Medium-term evolution of a gully developed in a loess-derived soil

Field surveys in the Belgian loess belt revealed the presence in many forested areas of large, permanent gully systems, most of which are currently inactive. In cultivated areas, such gullies can only be observed in cross-sectional soil profiles through hollows, as virtually all such large gullies are currently infilled with colluvium. Little is known about the spatial distribution, initiation and temporal evolution of these large, permanent gully systems on loess-derived soils. Therefore, the medium-term evolution of a gully initiated in a cultivated area on loess-derived soils southwest of Leuven (Belgium) in May–June 1986, was studied over 13 years. Two intense rainfall events created this (ephemeral) gully, which was not erased by subsequent tillage. Between June 1986 and the December 1999, eight field surveys were conducted to measure gully dimensions. During two surveys, topographic indices (e.g., slope and drainage area) were also measured. Daily rainfall for the measuring period were obtained from a rainfall station located some 10 km southwest of the gully. Analysis of rainfall data showed that no extreme rainfall event was required to initiate such large (permanent) gullies, as observed in forested areas and through cross-sectional profiles in cultivated fields in the Belgian loess belt. Return periods of the event that caused the gully varied between <1 year and 25 years, depending on the assumptions used for defining event rain intensity. Once established, length, surface area and volume of the studied gully evolved with time, cumulative rainfall or cumulative runoff, following a negative exponential relation. This accords with observations reported for gullies in Australia and the USA. This study shows that a degressive increase of gully extension, can be largely explained by the evolution of a “slope–drainage area” factor (S×A, which is proportional to stream power) with time. While gully length and gully surface area asymptotically evolve towards a final value, gully volume decreased at a given point in time. From this, it is inferred that sediment deposition will potentially infill the gully to such an extent that the farmer can drive across it. From this moment on, the combined effect of water and tillage erosion in the gully drainage area, will lead towards rapid infilling. This expected evolution of a gully in cultivated fields accords with observations of large infilled gully systems in cultivated areas in eastern Belgium. The permanent gullies observed under forest are attributed to the fact that after severe gully erosion, this area was reforested or abandoned. Therefore, the sediment source was cut off and the gully was not filled in by sediment deposition.     

陕甘宁盆地中部气田奥陶系碳酸盐岩储层溶蚀及充填作用特征

陕甘宁盆地中部气田产于奥陶系顶部古风化壳碳酸盐岩储集体中，碳酸盐岩储集空间的形成是不同期次的溶蚀作用和充填作用相互作用的结果。根据盆地发展演化阶段不同，大致可以分出四期：第一期为近地表早期成岩溶蚀作用与充填作用（Ｏ＿１）；第二期为风化壳岩溶作用及充填作用（Ｏ＿２－Ｃ＿１）；第三期为浅埋藏期溶蚀作用与充填作用（Ｃ＿２）；第四期为深埋藏期溶蚀作用与充填作用（Ｐ－Ｑ）．化学充填作用形成的自生矿物主要有方解石、白云石、粘土矿物、石英、石膏等．根据充填顺序、地球化学特征等的不同，判别了自生矿物生成顺序及期次．最后论述了不同期次溶蚀作用和充填作用对储集空间形成的建设与破坏作用．     

川西坳陷中部须二段储层流体包裹体特征及在油气充注史研究中的应用

川西坳陷中部须家河组二段（T3x^2）储层中的流体包裹主要为盐水包裹体和烃类包裹体。可划分为三种类型,分别代表了油气充注的三个阶段：低成熟-成熟生油气充注阶段、成熟-高熟生油气充注阶段和高成熟-过成熟生气充注阶段。     

Temporal and spatial variation of infilling processes in a landslide scar in a steep mountainous region,Japan

The duration of the soil‐depth recovery needed for reoccurrence of shallow colluvial landslides at a given site in humid regions is much longer than the return period of rainfall needed to generate sufficient pore water pressure to initiate a landslide. Knowledge of the rate of change in soil depth in landslide scars is therefore necessary to evaluate return intervals of landslides. Spatial variation in sediment transport at the Kumanodaira landslide scar in central Japan was investigated by field observations. Spatial distribution of the rate of change in soil depth was estimated using sediment transport data and geographic information system (GIS) analysis. Observations revealed that the timing of sediment transport differed for shallow and deep soil layers. Near‐surface sediment transport (mostly dry ravel and some shallow soil creep at depths ≤0·05 m) measured in sediment traps was active in winter and early spring and was affected by freezing–thawing; soil creep of subsoil (i.e. >0·05 m), monitored by strain probes, was active in summer and autumn when precipitation was abundant. Near‐surface sediment flux was estimated by a power law function of slope gradient. Deeper soil creep was more affected by relative location to the landslide scar, which influences soil depth, than by slope gradient. Our study indicated that the rate of soil‐depth recovery is high just below the head scarp of the landslide. Abrupt changes in the longitudinal slope topography immediately above, within and just below the head scarp became smoother with time due to degradation proximate to the landslide head scarp and flanks, as well as aggradation just below the head scarp. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.