Part II: Tracing and interpolation1

The numerical tracing of short ray segments and interpolation of new rays between these ray segments are central constituents of the wavefront construction method. In this paper the details of the ray tracing and ray-interpolation procedures are described. The ray-tracing procedure is based on classical ray theory (high-frequency approximation) and it is both accurate and efficient. It is able to compute both kinematic and dynamic parameters at the endpoint of the ray segments, given the same set of parameters at the starting point of the ray. Taylor series are used to approximate the raypath so that the kinematic parameters (new position and new ray tangent) may be found, while a staggered finite-difference approximation gives the dynamic parameters (geometrical spreading). When divergence occurs in some parts of the wavefront, new rays are interpolated. The interpolation procedure uses the kinematic and dynamic parameters of two parent rays to estimate the initial parameters of a new ray on the wavefront between the two rays. Third-order (cubic) interpolation is used for interpolation of position, ray tangent and take-off vector from the source) while linear interpolation is used for the geometrical spreading parameters.     

Temporal trends of dissolved weathering products released from a high Arctic coal mine waste rock pile in Svalbard (78°N)

It is well known that oxidation of sulphide-containing coal mine waste has considerable environmental impacts due to generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) containing high dissolved metal concentrations. This study is the first to evaluate seasonal trends in the release of AMD from high arctic coal mine waste rock. Runoff from an abandoned coal mine waste pile in Svalbard (78°N) was studied during the entire 3–4 month period with running water in 2005. Temporal variation in concentrations and fluxes of dissolved elements were quantified based on daily water sampling and used to evaluate weathering processes and estimate element budgets on a daily, seasonal and annual basis. Apart from alkali- and alkaline earth metals; Fe, Al, Mn, Zn and Ni were found to be the most abundant metals in the runoff. Element concentrations were highly correlated and suggest that the processes of sulphide oxidation, ion exchange and silicate weathering occurring within the waste pile were linked throughout the measuring period. Observed pH values varied from 2.8 to 5.2 and SO₄ concentrations from 21 to 1463 mg L⁻¹. Manganese and Al concentrations were observed above phytotoxic levels (up to 4 and 23 mg L⁻¹, respectively) and were considered the most critical elements in terms of environmental impact. Throughout the summer a total dissolved quantity of 58 kg Mn, 238 kg Al and 13,700 kg SO₄ was released from the pile containing approximately 200,000 m³ of pyritic waste material (<1% FeS₂). The highest concentrations of metals, lowest pH values and a very high daily release of H₂SO₄ (up to twice as high as the following month) were observed during the first week of thaw. This is considered a result of an accumulation of weathering products, generated within the waste pile during winter and released as a pollution-flush during early spring. Similar accumulation/flush sequences were observed later in the summer where rain events following relatively long dry periods caused high daily metal fluxes and on some occasions also elevated dissolved metal concentrations. Despite highly variable weather/climate conditions during the rest of the summer the investigated waste rock pile acted like a relative constant pollution-source during this period. Future investigations regarding the environmental impact of mine waste in the region should include measurements of bioavailable metals in order to provide further details on the seasonal trends in environmental impact.     

Estimates of the wind speeds required for particle motion on Mars

We have obtained estimates of the threshold wind speed V_gt near the top of the atmospheric boundary layer on Mars and of the rotation angle α between this wind velocity and the direction of the surface stress. this calculation has been accomplished by combining wind tunnel determinations of the friction velocity with semi-empirical theories of the Earth's atmospheric boundary layer. Calculations have been performed for a variety of values of the surface pressure, ground temperature, roughness height, boundary layer height, atmospheric composition atmospheric stability, particle density, particle diameter, and strength of the cohesive force between the particles.The curve of threshold wind speed as a function of particle diameter monotonically decreases with decreasing particle diameter for a cohesionless soil but has the classical $\text{U}$ shape for a soil with cohesion. Observational data indicate that the latter condition holds on Mars. Under “favorable” conditions minimum threshold wind speeds between about 50 and 100m/sec are required to cause particle motion. These minimum values lie close to the highest wind speeds predicted by general circulation models. Hence, particle motion should be an infrequent occurence and should be strongly correlated with nearness to small topographic features. The latter prediction is in accord with the correlation found between albedo markings and topographic obstacles such as craters. For equal wind speeds at the midpoint of the boundary layer, particle movement occurs more readily in general at night than during the day, more readily in the winter polar areas than the equatorial areas noon, and more readily for ice particles than for silicate particles.The boundary between saltating and suspendable particles is located at a particle diameter of about 100 μm. This value is close to the diameter at which the V_gt curve has its minimum. Hence, the wind can set directly into motion both saltating and larger-sized suspendable particles, but dust-storm-sized particles usually require impact by a saltating particle for motion to be initiated. Albedo changes occur most often in regions containing a mixture of dust-stoorm-sized particles and saltating particles. The threshold wind speed for surfaces containing large, nonerodible roughness elements can either be larger or smaller than the value for surfaces with only erodible material. The former condition for V_gt holds when the roughness height z₀ is less than about 1 cm and may be illustrated by craters that have experienced less erosion than their environs. The latter condition for V_gt may be partly responsible for albedo changes detected on the elevated shield volcano, Pavonis Mons. Values of the angle α generally lie between 10 and 30°. These figures place a modest limitation on the utility of surface albedo streaks as wind direction indicators.     

Einar A. Tandberg-Hanssen

Obituary

Einar A. Tandberg-Hanssen     

Earthquake response of a base-isolated bridge subjected to strong near-fault ground motion

The South Iceland Lowland is an active seismic zone. In May 2008 a magnitude 6.3 (M_w) earthquake struck the area. The 370-m-long base-isolated Oseyrar Bridge situated close to the epicentre was hit by strong ground motion. Concrete stoppers at the top of all piers were badly smashed and all four wing walls of the abutments were severely damaged. The study showed that it is possible with numerical models to back-calculate the observed damage based on recorded ground motion in the area. The recorded loads were larger than prescribed by Eurocode 8 for the site even though the magnitude and location of the earthquake was as expected. The main reason was a near-fault pulse which is not covered in the code. The pulse dominated the bridge response and is therefore important to consider. Finally, an improved design is presented that could have prevented the damage.     

The nature of quiescent solar prominences

Quiescent prominences occur as long-lasting cool sheets of matter in the surrounding hot corona at the base of coronal streamers. Seen on the disk they appear as dark filaments dividing regions of opposite magnetic polarity.In this paper a theoretical model is presented, which describes the general appearance of quiescent prominences.It is shown that the neutral sheet between two regions of oppositely directed magnetic fields is thermally unstable. This gives rise to compression and cooling of coronal material to prominence material in a characteristic time of the order of one day for a field strength of 0.5 gauss in the lower corona.It is assumed that due to the finite electrical resistivity of the plasma, filamentary structures are formed by the tearing-mode resistive plasma instability. These structures are thermally insulated from the hot surroundings by the newly formed closed azimuthal magnetic field configuration.It has been shown that for fine structures with a diameter of 300 km the growth rate of the tearing-mode instability is of the same order as the cooling time. The occurrence of fine structures within the prominence is of vital importance for their origin.On leave from the Observatory Sonnenborgh at Utrecht, The Netherlands.     

Refugee Camp Mapping Using Very High Spatial Resolution Satellite Sensor Images

Abstract

Short time‐intervals for complex response in unfamiliar areas cause refugee‐relief organisations to have a strong need for timely and up‐to‐date geographic information of the environment during humanitarian operations. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of relief organisations' need for detailed geographic information, and to assess the potential of the upcoming very high spatial resolution (VHSR) satellite sensors to provide this geographic information by mapping refugee camps and their environment on an operational basis. To demonstrate the use of VHSR satellite technology in relief operations, a pilot proof‐of‐concept study using a 1992 Russian KVR‐lOOO 2 m resolution panchromatic image of the six refugee camps in the Qala en Nahal settlement scheme in the Sudan was performed. The VHSR satellite sensor image was found to be useful for mapping refugee camp environmental parameters, such as land use, roads, rivers, and water sources, as well as camp infrastructure, including geographic positioning of camps, housing, and street network. The image also allowed for detailed camp area estimates. In addition, a statistically significant relationship between camp area and population was revealed for refugee camps included in this study. In operational use of VHSR satellite sensor data, relief agencies should be aware of the limitations of optical satellite images, in particular their reduced applicability during cloudy conditions.     

Event-oriented velocity estimation based on prestack data in time or depth domain1

A 2D reflection tomographic method is described, for the purpose of estimating an improved macrovelocity field for prestack depth migration. An event-oriented local approach of the ‘layer-stripping’ type has been developed, where each input event is defined by its traveltime and a traveltime derivative, taken with respect to one of four coordinates in the source/receiver and midpoint half-offset systems. Recent work has shown that the results of reflection tomography may be improved by performing event picking in a prestack depth domain. We adopt this approach and allow events to be picked either before or after prestack depth migration. Hence, if events have been picked in a depth domain, such as the common-shot depth domain or the common-offset depth domain, then a depth-time transformation is required before velocity estimation. The event transformation may, for example, be done by conventional kinematic ray tracingr and with respect to the original depth-migration velocity field. By this means, we expect the input events for velocity updating to become less sensitive to migration velocity errors. For the purpose of velocity estimation, events are subdivided into two categories; reference horizon events and individual events. The reference horizon events correspond to a fixed offset in order to provide basic information about reflector geometry, whereas individual events, corresponding to any offset, are supposed to provide the additional information needed for velocity estimation. An iterative updating approach is used, based on calculation of derivatives of event reflection points with respect to velocity. The event reflection points are obtained by ray-theoretical depth conversion, and reflection-point derivatives are calculated accurately and efficiently from information pertaining to single rays. A number of reference horizon events and a single individual event constitute the minimum information required to update the velocity locally, and the iterations proceed until the individual event reflection point is consistent with those of the reference horizon events. Normally, three to four iterations are sufficient to attain convergence. As a by-product of the process, we obtain so-called uncertainty amplification factors, which relate a picking error to the corresponding error in the estimated velocity or depth horizon position. The vector formulation of the updating relationship makes it applicable to smooth horizons having arbitrary dips and by applying velocity updating in combination with a flexible model-builder, very general macro-model structures can be obtained. As a first step in the evaluation of the new method, error-free traveltime events were generated by applying forward ray tracing within given macrovelocity models. When using such ‘perfect’ observations, the velocity estimation algorithm gave consistent reconstructions of macro-models containing interfaces with differential dip and curvature, a low-velocity layer and a layer with a laterally varying velocity function.