Influence of different soil properties on the failure behavior of deposit slope under earthquake after rainfall

In this study,the influence of soil properties on the failure behavior and mechanism of slope under earthquake after rainfall was studied with shaking table test in the laboratory,in which the failure process of slope and instant responses of water content and pore water pressure were tested.Based on the principle of similarity,a model test was designed.The experimental results showed that soil properties exhibit significant influence on failure mode and failure mechanism of slope.Local flowslide,local failure,and creep flowslide failure modes appear in the slope exposed to only rainfall.However,under earthquake after rainfall,the other three failure modes occur,i.e.,local slip failure,overall slip failure,and shallow scouring and creep flowslide failure.The spatial distribution of water content and pore water pressure are the two key factors leading to slope failure.Furthermore,due to the difference of permeability,the soil properties not only affect the spatial distribution of water content of the slope after rainfall,resulting in the peak pore water pressure which occurs mainly near the foot of the slope and near the bedrock interface in the middle and lower parts of the slope,but also affect the dissipation of excess pore water pressure in the process of earthquake.Finally,it is discovered that different types of soil lead to significant differences in the peak acceleration of slope failure.The critical acceleration of slope with coarse-grained soil is greater than that of slope with fine-grained soil.The critical acceleration of slope failure shows a close relationship with soil properties.

Formation Mechanism and Stability Assessment of the Colluvial Deposit Slope in Zuoyituo

The basic features of the colluvial deposit slope in Zuoyituo such as geological conditions, dimensions, slip surfaces and groundwater conditions are described concisely in this paper. The formation mechanism of the slope is discussed. It is considered that the formation of the colluvial deposit slope in Zuoyituo has undergone accumulation, slip, load, deformation and failure. The effects of rainfall on slope stability are categorized systematically based on existing methodology, and ways to determine the effects quantitatively are presented. The remained slip force method is improved by the addition of quantitative relations to the existing formulae and programs. The parameters of the colluvial deposit slope are determined through experimentation and the method of back-analysis. The safety factors of the slope are calculated with the improved remained slip force method and the Sarma method. The results show that rainfall and water level in the Yangtze River have a significant effect on the stability of the colluvial deposit slope in Zuoyituo. The hazards caused by the instability of the slope are assessed, and prevention methods are put forward.

Mammal-bearing Pleistocene deposits,Vranic,southwestern Pannonian Basin System

Vranic site is a sand quarry that is located on the southern foothills of Papuk Mountain.From bottom to top of the succession,three sedimentary units have been recognized as:Unit 1 containing massive sand with scattered gravel-sized clasts,marl cobbles and boulders,and abundant marine mammal and fish fossils;Unit 2 consisting of sand intercalated with silt,clay and gravel,which may be horizontally bedded;and Unit 3,which is an erosionally-based lenticular matrix to clast-supported structureless gravel.The basal part of Unit 1 shows numerous reworked skeletal remains of Miocene marine mammals.Cosmogenic radionuclides constrain the age of burial of Unit 1 to 895±211 ka,while the source area of Unit 1 had a quick denudation.The massive sands deposited on the slopes of Papuk Mountain were vulnerable to erosion due to the absence of clay.Heavy rainfall or water from snow melting created flash floods that infiltrated the sands,thereby causing slope destabilization and deformation.This process led to slumps that were transformed into a sandy debris flow.This sediment was probably deposited during the interglacial marine isotope age(MIS)21 period when the scarce vegetation and a warmer climate favored the melting of permafrost ice and consequently triggered slope movements during MIS 22.The reworked skeletal material sampled at the Vranic site comprises fossilized fish along with mammal bones and teeth.Thus,the Vranic site represents an important site for cetacean fossil remains and serves as an important data source for marine life in the Central Paratethys.

The Influence of Localized Slumping on Groundwater Seepage and Slope Stability

Transverse cracks and localized slumps frequently occur within loose deposits slopes when the slope base is removed either from natural or manmade processes. Although the contribution of rainfall to the slope failures was intensely discussed, the influence of localized slumps on hydrogeological conditions has received less attention. Usually, loose deposits slopes are composed of soil layers with different permeability; localized slumps may cause flow paths partly blocked in the permeable layer that is adversely confined between impermeable layers. In this study, a case history of such failure, Xiaodan （/J~ ~__） landslide, is introduced in detail. The localized slump caused the pressure head in the permeable layer to increase substantially, which reduced the stability of the slope. To quantify the influence, Ber- noulli equations are used to analytically study the increase of the pressure head with a hydrogeologicai model simplified from the slope. The factor of safety assessed by limit equilibrium methods may decrease up to 20% when the 80% of flow path is blocked. Thus, we should pay attention not only to changes of stress filed due to localized slumps but also to the influence of seepage variation on the slope stability.

Formation and accumulation of oil and gas in marine carbonate sequences in Chinese sedimentary basins

Advances in studies of formation and accumulation mechanisms of oil and gas in marine carbonate sequences have led to continuing breakthroughs of petroleum exploration in marine carbonate sequences in Chinese sedimentary basins in recent years. The recently discovered giant Tahe Oil Field and Puguang Gas Field have provided geological entities for further studies of the formation and accumulation of oil and gas in marine carbonate sequences. Marine carbonate sequences in China are characterized by old age, multiple structural deformation, differential thermal evolution of source rocks, various reservoir types (i.e. reef-bank complex and paleo-weathered crust karst reservoir), uneven development of caprocks, especially gypsum seal, and multi-episodes of hydrocarbon accumulation and readjustment. As a result, the formation of hydrocarbon accumulations in the Chinese marine carbonate sequences has the following features: (i) the high-quality marine source rocks of shale and calcareous mudstone are often associated with siliceous rocks or calcareous rocks and were deposited in slope environments. They are rich in organic matter, have a higher hydrocarbon generation potential, but experienced variable thermal evolutions in different basins or different areas of the same basin. (ii) High quality reservoirs are controlled by both primary depositional environments and later modifications including diagenetic modifications, structural deformations, and fluid effects. (iii) Development of high-quality caprocks, especially gypsum seals, is the key to the formation of large-and medium-sized oil and gas fields in marine carbonate sequences. Gypsum often constitutes the caprock for most of large sized gas fields. Given that Chinese marine carbonate sequences are of old age and subject to multiple episodes of structural deformation and superposition, oil and gas tend to accumulate in the slopes and structural hinge zones, since the slopes favor the development of effective assemblage of source-reservoir-caprock, high quality source rocks, good reservoirs such as reef-bank complex, and various caprocks. As the structural hinge zones lay in the focus area of petroleum migration and experienced little structural deformation, they are also favorable places for hydrocarbon accumulation and preservation.