Analytical description of physical librations of saturnian coorbital satellites Janus and Epimetheus

Janus and Epimetheus are famously known for their distinctive horseshoe-shaped orbits resulting from a 1:1 orbital resonance. Every 4 years these two satellites swap their orbits by a few tens of kilometers as a result of their close encounter. Recently Tiscareno et al. (Tiscareno, M.S., Thomas, P.C., Burns, J.A. [2009]. Icarus 204, 254-261) have proposed a model of rotation based on images from the Cassini orbiter. These authors inferred the amplitude of rotational librational motion in longitude at the orbital period by fitting a shape model to Cassini ISS images. By a quasi-periodic approximation of the orbital motion, we describe how the orbital swap impacts the rotation of the satellites. To that purpose, we have developed a formalism based on quasi-periodic series with long- and short-period librations. In this framework, the amplitude of the libration at the orbital period is found proportional to a term accounting for the orbital swap. We checked the analytical quasi-periodic development by performing a numerical simulation and find both results in good agreement. To complete this study, the results obtained for the short-period librations are studied with the help of an adiabatic-like approach.     

Seston transport and deposition in Pelorus sound,south Island,New Zealand

Transport of seston (suspended sediment) in Pelorus Sound is controlled by tides and freshwater inflow. During high freshwater inflow, a moderately stratified estuarine circulation may be superimposed on the tidal circulation, but the latter dominates and transports seston seawards and landwards with the ebb and flood phases respectively. With extreme freshwater inflow, the estuarine circulation gains impetus and most seston is rapidly transported seaward in the low saline surface layer.

Irrespective of circulation there is a persistent trend in seston concentrations. Highest values occur at the sound's head because of the influence of nearby Pelorus and Kaituna Rivers and because of resuspension of bottom sediment by strong tidal currents. Seston concentrations wane along the sound until near the entrance, where values increase as a result of greater production of biogenic seston and because additional seston is brought in from Cook Strait with the flood tide. This trend parallels variability in the thicknesses of muddy bottom sediments. Muds are thick at the head where an extensive delta extends from the river mouths; muds gradually thin seaward and then thicken markedly in the vicinity of the sound entrance.

Seston weight and composition patterns and 3.5 kHz seismic profiles indicate Pelorus Sound acts as a double‐ended sediment trap. The upper reaches receive and retain river‐derived seston, whereas the sound entrance traps seston derived from Cook Strait. This situation appears to hold for both high and extremely high influxes of sediment.     

Role of mean circulation,tides, and waves in the transport of bottom sediment on the New Zealand continental shelf

Evaluation of velocity data on water movements over the New Zealand continental shelf has revealed that the mean circulation by itself is too slow to induce transport of bottom sediments. Tides generally have higher velocities, but are still not the main transporting agent except in the tide‐dominated Cook and Foveaux. Straits. Waves have the potential to stir sediments on the inner and middle shelf (less than about 70 m deep) during annual storms, and probably down to 130 m depth during the maximum 25‐y storm.

For sediment transport to take place, energies of at least two of the major water movements would have to complement one another. Optimum conditions for transport probably occur during storm periods when wave‐suspended sediment is readily moved by tides and the mean circulation.

The direction of transport is mainly along the continental shelf and is largely in response to prevailing weather patterns coincident with the direction of the mean circulation and strongly reinforced by the appropriate phase of the tide.     

TOPOGRAPHIC EFFECTS ON VENTIFACT DEVELOPMENT,MOJAVE DESERT,CALIFORNIA

I nvestigations into processes of ventifact formation in the east-central Mojave Desert, California confirm the importance of topography as a control in the location, orientation, and intensity of ventifact abrasion. Ventifacts in the region appear to be relict in nature and probably formed during a period that ended several thousand years ago. Comparison of groove orientations with available wind data shows that regional flow direction has not changed in the recent past. Although west to northwest winds are the most frequent and intense, and therefore dictate the regional erosion pattern, low to moderate southeasterly flow is recorded on ventifacts near the crests of hills owing to the effects of velocity acceleration. Two conditions that affect ventifact development are considered in this paper: (1) wind acceleration through topographic constrictions; and (2) wind acceleration up the windward flanks of hills. Constrictions in the Barstow-Bristol trough allowed velocity increases that resulted in ventifaction on 70–90 percent of all exposed cobbles and boulders. Velocity acceleration towards the crests of hills caused a marked increase in sand transport and resultant abrasion, as expressed by increases in groove and pit dimensions. [Key words: Aeolian geomorphology, ventifacts, Mojave Desert, California.]     

Effects of the October 25, 2010, Mentawai tsunami in La Réunion Island (France): observations and crisis management

On October 25, 2010, a Mw = 7.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Kepulauan Mentawai archipelago, in Indonesia. Following the earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami bulletin to the countries of the Indian Ocean informing them that a local tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia. La Réunion Island, a French territory located 5,000 km southwest of the seismic source, did not trigger its tsunami early warning protocol, but did suffer the impact of this tsunami 7h20 post-earthquake. This paper presents the post-tsunami survey conducted in La Réunion Island a few days after the event, providing run-up measurements that reach 1.72 m locally as well as information about the material losses and the crisis management. It provides a time sequence of the observations along the coast and the reactions of the population and authorities in dealing with this crisis. This paper also shows the local authorities’ lack of action in managing this event—thus increasing human and material vulnerabilities—the consequences for victims and the impact on the credibility of the local early warning system. These results provide geophysicists with information to better describe the source of this tsunami through far-field inversion and provide local decision makers with a comprehensive assessment of the weaknesses of the local early warning system and protocols.     

Fisheries mismanagement

We analysed the extent to which European politicians have adhered to scientific recommendations on annual total allowable catches (TACs) from 1987 to 2011, covering most of the period of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). For the 11 stocks examined, TACs were set higher than scientific recommendations in 68% of decisions. Politically-adjusted TACs averaged 33% above scientifically recommended levels. There was no evidence that the 2002 reform of the CFP improved decision-making, as was claimed at the time. We modelled the effects of such politically-driven decision-making on stock sustainability. Our results suggest that political adjustment of scientific recommendations dramatically increases the probability of a stock collapsing within 40 years.In 2012 European fisheries policy will undergo a once-a-decade reform. Ten years ago radical reforms were promised but the changes failed to improve sustainability. It is likely that the 2012 reform will be similarly ineffective unless decision-making is changed so that catch allocations are based on science rather than politics.     

Artificial neural network forward modelling and inversion of electrokinetic logging data

An artificial neural network method is proposed as a computationally economic alternative to numerical simulation by the Biot theory for predicting borehole seismoelectric measurements given a set of formation properties. Borehole seismoelectric measurements are simulated using a finite element forward model, which solves the Biot equations together with an equation for the streaming potential. The results show that the neural network method successfully predicts the streaming potentials at each detector, even when the input pressures are contaminated with 10% Gaussian noise. A fast inversion methodology is subsequently developed in order to predict subsurface material properties such as porosity and permeability from streaming potential measurements. The predicted permeability and porosity results indicate that the method predictions are more accurate for the permeability predictions, with the inverted permeabilities being in excellent agreement with the actual permeabilities. This approach was finally verified by using data from a field experiment. The predicted permeability results seem to predict the basic trends in permeabilities from a packer test. As expected from synthetic results, the predicted porosity is less accurate. Investigations are also carried out to predict the zeta potential. The predicted zeta potentials are in agreement with values obtained through experimental self potential measurements.