Effectiveness of post-fire salvage logging stream buffer management for hillslope erosion in the U.S. Inland Northwest Mountains

Active wildfire seasons in the western U.S. warrant the evaluation of post-fire forest management strategies. Ground-based salvage logging is often used to recover economic loss of burned timber. In unburned forests, ground-based logging often follows best management practices by leaving undisturbed areas near streams called stream buffers. However, the effectiveness of these buffers has not been tested in a post-wildfire setting. This experiment tested buffer width effectiveness with a novel field-simulated rill experiment using sediment-laden runoff (25 g/L) released over 40 min at evenly timed flow rates (50, 100 and 150 L/min) to measure surface runoff travel length and sediment concentration under unburned and high and low soil burn severity conditions at 2-, 10- and 22-month post-fire. High severity areas 2-month post-fire had rill lengths of up to 100 m. Rill length significantly decreased over time as vegetation regrowth provided ground cover. Sediment concentration and sediment dropout rate also varied significantly by soil burn severity. Sediment concentrations were 19 g/L for the highest flow 2-month post-fire and reduced to 6.9–14 g/L 10-month post-fire due to abundant vegetation recovery. The amount of sediment dropping out of the flow consistently increased over the study period with the low burn severity rate of 1.15 g L⁻¹ m⁻¹ approaching the unburned rate of 1.29 g L⁻¹ m⁻¹ by 2-year post-fire. These results suggest that an often-used standard, 15 m buffer, was sufficient to contain surface runoff and reduce sediment concentration on unburned sites, however buffers on high burn severity sites need to be eight times greater (120 m) immediately after wildfire and four times greater (60 m) 1-year post-fire. Low burn severity areas 1-year post-fire may need to be only twice the width of an unburned buffer (30 m), and 2-year post-fire these could return to unburned widths.     

Finite-difference model of land subsidence caused by cluster loads in Zhengzhou,China

Groundwater exploitation has been regarded as the main reason for land subsidence in China and thus receives considerable attention from the government and the academic community.Recently,building loads have been identified as another important factor of land subsidence,but researches in this sector have lagged.The effect of a single building load on land subsidence was neglected in many cases owing to the narrow scope and the limited depth of the additional stress in stratum.However,due to the superposition of stresses between buildings,the additional stress of cluster loads is greater than that of a single building load under the same condition,so that the land subsidence caused by cluster loads cannot be neglected.Taking Shamen village in the north of Zhengzhou,China,as an example,a finite-difference model based on the Biot consolidation theory to calculate the land subsidence caused by cluster loads was established in this paper.Cluster loads present the characteristics of large-area loads,and the land subsidence caused by cluster loads can have multiple primary consolidation processes due to the stress superposition of different buildings was shown by the simulation results.Pore water migration distances are longer when the cluster loads with high plot ratio are imposed,so that consolidation takes longer time.The higher the plot ratio is,the deeper the effective deformation is,and thus the greater the land subsidence is.A higher plot ratio also increases the contribution that the deeper stratigraphic layers make to land subsidence.Contrary to the calculated results of land subsidence caused by cluster loads and groundwater recession,the percentage of settlement caused by cluster loads in the total settlement was 49.43%and 55.06%at two simulated monitoring points,respectively.These data suggest that the cluster loads can be one of the main causes of land subsidence.     

Seismic‐stratigraphic constraints on the age of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group,Faroe–Shetland region,Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Lower Palaeogene extrusive igneous rocks of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group (FIBG) dominate the Faroese continental margin, with flood basalts created at the time of breakup and separation from East Greenland extending eastwards into the Faroe‐Shetland Basin. This volcanic succession was emplaced in connection with the opening of the NE Atlantic; however, consensus on the age and duration of volcanism remains lacking. On the Faroe Islands, the FIBG comprises four main basaltic formations (the pre‐breakup Lopra and Beinisvørð formations, and the syn‐breakup Malinstindur and Enni formations) locally separated by thin intrabasaltic sedimentary and/or volcaniclastic units. Offshore, the distribution of these formations remains ambiguous. We examine the stratigraphic framework of these rocks on the Faroese continental margin combining onshore (published) outcrop information with offshore seismic‐reflection and well data. Our results indicate that on seismic‐reflection profiles, the FIBG can be informally divided into lower and upper seismic‐stratigraphic packages separated by the strongly reflective A‐horizon. The Lower FIBG comprises the Lopra and Beinisvørð formations; the upper FIBG includes the Malinstindur and Enni formations. The strongly reflecting A‐horizon is a consequence of the contrast in properties of the overlying Malinstindur and underlying Beinisvørð formations. Onshore, the A‐horizon is an erosional surface, locally cutting down into the Beinisvørð Formation; offshore, we have correlated the A‐horizon with the Flett unconformity, a highly incised, subaerial unconformity, within the juxtaposed and interbedded sedimentary fill of the Faroe‐Shetland Basin. We refer to this key regional boundary as the A‐horizon/Flett unconformity. The formation of this unconformity represents the transition from the pre‐breakup to the syn‐breakup phase of ocean margin development in the Faroe–Shetland region. We examine the wider implications of this correlation considering existing stratigraphic models for the FIBG, discussing potential sources of uncertainty in the correlation of the lower Palaeogene succession across the Faroe–Shetland region, and implications for the age and duration of the volcanism.     

Robust numerical implementation of a 3D rate-dependent model for reservoir geomechanical simulations

A 3D elasto-plastic rate-dependent model for rock mechanics is formulated and implemented into a Finite Element (FE) numerical code. The model is based on the approach proposed by Vermeer and Neher (A soft soil model that accounts for creep. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium “Beyond 2000 in Computational Geotechnics,” pages 249-261, 1999). An original strain-driven algorithm with an Inexact Newton iterative scheme is used to compute the state variables for a given strain increment.The model is validated against laboratory measurements, checked on a simplified test case, and used to simulate land subsidence due to groundwater and hydrocarbon production. The numerical results prove computationally effective and robust, thus allowing for the use of the model on real complex geological settings.     

西南大西洋阿根廷滑柔鱼资源时空分布研究

通过了解西南大西洋阿根廷滑柔鱼(Illexargentinus)资源丰度年间变化规律,从而对阿根廷滑柔鱼的资源可持续开发与管理打下基础。作者根据2012～2017年西南大西洋阿根廷滑柔鱼生产统计数据,利用灰色关联评价等数理方法对西南大西洋资源渔场的时空分布特征进行了分析。结果表明,2012～2017年间西南大西洋阿根廷滑柔鱼渔场重心主要在经度上分布于58°W～63°W海域,纬度主要集中在41°～44°S、47°～48°S两个区域,高平均网次产量(10 t/网)的海域主要在57°W～67°W、41°S～42°S和57°W～67°W、44°S～50°S海域。灰色关联度表明:6年间,以2015年滑柔鱼资源状况最好,其次是2014年,2012年最差,2013年、2016年和2017年处于中间水平。利用灰色关联分析的阿根廷滑柔鱼资源丰度变化趋势可用于其资源的可持续开发与管理。     

Nanpanjiang basin: A window on the tectonic development of south China during Triassic assembly of the southeastern and eastern Asia

As the largest siliciclastic sink in the South China block, the Triassic Nanpanjiang basin is generally thought of as a foreland basin related to Indosinian collision between the South China and Indochina blocks. Our basin analysis, spanning an eight years period, provides details of Lopingian to Middle Triassic stratigraphic fill and tectonic subsidence of the basin. Field observation and sedimentological analyses reveal that the basin was not filled by a monotonous turbidite system and suggest instead the development of five primary depositional units constituted by deep-water turbidite systems, mass-transport deposits, condensed drapes, shallow-water isolated carbonate platforms, and volcano-volcaniclastic rocks. The stratigraphic completeness of the basin, the coexistence of widespread but localized carbonate platforms within axially filled deep-water basin, tectonically generated cyclothems of transverse mass-transport deposits along intrabasinal faults and basin fill of extrusive rocks of bimodal composition together apparently call in question the claim that crustal shortening prevailed during the Late Permian to pre-Norian Triassic. Patterns of basin fill, differential tectonic subsidence and very high subsidence rate of the region adjacent to master fault are more closely match the pattern expected for extensional to transtensional basin in a back-arc setting. The crustal extension in the southwestern South China was not consistent with hypothesized Indosinian collision between South China and Indochina blocks, but more likely developed in response to northwestward subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate. Our results, combined with regional considerations, lead to a new model for the Triassic tectonic evolution of South China during Triassic assembly of the southeastern and eastern Asia.     

Validation of the SCEC Broadband Platform simulations for tall building risk assessments considering spectral shape and duration of the ground motion

Earthquake simulation technologies are advancing to the stage of enabling realistic simulations of past earthquakes as well as characterizations of more extreme events, thus holding promise of yielding novel insights and data for earthquake engineering. With the goal of developing confidence in the engineering applications of simulated ground motions, this paper focuses on validation of simulations for response history analysis through comparative assessments of building performance obtained using sets of recorded and simulated motions. Simulated ground motions of past earthquakes, obtained through a larger validation study of the Southern California Earthquake Center Broadband Platform, are used for the case study. Two tall buildings, a 20‐story concrete frame and a 42‐story concrete core wall building, are analyzed under comparable sets of simulated and recorded motions at increasing levels of ground motion intensity, up to structural collapse, to check for statistically significant differences between the responses to simulated and recorded motions. Spectral shape and significant duration are explicitly considered when selecting ground motions. Considered demands include story drift ratios, floor accelerations, and collapse response. These comparisons not only yield similar results in most cases but also reveal instances where certain simulated ground motions can result in biased responses. The source of bias is traced to differences in correlations of spectral values in some of the stochastic ground motion simulations. When the differences in correlations are removed, simulated and recorded motions yield comparable results. This study highlights the utility of physics‐based simulations, and particularly the Southern California Earthquake Center Broadband Platform as a useful tool for engineering applications.     

高精度直升机机载LiDAR在高速公路改扩建勘测中的应用可行性研究

机载LiDAR在公路勘测方面的用途日益广泛。该文对直升机机载LiDAR在高速公路改扩建中的应用技术路线可行性进行了研究论证,从地面控制测量、点云数据获取、点云数据处理、成果应用等多个方面进行了阐述,通过分析LiDAR点云数据在5种不同地面控制点布设方案校正下的点云数据精度,论证了利用地面控制点对直升机机载LiDAR点云数据进行平面和高程校正的可行性。     

Analytical study of ground motion caused by seismic wave propagation across faulted rock masses

Studying seismic wave propagation across rock masses and the induced ground motion is an important topic, which receives considerable attention in design and construction of underground cavern/tunnel constructions and mining activities. The current study investigates wave propagation across a rock mass with one fault and the induced ground motion using a recursive approach. The rocks beside the fault are assumed as viscoelastic media with seismic quality factors, Q_p and Q_s. Two kinds of interactions between stress waves and a discontinuity and between stress waves and a free surface are analyzed, respectively. As the result of the wave superposition, the mathematical expressions for induced ground vibration are deduced. The proposed approach is then compared with the existing analysis for special cases. Finally, parametric studies are carried out, which includes the influences of fault stiffness, incident angle, and frequency of incident waves on the peak particle velocities of the ground motions.     

Review on the study of topographic effect on seismic ground motion

Topographic effect study is a very important research topic in seismology, seismic engineering,earthquake engineering, engineering earthquake construction and engineering seismology. This paper focuses on its present development status. Post-earthquake investigation has found that the existence of topography caused more serious earthquake damage. The actual seismographs also recorded the topographic amplification effect of 6 to 7 times and even more than 10 times. Numerical simulation is an important technique to study topographic effect, which complements the lack of observed records. However researches on 3-D topographic effect are not enough and need to be studied deeper. To find the main influence factors and the quantitative relationship between topography and ground motion are required very urgently. Obviously the achievements not only can be applied in the earthquake resistant design, but also can provide the quantitative pre-earthquake disaster prediction and quantitative post-earthquake disaster evaluation.