Methodology for preliminary assessment of Natech risk in urban areas

Concern for natural hazard-triggered technological disasters (Natech disasters) in densely populated and industrialized areas is growing. Residents living in urban areas subject to high natural hazard risk are often unaware of the potential for secondary disasters such as hazardous materials releases from neighboring industrial facilities, chemical storage warehouses or other establishments housing hazardous materials. Lessons from previous disasters, such as the Natech disaster during the Kocaeli earthquake in Turkey in 1999 call for the need to manage low frequency/high consequence events, particularly in today’s densely populated areas. However, there is little guidance available on how local governments and communities can assess Natech risk. To add to the problem, local governments often do not have the human or economic resources or expertise to carry out detailed risk assessments. In this article, we propose a methodology for preliminary assessment of Natech risk in urban areas. The proposed methodology is intended for use by local government officials in consultation with the public. The methodology considers possible interactions between the various systems in the urban environment: the physical infrastructure (e.g., industrial plants, lifeline systems, critical facilities), the community (e.g., population exposed), the natural environment (e.g., delicate ecosystems, river basins), and the risk and emergency management systems (e.g., structural and nonstructural measures). Factors related to vulnerability and hazard are analyzed and qualitative measures are recommended. Data from hazardous materials releases during the Kocaeli, Turkey earthquake of August 17, 1999 are used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the methodology. Limitations of the proposed methodology are discussed as well as future research needs.

鄂尔多斯盆地南部延长组长7油组页岩层系天然裂缝发育特征及主控因素

利用地表露头、岩心、薄片和测井资料,对鄂尔多斯盆地南部长7油层组陆相页岩层系天然裂缝的成因类型、发育特征和主控因素进行研究。按地质成因,鄂尔多斯盆地南部长7油层组页岩层系的天然裂缝可以分为构造裂缝和成岩裂缝两大类,其中构造裂缝主要包括剪切裂缝和张性裂缝;成岩裂缝主要包括层理缝、页理缝和收缩裂缝。不同岩性中的天然裂缝发育情况明显不同,致密砂岩中以构造裂缝为主,层理缝仅在粉砂岩和局部细砂岩中发育;页岩和凝灰岩中页理缝、层理缝和构造裂缝均比较发育。不同类型的天然裂缝主控因素明显不同,构造裂缝的发育主要受岩性和岩石力学层层厚控制;砂岩中层理缝的发育主要受碳质纹层、粘土矿物转化程度等因素控制;凝灰岩中层理缝的发育主要受刚性玻屑脱玻化作用的控制;页岩中页理缝的发育主要受纹层、TOC含量和黄铁矿含量的控制。     

Natural hazards in British Columbia: an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional challenge

 Although British Columbia experiences many natural hazards, there is as yet no unified policy to promote natural hazard management in the province. The problem is not in the quantity and quality of geoscience assessment of natural hazards, but instead, it is suggested, in the isolation of that work from broader risk perspectives and in the lack of clarity of division of responsibilities between various levels of government. The example of recent changes in perception of the terrain stability problem illustrates how natural hazard problems are driven by social and political priorities rather than by geoscience priorities. Received: 22 November 1998 / Accepted: 22 November 1998     

Narrating the Natural History Unit: institutional orderings and spatial strategies

This paper develops a conceptualisation of institutional geographies through participation observation and interviews in the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU), and the approach of actor network theory. The methodological and theoretical tenets of actor network theory are examined for the insights they offer for understanding the achievements of this pre-eminent centre for the production of natural history films. The scope, scale and longevity of the NHU are analysed through the means by which localised institutional modes of ordering extend through space and over time. Drawing on empirical material, the paper outlines three different modes of ordering, which organise relations between actors in the film-making processes in different ways: prioritising different kinds of institutional arrangements, material resources and spatial strategies in the production of natural history films. Through these three modes of ordering, and through the topological insights of actor network theory, a series of overlapping and interlinked institutional geographies are revealed, through which the identity of the Unit as a centre of excellence for wildlife film-making is performed.     

Catastrophic debris flows near Machu Picchu village (Aguas Calientes), Peru

Slope movements together with intensive river erosion and the following accumulation are the leading processes in the landscape evolution in the area of Machu Picchu village (former Aguas Calientes), which is located close to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary. Debris flows affect not only the bottoms of valleys or canyons, but also debris fans at the termini of the drainage basins, which are heavily inhabited at some places. The most recent event in the Machu Picchu village occurred in April 2004, but several others were documented in a broader area in the last 50 years. The field inspections at Machu Picchu (May and September 2004; June and September 2005) together with oral testimony revealed the nature and behavior of the debris flow. Machu Picchu village can be assessed as a zone with high landslide risk in relation to its urban development. Despite that, the village recorded a rapid growth (threefold population increase) without urban control within the past two decades. Precipitation, which is the main triggering factor of the debris flows, and natural hazard management of the Machu Picchu village are discussed in this paper.     

自然泥石流与矿渣泥石流复合效应与防治对策

石棉县后沟是一条典型的自然泥石流和矿渣泥石流并存的泥石流沟。本文以石棉后沟为例,结合早期自然泥石流、矿产开采以来矿渣泥石流、以及2013年7 4复合型泥石流,总结了自然泥石流和矿渣泥石流的复合效应,包括泥石流物源补给的多元效应、泥石流发展演化的逆转效应、泥石流起动发生的复杂效应、泥石流动力沿程的放大效应、泥石流致灾破坏的链式效应。对照泥石流对已建防治工程的破坏,提出了自然泥石流和矿渣泥石流复合型泥石流沟防治对策,建议充分利用起动位置和物源集中补给位置的差异,加强对中上游及支沟自然泥石流起动和运动的拦挡防治,最大限度减小自然泥石流对下游矿渣防护工程的基底侵蚀和冲击破坏,从而保障综合防治工程的有效性。     

Seal integrity and feasibility of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sequestration in the Teapot Dome EOR pilot: geomechanical site characterization

This paper reports a preliminary investigation of CO₂ sequestration and seal integrity at Teapot Dome oil field, Wyoming, USA, with the objective of predicting the potential risk of CO₂ leakage along reservoir-bounding faults. CO₂ injection into reservoirs creates anomalously high pore pressure at the top of the reservoir that could potentially hydraulically fracture the caprock or trigger slip on reservoir-bounding faults. The Tensleep Formation, a Pennsylvanian age eolian sandstone is evaluated as the target horizon for a pilot CO₂ EOR-carbon storage experiment, in a three-way closure trap against a bounding fault, termed the S1 fault. A preliminary geomechanical model of the Tensleep Formation has been developed to evaluate the potential for CO₂ injection inducing slip on the S1 fault and thus threatening seal integrity. Uncertainties in the stress tensor and fault geometry have been incorporated into the analysis using Monte Carlo simulation. The authors find that even the most pessimistic risk scenario would require ∼10 MPa of excess pressure to cause the S1 fault to reactivate and provide a potential leakage pathway. This would correspond to a CO₂ column height of ∼1,500 m, whereas the structural closure of the Tensleep Formation in the pilot injection area does not exceed 100 m. It is therefore apparent that CO₂ injection is not likely to compromise the S1 fault stability. Better constraint of the least principal stress is needed to establish a more reliable estimate of the maximum reservoir pressure required to hydrofracture the caprock.     

Identification of functionally active aerobic methanotrophs and their methane oxidation potential in sediments from the Shenhu Area,South China Sea

Large amounts of gas hydrate are distributed in the northern slope of the South China Sea, which is a potential threat of methane leakage. Aerobic methane oxidation by methanotrophs, significant methane biotransformation that occurs in sediment surface and water column, can effectively reduce atmospheric emission of hydrate-decomposed methane. To identify active aerobic methanotrophs and their methane oxidation potential in sediments from the Shenhu Area in the South China Sea, multi-day enrichm...     

Neoliberalism and natural resource management: Agri-environmental standards and the governing of farming practices

Private standards and certification schemes are widely acknowledged as playing an increasingly important role in agri-environmental governance. While much of the existing research concludes that these mechanisms consolidate the global extension of neoliberalism – enhancing the power of corporate actors to the detriment of smaller producers – we argue that this overlooks the complex ways in which standards are used by governments and farmers in the governing of farming practices. Focusing specifically on a process standard – Environmental Management Systems (EMS) – promoted by the Australian government as a way of verifying the ‘clean and green’ status of agricultural exports, we examine how one regional group of producers has sought to use EMS standards in practice. Our analysis of a case study in the state of Victoria appears to confirm that EMS was a successful instrument for the extension of neoliberal governance, reinforcing the production of neoliberal subjectivities and practices amongst farmer participants and enabling the government to compensate for gaps in environmental provision. However, it would be a mistake to interpret the development of this EMS scheme as an example of naïve farmers manipulated by the state. In practice, farmers used the opportunities provided by government funding to undertake actions which expressed their own agri-environmental values and practices. Establishment of an EMS and associated eco-label enabled producers to demonstrate and extend their capacity to act as good environmental stewards. Our research highlights how the local application of environmental standards negotiates and shapes, rather than simply contributes to, neoliberal rule.     

Paper trails: The Outdoor Recreation Resource Review Commission and the rationalization of recreational resources

This article examines the history of the Outdoor Recreation Resource Review Commission (ORRRC) in the United States between 1955 and 1963 and efforts to make recreational resources legible for federal governance. By drawing on insights from Critical Resource Geography, I highlight the ways that the ORRRC systematically accounted for and categorized recreational resources, creating a “patchwork landscape” that zoned outdoor recreational resources and promoted efficient use and rational resource conservation. I argue that these efforts required a negotiation between abstraction and an awareness of the situated nature of recreational landscapes.