Mineralogy and petrography of C asteroid regolith: The Sutter's Mill CM meteorite

Based upon our characterization of three separate stones by electron and X‐ray beam analyses, computed X‐ray microtomography, Raman microspectrometry, and visible‐IR spectrometry, Sutter's Mill is a unique regolith breccia consisting mainly of various CM lithologies. Most samples resemble existing available CM2 chondrites, consisting of chondrules and calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusion (CAI) set within phyllosilicate‐dominated matrix (mainly serpentine), pyrrhotite, pentlandite, tochilinite, and variable amounts of Ca‐Mg‐Fe carbonates. Some lithologies have witnessed sufficient thermal metamorphism to transform phyllosilicates into fine‐grained olivine, tochilinite into troilite, and destroy carbonates. One finely comminuted lithology contains xenolithic materials (enstatite, Fe‐Cr phosphides) suggesting impact of a reduced asteroid (E or M class) onto the main Sutter's Mill parent asteroid, which was probably a C class asteroid. One can use Sutter's Mill to help predict what will be found on the surfaces of C class asteroids such as Ceres and the target asteroids of the OSIRIS‐REx and Hayabusa 2 sample return missions (which will visit predominantly primitive asteroids). C class asteroid regolith may well contain a mixture of hydrated and thermally dehydrated indigenous materials as well as a significant admixture of exogenous material would be essential to the successful interpretation of mineralogical and bulk compositional data.     

Basin tectonics and the structure of the Martian lithosphere: Results from analysis of the Harp map

An analysis of the planetwide tectonic system of Mars provided by Harp (1976) reveals that the Hellas and Isidis impact basins have general tectonic systems similar to that of the Argyre impact basin. This implies that Mars does indeed have a lithospheric thickness which would have to be considered thinner than that of the Moon or Mercury but thicker than that of the Galilean satellite Callisto.     

Modeled soft X-ray solar irradiances

Solar soft X-rays have historically been inaccurately modeled in both relative variations and absolute magnitudes by empirical solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance models. This is a result of the use of a limited number of rocket data sets which were primarily associated with the calibration of the AE-E satellite EUV data set. In this work, the EUV91 solar EUV irradiance model has been upgraded to improve the accuracy of the 3.0 to 5.0 nm relative irradiance variations. The absolute magnitude estimate of the flux in this wavelength range has also been revised upwards. The upgrade was accomplished by first digitizing the SOLRAD 11 satellite 4.4 to 6.0 nm measured energy flux data set, then extracting and extrapolating a derived 3.0 to 5.0 nm photon flux from these data, and finally by performing a correlation between these derived data and the daily and 81-day mean 10.7 cm radio flux emission using a multiple linear regression technique. A correlation coefficient of greater than 0.9 was obtained between the dependent and independent data sets. The derived and modeled 3.0 to 5.0 nm flux varies by more than an order of magnitude over a solar cycle, ranging from a flux below 1×10⁸ to a flux greater than 1×10⁹ photons cm^–2 s^–1. Solar rotational (27-day) variations in the flux magnitude are a factor of 2. The derived and modeled irradiance absolute values are an order of magnitude greater than previous values from rocket data sets related to the calibration of the AE-E satellite.     

Occurrence of central peak craters on the Uranian satellites: Implications for surface structure and comparison with the Jovian and Saturnian systems

Craters with central peaks occur on the Uranian satellites Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon; but do not occur on Miranda. The inelastic surface of Miranda is apparently due to the heavy tectonic reworking of its surface. A theory of expansion/contraction is proposed to explain the tectonic history of Miranda. The existence of central peak craters on the four largest satellites of Uranus implies that they have surface strengths similar to those of the Saturnian satellites and silicate bodies of the inner solar system which all have central peak craters. The absence of central peak craters on Miranda implies that it has an inelastic surface similar to those of the Jovian ice satellites Ganymede and Callisto whose surfaces do not contain central peak craters.     

Electrostatic double layers and plasma evacuation in current-driven systems

After examining some of the background work relevant to double layers, the role constant current driven systems might play in the double layer formation is examined from two perspectives. First, a fluids analysis is considered via the method of characteristics. A density perturbation growth is predicted. Two model deficiencies, zero electron mass and lack of particle kinematics, suggest an improvement in the model via the Vlasov equation. This second model using the Vlasov equation still maintains a non-quasineutral posture. In addition to predicting the expected two-stream instability, the model also predicts a double layer-type electric field.     

Ensemble properties of comets in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present the ensemble properties of 31 comets (27 resolved and 4 unresolved) observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This sample of comets represents about 1 comet per 10 million SDSS photometric objects. Five-band (u, g, r, i, z) photometry is used to determine the comets’ colors, sizes, surface brightness profiles, and rates of dust production in terms of the Afρ formalism. We find that the cumulative luminosity function for the Jupiter Family Comets in our sample is well fit by a power law of the form N(<H) ∝ 10^{(0.49±0.05)H} for H < 18, with evidence of a much shallower fit N(<H) ∝ 10^{(0.19±0.03)H} for the faint (14.5 < H < 18) comets. The resolved comets show an extremely narrow distribution of colors (0.57 ± 0.05 in g ? r for example), which are statistically indistinguishable from that of the Jupiter Trojans. Further, there is no evidence of correlation between color and physical, dynamical, or observational parameters for the observed comets.     

The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Reported Crimes in Louisiana: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis

This research assesses the impact that one natural disaster—Hurricane Katrina—and subsequent population movements have had on crime in the state of Louisiana. Using Index Crimes from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, time series of violent and nonviolent crime rates were first analyzed using autoregressive, integrated, and moving average (ARIMA) models. Cumulative percentile maps were created next to analyze spatial trends of crime hot and cold spots in the study area. Overall, results from this research support theories that suggest that crime rates remain stable or actually decline in regions receiving evacuees from areas hardest hit by the hurricane. In the case of Orleans Parish, results are inconclusive due to unreliable crime rates for the period following Hurricane Katrina until the beginning of 2006. It is suggested that crime rates in Orleans Parish fell drastically after the storm. However, some crime types, including robbery, burglary, and larceny, returned to pre-Katrina levels and murder and aggravated assault even exceeded prestorm averages by the end of December 2007.