Stability of streambanks formed in partially saturated soils and effects of negative pore water pressures: the Sieve River (Italy)     

Massimo Rinaldi  Nicola Casagli 《Geomorphology》1999,26(4):707

Streambanks of alluvial channels are usually composed of loose materials, which are unsaturated in ambient conditions. Unsaturated soils are subject to negative pore water pressures, which cause an apparent cohesion. The latter is the main factor in allowing the stability of near-vertical banks. Even during moderate in-bank flow events, the apparent cohesion can be strongly reduced as the material approaches full saturation; therefore, during the drawdown phase, as the confining pressure of the water in the channel disappears, a bank failure is likely to occur. Channel bed-level lowering along the Sieve River, Central Italy, has caused widespread bank instability. A geomorphological reconnaissance of forms and processes was followed by in situ tests to determine the shear strength of the banks. Interpretation of the tests and a streambank stability analysis were based on concepts of soil mechanics for unsaturated soils, in order to obtain relations between bank angle and height in limit equilibrium conditions. A stability chart was obtained with curves for different apparent cohesion values, and a stability analysis was performed taking into account the effects of flow events. In order to investigate the pore pressure effects, a series of piezo-tensiometers were installed in a streambank of the Sieve River. Data from a 1 year monitoring period show variations in pore water pressure and matric suction as a consequence of rainfall, evapotranspiration, and water stage variations. A planar failure with a tension crack occurred in the upper cohesive part of the bank during December 1996. The safety factor has been expressed as a function of the geometry of the bank and of the shear strength of the material. Safety factor variations through time are therefore shown as a function of seasonal variations in matric suction.  相似文献   

Channelization of a large Alpine river: what is left of its original morphodynamics?          下载免费PDF全文

Vittoria Scorpio  Simone Zen  Walter Bertoldi  Nicola Surian  Marco Mastronunzio  Elena Dai Prá  Guido Zolezzi  Francesco Comiti 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2018,43(5):1044-1062

The Adige River drains 12 200 km² of the Eastern Alps and flows for 213 km within this mountain range. Similar to other large rivers in Central Europe, the Adige River was subject to massive channelization works during the 19th century. Thanks to the availability of several historical maps, this river represents a very valuable case study to document the extent to which the morphology of the river changed due to channelization and to understand how much is left of its original morphodynamics. The study was based on the analysis of seven sets of historical maps dating from 1803–1805 to 1915–1927, on geomorphological analysis, on the application of mathematical morphodynamic theories and on the application of bar and channel pattern prediction models. The study concerns 115 km of the main stem and 29 km of its tributaries. In the pre‐channelization conditions, the Adige River presented a prevalence of single‐thread channel planforms. Multi‐thread patterns developed only immediately downstream of the main confluences. During the 19th century, the Adige underwent considerable channel adjustment, consisting of channel narrowing, straightening, and reduction of bars and islands. Multi‐thread and single‐thread reaches evolved through different evolutionary trajectories, considering both the channel width and the bar/vegetation interaction. Bar and channel pattern predictors showed good correspondence with the observed patterns, including the development of multi‐thread morphologies downstream of the confluences. Application of the free‐bar predictor helped to interpret the strong reduction – almost complete loss – of exposed sediment bars after the channelization works, quantifying the riverbed inclination to form alternate bars. This morphological evolution can be observed in other Alpine rivers of similar size and similar massive channelization, therefore, a simplified conceptual model for large rivers subjected to channelization is proposed, showing that a relatively small difference in the engineered channel width may have a strong impact on the river dynamics, specifically on bar formation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Geophysical Methods and Spatial Information for the Analysis of Decaying Frescoes     

Maria Danese  Maria Sileo  Nicola Masini 《Surveys in Geophysics》2018,39(6):1149-1166

A promising application field of geophysics is monitoring and analysis of the state of conservation of works of art, such as wall paintings including frescoes. To this aim, two are the issues to address: the choice of the most appropriate survey instrument and method, and the analysis and interpretation of data coming from the survey, after their processing. This paper deals with a spatial analysis based protocol for the interpretation of data coming from different non-invasive tests, to improve the extraction process of the pattern decay. The case study is a frescoed wall of Gymnasium in Pompeii, investigated with the following non-invasive techniques: structure-from-motion photogrammetry (SfM), ground-penetrating radar, multitemporal infrared thermography.  相似文献   

Origin and evolution of the atmospheres of early Venus,Earth and Mars     

Helmut Lammer  Aubrey L. Zerkle  Stefanie Gebauer  Nicola Tosi  Lena Noack  Manuel Scherf  Elke Pilat-Lohinger  Manuel Güdel  John Lee Grenfell  Mareike Godolt  Athanasia Nikolaou 《Astronomy and Astrophysics Review》2018,26(1):2

We review the origin and evolution of the atmospheres of Earth, Venus and Mars from the time when their accreting bodies were released from the protoplanetary disk a few million years after the origin of the Sun. If the accreting planetary cores reached masses \(\ge 0.5 M_\mathrm{Earth}\) before the gas in the disk disappeared, primordial atmospheres consisting mainly of H\(_2\) form around the young planetary body, contrary to late-stage planet formation, where terrestrial planets accrete material after the nebula phase of the disk. The differences between these two scenarios are explored by investigating non-radiogenic atmospheric noble gas isotope anomalies observed on the three terrestrial planets. The role of the young Sun’s more efficient EUV radiation and of the plasma environment into the escape of early atmospheres is also addressed. We discuss the catastrophic outgassing of volatiles and the formation and cooling of steam atmospheres after the solidification of magma oceans and we describe the geochemical evidence for additional delivery of volatile-rich chondritic materials during the main stages of terrestrial planet formation. The evolution scenario of early Earth is then compared with the atmospheric evolution of planets where no active plate tectonics emerged like on Venus and Mars. We look at the diversity between early Earth, Venus and Mars, which is found to be related to their differing geochemical, geodynamical and geophysical conditions, including plate tectonics, crust and mantle oxidation processes and their involvement in degassing processes of secondary \(\hbox {N}_2\) atmospheres. The buildup of atmospheric \(\hbox {N}_2\), \(\hbox {O}_2\), and the role of greenhouse gases such as \(\hbox {CO}_2\) and \(\hbox {CH}_4\) to counter the Faint Young Sun Paradox (FYSP), when the earliest life forms on Earth originated until the Great Oxidation Event \(\approx \) 2.3 Gyr ago, are addressed. This review concludes with a discussion on the implications of understanding Earth’s geophysical and related atmospheric evolution in relation to the discovery of potential habitable terrestrial exoplanets.  相似文献   

Multiscale Analysis of the Instantaneous Eccentricity Oscillations of the Planets of the Solar System from 13 000 BC to 17 000 AD     

Scafetta  Nicola  Milani  Franco  Bianchini  Antonio 《Astronomy Letters》2019,45(11):778-790

Astronomy Letters - The high-resolution Jet Propulsion Laboratory DE431 and DE432 planetary ephemeris are used to evaluate the instantaneous eccentricity functions of the orbits of the planets of...  相似文献   

Leaf partitioning of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica between two herbivores: Is Sarpa salpa herbivory underestimated because of Paracentrotus lividus grazing?     

Stefania Pinna  Antonio Pais  Lorenzo Chessa  Nicola Sechi  Giulia Ceccherelli 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2009

In the Mediterranean region, herbivory appears to be a factor controlling the production of the endemic species Posidonia oceanica, which is mainly due to two main macroherbivores: the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, and the sparid fish Sarpa salpa. In this context the present study is a contribution in clarifying herbivory on P. oceanica by testing: 1) whether the abundance of grazing marks of the two herbivores is variable across different spatial scales, 2) whether spatial variation of P. lividus grazing marks and its density is consistent, 3) whether there is a dependence of the number of P. lividus grazing marks on its density, 4) whether the grazing of both macroherbivores, P. lividus and S. salpa, involves the entire leaf length, and 5) whether there is a dependence of the number of P. lividus grazing marks on the number of S. salpa grazing bites.  相似文献   

Surface sediment gases as indicators of subsurface hydrocarbons – examining the record in laboratory and field studies     

Michael A. Abrams  Nicola F. Dahdah 《Marine and Petroleum Geology》2010

Near-surface sediment gases are commonly examined in surface geochemistry surveys to evaluate subsurface hydrocarbon generation and entrapment. Sediment gases reside in interstitial spaces, bound to mineral or organic surfaces, and/or entrapped in carbonate inclusions. Characterizing migrated sediment gases with minimal compositional and isotopic fractionation is challenging, and different methods are currently in use to extract and analyze surface sediment gases. These methods have not been compared in controlled laboratory experiments. The key to calibration experiments is to know the charge gas composition and thus have a basis to evaluate the sediment gas extraction procedure.  相似文献