Les victimes d’avalanche au Québec entre 1825 et 2009

Fatal avalanche accidents in Québec (Canada) 1825 to 2009 Archival research, coroner's investigations, and newspaper searches reveal the occurrence of 43 deadly snow avalanches in Québec since 1825. Historical records indicate 73 fatalities and more than 50 injuries. Sixty percent of the victims were younger than 20 years old. More than 50 percent of the victims (38 fatalities in 12 incidents) were inside or near a residential building, usually their home, mainly in the cities of Québec and Lévis. The second‐most deadly category is recreational activities, with over 24 deaths in 20 accidents. Most of these deadly incidents occurred on very short slopes (<70 metres of relief) outside mountainous areas. Only five fatalities were related to backcountry recreational activities in highlands. The inventory of avalanche‐threatened areas has never been completed in the Province of Québec and it is likely that avalanche‐prone areas are more widespread than previously thought.     

SOME THEORETICAL PROBLEMS IN GEOMORPHOLOGY

The author takes issue with a number of theoretical issues discussed in a recent book by Yu. G. Simonov, fellow Moscow University geomorphologist. A definition of the central problem in geomorphology as encompassing the interaction between endogenic and exogenic forces is said to leave out the role played by the landforms themselves in exerting an impact on those outside agents and, through them, on surface relief itself. Spiridonov favors a systems approach to geomorphology, but questions the suitability of the term “morphosystem” proposed by Simonov as a substitute for morphosculpture, signifying the impact of exogenic processes on landforms. Surface relief should be investigated as an open system, although some simplified situations, such as an enclosed drainage system, might be studied in terms of closed systems, making possible the use of mathematical techniques. The importance of the application of formal logic in geomorphic classification is stressed, and the use of synthetic parameters is favored for purposes of landform classification.     

SNOW AS A RESOURCE AND HAZARD IN EARLY-TWENTIETH-CENTURY MINING, SELKIRK MOUNTAINS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Snow as both a resource and a hazard is discussed in the context of early-twentieth-century mining in the southern Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia. This case study focuses on the Carpenter Creek region , a productive silver mining area during the period 1892–1930. Historical data sources including newspapers, government reports, anecdotal literature, and photographs, have been employed. As a resource, snow usually provided a plentiful water-supply for domestic, industrial, and power-generation purposes and served as the basis of ore transport from most minesites by the process of rawhiding. As a hazard, snow disrupted trail and rail transport and was the basis of an enduring avalanche risk that often resulted in deaths, injuries, and structural damage. Mining and related activities destroyed much of the natural forest cover, which led to an increased extent of avalanches. A variety of technological and behavioural adjustments were made to mitigate the hazards posed by snow. Other hazards such as forest fires and flooding, coupled with socioeconomic conditions, such as silver prices, labour shortages, and strikes, adversely affected the local economy throughout the period of study. However, the ultimate demise of the economy resulted from the collapse of world silver prices in 1929 .     

A Snow-Push Mechanism for Ridge Formation in the Cairngorm Mountains,Scotland

Observations are presented of a newly deposited snow-push ridge superimposed on a Holocene moraine in Coire an Lochain in the Cairngorm Mountains. The ridge formed when a sliding snow slab was thrust up the proximal slope of the moraine, entraining till gravel and redepositing it on the moraine crest. The process was a late-stage event during the complex wastage of a large snowfield resting on a rock slab, involving basal sliding, avalanching and melting. Snow-push landforms appear to be rare in Scotland. Nevertheless, these observations suggest that fresh material may be added to relict moraine crests in the present-day climate, with implications for exposure-age dating of moraines. However, in this case the addition of debris by snow push to a late Holocene moraine crest does not affect the interpretation of moraine age.     

Geomorphology and the National Economy

The Minister of Geology USSR recommends that geomorphology play a more significant role in prospecting and exploration of mineral deposits. He finds that many Soviet exploration geologists still tend to ignore the potentialities of geomorphology on the ground that it is a geographical discipline with little relevance to the needs of geology. The Minister sees a particularly important area of applied contributions in paleogeomorphology, which deals with the relief forms of past geological eras. In his view, geomorphology also has a major role to perform in engineering designs of major construction and development projects. Failure to select proper project sites often leads to undesirable side-effects, especially in areas affected by mudflows, avalanches and thermokarst caving. If geomorphology is to make a more substantial contribution in areas of application, the training of geomorphologists should be reoriented toward mineral prospecting and engineering applications, and the organizational structure of operating and research agencies must provide for separate geomorphology study units.     

Dendrochronological methods for reconstructing mass movements — An example of landslide activity analysis using tree-ring eccentricity

Dendrochronological methods can be applied to the reconstruction of different types of environmental events such as climate changes, fires, glacier movements, floods, earthquakes, volcano activity. In the field of geomorphology dendrochronology is increasingly frequently used for the absolute dating of different types of mass-movements (rock falls, landslides and debris flows, etc.). Trees growing on slopes transformed by mass-movements are tilted and wounded while their stems and root systems are exposed or buried under sediment. These events are recorded in wood anatomy as eccentric growth, reaction wood, scar overgrowth by callous tissue, changes in cell size or adventitious root production. Dating changes in wood anatomy allows to date and precisely reconstruct the spatial and temporal occurrence of mass-movements with at least one year resolution. The paper provides a review of existing dendrochronological tools used in geomorphology and also an example of the application of eccentric tree-growth to reconstruct landsliding. Using tree-ring eccentricity allows to (1) obtain a dynamic depiction of slopes, (2) study landslide activity, not only contemporary, but also in the last tens of hundreds of years (depending on the stand age).     

Ways of Constructing a Geomorphological Theory

Since the fundamental work of William Morris Davis on a cyclic interpretation of landforms and of Walther Penck on slope development, no new conceptual approach has been offered in geomorphology until the appearance of Lester King's The Morphology of the Earth. But King's emphasis on the hypothesis of continental drift and on the process of pediplanation are judged inadequate for a full-fledged theory of geomorphology. As the new conceptual framework, the author prefers the morphostructural method of Soviet geomorphology, based on the relationship between tectonic elements and surface forms.     

Landform Conservation and Flood Control: the Issue of the Chitose Diversion Channel Project in Hokkaido,Japan

Landform conservation is the main task of geomorphology in the 21st Century. Since landforms provide the templates for the development of wildlife habitats, landform change is likely to cause habitat loss, inducing a reduction of biodiversity. From the viewpoint of ‘geomorphic species’, specific landforms such as natural rivers, tidal flats and coral reefs are endangered species in the Japanese islands. To avoid the further destruction of natural rivers, environmentally appropriate flood control plans are necessary. The analysis of the Chitose Diversion Channel project in Hokkaido, Japan, revealed that (1) the construction of this diversion channel has caused not only environmental problems but also serious social conflicts relating to habitats within and beyond the drainage basin; (2) excavation of a deep channel changed the groundwater supply which previously supported a natural river system, and (3) selection of a very high discharge value as the target of flood control was the main reason for planning this project. From a landform conservation perspective, the method adopted in Japan is unsuitable because it does not incorporate the scientific procedure necessary for selecting the ‘best’ peak discharge corresponding to the target rainfall with a certain recurrence period. An alternative flood control plan, combining the selection of a lower peak discharge, construction of retention pools and the restoration of meandering river channels is proposed to avoid the further destruction of natural rivers.     

Ground-penetrating radar survey at the pyramid complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur,Egypt, 2008: search for the lost boat of a Pharaoh

A survey at Dahshur, Egypt, employed 3-D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in an attempt to locate pharaonic boat burials at the pyramid complex of King Senwosret III. In AD 1894, the original excavator reported finding five or six boats; however, only four “Dahshur boats” are known in museum collections today. The suspected site of the lost boat burial(s) lay beneath the large 1894 excavation backfill pile. The steep topography of the backfill required nonstandard GPR processing methods to accurately image the subsurface of the site. Although revealing no definitive traces of any remaining boats, imaging results did indicate discernible strata associated with the original naturally deposited surface, an excavated boat pit, debris and fill associated with either its original creation or its excavation, and deeper, presently unidentified archaeological remains.     

Snow Fences: Then and Now

Snow fences are an increasingly widespread cultural feature in the great east-west “snow belt” of the northern hemisphere. They are there not only to protect railroads, highways and buildings from the hazards of blowing snow, but also whole towns subject to the ravages of avalanches. Although their origin is unknown, their construction and use have been advanced and improved greatly by many experimenters of more than a dozen nationalities since the middle of the 19th century.

A modern example of snow fence use is analyzed for a locally named section of Interstate 80 between Laramie and Rawlins in southern Wyoming known as the “Sno Chi Minh Trail.” Here big systems of mostly 12 feet high snow fences line more than half of the western side of the highway for 50 miles. They have reduced accidents and plowing costs by significantly improving visibility in “ground blizzards” of fast-blowing snow.     

Pits,mounds, and vernal ponds in a Tasmanian subalpine grassland

Falling trees commonly turbate soils in primary forest, creating characteristic edaphic patterns related to pit and mound topography. Vernal ponds with associated mounds were observed in mineral soils on a treeless plain in subalpine Tasmania, Australia. The hypothesis that paired ponds and mounds on the plain originated as pit and mound features in forests that were later destroyed by fire was tested by comparing the soils and landforms caused by recent tree falls in adjacent forest with those on the plain. The soil characteristics, orientations, and dimensions of the ponds and mounds were consistent with a tree fall origin, although rare secondary ponds on the tops of mounds may derive from the burrowing activities of the medium‐sized marsupial, Vombatus ursinus (common wombat). The characteristics of pond and mound soils suggested that most were hundreds to thousands of years old, with the ponds persisting because of differences in deflation, deposition, and organic matter formation between themselves and adjacent persistently dry land.     

On a “Structural” and “Climatic” Geomorphology and a Critique of Certain Concepts

The separation of geomorphology into structural and climatic disciplines is challenged. Climate, rock properties, physical processes, and geological structure are considered to be so intimately intertwined in their effect on the formation of landforms that little basis is seen for a division of the discipline into climatogenetic and structural approaches. Contrary to Lester King's view, this does not mean that climate is not a significant factor. It must unquestionably be taken into consideration and be reflected in any genetic classification of landforms. There is no doubt, for example, that pediments, though likely to occur under a variety of climatic conditions, do find their most widespread development in Africa because of a combination of favorable climatic and structural conditions (arid or semiarid climate, the compliability of rocks to weathering, and the long duration of the cycle under shield conditions undisturbed by any significant tectonic uplifting).     

张家港东山村遗址发掘的主要收获

太湖流域的新石器时代考古以注主要集中于太湖流域腹地,沿江地区工作则相对较少。东山村遗址的发掘,对于深入了解沿江地区的文化内涵、太湖区与宁镇区史前文化的关系都有极其重要的意义。     

Observations and Talks in the United States About Geomorphology and Paleogeography

The author discusses three specific areas in which he made personal observations: Lake Bonneville, Yellowstone National Park, and ancient soil formations near Washington, D. C., and reports the latest American findings on the paleogeography of these areas. He finds the teaching and applications of geomorphology in the United States to be at a lower stage than would appear from American Geography: Inventory and Prospect.     

Exploring Bristol’s historic glass industry: archaeological investigation at the Soap Boilers’ and Hoopers’ glasshouses,and the Powell & Ricketts’ Bottle Works,Avon Street,Glass Wharf,Bristol

SUMMARY: In 2007, extensive archaeological excavation was undertaken on an important post-medieval glassworking site at Glass Wharf, Bristol. The excavation exposed remains relating to a series of glassworks dating between the early 18th and early 20th centuries and, significantly, uncovered a sequence of five glass-melting furnaces and covering structures, which together reflect wider changes in glassmaking technology throughout these periods. Detailed scientific analysis of glassworking debris from the excavation has also been undertaken, which provides much-needed detail on the development of recipes and raw materials used in bottle manufacture during the 18th and 19th centuries.     

The use of OSL dating in unstructured sands: the archaeology and chronology of the Hutton Sands at Canteen Kopje (Northern Cape Province, South Africa)

Archaeological research at the site of Canteen Kopje, Northern Cape Province, South Africa, has focused on the rich Earlier Stone Age assemblages recovered from the Younger Vaal Gravels. This paper presents the results of excavation and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the overlying Hutton Sands. We discuss the evidence for colonial period interaction between diamond miners and indigenous groups at the site, as well as the presence of an earlier phase of terminal Middle Stone Age/early Later Stone Age occupation. The OSL analyses demonstrate the potential distortion of OSL ages due to substantial bioturbation and its effect on the dating of archaeological sites situated in unconsolidated sands.     

Ground Penetrating Radar in the Northern Great Lakes: A Trial Survey of a Contact Period Occupation in Marquette County,Michigan

ABSTRACT

Timing, inclement weather, and limited budgets can obstruct archaeological survey efforts. Here, we ameliorate some of these with use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) at the Goose Lake Outlet #3 (GLO#3) site (20MQ140). GPR surveys to guide survey and excavation efforts in these well-drained sandy soils are limited. GPR imagery exhibited false positives; however, shovel probes, subsequent site excavation, and artifact analysis led to numerous discoveries at this protohistoric site—including glass trade beads dating to the 1630s. These discoveries solidify evidence for some of the earliest European-made trade items in the region and provide further confirmation for placement of an Indian trail and ancient travel corridor between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Two ¹⁴C samples obtained from moose-bone in features with trade goods fall within the expected occupation range of 1633–1668 and 1615–1647. Several anomolies, possible hearth clusters were seen on the GPR imagery; however, many features remained invisible.     

Quebrada Tacahuay,Southern Peru: A Late Pleistocene Site Preserved by a Debris Flow

Abstract

Here we describe the properties of a debris flow apparently generated by a warm phase El Niño event that buried an intermittently occupied Late Pleistocene forager site located in the southern coastal desert of Peru. Although the event deposited roughly one meter of sediment over the initial occupation, our analyses of debris flow dynamics and data from large scale archaeological investigations indicate that the earliest anthropogenic deposits at the site of Quebrada Tacahuay were preserved intact as a result of the burial episode; there is no evidence that the debris flow scoured or disturbed the cultural deposits. The event that buried the oldest archaeological contexts at Quebrada Tacahuay differs from other flood events that are characterized by turbulent, fast-moving floodwaters. Our data on debris flow dynamics and our results from excavation have implications for identifying, investigating, and interpreting other deeply buried archaeological sites both in the central Andes and in other geographic regions.     

Constructive comments on D Massey 'Space-time, "science" and the relationship between physical geography and human geography:rsquo;

This paper provides a discussion of Massey's (1999) account of the role of space-time in human and physical geography. Recognizing the relative (but not absolute) paucity of comment from physical geographers on questions of approach and method, the paper seeks to demonstrate three things. First, it casts a history of a narrow part of geomorphology in a similar vein to a part of human geography to demonstrate that it is possible to find strong shared characteristics in the ways in which the two subjects are being approached. This emphasizes the importance of analyses that recognize both space and time in seeking explanation in physical geography and which has important implications for: (i) the nature of laws and processes in geomorphology; and hence (ii) the interpretation of specific landforms and their histories. Second, the paper argues that much of what Massey addresses relates to the closure required to make things amenable to study, something that is characteristic of almost every type of research. This has long been acknowledged in science in general and in physical geography in particular, but is often forgotten. Third, the paper uses this consideration of closure to address the issue of the relational nature of different sorts of space-time models. Following Massey's argument that the sort of space-time model that we adopt needs to be informed by the entities that we study, the paper concludes that some of the space-time models that Massey critiques (e.g. classical Newtonian mechanics) may still be fundamental to what we do, and in no sense necessarily ahistorical.     

Inherited memory,social learning,and resilience: lessons from Spain's Great Blizzard of 1888

The snowstorms that affected the Cantabrian Mountains in the winter of 1888 caused unprecedented damage, and the absence of a “resilient approach” to this episode had several consequences worth further consideration. In this study, we explored interconnections between and among memory, social learning, and resilience by surveying the affected landscapes, conducting interviews with current residents, and reviewing historical sources such as press archives. The mixed method has enabled us to examine the construction and transmission of respondents' memories and to link those narratives to our reading of the presence or absence of risk mitigation actions—especially against snow avalanches. Our analysis has established that the 1888 snowstorms are remembered down the decades in ways that downplay risk, neglect social learning and changes to community practices and capacities to cope with uncertainties, and fail to shape preventive measures against future disasters. These insights have relevance for those interested in how archival research, field observations, and contemporaneous interviews can aid understandings of inherited memory, social learning, and resilience.