Using resistivity measurements for dam safety evaluation at Enemossen tailings dam in southern Sweden

Internal erosion is a major reason for embankment dam failures. Resistivity measurements is an essentially non-destructive technique, which may have the possibility of detecting internal erosion processes and anomalous seepage at an early stage before the safety of the dam is at stake. This paper presents results from part of a dam safety investigation conducted at the Enemossen tailings dam in southern Sweden. Longitudinal resistivity sections, 2D measurements along the dam crest, provided an overview of the whole dam and served to detect anomalous zones. In selected areas, additional cross-sectional 2D surveys gave detailed information about the geo-electrical situations in the embankments. This information is valuable for similar investigations as information about resistivity in embankment construction material is scarce. Known problem areas were associated with low resistivities, even though the resistivity measurements alone did not provide enough information to confidently come to a decision about the status of the dams.

Study on mass balance and sensitivity to climate change in summer on the Qiyi Glacier, Qilian Mountains

Based on the glacier mass balance and meteorological data of air temperature and precipitation on the Qiyi Glacier from June 30 to September 5, 2010, we used a degree-day mass balance model to simulate the change of mass balance during this period. Our results indicate that the current value of the mass balance is ?856.2 mm w.e. Subjected to the strong influences of air temperature and precipitation, the mass balance process can be divided into three stages: accumulating exiguously → melting intensively → melting exiguously. The variation trends of the mass balance according to the degree-day mass balance model and the observed values are similar and wholly reflect the spatial distribution characteristics of the glacier mass balance, which increases with the increase of altitude. Our experiment on climate sensitivity of the mass balance showed that mass balance was very sensitive to the change of temperature; air temperature is the key factor which influences mass balance; and a slight increase in precipitation will have a negligible effect on mass balance when the air temperature increases continuously.     

Permafrost distribution in the Posets massif,Central Pyrenees

The Posets massif is located in the Central Pyrenees and reaches a height of 3363 m a.s.l. at the Posets peak, the second highest massif in the Pyrenees. Geomorphological maps of scales 1:25000 and 1:10000, BTS (bottom temperature of winter snow), ground measurements and snow poles were used to observe the more representative periglacial active landform association, ground thermal regime, the winter snow cover evolution and basal temperatures of snow. The main active periglacial landforms and processes related to the ground thermal regime and snow cover were studied. Mountain permafrost up to 2700 m a.s.l. on northexposed slopes and up to 2900 m a.s.l. on south-exposed slopes were detected. Three permafrost belts were differentiated: sporadic permafrost between 2700 and 2800 m a.s.l. and between 2850 and 3000 m a.s.l., discontinuous permafrost between 2800 and 2950 and between 2950 and 3050, and continuous permafrost up to 2900 m a.s.l. and up to 3050 m a.s.l. on northern and southern slopes, respectively.     

Safety factor nomograms for homogeneous earth dams less than ten meters high

Homogeneous earth dams that are waterproofed with geomembranes are a suitable option for storing water and other sorts of liquids, like leachates from landfills. Such dams do not require complicated engineering technical calculations, their cost is usually low and they are not difficult to construct. To ensure the geotechnical safety of the dam, the slopes of the embankment must be correctly designed and constructed. This paper provides a set of nomograms which allow the user to get the safety factor of the slopes immediately. In some cases, it is only necessary to know previously the material classification according to the Unified Soil Classifications System. From this information it can be determined whether the material is appropriate or not. If the material classification is not available, geotechnical data of the material used in the construction of the embankment are needed. Examples of the application of nomograms are presented. Secondly, the paper includes a set of equations to calculate quickly the safety factor of a slope of earth upper than 7.5 m height.     

Channel response to a dam-removal sediment pulse captured at high-temporal resolution using routine gage data

In this study, we captured how a river channel responds to a sediment pulse originating from a dam removal using multiple lines of evidence derived from streamflow gages along the Patapsco River, Maryland, USA. Gages captured characteristics of the sediment pulse, including travel times of its leading edge (~7.8 km yr⁻¹) and peak (~2.6 km yr⁻¹) and suggest both translation and increasing dispersion. The pulse also changed local hydraulics and energy conditions, increasing flow velocities and Froude number, due to bed fining, homogenization and/or slope adjustment. Immediately downstream of the dam, recovery to pre-pulse conditions occurred within the year, but farther downstream recovery was slower, with the tail of the sediment pulse working through the lower river by the end of the study 7 years later. The patterns and timing of channel change associated with the sediment pulse were not driven by large flow or suspended sediment-transporting events, with change mostly occurring during lower flows. This suggests pulse mobility was controlled by process-factors largely independent of high flow. In contrast, persistent changes occurred to out-of-channel flooding dynamics. Stage associated with flooding increased during the arrival of the sediment pulse, 1 to 2 years after dam removal, suggesting persistent sediment deposition at the channel margins and nearby floodplain. This resulted in National Weather Service-indicated flood stages being attained by 3–43% smaller discharges compared to earlier in the study period. This study captured a two-signal response from the sediment pulse: (1) short- to medium-term (weeks to months) translation and dispersion within the channel, resulting in aggradation and recovery of bed elevations and changing local hydraulics; and (2) dispersion and persistent longer-term (years) effects of sediment deposition on overbank surfaces. This study further demonstrated the utility of US Geological Survey gage data to quantify geomorphic change, increase temporal resolution, and provide insights into trajectories of change over varying spatial and temporal scales.     

Effects of riverbed incision on the hydrology of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

The hydrogeomorphology of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) has been significantly altered by natural and anthropogenic drivers. In this study, the spatiotemporal changes of the flow regime were examined by analysing the long-term daily, monthly, annual and extreme discharges and water levels from 1980 to 2018, supported by further investigation of the long-term annual sediment load (from the 1960s to 2015), river bathymetric data (in 1998, 2014 and 2017) and daily salinity concentration (from the 1990s to 2015) using various statistical methods and a coupled numerical model. Then, the effects of riverbed incision on the hydrology were investigated. The results show that the dry season discharge (i.e., in March–June) of the Tien River increased by up to 23% from the predam period (1980–1992) to the postdam period (1993–2018) but that the dry season water level at My Thuan decreased by up to −46%. The annual mean and monthly water levels in June at Tan Chau and in January and June–October at My Thuan in the Tien River decreased statistically, even though the respective discharges increased significantly. These decreased water levels instead of the increased discharges were attributed to the accelerated riverbed incision upstream from My Thuan, which increased by more than three times, from a mean rate of −0.16 m/year (−16.7 Mm³/year) in 1998–2014 to −0.5 m/year (−52.5 Mm³/year) in 2014–2017. This accelerated riverbed incision was likely caused by the reduction in the sediment load of the VMD (from 166.7 Mt/year in the predam period to 57.6 Mt/year in the postdam period) and increase in sand mining (from 3.9 Mm³ in 2012 to 13.43 Mm³ in 2018). Collectively, the decreased dry season water level in the Tien River is likely one of the main causes of the enhanced salinity intrusion.     

Risk analysis for clustered check dams due to heavy rainfall

Check dams are commonly constructed around the world for alleviating soil erosion and preventing sedimentation of downstream rivers and reservoirs.Check dams are more vulnerable to failure due to their less stringent flood control standards compared to other dams.Determining the critical precipitation that will result in overtopping of a dam is a useful approach to assessing the risk of failure on a probabilistic basis and for providing early warning in case of an emergency.However,many check dams are built in groups,spreading in several tributaries in cascade forms,comprising a complex network.Determining the critical precipitation for dam overtopping requires a knowledge of its upstream dams on whether they survived or were overtopped during the same storm,while these upstream dams in turn need the information for their upstream dams.The current paper presents an approach of decomposing the dam cluster into(1)the heading dam,(2)border dams,and(3)intermediate dams.The algorithm begins with the border dams that have no upstream dams and proceeds with upgraded maps without the previous border dams until all the dams have been checked.It is believed that this approach is applicable for small-scale check dam systems where the time lag of flood routing can be neglected.As a pilot study,the current paper presents the analytical results for the Wangmaogou Check Dam System that has 22 dams connected in series and parallel.The algorithm clearly identified 7 surviving dams,with the remaining ones being overtopped for a storm of 179.6 mm in 12 h,which is associated with a return period of one in 200 years.     

面向对象的土石坝参数随机反演程序设计

采用面向对象的软件PowerBuilder作为开发平台 ,运用动态链接库的原理 ,建立了一套面向对象的反演分析法 ,定义了对象类之间的关系 ,确立了有限元的消息流 ,使程序的界面更加友好 ,程序操作更为直观。并针对岩土工程反分析中使用的传统贝叶斯法中存在的缺陷 ,提出了扩展贝叶斯法 ,从概率论和数理统计的原理出发 ,建立了基于决策信息论中AIC准则和最大熵准则的岩土工程随机反演的准则函数。所建立的计算模型和分析方法 ,通过了数值算例的验证 ,从而也表明本文提出的模型和分析方法基础可靠、仿真性强 ,具有广阔的应用前景     

冰川区不同气温估算方法评估 ——以藏东南帕隆4号冰川为例

冰川作为地表特殊的下垫面,冰川区内气温明显低于同高度非冰川区大气温度。如何利用低海拔非冰川区观测资料精确估算高海拔冰川区气温,直接关系着青藏高原冰川消融估算及其水文效应的评估。利用架设在藏东南帕隆藏布4号冰川不同高度带的四台自动气象站资料,分析了冰川区与非冰川区气温的波动特征,评估了迄今为止通用的线性递推模型（DT模型）、分段拟合模型（SM模型）和简化热力学模型（GB模型）三种方法在藏东南冰川区气温估算方面的应用效果。对比研究发现：SM模型在帕隆4号冰川上的模拟效果最为理想且操作相对简单;传统DT模型在消融区存在严重的高估,帕隆4号冰川表面夏季（6-8月）正积温的高估比例接近39%;GB模型由于受到诸如冰川风边界层厚度等不确定性的影响,降低了大范围温度估算的可操作性。     

青藏高原北部多温型山谷冰川不同海拔处冰温变化研究 ——以祁连山老虎沟12号冰川为例

冰川温度是表征冰川物理属性和响应气候变化的关键指标。2010年7月至2011年11月在祁连山老虎沟12号冰川积累区（5 040 m）、多年平衡线处（4 900 m）和消融区（4 550 m）开展了活动层（22 m深,1 m间隔）冰温连续观测。2011年10月在冰川积累区4 971 m处钻得165 m深孔获取了115 m深层冰温廓线。研究发现：三个区域活动层下界的深度均在约17 m处,多年平衡线处冰温最低（-7.4℃）,消融区次之（-3.68℃）,积累区活动层下界冰温最高（-2.74℃）且波动最为持续,可能主要与常年积雪覆盖有关。冰温年波动随深度增加均逐渐降低,对气温变化的响应周期亦逐渐增大。与其他冰川最低温相比,老虎沟12号冰川冰温对气候变化响应敏感,过去50年来受全球变暖影响冰温显著增加。积累区深孔冰温显示50 m深度之下冰温呈线性上升,垂直增温率为0.033℃·m^-1,据此推测其底部冰温为0.02℃,主要与底部应变热有关。