The 2019 Brumadinho tailings dam collapse: Possible cause and impacts of the worst human and environmental disaster in Brazil     

《International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation》2020

On 25th January 2019, the tailings dam of the Brumadinho iron mine operated by Vale S/A failed catastrophically. The death toll stood at 259 and 11 people remained missing as of January 2020. This tragedy occurred three years after Mariana’s tailings dam rupture – the most significant tailing dam disaster in Brazilian history. Thus far, a systematic investigation on the cause and effect of the failure has yet to be conducted. Here, we use satellite-driven soil moisture index, multispectral high-resolution imagery and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) products to assess pre-disaster scenarios and the direct causes of the tailings dam collapse. A decreasing trend in the moisture content at the surface and the full evanescence of pond water through time (2011–2019) suggest that the water was gradually penetrating the fill downwards and caused the seepage erosion, saturating the tailings dam. Large-scale slumping of the dam (extensional failure) upon the rupture indicates that the materials of the fill were already saturated. InSAR measurements reveal a dramatic, up to 30 cm subsidence in the dam (at the rear part) within the past 12 months before the dam collapse, signifying that the sediments had been removed from the fill. Although the information on the resistance level of the tailings dam to infiltrations is not available, these pieces of evidence collectively indicate that the seepage erosion (piping) is the primary cause for the chronic weakening of the structure and, hence, the internal “liquefaction” condition. Upon the collapse, the fully saturated mud tailings flowed down the gentle slope area (3.13 × 10⁶ m²), where 73 % were originally covered by tree, grass or agricultural tracts. The toxic mud eventually reached the Paraopeba River after travelling 10 km, abruptly increasing the suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and the toxic chemical elements in the river, immediately affecting the local livelihoods that depend on its water. The Paraopeba River is a major tributary of the San Francisco River, the second-longest river in Brazil reaching the Atlantic Ocean. We anticipate that the environmental repercussions of this toxic seepage will be felt throughout the entire basin, especially riverine communities located downstream.  相似文献   

基于GF-1号的舟山近岸悬浮泥沙浓度反演研究          下载免费PDF全文

章敏超  郭碧云 《海洋开发与管理》2018,35(1):126-131

文章利用舟山近岸实测光谱数据和国产卫星GF-1号宽视场成像仪(WFV)遥感数据,反演该海域悬浮泥沙浓度。结果表明:(1)线性模型和二次模型相比,二次模型的精确度略高于线性模型,但对于悬沙低浓度区,反演误差过大,故线性模型更适用于舟山近岸水体悬浮泥沙浓度反演;(2)GF-1号B2和B3是悬沙浓度变化的敏感波段,B3/B2波段组合的线性模型反演效果较好;(3)GF-1号遥感数据能够较理想地实现定量反演近岸水体的悬浮物。  相似文献   

Artificial neural network simulation for prediction of suspended sediment concentration in the River Ramganga,Ganges Basin,India     

Mohd Yawar Ali Khan  Fuqiang Tian  Faisal Hasan  Govind Joseph Chakrapani 《国际泥沙研究》2019,34(2):95-107

The relation between the water discharge (Q) and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) of the River Ramganga at Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, in the Himalayas, has been modeled using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The current study validates the practical capability and usefulness of this tool for simulating complex nonlinear, real world, river system processes in the Himalayan scenario. The modeling approach is based on the time series data collected from January to December (2008–2010) for Q and SSC. Three ANNs (T1-T3) with different network configurations have been developed and trained using the Levenberg Marquardt Back Propagation Algorithm in the Matlab routines. Networks were optimized using the enumeration technique, and, finally, the best network is used to predict the SSC values for the year 2011. The values thus obtained through the ANN model are compared with the observed values of SSC. The coefficient of determination (R²), for the optimal network was found to be 0.99. The study not only provides insight into ANN modeling in the Himalayan river scenario, but it also focuses on the importance of understanding a river basin and the factors that affect the SSC, before attempting to model it. Despite the temporal variations in the study area, it is possible to model and successfully predict the SSC values with very simplistic ANN models.  相似文献   

Small river basin and estuarine sediment fluxes: The magnitude necessary for coastal dispersion and siltation effects on a coral reef     

《国际泥沙研究》2019,34(6):591-599

Increasing continental suspended sediment influx to coral reefs is an example of land-sea coupling that requires the identification of sources, magnitude of transport, and controlling processes. In Brazil, a small coastal basin (Macaé River) was identified as a source of suspended sediment to a coral reef on the coast of Cape Armação dos Búzios. Biannual suspended sediment loads were measured at the basin as were fluxes within the estuary and towards the coast during eight tidal cycles. Particle load and yield from this basin were typical of small coastal basins, showing high to moderate slopes and transitional land management. However, the magnitude of the river loads was lower than the sediment transport within the estuary, indicating that the estuary amplifies river fluxes and sustains the transference of suspended sediment alongshore to the coral reef. Nonetheless, the estuary displays both suspended particle retention and export capacity and, therefore, fluxes to the coast and the coral reef occur as episodic events.  相似文献   

Experiments on the effect of inflow and outflow sequences on suspended sediment exchange rates     

Michael M&#;ller  Giovanni De Cesare  Anton J. Schleiss 《国际泥沙研究》2017,32(2)

In laboratory experiments, the influence of inflow and outflow sequences on the behavior of fine sedi-ment was investigated. The experimental set-up consisted of two interconnected rectangular basins, between which water was moved back and forth. Suspended sediment concentration in the main basin as well as the sediment exchange rates were derived from turbidity measurements.The suspended sediment ratio, SSR, and sediment exchange rates (influx sediment rate, ISR, and evacuated sediment rate, ESR) were measured. In twenty test runs, a parametric study on the magnitude and frequency of inflow and outflow cycles, the relative duration between inflow and outflow sequences, the initial sediment concentration, and the intake position was done. An initial test with stagnant water described the set-tling behavior of fine sediment and served as a reference scenario.The test results show that settling of fine particles near the intake/outlet structure can be considerably reduced by the nature of the inflow and outflow sequences. High cycle magnitude and frequency lead to maximum suspended sediment ratio in the system. For low discharges, the evolution of suspended sediment concentration cannot be directly correlated to the inflow and outflow cycles. However, compared to"no operation"conditions, the suspended sediment ratio could be increased by 10%to 40%locally. For high discharge, the evolution of suspended sediment concentration correlated with discharge cycles and suspended sediment ratios between 50%and 80%higher than for stagnant water could be achieved. Similar ratios could be obtained when the intake is located closer to the bottom or to the free water surface.Meanwhile, the overall sediment balance remained in equilibrium over the test period, indicating that the influx and evacuated sediment rates are not significantly influenced by the inflow and outflow cycles.  相似文献   

基于HJ-1遥感数据的矿区水体污染监测与分析——以龙岩紫金山金铜矿为例     

陈绍杰  陈颖  杜培军  柳思聪 《四川测绘》2011,(6):252-255

矿产资源的持续开采与加工利用使得矿区周边水资源受到的污染日趋严重,急需采用先进技术对水污染进行监测分析,遥感技术是水环境监测最为有效的技术之一。利用国产环境一号小卫星多光谱遥感影像数据,针对福建省龙岩市紫金山矿区不同时相的数据进行水质遥感监测。利用近红外单波段阈值分割法提取悬浮物浓度信息,基于矿区酸碱性水体光谱曲线特性采用342波段假彩色合成影像,采用SVM分类方法进行分类,判别矿区水体酸碱性以及分析水体受污染程度变化和污染源。结果表明,研究区汀江水体2008年呈现碱性,2010年呈现弱碱性,水质在研究时段内得到一定的改善,但在选矿厂与矿区附近的水体中仍含有大量重金属沉积物。  相似文献   

Flash flood sediment transport in a steep sand-bed ephemeral stream     

Paolo BILLI 《国际泥沙研究》2011,26(2):193-209

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Storm-driven shelf-to-canyon suspended sediment transport at the southwestern Gulf of Lions     

A. Palanques  J. Guillén  P. Puig  X. Durrieu de Madron 《Continental Shelf Research》2008

Shelf-to-canyon suspended sediment transport during major storms was studied at the southwestern end of the Gulf of Lions. Waves, near-bottom currents, temperature and water turbidity were measured on the inner shelf at 28-m water depth and in the Cap de Creus submarine canyon head at 300 m depth from November 2003 to March 2004. Two major storm events producing waves H_s>6 m coming from the E–SE sector took place, the first on 3–4 December 2003 (max H_s: 8.4 m) and the second on 20–22 February 2004 (max H_s: 7 m). During these events, shelf water flowed downcanyon producing strong near-bottom currents on the canyon head due to storm-induced downwelling, which was enhanced by dense shelf water cascading in February 2004. These processes generated different pulses of downcanyon suspended sediment transport. During the peak of both storms, the highest waves and the increasing near-bottom currents resuspended sediment on the canyon head and the adjacent outer shelf causing the first downcanyon sediment transport pulses. The December event ended just after these first pulses, when the induced downwelling finished suddenly due to restoration of shelf water stratification. This event was too short to allow the sediment resuspended on the shallow shelf to reach the canyon head. In contrast, the February event, reinforced by dense shelf water cascading, was long enough to transfer resuspended sediment from shallow shelf areas to the canyon head in two different pulses at the end of the event. The downcanyon transport during these last two pulses was one order of magnitude higher than those during the December event and during the first pulses of the February event and accounted for more than half of the total downcanyon sediment transport during the fall 2003 and winter 2004 period. Major storm events, especially during winter vertical mixing periods, produce major episodes of shelf-to-canyon sediment transport at the southwestern end of the Gulf of Lions. Hydrographic structure and storm duration are important factors controlling off-shelf sediment transport during these events.  相似文献   

Tracing suspended sediment and particulate phosphorus sources in catchments   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

D.E. Walling  A.L. Collins  R.W. Stroud 《Journal of Hydrology》2008,350(3-4):274-289

Information on suspended sediment and particulate P (PP) sources is an important requirement in many catchment-based diffuse source pollution studies, in order to assist with model validation and to provide information to support the development of effective sediment and phosphorus control strategies. Such information is, however, frequently unavailable or difficult to assemble. In the study reported, source fingerprinting procedures were successfully used to assemble this information for seven sub-catchments in the Hampshire Avon catchment and five sub-catchments in the Middle Herefordshire Wye catchment. The results provide important new information on the relative importance of the contributions from surface and channel/subsurface sources to the suspended sediment and PP fluxes from the catchments. In the Wye sub-catchments channel/subsurface sources contributed 40–55% of the overall suspended sediment flux and 21–43% of the PP flux from the catchments. Equivalent values for the Avon were 1–41% and 1–54%, respectively. Combination of the information on the relative importance of surface and channel/subsurface sources with measured suspended sediment fluxes has provided the first estimates of the specific fluxes of sediment and PP attributable to channel/subsurface sources for UK catchments. The former are as high as 15–20 t km⁻² year⁻¹ in some of the Wye sub-catchments, whereas the latter exceeded 0.1 kgP ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in the same sub-catchments. The results emphasize the need to take account of potential contributions from channel/subsurface sources when using measured suspended sediment and PP flux data to validate predictions derived from models incorporating only surface contributions.  相似文献   

Lagrangian measurements and modelling of fluid advection in the inner surf and swash zones     

T.E. Baldock  A. KudoP.A. Guard  J.M. AlsinaM.P. Barnes 《Coastal Engineering》2008

New laboratory and field data are presented on fluid advection into the swash zone. The data illustrate the region of the inner surf zone from which sediment can be directly advected into the swash zone during a single uprush, which is termed the advection length. Experiments were conducted by particle tracking in a Lagrangian reference frame, and were performed for monochromatic breaking waves, solitary bores, non-breaking solitary waves and field conditions. The advection length is normalised by the run-up length to give an advection ratio, A, and different advection ratios are identified on the basis of the experimental data. The data show that fluid enters the swash zone from a region of the inner surf zone that can extend a distance seaward of the bore collapse location that is approximately equal to half of the run-up length. This region is about eight times wider than the region predicted by the classical swash solution of Shen and Meyer [Shen, M.C., Meyer, R.E., 1963. Climb of a bore on a beach. Part 3. Runup. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 16, 113–125], as illustrated by Pritchard and Hogg [Pritchard, D., Hogg, A.J., 2005. On the transport of suspended sediment by a swash event on a plane beach. Coastal Engineering 52, 1–23]. Measured advection ratios for periodic waves show no significant trend with Iribarren number, consistent with self-similarity in typical swash flows. The data are compared to recent characteristic solutions of the non-linear shallow water wave (NLSW) equations and both finite difference and finite volume solutions of the NLSW equations.  相似文献