Mechanics of tidally driven fractures in Europa's ice shell

A fracture mechanics model is developed for the initiation and propagation of a crack through a porous ice layer of finite thickness under gravitational overburden. It is found that surface cracks generated in response to a tidally induced stress field may penetrate through the entire outer brittle layer if a subsurface ocean is present on Europa. Such penetration is found to be very unlikely in the absence of an ocean. A cycloidal crack would then form as a sequence of near instantaneous discrete failures, each extending roughly the brittle layer thickness in range, linked with a much lower apparent propagation speed set by the moving tidal stress field. The implications of this porous ice fracture model for ice-penetrating radar scattering loss and seismic activity are quantified.     

Improving debris flow monitoring in Taiwan by using high-resolution rainfall products from QPESUMS

Debris flow is commonly initiated by torrential rain and its triggering is correlated to the hydrological, geological, and geomorphic conditions on site. In spite of the important effects of geology and topography, rainfall characteristic is the main external triggering factor to debris flow and is a predominant parameter for real-time monitoring. Due to the scarcity of sufficient spatial ground-based rainfall data in hill areas, quantitative precipitation estimation using remote-sensing techniques such as radar and satellite is needed for debris flow pre-warning. The QPESUMS (Quantitative Precipitation Estimation and Segregation Using Multiple Sensors) system was acquired to retrieve spatial rainfall data during the rainfall period from June 30 to July 6 in 2004 when Typhoon Mindulle and southwesterly flow struck Taiwan. The retrieved data were used for setting up the debris flow monitoring algorithm. With the aid of multiple platforms of meteorological observations, a rainfall threshold isohyet in a pilot area was mapped for debris flow monitoring. The rainfall monitoring algorithm based on QPESUMS provides more detailed information than the limited number of ground-based rainfall stations for interpreting the spatial distributions of rainfall events, and therefore is more suitable for debris-flow monitoring.     

Landslide susceptibility analysis and its verification using likelihood ratio, logistic regression, and artificial neural network models: case study of Youngin, Korea

The likelihood ratio, logistic regression, and artificial neural networks models are applied and verified for analysis of landslide susceptibility in Youngin, Korea, using the geographic information system. From a spatial database containing such data as landslide location, topography, soil, forest, geology, and land use, the 14 landslide-related factors were calculated or extracted. Using these factors, landslide susceptibility indexes were calculated by likelihood ratio, logistic regression, and artificial neural network models. Before the calculation, the study area was divided into two sides (west and east) of equal area, for verification of the models. Thus, the west side was used to assess the landslide susceptibility, and the east side was used to verify the derived susceptibility. The results of the landslide susceptibility analysis were verified using success and prediction rates. The verification results showed satisfactory agreement between the susceptibility map and the existing data on landslide locations.     

Dependence of Waterline Mapping on Radar Frequency Used for SAR Images in Intertidal Areas

Waterline detection in the intertidal areas was investigated through synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and field measurements. Two valuable facts were found in this letter: 1) A discrepancy of waterlines between L- and P-band airborne SAR images was discovered and investigated through precise global positioning system measurements and the theory of the SAR imaging mechanism. In the intertidal areas having low slopes, the Bragg waves resonant with the radar signal can reside in different depths depending on the radar frequency, with the result that the boundary between water and land can be mapped differently in the respective SAR images. 2) Intertidal areas covered with a water film present low radar backscatter in SAR images, which can cause mislocation of waterlines     

平面P波在饱和半空间中洞室周围的散射(I):解析解

利用波函数展开法给出了入射平面P波在饱和半空间中圆形洞室周围散射问题的一个解析解。半空间假定为无粘性流体饱和介质,满足Biot理论。采用一种基于实验数据的孔隙率和模量之间的线性关系来确定Biot模型中的介质参数。解答考虑了透水边界和非透水边界两种情况。对边界条件进行了数值检验,结果表明,随着级数截断项数的增大,边界残量衰减很快。解答为进一步研究入射波频率和角度、边界渗透条件、孔隙率、泊松比等参数对散射的影响奠定了基础。     

3D magnetotelluric modelling including surface topography

An edge finite‐element method has been applied to compute magnetotelluric (MT) responses to three‐dimensional (3D) earth topography. The finite‐element algorithm uses a single edge shape function at each edge of hexahedral elements, guaranteeing the continuity of the tangential electric field while conserving the continuity of magnetic flux at boundaries. We solve the resulting system of equations using the biconjugate gradient method with a Jacobian preconditioner. The solution gives electric fields parallel to the slope of a surface relief that is often encountered in MT surveys. The algorithm is successfully verified by comparison with other numerical solutions for a 3D‐2 model for comparison of modelling methods for EM induction and a ridge model. We use a 3D trapezoidal‐hill model to investigate 3D topographic effects, which are caused mainly by galvanic effects, not only in the Zxy mode but also in the Zyx mode. If a 3D topography were approximated by a two‐dimensional topography therefore errors occurring in the transverse electric mode would be more serious than those in the transverse magnetic mode.     

Export fluxes of biogenic matter in the presence and absence of seasonal sea ice cover in the Chukchi Sea

Drifting sediment traps were deployed at 9 stations in May-June (ice-covered conditions) and July-August (ice-free conditions) 2004 in the Chukchi Sea to investigate the variability in export fluxes of biogenic matter in the presence and absence of sea ice cover. Measurements of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate nitrogen (PN), phytoplankton, zooplankton fecal pellets, and the stable carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) of the sinking material were performed along Barrow Canyon (BC) and a parallel shelf-to-basin transect from East Hanna Shoal (EHS) to the Canada Basin. POC export fluxes were similarly high in the presence (378±106 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) and in the absence of ice cover (442±203 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) at the BC stations, while fluxes were significantly higher in the absence (129±98 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) than in the presence of ice cover (44±29 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) at the EHS stations. The C/N ratios and δ¹³C values of sinking organic particles indicated that POC export fluxes on the Chukchi continental shelf were mostly composed of freshly produced labile material, except at the EHS stations under ice cover where the exported matter was mostly composed of refractory material probably advected into the EHS region. Chl-a fluxes were higher under ice cover than in ice-free water, however, relatively low daily loss rates of Chl-a and similar phytoplankton carbon fluxes in ice-covered and ice-free water suggest the retention of phytoplankton in the upper water column. An increase in fecal pellet carbon fluxes in ice-free water reflected higher grazing pressure in the absence of ice cover. Elevated daily loss rates of POC at the BC stations confirmed other indications that Barrow Canyon is an important area of carbon export to the basin and/or benthos. These results support the conclusion that there are large spatial and temporal variations in export fluxes of biogenic matter on the Chukchi continental shelf, although export fluxes may be similar in the presence and in the absence of ice cover in highly productive regions.