Micromechanical approach to effective viscoelastic properties of micro‐fractured geomaterials

The aim of this paper is to formulate a micromechanics‐based approach to non‐aging viscoelastic behavior of materials with randomly distributed micro‐fractures. Unlike cracks, fractures are discontinuities that are able to transfer stresses and can therefore be regarded from a mechanical viewpoint as interfaces endowed with a specific behavior under normal and shear loading. Making use of the elastic‐viscoelastic correspondence principle together with a Mori‐Tanka homogenization scheme, the effective viscoelastic behavior is assessed from properties of the material constituents and damage parameters related to density and size of fractures. It is notably shown that the homogenized behavior thus formulated can be described in most cases by means of a generalized Maxwell rheological model. For practical implementation in structural analyses, an approximate model for the isotropic homogenized fractured medium is formulated within the class of Burger models. Although the approximation is basically developed for short‐term and long‐term behaviors, numerical applications indicate that the approximate Burger model accurately reproduce the homogenized viscoelastic behavior also in the transient conditions.     

THE EVOLUTION OF SERVICE ECONOMIES: A GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE1

Of the several classifications of services, each emphasizes different characteristics. The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) is used for a comparative study on the transformation into service economies of the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy and Japan. Service economies are defined as national economies in which employment in services surpassed that in manufacturing. The pace of the evolution of service economies has been rapid with North America leading, followed in order by Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan and West Germany. Service economies have important implications for urban growth, intercity competition, and international trade.     

Participation in payments for ecosystem services: Case studies from the Lacandon rainforest, Mexico

Understanding people’s willingness to participate in projects and programmes of payments for ecosystem services (PES) has not been a key analytical concern of the scholarly literature around this new field of environmental policy and practice. This paper analyses participation in four communities benefiting from payments for biodiversity and carbon fixation in Mexico, and contrasts the results for each case with neighbouring communities that do not receive payments. We take a holistic approach that accounts for procedural rules, actors’ interactions, institutions and values, and individuals’ characteristics. We show that the nature of PES rules and the effectiveness of communication with government officers and NGOs influence resource managers’ ability and willingness to participate. We highlight community size, resource managers’ ability to diversify livelihood activities and local perspectives on the conservation of common forests, particularly sacred values and intergenerational concerns on forest conservation, as critical participation drivers. This analysis provides insights on why and how these new institutions may be attractive for some resource managers and permits to draw some recommendations for the future design of PES projects and programmes.     

Water and power in Santiago de Chile: Socio-spatial segregation through network integration

The analysis of the history of the management and distribution of electricity, water and sanitation networks in Santiago de Chile throws light on a problem which is central to thinking on the relationship between urban services management and territorial splintering: what is the impact of urban policy, in particular housing policy and urban planning, on access to services and on the potential levels of social segregation and institutional splintering of metropolises?The Chilean example is eminently anchored in its political and institutional history. We shall see, for example, that the authoritarian urban policy of the military government, associated with early liberal reform, enabled the improvement of access to networks in every municipality of the Greater Santiago area. However, this success, leading to the integration by urban services of a large territory, does not signify that networks remained neutral as regards the process of spatial segregation. Inversely, we can defend the theory that the presence of an integrated service was a necessary condition and a reinforcing factor of the process of urban spread and residential segregation. This paradoxical argument is a result of the ambivalent liberal network and urban policies of the military government. Urban expansion was largely sustained by the development of integrated infrastructures and universal services. The processes of liberalising land and urban services were mutually sustaining and provided the necessary conditions for the birth of an extremely intense movement of urban sprawl and segregation between 1985 and 2000.     

岩矿显微组构对水银洞金矿成因的指示

黔西南水银洞金矿为产于上二叠统龙潭组中的超大型、高品位金矿床,矿床由多个金矿体组成.工业金矿体顺层产于龙潭组含煤地层所夹的玄武质、硅质、生物碎屑碳酸盐岩中.对水银洞金矿赋矿地层岩石以及矿石显微组构进行了研究,矿石中主要载金矿物为细粒黄铁矿,具再生边、粒内孔隙、铸模孔隙结构及镶边生物矿化构造、铸模式生物矿化构造,是一典型的具沉积一成岩组构.金矿化与硅化有密切的成因联系,金与SiO2来源于峨嵋山玄武岩的喷溢活动,主要金矿体更多显示与峨嵋山玄武岩准同生特征.矿床为沉积一成岩弱改造成囚金矿床.     

Protracted Environmental Issues on a Proposed Titanium Minerals Development in Kenya's South Coast

This study takes cognizance of the fact that the TIOMIN (TIOMIN Resources Inc. of Canada) project has resulted in controversy over its handling of environmental issues and especially the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The authors address many of the protracted issues that have slowed the development of the mining project in Kwale. The main emphasis is on the impacts of the mining and mineral separation processes on the environment, including the governing legislation, the role of consultation and public participation, and socioeconomic issues. In their public documents TIOMIN has specified neither the type of minerals it wants to extract from the area nor their chemical composition. It is well known, however that the titanium minerals and zircon targeted have impurities of iron, thorium and uranium. In the absence of an Environmental Management Plan, the effects of stockpiling radioactive wastes and other impurities that could possibly lead to environmental degradation in both the terrestrial and marine environments have not been publically addressed. The measures proposed to mitigate ecological damage as a result of the establishment of a minerals processing plant in the area seem inadequate. Pollution resulting from accidental spillage or breakage could have significant impact on marine life and residents living near the mining site. Other issues that have not been addressed satisfactorily pertain to the use of surface and underground water. The area already faces a huge water deficit and the calculations presented on aquifer recharge and stream flow rates do not indicate the large quantities of water that would be required in the mineral processing plant. The project, if approved in its present state, risks violation of international conventions. Furthermore, it could cause a conflict between Kenya and Tanzania in the event of an oil spill at the proposed ship loading facility at Shimoni. The proposed mining area includes the district's most fertile land, is home to many fisherfolk and is a major tourist destination. An analysis of the effects of this project on other available opportunities must be thoroughly understood to ascertain the economic and environmental benefits and costs of the mining venture. The proposed compensation rate of $1,000 per acre, for resettlement for example, appears to be grossly inadequate. Compensation should take into account family size and structure family assets and the cost of relocation.     

淮南刘庄煤矿地基人工冻融土工程性质与中微观结构之间关系研究

以淮南刘庄煤矿主井地基的人工冻融土为研究对象,以偏光显微镜,扫描电镜（SEM）为主要研究手段,研究分析了人工冻融土与原状土的中微观结构、冻融前后的中微观结构的变化规律及内在原因。此外,还研究分析了人工冻融土冻融前后的中微观结构及其变化与人工冻融土的物理、力学、工程性质之间的关系。研究显示中微观结构对人工冻融土的物理、力学、工程性质有很大的影响,冻融前后中微观结构的变化受到土的种类、埋深、原状土的中微观结构等因素的影响,且冻融前后的中微观结构的变化在一定程度上主导了冻融前后的物理、力学、工程性质的改变。     

地理信息服务的思索与探讨

GIS正在从传统意义上的地理信息系统向地理信息服务偏移,地理信息服务已成为信息服务业中重要组成部分之一.文中归纳总结了地理信息服务概念、技术体系、服务模式以及我国地理信息服务发展的差距、对策与建议.     

城市空间信息基础设施建设结构模型研究

首先对WebGIS的发展状况进行了分析,然后介绍了Web Services的工作原理,给出了面向Geo-Services的城市空间信息基础设施建设的结构模型,并依据该模型对北京市基础地理信息数据库集成项目进行了典型研究.     

A multidisciplinary multi-scale framework for assessing vulnerabilities to global change

Terrestrial ecosystems provide a number of vital services for people and society, such as food, fibre, water resources, carbon sequestration, and recreation. The future capability of ecosystems to provide these services is determined by changes in socio-economic factors, land use, atmospheric composition, and climate. Most impact assessments do not quantify the vulnerability of ecosystems and ecosystem services under such environmental change. They cannot answer important policy-relevant questions such as 'Which are the main regions or sectors that are most vulnerable to global change?’ 'How do the vulnerabilities of two regions compare?’ 'Which scenario is the least harmful for a sector?’This paper describes a new approach to vulnerability assessment developed by the Advanced Terrestrial Ecosystem Analysis and Modelling (ATEAM) project. Different ecosystem models, covering biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, hydrology, and carbon sequestration are fed with the same Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios based on the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). Each model gives insights into specific ecosystems, as in traditional impact assessments. Moreover, by integrating the results in a vulnerability assessment, the policy-relevant questions listed above can also be addressed. A statistically derived European environmental stratification forms a key element in the vulnerability assessment. By linking it to other quantitative environmental stratifications, comparisons can be made using data from different assessments and spatial scales.