AVIATR—Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance

We describe a mission concept for a stand-alone Titan airplane mission: Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance (AVIATR). With independent delivery and direct-to-Earth communications, AVIATR could contribute to Titan science either alone or as part of a sustained Titan Exploration Program. As a focused mission, AVIATR as we have envisioned it would concentrate on the science that an airplane can do best: exploration of Titan??s global diversity. We focus on surface geology/hydrology and lower-atmospheric structure and dynamics. With a carefully chosen set of seven instruments??2 near-IR cameras, 1 near-IR spectrometer, a RADAR altimeter, an atmospheric structure suite, a haze sensor, and a raindrop detector??AVIATR could accomplish a significant subset of the scientific objectives of the aerial element of flagship studies. The AVIATR spacecraft stack is composed of a Space Vehicle (SV) for cruise, an Entry Vehicle (EV) for entry and descent, and the Air Vehicle (AV) to fly in Titan??s atmosphere. Using an Earth-Jupiter gravity assist trajectory delivers the spacecraft to Titan in 7.5 years, after which the AVIATR AV would operate for a 1-Earth-year nominal mission. We propose a novel ??gravity battery?? climb-then-glide strategy to store energy for optimal use during telecommunications sessions. We would optimize our science by using the flexibility of the airplane platform, generating context data and stereo pairs by flying and banking the AV instead of using gimbaled cameras. AVIATR would climb up to 14?km altitude and descend down to 3.5?km altitude once per Earth day, allowing for repeated atmospheric structure and wind measurements all over the globe. An initial Team-X run at JPL priced the AVIATR mission at FY10 $715M based on the rules stipulated in the recent Discovery announcement of opportunity. Hence we find that a standalone Titan airplane mission can achieve important science building on Cassini??s discoveries and can likely do so within a New Frontiers budget.     

Radar observations and the shape of near-Earth asteroid 2008 EV5

We observed the near-Earth ASTEROID 2008 EV5 with the Arecibo and Goldstone planetary radars and the Very Long Baseline Array during December 2008. EV5 rotates retrograde and its overall shape is a 400 ± 50 m oblate spheroid. The most prominent surface feature is a ridge parallel to the asteroid’s equator that is broken by a concavity about 150 m in diameter. Otherwise the asteroid’s surface is notably smooth on decameter scales. EV5’s radar and optical albedos are consistent with either rocky or stony-iron composition. The equatorial ridge is similar to structure seen on the rubble-pile near-Earth asteroid (66391) 1999 KW4 and is consistent with YORP spin-up reconfiguring the asteroid in the past. We interpret the concavity as an impact crater. Shaking during the impact and later regolith redistribution may have erased smaller features, explaining the general lack of decameter-scale surface structure.     

Mineral inclusions in sublithospheric diamonds from Collier 4 kimberlite pipe, Juina, Brazil: subducted protoliths, carbonated melts and primary kimberlite magmatism

We report on a suite of diamonds from the Cretaceous Collier 4 kimberlite pipe, Juina, Brazil, that are predominantly nitrogen-free type II crystals showing complex internal growth structures. Syngenetic mineral inclusions comprise calcium- and titanium-rich phases with perovskite stoichiometry, Ca-rich majoritic-garnet, clinopyroxene, olivine, TAPP phase, minerals with stoichiometries of CAS and K-hollandite phases, SiO₂, FeO, native iron, low-Ni sulfides, and Ca–Mg-carbonate. We divide the diamonds into three groups on the basis of the carbon isotope compositions (δ¹³C) of diamond core zones. Group 1 diamonds have heavy, mantle-like δ¹³C (−5 to −10‰) with mineral inclusions indicating a transition zone origin from mafic protoliths. Group 2 diamonds have intermediate δ¹³C (−12 to −15‰), with inclusion compositions indicating crystallization from near-primary and differentiated carbonated melts derived from oceanic crust in the deep upper mantle or transition zone. A ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 101 ± 7 Ma on a CaTiSi-perovskite inclusion (Group 2) is close to the kimberlite emplacement time (93.1 ± 1.5 Ma). Group 3 diamonds have extremely light δ¹³C (−25‰), and host inclusions have compositions akin to high-pressure–temperature phases expected to be stable in pelagic sediments subducted to transition zone depths. Collectively, the Collier 4 diamonds and their inclusions indicate multi-stage, polybaric growth histories in dynamically changing chemical environments. The young inclusion age, the ubiquitous chemical and isotopic characteristics indicative of subducted materials, and the regional tectonic history, suggest a model in which generation of sublithospheric diamonds and their inclusions, and the proto-kimberlite magmas, are related genetically, temporally and geographically to the interaction of subducted lithosphere and a Cretaceous plume.     

Integrated field, satellite and petrological observations of the November 2010 eruption of Erta Ale

Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia, erupted in November 2010, emplacing new lava flows on the main crater floor, the first such eruption from the southern pit into the main crater since 1973, and the first eruption at this remote volcano in the modern satellite age. For many decades, Erta Ale has contained a persistently active lava lake which is ordinarily confined, several tens of metres below the level of the main crater, within the southern pit. We combine on-the-ground field observations with multispectral imaging from the SEVIRI satellite to reconstruct the entire eruptive episode beginning on 11 November and ending prior to 14 December 2010. A period of quiescence occurred between 14 and 19 November. The main eruptive activity developed between 19 and 22 November, finally subsiding to pre-eruptive levels between 8 and 15 December. The estimated total volume of lava erupted is ??0.006?km³. The mineralogy of the 2010 lava is plagioclase?+?clinopyroxene?+?olivine. Geochemically, the lava is slightly more mafic than previously erupted lava lining the caldera floor, but lies within the range of historical lavas from Erta Ale. SIMS analysis of olivine-hosted melt inclusions shows the Erta Ale lavas to be relatively volatile-poor, with H₂O contents ??1,300?ppm and CO₂ contents of ??200?ppm. Incompatible trace and volatile element systematics of melt inclusions show, however, that the November 2010 lavas were volatile-saturated, and that degassing and crystallisation occurred concomitantly. Volatile saturation pressures are in the range 7?C42?MPa, indicating shallow crystallisation. Calculated pre-eruption and melt inclusion entrapment temperatures from mineral/liquid thermometers are ??1,150?°C, consistent with previously published field measurements.     

Controls on the height and spacing of eolian ripples and transverse dunes: A numerical modeling investigation

Ripples and transverse dunes in areas of abundant sand supply increase in height and spacing as a function of time, grain size, and excess shear velocity. How and why each of these factors influence ripple and transverse dune size, however, is not precisely known. In this paper, the controls on the height and spacing of ripples and transverse dunes in areas of abundant sand supply are investigated using a numerical model for the formation of eolian bedforms from an initially flat surface. This bedform evolution model combines the basic elements of Werner's [Werner, B.T., 1995. Eolian dunes: Computer simulations and attractor interpretation. Geology 23, 1107–1110.] cellular automaton model of dune formation with a model for boundary layer flow over complex topography. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between bed shear stress and slope on the windward (stoss) side of evolving bedforms. Nonlinear boundary layer model results indicate that bed shear stresses on stoss slopes increase with increasing slope angle up to approximately 20°, then decrease with increasing slope angle as backpressure effects become limiting. In the bedform evolution model, the linear boundary layer flow model of Jackson and Hunt [Jackson, P.S., Hunt, J.C.R., 1975. Turbulent wind flow over a low hill. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 101, 929–955.], generalized to 3D, is modified to include the nonlinear relationship between bed shear stress and slope. Bed shear stresses predicted by the modified Jackson and Hunt flow model are then used to predict rates of erosion and deposition iteratively through time within a mass-conservative framework similar to Werner [Werner, B.T., 1995. Eolian dunes: Computer simulations and attractor interpretation. Geology 23, 1107–1110.]. Beginning with a flat bed, the model forms ripples that grow in height and spacing until a dynamic steady-state condition is achieved in which bedforms migrate downwind without further growth. The steady-state ripple spacing predicted by this model is approximately 3000 times greater than the aerodynamic roughness length of the initially flat surface, which is a function of grain size and excess shear velocity. Once steady-state ripples form, they become the dominant roughness element of the surface. The increase in roughness associated with ripple formation triggers the same bedform instability that created ripples, causing dunes to form at a larger scale. In this way, the numerical model of this paper suggests that ripples and dunes are genetically linked. Transverse dunes in this model have a steady-state height and spacing that is controlled by the effective roughness length of the rippled surface, which is shown to be on the order of 500 times greater than the original roughness length, but varies significantly with the details of ripple morphology. The model predictions for ripple and dune spacing and their controlling variables are consistent with field measurements from the published literature. The model of this paper provides a preliminary process-based understanding of the granulometric control of ripples and dunes in areas of abundant sand supply and unidirectional prevailing winds, and it argues for a genetic linkage between ripples and dunes via a scaling relationship between eolian bedform size and the aerodynamic roughness length.     

‘I’ve paid to observe lions, not map roads!’ – An emotional journey with conservation volunteers in South Africa

As fundamental as emotions may be in our experiences with wildlife, very little research addresses this topic. The following paper provides insight into the emotional responses of conservation volunteers participating on conservation holidays through four ethnographic case-studies. Six common emotional responses were identified: anguish, disappointment, frustration, exhilaration, awe and compassion. These emotional highs and lows shaped the volunteer experience, as the realities of wildlife conservation in South Africa upset the culturally constructed, emotionally appealing vision of African wilderness that the volunteers expected. While the positive emotions associated with idealised expectations of African wildlife provide an ideal basis upon which to commercialise nature conservation, they generate a series of tensions in practice. The paper makes an important empirical contribution to current debates surrounding the economic exploitation of affect, showing how emotions underpin the commercialisation of conservation, both through the configuration of the volunteers’ wildlife experiences and the scope of conservation that is practised.     

Petrogenesis of Miller Range 07273, a new type of anomalous melt breccia: Implications for impact effects on the H chondrite asteroid

Miller Range 07273 is a chondritic melt breccia that contains clasts of equilibrated ordinary chondrite set in a fine‐grained (<5 μm), largely crystalline, igneous matrix. Data indicate that MIL was derived from the H chondrite parent asteroid, although it has an oxygen isotope composition that approaches but falls outside of the established H group. MIL also is distinctive in having low porosity, cone‐like shapes for coarse metal grains, unusual internal textures and compositions for coarse metal, a matrix composed chiefly of clinoenstatite and omphacitic pigeonite, and troilite veining most common in coarse olivine and orthopyroxene. These features can be explained by a model involving impact into a porous target that produced brief but intense heating at high pressure, a sudden pressure drop, and a slower drop in temperature. Olivine and orthopyroxene in chondrule clasts were the least melted and the most deformed, whereas matrix and troilite melted completely and crystallized to nearly strain‐free minerals. Coarse metal was largely but incompletely liquefied, and matrix silicates formed by the breakdown during melting of albitic feldspar and some olivine to form pyroxene at high pressure (>3 GPa, possibly to ~15–19 GPa) and temperature (>1350 °C, possibly to ≥2000 °C). The higher pressures and temperatures would have involved back‐reaction of high‐pressure polymorphs to pyroxene and olivine upon cooling. Silicates outside of melt matrix have compositions that were relatively unchanged owing to brief heating duration.     

Metal phases in ordinary chondrites: Magnetic hysteresis properties and implications for thermal history

Magnetic properties are sensitive proxies to characterize FeNi metal phases in meteorites. We present a data set of magnetic hysteresis properties of 91 ordinary chondrite falls. We show that hysteresis properties are distinctive of individual meteorites while homogeneous among meteorite subsamples. Except for the most primitive chondrites, these properties can be explained by a mixture of multidomain kamacite that dominates the induced magnetism and tetrataenite (both in the cloudy zone as single‐domain grains, and as larger multidomain grains in plessite and in the rim of zoned taenite) dominates the remanent magnetism, in agreement with previous microscopic magnetic observations. The bulk metal contents derived from magnetic measurements are in agreement with those estimated previously from chemical analyses. We evidence a decreasing metal content with increasing petrologic type in ordinary chondrites, compatible with oxidation of metal during thermal metamorphism. Types 5 and 6 ordinary chondrites have higher tetrataenite content than type 4 chondrites. This is compatible with lower cooling rates in the 650–450 °C interval for higher petrographic types (consistent with an onion‐shell model), but is more likely the result of the oxidation of ordinary chondrites with increasing metamorphism. In equilibrated chondrites, shock‐related transient heating events above approximately 500 °C result in the disordering of tetrataenite and associated drastic change in magnetic properties. As a good indicator of the amount of tetrataenite, hysteresis properties are a very sensitive proxy of the thermal history of ordinary chondrites, revealing low cooling rates during thermal metamorphism and high cooling rates (e.g., following shock reheating or excavation after thermal metamorphism). Our data strengthen the view that the poor magnetic recording properties of multidomain kamacite and the secondary origin of tetrataenite make equilibrated ordinary chondrites challenging targets for paleomagnetic study.     

Climate change,migration and adaptation in Funafuti,Tuvalu

This paper shows the extent to which people in Funafuti – the main island of Tuvalu – are intending to migrate in response to climate change. It presents evidence collected from Funafuti to challenge the widely held assumption that climate change is, will, or should result in large-scale migration from Tuvalu. It shows that for most people climate change is not a reason for concern, let alone a reason to migrate, and that would-be migrants do not cite climate change as a reason to leave. People in Funafuti wish to remain living in Funafuti for reasons of lifestyle, culture and identity. Concerns about the impacts of climate change are not currently a significant driver of migration from Funafuti, and do not appear to be a significant influence on those who intend to migrate in the future.