Neoproterozoic trace fossils vs. microbial mat structures: Examples from the Tandilia Belt of Argentina

The Tandilia Belt in northeast Argentina includes a Neoproterozoic sequence of sediments (Sierras Bayas Group), in which the Cerro Largo Formation, ca. 750 Ma in age, forms a siliciclastic, shallowing upward succession of subtidal nearshore to tidal flat deposits. Trace fossils Palaeophycus isp. and Didymaulichnus isp. have been described from the upper part of this succession. Specific sedimentary structures consisting of round-crested bulges, arranged in a reticulate pattern, and networks of curved cracks are associated with the trace fossils. These structures are considered to be related to epibenthic microbial mats that once colonized the sediment surface. They reflect stages of mat growth and mat destruction, if compared to analogous structures in modern cyanobacterial mats of peritidal, siliciclastic depositional systems. Also the trace fossils are interpreted as mat-related structures, partly forming components of networks of shrinkage cracks, partly representing the upturned and involute margins of shrinkage cracks or circular openings in desiccating and shrinking, thin microbial mats.

The definition of Didymaulichnus miettensis Young as a Terminal Proterozoic trace fossil is questioned, and it may be considered to interpret the ‘bilobate’ structure as the upturned, opposite margins of microbial shrinkage cracks which have been brought back into contact by compaction after burial.     

Shrinkage and desiccation cracking in bentonite–sand landfill liners

Data are reported on the shrinkage and desiccation cracking exhibited by bentonite-enhanced sand mixtures (BES) upon air-drying. Mixtures containing 10 and 20% bentonite by dry weight, compacted at moisture contents ranging from 8 to 32%, were investigated. Hydraulic conductivity data for BES specimens saturated and tested immediately after compaction, and for similar specimens that had no visible damage after air-drying, are also presented.

All the mixtures exhibited volumetric shrinkage upon air-drying with the amount of shrinkage increasing with increasing moisture content during compaction. At any initial moisture content mixtures containing 20% bentonite shrink more than those containing 10% bentonite, but the shrinkage is insensitive to the compactive effort. Compacted beds of BES containing 10 and 20% bentonite exhibit no visible desiccation cracking as the top surface is dried when compacted at 15 and 14% moisture content, respectively, and only minor cracking when compacted at initial moisture contents of 20 and 15%, respectively. For the range of mixtures tested, it appears that cracking only occurs when BES undergoes more than about 4% volumetric shrinkage when air-dried. The saturated hydraulic conductivity of intact BES specimens is unaffected by a drying episode prior to testing.     

Study of desiccation crack initiation and development at ground surface

Cracks are common in clayey or expansive soils and provide preferential pathways for water infiltration into soils. A field study was conducted to investigate the mechanisms of initiation and development of desiccation cracks on two soils. Based on results of the field study and measurements of soil-water retention curves and soil shrinkage properties in the laboratory, the conditions of crack initiation and the development of crack geometric parameters (i.e., crack porosity, crack aperture, and crack density) with water content or drying time were quantified. The results show that desiccation cracks developed in three stages: initial stage, primary stage, and steady state stage. In the initial stage, few cracks developed with gradually decreasing water content. When the water content reached a critical value for crack initiation, cracks developed quickly and this was the start of the primary stage. The critical suction at crack initiation was calculated using a stress criterion, which is in the range of 5.3–21.3 times the preconsolidation pressure of the soil. As the water content approached the shrinkage limit of the soil, cracks developed slowly and approached a steady state. The cracks were found to be repeatable during three drying–wetting cycles.     

Effects of lithology and land use on storm run-off in east luxembourg

For a large part of the year, the forested catchments in the Keuper formation of east Luxembourg produce more direct run-off on a storm basis than paired cultivated catchments. The occurrence of shrinkage cracks, their pronounced opening and closing, and the occurrence of natural pipes in the forested environment play a major role in explaining this phenomenon. The effect of land use on storm run-off is studied in relation to that found for lithology in the same area.     

An analytical model of soil–structure interaction with swelling soils during droughts

Lightly loaded structures constructed on expansive soils may develop structural damage as a result of changes in the soil’s moisture content. This study investigated an analytical model of soil–structure interaction to assess the settlement of dwellings built on swelling soils when droughts occur. The building behavior was investigated with the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, and the ground behavior was investigated with a Winkler-derived model based on the state surface approach. The analytical model results were compared to those of a finite element analysis using the Barcelona Expansive Model (BExM) performed with Code_Bright.The analytical model was then used to assess the settlement transmission ratio for a typology of clayey soils and different parameters of building. The results indicated that the final deflection of the building increased with the building length and soil suction. The building deflection due to the suction variations was inversely proportional to the load, the rigidity of the building and the embedding depth of the foundation. Increasing these parameters made the building less vulnerable to shrinkage and swelling action.     

加石灰改性后膨胀土的工程性质研究

膨胀土掺石灰后其性质有很多改变。通过对荆宜高速公路膨胀土的石灰改性试验,得到了膨胀土加石灰后的工程性质的变化规律,如自由膨胀率、膨胀量、收缩率、塑性指数下降、抗剪强度与CBR增加等。从而为改善膨胀土的工程性质以满足工程设计的要求提供了可靠的试验数据。     

振动沉管灌注桩缩径原因的分析及预防

通过对镇江开发区某工程振动沉管桩基础施工方法的总结,系统地论述了沉管灌注桩施工中发生缩径的原因,提出了预防措施。     

Effects of coarse-grained materials on properties of residual soil

Residual soils are generally characterised by a low coefficient of permeability and high shrinkage potential. Several soil improvement methods can be applied to overcome these problems, including mixing the residual soil with coarse-grained soils. In order to study the effects of varying coarse-grained materials on the hydraulic properties and shrinkage characteristics of residual soils, a local residual soil was mixed with different percentages of a gravelly sand and a medium sand. The hydraulic properties and shrinkage potential of the residual soil and the soil mixtures were investigated. The measurements showed that increasing the amount of coarse-grained materials increased the saturated permeability and reduced the shrinkage potential of the residual soil mixture. Increasing the amount of coarse-grained materials in the residual soil produced changes in several key parameters of soil-water characteristic curve (e.g., the slope, the air-entry value, the residual matric suction, and the residual volumetric water content), as well as the unsaturated permeabilities of the soil mixtures.     

2000年以来广东省城市人口收缩的时空演变与影响因素

基于人口变化的视角,分别对2000—2016年间广东省县级以上城市的常住人口与户籍人口进行动态观察,分析不同类型城市人口收缩的时间变化与空间分布,并运用定量回归方法探讨其影响因素。研究发现：普遍增长伴随着局部收缩是广东省城市人口变化的主要特征,常住人口收缩数量变化具有波动性和短期性的特征,而户籍人口的波动变化则相对较平稳;省域层面城市人口收缩呈现“核心地区增长—外围地区收缩”的总体分布规律,持续收缩和片段收缩的城市主要集中在省域边缘地带。此外,产业经济动力不足、区域发展存在的差异、地方财政力量薄弱以及本地人口持续外流是导致外围地区城市人口收缩的主要影响因素。     

Cyclic Swell–Shrink Behaviour of a Compacted Expansive Soil

Laboratory cyclic swell–shrink tests were carried out on compacted expansive soil specimens to study in detail the effect of changes in shrinkage pattern on the swell–shrink behaviour of compacted expansive soils. Compacted soil specimens were allowed to swell and either shrank fully or partially shrank to several predetermined heights in each cycle. The tests were carried out at a surcharge pressure of 50 kPa. The test results revealed that shrinkage of compacted saturated soil specimens to predetermined height in each shrinkage cycle provides similar conditions as that of the controlled suction tests with an increasing number of swell–shrink cycles. The water content of soil specimens and hence soil suction was found to remain nearly constant for each pattern of shrinkage. For soil specimens equilibrated to a given swell–shrink pattern, suction at the end of shrinkage cycles was changed from a higher suction to a lower suction, and also from a lower to a higher suction. The experimental results showed that there may be an immediate equilibrium state attained by the soil in terms of swell–shrink potential if suction at the shrinkage cycles was less than the past suction; otherwise, the equilibrium state was accompanied by fatigue of swelling. The volumetric deformation of the soil specimen subjected greater shrinkage was found to be much larger than the corresponding vertical deformation. The compressibility index of microstructure, κ_m, was determined for several shrinkage patterns. It is shown that κ_m is heavily influenced by suction at the end of shrinkage cycles.