Construction Problems on the Karstified Limestone Tuffs of Condeixa, Central Portugal: A Case Study

During the excavations for the foundations of a three storey building on the limestone tuffs of Condeixa, Central Portugal, a large dissolution fissure and smaller dissolution voids were found. Since the area has never been the subject of engineering geology investigation, it was decided to evaluate the risk associated with the construction of the building. These limestone tuffs were formed in a continental environment by the precipitation of calcite carried by the water coming from the large limestone body in the east. The precipitated calcite mixed with the terrigenous materials and around trunks and leaves of plants, originating a very heterogeneous and porous ground, which is characteristic of limestone tuffs. The study started with a detailed geological survey followed by a large number of destructive drillings, located essentially under the pad foundations. The results revealed several karstic cavities with serious problems for the building foundations and the structure, and many smaller dissolution cavities, often filled with clayey soils. The ground treatment solutions used included, dental cleaning, filling with concrete or granular material the dissolution structures accessible at the level of the foundation, reinforcement of the footing and the structure of the building and adding a continuous foundation beam to hold the foundations together. The cost of the engineering geology study, site investigation, ground treatment, and the reinforcement of the foundation and building, increased the total construction cost from 2%, at the design stage, to 4.8%.     

油页岩综合利用对周围环境的影响——以抚顺矿区为例

世界能源日益减少的局面为油页岩的开发应用带来广阔的前景，但油页岩工业所带来的环境影响亦不容忽视。以抚顺油页岩为例，从油页岩综合利用和油页岩工业对环境的影响等方面系统讨论了在我国发展油页岩工业时，如何本着节约能源、保护环境、实现可持续发展的观念，利用现有先进技术，科学发展油页岩工业，降低生产过程中的固、液、气污染物对环境的危害。     

Site Investigation for the Effects of Vegetation on Ground Stability

The procedure for geotechnical site investigation is well established but little attention is currently given to investigating the potential of vegetation to assist with ground stability. This paper describes how routine investigation procedures may be adapted to consider the effects of the vegetation. It is recommended that the major part of the vegetation investigation is carried out, at relatively low cost, during the preliminary (desk) study phase of the investigation when there is maximum flexibility to take account of findings in the proposed design and construction. The techniques available for investigation of the effects of vegetation are reviewed and references provided for further consideration. As for general geotechnical investigation work, it is important that a balance of effort is maintained in the vegetation investigation between (a) site characterisation (defining and identifying the existing and proposed vegetation to suit the site and ground conditions), (b) testing (in-situ and laboratory testing of the vegetation and root systems to provide design parameters) and (c) modelling (to analyse the vegetation effects).     

工程场地的特征与工程地质分区

工程场地与城市在空间尺度上相去甚远 ,但工程场地所具备的与环境行为相近的共性 ,使其属性分析可以推广应用到城市建设所面对的整个工程地质环境。从这一意义上说 ,工程场地是整个城市宏观工程地质环境的微观单元 ,众多微观单元的组合构成了环境的宏观总体。为此 ,工程场地的三大属性特性、适宜性、稳定性 ,可以作为城市工程地质环境分析中分析方法的基础。从工程场地分析推广到城市工程地质环境分析 ,还将有助于保证城市工程地质环境分析的定量化水平。     

云南银(铅)-锌矿开发史料与找矿探讨

云南是银铅锌矿开发较早的省份之一，史料丰富。本文从史料的角度，阐述了与云南古代有关银（铅）－锌矿的开发概况，基本特点以及如何保护，继承这份丰富的历史遗产，进而对目前有关史料的研究和古代采矿遗址清理情况进行分析，提出今后找矿的一些想法。     

Capture-zone design in an aquifer influenced by cyclic fluctuations in hydraulic gradients

Design of a groundwater pumping and treatment system for a wood-treatment facility adjacent to the tidally influenced Fraser River estuary required the development of methodologies to account for cyclic variations in hydraulic gradients. Design of such systems must consider the effects of these cyclic fluctuations on the capture of dissolved-phase contaminants. When the period of the cyclic fluctuation is much less than the travel time of the dissolved contaminant from the source to the discharge point, the hydraulic-gradient variations resulting from these cycles can be ignored. Capture zones are then designed based on the average hydraulic gradient determined using filter techniques on continuous groundwater-level measurements. When the period of cyclic fluctuation in hydraulic gradient is near to or greater than the contaminant travel time, the resulting hydraulic-gradient variations cannot be ignored. In these instances, procedures are developed to account for these fluctuations in the capture-zone design. These include proper characterization of the groundwater regime, assessment of the average travel time and period of the cyclic fluctuations, and numerical techniques which allow accounting for the cyclic fluctuations in the design of the capture zone. Electronic Publication     

Far field effects of Alpine plate tectonism in the Iberian microplate recorded by fault-related denudation in the Spanish Central System

Apatite fission track analysis was performed on 56 samples from central Spain to unravel the far field effects of the Alpine plate tectonic history of Iberia. The modelled thermal histories reveal complex cooling in the Cenozoic, indicative of intermittent denudation. Accelerated cooling events occurred across the Spanish Central System (SCS) from the Middle Eocene to Recent. These accelerated cooling events resulted in up to 2.8±0.9 km of denudation in the western Sierra de Gredos and 3.6±1.0 km in the central and eastern Gredos (assuming a paleogeothermal gradient of 28±5 °C and a surface temperature of 10 °C). The greatest amount of denudation (5.0±1.6 km) occurred in the Sierra de Guadarrama. Accompanying rock uplift was 4.7±1.0 and 5.9±1.6 km in the eastern Gredos and Guadarrama, respectively. Most denudation in the Gredos occurred from the Middle Eocene to the Early Miocene and can be related to the N–S stress field, induced by the Pyrenean compression. In the Guadarrama, the greatest denudation was Pliocene to Recent of age and seems related to the ongoing NW–SE Betic compression. The fact that the formation of the E–W trending Gredos coincides with the N–S Pyrenean compression and the creation of the present day morphology of the NE–SW trending Guadarrama with the younger NW–SE Betic compression, indicates that they record the far field effects of Alpine plate tectonics on Iberia. The trend of pre-existing lineaments was of major importance in influencing the style and magnitude of these of far field effects.     

Validation through HVSR measurements of a method for the quick detection of site amplification effects from intensity data: an application to a seismic area in Northern Italy

An instrumental validation is attempted of an innovative approach devoted to the quick individuation, from macroseismic data, of site amplification phenomena able to significantly modify seismic hazard levels expected on the basis of average propagation effects only. According to this methodology, two evaluations of hazard are performed at each investigated locality: the former, obtained by epicentral intensity data ‘reduced’ at the site through a probabilistic attenuation function and, the latter, computed by integrating such data with seismic effects actually observed at the site during past earthquakes. The comparison, for each locality, between these two hazard estimates allow to orientate the identification of those sites where local amplifications of earthquake ground motion could be significant. In order to check such methodology, indications obtained in this way from macroseismic data are compared with the estimates of transfer functions performed through the HVSR technique applied to microtremors. Results concerning municipalities located in a seismic area of Northern Italy indicate a good agreement between macroseismic and instrumental estimates.     

近20年来我国区域发展政策及其效果的对比研究

在对近 2 0年来我国区域发展政策进行简要回顾的基础上 ,文中利用计量经济学模型方法和有关统计数据 ,对我国对外开放这一区域发展政策对东部沿海地区和中西部地区的经济发展作用进行了定量研究 ,首次从量的方面探讨了对外开放政策对东部和中西部地区经济发展的作用效果及其差异。通过计量经济模型模拟计算 ,2 0世纪 80年代初至 1 999年对外开放政策对我国东部沿海地区GDP的直接作用率达到 2 1 39% ,使其相应的GDP年增长速度由9 1 %提高到 1 0 2 4 % ,提高了 1 1 4个百分点。而对于我国中西部地区 ,由于对外开放较晚 ,对外开放政策的力度远不如东部沿海地区的大 ,从 90年代初期开始的沿江、沿边对外开放政策对我国中西部地区GDP的直接作用率为 4 2 4 % ,仅为前者的 2 0 %左右 ,使其相应的GDP年增长速度也仅由 8 96 %提高到 9 2 7% ,仅提高 0 31个百分点 ,两者的差距非常明显。