Fractal models for the fragmentation of rocks and soils: a review

Fragmentation, the process of breaking apart into fragments, is caused by the propagation of multiple fractures at different length scales. Such fractures can be induced by dynamic crack growth during compressive/tensile loading or by stress waves during impact loading. Fragmentation of rocks occurs in resoonse to tectonic activity, percussive drilling, grinding and blasting. Soil fragmentation is the result of tillage and planting operations. Fractal theory, which deals with the scaling of hierarchical and irregur systems, offers new opportunities for modeling the fragmentation process. This paper reviews the literature on fractal models for the fragmentation of heterogeneous brittle earth materials. Fractal models are available for the fragmentation of: (1) classical aggregate; (2) aggregates with fractal pore space; and (3) aggregates with fractal surfaces. In each case, the aggregates are composed of building blocks of finite size. Structural failure is hierarchical in nature and takes place by multiple fracturing of the aggregated building blocks. The resulting number-size distribution of fragments depends on the probability of failure, P(1/bⁱ) at each level in the hierarchy. Models for both scale-invariant and scale-dependent are reviewed. In the case of scale-invariant P(1/bⁱ)< 1, theory predict: D_f = 3 + log [P(1/bⁱ)]/log[b] for classical aggregates; D_f=D_m+log[P(1/bⁱ)]/log[b] for aggregates with fractal pore space; and D_f=D_s for aggregates with fractal surfaces. where b is a scaling factor and D_f, D_m and D_s are the fragmentation, mass and surface fractal dimensions, respectively. The physical significance of these parameters is discussed, methods of estimating them are reviewed, and topics needing further research are identified.     

Elephants move faster in small fragments of low productivity in Amboseli ecosystems: Kenya

Understanding factors affecting the behaviour and movement patterns of the African elephant is important for wildlife conservation, especially in increasingly human-dominated savanna landscapes. Currently, knowledge on how landscape fragmentation and vegetation productivity affect elephant speed of movement remains poorly understood. In this study, we tested whether landscape fragmentation and vegetation productivity explains elephant speed of movement in the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya. We used GPS collar data from five elephants to quantify elephant speed of movement for three seasons (wet, dry and transitional). We then used multiple regression to model the relationship between speed of movement and landscape fragmentation, as well as vegetation productivity for each season. Results of this study demonstrate that landscape fragmentation and vegetation productivity predicted elephant speed of movement poorly (R² < 0.4) when used as solitary covariates. However, a combination of the covariates significantly (p < 0.05) explained variance in elephant speed of movement with improved R² values of 0.69, 0.45, 0.47 for wet, transition and dry seasons, respectively.     

An experimental facility for the investigation of magma fragmentation by rapid decompression

 A special experimental facility has been developed to investigate the fragmentation of vesicular magma undergoing rapid decompression. The facility operates in a regime similar to that of shock tubes and at temperatures up to 950  °C and pressures up to 200 bar. Cylindrical samples (diameter ca. 17 mm, length ca. 50 mm) undergo rapid decompression in a high-temperature, high-pressure section of the facility following the disruption of a diaphragm separating that section from a low-pressure, low-temperature section. Actual vesicular magma samples have been experimentally fragmented at elevated temperatures and pressures corresponding to those observed during explosive volcanic eruptions and the resulting pyroclastics have been photographically resolved in flight and collected for physical characterization. The results of these experiments show that the rapid decompression of highly viscous vesicular magma can generate pyroclastic ejecta via rapid and complete fragmentation of magma at high temperature. This new fragmentation facility is presented as a tool for experimental volcanology under well-constrained conditions. Received: 19 March 1996 / Accepted: 25 August 1996     

Fragmentation of rangelands: Implications for humans, animals, and landscapes

Fragmentation of the ecosystems of the earth into spatially isolated units has emerged as a primary component of global change. Often, fragmentation results from actions that are intended to enhance human livelihoods and well-being; however, there are often costs to ecosystems and human economies that are not considered. We describe the three general categories of processes causing fragmentation of rangelands worldwide: dissection, decoupling, and compression. We show that access to heterogeneity of landscapes is an important attribute of grazing ecosystems worldwide, and that fragmentation of these systems, even when it proceeds in the absence of habitat loss, can limit options of people and animals, options that are particularly important in temporally heterogeneous environments. We discuss the consequences of fragmentation for people, livestock, wildlife, and landscapes and describe potential adaptations that can mitigate its harmful outcomes. We close by reviewing policy options that promote re-aggregation of landscapes and adaptation to fragmentation.     

Multiple factors influence the consistency of cropland datasets in Africa

Accurate geo-information of cropland is critical for food security strategy development and grain production management, especially in Africa continent where most countries are food-insecure. Over the past decades, a series of African cropland maps have been derived from remotely-sensed data, existing comparison studies have shown that inconsistencies with statistics and discrepancies among these products are considerable. Yet, there is a knowledge gap about the factors that influence their consistency. The aim of this study is thus to estimate the consistency of five widely-used cropland datasets (MODIS Collection 5, GlobCover 2009, GlobeLand30, CCI-LC 2010, and Unified Cropland Layer) in Africa, and to explore the effects of several limiting factors (landscape fragmentation, climate and agricultural management) on spatial consistency. The results show that total cropland area for Africa derived from GlobeLand30 has the best fitness with FAO statistics, followed by MODIS Collection 5. GlobCover 2009, CCI-LC 2010, and Unified Cropland Layer have poor performances as indicated by larger deviations from statistics. In terms of spatial consistency, disagreement is about 37.9 % at continental scale, and the disparate proportion even exceeds 50 % in approximately 1/3 of the countries at national scale. We further found that there is a strong and significant correlation between spatial agreement and cropland fragmentation, suggesting that regions with higher landscape fragmentation generally have larger disparities. It is also noticed that places with better consistency are mainly distributed in regions with favorable natural environments and sufficient agricultural management such as well-developed irrigated technology. Proportions of complete agreement are thus located in favorable climate zones including Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa), Subtropical highland climate (Cwb), and Temperate Mediterranean climate (Csb). The level of complete agreement keeps rising as the proportion of irrigated cropland increases. Spatial agreement among these datasets has the most significant relationship with cropland fragmentation, and a relatively small association with irrigation area, followed by climate conditions. These results can provide some insights into understanding how different factors influence the consistency of cropland datasets, and making an appropriate selection when using these datasets in different regions. We suggest that future cropland mapping activities should put more effort in those regions with significant disagreement in Sub-Saharan Africa.     

云南景东里竹山铁矿成矿规律

里竹山铁矿赋存在马邓岩群外麦地岩组中,成矿与区内基性火山岩(玄武岩)相关,矿石与围岩均具有相似特征。后期热变质作用、叠加改造作用并未完全改变其原岩结构构造特征,属于构造和海底基性火山喷发有关的沉积变质型磁铁矿床。     

A new approach to quantifying spatial contiguity using graph theory and spatial interaction

Spatial contiguity is an important and fundamental landscape property in land allocation, habitat design, and forest management. The agreed upon notion of contiguity in the literature suggests shapelessness. However, existing approaches for measuring/promoting contiguity use proxies that either favour a particular shape or ignore inter‐patch relationships in fragmented landscapes. We propose an unbiased relative measure of contiguity ranging from zero to one based on graph theory and spatial interaction. The new measure reflects intra‐patch and inter‐patch relationships by quantifying contiguity within patches and potential contiguity among patches. Empirical analysis suggests that this measure of contiguity is reliable, consistent, and insensitive to sub‐region shape.     

Probing the internal structure of the nuclei of comets

There is no direct evidence about the internal structure of cometary nuclei, which are mostly hidden by their gas and dust comae, and have not yet been orbited by any spacecraft. Their densities are low, typically of about 400 kg m⁻³ for 9P/Tempel 1 (that was impacted by the Deep Impact probe) and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (that is the target of the Rosetta mission). Such low densities are in favour of a high macro-porosity, or a high micro-porosity, or both. Observations of disruption or splitting of nuclei indeed suggest that some huge sub-nuclei or some meter-sized fragments could be the building blocks of comets. Analysis, from in-situ measurements and from remote light scattering observations, of the structure of the dust particles, which significantly consist of fluffy aggregates of submicron-sized grains, could be in favour of a fractal structure. However, the presence of huge icy grains in the innermost coma, and of flat layers on the surface of 9P/Tempel 1, are clues to the complexity of these objects, which have suffered drastic erosion phenomena on their elongated orbits. It is expected that the Rosetta mission will provide a fair understanding of the structure of the deep interior of the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, thanks to the on-board CONSERT experiment.     

How landscapes change: Integration of spatial patterns and human processes in temperate landscapes of southern Chile

A comprehensive understanding of the patterns that occur as human processes transform landscapes is necessary for sustainable development. We provide new evidence on how landscapes change by analysing the spatial patterns of human processes in three forest landscapes in southern Chile at different states of alteration (40%-90% of old-growth forest loss). Three phases of landscape alteration are distinguished. In Phase I (40%-65% of old-growth forest loss), deforestation rates are < 1% yr⁻¹, forests are increasingly degraded, and clearance for pastureland is concentrated on deeper soils. In Phase II (65%-80%), deforestation reaches its maximum rate of 1-1.5% yr⁻¹, with clearance for pastureland being the main human process, creating a landscape dominated by disturbed forest and shrubland. In this phase, clearance for pastureland is the primary driver of change, with pastures expanding onto poorer soils in more spatially aggregated patterns. In Phase III (80%-90%), deforestation rates are again relatively low (<1% yr⁻¹) and forest regrowth is observed on marginal lands. During this phase, clearance is the dominant process and pastureland is the main land cover. As a forest landscape is transformed, the extent and intensity of human processes vary according to the existing state of landscape alteration, resulting in distinctive landscape patterns in each phase. A relationship between spatial patterns of land cover and human-related processes has been identified along the gradient of landscape alteration. This integrative framework can potentially provide insights into the patterns and processes of dynamic landscapes in other areas subjected to intensifying human use.     

辽宁双台河口自然保护区景观破碎化研究

应用地理信息系统GIS生成辽宁双台河口自然保护区景观分类图,并结合Fragstas软件计算了5个景观破碎化指数,对保护区破碎化程度进行分析和评价。结果表明:保护区整体破碎化指数为0.271,廊道密度指数为0.2km/km2,保护区破碎化程度较低。景观破碎化的主要原因是人为活动的干扰,如石油的开采。随着石油的开采,廊道密度的增加,将使破碎化程度加深。廊道景观的发展是景观破碎化的前提和动因。