Anthropogenic alluvial sediments in North Carolina Piedmont gullies indicate swift geomorphic response to 18th century land-use practices

ABSTRACT

Gullies are common erosional features in the Piedmont of North Carolina that have often been studied as indicators of poor land-management practices. However, the timing of gully formation, and thus the specific practices that caused their formation, has been largely overlooked in the literature. Here, we use the timing of gully formation to examine the geomorphic and anthropogenic triggers for erosion in the Piedmont. To do this, we mapped 74 gullies in the landscape and found that most contained alluvium within the gully or in alluvial fans. Soil pits were dug at a subset of the gully sites (16 in alluvium, 1 in colluvium, and 1 upland comparison) and examined for soil development, organic content, and particle size. Seven charcoal fragments were sampled from the soil pits and were radiocarbon dated. Radiocarbon ages cluster in the late 1700s, which suggests that early European settlers had an immediate impact on the landscape through deforestation and agriculture. The swift response of the landscape to deforestation and agriculture indicates that the argillic Piedmont soils are pre-disposed to erosion. Our results highlight the importance of erosion prevention as reforested farmland is cleared during urban expansion.     

Geoelectric resistivity sounding of riverside alluvial aquifer in an agricultural area at Buyeo,Geum River watershed,Korea: an application to groundwater contamination study

Twenty profiles of vertical electric soundings (VES) were obtained in a riverside alluvium at the Buyeo area, South Korea, to examine the variations of subsurface geology and associated groundwater chemistry. The combination of the VES data with the borehole data provided useful information on subsurface hydrogeologic conditions. The vestige of an ancient river channel (e.g. oxbow lake) was identified on the resistivity profiles by the lateral continuation of a near-surface perched aquifer parallel to the river. Such a perched aquifer is typically developed in the area with a clay-rich silty surface alluvium which prohibits the infiltration of oxygen. Therefore, groundwater below the oxbow lake shows a very low nitrate concentration and Eh values under the strong anoxic condition. The distribution of water resistivity is correlated with that of measured total dissolved solids concentration in groundwater, while the earth resistivity of the aquifer shows a significant spatial variation. It is interpreted that the earth resistivity of the aquifer is mainly controlled by the soil type rather than by the water chemistry in the study area.     

深厚表土层中冻结壁物理模拟试验研究进展

针对冻结法凿井工程面临的表土层厚度不断增加,而现有冻结壁的设计理论滞后于工程实践的问题,由于冻结壁是属于水、温度、应力、位移多场耦合的非线性问题,且冻结法凿井工程本身特殊力学行为（有压冻结一开挖卸载～支护加载）,理论和数值模拟研究进展不能满足工程要求的现状．依据相似理论的物理模拟试验研究是目前条件最可能获得相对准确规律...     

厚冲积层条件下开采沉陷盆地形态分析

根据采空区上方和煤层上方覆岩移动的不同机理,从力学角度分析了产生下沉盆地不对称性的基本原因,并用实测资料进行了说明。     

Triaxial behaviour of a cemented gravely sand, Tehran alluvium

Cemented coarse-grained alluvium is present in a vast area of Tehran city, Iran including its suburbs. This deposit consists of gravely sand to sandy gravel with some cobbles and is dominantly cemented by carbonaceous materials. In order to understand the mechanical behaviour of this soil, a series of triaxial compression tests were performed on uncemented, artificially cemented and destructured samples. Hydrated lime was used as the cementation agent for sample preparation to model the Tehran deposit. The tests were performed on cemented samples after an appropriate time for curing. The tests on cemented samples show that a shear zone appears as the shear stress approaches the peak shear strength. During shearing these samples undergo dilation at confining stress lower than 1000kPa. However, the uncemented and destructured samples show contraction during shearing. Peak shear strength is followed by strain softening for all cemented samples. The shear strength increases with increasing cement content but the influence of the cementation decreases as the confining stress increases. With increasing cementation the stress-strain behaviour of samples tend towards the behaviour expected of high-density soils. Test results indicate that the failure envelope for cemented samples is curved and not linear.     

Occurrence of Bindheimite in North‐West Queensland

Bindheimite has been identified in specimens from the Lvov Lease, N.W. Queensland. Chemical, microscopic and X‐ray data are given for the mineral which was found to possess a cubic lattice with a unit cell dimension of 10–427 A.     

THE INFLUENCE OF SEA-LEVEL CHANGE AND GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE ON CAVE DEVELOPMENT IN WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA

The formation of caves in a portion of Citrus County, Florida is controlled structurally by northwest-southeast-trending joints that formed in the Suwannee Limestone during the uplift of Ocala Arch in the Miocene Epoch. The caves developed in a zone where saline water from the Gulf of Mexico and fresh water from the Ocala Uplift mixed. Further uplift elevated the caves above the mixing zone. Following subsequent lowering of regional baselevel, erosion caused sections of cave passages to collapse and/or be filled with sediment. The caves are fossil segments of a formerly larger, interconnected cave system.     

Evolution of Pleistocene travertine depositional system from terraced slope to fissure-ridge in a mixed travertine-alluvial succession (Jebel El Mida,Gafsa, southern Tunisia)

The Quaternary stratigraphic record of Jebel El Mida, composed of continental deposits, is a useful example of concomitant travertines and alluvial deposition in an extensional setting. Travertine deposition occurred in a faulted Pleistocene alluvial fan giving rise to seven (recognised) facies interfingering with five other alluvial ones. The travertine depositional events indicate a tectonically driven evolution from terraced slope (facies group FC1–FC6) to a travertine fissure ridge-type depositing phase (facies group of FC1–FC7). Interfingering between travertine and alluvial facies indicates the co-existence of adjacent and time-equivalent depositional environments. The travertine deposition resulted from deep origin hydrothermal fluids channelled along damaged rocks volumes associated to a regional fault system, named as the Gafsa Fault (GF). The travertine–terrigenous succession in Jebel El Mida highlights the major role played by the GF in controlling: (i) the hydrothermal fluid flow, still active as also indicated by the numerous thermal springs aligned along the fault zone; (ii) paleoflow directions, discharge locations, volume, rate and fluctuations of the water supply. The paleoclimatic correlation with adjacent localities reveals that, at that time, humid episodes could have contributed to the recharge of the hydrothermal system and to the deposition of alluvial sediments.     

深土冻土力学—冻土力学发展的新领域

在人工冻结工程的初实践和模拟试验的基础上,提出不同于常规“冻土力学”的“深土冻土力学”概念。分析浅土冻土力学与深土冻土力学的区别,提出深土冻土力学的内容,框架及研究方法,展望２１世纪地下人工冻结工程前景和深土冻土力学的未来。     

考虑温度效应的井壁竖向附加力反演分析

为了分析考虑温度应力后作用于深厚表土层立井井壁竖向附加力,建立了由于立井内、外壁温度差产生的温度自应力和径向膨胀受阻产生的温度应力解析式。基于井壁是由于竖向应力超过钢筋混凝土井壁极限抗压强度而发生破裂的事实,对作用于井壁上的温度荷载、自重、水平侧压力和竖向附加力在井壁内产生的竖向应力分量进行了分析,结果表明,竖向附加力是导致井壁破裂的最主要因素,温度应力也是诱发井壁破裂的重要因素。同时在考虑井壁温度应力和井壁破裂特征的基础上,利用井壁结构设计理论通过反演分析得到了地层疏水沉降时井壁承受的最大竖向附加力的数值,为新建井壁设计和已建成投产井壁的安全性评估提供重要参考依据。