The sinkhole of Doganella (Pontina Plain,central Italy)

A case study describes the recent catastrophic subsidence of the land surface neighboring the Lepini karstic range (Lazio region). A number of sinkholes in the Pontina plain are shown on the early topographic maps (dated 1850). Their origin is natural and related to subsidence that occurred during the Holocene. A review of sinkholes in central Italy was made by Facenna and others (1993). The aim of this study is to clarify the possible relationships between tectonics and sinkhole formation. The subsidence phenomena have been related to the slow dissolution of the buried carbonate bedrock due to fluids rich in CO₂, H₂S, and SO₂, which migrate through major tectonic fractures. Lowering of piezometric levels in waterbearing formations and seismic events are also important factors as they may upset the stability of a cave system buried by unconsolidated deposits.     

Plate boundary deformation and continuing deflation of the Askja volcano,North Iceland,determined with GPS, 1987–1993

GPS geodetic measurements were conducted around the Askja central volcano located at the divergent plate boundary in north Iceland in 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1993. The accuracy of the 1987 and 1990 measurements is in the range of 10 mm for horizontal components; the accuracy of the 1992 and 1993 measurements is about 4 mm in the horizontal plane. Regional deformation in the Askja region is dominated by extension. Points located outside a 30–45 km wide plate boundary deformation zone indicate a displacement of 2.4±0.5 cm/a in the direction N 99°E±12° of the Eurasian plate relative to the North American plate in the period 1987–1990. Within the plate boundary deformation zone extensional strain accumulates at a rate of 0.8 strain/a. Displacement of control points next to Askja (>7 km from the caldera center) in the periods 1990–1993 and 1992–1993 show deflation and contraction towards the caldera. These results are in accordance with the results obtained by other geodetic methods in the area, which indicate that the deflation at Askja occurs in response to a pressure decrease at about 2.8 km depth, located close to the center of the main Askja caldera. A Mogi point source was fixed at this location and the GPS data used to solve for the source strength. A central subsidence of 11±2.5 cm in the period 1990–1993 is indicated, and 5.5±1.5 cm in the period 1992–1993. The maximum tensional strain rate, according to the point source model, occurs at a horizontal distance of 2.5–6 km from the source, at the same location as the main caldera boundary. Discrepancies between the observed displacements and predicted displacements from the Mogi model near the Askja caldera can be attributed to the regional eastwest extension that occurs at Askja.     

海平面变化研究中地壳均衡沉降量的估算

本文从力学和地球流变学的角度,分析海平面变化所引起的沿海沉积盆地水力-沉积均衡作用的机制,提出一种估算被埋藏的古海平面标志物的地壳均衡沉降量的新方法。     

层状孔隙裂隙热储最大允许水位降深研究——以德州市城区为例

当前,地热水最大降深如何确定方法很多,各地区因开采条件不同其最大允许降深也不完全相同。在基于地面沉降防控基础上以德州市城区为例,通过对地面沉降与深层地下地热水分析,建立起了地热水最大允许水位降深数值模型,并计算出新近纪明化镇组、馆陶组和古近纪东营组地热水开采最大允许水位降深值,确定了相似区域最大允许水位降深范围,这对层状孔隙裂隙热储地区热储最大允许水位降深确定和地热资源的可持续开发利用具有重要现实意义和理论参考价值。     

天津中心城区基坑降水对地面沉降的影响范围研究

依托天津地区5个典型工程案例,对基坑降水引起的地面沉降规律进行了基本分析。由于基坑降水引起地面沉降的范围较远,往往能达到墙后5~10倍基坑开挖深度的距离,而实际基坑工程坑外沉降的测点往往布置在墙后1~4倍基坑开挖深度的距离,因此难以全面的获得不同类型基坑(如基坑深度不一)降水对地面沉降的影响范围。本文利用有限差分软件Modflow建立三维地下水渗流模型,并利用文化中心站的工程实测数据对该模型进行验证,最后利用该模型研究不同开挖深度的基坑(5~25m)降水对地面沉降的影响范围,并探讨5种不同止水帷幕截断方式的工况下坑内降水后坑外水位及地面沉降随时间发展关系。     

Regional land subsidence simulation in Su-Xi-Chang area and Shanghai City, China

Su-Xi-Chang area and Shanghai City, located in the south of Yangtze Delta, China, has subsided due to groundwater overpumping. Because of the regional scale of the groundwater exploitation, cone of depression and land subsidence at present, Su-Xi-Chang area and Shanghai City are treated as a single area for land subsidence study to avoid the uncertainty of boundary condition due to the regionalism. The characteristics of aquifer system compaction are complex because of the difference in the types, compositions and structures of the soils that the hydrostratigraphic units are composed of, and in the histories of groundwater level change the hydrostratigraphic units have experienced. Considering the fact that different hydrostratigraphic units have different kinds of deformation and that an identical unit may also present different deformation characteristics, such as elasticity, elasto-plasticity, and visco-elasto-plasticity, at different sites of the cone of depression or in different periods, corresponding constitutive laws have been adopted. This avoids the shortcomings of the previous research that the same constitutive law was adopted in all the hydrostratigraphic units during the entire time period. A coupled flow and subsidence model, which includes a three-dimensional flow model with variable coefficients and a one-dimensional (vertical) subsidence model, is built according to the complicated hydrological condition in the region. The simulation model is calibrated using observed data, which include compression of individual strata from groups of extensometers and groundwater levels from observation wells from 1995 to 2002. The model reproduced that the primary subsidence layer in Shanghai shifts from the shallow aquitard to the fourth confined aquifer because of the groundwater yield variations and the change of exploitation aquifers. However the third aquitard was the primary subsidence layer in Su-Xi-Chang area and the compaction deformation of the sandy aquifers was remarkable. The simulation results could provide some reasonable advice about groundwater exploitation in the future.     

Application of grey theory-based model to prediction of land subsidence due to engineering environment in Shanghai

Land subsidence is a common geological hazard. The long-term accumulation of land subsidence in Shanghai has caused economic loss to the city. Since the 1990s, the engineering structures have become a new cause of land subsidence. Many factors affect the process of land subsidence. Although such a process cannot be explicitly expressed by a mathematical formula, it is not a “black box” whose internal structure, parameters, and characteristics are unknown. Therefore, the grey theory can be applied to the prediction of land subsidence and provides useful information for the control of land subsidence. In this paper, a grey model (GM) GM (1, 1) with unequal time-intervals was used to predict the subsidence of a high-rise building in the Lujiazui area of Shanghai, and the results were compared with the monitored data. The prediction of subsidence was also corroborated by laboratory tests and the results were compared with measured data and the predicted data by the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). It is found that the GM (1, 1) with unequal time-intervals is accurate and feasible for the prediction of land subsidence.     

Land subsidence and earth fissures due to groundwater withdrawal in the Southern Yangtse Delta,China

Excessive extraction of groundwater has caused severe land subsidence and earth fissures in the Southern Yangtse Delta, China. Based on field data, the temporal and spatial distribution of land subsidence is investigated and the causes for earth fissures are analyzed. The areal distribution of the land subsidence is closely related to the cones of depression in the main exploited aquifers. The compaction of a hydrostratigraphic unit depends on its mechanical behavior, thickness, compressibility, and the piezometric level changing. The primary subsidence layers in Shanghai have been the first aquitard before 1990 and the third confined aquifer since then. But the second aquitard unit was the primary subsidence layer in Changzhou. Earth fissures, trending in several directions, occurred in the Husu tectonic zone. They were mainly caused by differential subsidence and horizontal displacement that resulted from tensile stress and shear stress in units. The majority of fissures in the study area are tensile.     

InSAR技术在矿区沉降监测中的应用研究

介绍了应用InSAR技术监测矿区地表沉降以及地下开采活动的原理;利用重轨差分InSAR技术获得了峰峰矿区地表ENVISAT和JERS 1的雷达形变干涉相位图;分析了在矿区地表沉降过程中ENVISATC波段和JERS 1 L波段形变干涉相位图的相干特性、相位特性以及干涉测量技术在矿区地表沉降监测中应用的可行性和局限性。实验结果表明,利用C波段和L波段雷达数据可以实施对矿区地表沉降的监测,但是C波段雷达受到空间干涉基线的限制更加严格,如果要实现对矿区地表沉降的监测,需要充分利用每个卫星回访时期的雷达数据,建立长时序的星载雷达形变干涉相位图序列,才能较好地实现矿区地表沉降监测。     

松辽盆地北部徐家围子断陷营城组大型破火山口的发现

破火山口的形成是火山物质喷发量最大、破坏力最强的一种火山作用现象,因此,探寻破火山口存在的证据是明晰松辽盆地北部徐家围子断陷下白垩统营城组火山喷发规律和叠置关系的关键。徐家围子断陷营城组地层中徐东破火山口呈一个长轴约17km,短轴约10km的椭圆形、塌陷深度近3km的大型破火山口,其天窗式塌陷是下方岩浆房的不对称形态或岩浆房的不对称抽空导致。徐东破火山口内被厚层流纹质凝灰岩和熔岩填充,剖面上显示一对发育完整的正、逆断层,指示徐东破火山口经历了完整的沉降、塌陷、火山喷发过程。徐东破火山口形成于大陆裂谷背景下,是岩石圈减薄,大规模岩浆作用的产物。受区域NNW向构造格架控制,形成破火山口南北延伸的椭圆形态。