Engineering geology of loess and loess-like deposits: a commentary on the Russian literature

Loess and loess-like deposits were much studied in the Soviet Union, and are currently under investigation in Russia and surrounding countries. There is a vast literature in Russian, which touches on all aspects of loess science and technology. In particular, the studies of the origin of collapsibility are almost totally in Russian, and of course studies on the various regions of Russia and the countries of the Former Soviet Union FSU appear in Russian. This review looks at the literature in Russian and attempts to pick out key contributors, major topics and works and to identify the critical regions and zones of investigation. Because so many regions of the FSU had people living on loess ground, there is a vast literature on engineering geology and ground engineering topics, and this tends to dominate all the literature on loess in Russian. Following Russian practice, the fine-grained deposits under consideration are divided into loess and loess-like deposits. Three main topics are recognised across the whole spectrum of loess research: formation and distribution of loess deposits; stratigraphy, cyclicity and palaeoclimatology; and engineering topics, in particular hydrocollapse and subsidence, and we concentrate on the engineering geology topics. An attempt is made, based on the map of Abelev and Abelev [Abelev, Yu.M., Abelev, M.Yu., 1968. Fundamentals of design and construction on collapsible macroporous soils, 2nd ed. Stroiizdat, Moscow, 431 pp. (in Russian)] of collapsing loess deposits, to define seven loess regions within the geographical limits of the old USSR. The seven regions are those where geotechnical problems might be expected.     

Flood Damage Reduction Program (FDRP) in Québec: Case Study of the Chaudiére River

This study presents the evolution of agreements between the governments of Canadaand Québec on flood damage reduction. In Québec, the implementation of a regulation about building in floodplains came about in 1983–1984. Today, this regulation takes the form of a policy called ``Policy of shores, littoral and floodplain protection'. Municipalities must adopt rules that concur with the principles of this policy.The Chaudiére River basin was selected for analysis of urban developmentduring the period following the application of building rules in flood-risk areas.Despite the ban on building in the strong current zone (0–20 year return periodflood zone), many buildings, essentially residential, have been erected in thiszone. These new constructions generally account for a low percentage of thetotal property value in the 0–100 year flooding area, but are legal since theyare connected to a water and sewage network that existed prior to the officialfloodplain regulation.Flood damage along the Chaudiére River will tend to increase for two reasons.Firstly, while respecting the policy mentioned above, sites are still available infloodplains for future development. Secondly, no structural flood protection workshave been erected in view of the fact they are only marginally profitable from anbenefit-cost point of view.     

Simulation of marine boundary layer characteristics using a 1-D PBL model over the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-99

The characteristic features of the marine boundary layer (MBL) over the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon and the factors influencing it are investigated. The Bay of Bengal and Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) carried out during July–August 1999 is the first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP). A very high-resolution data in the vertical was obtained during this experiment, which was used to study the MBL characteristics off the east coast of India in the north and south Bay of Bengal. Spells of active and suppressed convection over the Bay were observed, of which, three representative convective episodes were considered for the study. For this purpose a one-dimensional multi-level PBL model with a TKE-ε closure scheme was used. The soundings, viz., the vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, zonal and meridional component of wind, obtained onboard ORV Sagar Kanya and from coastal stations along the east coast are used for the study. The temporal evolution of turbulent kinetic energy, marine boundary layer height (MBLH), sensible and latent heat fluxes and drag coefficient of momentum are simulated for different epochs of monsoon and monsoon depressions during BOBMEX-99.The model also generates the vertical profiles of potential temperature, specific humidity, zonal and meridional wind. These simulated values compared reasonably well with the observations available from BOBMEX.     

TEM study of a special grain boundary in a synthetic K-feldspar bicrystal: Manebach Twin

 A monoclinic KAlSi₃O₈ feldspar Manebach twin boundary was synthesized by diffusion bonding and examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The sharp (001) twin boundary is straight and free of strain. The boundary width is smaller than d₀₀₁. There is no rigid body shift observed at the twin boundary, and the feldspar structure is arranged symmetrically across (001). The twin boundary structure consists of bridged tetrahedral crankshafts, which are characteristic of the feldspar lattice. The grain boundary structure is in good agreement with the geometrical model of Taylor et al. (1934). The grain boundary composition of K_1/2H_1/2AlSi₃O₈ differs from their model. Received: 13 February 2002 / Accepted: 24 December 2002 Acknowledgements We thank M. Rühle, S. Hutt, J. Mayer, A. Strecker and U. Salzberger at MPI, Stuttgart, for their support and valuable advice in preparing TEM sections of bicrystals.     

Permeability Estimation with the Augmented Lagrangian Method for a Nonlinear Diffusion Equation

We consider numerical identification of the piecewise constant permeability function in a nonlinear parabolic equation, with the augmented Lagrangian method. By studying this problem, we aim at also gaining some insight into the potential ability of the augmented Lagrangian method to handle permeability estimation within the full two-phase porous-media flow setting. The identification is formulated as a constrained minimization problem. The parameter estimation problem is reduced to a coupled nonlinear algebraic system, which can be solved efficiently with the conjugate gradient method. The methodology is developed and numerical experiments with the proposed method are presented.     

ENSO事件中纬向异常流反向与东西侧边界反射的联系

建立一个中等复杂程度的海-气耦合模式研究东、西边界反射,纬向平流项-u′(δ)(T+T′)/(δ)x在ENSO循环位相转换中的作用及东、西边界反射与纬向异常流(u′) 符号改变的关系.结果得到:u′超前Nio3区SSTA位相转变的原因是东、西边界反射造成的.Sverdrup 平衡时所产生的地转流(ur)与东、西边界反射所产生的地转流(ur)的方向在大部分时间里是相反的,同时ur与风应力强迫之间大约有9个月的滞后时间(Kelvin波从180°E出发经东边界反射产生的Rossby波到达180°E时间).在模式ENSO事件消亡过程中的某一时刻以后,边界反射产生的调整过程变为主要过程,u′主要由ur来决定,这样就造成了u′的反向先于Nio区SSTA的反向.它实际上是海洋的调整过程与风应力强迫之间滞后关系的一种反映.敏感性数值试验表明,取消东边界反射,耦合模式能够模拟ENSO循环,但其周期比控制试验的周期短一年(3年).取消-u′(δ)(T+T′)/(δ)x,耦合模式能够模拟ENSO循环,但其周期比控制试验的周期长2年(6年).     

奇异值分解和奇异交叉谱分析方法在华北夏季降水诊断中的应用

利用1965~2000年华北5省市及相邻省73个地面观测站逐月平均降水场及北半球500 hPa高度场、北太平洋海温场资料, 采用奇异值分解 (SVD)、奇异交叉谱 (SCSA) 分析方法, 将华北夏季降水场分别与1月北半球500 hPa高度场、冬季北太平洋海温场进行了诊断分析, 得出奇异向量分布型及相互作用的耦合周期信号。在对前4对奇异向量的分析中发现, 华北夏季降水全区域为正距平时与1月北半球500 hPa高度场PNA遥相关型关系非常密切。ENSO对华北夏季降水的影响确实存在, 但华北夏季降水全区域为正距平时与冬季北太平洋ENSO关系并不明显。同时还找出了华北降水与北半球500 hPa高度、北太平洋海温场相互作用的关键区。在华北各型降水与高度场、海温场关键区相互作用的耦合周期中, 前者以准2~7年振荡为主; 后者则周期较长, 最短周期仍为准2年振荡, 最长周期为准10~11年振荡。以上结论为进一步研究华北夏季降水短期气候预测方法, 提供了参考依据。     

实验速度场测量技术及对流边界层特征研究

在对流槽中对对流边界层(CBL)温度场实验研究的基础上,进一步尝试通过实验技术测量速度场并分析研究CBL中的速度场特征。在应用PIV测量技术时选用铝粉作示踪粒子。实验证明了在混合层中速度分布明显具有对流边界层热泡特性;混合层顶部的速度分布很好地反应出夹卷层的结构特征;湍流速度特征量的垂直分布合理,与野外实测结果和类似的对流槽实验结果接近;误差分析表明示踪粒子的跟随性良好,粒子速度的测量结果能真实地反应流体的运动特征,从而得证了分析结果的可靠性。     

北太平洋海温异常对中国东北地区旱涝的影响

文中利用 196 1～ 2 0 0 0年中国东北地区 80个测站 4 0a的月降水和同一时期的北太平洋海温资料以及奇异值分解 (SVD)技术 ,分析了北太平洋海温异常对中国东北地区夏季旱涝的影响。结果表明 :东北地区夏季降水与北太平洋海温异常之间存在着较为密切的联系 ,当前期冬季和春季甚至是前一年夏季赤道中东太平洋海温如果处于异常偏暖 (或偏冷 )状态 ,并且西风漂流区具有较明显的SST负 (或正 )距平分布时 ,则东北大部分地区夏季降水具有整体偏多 (或偏少 )的倾向。当然 ,东北地区降水与北太平洋海温异常之间的这种联系也并非是简单的一一对应的关系     

对下扬子与华南边界结合带东延问题的地球物理探讨

以江山-绍兴、铅山-宜春等断裂带作为华南与扬子块体之间的边界结合带，这种认识目前已基本为大家所接受．但是，这条边界结合带向东延伸入海之后的位置与去向一直是多年来研究的热点．本文基于黄、东海研究区的地球物理数据(空间重力数据、布格重力数据和地震层析成像结果)，利用方向导数等处理方法，对研究区的地球物理数据进行处理，并对研究区的地球物理场进行了分析，划分出不同的区块．结合研究区的磁力与地质资料，利用各种成图、成像技术，形成一系列分析图件．在此基础上对华南与扬子块体之间的边界结合带进行了追踪．研究结果认为：该结合带的位置有可能比传统认识中自长江口至大黑山群岛的位置更向南一些，在杭州湾-长崎、对马海峡一线，并呈现向北略微凸出的弓形．边界结合带在深度上属于深大断裂带，一直可以追索到上地幔的顶部．与中朝与扬子块体之间的边界结合带相比较，本条结合带的踪迹不是十分清晰．表明加里东运动之后，该结合带的运动明显减弱．