Overburden deformation associated with halokinesis in the Southern North Sea: implications for the origin of the Silverpit Crater

Gravitational collapse in response to the creation of salt swells and diapirs is a common phenomenon within regions such as the Southern North Sea. Although collapse faulting and slumping of linear salt swell flanks has previously been documented, the existence of concentric collapse structures surrounding diapirs and isolated salt lows is a recently recognised feature. 3-D seismic data from the Southern North Sea demonstrates that concentric collapse faulting around both diapirs and subcircular salt lows is common. The recognition of concentric collapse structures formed in response to salt withdrawal, and adjacent inflation, provides an alternative mechanism for the origin of the proposed Silverpit impact crater.     

Decompression reactions and P–T conditions in high-pressure granulites from Casares-Los Reales units of the Betic-Rif belt (S Spain and N Morocco)

High-pressure granulites are exposed in the Casares-Los Reales group (internal zones of Betic-Rif belt, S Spain–N Morocco) as part of the crustal envelope of Beni Bousera-Ronda Peridotites. They are mostly metapelitic but include intercalations of mafic composition. The metamorphic history is marked by the preservation of early high-pressure assemblages together with secondary low-pressure assemblages suggesting a state of textural and compositional disequilibrium. The P–T path constrained by geothermobarometry and reaction textures from mafic and pelitic lithotypes passes from 800 °C/15 kbar to 600 °C/5 kbar, to indicating a strong decompression related to cooling, followed by a near-isobaric cooling 430 °C and 4 kbar. Such P–T evolution of granulites is thought to reflect some sort of rapid tectonic collapse of crust previously thickened through collision.     

Caldera formation by magma withdrawal from a reservoir beneath a volcanic edifice

Caldera formation has been explained by magma withdrawal from a crustal reservoir, but little is known about the conditions that lead to the critical reservoir pressure for collapse. During an eruption, the reservoir pressure is constrained to lie within a finite range: it cannot exceed the threshold value for eruption, and cannot decrease below another threshold value such that feeder dykes get shut by the confining pressure, which stops the eruption. For caldera collapse to occur, the critical reservoir pressure for roof failure must therefore be within this operating range. We use an analytical elastic model to evaluate the changes of reservoir pressure that are required for failure of roof rocks above the reservoir with and without a volcanic edifice at Earth's surface. With no edifice at Earth's surface, faulting in the roof region can only occur in the initial phase of reservoir inflation and affects a very small part of the focal area. Such conditions do not allow caldera collapse. With a volcanic edifice, large tensile stresses develop in the roof region, whose magnitude increase as the reservoir deflates during an eruption. The edifice size must exceed a threshold value for failure of the roof region before the end of eruption. The largest tensile stresses are reached at Earth's surface, indicating that faulting starts there. Failure affects an area whose horizontal dimensions depend on edifice and chamber dimensions. For small and deep reservoirs, failure conditions cannot be achieved even if the edifice is very large. Quantitative predictions are consistent with observations on a number of volcanoes.     

Limitations of suction‐controlled triaxial tests in the characterization of unsaturated soils

Behavior of unsaturated soils is influenced by many factors, and the influences of these factors are usually coupled together. Suction‐controlled triaxial (SCTX) tests are considered to allow researchers to investigate influences of individual variables on unsaturated soils under specified stress path with controls of stresses, pore water, and air pressures. In the past 50 years, SCTX testing method has been established as a standard approach to characterize constitutive behavior of unsaturated soils. Most important concepts for modern unsaturated soil mechanics were developed upon results from the SCTX tests. Among these, one of the most important contributions in the constitutive modeling of elasto‐plastic behavior for unsaturated soils is the Barcelona basic model (BBM) proposed by Alonso et al. in 1990. The BBM successfully explained many features of unsaturated soils and received extensive acceptance. However, the SCTX tests are designed based upon the divide‐and‐conquer approach in which an implicit assumption is used: soil behavior is stress‐path independent. However, it is well‐established that unsaturated soil behavior is elasto‐plastic and stress‐path dependent. It is found that the SCTX tests in fact cannot control the stress path of an unsaturated soil during loading. This incapability, in combination with complicated loading/collapse behavior of unsaturated soils, makes the SCTX tests for characterizing unsaturated soil questionable. This paper discusses the limitations of the SCTX tests in the characterization of unsaturated soils. A possible solution to the problem was proposed based on a newly developed modified state surface approach. The discussions are limited for isotropic conditions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同近岸河床组成情况下岸坡崩塌试验

在弯道水槽中开展6组试验,分别用非黏性土及黏性土填筑河床,研究相同水力作用下近岸河床组成对黏性岸坡崩塌的影响规律。研究发现,在试验给定的岸坡及河床组成情况下,非黏性河床凹冲凸淤且总体表现为淤积,近岸河床及凹岸岸坡冲刷强度大,凸岸附近床面上泥沙掺混较明显;黏性河床及凹岸岸坡均被冲刷,河床主流区冲刷强度比近岸河床及凹岸岸坡大。相较于黏性河床,非黏性河床近凹岸处较易冲刷,水流结构重新调整,凹岸坡脚处水流流速及紊动能可增至2倍左右,环流强度可增至11倍,加速了岸坡崩塌及崩塌体的分解输移;非黏性河床近凹岸坡脚处变形以及凹岸岸坡崩塌量均相对较大,岸坡崩塌强度为河床淤积强度的2~4倍,崩塌物质可充分补给河床的泥沙来源;经水力冲刷后非黏性河床组成情况下形成的河道滩槽高差相对较小,河道横断面相对宽浅。     

分形分维理论在地质灾害发育及空间分布规律中的应用——以长安区滑坡、崩塌地质灾害为例

长安区区内地层岩性、地质构造多样,加之人类经济工程活动、降雨、地震等诱发影响,秦岭北坡及黄土台塬边缘滑坡崩塌地质灾害发育,是陕西省地质灾害较严重的县(区)之一。本文以长安区为研究区域,在对长安区自然地理及区域地质环境条件等资料充分收集的基础上,结合长安区滑坡崩塌灾害点的实际调查资料,详细分析了长安区的滑坡崩塌灾害发育特征及空间分布规律,并采用网络覆盖法,对长安区滑坡崩塌地质灾害的空间分布进行了分形分维计算。求得地质灾害的空间分布分维值为0.876 6,反应出长安区滑坡崩塌地质灾害空间分布特性的复杂性。研究结果表明,分形分维理论能合理评价地质灾害空间分布特征,对类似地区的地质灾害空间分布特征分析具有借鉴意义。     

北京飞云瀑景点崩塌地质灾害分析及防治方法研究

近15年来,北京飞云瀑景点附近发生过2次大规模崩塌,崩塌堆积岩块体积累计达450 m3,崩塌岩块已滚落覆盖至景区小路。经勘查,确定了1处危岩体及1处危岩带,该危岩体及危岩带对本景点的正常观赏及过往游人构成极大威胁。本文对该景点的崩塌地质灾害地质特征进行了简要介绍;对地质灾害成因、自然发展趋势等进行了初步探讨;对危岩体(带)的稳定性进行了计算、分析及评价;对可能采用的治理方法进行了比选分析。为了最大程度地保护景观资源,最终选择了以避让为主的治理措施,并对选定的治理方案及计算进行了阐述。     

岩溶塌陷灾害的岩溶地下水气压力监测技术及应用

文章系统、全面地介绍了岩溶地下水气压力监测技术及其应用成果。该技术在监测成孔、孔口的密封及监测频率等方面创新性地提出了相关的工艺方法,能真实、及时且充分地反映出岩溶管道裂隙系统中的地下水气压力变化特点,可为岩溶塌陷的机理研究、监测和预警提供科学依据。岩溶地下水气压力监测技术工艺简单、操作方便、成本低廉,经过20多年的改进,已成功应用于全国11个典型岩溶塌陷区,服务于高铁、水源地、油气管线、市政建设等潜在岩溶塌陷风险性评价、安全降深、监测预警等方面,取得了很好的效果。      

基于高分二号卫星数据的煤矿区地质灾害信息提取研究

随着遥感数据获取技术和能力的全面提高,遥感数据呈现出明显的大数据特征。发展适应于遥感大数据的智能分析和信息挖掘技术,成为当前遥感技术研究的前沿。高分二号（GF-2）卫星数据是我国首颗自主研发的亚米级高分辨率卫星数据,具有观测幅宽、重访周期短、高辐射精度、高定位精度等优势,为未来我国地质灾害的长期、动态地监测和研究提供了高精度、稳定可靠的数据源。本文选取安徽谢桥煤矿2015年1月8日的GF-2卫星影像为研究数据,在对煤矿区主要地质灾害遥感地学分析的基础上,采用面向对象的影像分析方法对研究区由采煤活动所诱发的地质灾害信息进行自动提取。结果表明：利用GF-2卫星数据能够有效地识别地质灾害体的位置、范围、形态等空间分布特征;面向对象的自动提取方法对于煤矿区大面积的积水塌陷盆地、小规模的塌陷坑和线性的地裂缝都有很高的提取精度,识别精度达90% 以上;基于逐层剔除的思路构建的提取规则,为GF-2数据在地质灾害调查和大数据分析中的应用提供了很好的技术支持,也为其它地物目标的提取提供了参考,但在特征的选择和阈值的设定上需要具体分析。     

白涧铁矿南区复杂地层钻探施工技术

邢台白涧铁矿南区地层岩石破碎、部分地层含角砾、胶结性差、漏失严重,钻探施工中存在掉块卡钻、缩径、坍塌、埋钻及孔内泥浆全部漏失等难题。通过优化钻孔结构、使用新工艺、新方法,合理选择钻进参数,采用绳索取心钻进配合预留技术套管,有效解决了上部煤系地层的坍塌问题;采用反丝套管的方法,极大地减轻了由于地层缩径、掉块引起的套管下不到位、起拔困难等风险;常规型绳索取心钻杆替代套管方法的采用,提高了含角砾、松散地层的穿过速度,减少了钻探工作量的报废,加快了施工进度;特别是高胎体双水口钻头的使用,提高了钻进效率,节约了钻探施工成本,项目得以如期完成。