40Ar/39Ar laser probe evidence concerning the age and associated hazards of the Lake Nyos Maar,Cameroon

The waters of Lake Nyos are impounded by a fragile natural dam composed of pyroclastic rocks ejected during the formation of the lake crater (maar). Lateral erosion of this dam has reduced its width from over 500 m to only 45 m. Published whole-rock K-Ar ages of about 100 ka on juvenile basalt from the dam suggests that erosion has been slow and that the dam poses no imminent threat. New apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 1.4 to 232 Ma on xenocrystic K-feldspar contained in the basalt show that the xenocrysts, whose source is the 528-Ma crystalline basement, are carriers of inherited radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar and would cause the whole-rock K-Ar ages to be too old. The best estimate for the age of the maar is provided by a ¹⁴C age of 400 ± 100 yr BP on charcoal from the base of the dam. This young age indicates that the dam is eroding at a relatively rapid rate; its failure, perhaps within a few decades, would result in a major flood and imperil thousands of people living downstream in Cameroon and eastern Nigeria.     

Some engineering characteristics of a compacted lateritic residual soil

Summary In many parts of the world, particularly in humid tropical regions, residual soils are abundant. In this paper the suitability of a residual lateritic soil as a construction material is investigated, with respect to its strength and compaction characteristics. In comparison with other typical construction fills available in Southeast Asia, compacted lateritic soils produce excellent shear strengths and CBR values. However, the brittleness and tensile cracking of this compacted material become enhanced on the dry side of the optimum moisture content, or if excessive compaction is imparted. Nevertheless, at a moisture content of 2% wetter than the optimum, the tensile mode of failure is suppressed and the lateritic fills become ideally suited for the construction of high embankments and impervious dam cores.     

A simulation model of blowout development

Blowouts are the main feature of wind erosion in the dunes along the Dutch coast. A number of characteristics, such as their growth against the prevailing wind and the spontaneous stabilization when certain dimensions are reached, are believed to be caused by a prominent quality of the southwest wind, viz. its gustiness. This hypothesis is tested in a two-dimensional computer model which simulates the effect of wind gusts on a sandy surface along the main axis of the blowout. A number of constraints based on field observations are built into the model. The results closely resemble the longitudinal section of the blowout.     

A test of granulometric control of desert dune geometry

I. G. Wilson's hypothesis of coarse-tail grain-size control of dune spacing was derived from three dunefields in the Sahara and, although it was supplemented by measurements of spacing from other parts of the world, the grain-size data come only from North Africa. In this paper the hypothesis is tested in the Australian dunefields. Australian dunes do not form separate categories on a P₂₀/s (twentieth percentile/spacing) plot and, when placed on Wilson's diagram, the Australian data form a continuum between dunes and draas. Ripples maintain their identity, suggesting that the average saltation length of sand controls ripple wavelength while dunes and Wilson's draas are formed by secondary flow of some kind. In Australia the spread of data on the P₂₀/s diagram indicates that grain-size is not the prime control on s. Data from Australia and the Sahara indicate that direct linear relationships between s and h (dune spacing and height means respectively for blocks of dunes) occur but they have different slopes in different areas. These differences possibly reflect variations in vegetation and substrate as well as differences in wind regime. The separation of dunes from draas in the Sahara reflects the greater role of grain-size in an area where coarse grains frequently occur in dune crests. The relative paucity of coarse grains in Australian dune crests may reflect the fine-grained alluvium from which the dunes are derived. These differences may be ascribed to differing topography in Australia and the Sahara.     

Barchans of Minqin: Morphometry

The barchans on the border of Minqin oasis, China, were surveyed. Our data reconfirmed that the height of slipface is proportional to the width of horns and the baseline can be roughly described by parts of an ellipse and a parabola. We attempted to study dune geomorphology using the theory of differential geometry. The geometrical characteristics of the brink can be quantitatively determined by its curvature and torsion.     

Discovering the ancient lakelet of the archeological site of pasargadae in Iran using a multi-layer technique

Pasargadae complex had been the main center of Persian history during the Achaemenian period (560–330 bc), registered as one of the world heritage sites by UNESCO in 2004. This research is an attempt to recognize the natural setting and landscape of Pasargadae during the Achaemenian period, in Iran. The method is based on the application of a multi-layer technique. Collected data by fieldwork, especially in geology, hydrology, and hydrogeology, along with the analysis of aerial data and satellite information provided the baseline information for preparing historic and environmental layers and have made it possible to recognize a natural lakelet in the this area. The results show that the geometry of lakelet together with the ancient river of Pasargadae had been the main elements that formed the character of the site; they were also important in the locations of buildings in the Pasargadae complex.     

新疆某水库大坝变形监测方法研究

结合新疆克拉玛依三座坝线均长达5km左右的平原水库,介绍了由于地质环境影响大坝沉降和位移而建立变形监测控制网、观测方法、数据分析处理以及工作中的一些方法和经验.     

Origin and stratigraphy of phreatomagmatic deposits at the Pleistocene Sinker Butte Volcano, Western Snake River Plain, Idaho

Sinker Butte is the erosional remnant of a very large basaltic tuff cone of middle Pleistocene age located at the southern edge of the western Snake River Plain. Phreatomagmatic tephras are exposed in complete sections up to 100 m thick in the walls of the Snake River Canyon, creating an unusual opportunity to study the deposits produced by this volcano through its entire sequence of explosive eruptions. The main objectives of the study were to determine the overall evolution of the Sinker Butte volcano while focusing particularly on the tephras produced by its phreatomagmatic eruptions. Toward this end, twenty-three detailed stratigraphic sections ranging from 20 to 100 m thick were examined and measured in canyon walls exposing tephras deposited around 180° of the circumference of the volcano.Three main rock units are recognized in canyon walls at Sinker Butte: a lower sequence composed of numerous thin basaltic lava flows, an intermediate sequence of phreatomagmatic tephras, and a capping sequence of welded basaltic spatter and more lava flows. We subdivide the phreatomagmatic deposits into two main parts, a series of reworked, mostly subaqueously deposited tephras and a more voluminous sequence of overlying subaerial surge and fall deposits. Most of the reworked deposits are gray in color and exhibit features such as channel scour and fill, planar-stratification, high and low angle cross-stratification, trough cross-stratification, and Bouma-turbidite sequences consistent with their being deposited in shallow standing water or in braided streams. The overlying subaerial deposits are commonly brown or orange in color due to palagonitization. They display a wide variety of bedding types and sedimentary structures consistent with deposition by base surges, wet to dry pyroclastic fall events, and water saturated debris flows.Proximal sections through the subaerial tephras exhibit large regressive cross-strata, planar bedding, and bomb sags suggesting deposition by wet base surges and tephra fallout. Medial and distal deposits consist of a thick sequence of well-bedded tephras; however, the cross-stratified base-surge deposits are thinner and interbedded within the fallout deposits. The average wavelength and amplitude of the cross strata continue to decrease with distance from the vent. These bedded surge and fall deposits grade upward into dominantly fall deposits containing 75–95% juvenile vesiculated clasts and localized layers of welded spatter, indicating a greatly reduced water-melt ratio. Overlying these “dryer” deposits are massive tuff breccias that were probably deposited as water saturated debris flows (lahars). The first appearance of rounded river gravels in these massive tuff breccias indicates downward coring of the diatreme and entrainment of country rock from lower in the stratigraphic section. The “wetter” nature of these deposits suggests a renewed source of external water. The massive deposits grade upward into wet fallout tephras and the phreatomagmatic sequence ends with a dry scoria fall deposit overlain by welded spatter and lava flows.Field observations and two new ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar incremental heating dates suggest the succession of lavas and tephra deposits exposed in this part of the Snake River canyon may all have been erupted from a closely related complex of vents at Sinker Butte. We propose that initial eruptions of lava flows built a small shield edifice that dammed or disrupted the flow of the ancestral Snake River. The shift from effusive to explosive eruptions occurred when the surface water or rising ground water gained access to the vent. As the river cut a new channel around the lava dam, water levels dropped and the volcano returned to an effusive style of eruption.     

Nonlinear seismic response analysis of arch dam-foundation systems- part II opening and closing contact joints

A time-domain method for the analysis of arch dam-foundation rock dynamic interaction during earthquake was proposed, and the dynamic relaxation technique was adopted to obtain the initial static response for dynamic analysis by [Du et al. (2005). The paper has been contributed to Bulletin of earthquake engineering]. In this paper, a nonlinear explicit method in time domain considering the opening and closing effect of contact joints on arch dam during earthquake is further proposed by introducing the dynamic contact force model into the method. The simulation accuracy of dynamic contact force model is verified by comparing its calculation result and test result of scale model on shaking table. Finally, the influence of joints on the seismic response of Xiaowan arch dam is studied by the proposed method and some conclusions are given.     

Detection of seepage paths in earth dams using self-potential and electrical resistivity methods

Earth and rockfill dams are designed to operate under steady state seepage. Anomalous seepage may be a threat to the integrity of the structure. In spite of advances made in the fields of geotechnical engineering, it is not possible to have 100% leak-proof structure. Any excessive and unplanned seepage may lead to the failure of the dam, especially in unconsolidated or fractured terrains. Geophysical methods play an important role in mapping seepage paths and monitoring the changes of the seepage with time, enabling to plan technically and economically worthwhile remedial measures. In the present paper, utilisation of electrical methods for delineation of seepage zones at two of the four Saddle dams of the Som-Kamla-Amba project, Rajasthan State, India; which is founded on heterogeneous rock mass, is discussed. Electrical resistivity method was used to delineate zones favourable for seepage, whereas, self-potential (SP) method was used to delineate the seepage paths. SP measurements have shown negative anomaly of the order of 10–20 mV in amplitude, indicating low seepage, coinciding with the seepage measurements made by the project authorities.