Creating an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum from a giant impact

The giant impact hypothesis is the dominant theory explaining the formation of our Moon. However, the inability to produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum has cast a shadow on its validity. Computer-generated impacts have been successful in producing virtual systems that possess many of the observed physical properties. However, addressing the isotopic similarities between the Earth and Moon coupled with correct angular momentum has proven to be challenging. Equilibration and evection resonance have been proposed as means of reconciling the models. In the summer of 2013, the Royal Society called a meeting solely to discuss the formation of the Moon. In this meeting, evection resonance and equilibration were both questioned as viable means of removing the deficiencies from giant impact models. The main concerns were that models were multi-staged and too complex. We present here initial impact conditions that produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum. This is done in a single-staged simulation. The initial parameters are straightforward and the results evolve solely from the impact. This was accomplished by colliding two roughly half-Earth-sized impactors, rotating in approximately the same plane in a high-energy, off-centered impact, where both impactors spin into the collision.     

Characteristics of Alkanes in Ferromanganese Nodules of the Clarion–Clipperton Fracture Zone

This work presents the first results of a comparative study on the composition and distribution of organic matter (OM) (TOC, n-alkanes, pristane, phytane) in ferromanganese nodules and underlying sediments (0–1 cm) from three sites within the Clarion–Clipperton Fracture Zone, Pacific Ocean. Samples were collected during Cruise 120 of the RSS James Cook in 2015. The studied nodules differ in size, shape, and morphology. The TOC content in the nodules is 0.15% on average with insignificant variations which is less than in the sediments. The molecular composition of n-alkanes in the nodules is mainly determined by modern bacterial activity with high preservation of terrigenous n-alkanes in the environment of the ore deposit formation.     

Design Experience of a Demonstrator Descent Vehicle Introducing Aeroelastic Deployable Structural Elements to Space Engineering

The development project of a prototype demonstrator for a descent vehicle and the possibilities of descent from orbit using aero-elastic braking devices deployable in space and in the atmosphere is considered. The project was carried out jointly by the Lavochkin Scientific Production Association and the Moscow Aviation Institute teams in 2013–2015. The results are evaluated for both the project itself and the cooperation of the two organizations.     

Evaluating the effects of catch-and-release angling on Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi in a South African estuary

Fisheries managers are increasingly promoting catch-and-release (C&R) to manage recreationally angled fish stocks. Despite this, there is a scarcity of information on the effects of C&R on estuarine-dependent species. Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi dominates the recreational fisheries catch and provides an important source of food for subsistence fishers in some temperate South African estuaries. The health and survival of R. holubi exposed to a C&R event was investigated by examining their physiological stress response (blood glucose and lactate), reflex impairment (reflex action mortality predictors [RAMP]) and short-term (12-hour) survival. Fish were captured and exposed to one of three air-exposure treatments: 0 s, 30 s or 90 s. Stress and health were measured either immediately (immediate) or one hour after (delayed) the C&R event. There was no significant difference in blood glucose between air-exposure treatments, but there was a significant difference between the mean immediate and delayed glucose levels within each treatment (F_(2,143) = 81.8, p < 0.01). In contrast, blood lactate level was significantly higher in the 90-s treatment (p < 0.05). Immediate blood lactate levels were significantly lower than the delayed samples for each treatment (F = 4.29, p = 0.02; n = 169). Although all fish exhibited at least one reflex impairment, the RAMP score was significantly higher in the 90-s air-exposure treatment (H_(2,86) = 9.73, p = 0.007). Also, RAMP scores were significantly lower in the delayed samples (p < 0.01). Although short-term mortality was relatively low (2.3%) for this species, it was highest in the 90-s treatment (7%). These results suggest that physiological stress is higher when R. holubi are exposed to longer periods of air exposure and that the physiological stress of fish subject to a C&R event is best measured after a delay.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wind</Emphasis>/EPACT Proton Event Catalog (1996 – 2016)

We present the finalized catalog of solar energetic proton events detected by the Wind/EPACT instrument over the period 1996?–?2016. Onset times, peak times, peak proton intensity and onset-to-peak proton fluence are evaluated for the two available energy channels, at about 25 and 50 MeV. We describe the procedure utilized to identify the proton events and to relate them to their solar origin (in terms of flares and coronal mass ejections). The statistical relationships between the energetic protons and their origin (linear and partial correlation analysis) are reported and discussed in view of earlier findings. Finally, the different trends found in the first 8 years of Solar Cycles 23 and 24 are discussed.     

Simulating the Propagation of Infrasonic Waves and Estimating the Energy of the Chelyabinsk Meteoroid Explosion Observed on February 15, 2013

Results obtained from simulating the propagation of infrasonic waves from the Chelyabinsk meteoroid explosion observed on February 15, 2013, are given. The pseudodifferential parabolic equation (PDPE) method has been used for calculations. Data on infrasonic waves recorded at the IS31 station (Aktyubinsk, Kazakhstan), located 542.7 km from the likely location of the explosion, have been analyzed. Six infrasonic arrivals (isolated clearly defined pulse signals) were recorded. It is shown that the first “fast” arrival (F) corresponds to the propagation of infrasound in a surface acoustic waveguide. The rest of the arrivals (T1–T5) are thermospheric. The agreement between the results of calculations based on the PDPE method and experimental data is satisfactory. The energy E of the explosion has been estimated using two methods. One of these methods is based on the law of conservation of the acoustic pulse I, which is a product of the wave profile area S/2 of the signal under analysis and the distance to its source E _I [kt] = 1.38 × 10^–10 (I [kg/s])^1.482. The other method is based on the relation between the energy of explosion and the dominant period T of recorded signal E _T [kt] = 1.02 × (T [s]²/σ)^3/2, where σ is the dimensionless distance determining the degree of nonlinear effects during the propagation of sound along ray trajectories. According to the data, the explosion energy E _I,T ranges from 1.87 to 32 kt TNT.     

Numerical Simulation of Ionospheric Disturbances Generated by the Chelyabinsk and Tunguska Space Body Impacts

Numerical simulation of atmospheric disturbances during the first hours after the Chelyabinsk and Tunguska space body impacts has been carried out. The results of detailed calculations, including the stages of destruction, evaporation and deceleration of the cosmic body, the generation of atmospheric disturbances and their propagation over distances of thousands of kilometers, have been compared with the results of spherical explosions with energy equal to the kinetic energy of meteoroids. It has been shown that in the case of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, an explosive analogy provides acceptable dimensions of the perturbed region and the perturbation amplitude. With a more powerful Tunguska fall, the resulting atmospheric flow is very different from the explosive one; an atmospheric plume emerges that releases matter from the meteoric trace to an altitude of the order of a thousand kilometers.     

Statistical Characteristics of Meteoroid Parameters in the Earth’s Atmosphere

Statistical characteristics of meteoroids with kinetic energy from 0.1 to 440 kt TNT are estimated based on NASA satellite observations made in 1994–2016. The distributions of the number of falling meteoroids are constructed and analyzed based on the values of their initial kinetic energy, initial velocity, initial mass, altitude, geographic coordinates of the maximum total radiated energy region, and the year of the fall. Correlation dependences “mass–initial kinetic energy,” “maximum total radiated energy region altitude–initial kinetic energy,” and “maximum total radiated energy region altitude–initial velocity (the square of the initial velocity)” are constructed.