Simulating infiltration processes into fractured and swelling soils as triggering factors of landslides

The influence of rainfall in triggering landslides is a widely discussed topic in scientific literature. The slope stability of fractured surface soils is often influenced by the soil suction. Rainfall, infiltrating into soil fractures, causes the decrease in soil suction and shear strength, which can trigger the collapse of surface soil horizons. Water flow through fractured soils can also be affected by soil swelling and by capillary barrier effects in the case of low permeable soil overlying a more permeable one. These conditions are rarely investigated by the existing models, especially from the point of view of rainfall triggering surface landslides. For this purpose, we have developed a dual-porosity model that simulates water flow through fractured swelling soils overlying a more permeable soil. The model has been applied to a soil profile consisting of a thin layer of fractured loamy soil above a coarse sand layer, in order to investigate the influence of different rainfall intensities on the infiltration process, and on the distribution of the pore pressure that affects slope stability. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Relaying Simultaneous Multicast Messages

The problem of multicasting multiple messages with the help of a relay, which may also have an independent message of its own to multicast, is considered. As a first step to address this general model, referred to as the compound multiple access channel with a relay (cMACr), the capacity region of the multiple access channel with a "cognitive" relay is characterized, including the cases of partial and rate-limited cognition. Achievable rate regions for the cMACr model are then presented based on decode-and-forward (DF) and compress-and-forward (CF) relaying strategies. Moreover, an outer bound is derived for the special case in which each transmitter has a direct link to one of the receivers while the connection to the other receiver is enabled only through the relay terminal. Numerical results for the Gaussian channel are also provided.Comment: This paper was presented at the IEEE Information Theory Workshop, Volos, Greece, June 200

THE GLOBAL WOOD SPECIES PRIORITY LIST: A LIVING DATABASE OF TREE SPECIES MOST AT RISK FOR ILLEGAL LOGGING, UNSUSTAINABLE DEFORESTATION, AND HIGH RATES OF TRADE GLOBALLY

The illegal timber trade is one of the most impactful natural wildlife crimes, affecting the live- lihood of local communities, naturalresource availability, and the associated carbon storage and biodiver- sity. Many timber species are highly sought after and are atrisk of exhaustion and subsequent extinction. Although several initiatives exist to indicate tree species risk and conservation status, there is no single resource, or prioritized list, that qualifies the most high-risk and highly traded species across the globe. Organizations end up creating their own priority species lists to meet this lack of aggregated information, requiring hours of independent research and resulting in the recreation of similar lists. To provide a one- stop-shop for similar initiatives, World Forest ID developed the Global Priority Wood Species List (GPWSL) to synthesize existing information. Currently, the GPWSLharbors 270 species most at risk for illegal logging, unsustainable deforestation, and high rates of international trade. The database contains rel- evant information on each species; such as natural distribution, conservation listings, and countries of import. Here,we present the list, the methods used in its development, and its potential applications for the wood industry as a whol

Hydraulic stream network conditioning by a tectonically induced, giant, deep-seated landslide along the front of the Apennine chain (south Italy)

Abstract. The tectonic stresses that produced the uplift of Apennine chain ridge in southern Italy generated advanced buried thrusts of allochthonous deposits that induced deformations of foredeep deposits. This thrust may cause giant, deep-seated landslides at the front of the chain. Starting from a specific case history in low Biferno Valley, this work presents how giant, deep-seated landslides along the front of the chain may be generated by the thrust of allochthonous nappe of the chain. In addition, the influence that these huge phenomena may have on landslide and flood susceptibility and on natural hazards of the involved area is analysed. The work presents an interpretation of local morphology and stream network paths of low Biferno Valley as a consequence of a giant, deep-seated landslide affecting the right side of the valley. The proposed interpretation is supported by numerical geomorphological analyses of the area at stake. It is shown how both the morphologies of the catchments of the river Biferno and its tributary Cigno and stream paths are strongly conditioned by this large, deep-seated landslide. This landslide deviates the stream paths affecting both the flooding susceptibility of low Biferno Valley and landslide susceptibility on the left side of Biferno Valley