Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles

Pumice, characterised by its high vesicularity, often forms pumice rafts as it floats on water. Although the vast majority of research has focused on understanding the behavior of pumice rafts, studies on the water infiltration properties of pumice remain scarce. Moreover, the influence of underwate...

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Main Authors: Sho Sawada, Christopher Gomez, Takashi Koi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta 2025-03-01
Series:Forum Geografi
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Online Access:https://journals2.ums.ac.id/index.php/fg/article/view/7463
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author Sho Sawada
Christopher Gomez
Takashi Koi
author_facet Sho Sawada
Christopher Gomez
Takashi Koi
author_sort Sho Sawada
collection DOAJ
description Pumice, characterised by its high vesicularity, often forms pumice rafts as it floats on water. Although the vast majority of research has focused on understanding the behavior of pumice rafts, studies on the water infiltration properties of pumice remain scarce. Moreover, the influence of underwater particles, such as microplastics in the ocean, on water infiltration through the pores of pumiceous materials is still unclear. Therefore, this study investigates the water infiltration properties of pumice mate-rials and their behavior in different aqueous environments through laboratory experiments using pumiceous rocks (En-a, originating from Mount Eniwa) from the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake site. Experiments were conducted in both still and slurry water conditions to examine the effects of particle size and sediment concentration on water infiltration rates. Results showed that density variations follow a two-phase pattern: a rapid initial increase (+0.43 g/cm³ and 0.3931 g/cm³ in the first 30s for small and large pumice, respectively) followed by a plateau phase (+0.022 g/cm³ and 0.0197 g/cm³ in the next 60s). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in infiltration rates based on particle size in still water conditions, with smaller pumices showing more heterogeneous infiltration pathways. While sediment presence in slurry conditions did not significantly affect overall infiltration rates, it led to more stable data dispersion, particularly in larger samples. The study also pro-poses a statistical framework for modeling pumice behavior, incorporating parameters such as vesicularity, particle concentration, and temperature. These findings suggest that current pumice raft models need refinement to account for size-dependent infiltration behaviors and the influence of underwater particles, with implications for understanding the transport and environmental impact of pumice rafts in marine environments.
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spelling doaj-art-fbb2eec847174136a1cb8a7edcbe418b2025-08-20T03:56:50ZengUniversitas Muhammadiyah SurakartaForum Geografi0852-06822460-39452025-03-01391536310.23917/forgeo.v39i1.74637495Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particlesSho Sawada0Christopher Gomez1Takashi Koi2Kobe University, Laboratory of Sediment Hazards and Disaster Risks (SABO) at the Faculty of Oceanology, Higash-inadaku Fukaeminamimachi 5-1-1, Kobe CityKobe University, Laboratory of Sediment Hazards and Disaster Risks (SABO) at the Faculty of Oceanology, Higash-inadaku Fukaeminamimachi 5-1-1, Kobe CityCenter for Natural Hazards Research, Hokkaido University Kita 9 Nishi 9 Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589Pumice, characterised by its high vesicularity, often forms pumice rafts as it floats on water. Although the vast majority of research has focused on understanding the behavior of pumice rafts, studies on the water infiltration properties of pumice remain scarce. Moreover, the influence of underwater particles, such as microplastics in the ocean, on water infiltration through the pores of pumiceous materials is still unclear. Therefore, this study investigates the water infiltration properties of pumice mate-rials and their behavior in different aqueous environments through laboratory experiments using pumiceous rocks (En-a, originating from Mount Eniwa) from the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake site. Experiments were conducted in both still and slurry water conditions to examine the effects of particle size and sediment concentration on water infiltration rates. Results showed that density variations follow a two-phase pattern: a rapid initial increase (+0.43 g/cm³ and 0.3931 g/cm³ in the first 30s for small and large pumice, respectively) followed by a plateau phase (+0.022 g/cm³ and 0.0197 g/cm³ in the next 60s). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in infiltration rates based on particle size in still water conditions, with smaller pumices showing more heterogeneous infiltration pathways. While sediment presence in slurry conditions did not significantly affect overall infiltration rates, it led to more stable data dispersion, particularly in larger samples. The study also pro-poses a statistical framework for modeling pumice behavior, incorporating parameters such as vesicularity, particle concentration, and temperature. These findings suggest that current pumice raft models need refinement to account for size-dependent infiltration behaviors and the influence of underwater particles, with implications for understanding the transport and environmental impact of pumice rafts in marine environments.https://journals2.ums.ac.id/index.php/fg/article/view/7463pumicepumice raftsocean wastesmarine ecosystems
spellingShingle Sho Sawada
Christopher Gomez
Takashi Koi
Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles
Forum Geografi
pumice
pumice rafts
ocean wastes
marine ecosystems
title Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles
title_full Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles
title_fullStr Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles
title_full_unstemmed Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles
title_short Volcanic Pumice Rafts at Sea: Buoyancy and Infiltration with Micro-particles
title_sort volcanic pumice rafts at sea buoyancy and infiltration with micro particles
topic pumice
pumice rafts
ocean wastes
marine ecosystems
url https://journals2.ums.ac.id/index.php/fg/article/view/7463
work_keys_str_mv AT shosawada volcanicpumiceraftsatseabuoyancyandinfiltrationwithmicroparticles
AT christophergomez volcanicpumiceraftsatseabuoyancyandinfiltrationwithmicroparticles
AT takashikoi volcanicpumiceraftsatseabuoyancyandinfiltrationwithmicroparticles