Damage Survey of Water Supply Systems and Fragility Curve of PVC Water Pipelines in the Chi–Chi Taiwan Earthquake

Substantial damage to water supply systems, including water delivery pipelines, water treatment plants, reservoirs, and water storage tanks, was reported after the 1999 Chi–Chi Taiwan Earthquake. This paper first summarizes the damage survey and then presents the results of seismic fragility analysis for underground pipelines. Construction blueprints of the water delivery pipelines and repair work orders of 11 townships and cities in the disastrous area were digitized into a Geographical Information System (GIS) for analysis and assessment. With the aid of the GIS system, we found that PVC pipes made up 86% of water delivery pipelines while steel, cast iron, ductile iron, PE and others took the rest. Therefore, this paper focuses on the fragility analysis of PVC pipes. Three different methods were applied to derive the fragility relations between the PVC water pipes having nominal diameters (approximately inner diameters) greater than or equal to 65 mm and earthquake intensity parameters such as peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity. The results were then examined with those of other countries. The discrepancy between our results and the empirical equation used by HAZUS, an earthquake loss estimation software developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency was not significant.     

Biofacies of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sediments of central West Siberia

Paleontological study of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sediments recovered by boreholes in the Agan-Vakh and Nadym-Vengapur interfluves clarified environments of their deposition. As is shown, influx of siliciclastic material to central areas of the West Siberian sea basin varied through time. Taxonomic composition and ecological structure of nektonic and benthic fossil assemblages are analyzed and considered in terms of environmental factors such as hydrodynamics, aeration, temperature, and salinity of seawater.     

A Review of Studies Dealing with Tree Rings and Rockfall Activity: The Role of Dendrogeomorphology in Natural Hazard Research

Over the last few years, rockfall research has increasingly focused on hazard assessment and risk analysis. Input data on past rockfall activity were gathered from historical archives and lichenometric studies or were obtained through frequency–volume statistics. However, historical records are generally scarce, and lichenometry may only yield data with relatively low resolutions. On forested slopes, in contrast, tree-ring analyses may help, generally providing annual data on past rockfall activity over long periods. It is the purpose of the present literature review to survey the current state of investigations dealing with tree-ring sequences and rockfall activity, with emphasis on the extent to which dendrogeomorphology may contribute to rockfall research. Firstly, a brief introduction describes how dendrogeomorphological methods can contribute to natural hazard research. Secondly, an account is provided of the output of dendrogeomorphological studies investigating frequencies, volumes or spatial distributions of past rockfall activity. The current and potential strengths of dendrogeomorphology are then presented before, finally, the weaknesses of tree rings as natural archives of past rockfall activity are discussed and promising directions for further studies outlined.     

Assessing the Vibrational Frequencies of the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) by Means of Ambient Seismic Noise Analysis

Ambient seismic noise measurements were conducted inside the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) for assessing its frequencies of vibration and for checking whether these occur in the range where soil amplification is expected. If this is the case, damages may increase in case of an earthquake due to an increased structural response of the building. Analysis of the ratio between the horizontal and vertical components of the spectra recorded at stations located inside the building as well as the ratio between the corresponding components of the spectra recorded simultaneously inside the building and at a reference station placed in the basement of the cathedral indicated several modes of vibration. Facilitated by these results an assessment of the seismic vulnerability was attempted for a 2D ground motion scenario using the finite element method.     

Threshold velocity for wind erosion: the effects of porous fences

Porous fence is a kind of artificial windbreak that has many practical applications. The threshold wind velocities at different distances downwind from porous fences were measured and the corresponding characteristics of particle movement observed to assess their shelter effect. It is found that the fence’s porosity is the key factor that determines the resulting shelter effect. The area near a fence can be typically classified into five regions, each with a different mode of particle movement. Dense fences, and especially solid fences, favor the accumulation of sand upwind of the fences. Fences with porosities of 0.3–0.4 produce the maximum threshold wind velocity; those with porosities of 0.3–0.6 (depending on the fence height) provide the maximum effective shelter distance. It is confirmed that the fence porosities of 0.3–0.4 that have been proposed for practical application in previous research are the most effective for abating wind erosion.     

Real Time Analysis and Forecasting of Strata Caving Behaviour during Longwall Operations

Summary. Discontinuous manual observations and irregular caving characteristics of roof rocks often lead to improper decisions resulting in accidents and production loss. Hence, systematic monitoring of the hanging roof behind the chock shields is necessary for safe and productive mining operations. A real-time application was successfully implemented in an Indian mine for forecasting of hanging roof behaviour to enhance safety and productivity. This paper reports the functioning of real-time TWAP (time weighted average pressure) analysis in the forecasting of hanging roof behaviour in real time.     

The log-normal distribution for hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays: Two or three parameters?

Risk and uncertainty assessments for waste containment systems employing clay barriers often include spatial variability in the hydraulic conductivity as part of the analysis. The two-parameter log-normal distribution is often used to describe the spatial variability, but for compacted clays the three-parameter form can be more appropriate. A statistical hypothesis test was developed that can be used to determine if the two- or three-parameter form of the log-normal distribution is more appropriate. The test is based on a likelihood ratio, comparing likelihood functions for the two- and three-parameter forms at their maximums. Likelihood functions are used assuming that a data set can be segregated into a set of distinct groups of hydraulic conductivities. A step-by-step calculation procedure is described and the test is applied to data collected from 45 sites.     

西北地区泥石流沟形态因素的非线性分析——以兰州市为例

以兰州市区96条主要的泥石流沟为例,利用分形理论的统计自相似性对泥石流沟数的累计分布随沟谷形态要素沟道比降、汇水面积和沟道长度的变化进行了分析;并与不同流域形态要素的分维进行了比较,探讨了分维不同的原因。兰州市区泥石流沟三个形态要素均具有统计意义上的自相似性,其中以汇水面积显示出分维最小(0.46),沟道长度次之(0.71),沟道比降最大(1.09)。分维的大小描述了作为系统的沟谷及其泥石流的形成的空间结构,即分形结构,同时也反映了不同形态要素对系统所起作用的差异,分维越小,所起作用越显著。其结果对西北干旱半干旱地区石流灾害的进一步研究与防治提供了新的思路。     

南极菌Pseudoalteromonas sp．S-15-13产胞外多糖的研究及其分子鉴定

本文对影响南极细菌S-15-13生长和胞外多糖产量的主要环境因子进行了研究,同时采用16S rDNA序列分析及系统发育分析方法对其进行了分子鉴定。结果表明：菌株S-15-13最佳产糖条件为：培养时间,56h；培养温度,8℃；碳源,1．0%葡萄糖；NaCl浓度,3．0%；pH,6．0-7．0。16S rDNA序列分析和系统发育分析表明,菌株S-15-13属于假交替单胞菌属(Pseudoaltero- monas)。     

KIDS AND SPACE IN THE PUERTO RICAN HIGHLANDS

ABSTRACT. The spatial world of the child comprises two great realms, “in’ and “out,’ more or less corresponding to the great behavioral domains of “got to’ and “doing nothing.’ Within the “got‐to’ domain–and thus “in’–are home, school, and other loci of secure, stable authority. Included in “doing nothing’–and so “out’–are street and yard, field and stream, pool hall and movie theater, the spaces of games, things to do, and really doing nothing. This study looks at the shifting relationships of these realms across the life cycle of kids in the highlands of Puerto Rico in 1969–1970.