Search results for "Earth"

The shear strength of Opalinus Clay shale in the remoulded state

2020

Abstract The Opalinus Clay shale formation is considered as a potential host geomaterial for the Swiss deep geological repository for radioactive waste. It presents different facies and it is characterised by a multi-scale heterogeneous composition, by a typical fissile structure with well-defined bedding planes and by anisotropic hydro-mechanical behaviour. This peculiar complexity makes it difficult to assign a unique set of geomechanical parameters to the material. This paper presents an experimental study aimed at characterising the lowest values of the shear strength parameters. In this sense, the shear behaviour was investigated on remoulded samples where the fabric and the diagenetic…

The open metastable structure of a collapsible sand: fabric and bonding

2015

This paper deals with the compositional and textural characteristics determining open metastable structures in the pleistocenic sand outcropping in the Agrigento district (Sicily). The aim of the study was to individuate the bonding types occurring between grains that could generate matric suction phenomena. The composition and microfabric were characterised by means of granulometry, porosimetry, permeability, optical and ESEM-EDS microscopy, thermogravimetry and XR diffractometry, electric conductivity, and ionic chromatography. The data thus acquired show that the skeleton of the sand is constituted mostly by bioclasts and microfossils, calcite and quartz monocrystalline grains. Moreover,…

Wood pellets for home heating can be considered environmentally friendly fuels? Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in their ashes

2016

This paper reports the results of the first quantitative investigations of PAHs in wood pellet ashes. Investigations were carried out into the fifteen PAHs identified by the US-Environment Protection Agency (US-EPA) as requiring priority monitoring; other non-US-EPA listed PAHs and perylene were also investigated. The total concentrations for the 17 investigated compounds, expressed as the sum of the concentrations (∑PAHs), in the ashes produced by the wood pellet combustion, ranged from 0.064mg kg-1 to 0.90mg kg-1 of dry weight with a means of 0.31mg kg-1. The lowest concentrations (<0.1mg kg-1) were measured in the conifer ash samples. Concentrations of PAHs found in this paper will al…

Climate Change and Disasters

2017

Ideas and approaches proven successful within disaster risk reduction (DRR) literature and practice are either bypassed or inadequately considered by contemporary climate change work. This chapter explores the intersections between climate change and hazards, vulnerability, and risk, looking at climate change as both a hazard driver and a hazard inhibitor. The implications of the narrow interpretations of vulnerability employed in climate change work are examined, as well as the ways in which climate change has come to act as a scapegoat for issues, events, and processes caused by hazard-independent factors. The chapter formulates a case for climate change adaptation (CCA) to be seen as a s…

Resilience to flash floods in wetland communities of northeastern Bangladesh

2018

Globally, a number of catastrophic hydrometeorological hazards occurred in 2017 among which the monsoon floods in South Asia was particularly disastrous, killing nearly 1200 people in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The wetland region (Haor) of northeastern (NE) Bangladesh was severely affected by flash floods early in 2017, affecting nearly 1 million households and damaging US $450 million worth of rice crops. This study investigates how the NE Bangladesh experienced the 2017 flash floods, and to what degree the wetland communities are vulnerable and resilience to flash floods. Focus group discussion, key informant interviews, and household questionnaire surveys (n = 80) were applied in the s…

Landslide Hazards and Climate Change Adaptation of Transport Infrastructures in Germany

2017

2019

Final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plants (NPPs) is an ethical issue with implications within and across generations. We address this issue from the perspective of nuclear communities that host nuclear waste disposal sites. These are primarily the communities that face injustice due to the potential radiological risks. A resident survey (n = 454) was conducted in two Finnish nuclear communities, i.e. Eurajoki and Pyhajoki, that are being considered as alternative sites for a second repository for SNF. The nuclear waste management (NWM) company Posiva is already building a repository in Eurajoki, the first in Finland. These communities are in different stages of th…

A systematic review of human behaviour in and around floodwater

2020

Abstract Flooding can have a major impact on people's safety and livelihood. Understanding people's flood-related behaviours may assist in the development of more effective strategies aimed at lessening the impact of floods including mortality and morbidity. This systematic review examined peer-reviewed literature published from January-1989 to April-2019 on human behaviour in and around floodwater to identify behaviour patterns as well as protective and risk factors. We extracted three main themes from a thematic analysis of included studies (N = 54): activities and risk-taking behaviours (n = 24); loss reduction, knowledge, and warnings (n = 37); and diet and hygiene (n = 4). This review …

Metakaolin geopolymer characterization and application for ammonium removal from model solutions and landfill leachate

2016

Abstract Geopolymers are aluminosilicate compounds that are amorphous analogues of zeolites, and thus possess similar cation-exchange properties. Geopolymers have been successfully applied to remove toxic metals and organic dyes from aqueous solutions. In this study, geopolymer was synthesized from metakaolin and applied to remove ammonium (NH 4 + ) from model solutions and landfill leachate. Geopolymerization increased the ammonium removal capacity, surface area and average pore width and changed the chemical structure of metakaolin. The maximum NH 4 + removal capacity of the geopolymer was 21.07 mg g − 1 which was 46% higher than the capacity of the reference clinoptilolite–heulandite zeo…

The impact on disaster governance of the intersection of environmental hazards, border conflict and disaster responses in Ladakh, India

2018

Abstract The Indian border region of Ladakh, in Jammu and Kashmir State, has a sensitive Himalayan ecosystem and has experienced natural hazards and disasters of varying scales over the decades. Ladakh is also situated on a fault-line of multiple tensions, including ongoing border disagreements and intermittent conflict with China and Pakistan. The Indian army has thus become a permanent fixture in the region. This paper examines the implications of the intersection of these environmental and security factors for disaster governance in the region. Using Social Domains theory, the paper argues first, that a hazard-centred paradigm of ‘universal’ disaster science emerges from the colonial per…