A semi-empirical dilatancy model for ballast fouled with plastic fines

In the era of high speed trains, it is very important to ensure the stability of rail tracks under adverse conditions including the fouling of ballast. Fouling of ballast from unstable and saturated soft subgrade soil is one of the major reasons for track deterioration. The reported results of a number of large-scale laboratory experiments on the shear behaviour of ballast and fouled ballast are analysed, herein. It was observed that fines have a significant influence on the shear behaviour of ballast. Shear strength increases and dilatancy decreases with the addition of fines. In this paper, a semi-empirical mathematical model has been proposed to capture the dilatancy of ballast fouled with fines during shearing. The empirical constants a, b and c proposed in the model are a function of the fines content Void Contamination Index (VCI). The results of the model have been compared with the laboratory experiments and are found to be in good agreement.     

Characteristics of moderate- to large-scale landslides triggered by the <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">w</Emphasis></Subscript> 7.8 2015 Gorkha earthquake and its aftershocks

The M _w 7.8 2015 Gorkha earthquake and its aftershocks significantly impacted the lives and economy of Nepal. The consequences of landslides included fatalities, property losses, blockades of river flow, and damage to infrastructural systems. Co-seismic landslides triggered by this earthquake were significantly widespread and pose a major geodisaster. There were tens of thousands of landslides triggered by the earthquake, majority of which were distributed in between the epicenter of the main shock and the M _w 7.3 aftershock. Although 14,670 landslides triggered by this earthquake were identified, only approximately 23% of them were of moderate to large scale with areas greater than 100 m². Of the moderate- to large-scale landslides identified, just over 90% were triggered by the main shock and smaller aftershocks prior to the major (M _w 7.3) aftershock, while nearly 10% were triggered by the ground shaking induced by the major aftershock. Moreover, the number of landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, specifically by the main shock, was slightly more than the expected number of landslides for the recorded maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) in comparison to the co-seismic landslides triggered by 26 earthquakes. Over 90% of those moderate- to large-scale landslides were concentrated within the estimated fault rupture surface. Majority of these moderate- to large-scale landslides were disrupted failures with over 96% of which were classified as earth falls. However, the majority of small-scale landslides were rock or boulder falls. The most number of moderate- to large-scale landslides were triggered in the slate, shale, siltstone, phyllite, and schist of the Lesser Himalayan formation followed by an equally significant number in both schist, gneiss, etc. of the Higher Himalayan formation and the phyllite, metasandstone, schist, etc. of the Lesser Himalayan formation. The sizes (i.e., areas) of the landslides were lognormally distributed, with a mode area of 322.0 m². Slope inclinations of the moderate- to large-scale landslides followed a normal distribution with a mean slope inclination of 32.6° and standard deviation of 13.5°. There exists a strong correlation between the number of landslides and the peak ground acceleration within the study area, specific for different geological formations.     

Late Holocene Environmental Reconstructions from Lake Solai,Kenya

Playa lake systems tend to be overlooked archives of paleoenvironmental change due to the likelihood of a short and intermittent record of deposition. Groundwater-fed wetlands associated with these climate-sensitive playas, however, preserve changes in hydrologic budget and are thus valuable archives for semiarid regions. This study examines the paleoecological record of a groundwater-fed wetland from Lake Solai, Kenya. Biological proxies are used to reconstruct paleoenvironmental change and climate impacts over the past millennium. Dry conditions persisted between CE 1115 and 1490, followed by wetter conditions during the Little Ice Age. Near surface sediments indicate increasing anthropogenic impact through pastoralism.     

Effects of fluctuating daily surface fluxes on the time-mean oceanic circulation

The effect of fluctuating daily surface fluxes on the time-mean oceanic circulation is studied using an empirical flux model. The model produces fluctuating fluxes resulting from atmospheric variability and includes oceanic feedbacks on the fluxes. Numerical experiments were carried out by driving an ocean general circulation model with three different versions of the empirical model. It is found that fluctuating daily fluxes lead to an increase in the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the Atlantic of about 1 Sv and a decrease in the Antarctic circumpolar current (ACC) of about 32 Sv. The changes are approximately 7% of the MOC and 16% of the ACC obtained without fluctuating daily fluxes. The fluctuating fluxes change the intensity and the depth of vertical mixing. This, in turn, changes the density field and thus the circulation. Fluctuating buoyancy fluxes change the vertical mixing in a non-linear way: they tend to increase the convective mixing in mostly stable regions and to decrease the convective mixing in mostly unstable regions. The ACC changes are related to the enhanced mixing in the subtropical and the mid-latitude Southern Ocean and reduced mixing in the high-latitude Southern Ocean. The enhanced mixing is related to an increase in the frequency and the depth of convective events. As these events bring more dense water downward, the mixing changes lead to a reduction in meridional gradient of the depth-integrated density in the Southern Ocean and hence the strength of the ACC. The MOC changes are related to more subtle density changes. It is found that the vertical mixing in a latitudinal strip in the northern North Atlantic is more strongly enhanced due to fluctuating fluxes than the mixing in a latitudinal strip in the South Atlantic. This leads to an increase in the density difference between the two strips, which can be responsible for the increase in the Atlantic MOC.     

Comparison of high performance liquid chromatography and fluorometric ocean colour pigments

The accuracy of satellite derived chlorophylla (chla) using empirical algorithms (OC2 and OC4) is about ± 30–35%, which is attributed mainly to the sensor and atmospheric constraints and also the bio-optical algorithms. However errors inin situ measurement of chla may also contribute to the retrieval accuracy. The fluorometric method of chla measurement can significantly under or overestimate chla concentrations. This is mainly because of the overlap of the absorption and fluorescence bands of co-occurring chlorophyllsb andc, chlorophyll degradation products, and accessory pigment. Accurate chla measurements are important for validating satellite derived chla accuracy and algorithm development. The focus of this study was to understand the discrepancy between fluorometric and HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) derived chla using unialgal cultures, natural field samples from Bedford Basin and samples from MinOx cruise to analyse divinyl chla. Approximately 50% underestimation of chla both in the natural samples as well as cultured samples has been observed by fiuorometer. The results of MinOx cruise data indicated shifting of the blue absorption maxima towards longer wavelengths (~450nm), which is consistent with high concentration of divinyl chla (chla ₂) associated with prochlorophytes.     

Determinants of household food security in Nepal: A binary logistic regression analysis

The study reveals that 10.2% of the sampled households in Nepal suffer from chronic food insecurity,i.e.,neither are they able to produce sufficient food from their farms nor earn the food security threshold income for deficit months.With the highest and the lowest exponential value of coefficient obtained from binary logistic regression model,it is concluded that any program targeting occupational caste and small landholding farm category or landless will contribute significantly to reduce food-insecurity....     

Detecting transmissive bedrock fracture zones under cover of glacial formations using residential water-well production data

Tracing fractures under glacial drift commonly involves costly and often unfeasible (in populated areas) geophysical methods or outcrop surveys, often far from the area of interest. A hypothesis is tested, that the specific capacity data for wells penetrating through glacial drift into a bedrock aquifer display two statistical populations: assuming uniform well construction, the wells with high specific capacity penetrate transmissive fracture zones, while those with low specific capacity encounter non-fractured rock characterized by primary porosity. The hypothesis was tested on 617 wells drilled into the Pennsylvanian Sharon Sandstone, Geauga County, Ohio (USA). Hydraulic conductivity, calculated using the Cooper and Jacob (1946) approximation to Theis’ non-equilibrium radial flow equation, followed quasi-log-normal distribution (geometric mean 9.88?×?10^?6 m/s). The lower values presumably correspond to primary porosity, and higher values correspond to bedrock fracture zones. The higher hydraulic conductivity followed two distinct orientations (N34°E, N44°W), corresponding with the regional fracture pattern of the Allegheny Plateau. A variogram showed that the wells within a kilometer of each other correlate and that wells penetrating the thicker glacial blanket have lower hydraulic conductivity and larger drawdown. Cooper and Jacob (1946) A generalized graphical method for evaluating formation constants and summarizing well-field history, Am. Geoph. Union Trans. 27/4:526–534.     

Groundwater response to serial stream stage fluctuations in shallow unconfined alluvial aquifers along a regulated stream (West Virginia,USA)

Groundwater response to stream stage fluctuations was studied in two unconfined alluvial aquifers using a year-long time series of stream stages from two pools along a regulated stream in West Virginia, USA. The purpose was to analyze spatial and temporal variations in groundwater/surface-water interaction and to estimate induced infiltration rate and cumulative bank storage during an annual cycle of stream stage fluctuation. A convolution-integral method was used to simulate aquifer head at different distances from the stream caused by stream stage fluctuations and to estimate fluxes across the stream–aquifer boundary. Aquifer diffusivities were estimated by wiggle-matching time and amplitude of modeled response to multiple observed storm events. The peak lag time between observed stream and aquifer stage peaks ranged between 14 and 95 hour. Transient modeled diffusivity ranged from 1,000 to 7,500 m²/day and deviated from the measured and calculated single-peak stage-ratio diffusivity by 14–82 %. Stream stage fluctuation displayed more primary control over groundwater levels than recharge, especially during high-flow periods. Dam operations locally altered groundwater flow paths and velocity. The aquifer is more prone to surface-water control in the upper reaches of the pools where stream stage fluctuations are more pronounced than in the lower reaches. This method could be a useful tool for quick assessment of induced infiltration rate and bank storage related to contamination investigations or well-field management.     

Community participation in forest resource management in Nepal

Livelihood of the people in Nepal hills depends much upon forest resources in addition to farming as forest plays a critical role in the well being of the farming households where access to alternative sources, such as energy for cooking, nutrition for animals, materials for fertilizer and constructing materials for shelter, are limited. Thus, the well being of the people in the hills is directly affected by the management of these forest resources. This issue was addressed in this paper by examining the forest resource management practices and its effect on well being of rural people in two different stages in a village lying in the steep hill of Mahabharat Range in the southern hills of Kathmandu valley, Lalitpur District. The main ethnic/caste groups in the villageare Brahmin/Chhetri (high Hindu caste),Magar/Tamang (Tibeto Burmans) and Kami (occupational caste: cobbler). Currently there are four community forest users groups, with mixed ethnic membership, organized to manage the forest resources. The endowments, weak institutional settings, before 1990 helped the Bhramins, Magars and Tamangs to get access into the private forest endowment, which made them easy to get access to the forest resources, mainly fuel wood, fodder and timber in 1990 and enhanced their well beings. But the socially backward Kami could not get benefit from the institutions that existed during that time and had less chance to enhance their well beings. After the set up of different endowments during late 199os, i.e.,hand over of forest management to users groups in line with the concept of community forest,environment to use the forest resources became better for all the groups, along with the management of the forest. This enhanced the well beings of all the groups in the study village. However, the ability of Kami to use the forest resources to enhance their well beings was still lacking behind. The reason was partially due to the difference in endowments carried over from the endowments before 199o, and partly due to their occupational work and location of their settlements.