Strain-dependent slope stability

Acta Geotechnica - The state of equilibrium of a slope is usually interpreted and expressed by safety factors based on calculations with limit equilibrium methods. Different stress states, failure...     

Flat-footed Females and Missing Males: A New Genus and Species of Pleciofungivoridae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha) Represents the First Record of the Family from Mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber

A new genus and species, Cretopleciofungivora simpsoni gen. et sp. nov., from the extinct family Pleciofungivoridae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha), is discovered in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Previously, this family was known only from imprints in sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous. Discovery of a representative of Pleciofungivoridae in Kachin amber confirms the presence of the family in the Upper Cretaceous. The new species has a unique structure of fore tarsus, with lobed and extended tarsal segments II to IV, a feature hitherto known only in a few species of extant Sciaroidea. Although not particularly rare, the new species is currently known only from female specimens. Possible reasons for this phenomenon, very unusual in Sciaroidea, are briefly discussed, including parthenogenesis as a potentially plausible hypothesis.     

Application of electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) for the assessment of peat properties: a case study of the Całowanie Fen,Central Poland

Complex studies were carried out to recognize the fen structure and peat properties in the Ca?owanie Fen area, belonging to the Natura 2000 network. The studies were conducted in two study areas that differ significantly in terms of peat thickness. Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) was used to identify the properties of the peat and its substrate, such as thickness and electrical resistivity. Comparison of the field studies with the laboratory tests has shown that the ash content rises electrical resistivity in peat. In addition, the study has shown that the application of non-invasive geophysical methods in protected areas is justified. The fen, as a medium containing mostly water, was a proper test area for the ERI measurements.     

Discovery of Two New Peculiar Subgenera and Two New Species of Tipula Linnaeus, 1758(Diptera,Tipulidae) from Baltic Amber

Two new fossil subgenera and two new fossil species of the genus Tipula Linnaeus, 1758, Tipula (Succinica) berendti subgen. and sp. n. and Tipula (Gedanica) adamowiczi subgen. and sp. n., are described from Baltic amber and compared with other species of Tipula known from the Eocene. The two new subgenera and species described herein are an excellent bridge between recent specimens and those preserved in sedimentary rocks, and thus enrich knowledge on the evolution of the family.     

Orthopyroxene rim growth between olivine and quartz at low temperatures (750–950°C) and low water concentration

Orthopyroxene reaction rims were synthesized between polished plates of natural olivine or synthetic forsterite and quartz at 1.9 GPa and temperatures of 750–950°C. The experiments were performed in a piston-cylinder apparatus after drying the samples at 600°C. Each experiment comprised 4 or 7 quartz-olivine contacts that were positioned along a temperature gradient. As a monitor for water content in the samples, the water concentration in the two olivines was determined by FTIR before and after the experiments. The orthopyroxene layers show two different structural variants. Type one (normal layers) has very constant thickness at each contact and formed with equal growth rates at both interfaces. Type two (bulging layers) comprises more irregular areas with 3–5 times thicker rims where porosity provides evidence for the local presence of a fluid. In the bulging layers the growth rate at the olivine-orthopyroxene interface exceeds that at the quartz-orthopyroxene interface. The relative growth rates at the interfaces are in accordance with SiO₂-immobile growth of the normal layers and SiO₂-mobile growth of the bulging layers. The natural olivine contains about 60 wt-ppm intracrystalline water before and after experiment and took up about 20 wt-ppm water molecular adsorbed to micro- and nanocracks and -pores during the runs. The synthetic forsterite contains about 7 wt-ppm internally adsorbed molecular water before and after experiment, and during the runs took up hydrogen equivalent to 3 wt-ppm adsorbed water. The IR spectra indicate that large parts of the point defects (possibly tetrahedral) were frozen-in at the conditions of the experiments. In both olivines a new band appeared at 3,355 or 3,357 cm^?1, respectively, equivalent to about 3 wt-ppm water that at the high pressure of the experiments and opx-buffered aSiO₂ of the experiments might already mean water saturation of the olivines. Despite the effective drying before experiment and the absence of porosity, the bulk diffusivity derived from the rim growth rates is perfectly in line with data from water-bearing piston-cylinder experiments at higher temperatures. The bulk diffusivity during rim growth is 4 to 7 orders of magnitude higher than an extrapolation of really dry experiments to the temperature range of this study.