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   

China’s rural revitalization and development: Theory,technology and management     

Liu  Yansui  Zang  Yuzhu  Yang  Yuanyuan 《地理学报(英文版)》2020,30(12):1923-1942

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The urban-rural transformation from dichotomy to integration is a gradual process. Like rural areas in many countries, Chinese rural society is experiencing a...  相似文献   

中国海域1:100万区域地质调查主要成果与认识          下载免费PDF全文

秦绪文  石显耀  张勇  李学杰  李军  肖桂义  许振强  王宏斌  吕文超  吴浩  姚永坚  尚鲁宁  杨楚鹏  王中波  高红芳  王明健  密蓓蓓  钟和贤  胡刚  陈泓君  黄龙  罗伟东  梅西  徐子英  田陟贤  王忠蕾 《中国地质》2020,47(5):1355-1369

中国海域及邻区是建设“21世纪海上丝绸之路”、打造海洋命运共同体和推动可持续发展的关键地区，也是地球科学最具有典型性和代表性的研究区域之一。中国管辖海域1：100万区域地质调查是一项以国家需求为导向、以解决重大地球系统科学问题为目标的基础性公益性工作。中国地质调查局通过近20年的持续调查，实现了对中国管辖海域1：100万区域地质调查的全面覆盖，系统地获取了海洋地质和地球物理基础数据，形成了基于实测数据的“一图一库一报告”，大幅提升了中国海洋地质调查工作程度。这项工作填补了中国小比例尺海洋地质国情调查的空白，初步摸清了中国管辖海域地质环境条件和资源环境潜力，取得了一批原创性的认识，为建设海洋强国提供了详实可靠的地质资料，为提升区域地质科学的认知水平奠定了坚实基础。  相似文献   

内蒙古狼山地区早二叠世花岗闪长岩的年代学、地球化学特征及其构造背景     

田健  滕学建  刘洋  滕飞  郭硕  何鹏  王文龙 《中国地质》2020,47(3):767-781

内蒙古狼山山脉西侧分布有大面积的晚古生代岩浆岩,其时代集中在早石炭世—晚二叠世,不同时代岩浆岩岩石组合对于认识狼山地区晚古生代构造背景具有重要的意义。文章通过岩石学、岩相学、地球化学及Hf同位素等方法,对狼山地区查干乃呼都格一带花岗闪长岩体进行了研究。该岩体岩性为花岗闪长岩,LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄显示,其206Pb/238U加权平均年龄为(299±1)～(293±2) Ma。岩石暗色矿物为角闪石及黑云母,富含闪长质包体,P_2O_5含量与SiO_2含量之间显示良好的负相关性,富钠(Na_2O含量为3.45%～4.96%),高钠钾比值(Na_2O/K_2O比值为1.33～2.52),岩石地球化学特征显示花岗岩成因类型为Ⅰ型花岗岩。岩石具有负的ε_(Hf)(t)值(-6.3～-2.0)及T_(DM2)为1437～1704 Ma(平均值为1606 Ma),显示了古—中元古代古老地壳熔融的特点,ε_(Hf)(t)-t及角闪石成因图解显示源区有幔源岩浆参与。花岗岩富集大离子亲石元素Rb、K、Pb,不同程度的亏损高场强元素Nb、Ta、P、Ti,轻稀土富集,重稀土亏损,弱的负Eu异常,显示了岩浆弧的地球化学特征。结合晚石炭世—早二叠世狼山地区侵入岩岩石组合为闪长岩+石英闪长岩+花岗闪长岩(英云闪长岩),早—中二叠世大石寨组火山岩岩石组合为玄武岩+玄武安山岩+安山岩+英安岩,总体反映了陆缘弧的岩石组合;狼山地区早二叠世处于大陆边缘弧的构造背景,与华北地块北缘中东部可以对比。  相似文献   

建设韧性城乡的技术途径   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

郭迅  王波 《震灾防御技术》2019,14(1):52-59

中国地震多发、灾害严重，迫切需要提升抗震能力，实现韧性城乡的建设。本文围绕建设韧性城乡的技术途径，梳理了工程抗震技术发展的历史沿革，阐述了韧性城乡的提出背景。基于震害类比、实验验证和理论分析，总结提炼工程结构抗震能力“散”、“脆、”偏、“单”评估法，指出应以“整而不散”、“延而不脆”、“匀而不偏”、“冗而不单”的传统抗震技术及隔震与消能减震新技术作为实现韧性城乡的技术途径。  相似文献   

Conversion relationship of rainfall-soil moisture-groundwater in Quaternary thick cohesive soil in Jianghan Plain,Hubei Province,China     

《China Geology》2020,3(3):462-472

The scientific field test site of rainfall-soil moisture-groundwater conversion in Dabie Mountain Area–Jianghan Plain is located in the northern region of the Jianghan Plain, the transition zone between the Dabie Mountain Area and Jianghan Plain. It’s a great field test site to study the material and energy exchange among rainfall, soil moisture, and groundwater of the Earth ’s critical zone in subtropical monsoon climate plain areas. This paper analyzed the connection between rainfall and volume water content (VWC) of soil at different depths of several soil profiles, and the dynamic feature of groundwater was discussed, which reveals the rainfall infiltration recharge of Quaternary Upper Pleistocene strata. The results show that the Quaternary Upper Pleistocene aquifer groundwater accepts a little direct rainfall recharge, while the lateral recharge is the main supplement source. There were 75 effective rainfall events among 120 rainfall events during the monitoring period, with an accumulated amount of 672.9 mm, and the percentages of effective rainfall amount and duration time were 62.50% and 91.56%, respectively. The max evaporation depth at the upper part in Quaternary cohesive soil was no less than 1.4 m. The soil profile was divided into four zones: (1) The sensitive zone of rainfall infiltration within 1.4 m, where the material and energy exchange frequently near the interface between atmosphere and soil; (2) the buffer zone of rainfall infiltration between 1.4 m and 3.5 m; (3) the migration zone of rainfall infiltration between 3.5 m and 5.0 m; and (4) the rainfall infiltration and groundwater level co-influenced zone below 5.0 m. The results revealed the reaction of soil moisture and groundwater to rainfall in the area covered by cohesive soil under humid climate in Earth ’s critical zone, which is of great theoretical and practical significance for groundwater resources evaluation and development, groundwater environmental protection, ecological environmental improvement, drought disaster prevention, and flood disaster prevention in subtropical monsoon climate plain areas.  相似文献   

Geochemical characteristics and sedimentary environment of the Middle Devonian organic-rich shales in the Northwest of Guizhong Depression,Southwest China     

《China Geology》2020,3(4):567-574

In order to figure out the redox conditions and paleo-sedimentary environment of the Middle Devonian shales in the northwest of Guizhong Depression, the trace element analysis was conducted on the Middle Devonian cores (320.35–938.50 m) of the typical shale gas investigation well (GY-1) at a 1.50 m sampling interval through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). According to the test result, the average values of V/(V+Ni), V/Cr and Ni/Co in Nabiao formation (Fm.) are larger than 0.67, 4.65 and 7.71 respectively, and Nabiao Fm. is rich in biological assemblages such as tabasheer, ammonite, etc. These evidences indicate the rising sea level rose relatively in the sedimentation period of Nabiao Fm. and a deepwater shelf environment, which was favorable for the preservation of organic matters. The V/(V+Ni), V/Cr and Ni/Co in Luofu Fm. and Tangting Fm. are 0.38–0.65, 0.73–4.10 and 3.70–6.72 respectively, indicating that the sea level dropped relatively in their sedimentation period, during which the water bodies became shallow, and the sedimentary environment was a weak oxidizing shallow water shelf environment. In addition, the variation of TOC has a high correlation with the enrichment degree of Ba element, indicating the favorable conditions for the enrichment and preservation of organic matters under an oxygen-deficient environment. Moreover, according to the identification of trace element indexes, the northwest of Guizhong Depression experienced the sedimentary cycle of relative rise to relative fall of sea level from bottom to top in the Middle Devonian sedimentation period. The relative sea level rose to the highest in the sedimentation period of Nabiao Fm., in which the organic-rich shales with stable thickness and high organic content were deposited. Hence, the Nabiao Fm. could be regarded as the favorable exploration target interval in this area.  相似文献   

Integration of hyperspectral and LiDAR data for mapping small water bodies     

《International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation》2020

Inland water bodies are globally threatened by environmental degradation and climate change. On the other hand, new water bodies can be designed during landscape restoration (e.g. after coal mining). Effective management of new water resources requires continuous monitoring; in situ surveys are, however, extremely time-demanding. Remote sensing has been widely used for identifying water bodies. However, the use of optical imagery is constrained by accuracy problems related to the difficulty in distinguishing water features from other surfaces with low albedo, such as tree shadows. This is especially true when mapping water bodies of different sizes. To address these problems, we evaluated the potential of integrating hyperspectral data with LiDAR (hereinafter “integrative approach”). The study area consisted of several spoil heaps containing heterogeneous water bodies with a high variability of shape and size. We utilized object-based classification (Support Vector Machine) based on: (i) hyperspectral data; (ii) LiDAR variables; (iii) integration of both datasets. Besides, we classified hyperspectral data using pixel-based approaches (K-mean, spectral angle mapper). Individual approaches (hyperspectral data, LiDAR data and integrative approach) resulted in 2–22.4 % underestimation of the water surface area (i.e, omission error) and 0.4–1.5 % overestimation (i.e., commission error).The integrative approach yielded an improved discrimination of open water surface compared to other approaches (omission error of 2 % and commission error of 0.4 %). We also evaluated the success of detecting individual ponds; the integrative approach was the only one capable of detecting the water bodies with both omission and commission errors below 10 %. Finally, the assessment of misclassification reasons showed a successful elimination of shadows in the integrative approach. Our findings demonstrate that the integration of hyperspectral and LiDAR data can greatly improve the identification of small water bodies and can be applied in practice to support mapping of restoration process.  相似文献   

Exploration prospects of oil and gas in the Northwestern part of the Offshore Indus Basin,Pakistan     

《China Geology》2020,3(4):633-642

Oil and gas resources are short in Pakistan and no commercially viable oil and gas sources have been yet discovered in its offshore areas up to now. In this study, the onshore-offshore stratigraphic correlation and seismic data interpretation were conducted to determine the oil and gas resource potential in the Offshore Indus Basin, Pakistan. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the results and previous data, it is considered that the Cretaceous may widely exist and three sets of source rocks may be developed in the Offshore Indus Basin. The presence of Miocene mudstones has been proven by drilling to be high-quality source rocks, while the Cretaceous and Paleocene–Eocene mudstones are potential source rocks. Tectonic-lithologic traps are developed in the northwestern part of the basin affected by the strike-slip faults along Murray Ridge. Furthermore, the Cretaceous and Paleocene–Eocene source rocks are thick and are slightly affected by volcanic activities. Therefore, it can be inferred that the northwestern part of Offshore Indus Basin enjoys good prospects of oil and gas resources.  相似文献   

从地理信息系统到虚拟地理环境的认知转变     

林珲  胡明远  陈旻  张帆  游兰  陈宇婷 《地球信息科学学报》2020,22(4):662-672

自20世纪60年代初以来,地理信息系统引领了地理信息的分析与服务。然而,由于地理学家对于地理过程开展多维模拟的需求,同时许多大型工程需要对于不同方案的后果事先开展模拟评估,为此中国学者们在世纪相交之际开始了对于虚拟地理环境的探索。本文从地理信息系统到虚拟地理环境的认识上的转变着手,分析了虚拟地理环境的演进过程、当前的阶段定位与挑战,着重探讨了虚拟地理环境研究的新态势：基于虚拟地理环境的地理空间认知研究、虚拟地理环境与实验地理学新方向、大数据背景下的虚拟地理认知实验方法和虚拟地理环境与地理知识工程,并给出最新研究思路。  相似文献