Planetary scientific target detection via deep learning: A case study for finding shatter cones in Mars rover images

Past, present, and forthcoming planetary rover missions to Mars and other planetary bodies are equipped with a large number of scientific cameras. The very large number of images resulting from this, combined with tight time constraints for navigation, measurements, and analyses, pose a major challenge for the mission teams in terms of scientific target evaluation. Shatter cones are the only macroscopic evidence for impact-induced shock metamorphism and therefore impact craters on Earth. The typical features of shatter cones, such as striations and horsetail structures, are particularly suitable for machine learning methods. The necessary training images do not exist for such a case; therefore, we pursued the approach of producing them artificially. Using PRo3D, a viewer developed for the interactive exploration and geologic analysis of high-resolution planetary surface reconstructions, we virtually placed shatter cones in 3-D background scenes processed from true Mars rover imagery. We use PRo3D-rendered images of such scenes as training data for machine learning architectures. Terrestrial analog studies in Ethiopia supported our lab work and were used to test the resulting neural network of this feasibility study. The result showed that our approach with shatter cones in artificial Mars rover scenes is suitable to train neural networks for automatic detection of shatter cones. In addition, we have identified several aspects that can be used to improve the training of the neural network and increase the recognition rate. For example, using background data with a higher resolution in order to have equal resolution of object (shatter cone) and Martian background and increase the number of objects that can be placed in the training data set. Also using better lighting reconstructions and a better radiometric adaption between object and Martian background would further improve the results.     

On the stability of magmatic cordierite and new thermobarometric equations for cordierite-saturated liquids

In this work, we have reviewed a large compositional dataset (571 analyses) for natural and experimental glasses to understand the physico-chemical and compositional conditions of magmatic cordierite crystallization. Cordierite crystallizes in peraluminous liquids (A/CNK ≥1) at temperatures ≥750 °C, pressures ≤700 MPa, variable H₂O activity (0.1–1.0) and relatively low fO₂ conditions (≤NNO ? 0.5). In addition to A/CNK ratio ≥1, a required condition for cordierite crystallization is a Si + Al cation value of the rhyolite liquid of 4 p8O (i.e. calculated on the 8 oxygen anhydrous basis), which is consistent with low Fe³⁺ contents and the absence or low content of non-bridging oxygens (NBO). This geochemical condition is strongly supported by the rare, if not unique, structure of cordierite where the tetrahedral framework is composed almost exclusively of Si and Al cations the sum of which is equal to 4 p8O [i.e. (Mg,Fe)_8/9Al_16/9Si_20/9O₈], indicating that aluminium (and cordierite) saturation is limited by rhyolite liquids with Al = 4 ? Si. Indeed, synthetic or natural systems with Al > 4 ? Si always show metastable glass-in-glass separation or crystallization of refractory minerals such as corundum (Al_16/3O₈) and aluminosilicates (Al_16/5Si_8/5O₈). Multivariate regression analyses of literature data for experimental glasses coexisting with magmatic cordierite produced two empirical equations to independently calculate the T (±13 °C; ME, maximum error = 29 °C) and P (±16 %; ME% = 27 %) conditions of cordierite saturation. The greatest influence on the two equations is exerted by H₂O_melt and Al concentrations, respectively. Testing of these equations with other thermobarometric constraints (e.g. feldspar-liquid, GASP, Grt–Bt and Grt–Crd equilibria) and thermodynamic models (NCKFMASHTO and NCKFMASH systems) was successfully performed for Crd-bearing rhyolites and residual enclaves from San Vincenzo (Tuscany, Italy), Morococala Field (Bolivia) and El Hoyazo (Spain). The reliability of each calculated P–T pair was graphically evaluated using the minimum and maximum P–T–H₂O relationships for peraluminous rhyolite liquids modified after the metaluminous relationships in this work. Both P–T calculations and checking can be easily performed with the attached user-friendly spreadsheet (i.e. Crd-sat_TB).     

Numerical simulations of the 1963 Vajont landslide, Italy: application of 1D Lagrangian modelling

On 9 October 1963, a rock mass of about 250 millions m³, with a front width of 1,850 m, a mean thickness of about 200 m and a length of 350–400 m, detached from Mt Toc, on the left side of the Vajont valley, NE Italy, and collapsed into the reservoir created by a 261 m high dam. About 40 millions m³ of water was displaced, climbed up 200 m on the opposite side and then destroyed the little town of Longarone causing more than 2,000 casualties. This event is well known and was the object of numerous technical and scientific studies, especially in the two decades following the disaster. This work proposes a re-examination of the matter, focusing on the numerical modelling of the landslide, and is carried out by using a 1D numerical code based on a Lagrangian approach. The model is properly conceived for cases with slide length prevailing on width. When the slide width is comparable or prevailing on length, as is the case of the Vajont slide, the mass is first partitioned into a number of longitudinal long and narrow sub-slides. The Vajont mass was subdivided into six strips and the motion of each sub-slide was computed. The knowledge of the final deposit position allowed us to constrain the value of some relevant parameters characterizing the slide motion, the most interesting being the friction coefficient μ, that we varied in order to obtain the best-fit between calculated and observed deposits. Taking into account the additional constraint that all sub-slides move with the same or at least with similar speed, and introducing a global misfit based on deposit and velocity misfits, we were able to show that solutions minimizing the global misfit exhibit a relevant difference between the basal friction coefficients of the western and of the eastern sides of the sliding surface, with the former being significantly smaller (0.14–0.16) than the latter (0.32–0.34).     

Climate Change Prediction

The concept of climate change prediction in response to anthropogenic forcings at multi-decadal time scales is reviewed. This is identified as a predictability problem with characteristics of both first kind and second kind (due to the slow components of the climate system). It is argued that, because of the non-linear and stochastic aspects of the climate system and of the anthropogenic and natural forcings, climate change contains an intrinsic level of uncertainty. As a result, climate change prediction needs to be approached in a probabilistic way. This requires a characterization and quantification of the uncertainties associated with the sequence of steps involved in a climate change prediction. A review is presented of different approaches recently proposed to produce probabilistic climate change predictions. The additional difficulties found when extending the prediction from the global to the regional scale and the implications that these have on the choice of prediction strategy are finally discussed.     

Combined discrete and continuous gravity observations at Mount Etna

Systematic investigation of discrete gravity measurements has continued at Mount Etna since 1986. The network now covers an area of 400 km² with about 70 stations 0.5–3 km apart. Mass redistributions occurring at depths ranging between about 8 km below sea level and a few hundred metres below the surface (magma level changes within the shallower parts of the feeding conduits) have been identified from these data. Conventional (discrete) microgravity monitoring on a network of stations furnishes only instantaneous states of the mass distribution at continuously active systems. In order to obtain information on the rate at which the volcanic processes (and thus mass transfers) occur, three stations for continuously recording gravity where installed on Mount Etna in 1998. A 16-month long sequence from one of the continuously running stations (PDN, located 2 km from the active northeast crater at the summit of Etna volcano) is presented. After removing the effects of Earth Tide and tilt, the correlation of the residual gravity sequence with simultaneous recordings of meteorological parameters acquired at the same station was analysed. Once the meteorological effects have also been removed, continuous gravity changes are within 10 μGal of gravity changes measured using conventional microgravity observations at sites very close to the continuous station. This example shows how discrete and continuous gravity observations can be used together at active volcanoes to get a fuller and more accurate picture of the spatial and temporal characteristics of volcanic processes.     

东亚区域极端气候事件变化的数值模拟试验

使用ResCM2区域气候模式,嵌套澳大利亚CSIRO R21L9全球海气耦合模式,进行了温室效应（二氧化碳加倍）对东亚（主要是中国区域）极端气候事件影响的数值试验。控制试验的结果表明,区域模式能够较好地模拟中国区域的极端气候事件。对温室效应引起的它们的变化进行了信度检验,分析结果表明,温室效应将引起日最高和最低气温增加,日较差减小;使得高温天气增多,低温日数减少。降水日数和大雨日数在一些地区将增加。同时还会引起影响中国的台风活动的变化。     

Ir Observations Of An Outburst In Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)

The comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) has been observed in the infrared (1–2.5 μm) with the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) equipped with the Arcetri NICMOS3 camera (ARNICA). Two observational campaigns, each one lasting about one week, were made when the comet heliocentric distance was about 3 AU. The first campaign was at the end of August and the second at the end of September 1996. During both runs two major outbursts were observed, the more intense of them started the day before the beginning of the second run. In the images recorded during the first three nights (24.8–26.8 Sept.) of the second run a dust shell expanding in the northern quadrant with a projected velocity of 0.14–0.28 km/s is clearly evident. The dust production rate increased by at least a factor ≈3 at the time of the outburst. Also evident on the first night is a change in the IR color that is well correlated with the dust shell. This is an indication that the material released by the outburst has a different composition and/or size distribution than that in the “quiescent” dust coma. In this paper we present preliminary results about the evolution and the photometric characteristics of the dust shell. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Simulation Method for Semicollisional Plasmas

We present a one dimensional kinetic simulation model which can be used to simulate the stationary state of a semicollisional plasma. Results of a simple simulation are presented and compared to Fokker-Planck calculations. The model is particularly well suited for the diluted solar atmosphere. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optical properties of Laue lenses for hard X-rays (>60 keV)

We report on preliminary results obtained with a Monte Carlo (MC) code developed to study the optical properties of Laue lenses for astro-physical observations. The MC code is written in the Python programming language and uses open source libraries. Among the physical quantities which can be investigated with the MC code, we paid our attention mainly to the estimation of the effective area, field of view (FOV) and point spread function (PSF) of the lens for observation of sources on-axis and off-axis.