Railway embankment failure due to ballast layer breach caused by inundation flows

A railway embankment constructed on a floodplain is at risk of damage due to flooding flows. The process and critical conditions that lead to railway embankment damage during flooding are not clearly understood, rendering risk estimations impossible and hindering the development of flood-resilient rail systems. For this work, we first reviewed records of railway damage in flood plains and flows through the ballast layer. The breaching process was selected as the focus of our study. We secondly specified the fundamental characteristics of flows through a ballast layer. The critical flow rate per unit width and the minimum upstream water depth required for initiating extensive ballast breaching were experimentally evaluated using a full-scale ballast layer with rails and sleepers constructed using materials originally utilized in actual railways. A two-dimensional flow model was then employed for estimating the flow through a ballast layer that was placed on an impermeable base embankment. A simple ballast breaching model was also employed in order to explore a higher flow rate condition that could not be represented in our experiment due to limited facilities. The breaching pattern represented by the simulation model corresponded to the breaching pattern observed in the experiment. In addition to the above, here, we also discuss the ballast breaching process based on qualitative field records and quantitative experimental results, as well as the ballast breaching process as represented by the simulation.     

Petrological characteristics and volatile content of magma from the 2000 eruption of Miyakejima Volcano, Japan

Among the series of eruptions at Miyakejima volcano in 2000, the largest summit explosion occurred on 18 August 2000. During this explosion, vesiculated bombs and lapilli having cauliflower-like shapes were ejected as essential products. Petrological observation and chemical analyses of the essential ejecta and melt inclusions were carried out in order to investigate magma ascent and eruption processes. SEM images indicate that the essential bombs and lapilli have similar textures, which have many tiny bubbles, crystal-rich and glass-poor groundmass and microphenocrysts of plagioclase, augite and olivine. Black ash particles, which compose 40% of the air-fall ash from the explosion, also have similar textures to the essential bombs. Whole-rock analyses show that the chemical composition of all essential ejecta is basaltic (SiO₂=51–52 wt%). Chemical analyses of melt inclusions in plagioclase and olivine phenocrysts indicate that melt in the magma had 0.9–1.9 wt% H₂O, <0.011 wt% CO₂, 0.04–0.17 wt% S and 0.06–0.1 wt% Cl. The variation in volatile content suggests degassing of the magma during ascent up to a depth of about 1 km. The ratio of H₂O and S content of melt inclusions is similar to that of volcanic gas, which has been intensely and continuously emitted from the summit since the end of August 2000, indicating that the 18 August magma is the source of the gas emission. Based on the volatile content of the melt inclusions and the volcanic gas composition, the initial bulk volatile content of the magma was estimated to be 1.6–1.9 wt% H₂O, 0.08–0.1 wt% CO₂, 0.11–0.17 wt% S and 0.06–0.07 wt% Cl. The basaltic magma ascended from a deeper chamber (10 km) due to decrease in magma density caused by volatile exsolution with pressure decrease. The highly vesiculated magma, which had at least 30 vol% bubbles, may have come into contact with ground water at sea level causing the large explosion of 18 August 2000.Editorial responsibility: S. Nakada, T. DuittAn erratum to this article can be found at     

Compact Two-Dimensional Array of Stressed GE:GA Detectors

We have developed a 4 × 8 array of stressed Ge:Ga detectors. This array detector has a high density format ofentrance pupils so that we can minimize the size of the cameraoptics. The cutoff wavelength of the detector is about 170 m, and the detector's NEP is better than 10¹⁶ WHz^-1/2. We are going apply this array detector toballoon-borne astronomical observations. Furthermore, we aredeveloping this detector into a 5 × 15 array detector that will be placed onboard the IRIS satellite to be launched in 2003.     

The effect of the stellar wind velocity on the eccentric-orbit binary model

The previous eccentric-orbit binary model for the recurrent X-ray sources is modified by taking account of the velocity field of the stellar wind. The resultant formula of the light curves for the X-ray sources may have an useful application to the observed X-ray sources.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and hopanes in stranded tar-balls on the coasts of Peninsular Malaysia: applications of biomarkers for identifying sources of oil pollution

Malaysian coasts are subjected to various threats of petroleum pollution including routine and accidental oil spill from tankers, spillage of crude oils from inland and offshore oil fields, and run-off from land-based human activities. Due to its strategic location, the Straits of Malacca serves as a major shipping lane. This paper expands the utility of biomarker compounds, hopanes, in identifying the source of tar-balls stranded on Malaysian coasts. 20 tar-ball samples collected from the east and west coast were analyzed for hopanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Four of the 13 tar-ball samples collected from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia were identified as the Middle East crude oil (MECO) based on their biomarker signatures, suggesting tanker-derived sources significantly contributing the petroleum pollution in the Straits of Malacca. The tar-balls found on the east coast seem to originate from the offshore oil platforms in the South China Sea. The presence of South East Asian crude oil (SEACO) tar-balls on the west coast carry several plausible explanations. Some of the tar-balls could have been transported via sea currents from the east coast. The tankers carrying SEACO to other countries could have accidentally spilt the oil as well. Furthermore, discharge of tank washings and ballast water from the tankers were suggested based on the abundance in higher molecular weight n-alkanes and the absence of unresolved complex mixture (UCM) in the tar-ball samples. The other possibilities are that the tar-balls may have been originated from the Sumatran oil fields and spillage of domestic oil from oil refineries in Port Dickson and Malacca. The results of PAHs analysis suggest that all the tar-ball samples have undergone various extent of weathering through evaporation, dissolution and photo-oxidation.     

Effects of low pCO2 conditions on sea urchin larval size

Ocean acidification results from an increase in the concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) impacts on marine calcifying species, which is predicted to become more pronounced in the future. By the end of this century, atmospheric pCO₂ levels will have doubled relative to the pre‐industrial levels of 280 ppm. However, the effects of pre‐industrial pCO₂ levels on marine organisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of pre‐industrial pCO₂ conditions on the size of the pluteus larvae of sea urchins, which are known to be vulnerable to ocean acidification. The larval size of Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus significantly increased when reared at pre‐industrial pCO₂ level relative to the present one, and the size of Anthocidaris crassispina larvae decreased as the pCO₂ levels increased from the pre‐industrial level to the near future ones after 3 days' exposure. In this study, it is suggested that echinoid larvae responded to pre‐industrial pCO₂ levels. Ocean acidification may be affecting some sensitive marine calcifiers even at the present pCO₂ level.