Underwater Navigation Based on Real-Time Simultaneous Sound Speed Profile Correction

Precise sound speed profile (SSP) information is critical when using sonar for underwater terrain navigation. Nevertheless, acquiring SSP information in real-time is difficult, especially in underwater navigation environment. To account for this problem, this paper presents an underwater navigation method that applies real-time SSP correction to the terrain measurements. The method uses a probe to measure the surface sound speed simultaneously. Meanwhile, redundancy of topographic measurement data is exploited to derive the equivalent SSP information. The acquired equivalent SSP is updated continuously with particle filter algorithm. The terrain measurements can be corrected in real-time with the equivalent SSP to improve the performance of underwater terrain navigation. By removing the impact of inaccurate SSP from the terrain measurements, the proposed method can achieve precise and robust underwater navigation result without using an underway-profiling instrument. Simulated results confirm the good performance of the proposed method.     

Zircon M127 – A Homogeneous Reference Material for SIMS U–Pb Geochronology Combined with Hafnium,Oxygen and,Potentially, Lithium Isotope Analysis

In this article, we document a detailed analytical characterisation of zircon M127, a homogeneous 12.7 carat gemstone from Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Zircon M127 has TIMS‐determined mean U–Pb radiogenic isotopic ratios of 0.084743 ± 0.000027 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U and 0.67676 ± 0.00023 for ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U (weighted means, 2s uncertainties). Its ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 524.36 ± 0.16 Ma (95% confidence uncertainty) is concordant within the uncertainties of decay constants. The δ¹⁸O value (determined by laser fluorination) is 8.26 ± 0.06‰ VSMOW (2s), and the mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratio (determined by solution ICP‐MS) is 0.282396 ± 0.000004 (2s). The SIMS‐determined δ⁷Li value is ?0.6 ± 0.9‰ (2s), with a mean mass fraction of 1.0 ± 0.1 μg g^?1 Li (2s). Zircon M127 contains ~ 923 μg g^?1 U. The moderate degree of radiation damage corresponds well with the time‐integrated self‐irradiation dose of 1.82 × 10¹⁸ alpha events per gram. This observation, and the (U–Th)/He age of 426 ± 7 Ma (2s), which is typical of unheated Sri Lankan zircon, enable us to exclude any thermal treatment. Zircon M127 is proposed as a reference material for the determination of zircon U–Pb ages by means of SIMS in combination with hafnium and stable isotope (oxygen and potentially also lithium) determination.     

A topical evaluation and discussion of data movement technologies for data-intensive scientific applications

Transferring large volumes of information from one location to potentially many others that are geographically distributed and across varying networks is still prevalent in modern scientific data systems. This is despite the movement to push computation to the data and to reduce data movement needed to compute answers to challenging scientific problems, to disseminate information to the scientific community, and to acquire data for curation and enrichment. Because of this, it is imperative that decisions made regarding data movement systems and architectures be backed by both analytical rigor, and also by empirical evidence and measurement. The purpose of this study is to expand on the work performed by our research team over the last decade and to take a fresh look at the evaluation of multiple topical data transfer technologies in use cases derived from data-intensive scientific systems and applications in the areas of Earth science. We report on the evaluation of a set of data movement technologies against a set of empirically derived comparison dimensions. Based on this evaluation, we make recommendations towards the selection of appropriate data movement technologies in scientific applications and scenarios.     

Corundum formation by metasomatic reactions in Archean metapelite,SW Greenland:Exploration vectors for ruby deposits within high-grade greenstone belts

Corundum (ruby-sapphire) is known to have formed in situ within Archean metamorphic rocks at several localities in the North Atlantic Craton of Greenland. Here we present two case studies for such occurrences: (1) Maniitsoq region (Kangerdluarssuk), where kyanite paragneiss hosts ruby corundum, and (2) Nuuk region (Storø), where sillimanite gneiss hosts ruby corundum. At both occurrences, ultramafic rocks (amphibole-peridotite) are in direct contact with the ruby-bearing zones, which have been transformed to mica schist by metasomatic reactions. The bulk-rock geochemistry of the ruby-bearing rocks is consistent with significant depletion of SiO₂ in combination with addition of Al₂O₃, MgO, K₂O, Th and Sr relative to an assumed aluminous precursor metapelite. Phase equilibria modelling supports ruby genesis from the breakdown of sillimanite and kyanite at elevated temperatures due to the removal of SiO₂. The juxtaposition of relatively silica- and aluminum-rich metasedimentary rocks with low silica ultramafic rocks established a chemical potential gradient that leached/mobilized SiO₂ allowing corundum to stabilize in the former rocks. Furthermore, addition of Al₂O₃ via a metasomatic reaction is required, because Al/Ti is fractionated between the aluminous precursor metapelites and the resulting corundum-bearing mica schist. We propose that Al was mobilized either by complexation with hydroxide at alkaline conditions, or that Al was transported as K-Al-Si-O polymers at deep crustal levels. The three main exploration vectors for corundum within Archean greenstone belts are: (1) amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphic conditions, (2) the juxtaposition of ultramafic rocks and aluminous metapelite, and (3) mica-rich reactions zones at their interface.     

Petrogenesis of low-δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O quartz porphyry dykes,Koegel Fontein complex,South Africa

This paper investigates the origin of low-δ¹⁸O quartz porphyry dykes associated with the 144–133 Ma Koegel Fontein Igneous Complex, which was intruded during the initial phase of breakup of Africa and South America. The 25-km diameter Rietpoort Granite is the largest and youngest phase of activity, and is roofed by a 10-km diameter pendant of gneiss. Quartz porphyry (QP) dykes, up to 15 m in width, strike NW–SE across the complex. The QP dykes that intruded outside the granite have similar quartz phenocryst δ¹⁸O values (average 8.0‰, ± 0.7, n?=?33) to the granite (average 8.3?±?1.0, n?=?7). The QP dykes that intruded the roof pendant have quartz phenocrysts with more variable δ¹⁸O values (average 1.6‰, ± 2.1, n?=?55). In some cases quartz phenocrysts have δ¹⁸O values as low as ? 2.5‰. The variation in δ¹⁸O value within the quartz crystal population of individual dykes is small relative to the overall range, and core and rim material from individual quartz phenocrysts in three samples are identical within error. There is no evidence that quartz phenocryst δ¹⁸O values have been affected by fluid–rock interaction. Based on a ?_quartz?magma value of 0.6‰, magma δ¹⁸O values must have been as low as ? 3.1‰. Samples collected along the length of the two main QP dykes that traverse the roof pendant have quartz phenocryst δ¹⁸O values that range from +?1.1 to +?4.6‰, and ? 2.3 to +?5.6‰, respectively. These δ¹⁸O values correlate negatively (r = ? 0.96) with initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, which can be explained by the event that lowered δ¹⁸O values of the source being older than the dykes. We suggest that the QP dykes were fed by magma produced by partial melting of gneiss, which had been variably altered at high temperature by ¹⁸O-depleted meteoric water during global glaciation at ~?550 Ma. The early melts had variable δ¹⁸O value but as melt pockets interconnected during melting, the δ¹⁸O values approached that of average gneiss. Variable quartz phenocryst δ¹⁸O values in the same dyke can be explained by vertical emplacement, at variable rates of ascent along the dyke. The lateral variation in quartz, and hence magma δ¹⁸O value at a particular point along a single dyke would depend on the rate of ascent of magma at that point along the dyke, and the ‘age’ of the particular magma batch.     

A GIS based planning support system for assessing financial feasibility of urban redevelopment

Urban densification trends combined with redevelopment increasingly moving away from large former industrial and transport sites toward existing town centres and corridors indicate redevelopment is becoming increasingly complex, difficult to plan for and undertake. The interplay between land and property markets and planning frameworks suggest city planners and urban researchers need new tools and methodologies to gain insights into ways to deliver effective responses. Despite the need, there is a limited availability of comprehensive models to fulfil the task. This paper describes a GIS-based tool to assess parcel-level financial feasibility and housing supply associated with urban redevelopment within a precinct. The tool incorporates existing and potential built form and parameters associated with the planning framework and land and property markets. Using a real case study in a workshop, tool performance was evaluated by professional urban planners in terms of its capacity to produce metrics and visualisations of potential scenarios of redevelopment. Results indicate the usefulness of the tool for emulating land market conditions and testing scenarios of planning regulation and market changes for strategic planning purposes.     

Modelling tropical cyclone risks for present and future climate change scenarios using geospatial techniques

Tropical cyclones and their devastating impacts are of great concern to coastal communities globally. An appropriate approach integrating climate change scenarios at local scales is essential for producing detailed risk models to support cyclone mitigation measures. This study developed a simple cyclone risk-modelling approach under present and future climate change scenarios using geospatial techniques at local scales, and tested using a case study in Sarankhola Upazila from coastal Bangladesh. Linear storm-surge models were developed up to 100-year return periods. A local sea level rise scenario of 0.34?m for the year 2050 was integrated with surge models to assess the climate change impact. The resultant storm-surge models were used in the risk-modelling procedures. The developed risk models successfully identified the spatial extent and levels of risk that match with actual extent and levels within an acceptable limit of deviation. The result showed that cyclone risk areas increased with the increase of return period. The study also revealed that climate change scenario intensified the cyclone risk area by 5–10% in every return period. The findings indicate this approach has the potential to model cyclone risk in other similar coastal environments for developing mitigation plans and strategies.     

Improved decentralized multi-sensor navigation system for airborne applications

The integration of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) technologies is a very useful navigation option for high-accuracy positioning in many applications. However, its performance is still limited by GNSS satellite availability and satellite geometry. To address such limitations, a non-GNSS-based positioning technology known as “Locata” is used to augment a standard GNSS/INS system. The conventional methods for multi-sensor integration can be classified as being either in the form of centralized Kalman filtering (CKF), or decentralized Kalman filtering. However, these two filtering architectures are not always ideal for real-world applications. To satisfy both accuracy and reliability requirements, these three integration algorithms—CKF, federated Kalman filtering (FKF) and an improved decentralized filtering, known as global optimal filtering (GOF)—are investigated. In principle, the GOF is derived from more information resources than the CKF and FKF algorithms. These three algorithms are implemented in a GPS/Locata/INS integrated navigation system and evaluated using data obtained from a flight test. The experimental results show that the position, velocity and attitude solution derived from the GOF-based system indicate improvements of 30, 18.4 and 20.8% over the CKF- and FKF-based systems, respectively.     

Pattern,style and timing of British–Irish Ice Sheet advance and retreat over the last 45 000 years: evidence from NW Scotland and the adjacent continental shelf

Predicting the future response of ice sheets to climate warming and rising global sea level is important but difficult. This is especially so when fast-flowing glaciers or ice streams, buffered by ice shelves, are grounded on beds below sea level. What happens when these ice shelves are removed? And how do the ice stream and the surrounding ice sheet respond to the abruptly altered boundary conditions? To address these questions and others we present new geological, geomorphological, geophysical and geochronological data from the ice-stream-dominated NW sector of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The study area covers around 45 000 km² of NW Scotland and the surrounding continental shelf. Alongside seabed geomorphological mapping and Quaternary sediment analysis, we use a suite of over 100 new absolute ages (including cosmogenic-nuclide exposure ages, optically stimulated luminescence ages and radiocarbon dates) collected from onshore and offshore, to build a sector-wide ice-sheet reconstruction combining all available evidence with Bayesian chronosequence modelling. Using this information we present a detailed assessment of ice-sheet advance/retreat history, and the glaciological connections between different areas of the NW BIIS sector, at different times during the last glacial cycle. The results show a highly dynamic, partly marine, partly terrestrial, ice-sheet sector undergoing large size variations in response to sub-millennial-scale climatic (Dansgaard–Oeschger) cycles over the last 45 000 years. Superimposed on these trends we identify internally driven instabilities, operating at higher frequency, conditioned by local topographic factors, tidewater dynamics and glaciological feedbacks during deglaciation. Specifically, our new evidence indicates extensive marine-terminating ice-sheet glaciation of the NW BIIS sector during Greenland Stadials 12 to 9 – prior to the main ‘Late Weichselian’ ice-sheet glaciation. After a period of restricted glaciation, in Greenland Interstadials 8 to 6, we find good evidence for rapid renewed ice-sheet build-up in NW Scotland, with the Minch ice-stream terminus reaching the continental shelf edge in Greenland Stadial 5, perhaps only briefly. Deglaciation of the NW sector took place in numerous stages. Several grounding-zone wedges and moraines on the mid- and inner continental shelf attest to significant stabilizations of the ice-sheet grounding line, or ice margin, during overall retreat in Greenland Stadials 3 and 2, and to the development of ice shelves. NW Lewis was the first substantial present-day land area to deglaciate, in the first half of Greenland Stadial 3 at a time of globally reduced sea-level c. 26 kabp , followed by Cape Wrath at c. 24 kabp. The topographic confinement of the Minch straits probably promoted ice-shelf development in early Greenland Stadial 2, providing the ice stream with additional support and buffering it somewhat from external drivers. However, c. 20–19 kabp , as the grounding-line migrated into shoreward deepening water, coinciding with a marked change in marine geology and bed strength, the ice stream became unstable. We find that, once underway, grounding-line retreat proceeded in an uninterrupted fashion with the rapid loss of fronting ice shelves – first in the west, then the east troughs – before eventual glacier stabilization at fjord mouths in NW Scotland by ~17 kabp. Around the same time, ~19–17 kabp , ice-sheet lobes readvanced into the East Minch – possibly a glaciological response to the marine-instability-triggered loss of adjacent ice stream (and/or ice shelf) support in the Minch trough. An independent ice cap on Lewis also experienced margin oscillations during mid-Greenland Stadial 2, with an ice-accumulation centre in West Lewis existing into the latter part of Heinrich Stadial 1. Final ice-sheet deglaciation of NW mainland Scotland was punctuated by at least one other coherent readvance at c. 15.5 kabp , before significant ice-mass losses thereafter. At the glacial termination, c. 14.5 kabp , glaciers fed outwash sediment to now-abandoned coastal deltas in NW mainland Scotland around the time of global Meltwater Pulse 1A. Overall, this work on the BIIS NW sector reconstructs a highly dynamic ice-sheet oscillating in extent and volume for much of the last 45 000 years. Periods of expansive ice-sheet glaciation dominated by ice-streaming were interspersed with periods of much more restricted ice-cap or tidewater/fjordic glaciation. Finally, this work indicates that the role of ice streams in ice-sheet evolution is complex but mechanistically important throughout the lifetime of an ice sheet – with ice streams contributing to the regulation of ice-sheet health but also to the acceleration of ice-sheet demise via marine ice-sheet instabilities.