Unraveling the hydraulic properties of loess for landslide prediction:A study on variations in loess landslides in Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,China

Loess has distinctive characteristics,leading to frequent landslide disasters and posing serious threats to the lives and properties of local re sidents.The involvement of water repre sents a critical factor in inducing loess landslides.This study focuses on three neighboring cities sequentially situated on the Loess Plateau along the direction of aeolian deposition of loess,namely Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,which are densely populated and prone to landslide disasters.The variations in hydraulic properties,including water retention capacity and permeability,are investigated through Soil Water Characteristic Curve(SWCC)test and hydraulic conductivity test.The experimental findings revealed that Tianshui loess exhibited the highest water retention capacity,followed by Dingxi loess,while Lanzhou loess demonstrated the lowest water retention capacity.Contrastingly,the results for the saturated permeability coefficient were found to be the opposite:Tianshui loess showed the lowest permeability,whereas Lanzhou loess displayed the highest permeability.These results are supported and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)observation.In addition,the water retention capacity is mathematically expressed using the van Genuchten model and extended to predict unsaturated hydraulic properties of loess.The experimental results exhibit a strong accordance with one another and align with the regional distribution patterns of disasters.

INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND ENGINEERING CHINESE ACADEMY OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

The Institute of Environmental Health and Engineering,consisting of the previousDepartment of Environmental Health and the Department of Sanitary andEnvironmental Engineering of the Institute of Health founded in 1954,was establishedin1986.This Institute has around 220 staff in total and 11 departments,namely,theDepartment of Environmental Epidemiology;Department of EnvironmentalChemistry;Department of Environmental Toxicology;Department of EnvironmentalMicrobiology;Department of Soil Hygiene;Department of Water Treatment;

The siltation of debris flow behind check dam in the midstream of Bailong River

Siltation gradient and siltation length are important parameters for designing gravity check dams for debris flows,which directly affect the accuracy of estimates of interception capacity.At present,siltation gradient calculations are based primarily on empirical values,and range from 0.4 to 0.95 times the channel slope coefficient.The middle reaches of the Bailong River are one of the four areas in China that are most severely affected by debris flow hazards.Gravity dams are widely employed in this mountainous area.However,field studies of their capacity are lacking.In this paper,the operations of check dams were investigated.Based on field investigation results and theoretical analysis,calculations for siltation gradient,siltation length,and dam storage capacity are established.The impact of debris flow density,channel slope,and particle size weight percentages are discussed.The calculations show that the theoretical values for siltation gradient are consistent with measured values with 83.6% accuracy;and theoretical values of siltation length are consistent with measured values with 91.6% accuracy.The results of this research are an important reference for optimal height and spacing of dams,estimation of dam storage capacity,and disaster prevention.