Soil erosion susceptibility assessment and validation using a geostatistical multivariate approach: a test in Southern Sicily

A certain number of studies have been carried out in recent years that aim at developing and applying a model capable of assessing water erosion of soil. Some of these have tried to quantitatively evaluate the volumes of soil loss, while others have focused their efforts on the recognition of the areas most prone to water erosion processes. This article presents the results of a research whose objective was that of evaluating water erosion susceptibility in a Sicilian watershed: the Naro river basin. A geomorphological study was carried out to recognize the water erosion landforms and define a set of parameters expressing both the intensity of hydraulic forces and the resistance of rocks/soils. The landforms were mapped and classified according to the dominant process in landsurfaces affected by diffuse or linear water erosion. A GIS layer was obtained by combining six determining factors (bedrock lithology, land use, soil texture, plan curvature, stream power index and slope-length factor) in unique conditions units. A geostatistical multivariate approach was applied by analysing the relationships between the spatial distributions of the erosion landforms and the unique condition units. Particularly, the density of eroded area for each combination of determining factors has been calculated: such function corresponds, in fact, to the conditional probability of erosion landforms to develop, under the same geoenvironmental conditions. In light of the obtained results, a general geomorphologic model for water erosion in the Naro river basin can be depicted: cultivated areas in clayey slopes, having fine-medium soil texture, are the most prone to be eroded; linear or diffuse water erosion processes dominate where the topography is favourable to a convergent or divergent runoff, respectively. For each of the two erosion process types, a susceptibility map was produced and submitted to a validation procedure based on a spatial random partition strategy. Both the success of the validation procedure of the susceptibility models and the geomorphological coherence of the relationships between factors and process that such models suggest, confirm the reliability of the method and the goodness of the predictions.     

长江河口洪水造床作用

据多年实测资料统计 ,长江口年径流总量 92 4 0亿m3,年输沙量 4 .86亿t,洪季的径流量和输沙量分别占全年总量的71.7%和 87.2 %。如遇洪水年 ,当洪峰流量超过 6 0 0 0 0m3 s时 ,中、下游河道水位明显抬高而进入防汛警戒状态 ,河床有明显冲淤变化 ;洪峰流量超过 70 0 0 0m3 s时 ,新生汊道及切滩串沟频频出现 ,给河口治理及深水航道开发带来重要的影响。从长江河口河槽演变基本特征及南港、北槽底沙输移强度引证长江洪水在河口地区的造床作用     

Response of the barrier island coastal region of southwestern Nigeria to climate and non-climate forcing

Despite threats emanating from the influence of climate and non-climate forcing on the barrier island coastal region of southwestern Nigeria, the extent of the coastal erosion is poorly understood. We report evidence of coastal erosion and sediment accumulation in the region over a 34-year period (1973–2017), using Landsat imagery at intervals of approximately six years. Landsat image corrections and various water-extraction algorithms were used to systematically delineate coastal erosion and accumulation in the area. The region was subdivided into western and eastern subregions separated by Lagos Harbour. In the west, erosion took place during the periods 1973–1979, 1979–1984, 1990–1999 and 2005–2011, whereas in the east, erosion occurred during 1973–1979, 1990–1999 and 1999–2005. Coastal sediment accumulation occurred in the east during 1979–1984, 1984–1990, 2005–2011 and 2011–2017, whereas gains in the west occurred during 1984–1990, 1999–2005 and 2011–2017. The study revealed substantial net erosion of 1 228.1 ha in the region as a whole, over the full period. Sediment accumulation accompanying the coastal erosion appears to be linked to longshore drift. Erosion between 1973 and 2011 was probably attributable to climate change (storms and tidal conditions), longshore drift, the inflow and outflow of water at Lagos Harbour, coastal morphology and, possibly, human impacts. However, the coastal changes between 2011 and 2017 were more obviously associated with human activities, such as development of the Eko Atlantic construction project. Coastal surveillance, together with the use of environmentally sensitive protective measures, could possibly help to reduce coastal erosion in the region. Careful coastal management practices, including artificial nourishing and the installation of resilient structures (e.g. seawalls), should be undertaken to protect human settlements that are already at risk from sea-level rise.     

远区台风“三巴”对长江口波浪动力场的作用机制

针对远区台风对河口波浪动力场的影响问题,利用第三代波浪模式SWAN计算了远区台风"三巴"期间长江口波浪动力场分布,分析了陆架至河口区的波浪能量耗散和波致泥沙侵蚀的时空分布,发现波浪由外海向近岸传播过程中,波-波相互作用导致能量由高频向低频转换,周期和波长逐渐增大,近底层轨道流速增大,能量密度增高;阐明白帽破碎是维持深水区波浪能量平衡和限制波高成长的主要机制,底摩擦耗能和水深诱导的破碎耗能是长江口横沙东滩和崇明东滩邻近海域波高衰减的主要原因;提出波浪产生的底部切应力与相对水深有关,当波浪传播到浅水区时,波长和周期越大,波浪切应力越大。研究揭示了与河口相距数百公里的远区台风能够对长江口波浪动力场产生明显影响,河口水下三角洲前缘是最容易受到波浪侵蚀的区域,研究成果弥补了目前关于陆架远区台风对河口波浪动力场影响研究的不足,对深化认识远区台风对长江口动力环境、地貌演变、航运安全和滩涂保护等有重要科学意义。     

山东蓬莱西庄附近海域波浪与海岸侵蚀

本文探讨西庄附近海域的波浪状况,分析由于人工挖沙影响,使得登州浅滩的防护作用发生变化,导致近岸波浪作用增强,造成海岸侵蚀.最后讨论设计波要素的确定,为防浪护坡工程提供必要的设计依据.     

Submarine canyon development in the Izu-Bonin forearc: A SeaMARC II and seismic survey of Aoga Shima Canyon

SeaMARC II sidescan (imagery and bathymetry) and seismic data reveal the morphology, sedimentary processes, and structural controls on submarine canyon development in the central Izu-Bonin forearc, south of Japan. Canyons extend up to 150 km across the forearc from the trench-slope break to the active volcanic arc. The canyons are most deeply incised (1200–1700 m) into the gentle gradients (1–2°) upslope on the outer arc high (OAH) and lose bathymetric expression on the steep (6–18°) inner trench-slope. The drainage patterns indicate that canyons are formed by both headward erosion and downcutting. Headward erosion proceeds on two scales. Initially, pervasive small-scale mass wasting creates curvilinear channels and pinnate drainage patterns. Large-scale slumping, evidenced by abundant crescent-shaped scarps along the walls and tributaries of Aoga Shima Canyon, occurs only after a channel is present, and provides a mechanism for canyon branching. The largest slump has removed >16 km³ of sediment from an 85 km² area of seafloor bounded by scarps more than 200 m high and may be in the initial stages of forming a new canyon branch. The northern branch of Aoga Shima Canyon has eroded upslope to the flanks of the arc volcanoes allowing direct tapping of this volcaniclastic sediment source. Headward erosion of the southern branch is not as advanced but the canyon may capture sediments supplied by unconfined (non-channelized) mass flows.Oligocene forearc sedimentary processes were dominated by unconfined mass flows that created sub-parallel and continuous sedimentary sequences. Pervasive channel cut-and-fill is limited to the Neogene forearc sedimentary sequences which are characterized by migrating and unconformable seismic sequences. Extensive canyon formation permitting sediment bypassing of the forearc by canyon-confined mass flows began in the early Miocene after the basin was filled to the spill points of the OAH. Structural lows in the OAH determined the initial locus of canyon formation, and outcropping basement rocks have prevented canyon incision on the lower slope. A major jog in the canyon axis, linear tributaries, and a prominent sidescan lineament all trend NW-NNW, reflecting OAH basement influence on canyon morphology. This erosional fabric may reflect joint/fracture patterns in the sedimentary strata that follow the basement trends. Once the canyons have eroded down to more erosion-resistant levels, channel downcutting slows relative to lateral erosion of the canyon walls. This accounts for the change from a narrow canyon axis in the thickly sedimented forearc basin to a wider, more rugged canyon morphology near the OAH. About 9500 km³ of sediment has been eroded from the central, 200 km long, segment of the Izu-Bonin forearc by the formation of Aoga Shima, Myojin Sho and Sumisu Jima canyons. The volume of sediment presently residing in the adjacent trench, accretionary wedge, and lower slope terrace basin accounts for <25% of that eroded from the canyons alone. This implies that a large volume (>3500 km³ per 100 km of trench, ignoring sediments input via forearc bypassing) has been subducted beneath the toe of the trench slope and the small accretionary prism. Unless this sediment has been underplated beneath the forearc, it has recycled arc material into the mantle, possibly influencing the composition of arc volcanism.     

Chalk shore platform erosion in the vicinity of sea defence structures and the impact of construction methods

Erosion of the intertidal chalk platform in the vicinity of groynes and seawalls is evident to the naked eye along many stretches of the engineered coastline of southeast England, leading to undermining and eventually failure of these structures. However, quantification of the magnitude and spatial extent of the erosion has been difficult to date because of a lack of data about the past elevation of the platform. The application of softcopy photogrammetry makes it possible to recreate past platform elevations from historic air photographs and to compare these with elevations from modern air photographs. Coastal sea defence structures have been installed along the chalk coast east of Brighton at various dates over the past 70 years. During this period, the construction methods have changed from predominantly manual labour to a reliance on heavy machines. The analysis of erosion patterns around structures built since the 1970s using heavy machinery show that surface lowering is 4 to 25 times greater in the vicinity of these structures than across the platform as a whole. In contrast, there is no similar pattern of increased erosion around structures built using predominantly manual labour in the 1930s. A four fold increase in average surface lowering is found also along a vehicle trackway that crosses the mid platform. Depressions developed by enhanced lowering in the front of seawalls generate their own dynamic of increased erosion by trapping pebbles and cobbles that enhance the abrasion of the chalk through bedload transport under standing waves in front of the walls.     

现代黄河三角洲土地利用变化分析

人类对海岸带的开发利用影响着海岸的变迁。土地利用和土地覆被变化可以说是自然与人文过程交叉最为密切的问题，是人地关系的具体体现。通过对黄河三角洲土地利用变化的研究，可了解人为因素对三角洲海岸带的开发利用状况及其对海岸侵蚀的影响。根据1987年和2001年两期卫星遥感图像和2001年野外调查数据，运用地理信息系统方法及数理统计方法，分析了现代黄河三角洲地区1987年至2001年土地利用／覆被的数量变化和空间变化特征；揭示了该地区各类土地利用数量变化的幅度、速度和土地利用空间变化的主要类型；阐明了该区各类土地利用变化的区域特点。该地区土地利用变化速度比整个环渤海地区速度快，草地、滩地和不明地类这3种类型大量减少，其他类型增多。从变化率来看，养殖区、库塘、油田用地增长最快。库塘、海滩养殖区等类型的增加，滨海草地的减少，使海岸侵蚀加剧。     

Bathymetry of the Tonga Trench and Forearc: a map series

Four new bathymetric maps of the Tonga Trench and forearc between 14 °S and 27 °S display the important morphologic and structural features of this dynamic convergent margin. The maps document a number of important geologic features of the margin. Major normal faults and fault lineaments on the Tonga platform can be traced along and across the upper trench slope. Numerous submarine canyons incised in the landward slope of the trench mark the pathways of sediment transport from the platform to mid- and lower-slope basins. Discontinuities in the trench axis and changes in the morphology of the landward slope can be clearly documented and may be associated with the passage and subduction of the Louisville Ridge and other structures on the subducting Pacific Plate. Changes in the morphology of the forearc as convergence changes from normal in the south to highly-oblique in the north are clearly documented. The bathymetric compilations, gridded at 500- and 200-m resolutions and extending along 500 km of the landward trench slope and axis, provide complete coverage of the outer forearc from the latitude of the Louisville Ridge-Tonga Trench collision to the northern terminus of the Tonga Ridge. These maps should serve as a valuable reference for other sea-going programs in the region, particularly the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the National Science Foundation MARGINS initiative.     

Discussion on Coastal Erosion Near Xizhuang, Penglai, China

-In this work, on the basis of the characteristics of coastal erosion near Xizhuang (Penglai, Shandong, China) and the in-situ measured data and theoretical calculation, the causes of coastal erosion there are obtained: (1) natural erosion, (2) beach sand borrowing, and (3) sand borrowing at the Dengzhou shoal near Xizhuang, which results in the loss of the function of the wave force resistance of the shoal. Since the wave energy is increased, the longshore sediment transport rate is increased. Coastal erosions are more and more serious. A scientific basis to reduced the calamity of coastal erosion in local area is presented. Some experiences are accumulated for studying coastal erosion.