The Mount Parnitha (Athens) Earthquake of September 7, 1999: A Disaster Management Perspective

Natural Hazards - Strong earthquakes in the proximity of densely inhabited urban areas pose one ofthe most complicated disaster management situations faced by societies today. Herethe experience...     

Facies analysis of the Trypali carbonate unit (Upper Triassic) in central-western Crete (Greece): an evaporite formation transformed into solution-collapse breccias

The Trypali carbonate unit (Upper Triassic), which crops out mainly in central‐western Crete, occurs between the parautochthonous series (Plattenkalk or Talea Ori‐Ida series, e.g. metamorphic Ionian series) and the Tripolis nappe (comprising the Tripolis carbonate series and including a basal Phyllite–Quartzite unit). It consists of interbedded dolomitic layers, represented principally by algally laminated peloidal mudstones, foraminiferal, peloidal and ooidal grainstones, as well as by fine‐grained detrital carbonate layers, in which coarse baroque dolomite crystals and dolomite nodules are dispersed. Baroque dolomite is present as pseudomorphs after evaporite crystals (nodules and rosettes), which grew penecontemporaneously by displacement and/or replacement of the host sediments (sabkha diagenesis). However, portions of the evaporites show evidence of resedimentation. Pre‐existing evaporites predominantly consisted of skeletal halite crystals that formed from fragmentation of pyramidal‐shaped hoppers, as well as of anhydrite nodules and rosettes (salt crusts). All microfacies are characteristic of peritidal depositional environments, such as sabkhas, tidal flats, shallow hypersaline lagoons, tidal bars and/or tidal channels. Along most horizons, the Trypali unit is strongly brecciated. These breccias are of solution‐collapse origin, forming after the removal of evaporite beds. Evaporite‐related diagenetic fabrics show that there was extensive dissolution and replacement of pre‐existing evaporites, which resulted in solution‐collapse of the carbonate beds. Evaporite replacement fabrics, including calcitized and silicified evaporite crystals, are present in cements in the carbonate breccias. Brecciation was a multistage process; it started in the Triassic, but was most active in the Tertiary, in association with uplift and ground‐water flow (telogenetic alteration). During late diagenesis, in zones of intense evaporite leaching and brecciation, solution‐collapse breccias were transformed to rauhwackes. The Trypali carbonate breccias (Trypali unit) are lithologically and texturally similar to the Triassic solution‐collapse breccias of the Ionian zone (continental Greece). The evaporites probably represent a major diapiric injection along the base of the parautochthonous series (metamorphic Ionian series) and also along the overthrust surface separating the parautochthonous series from the Tripolis nappe (Phyllite–Quartzite and Tripolis series). The injected evaporites were subsequently transformed into solution‐collapse breccias.     

Historic Dead Sea Level Fluctuations Calibrated with Geological and Archaeological Evidence

The Dead Sea, the Holocene terminal lake of the Jordan River catchment, has fluctuated during its history in response to climatic change. Biblical records, calibrated by radiocarbon-dated geological and archaeological evidence, reinforce and add detail to the chronology of the lake-level fluctuations. There are three historically documented phases of the Dead Sea in the Biblical record: low lake levels ca. 2000–1500 B.C.E. (before common era); high lake levels ca. 1500–1200 B.C.E.; and low lake levels between ca. 1000 and 700 B.C.E. The Biblical evidence indicates that during the dry periods the southern basin of the Dead Sea was completely dry, a fact that was not clear from the geological and archaeological data alone.     

扎赉诺尔煤田水文地球化学特征及成因分析

扎赉诺尔煤田地处山前,有利的地理环境条件形成了独特的水文地质特征—地下水的垂直分带和地下水顺层径流。其特有的水文地球化学环境导致了地下水成分的差异性。本文从水文地球化学的角度,对煤田地下水的水文地球化学特征及成因进行了论述分析。     

Impact of oasis establishment on underground environment in salinized sandy lands

The salinized sandy lands are the important reclaimable reserve wastelands in thesouth area of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. But it is necessary that the eco-logical environment of the area is not destroyed by action of oasis development. The main factor tohinder oasis development is land salinization. Rational oasis establishment rebuilds wastelandswith lower productivity and utilization efficiency for the growth of agriculture, forestry, and stock raising. The results of surveying sub-soil environment of Aimugaike. Awati oasis in Hotian County ofthe Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region show that the underground water and soil environment arenot deteriorated under the rational management and administration, which could be coordinatedfor obtaining economic and environmental benefit. During the oasis establishment period from1997 to 1999, the plowland area has reached 166.7 hm2, and the seed cotton yield per unit areahas reached 2250 kg @ hm-2, the area of timber forest and active sand break forest has reached 20hm2, the area of fruit trees is 71.5 hm2; and the soil moisture has decreased from 22.07% to18.12%. In the first year of oasis establishment, the soil type has changed salt soil into light saltsoil, in the second year the soil has been out of salt harm; and the content of soil organic matter intopsoil has increased obviously.     

The nature of calcareous deposits along pan margins in eastern central Namibia

In a region along the western margin of the Kalahari in eastern Namibia and western Botswana, many pan basins have mainly calcareous deposits along part of their margins. These are typically lined by low vertical scarps. In Namibia, these pans are mainly located in dry river beds. The petrographical study of these deposits demonstrates that they consist of lacustrine sediments that have to a varying extent been affected by early‐diagenetic processes and by the formation of late‐diagenetic features. The original composition of the deposits ranges from highly calcareous sediments, typically with ostracod, diatom and charophyte remains, to entirely non‐calcareous diatomites. The deposits generally show an upward increase in total carbonate content, which is mainly a synsedimentary feature. The early‐diagenetic processes that affected the deposits include the formation of orthic siliceous nodules. At a later stage, secondary calcite enrichment occurred, leaving only the silica‐impregnated sections unaffected. This enrichment partly accounts for the upward increase in total carbonate content in some profiles and often resulted in the development of a highly calcareous surface horizon. Sepiolite and amorphous silica that are part of the groundmass of the deposits may also partly have formed at this stage. Late‐diagenetic features include various forms of secondary calcite and silica. This study of pan basins in eastern central Namibia indicates that a lacustrine rather than purely pedogenic origin should also be considered for calcareous deposits that commonly occur along pan margins in other parts of southern Africa. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment yield and storage variations in the Négron River catchment (south western Parisian Basin,France) during the Holocene period

In the Négron River catchment area (162 km²), surface‐sediment stores are composed of periglacial calcareous ‘grèze’ (5 × 10⁶ t) and loess (21 × 10⁶ t), and Holocene alluvium (12·6 × 10⁶ t), peat (0·6 × 10⁶ t) and colluvium (18·5 × 10⁶ t). Seventy‐five per cent of the Holocene sediments is stored along the thalwegs. Present net sediment yield, calculated from solid discharge at the Négron outlet, is low (0·6 t km^?2 a^?1) due to the dominance of carbonate rocks in the catchment. Mean sediment yield during the Holocene period is 7·0 t km^?2 a^?1 from alluvium stores and 7·6 t km^?2 a^?1 from colluvium stores. Thus, the gross sediment yield during the Holocene period is about 18·7 t km^?2 a^?1 and the sediment delivery ratio 3 per cent. The yield considerably varies from one sub‐basin to another (3·9 to 24·5 t km^?2 a^?1) according to lithology: about 25 per cent and 50 per cent of initial stores of periglacial grèze and loess respectively were reworked during the Holocene period. Sediment yield has increased by a factor of 6 in the last 1000 years, due to the development of agriculture. The very high rate of sediment storage on the slope during that period (88 per cent of the yield) can be accounted for by the formation of cultivation steps (‘rideaux’). It is predicted that the current destruction of these steps will result in a sediment wave reaching the valley floors in the coming decades. Subboreal and Subatlantic sediments and pollen assemblages in the Taligny marsh, where one‐third of the alluvium is stored, show the predominant influence of human activity during these periods in the Négron catchment. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

吉林省发展绿色食品的农业生态环境优势分析

发展绿色食品生产是吉林省实施“生态省”建设工程的主导产业之一，本文按照绿色食品产地环境质量标准要求，客观评价了吉林省发展绿色食品的产地环境条件，得出吉林省具有发展绿色食品生产的显著农业生态环境优势。基于吉林省良好的农业生态环境质量，结合区域自然条件和资源优势，将全省分为东部山区、中部松辽平原区、西部松嫩平原区和大、中城市郊区四种区域类型，并分别提出了其发展绿色食品生产的宏观策略。     

人类活动对黄河中游高含沙水流的影响

以黄河中游干流和渭河、无定河的资料研究了人类活动对黄土高原河流高含沙水流的发生频率的影响。人类破坏森林植被，大量拦截黄河上游清水来源区的清水基流，使得高含沙水流发生频率增大，大规模水土保持措施的实施则使高含沙水流发生频率迅速减小。近50年来黄河干流和一些支流的高含沙水流随时间的变化可以用一个三阶段模式来概括，即20世纪50-60年代，由于人类破坏植被，使高含水流频率增大；20世纪60年代末至80年代中期，大规模水土保持措施的实施使高含沙水流发生的频率减小；20世纪80年代末期以来，人类大量拦截利用清水资源，使高含沙水流的发生频率又复增大。     

东北地区生态环境保育与绿色社区建设

20世纪以来，东北地区资源环境发生了巨大的变化，为全球范围内具有有短时限人地关系高强度作用特征的典型地区之一。区域资源过量消耗、生态环境趋于恶化，可持续发展面临威胁，保育生态环境成为一项十分迫切的任务。建设“绿色社区”，是生态保育的有效措施和重要内容，也是生态建设的一项基础工程，建立绿色社区的目标的营造绿色文化、保育绿色生态和发展绿色经济，建立绿色社区的基本任务是发展生态经济，保育生态环境，解决农村生态环境退化，促进城市可持续发展。提出了绿色社区建设的实施方案。