Investigation of Failed Slopes Based on a New Method of Back Analysis in Rock Masses: A Case Study

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Small variation in shear strength parameters results in remarkable changes in the safety factor (SF) of a rock slope. In this regard, rock mass strength of...     

Geochemical Prospectivity Mapping Through a Feature Extraction–Selection Classification Scheme

Natural Resources Research - Machine learning (ML) schemes can enhance success in geochemical prospectivity mapping. This study has examined the effectiveness of several feature extraction or...     

Spatially enabled bushfire recovery

Over the last decade growth in spatial information use for disaster management has been considerable. Maps and spatial data are now recognized as critical elements in each of the four phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The use of spatial information to support the phases of mitigation, preparedness and response to bushfires is widely understood. Less attention, however, has been given to the role of spatial information in the recovery. Moreover, the application of the spatially enabled society concept to bushfire recovery has not been explored. This paper explores the role that spatial information plays and could play in the recovery phase of a bushfire disaster. The bushfires in Victoria, Australia that took place during February 2009 are used as the primary case study. It is found that: Spatial information for recovery requires a pre-existing infrastructure; Spatial capacity must be developed across agencies dealing with recovery; Spatially enabled address and parcel information are the key dataset required to support all recovery tasks; Spatial integration of bushfire datasets (spread and intensity) require linking with planning regimes, and Spatial information that is volunteered could be incorporated into recovery activities.     

Geohazard assessment of sand dunes between Jeddah and Al-Lith, western Saudi Arabia

Serious hazards have taken place in urban areas and road construction in Saudi Arabia because of the presence of accumulations of drifting sand dunes. Several researches, which carried out investigative work to solve this problem, were reviewed. Three locations of dune fields along the area between Jeddah and Al-Lith were investigated. The dune forms was identified. Detailed field investigations showed that barchan dunes are dominant in the area. The sands from the studied locations were found to be similar in grain size and shape parameters. Mineralogically, the sand reflects the composition of the surrounding igneous and metamorphic rocks. Regression analyses were performed and empirical relationships between dune height, width, windward length, slip-face length, and rate of movements were developed. Relatively strong relations exist between these parameters. The most important geometric parameter controlling dune movement with wind speed and direction is determined to be the dune height. A reasonable similarity occurs between the barchan dunes in the study area and those existing in Al Nufud, Al Jafurah sand seas, and Khulays area. The studied dune fields pose some natural hazards on the roads, and the surrounding buildings and constructions in the villages along the area between Jeddah and Al-Lith, especially during wind storms.     

PM10 Source Apportionment in Ahvaz,Iran, Using Positive Matrix Factorization

Source apportionment of particulate matter <10 µm in diameter (PM₁₀), having considerable impacts on human health and the environment, is of high priority in air quality management. The present study, therefore, aimed at identifying the potential sources of PM₁₀ in an arid area of Ahvaz located in southwest of Iran. For this purpose, we collected 24‐h PM₁₀ samples by a high volume air sampler. The samples were then analyzed for their elemental (Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, Si, Sn, Sr, Li, Ti, V, Zn, Mo, and Sb) and ionic (NH, Cl^?, NO, and SO) components using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and ion chromatography instruments, respectively. Eight factors were identified by positive matrix factorization: crustal dust (41.5%), road dust (5.5%), motor vehicles (11.5%), marine aerosol (8.0%), secondary aerosol (9.5%), metallurgical plants (6.0%), petrochemical industries and fossil fuel combustion (13.0%), and vegetative burning (5.0%). Result of this study suggested that the natural sources contribute most to PM₁₀ particles in the area, followed closely by the anthropogenic sources.     

Centrifuge modeling of buried continuous pipelines subjected to normal faulting

Seismic ground faulting is the greatest hazard for continuous buried pipelines.Over the years,researchers have attempted to understand pipeline behavior mostly via numerical modeling such as the finite element method.The lack of well-documented field case histories of pipeline failure from seismic ground faulting and the cost and complicated facilities needed for full-scale experimental simulation mean that a centrifuge-based method to determine the behavior of pipelines subjected to faulting is best to verify numerical approaches.This paper presents results from three centrifuge tests designed to investigate continuous buried steel pipeline behavior subjected to normal faulting.The experimental setup and procedure are described and the recorded axial and bending strains induced in a pipeline are presented and compared to those obtained via analytical methods.The influence of factors such as faulting offset,burial depth and pipe diameter on the axial and bending strains of pipes and on ground soil failure and pipeline deformation patterns are also investigated.Finally,the tensile rupture of a pipeline due to normal faulting is investigated.     

Spectrophotometric Determination of Cationic Surfactants Based on Their Effect on the Complexes of Chrome Azurol S with Be2+ and Al3+ Cations

Simple, rapid, and sensitive spectrophotometric methods have been proposed for the determination of cationic surfactants (CS) as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), dodecyltrimethylammonium (DTAB), and cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB). The methods are based on the effects of CSs on the complexes of Al³⁺ and Be²⁺ with Chrome Azurol S (CAS). The optimum reaction conditions such as CAS concentration, metal ion concentration, and pH have been studied and found to be 2.0 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 CAS, 0.5 mg L^?1 Al³⁺ or 0.4 mg L^?1 Be²⁺ and pH 5.4. The analytical characteristics of the methods such as limit of detections, limit of quantifications, and linear ranges have been obtained. CTAB, CPB, and DTAB could be determined by the Al–CAS complex in the ranges of 0.50–40.00, 0.20–10.00, and 0.40–10.00 µmol L^?1, and for the Be–CAS complex in the ranges of 0.08–5.00, 0.08–3.00, and 0.20–6.00 µmol L^?1, respectively. The limit of the detections of the method for the determination of CTAB, CPB, and DTAB for the Be–CAS complex has been found as 0.025, 0.024, and 0.061 µmol L^?1, respectively. The interfering effect of some anions and cations was also tested. The method was applied to the determination of CS CTAB in conditioner shampoo and water samples.     

Separation of magnetic anomalies into induced and remanent magnetization contributions

Inversion of magnetic data is complicated by the presence of remanent magnetization, and it provides limited information about the magnetic source because of the insufficiency of data and constraint information. We propose a Fourier domain transformation allowing the separation of magnetic anomalies into the components caused by induced and remanent magnetizations. The approach is based on the hypothesis that each isolated source is homogeneous with a uniform and specific Koenigsberger ratio. The distributions of susceptibility and remanent magnetization are subsequently recovered from the separated anomalies. Anomaly components, susceptibility distribution and distribution of the remanent and total magnetization vectors (direction and intensity) can be achieved through the processing of the anomaly components. The proposed method therefore provides a procedure to test the hypotheses about target source and magnetic field, by verifying these models based on available information or a priori information from geology. We test our methods using synthetic and real data acquired over the Zhangfushan iron-ore deposit and the Yeshan polymetallic deposit in eastern China. All the tests yield favourable results and the obtained models are helpful for the geological interpretation.