of a 3-km-thick Miocene lava pile in the Mjoifjördur area,eastern Iceland

We have carried out stratigraphic mapping in the Upper Miocene basalt lava pile around the fjords Mjoifjördur and Seydisfjördur, eastern Iceland. The mapping is based on conventional methods including the use of interbasaltic clastic horizons and petrographically distinct lava groups. These units are also used to provide correlations with the Nordfjördur area south of Mjoifjördur. We present a 3-km composite stratigraphic column for the area between Mjoifjördur and Seydisfjördur. The geology of this area shows some differences from the classical model of Walker for the structure of eastern Iceland partly due to the fact that most of Mjoifjördur is not in the vicinity of central volcanoes. Detailed laboratory measurements of remanent magnetization were carried out on oriented core samples from 363 lavas in 10 selected profiles. The local paleomagnetic polarity stratigraphy supports correlations made on the basis of other criteria. Over 20 geomagnetic reversals are recorded in the eastern Iceland lava pile in a period approximately 13-10 Ma ago. The geomagnetic field during this period averages to a central axial dipole field, and its overall statistical properties resemble those obtained in earlier surveys in Iceland.     

Practical flood frequency estimates

The best information on which to base estimates of future flood frequencies is records of past flood events. Where there is a substantial record at the location for which estimates are desired the estimation process is generally straighforward, although a variety of methods is used and there is major uncertainty in the estimates. In general, the frequency of future events is assumed to be indicated by the observed frequency of past events under constant controlling watershed conditions.Techniques are available for using information on historical (pre-record) flood data to improve the reliability of flood frequency estimates. There are methods for detecting and managing extremely unusual actual events (outliers) and for improving the reliability of short-record estimates based on long-record data at related locations. Regional correlation analysis is usable for establishing flood frequency estimates for locations where records are not available.Detailed hydrologic analysis, usually involving rainfall-runoff studies, is required for establishing flood frequency relationships for modified conditions of the watershed or, in many cases, for establishing flood frequency estimates for newly formed drainage systems such as in urban areas and airports.The principal use of flood frequency functions is to compare expected changes in flood damages (due to a contemplated action) with the economic and social costs or benefits of the contemplated action.     

A new analytical model to study the influence of weld on the vertical dynamic response of prestressed pipe pile

This investigation is concerned with the mathematical analysis of a viscoelastic prestressed pipe pile embedded in multilayered soil under vertical dynamic excitation. The pile surrounding soil is governed by the plane strain model, and the soil plug is assumed to be an additional mass connected to the pipe pile shaft by applying the distributed Voigt model. Meanwhile, the prestressed pipe pile is assumed to be a vertical, viscoelastic, and hollow cylinder governed by the one‐dimensional wave equation. Then, analytical solutions of the dynamic response of the pipe pile in the frequency domain are derived by means of the Laplace transform and impedance function transfer method. Subsequently, the corresponding quasi‐analytical solution in the time domain for the case of the prestressed pipe pile undergoing a vertical semi‐sinusoidal exciting force applied at the pile top is obtained by employing the inverse Fourier transform. Utilizing these solutions, selected results for the velocity admittance curve and the reflected wave curve are presented for different heights of the soil plug to examine the influence of weld properties on the vertical dynamic response of prestressed pipe pile. The reasonableness of the theoretical model is verified by comparing the calculated results based on the presented solutions with measured results. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.