The topography of Iapetus' leading side     

Bernd Giese  Tilmann Denk  Thomas Roatsch  Peter C. Thomas  Alfred McEwen 《Icarus》2008,193(2):359-371

We have used Cassini stereo images to study the topography of Iapetus' leading side. A terrain model derived at resolutions of 4-8 km reveals that Iapetus has substantial topography with heights in the range of −10 km to +13 km, much more than observed on the other middle-sized satellites of Saturn so far. Most of the topography is older than 4 Ga [Neukum, G., Wagner, R., Denk, T., Porco, C.C., 2005. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVI. Abstract 2034] which implies that Iapetus must have had a thick lithosphere early in its history to support this topography. Models of lithospheric deflection by topographic loads provide an estimate of the required elastic thickness in the range of 50-100 km. Iapetus' prominent equatorial ridge [Porco, C.C., and 34 colleagues, 2005. Science 307, 1237-1242] reaches widths of 70 km and heights of up to 13 km from their base within the modeled area. The morphology of the ridge suggests an endogenous origin rather than a formation by collisional accretion of a ring remnant [Ip, W.-H., 2006. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, doi:10.1029/2005GL025386. L16203]. The transition from simple to complex central peak craters on Iapetus occurs at diameters of 11±3 km. The central peaks have pronounced conical shapes with flanking slopes of typically 11° and heights that can rise above the surrounding plains. Crater depths seem to be systematically lower on Iapetus than on similarly sized Rhea, which if true, may be related to more pronounced crater-wall slumping (which widens the craters) on Iapetus than on Rhea. There are seven large impact basins with complex morphologies including central peak massifs and terraced walls, the largest one reaches 800 km in diameter and has rim topography of up to 10 km. Generally, no rings are observed with the basins consistent with a thick lithosphere but still thin enough to allow for viscous relaxation of the basin floors, which is inferred from crater depth-to-diameter measurements. In particular, a 400-km basin shows up-domed floor topography which is suggestive of viscous relaxation. A model of complex crater formation with a viscoplastic (Bingham) rheology [Melosh, H.J., 1989. Impact Cratering. Oxford Univ. Press, New York] of the impact-shocked icy material provides an estimate of the effective cohesion/viscosity at . The local distribution of bright and dark material on the surface of Iapetus is largely controlled by topography and consistent with the dark material being a sublimation lag deposit originating from a bright icy substrate mixed with the dark components, but frost deposits are possible as well.  相似文献   

Comparison of Five Numerical Codes for Automated Tracing of Coronal Loops     

Markus J. Aschwanden  Jong Kwan Lee  G. Allen Gary  Michael Smith  Bernd Inhester 《Solar physics》2008,248(2):359-377

The three-dimensional (3D) modeling of coronal loops and filaments requires algorithms that automatically trace curvilinear features in solar EUV or soft X-ray images. We compare five existing algorithms that have been developed and customized to trace curvilinear features in solar images: i) the oriented-connectivity method (OCM), which is an extension of the Strous pixel-labeling algorithm (developed by Lee, Newman, and Gary); ii) the dynamic aperture-based loop-segmentation method (developed by Lee, Newman, and Gary); iii) unbiased detection of curvilinear structures (developed by Steger, Raghupathy, and Smith); iv) the oriented-direction method (developed by Aschwanden); and v) ridge detection by automated scaling (developed by Inhester). We test the five existing numerical codes with a TRACE image that shows a bipolar active region and contains over 100 discernable loops. We evaluate the performance of the five codes by comparing the cumulative distribution of loop lengths, the median and maximum loop length, the completeness or detection efficiency, the accuracy, and flux sensitivity. These algorithms are useful for the reconstruction of the 3D geometry of coronal loops from stereoscopic observations with the STEREO spacecraft, or for quantitative comparisons of observed EUV loop geometries with (nonlinear force-free) magnetic field extrapolation models.  相似文献   

Satellite-Based Technologies in Use for Extreme Nocturnal Mountain Rescue Operations: a Synergetic Approach Applying Geophysical Principles     

Manfred F. Buchroithner  Guido Ehlert  Bernd Hetze  Horst Kohlschmidt  Nikolas Prechtel 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》2014,171(6):1077-1087

Mountain-rescue operations require rapid response whilst also ensuring the security of the rescue teams. Rescuing people in a big rock-face is even more difficult if night or fog prevent sight. The paper presents a technical solution to optimally support, under these aggravated conditions, the location of the casualties and the navigation of the rescue team(s) in a rock-face from a coordination station. In doing so, standard components like a smartphones with GPS functionality, a data communication on a client–server basis and VR visualisation software have been adapted to the specific requirements. Remote support of the navigation in steep rocky terrain requires a highly accurate wall model which permits the local experts of the coordination station to dependably estimate geometry and structure of the rock along the rescue route and to convey necessary directives to the retrieval team. Based on terrestrial laser-scans from different locations, such a model has been generated for the mighty Dachstein South Face (Austria) and texturised with digital photographs. Over a twelve-month period, a transdisciplinary team of the Dresden University of Technology (Informatics, Electrical Engineering, Cartography) developed and integrated the various technical modules of the mountain-rescue support-system (digital rock-face model, optimised GPS data transmission between mobile device, server and client, data filtering, and dynamic visualisation component). In summer 2011 the proper functioning of the prototype was demonstrated in a rescue exercise under foggy dusk conditions.  相似文献   

Regional grain size variations in aeolian sediments along the transition between Tibetan highlands and north‐western Chinese deserts – the influence of geomorphological settings on aeolian transport pathways          下载免费PDF全文

Veit Nottebaum  Frank Lehmkuhl  Georg Stauch  Kai Hartmann  Bernd Wünnemann  Stefan Schimpf  Huayu Lu 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2014,39(14):1960-1978

Sediment distribution is investigated applying grain size analysis to 279 surface samples from the transitional zone between high mountains (Qilian Shan) and their arid forelands (Hexi Corridor) in north‐western China. Six main sediment types were classified. Medium scale (10³ m) geomorphological setting is carefully considered as it may play an important role concerning sediment supply and availability. A tripartite distribution of sedimentological landscape units along the mountain to foreland transition is evident. Aeolian sediments (e.g. loess and dune sands) are widespread. They are used to identify aeolian transport pathways. The mU/fS‐ratio (5–11 µm/48–70 µm) among primary loess opposes the two grain size fractions being most sensitive to varying accumulation conditions. The first fraction is attributed to long‐distance transport in high suspension clouds whereas the latter represents local transport in saltation mode. The ratio shows strong correlation with elevation (R² = 0.77). Thus, it indicates a relatively higher far‐traveled dust supply in mountainous areas (>3000 m above sea level [a.s.l.]) compared to the foreland. The contribution of westerlies to high mountain loess deposits is considered likely. Hereby, the influence of the geomorphological setting on grain size composition of aeolian sediments becomes apparent: the contribution from distant dust sources is ubiquitous in the study area. However, the far‐distance contribution may be reduced by the availability of fine sand provided in low topography settings. Plain foreland areas support fine sand deflation from supplying river beds, allowing the formation of sandy loess in foreland areas and intramontane basins. In contrast, high mountain topography inhibits strong sand deflation into loess deposits. Eastern parts of the Hexi Corridor show higher aeolian sand occurrence. In contrast, the western parts are dominated by gravel gobi surfaces. This is attributed to higher sand supply in eastern parts provided by the Badain Jaran Desert and fluvial storages as sand sources. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Spectral-element simulations of elastic wave propagation in exploration and geotechnical applications          下载免费PDF全文

Lin Zheng  Qi Zhao  Bernd Milkereit  Giovanni Grasselli  Qinya Liu 《地震科学（英文版）》2014,27(2):179-187

We apply the spectral-element method (SEM), a high-order finite-element method (FEM) to simulate seismic wave propagation in complex media for exploration and geotechnical problems. The SEM accurately treats geometrical complexities through its flexible FEM mesh and accurately interpolates wavefields through high-order Lagrange polynomials. It has been a numerical solver used extensively in earthquake seismology. We demonstrate the applicability of SEM for selected 2D exploration and geotechnical velocity models with an open-source SEM software package SPECFEM2D. The first scenario involves a marine survey for a salt dome with the presence of major internal discontinuities, and the second example simulates seismic wave propagation for an open-pit mine with complex surface topography. Wavefield snapshots, synthetic seismograms, and peak particle velocity maps are presented to illustrate the promising use of SEM for industrial problems.  相似文献   

Organic tracers in sediments from the coastal zone of Ras Abu el-Darag,Gulf of Suez     

Ahmed?I.?RushdiEmail author  Tarek?A.?T.?A.?Kassim  Bernd?R.?T.?Simoneit 《Environmental Geology》2009,58(8):1675-1687

Sediment samples from the coastal zone of the Gulf of Suez contain a variety of organic compounds from anthropogenic and natural sources. A total of 12 surface samples of bottom sediments were collected with an Ekman grab sampler along an off-shore transect south of Ras Abu el-Darag. The samples were extracted with a mixture of dichloromethane and methanol (3:1 v/v) after drying and sieving through 250 μm mesh. The extracts were derivatized and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in order to characterize the chemical composition and sources of the organic components. Marine with minor terrestrial biota were the major natural sources of organic tracers and included n-alkanoic acids, sterols and saccharides (5.7–76.7%). Anthropogenic sources, from petroleum related activities, detergent usage for spill cleaning and littering, are indicated by the presence of n-alkanes with carbon preference index ≤1.0, hopanes, steranes, unresolved complex mixture of branched and cyclic hydrocarbons, alkyl nitriles, alkamides and plasticizers. Their total relative concentrations ranged from 23.3 to 97.3% of the total extracts. Petroleum residues from natural seepage may also be part of these hydrocarbons. The levels of anthropogenic inputs decrease from about 94% in coastal zone sediments to about 20% in sediments from the reef front.  相似文献   

A new method for the determination of the specific kinetic energy (SKE) released to pyroclastic particles at magmatic fragmentation: theory and first experimental results     

Tobias Dürig  Fabio Dioguardi  Ralf Büttner  Pierfrancesco Dellino  Daniela Mele  Bernd Zimanowski 《Bulletin of Volcanology》2012,74(4):895-902

Brittle magmatic fragmentation plays a crucial role in explosive eruptions. It represents the starting point of hazardous explosive events that can affect large areas surrounding erupting volcanoes. Knowing the initial energy released during this fragmentation process is fundamental for the understanding of the subsequent dynamics of the eruptive gas-particle mixture and consequently for the forecasting of the erupting column’s behavior. The specific kinetic energy (SKE) of the particles quantifies the initial velocity shortly after the fragmentation and is therefore a necessary variable to model the gas-particle conduit flow and eruptive column regime. In this paper, we present a new method for its determination based on fragmentation experiments and identification of the timings of energy release. The results obtained on compositions representative for basaltic and phonolitic melts show a direct dependence on magma material properties: poorly vesiculated basaltic melts from Stromboli show the highest SKE values ranging from 7.3 to 11.8 kJ/kg, while experiments with highly vesiculated samples from Stromboli and Vesuvius result in lower SKE values (3.1 to 3.8 kJ/kg). The described methodology presents a useful tool for quantitative estimation of the kinetic energy release of magmatic fragmentation processes, which can contribute to the improvement of hazard assessment.  相似文献   

Comparative analyses of glass fragments from brittle fracture experiments and volcanic ash particles     

Tobias Dürig  Daniela Mele  Pierfrancesco Dellino  Bernd Zimanowski 《Bulletin of Volcanology》2012,74(3):691-704

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Platiniferous gold–tourmaline aggregates in the gold–palladium belt of Minas Gerais,Brazil: implications for regional boron metasomatism     

Cabral  Alexandre Raphael  Tupinambá  Miguel  Zeh  Armin  Lehmann  Bernd  Wiedenbeck  Michael  Brauns  Michael  Kwitko-Ribeiro  Rogerio 《Mineralogy and Petrology》2017,111(6):807-819

Mineralogy and Petrology - The platiniferous gold–palladium belt of Minas Gerais, Brazil, forms an approximately 240-km-long, roughly north–south-trending domain that includes numerous...  相似文献   

Holocene environmental dynamics of south-eastern Brazil recorded in laminated sediments of Lago Aleixo     

Dirk Enters  Hermann Behling  Christoph Mayr  Lydie Dupont  Bernd Zolitschka 《Journal of Paleolimnology》2010,44(1):265-277

Environmental changes of the last 9,300 years were reconstructed by geochemical and pollen analyses of a 14-m-long, laminated sediment core from Lago Aleixo, south-eastern Brazil. Fossil pollen assemblages indicate open savannah vegetation (campo cerrado) and gallery forests until approximately 6,900 cal. BP. During that time, siderite laminae were deposited under anoxic conditions at the lake bottom. Then, increased rainfall and a shorter annual dry period allowed gallery forests and semi-deciduous forests to expand, leading to more closed cerrado vegetation. High-intensity rainfall events during this period are recorded as peaks in K and Ti concentrations. The sediment facies during this period consists of alternating layers of diatoms and minerogenic matter. C/N ratios imply that algae and perhaps soils, too, were the main contributors to sediment organic matter. Biogenic silica and δ¹³C_org variations indicate increasing primary productivity, which was related to higher nutrient flux from intensified leaching of soils, as shown by rising K/Al ratios. Around 800 cal. BP, a closed, semi-deciduous forest developed under present-day climate conditions. Slope stabilization diminished erosion processes in the catchment and caused reduced input of minerogenic matter into the basin. Human impact is evident in the topmost homogeneous sediments, as removal of the stabilizing forest cover amplified soil erosion. The continuous trend to more humid conditions during the Holocene probably reflects increased influence of the Amazon Basin as a moisture source. We conclude that the Lago Aleixo sediment archive was a sensitive recorder of environmental dynamics in tropical South America, which were mainly controlled by changes in precipitation patterns.  相似文献