Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in the Nepal Himalaya: A Manageable Hazard?

Within the past fifteen years, glacial lake outburst floods have become an activetopic of discussion within the development community focused on Nepal. Suchfloods endanger thousands of people, hundreds of villages, and basic infrastructuresuch as trails and bridges. The flood risk is also a major impediment to hydroelectricdevelopment in several river basins. Unlike most other mountain hazards in Nepal,reducing the possibility of outburst floods is technically feasible. The first attemptwithin Nepal to reduce the hazard of one lake by artificially lowering its water levelwas partially completed in June 2000. Completing this task and beginning work onother hazardous lakes will require difficult decisions about risk by downstream residentsand substantial investment from the international aid community.     

Community Vulnerability to Tropical Cyclones: Cairns, 1996–2000

This paper is a partial discussion of a four-year study that investigated the vulnerability of the people living in the Cairns region to the tropical cyclone hazard. The longitudinal case study, focussing on the Cairns Northern Beaches area, was unique in that it included a social and societal `pre-cyclone impact' evaluation of various resident communities within the region, and then two consecutive `post-cyclone impact' studies. The primary research method supported an inductive qualitative approach to the collection and analysis of survey data. Some quantitative methods were invoked to support qualitative research findings. Survey data was collected in five separate questionnaire-based social surveys that were administered between 1996 and 2000. During the study, residents experiencedthe direct impact of two land-falling tropical cyclones. In addition to this, targeted andfocussed tropical cyclone awareness education was made increasingly available withinthe community. The social and demographic attributes that influence the individual'sperception of risk and contribute to our understanding of community vulnerability were examined and evaluated. Changes in the residents' attitudes, cyclone preparednessbehaviours and willingness to respond to cyclone warnings were monitored and measured. Analysis of early survey data indicated that community residents generally had some knowledge of cyclones but a limited understanding of cyclone processes and very little direct personal experience of the cyclone hazard. Individually and collectively, residents frequently demonstrated a biased perception of the risks associated with cyclones. The resident community was shown to be fragmented, with limited support being available to individual households. Initially, residents were found to be poorly prepared for cyclones and unlikely to respond to warnings appropriately. It appeared that, in the event of a land-falling tropical cyclone impacting the area, the community was highly vulnerable to unnecessary loss of property, livelihood and – in extreme circumstances – life. By 2000, Cairns community residents were somewhat better informed about cyclones and certainly more experienced. This paper provides some insight into how cyclone experience and education may synergisticly have contributed to a change in risk perceptions and a reduction in the vulnerability of Cairns residents to the tropical cyclone and storm surge hazards.     

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.     

济宁二号矿孤岛工作面冲击矿压危险及其控制

孤岛工作面及其周围巷道附近应力集中程度高,顶板运动剧烈,再加上地质构造的影响,采深较大时,冲击危险程度就高,很容易引发冲击矿压。《煤矿安全规程》要求孤岛工作面按冲击矿压危险工作面来管理。孤岛工作面冲击矿压危险检测预报及控制的技术是先分析冲击危险程度,确定冲击危险指数,提出早期预报;采用电磁辐射和钻屑法进行及时预报;采用卸压爆破进行处理,并采用电磁辐射和钻屑法检验防治措施的效果。实践证明,这套技术安全、可靠、有效,能够保证工作面的安全高效生产。     

Petrographic of Northwestern Sudan

The sedimentology of the Northwestern Sudan consists of lower, middle and upper cycles. The lower and upper cycles are composed of intercalated fluvial and shallow marine facies, whereas the middle cycle consists entirely of fluvial and glaciofluvial facies. The petrographic analysis shows that the lower and upper cydes consist of quartz and lithic arenite sandstones, whereas the middle cycle consists of arkosic and lithic arenite sandstones. The lower and upper cycle sandstones reflect derivation mainly from recycled orogens with minor contribution from craton interior provenances. However, the middle cycle sandstones indicate derivation from basement uplift, transitional and mainly recycled orogens provenances.     

Validation of Landslide Susceptibility Maps; Examples and Applications from a Case Study in Northern Spain

A procedure for validating landslide susceptibility maps wasapplied in a study area in northern Spain and the results obtained compared. Validationwas used to carry out sensitivity analysis for individual variables and combinationsof variables. The validity of different map-making methods was tested, as well as theutility of different types of Favourability Functions. The results obtained show thatvalidation is essential to determine the predictive value of susceptibility maps. Italso helps to better select the most suitable function and significant variables, thus improving the efficiency of the mapping process. Validation based on a temporal strategy makes it possible to derive hazard maps from susceptibility maps.     

宁夏灵盐地区荒漠化灾害与农牧业持续发展

分析了宁夏灵盐地区荒漠化灾害过程中自然环境与人力活动的相互作用，并讨论了区域农牧业经济发展的“退耕还牧”治沙等社会问题。在第四纪地质时期荒漠化的发生发展是一种“气候－地貌”的自然过程；在人类历史时期是气候主控下人为叠加干扰的“自然－人为”地貌过程。自然环境与人为活动具有使荒漠化发生正向或逆转变化的双重机制。     

浅谈雅江县城南各种地质灾害的关系

对雅江县城南地质灾害的产生原因作了查明，为下一步综合整治提供依据。     

沉积地质学研究现状和进展在第30届国际地质大会上的反响

根据第３０届国际地质大会上专家发言及提供大会交流的部分论文摘要，从沉积环境，海相沉积，旋回地层和层序地层，古地理和盆地分析四个方面，窥视自第２９届国际地质大会以后沉积地质学的进展概况。     

全国地质灾害趋势预测及预测图编制

区域地质灾害预测是地质灾害研究的难题。本文运用基于地理信息系统的风险评价方法对这一问题进行了探讨。将全国剖分为２７００个单元，对地质灾害进行现状评价，并与已数字化的地质灾害图件进行单要素叠加，编制了全国地质现状等值线图，在现状评价基础上，对地质灾害进行趋势预测，将降雨条件、区域地震活动、区域地壳稳定程度、区域岩组条件和人类工程活动等作为区域地质灾害演变的因素，运用模糊综合评判模型进行综合评判，编制了１：６００万中国地质灾害趋势预测图。