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.     

山西宁武煤田大同组植物群特征

山西宁武煤田大同组植物化石笔者鉴定计２１属４１种，以真蕨类，银杏类为主，有节类，柏柏类次之，苏铁类稀少。该植物群可归于北方普遍发育的Ｃｏｎｉｏｐｔｅｒｉｓ－Ｐｈｏｅｎｉｃｏｐｓｉｓ植物群，并可与大同煤田的大同组、北京西山门头沟群、鄂尔多斯盆地延安组及表海大煤沟组所含植物各对比，时代属中侏罗世。     

Gypsy Architecture: Houses of the Roma in Eastern Europe

Why is Ortley Beach, New Jersey, known as Superstorm Sandy's ground zero? This article employs qualitative vulnerability analysis to understand why vulnerability of second homes in Ortley Beach resulted in dune failure and slow rebuilding after Sandy. The second-home owners who largely make up the community in Ortley Beach are identified as the key vulnerable group. This group's lack of political representation and financial compensation after Sandy increased house damage and slowed rebuilding. Identifying the level of vulnerability of the majority group in a location is paramount to understanding how the community recovers from a disaster. Such identification can also aid in preparing communities, especially for types of disasters they have not yet encountered.     

Frostquakes in New England

Frostquakes are generated by tensional fracturing of the ground due to relatively rapid freezing. They are often accompanied by explosive noise and may reach Intensity V effects, yet they are only felt in neighborhoods and are not recorded on seismic networks. Frostquakes may crack macadam, concrete slabs, shallow soil pipe and some foundation materials along the line of the fracture. They occur in the early hours of the morning in mid-winter during major cold snaps. The ones investigated occurred in glacial sand and silt and none were found on till or bedrock. The recognition of frostquakes is important in correcting the records for fault-caused earthquakes. Frostquakes in the historic record complicate the difficulty of predicting large earthquakes from small ones.     

1980年以来京津冀区域研究进展评论

1980年以来,因研究内容和空间治理重点不同,京津冀、京津唐、环渤海、大渤海等区域名称与区域范围多次变动。作为中国最早开展人文与经济地理学研究的对象区域,越来越受到经济贸易、生态环境、城乡规划等多学科关注。本文基于学术论文和专著、具有影响的科研项目,对1980年以来京津冀及相关区域研究进展进行了综述和评论。归纳起来,研究对象区域经历了“京津唐（塘）—大（环）渤海—京津冀”的变化过程。整体上可分为4个阶段：20世纪80年代面向京津唐地区,国土规划为主的经济地理学区域研究,研究规模有限;20世纪90年代拓展到大（环）渤海地区,面向东（北）亚区域经济一体化进程开展经济贸易科学与地理学交叉研究;21世纪前10年,回归京津冀区域,生态环境科学和城市规划科学大规模介入的融合研究;21世纪10年代京津冀协同发展的多学科区域综合研究。其间,中央政府在该区域开展的一系列重大规划,包括20世纪80年代京津唐国土规划和90年代环渤海经济协作区规划,21世纪前10年京津冀都市圈区域规划和21世纪10年代京津冀协同发展规划,与区域研究形成了良性互动关系,在显著增强空间规划和战略决策的科学性的同时,也有力地促进了人文与经济地理学科发展,推动了人和自然相互间强烈作用状态下区域复杂系统演化规律的研究进展。     

南极长城站生活污水处理前后的细菌监测

本文报道了 1 990年初南极长城站生活污水处理前和处理后 ,污水排海管道口水样粪大肠菌群和余氯含量的测定结果。结果表明 :在污水处理前 ,粪大肠菌群的数量较高 ,达 2 4 0 0 0 /1 0 0 0 ml,经处理后 ,菌量急剧地降低 ,低于有关水质规定的标准 ;菌量的降低与污水处理的加氯量有关 ,加氯越多 ,菌量下降也越多。余氯浓度过高 ,可能对近海生态造成影响 ,因此在对污水进行有效处理时 ,要尽量注意控制加氯量     

The First Appearance of Cattle in Denmark Occurred 6000 Years Ago: An Effect of Cultural or Climate and Environmental Changes

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bones of contemporaneous Late Atlantic aurochs and early cattle in eastern Denmark are significantly different and provide information on the origin and feeding strategies of the earliest domestic cattle. The data show that the early cattle were feeding on grass right from the beginning 4000 cal. yr BC. In contrast, the youngest aurochs population primarily browsed and grazed from the dense forest floor resulting in rather negative δ¹³C values measured on bone collagen. The oldest aurochs have similar isotope values to the earlier cattle, whereas the youngest aurochs have similar values to Late Atlantic red deer from the same locality. As eastern Denmark was largely covered by forest, speculations on the origin of the grazing areas are many. The grass may have grown in openings in the forest, at the forest fringe, or more likely on the newly reclaimed coastal land areas exposed by the decreasing rate of eustatic sea‐level rise contemporaneously with isostatic uplift, during the Littorina transgressions. The stable isotope values do not indicate that leaf foddering of the early cattle was of importance.     

人文地理学视域下中国边境地区研究进展与展望

边境地区是重要的国家安全屏障和多重权力空间影响下的特殊脆弱地带。科学总结边境研究发展历程有助于厘清边境研究脉络,为实现边境长治久安与可持续发展提供科学支撑。论文以中国知网(CNKI)和科学引文索引(Web of Science)中人文地理学相关视域下的中国边境研究学术论文为依据,借助科学知识图谱方法,分析了1990年以来中国边境研究历程、趋势及热点等基本特征。研究发现：中国边境研究经历了“开放探索—社会建构—战略引领”的发展历程,研究热点区域逐渐由东北地区转向西南地区,“边境贸易”“边境旅游”“边境口岸”“一带一路”是4个核心关键词聚类。边境研究主要内容包括边境贸易与开发开放、边境旅游资源开发、社会建构与和谐发展、边境口岸与城市功能,以及地缘环境与边境安全。当前,中国边境研究在规律探索、定量总结等方面仍然不足,论文在构建多要素—多主体—多尺度集成的边境地理研究框架基础上,提出未来应加强边境风险与安全、跨境合作机制、边境效应理论、边境可持续发展等研究,为后续边境研究提供参考,支撑中国边境安全与现代化治理。     

南极菲尔德斯半岛南部近岸水域中粪大肠菌群分布的初步研究

本文采用发酵法对菲尔德斯半岛南部近海水域表层中粪大肠菌群数量进行了初步调查。结果表明 ,在近岸表层海水中 ,粪大肠菌群检出数密度最大的 40个 /升 ,一般是 2 0个 /升 ,密度最小的小于 2 0个 /升 ,后者占多数站位。排污口潮间带 1月份粪大肠菌群检出数 40个 /升 ,3月份 2 80 0个 /升。粪大肠菌群的分布 ,离岸越近数量越高 ,同频繁的人类活动有密切关系。由此看来菲尔德斯半岛南部近岸水体已受生活污水污染 ,尚属轻度污染。但排污口潮间带的污染趋势应引起我们重视