Railway transition zones between open track and rigid structures such as bridges and culverts often experience differential movements due to abrupt changes in track stiffness and complicated dynamic loading effects. Such conditions commonly lead to track geometry issues, consequently increasing the magnitude of impact loads at these areas. This in turn leads to excessive degradation of ballast ...

The spread of nonindigenous species (NIS) in aquatic ecosystems provides an opportunity to develop new perspectives on the invasion process. In this paper we review existing invasion models, most of which were developed to describe invasions of terrestrial habitats, and propose an alternative that explores long-distance invasions mediated by discharge of contaminated ballast water by ships inbo...

Worldwide transfer and introduction of non-indigenous species in ballast water causes significant environmental and economic impact. One way to address this problem is to remove or inactivate organisms that are found in ballast water. In this study, 3 experiments were conducted in Puget Sound, Washington, USA, using a prototype ozone treatment system installed on a commercial oil tanker, the S/...

Ballast water is a dominant mechanism for the interoceanic and transoceanic dispersal of aquatic non-native species (ANS), but few studies have addressed ANS transfers via smaller scale vessel movements. We analyzed ballast water reporting records and ANS occurrence data from four US West Coast port systems to examine patterns of intra-coastal ballast water transfer, and assess how ballast tran...

—Introductions of non-indigenous species in ballast water are one of the greatest threats to freshwater and marine ecosystems worldwide. New approaches to reducing the release of organisms from ballast water are under consideration nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, the development of scientifically defensible policy for controlling introductions from ballast water has been retarded...

The results of the ship ballast water treatment systems neutralization need to be verified in a transparent and trustful way before the ship enters a port. Some researches and results, explained in this article, confirm a need for a good verification. If there is no good methodology agreed, then it would not be accepted the solution that the BWMC (Ballast Water Management Convention) 2004 did p...