The effect of the oceans on the terrestrial crater size‐frequency distribution: Insight from numerical modeling     

Thomas Davison  Gareth S. Collins 《Meteoritics & planetary science》2007,42(11):1915-1927

Abstract— On Earth, oceanic impacts are twice as likely to occur as continental impacts, yet the effect of the oceans has not been previously considered when estimating the terrestrial crater size‐frequency distribution. Despite recent progress in understanding the qualitative and quantitative effect of a water layer on the impact process through novel laboratory experiments, detailed numerical modeling, and interpretation of geological and geophysical data, no definitive relationship between impactor properties, water depth, and final crater diameter exists. In this paper, we determine the relationship between final (and transient) crater diameter and the ratio of water depth to impactor diameter using the results of numerical impact models. This relationship applies for normal incidence impacts of stoney asteroids into water‐covered, crystalline oceanic crust at a velocity of 15 km s^?1. We use these relationships to construct the first estimates of terrestrial crater size‐frequency distributions (over the last 100 million years) that take into account the depth‐area distribution of oceans on Earth. We find that the oceans reduce the number of craters smaller than 1 km in diameter by about two‐thirds, the number of craters ?30 km in diameter by about one‐third, and that for craters larger than ?100 km in diameter, the oceans have little effect. Above a diameter of ?12 km, more craters occur on the ocean floor than on land; below this diameter more craters form on land than in the oceans. We also estimate that there have been in the region of 150 impact events in the last 100 million years that formed an impact‐related resurge feature, or disturbance on the seafloor, instead of a crater.  相似文献   

Viability of shear-wave amplitude versus offset studies in anisotropic media     

Gareth S. Yardley  Gerhard Graham  Stuart Crampin 《Geophysical Journal International》1991,107(3):493-503

  相似文献   

Whose field line is it anyway?     

Gareth Chisham  Gary Abel  Steve Milan 《Astronomy& Geophysics》2004,45(3):3.36-3.38

Gareth Chisham, Gary Abel and Steve Milan report on the October 2003 RAS "G" discussion meeting "Identifying the open–closed field line boundary in magnetospheric and ionospheric data sets".  相似文献   

Initial Fe/O Enhancements in Large, Gradual, Solar Energetic Particle Events: Observations from Wind and Ulysses     

Allan J. Tylka  Olga E. Malandraki  Gareth Dorrian  Yuan-Kuen Ko  Richard G. Marsden  Chee K. Ng  Cecil Tranquille 《Solar physics》2013,285(1-2):251-267

Shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the dominant particle accelerators in large, “gradual” solar energetic particle (SEP) events. In these events, the event-integrated value of the iron-to-oxygen ratio (Fe/O) is typically ～?0.1, at least at energies of a few MeV/nucleon. However, at the start of some gradual events, when intensities are low and growing, initially Fe/O is ～?1. This value is also characteristic of small, “impulsive” SEP events, in which particle acceleration is due to magnetic reconnection. These observations suggested that SEPs in gradual events also include a direct contribution from the flare that accompanied the CME launch. If correct, this interpretation is of critical importance: it indicates a clear path to interplanetary space for particles from the reconnection region beneath the CME. A key issue for the flare origin is “magnetic connectedness”, i.e., proximity of the flare site to the solar footpoint of the observer’s magnetic field line. We present two large gradual events observed in 2001 by Wind at L1 and by Ulysses, when it was located at >?60^° heliolatitude and beyond 1.6 AU. In these events, transient Fe/O enhancements at 5?–?10 MeV/nucleon were seen at both spacecraft, even though one or both is not “well-connected” to the flare. These observations demonstrate that an initial Fe/O enhancement cannot be cited as evidence for a direct flare component. Instead, initial Fe/O enhancements are better understood as a transport effect, driven by the different mass-to-charge ratios of Fe and O. We further demonstrate that the time-constant of the roughly exponential decay of the Fe/O ratio scales as R ², where R is the observer’s radial distance from the Sun. This behavior is consistent with radial diffusion. These observations thus also provide a potential constraint on models in which SEPs reach high heliolatitudes by cross-field diffusion.  相似文献   

Coupled 2D Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Modeling of Megaflood due to Glacier Dam-break in Altai Mountains,Southern Siberia   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

HUANG Wei  CAO Zhi-xian  Paul CARLING  Gareth PENDER 《山地科学学报》2014,(6):1442-1453

One of the largest known megafloods on earth resulted from a glacier dam-break,which occurred during the Late Quaternary in the Altai Mountains in Southern Siberia.Computational modeling is one of the viable approaches to enhancing the understanding of the flood events.The computational domain of this flood is over 9460 km2 and about 3.784 × 106 cells are involved as a 50 m × 50 m mesh is used,which necessitates a computationally efficient model.Here the Open MP(Open Multiprocessing) technique is adopted to parallelize the code of a coupled 2D hydrodynamic and sediment transport model.It is shown that the computational efficiency is enhanced by over 80% due to the parallelization.The floods over both fixed and mobile beds are well reproduced with specified discharge hydrographs at the dam site.Qualitatively,backwater effects during the flood are resolved at the bifurcation between the Chuja and Katun rivers.Quantitatively,the computed maximum stage and thalweg are physically consistent with the field data of the bars and deposits.The effects of sediment transport and morphological evolution on the flood are considerable.Sensitivity analyses indicate that the impact of the peak discharge is significant,whilst those of the Manningroughness,medium sediment size and shape of the inlet discharge hydrograph are marginal.  相似文献   

Heterogeneity,cyclicity and diagenesis in a Mississippian brachiopod shell of palaeoequatorial Britain     

Lucia Angiolini  Michael Stephenson  Melanie J. Leng  Flavio Jadoul  Dave Millward  Anthony Aldridge  Julian Andrews  Simon Chenery  Gareth Williams 《地学学报》2012,24(1):16-26

  相似文献   

Tidal estuary width convergence: Theory and form in North Australian estuaries     

Gareth Davies  Colin D. Woodroffe 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2010,35(7):737-749

In order to better understand the relations between tidal estuary shape and geomorphic processes, the width profiles of 79 tidal channels from within 30 estuaries in northern Australia have been extracted from LANDSAT 5 imagery using GIS. Statistics describing the shape and width convergence of individual channels and entire estuaries (which can contain several channels) are analysed along with proxies for the tidal range and fluvial inputs of the estuaries in question. The width profiles of most individual channels can be reasonably approximated with an exponential curve, and this is also true of the width profiles of estuaries. However, the shape of this exponential width profile is strongly related to the mouth width of the system. Channels and estuaries with larger mouths generally exhibit a more pronounced ‘funnel shape’ than those with narrower mouths, reflecting the hydrodynamic importance of the distance over which the channel or estuarine width converges. At the estuarine scale, this ‘convergence length’ also tends to be higher in estuaries which have larger catchments relative to their size. No clear relation between the estuarine width convergence length and tidal range could be discerned within the Northern Australian estuaries although, when these data are combined with data from other studies, a weak relationship emerges. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Carbon dioxide fluxes and DOC concentrations of eroding blanket peat gullies   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Gareth D. Clay  Simon Dixon  Martin G. Evans  James G. Rowson  Fred Worrall 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2012,37(5):562-571

UK peatlands are affected by severe gully erosion with consequent impacts on ecosystem services from these areas. Incision into the peat can damage the vegetation and hydrology and lead to increases in carbon loss and sediment transfer downstream. Gullies represent then a conduit for and a hotspot of carbon loss but the relatively high water tables of gullies have meant that they have been identified as areas with a high restoration potential because of easily restored peat‐forming conditions. This study uses a series of gully sites, subject to different restoration interventions, to investigate differences in carbon pathways (DOC, CO₂) and hydrology between restoration strategies and gully position. The results show that the position within the gully (interfluve, gully side, or gully floor) does not significantly affect water quality but that it plays a significant role in CO₂ exchange. Gully floors are areas of high photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration, though net ecosystem exchange is not significantly different across the gully. While gully position plays a role in the cycling of some carbon species, this study highlights the importance of vegetation as a key control on carbon cycling. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Two Years of the STEREO Heliospheric Imagers     

Richard A. Harrison  Jackie A. Davies  Alexis P. Rouillard  Christopher J. Davis  Christopher J. Eyles  Danielle Bewsher  Steve R. Crothers  Russell A. Howard  Neil R. Sheeley  Angelos Vourlidas  David F. Webb  Daniel S. Brown  Gareth D. Dorrian 《Solar physics》2009,256(1-2):219-237

Imaging of the heliosphere is a burgeoning area of research. As a result, it is awash with new results, using novel applications, and is demonstrating great potential for future research in a wide range of topical areas. The STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) Heliospheric Imager (HI) instruments are at the heart of this new development, building on the pioneering observations of the SMEI (Solar Mass Ejection Imager) instrument aboard the Coriolis spacecraft. Other earlier heliospheric imaging systems have included ground-based interplanetary scintillation (IPS) facilities and the photometers on the Helios spacecraft. With the HI instruments, we now have routine wide-angle imaging of the inner heliosphere, from vantage points outside the Sun-Earth line. HI has been used to investigate the development of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as they pass through the heliosphere to 1 AU and beyond. Synoptic mapping has also allowed us to see graphic illustrations of the nature of mass outflow as a function of distance from the Sun – in particular, stressing the complexity of the near-Sun solar wind. The instruments have also been used to image co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs), to study the interaction of comets with the solar wind and CMEs, and to witness the impact of CMEs and CIRs on planets. The very nature of this area of research – which brings together aspects of solar physics, space-environment physics, and solar-terrestrial physics – means that the research papers are spread among a wide range of journals from different disciplines. Thus, in this special issue, it is timely and appropriate to provide a review of the results of the first two years of the HI investigations.  相似文献   

Gully formation on Mars: Two recent phases of formation suggested by links between morphology, slope orientation and insolation history     

Gareth A. Morgan  James W. Head  Jean-Baptiste Madeleine 《Icarus》2010,208(2):658-21

The unusual 80 km diameter Noachian-aged Asimov crater in Noachis Terra (46°S, 5°E) is characterized by extensive Noachian-Hesperian crater fill and a younger superposed annulus of valleys encircling the margins of the crater floor. These valleys provide an opportunity to study the relationships of gully geomorphology as a function of changing slope orientation relative to solar insolation. We found that the level of development of gullies was highly correlated with slope orientation and solar insolation. The largest and most complex gully systems, with the most well-developed fluvial landforms, are restricted to pole-facing slopes. In contrast, gullies on equator-facing slopes are smaller, more poorly developed and integrated, more highly degraded, and contain more impact craters. We used a 1D version of the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique GCM, and slope geometries (orientation and angle), driven by predicted spin-axis/orbital parameter history, to assess the distribution and history of surface temperatures in these valleys during recent geological history. Surface temperatures on pole-facing slopes preferential for water ice accumulation and subsequent melting are predicted to occur as recently as 0.5-2.1 Ma, which is consistent with age estimates of gully activity elsewhere on Mars. In contrast, the 1D model predicts that water ice cannot accumulate on equator-facing slopes until obliquities exceed 45°, suggesting they are unlikely to have been active over the last 5 Ma. The correlation of the temperature predictions and the geological evidence for age differences suggests that there were two phases of gully formation in the last few million years: an older phase in which top-down melting occurred on equator-facing slopes and a younger more robust phase on pole-facing slopes. The similarities of small-scale fluvial erosion features seen in the gullies on Mars and those observed in gullies cut by seasonal and perennial snowmelt in the Antarctic Dry Valleys supports a top-down melting origin for these gullies on Mars.  相似文献