Vestan lithologies mapped by the visual and infrared spectrometer on Dawn

We present global lithological maps of the Vestan surface based on Dawn mission's Visible InfraRed (VIR) Spectrometer acquisitions with a spatial sampling of 200 m. The maps confirm the results obtained with the data set acquired by VIR with a spatial sampling of 700 m, that the reflectance spectra of Vesta's surface are dominated by pyroxene absorptions that can be interpreted within the context of the distribution of howardites, eucrites, and diogenites (HEDs). The maps also partially agree with the ground and Hubble Space Telescope observations: they confirm the background surface being an assemblage of howardite or polymict eucrite, as well as the location of a diogenitic‐rich spot; however, there is no evidence of extended olivine‐rich regions in the equatorial latitudes. Diogenite is revealed on the Rheasilvia basin floor, indicating that material of the lower crust/mantle was exposed. VIR also detected diogenites along the scarp of Matronalia Rupes, and the rims of Severina and a nearby, unnamed crater, and as ejecta of Antonia crater. The diogenite distribution is fully consistent with petrological constraints; although the mapped distribution does not provide unambiguous constraints, it favors the hypothesis of a magma ocean.     

The 2010 European Venus Explorer (EVE) mission proposal

The European Venus Explorer (EVE) mission described in this paper was proposed in December 2010 to ESA as an ‘M-class’ mission under the Cosmic Vision programme. It consists of a single balloon platform floating in the middle of the main convective cloud layer of Venus at an altitude of 55?km, where temperatures and pressures are benign (～25°C and ～0.5 bar). The balloon float lifetime would be at least 10 Earth days, long enough to guarantee at least one full circumnavigation of the planet. This offers an ideal platform for the two main science goals of the mission: study of the current climate through detailed characterization of cloud-level atmosphere, and investigation of the formation and evolution of Venus, through careful measurement of noble gas isotopic abundances. These investigations would provide key data for comparative planetology of terrestrial planets in our solar system and beyond.     

Improved initial ensemble generation coupled with ensemble square root filters and inflation to estimate uncertainty

The performance of the Ensemble Kalman Filter method (EnKF) depends on the sample size compared to the dimension of the parameters space. In real applications insufficient sampling may result in spurious correlations which reduce the accuracy of the filter with a strong underestimation of the uncertainty. Covariance localization and inflation are common solutions to these problems. The Ensemble Square Root Filters (ESRF) is also better to estimate uncertainty with respect to the EnKF. In this work we propose a method that limits the consequences of sampling errors by means of a convenient generation of the initial ensemble. This regeneration is based on a Stationary Orthogonal-Base Representation (SOBR) obtained via a singular value decomposition of a stationary covariance matrix estimated from the ensemble. The technique is tested on a 2D single phase reservoir and compared with the other common techniques. The evaluation is based on a reference solution obtained with a very large ensemble (one million members) which remove the spurious correlations. The example gives evidence that the SOBR technique is a valid alternative to reduce the effect of sampling error. In addition, when the SOBR method is applied in combination with the ESRF and inflation, it gives the best performance in terms of uncertainty estimation and oil production forecast.     

Potential loading damage to industrial storage tanks due to volcanic ash fallout

The phenomenon of volcanic fallout ash from Mt. Etna in Sicily (Italy) is well known and frequent in recent years, as in the period 2001–2004. As a consequence, significant problems for the population, road, rail and air traffic and production activities have occurred. The industrial areas of Catania and Augusta-Priolo, located in south eastern Sicily, might be involved during particular weather conditions. This paper aims at determining the potential scenarios of damage to industrial facilities caused by volcanic ash fallout. The work has been focused on the study of both fixed and floating roof storage tanks, containing flammable liquids, and examines extreme failures damage causing the greatest loss of containment for these facilities. To include scenarios arising from natural phenomena (Na-Tech events) in the standard risk assessment procedure, the estimation of the vulnerability of these facilities is necessary. The study has been applied to the area surrounding Mt. Etna, and the procedure can also be extended to other case studies.     

Theoretical analysis and simulation for avoiding antenna oscillations without distributed resistance

The so-called Wu and King antenna pattern is widely used in GPR because of its simple design and construction features. The main disadvantage is its limited efficiency due to transmitter energy losses which occur through lumped resistors. Based on the analysis of the electromagnetic field behaviour across the antenna, it is possible to replace the effect of the resistors by either storing the energy of the electric pulses, or damp them by means of one matched resistor, which will theoretically improve the efficiency of the antenna. In this paper we provide a theoretical analysis using a modified transmission line model together with simulation based on delayed potentials among other electromagnetic software, and measurement results using an impulse transmitter with fast MOSFET switches and a matched resistor that support this idea.     

A relocatable ocean model in support of environmental emergencies

During the Costa Concordia emergency case, regional, subregional, and relocatable ocean models have been used together with the oil spill model, MEDSLIK-II, to provide ocean currents forecasts, possible oil spill scenarios, and drifters trajectories simulations. The models results together with the evaluation of their performances are presented in this paper. In particular, we focused this work on the implementation of the Interactive Relocatable Nested Ocean Model (IRENOM), based on the Harvard Ocean Prediction System (HOPS), for the Costa Concordia emergency and on its validation using drifters released in the area of the accident. It is shown that thanks to the capability of improving easily and quickly its configuration, the IRENOM results are of greater accuracy than the results achieved using regional or subregional model products. The model topography, and to the initialization procedures, and the horizontal resolution are the key model settings to be configured. Furthermore, the IRENOM currents and the MEDSLIK-II simulated trajectories showed to be sensitive to the spatial resolution of the meteorological fields used, providing higher prediction skills with higher resolution wind forcing.     

Hydrogeological and hydrochemical characterization of two karstic discharge areas in San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Two karstic discharge areas, Río Verde (RV) and Ciénega de Cabezas (CC), located in a distance of 80 km to each other are chosen to determine the influence of local variations in geology and climatic condition on water chemistry and to examine if the groundwater, supplying the discharge areas, undergoes the same evolution and has a common source. Both study areas are situated on the carbonate platform Valles-San Luis Potosí and comprise a similar geological setting, but despite of their spatial vicinity the climate is semiarid in RV and humid in CC presenting an important factor on the amount of discharge and the concentrations of ions in the discharge. The investigation encompasses discharge, hydrochemical and physico-chemical parameter evaluations as well as the determination of saturation indices, hydrochemical modelling and water type characterization of surface water samples to derive knowledge of the groundwater systems. Scatterplots and saturation indices were used to proof the influence of lithological variability. Both study areas represent normal alkaline water, marked by high concentrations of calcium and magnesium with varying concentrations of bicarbonate and sulphate. In RV, the water interacts with dolomite rocks and gypsum layers, whereas in CC the dolomite content is depleted and the influence of limestone rocks increases. The climatic impact on the groundwater in RV is noticeable by the increase in ionic concentrations due to higher evaporation. In CC the higher amount of precipitation dilutes the groundwater and causes decreasing ionic concentrations.     

Historical analysis (2000-2005) of the coastal water quality in San Andrés Island, SeaFlower Biosphere Reserve, Caribbean Colombia

To understand the coastal water quality of San Andrès Island, and provide tools for the management of its marine resources, we present the historical analysis of the island monitoring, which includes ammonia, nitrites, nitrate, phosphates, fecal and total coliforms. The anthropogenic pressure on the coastal system is heavy, with water nutrification, posing at risk seagrass and coral ecosystems. During dry season, biologically available nitrogen is 3-9 times higher than the maximum recommended for coral reefs, while during wet season values are 2-6.4 times the maximum. Biologically available phosphorous is also high, 1-8 times the maximum during dry season, 2-13 times during wet season. In some sites the concentration of pathogenic bacteria is above the limits set by law for primary and secondary contact. It is urgent to improve the management of sewage discharge, the main polluting source of San Andres coastal waters.     

Modal response analysis of multi‐support structures using a random vibration approach

A formulation is developed for modal response analysis of multi‐support structures using a random vibration approach. The spectral moments of the structural response are rigorously decomposed into contributions from spectral moments of uncoupled modal responses. An advantage of the proposed formulation is that the total dynamic response can be obtained on the basis of mode by mode uncoupled analyses. The contributions to the total response from modal responses under individual support ground motions and under cross‐correlated pairs of support ground motions can be recognized explicitly. The application and performance of the formulation is illustrated by means of an example using a well‐established coherency spectrum model and widely known power spectra models, such as white noise and Kanai–Tajimi. The first three spectral moments of displacement, shear, and bending moment responses are computed, showing that the formulation produces the same results as the exact solution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.