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     

Sea ice thickness measurement and its underside morphology analysis using radar penetration in the Arctic Ocean

Sea ice, as an important component of the Arctic climate system, has drawn significant sci-entific interest. Sea ice thickness and its morphology have dramatic impacts on ocean-atmos- phere-ice interactions[1—4], which directly affect the exchange proces…     

Influence of rainfall on the deformation and stability of a slope in overconsolidated clays: a case study

The behaviour of an instrumented unstable slope in a profile of weathered overconsolidated clay has been analysed. Available field investigation data and laboratory tests were integrated in a coupled hydromechanical model of the slope. Particular attention was given to the unsaturated soil conditions above the water table and to the influence of the rainfall record. Recorded pore-water pressures helped to identify the hydrogeological conditions of the slope. The coupled model was used to compute slope deformations and the variation of safety with time. Actual rainfall records were also integrated into the analysis. Comparison of measurements and calculations illustrate the nature of the slope instability and the complex relationships between mechanical and hydraulic factors. Electronic Publication     

现代植物炭屑形态的初步分析及其古环境意义*

通过对23种现代植物炭屑的观察、测量以及对草本、木本炭屑模拟破碎试验后的测量统计发现:现代植物炭屑形态根据其长宽比(L/W)和形态特征可以分为3个类型:1)草本型炭屑,L/W最大,平均为10.2±1.3, 呈长-薄条型、针型、簇纤维型,边缘及断口截然,棱角分明,有些具有气孔构造,很少有不规则的形态出现; 2)木本型炭屑(灌木+乔木),L/W较小,平均3.1±0.2,多呈方~长方型或立方体型,边缘多参差不齐,有些横向断口有粗大木纤维露出,相对致密; 3)阔叶类植物叶片炭屑,L/W最小,平均1.7±0.1,薄片状、网状,絮状,易碎。进一步通过对6个典型草原和森林表土样品的实验室分析,发现现代土壤中的炭屑颗粒大小相对现代植物炭屑颗粒大小总体有所减小,但草原土壤中炭屑长宽比相对森林土壤炭屑仍然较大,土壤中炭屑形态和部分结构鉴别特征仍能保留。表明L/W值与炭屑结构特征可以用来区分多数草本与木本植物炭屑。在此基础上,通过对黄土高原渭南剖面S₁以来不同层位12个地层样品的炭屑形态分析,初步研究了不同草本、木本植物炭屑形态变化的特点和环境意义。     

基于形态重构的图像去噪方法研究

应用数学形态学中的形态重构滤波,对噪声图像进行了处理,在去除噪声的同时,也保持了边缘及细节信息。     

Influence of earthquakes on the stability of slopes

Earthquakes are a major trigger for instability of natural and man-made slopes. Often the instability of slopes due to an earthquake causes more destruction and kills more people than the actual earthquake itself. A comparison is made between different methodologies to analyze the potential stability of slopes during earthquakes. Theoretically, it seems simple to calculate the stability of a slope during an earthquake. In reality, however, the stability is influenced by so many parameters that are either not known or which influence is so poorly known that a decent estimation of stability cannot be made. Offshore the situation is worse because proper data required for stability calculations are even less available than onshore. On- and offshore, erosion and weathering create continuously slopes that may become unstable during a future earthquake, offshore also sedimentation creates continuously new slopes. Another fundamental problem in stability analysis is the complicated and largely unknown behavior of seismic waves in three-dimensions in natural materials. The lack of accurate data and the unknown behavior of seismic waves in three-dimensions make estimations of slope stability during an earthquake unreliable.     

江苏镇江焦山索道上站滑坡治理中技术方法的应用

镇江市是江苏省滑坡地质灾害较为严重的城市,其地质灾害防治工作开展较早,积累了一定的防治管理经验。而焦山索道上站滑坡治理工程是多种滑坡治理技术方法和措施的综合应用,通过混凝土抗滑桩、锚索、锚杆、排水以及挂网喷播复绿等技术方式和措施的应用,成功地完成了焦山索道上站的滑坡治理工程,为镇江市其他滑坡地质灾害的治理提供了一定的参考借鉴作用。     

North-south transfer zones and paleo-morphological reconstruction of the Xylokastro area (Corinth Gulf, Greece)

A large number of studies have documented the structural and sedimentary architecture of the Corinth Gulf, especially the major E–W trending normal faults important in accommodating the main extensional strain and associated growth of the Gilbert fan deltas. However, the role of several N–S oriented structures that crop out at the surface and are detectable at depth by seismic reflection and gravity surveys are not clearly understood. Based on new geological data, collected near Xylokastro, we describe the N–S oriented tectonic activity of this area. The mapped inland faults correspond to off-shore structures identified in re-interpreted seismic lines and appear to have acted as a major transfer zone during the opening of the Corinth Gulf. Reconstruction of the paleo-topography based on sedimentary facies and the environment of clay mineral formation suggest these transfer zones played an important role in controlling both local structural relief and depositional conditions of the Gilbert fan deltas.     

气象灾害事件的数学形态学特征及空间表现

几何面特征是气象灾害的主要空间形态表现, 气象要素值的同化结果、下垫面地表类型、人口和财产的聚集特征组合在灾害特征面上的分布情况呈现显著空间差异及分布不均衡。利用空间分析和数学形态学方法, 依据城市地区复杂下垫面所表现的地表土地覆盖类型, 生成数字化动态卷积模板, 对建立在气象要素分布图上的图谱化网格进行动态膨胀和腐蚀操作, 计算结果可图形化表示为气象灾害在城市空间面上的影响图谱, 并以此作为气象灾害在城市地区造成影响的空间评估结果。针对北京1999年7月22日的高温灾害性天气的个例研究结果表明, 靠近或包含“水体”和“绿地”的空间网格区域大多被执行了腐蚀操作, 而建筑用地、道路、水泥地面等分布较集中区域的空间网格, 则被执行了膨胀操作。因此, 采用数学形态学的“面状灾害事件”空间形态特征的演算对表现灾害自然强度及评估多致灾因子下灾害的真实影响情况是非常有效的。     

Experimental study on the effects of artificial bed roughness on turbidity currents over abrupt bed slope change

A series of experimental observations are presented in the current study to discuss the effects of artificial bed roughness on the turbidity current flowing in a rectangular channel with an abrupt change in bed slope.For this purpose,two different types of elements,sinusoidal and trapezoidal,with various heights and arrangements are considered as artificial bed roughness.A Vectrino velocity meter was used to measure the velocity and sediment concentration profiles.The effects of inlet sediment concentration on front velocity,body velocity,unit discharge,sediment concentration,and suspended load transport rate also were investigated.Accurate equations were developed for estimation of the velocity of a turbidity current over smooth and rough beds.The unexpected experimental results showed that unlike the effect of roughness height,a change in the roughness arrangement has no significant influence on the velocity of a turbidity current.Also,the effect of bed roughness on the front velocity of a denser current is more significant.