Geotechnical Hazards Associated with Desert Environment

The aridity of the Arabian Peninsula's deserts ranges between arid to hyperarid with hot dry climate, scarce precipitation and sparse vegetation. These harsh environmental conditions enhance some geomorphologic processes more than others, cause specific geotechnical problems, and increase desertification.From west to east, the general physiography of Saudi Arabia shows the Red Sea coastal plains and the escarpment foothills called Tihama followed by the Arabian Shield mountains, the Arabian Shelf plateau and finally the Arabian Gulf coastal plains. Sand moves by wind either as drifting sand or migrating dunes in four major sand seas, over the Arabian Shelf, and in the inter-mountain valleys, in the Arabian Shield causing problems of erosion and deposition. Human activities in the deserts may cause more instability to the sand bodies, enlarging the magnitude of the problem. Fine silty soil particles also move by wind, depositing loess mainly in selected areas downwind in the Tihama. These loess deposits subside and may form earth fissures by the process of hydrocompaction upon wetting. The addition of water can be either natural through storms or man-made through human agricultural or civil activities. Extensive sabkhas exist along the coastal plains of both the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. The sabkha soil may also heave by salt re-crystallization or collapse by wetting. The shallow groundwater brines present in sabkhas also attack and corrode civil structures. Urbanization and excessive groundwater pumping may also deplete the fresh groundwater resources and may cause subsidence, ground fissuring and surface faulting as observed in some locations in the Arabian Shield. Although the average annual precipitation is very low, rain usually falls in the form of torrential storms, collected by dry valley basins and causing floods to unprotected downstream areas on the coastal plains of the Red Sea.The desert environment, being a fragile echo system, needs to be treated with care. Intercommunications between different national and international agencies and education of the layman should help to keep the system balanced and reduce the resulting environmental hazards. In addition, any suggested remedial measures should be planned with nature and engineered with natural materials.     

Observations of particle movement in a monitoring well using the colloidal borescope

The colloidal borescope consists of a set of lenses and miniature video cameras capable of observing natural particles in monitoring wells. Based on field observations of these particles, it appears possible to measure in situ groundwater velocity in a well bore. Field observations have shown that directional measurements using the colloidal borescope are generally in good agreement with expected flow directions. However, the magnitude of flow velocity is higher compared with values based on conventional test methods. High relative flow velocities, even after correction factors have been applied to compensate for well bore effects, are believed to be due to preferential flow zones in the surrounding aquifer. Low flow zones exhibit swirling multidirectional flow that does not allow for a linear velocity measurement. Consequently, groundwater flow velocities measured by the colloidal borescope in heterogeneous aquifers will be biased toward the maximum velocity values present in the aquifer. A series of laboratory experiments was conducted to assess the reliability of the instrument. Based on this work, a seepage velocity correction factor ( ) of 1–4 was found for quantifying groundwater seepage velocity in the adjacent aquifer from observations in a well bore. Laboratory measurements also indicate that preferential flow in the surrounding aquifer dominates flow in the well. Results of this work suggest the possibility of quantifying higher-flow velocities associated with preferential flow zones in the subsurface.     

地球运动的超非线性分析

根据超非线性速度理论，研究了地球的自转状态，得知地球自转的角速度沿半径方向有突变和减小，并由此计算了地壳相对于地核的角速度差值，算得赤道表面每年西移１．７５ｃｍ，符合已报道的观测数据。     

Seismotectonic environment of occurring the February 3, 1996 Lijiang M=7.0 earthquake, Yunnan Province

Introduction The surface rupture and aftershocks of the February 3, 1996 Lijiang earthquake are basically distributed along the N-S-trending Lijiang-Daju fault, which is boundary fault between Lijiang Quaternary, fault controlled basin and Yulong-Haba range (ZHANG, et al, 1997). Corresponding to the surface geological features, the focal rupture of the Lijiang earthquake also shows large component of dip-slip. It is of great difference from that of other earthquakes in west Yunnan, in w…     

变降深抽水附近地下水非稳定运动的积分方程解

根据完整井变流量抽水附近地下水运动的解析解,利用积分方程的方法,推导出了水井水位降深以任意一种函数关系随时间变化时含水层中地下水非稳定运动积分方程形式的解,并提出了该积分解相应的近似计算方法.最后通过一个实例验证了该方法的实用性.     

Seismotectonic environment of occurring the February 3, 1996 Lijiang M=7.0 earthquake, Yunnan Province

Lijiang-Daju fault, the seismogenic fault of the 1996 Lijiang M=7.0 earthquake, can be divided into Lijiang-Yuhu segment in the south and Yuhu-Daju segment in the north. The two segments show clear difference in geological tectonics, but have the similar dynamic features. Both normal dip-slip and sinistral strike-slip coexist on the fault plane. This kind of movement started at the beginning of the Quaternary (2.4～2.5 Ma B.P.). As to the tectonic types, the detachment fault with low angle was developed in the Early Pleistocene and the normal fault with high angle only after the Mid-Pleistocene (0.8 Ma B.P.). Based on the horizontal displacements of gullies and the vertical variance of planation surfaces cross the Lijiang-Daju fault at east piedmont of Yulong-Haba range, the average horizontal and vertical slip rates are calculated. They are 0.84 mm/a and 0.70 mm/a since the Quaternary and 1.56 mm/a and 1.69 mm/a since the Mid-Pleistocene. The movements of the nearly N-S-trending Lijiang-Daju fault are controlled not only by the regional stress field, but also by the variant movement between the Yulong-Haba range and Lijiang basin. The two kinds of dynamic processes form the characteristics of seismotectonic environment of occurring the 1996 Lijiang earthquake.     

Horizontal crustal movement in Chinese mainland from 1999 to 2001

The paper introduces the horizontal crustal movement obtained from GPS observations in the regional networks (including the basic network and the fiducial network) of the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) carried out in 1999 and 2001. This paper is characterized by the acquisition of the horizontal displacement velocities during the period from 1999 to 2001 at the observation stations in the regional networks with datum definition of a group of stable stations with small mutual displacements in east China. Based on the most detailed map of horizontal crustal movement in Chinese mainland, the division of blocks, their displacements and deformations are studied. An approach to analysis of the intensity of the horizontal crustal deformation is proposed. The general characteristics of the recent horizontal crustal movement in Chinese mainland and that before the Kunlunshan earthquake of M=8.1 on November 14, 2001 are analyzed. Foundation item: The National Development and Programming Project for Key Basic Research (95-13-03-07).     

议京西大台地区的燕山运动

作者研究了京西大台地区的燕山运动，初步研究表明：这里不存在强烈的挤压变形迹象和显著的角度不整合．缺乏磨拉石建造。龙门组是厚度有限的河流相沉积，九龙山组是具有弱火山活动的湖相一滨湖相沉积。在隆起带和沉降带之间侏罗系地层显著的厚度变化率、大安山一斋堂滑覆构造及其派生的髫髻山断陷盆和大量高角度滑动面理，都显示了伸展构造背景下基底断块的差异升降。髫髻山组与壳幔相互作用有关的一套火山岩显示了上述运动的深部背景。     

与时俱进,发展中国大地构造学

论述了黄汲清经典著作《中国主要地质构造单位》的深远影响。它是中国大地构造研究的奠基之作和经典著作 ,其基本内容和主要论点已为实践所证实 ,并为国内外地质界所认同。这部著作不仅全面系统地总结了过去 ,而且对一些重大地质问题进行了科学预测 ,为后人指出了研究的方向。它是一部你什么时候读都有味道 ,都会受到新的启发的著作。黄汲清的学术思想是民主的、开放的 ,与时俱进的。在《中国主要地质构造单位》中 ,他运用阿尔冈活动论的思想 ,阐述了中国大地构造的动力演化过程。之后 ,他又吸收了裴伟深断裂的思想 ,深入研究了中国的深断裂。 2 0世纪 70年代 ,他指导他的学生将多旋回思想与板块构造结合 ,在中国大地构造图上首次详细标绘了中国境内的板块缝合带 ,从全球动力学角度 ,将他 1 94 5年提出的亚洲三种构造型式发展为古亚洲、特提斯和滨太平洋三大构造域。黄汲清的研究始终是从东亚地质的实际情况出发 ,他曾多次指出 :中国是全球构造研究中的一块宝地 ,中国人应该为世界地质科学的发展做出贡献     

岩层移动动态过程的离散单元法分析

采动覆岩动态发展过程受地质、采矿条件诸多因素的影响,是一个十分复杂的时空过程。通过离散单元法数值模拟,揭示了综放开采条件下采场上覆岩层动态发展规律,特别是覆岩离层缝隙的分布规律、发展形态、空间位置以及与地质采矿条件的关系,揭示了工作面推进过程中,采场上覆岩层中重新分布的应力大小、方向及其发展变化规律,该应力的存在和变化规律是确定井下开采方法、支护方式的依据。