The estimate of the deceleration in the earth's rotation due to the sun

The tidal long-term decrease in the angular velocity of the Earth's rotation has been estimated on the basis of the angular momentum tidal balance in the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The observed (LLR) tidal long-term decrease in the Moon's mean motion, the apparent secular acceleration in the mean longitude of the Sun and the long-term decrease in the 2nd degree zonal geopotential parameter were used.Presented at the XXth General Assembly of the I.A.G., Vienna, August 15, 1991.     

The boundary integral calculations of the forward problem for D.C. sounding and MMR methods for a 3-D body near a vertical contact

Summary The paper presents comprehensive theory based on the boundary integral method for calculations of the electric potential, electric field and corresponding magnetic field due to a pair of D.C. source electrodes near a vertical resistivity contact in the halfspace, indlucing a 3-D disturbing body in the vicinity of the contact. Special attention is paid to the case when the disturbing body touches the vertical contact. Results of numerical calculations are presented in the form of sounding curves and a set of isoline graphs for potential, components of the electric and magnetic field (total and anomalous) on the surface of the Earth. It is shown that the presence of the disturbing body at the contact is most pronounced in the electrical characteristics. Anomalies in the magnetic field are small in comparison to the field due to the electric current in the electrode cable and primary currents flowing from the electrodes.     

Determination of Geopotential Differences between Local Vertical Datums and Realization of a World Height System

The methodology developed for connecting Local Vertical Datums (LVD) was applied to the Australian Height Datum (AHD) and the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88). The geopotential values at AHD and NAVD88 were computed and the corresponding vertical offset of 974 mm with rms 51 mm was obtained between the zero reference surfaces defined by AHD and NAVD88. The solution is based on the four primary geodetic parameters, the GPS/levelling sites and the geopotential model EGM96. The Global Height System (or the Major Vertical Datum) can be defined by a geoidal geopotential value used in the solution as the reference value, or by the geopotential value of the LVD, e.g. NAVD88.     

Electromagnetic induction in a half-space with a cylindrical inhomogeneity

Summary The problem of electromagnetic induction in a half-space with a cylindrical inhomogeneity is treated. Solutions for TE and TM polarization of the exciting electromagnetic field are given, which can be used for computing sounding and profiling curves. The anisotropy of the surface impedance is pointed out, as well as a whole series of other interesting properties of the magnetotelluric field in this model; some of them are also demonstrated on the computed theoretical curves.     

Climate-change driven increased flood magnitudes and frequency in the British uplands: Geomorphologically informed scientific underpinning for upland flood-risk management

Upland river systems in the UK are predicted to be prone to the effects of increased flood magnitudes and frequency, driven by climate change. It is clear from recent events that some headwater catchments can be very sensitive to large floods, activating the full sediment system, with implications for flood risk management further down the catchment. We provide a 15-year record of detailed morphological change on a 500-m reach of upland gravel-bed river, focusing upon the geomorphic response to an extreme event in 2007, and the recovery in the decade following. Through novel application of two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic modelling we evaluate the different energy states of pre- and post-flood morphologies of the river reach, exploring how energy state adjusts with recovery following the event. Following the 2007 flood, morphological adjustments resulted in changes to the shear stress population over the reach, resulting in higher shear stresses. Although the proportion of shear stresses in excess of those experienced using the pre-flood digital elevation model (DEM) varied over the recovery period, they remained substantially in excess of those experienced pre-2007, suggesting that there is still potential for enhanced bedload transport and morphological adjustment within the reach. Although volumetric change calculated from DEM differencing does indicate a reduction in erosion and deposition volumes in the decade following the flood, we argue that the system still has not fully recovered to the pre-flood state. We further argue that Thinhope Burn, and other similarly impacted catchments in upland environments, may not recover under the wet climatic phase currently being experienced. Hence systems like Thinhope Burn will continue to deliver large volumes of sediment further down river catchments, providing new challenges for flood risk management into the future.     

Rapid cooling and geospeedometry of granitic rocks exhumation within a volcanic arc: A case study from the Central Slovakian Neovolcanic Field (Western Carpathians)

U–Pb Sensitive High‐Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) dating of zircon in combination with (U–Th)/He dating of zircon and apatite is applied to constrain the emplacement and exhumation history of the youngest granitic rocks in the Western Carpathians collected in the Central Slovakian Neovolcanic Field. Two samples of diorite from the locality Banky, and granodiorite from Banská Hodru?a yield the U–Pb zircon concordia ages of 15.21 ±0.19 Ma and 12.92 ±0.27 Ma, respectively, recording the time of zircon crystallization and the intrusions’ emplacement. Zircon (U–Th)/He ages of 14.70 ±0.94 (Banky) and 12.65 ±0.61 Ma (Banská Hodru?a), and apatite (U–Th)/He ages of 14.45 ±0.70 Ma (diorite) and 12.26 ±0.77 Ma (granodiorite) are less than 1 Myr younger than the corresponding zircon U–Pb ages. For both diorite and granodiorite rocks their chronological data thus document a simple cooling process from magmatic crystallization/solidification temperatures to near‐surface temperatures in the Middle Miocene, without subsequent reheating. Geospeedometry data suggest for rapid cooling at an average rate of 678 ±158 °C/Myr, and the exhumation rate of 5 mm/year corresponding to active tectonic‐forced exhumation. The quick cooling is interpreted to record the exhumation of the studied granitic rocks complex that closely followed its emplacement, and was likely accompanied by a drop in the paleo‐geothermal gradient due to cessation of volcanic activity in the area.     

Rates of erosion and landscape change along the Blue Ridge escarpment,southern Appalachian Mountains,estimated from in situ cosmogenic 10Be

The Blue Ridge escarpment, located within the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, forms a distinct, steep boundary between the lower‐elevation Piedmont and higher‐elevation Blue Ridge physiographic provinces. To understand better the rate at which this landform and the adjacent landscape are changing, we measured cosmogenic beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be) in quartz separated from sediment samples (n = 50) collected in 32 streams and from three exposed bedrock outcrops along four transects normal to the escarpment, allowing us to calculate erosion rates integrated over 10⁴–10⁵ years. These basin‐averaged erosion rates (5.4–49 m Myr^?1) are consistent with those measured elsewhere in the southern Appalachain Mountains and show a positive relationship between erosion rate and average basin slope. Erosion rates show no relationship with basin size or relative position of the Brevard fault zone, a fundamental structural element of the region. The cosmogenic isotopic data, when considered along with the distribution of average basin slopes in each physiographic province, suggest that the escarpment is eroding on average more rapidly than the Blue Ridge uplands, which are eroding more rapidly than the Piedmont lowlands. This difference in erosion rates by geomorphic setting suggests that the elevation difference between the uplands and lowlands adjacent to the escarpment is being reduced but at extremely slow rates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Primary and derived parameters of common relevance of Astronomy,Geodesy, and Geodynamics

Problem of selecting primary parameters has been discussed. Primaries should be defined uniquely, as well as, physically. Since no unique definition for semimajor axis exists, it should be replaced by the geoidal geopotential valueW ₀ or by the geopotential scale factorR ₀ =GM/W ₀, geocentric gravitational constantGM be also primary parameter. Current best estimates of some parameters are given numerically.     

Local deformation monitoring using GPS in an open pit mine: initial study

High-performance GPS RTK software has been developed within the Geodetic Research Laboratory (GRL) at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). This software was initially designed for gantry crane auto-steering. Due to limitations with classical geodetic deformation monitoring techniques, the Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering (CCGE) at UNB has decided to augment its fully automated deformation monitoring system with GPS. As a result, the GRL and CCGE have combined efforts to achieve the required precision. As a first step, tests of the GPS real-time kinematic (RTK) software have been carried out at Highland Valley Copper Mine in British Columbia, Canada. An open-pit mine environment places certain constraints on the achievable accuracies attainable with GPS. Consequently, the software has been modified to meet the needs of this particular project and data have been post-processed for analysis. This paper describes the approach taken at UNB to address high precision requirements in a constrained signal availability environment. Technical and scientific aspects of the UNB software, especially in handling two predominant errors (residual tropospheric zenith delay and multipath) at the mine, are discussed. Results of tests that have been carried out at the mine are presented.