Outflow channel sources, reactivation, and chaos formation, Xanthe Terra, Mars

The undulating, warped, and densely fractured surfaces of highland regions east of Valles Marineris (located north of the eastern Aureum Chaos, east of the Hydraotes Chaos, and south of the Hydaspis Chaos) resulted from extensional surface warping related to ground subsidence, caused when pressurized water confined in subterranean caverns was released to the surface. Water emanations formed crater lakes and resulted in channeling episodes involved in the excavation of Ares, Tiu, and Simud Valles of the eastern part of the circum-Chryse outflow channel system. Progressive surface subsidence and associated reduction of the subsurface cavernous volume, and/or episodes of magmatic-driven activity, led to increases of the hydrostatic pressure, resulting in reactivation of both catastrophic and non-catastrophic outflow activity. Ancient cratered highland and basin materials that underwent large-scale subsidence grade into densely fractured terrains. Collapse of rock materials in these regions resulted in the formation of chaotic terrains, which occur in and near the headwaters of the eastern circum-Chryse outflow channels. The deepest chaotic terrain in the Hydaspis Chaos region resulted from the collapse of pre-existing outflow channel floors. The release of volatiles and related collapse may have included water emanations not necessarily linked to catastrophic outflow. Basal warming related to dike intrusions, thermokarst activity involving wet sediments and/or dissected ice-enriched country rock, permafrost exposed to the atmosphere by extensional tectonism and channel incision, and/or the injection of water into porous floor material, may have enhanced outflow channel floor instability and subsequent collapse. In addition to the possible genetic linkage to outflow channel development dating back to at least the Late Noachian, clear disruption of impact craters with pristine ejecta blankets and rims, as well as preservation of fine tectonic fabrics, suggest that plateau subsidence and chaos formation may have continued well into the Amazonian Period. The geologic and paleohydrologic histories presented here have important implications, as new mechanisms for outflow channel formation and other fluvial activity are described, and new reactivation mechanisms are proposed for the origin of chaotic terrain as contributors to flooding. Detailed geomorphic analysis indicates that subterranean caverns may have been exposed during chaos formation, and thus chaotic terrains mark prime locations for future geologic, hydrologic, and possible astrobiologic exploration.     

Tribute to Justus Perthes

Conclusion The above account is just a selection of Perthes' multifarious activities. As such it is fragmentary and incomplete. Many other publications and collaborators could have been mentioned. Even in its incompleteness the report may justify the statement that the success of Justus Perthes Geographische Verlagsanstalt, was apart from the managing qualities of its governors, undoubtedly due to the long series of scholarly competent collaborators whom they succeeded in engaging. As illustrated above most of theme were among the avant garde of the profession. Apparently they were at ease with Justus Perthes where they were granted enough freedom of action to realise their ambitious projects under the vigilant eye of the management. In fact the history of the firm is a continuous story of their achievements. Their combined effort initiated modern scientific atlas-making, laid down the foundation of methodic school cartography and accelerated the growth of thematic cartography. The Justus Perthes maps and atlasses stand for intellectual honestly and have an authoritative appearance of truth and exactness. For a long time to come the name of the firm will be considered as a classical example of the promotion of geography and cartography by private enterprise.     

Variations in the natural abundance of 15N in estuarine suspended particulate matter: A specific indicator of biological processing

In this study, the ¹⁴N:¹⁵N ratio of suspended particulate material collected from the Tamar river estuary, south-west England, is described. Three populations of particles, distinguishable by their ¹⁵N content, were observed. This investigation has shown that populations of estuarine particles are generated by biological transformations in situ and that the ¹⁵N content of estuarine particles does not merely reflect hydrodynamic mixing of the freshwater and seawater source particulate material.     

Excitation mechanism of atmospheric pressure waves from the 1980 Mount St Helens eruption

Summary. Atmospheric pressure waves from the Mount St Helens eruption 1980 May 18 have been clearly recorded by a sensitive microbarograph at Berkeley, California. The record shows three types of waves with different group velocities. The pressure waves can be interpreted in terms of direct waves A1, antipodean travelling waves A2 and circumnavigating waves A3, all of which are composed of several acoustic-gravity modes propagated in the lower atmosphere. Synthetic barograms appropriate to the Berkeley station have been calculated on the basis of the dynamic response of the lower atmospheric structure, together with various assumptions of source properties. Comparisons between synthetic and observed barograms provide estimates for ranges of the time history of upward particle velocity at the source, source dimensions and the velocity of the source spreading over the blast zone, as well as for the average dissipation effects over the circumferential path. The results suggest that two major compression pulses on the A1 record correlate with the arrival of pressure waves from the first (lateral) blast and second (vertical) blast, although the inferred interblast time interval is not consistent with that estimated from seismic observations.