Validation of recent geopotential models in Tierra Del Fuego

This work presents a validation study of global geopotential models (GGM) in the region of Fagnano Lake, located in the southern Andes. This is an excellent area for this type of validation because it is surrounded by the Andes Mountains, and there is no terrestrial gravity or GNSS/levelling data. However, there are mean lake level (MLL) observations, and its surface is assumed to be almost equipotential. Furthermore, in this article, we propose improved geoid solutions through the Residual Terrain Modelling (RTM) approach. Using a global geopotential model, the results achieved allow us to conclude that it is possible to use this technique to extend an existing geoid model to those regions that lack any information (neither gravimetric nor GNSS/levelling observations). As GGMs have evolved, our results have improved progressively. While the validation of EGM2008 with MLL data shows a standard deviation of 35 cm, GOCO05C shows a deviation of 13 cm, similar to the results obtained on land.     

RadioAstron Science Program Five Years after Launch: Main Science Results

The RadioAstron ground-space interferometer provides the highest angular resolution achieved now in astronomy. The detection of interferometric fringes from quasars with this angular resolution on baselines of 100–200 thousand km suggests the brightness temperatures which exceed the Compton limit by two orders of magnitude. Polarimetric measurements on ground-space baselines have revealed fine structure testifying to recollimation shocks on scales of 100–250 μas and a helical magnetic field near the base of radio emission in BL Lacertae. Substructure within a the scattering disk of pulsar emission on interferometer baselines (from 60000 to 250000 km) was discovered. This substructure is produced by action of the interstellar interferometer with an effective baseline of about 1 AU and the effective angular resolution of better than 1 μas. Diameters of scattering disks were measured for several pulsars, and distances to diffusing screens were evaluated. The ground-space observations of sources of the maser radiation in lines of water and hydroxyl have shown that the maser sources in star-forming regions remain unresolved on baselines, which considerably exceed the Earth diameter. These very compact and bright features with angular sizes of about 20–60 μas correspond to linear sizes of about 5–10 million km (several solar diameters).     

Preliminary identification of earthquake triggered multi-hazard and risk in Pleret Sub-District (Yogyakarta,Indonesia)

Yogyakarta is one of the large cities in Central Java, located on Java Island, Indonesia. The city, and the Pleret sub-district, where the study has taken place, is prone to earthquake hazards, because it is close to several seismically active zones, such as the Sunda Megathrust and the active fault known as the Opak Fault. Since a devastating earthquake of 2006, the population of the Pleret sub-district has increased significantly. Thus, the housing demand has increased, and so is the pace of low-cost housing that does not meet earthquake-safety requirements, and furthermore are often located on unstable slopes. The local alluvial material covering a jigsaw of unstable blocks and complex slope is conditions that can amplify the negative impacts of earthquakes. Within this context, this study is aiming to assess the multi-hazards and risks of earthquakes and related secondary hazards such as ground liquefaction, and coseismic landslides. To achieve this, we used geographic information systems and remote sensing methods supplemented with outcrop study and existing seismic data to derive shear-strain parameters. The results have revealed the presence of numerous uncharted active faults with movements visible from imagery and outcrops. show that the middle part of the study area has a complex geological structure, indicated by many unchartered faults in the outcrops. Using this newly mapped blocks combined with shear strain data, we reassessed the collapse probability of buildings that reach level >0.75 near the Opak River, in central Pleret sub-district. Classifying the buildings and from population distribution, we could determine that the highest risk was during nighttime as the buildings susceptible to fall are predominantly housing buildings. The secondary hazards follow a slightly different distribution with a concentration of risks in the West.     

Evaluation of Soil Re-mineralizer from By-Product of Volcanic Rock Mining: Experimental Proof Using Black Oats and Maize Crops

Natural Resources Research - This study was focused on physical, petrographical, mineralogical, and chemical characterization of a volcanic-rock mining by-product (dacite rock), as well as on...     

Cassiopeia A: dust factory revealed via submillimetre polarimetry

If Type II supernovae – the evolutionary end points of short-lived, massive stars – produce a significant quantity of dust  (>0.1 M_⊙)  then they can explain the rest-frame far-infrared emission seen in galaxies and quasars in the first Gyr of the Universe. Submillimetre (submm) observations of the Galactic supernova remnant, Cas A, provided the first observational evidence for the formation of significant quantities of dust in Type II supernovae. In this paper, we present new data which show that the submm emission from Cas A is polarized at a level significantly higher than that of its synchrotron emission. The orientation is consistent with that of the magnetic field in Cas A, implying that the polarized submm emission is associated with the remnant. No known mechanism would vary the synchrotron polarization in this way and so we attribute the excess polarized submm flux to cold dust within the remnant, providing fresh evidence that cosmic dust can form rapidly. This is supported by the presence of both polarized and unpolarized dust emission in the north of the remnant where there is no contamination from foreground molecular clouds. The inferred dust polarization fraction is unprecedented  ( f _pol∼ 30 per cent)  which, coupled with the brief time-scale available for grain alignment (<300 yr), suggests that supernova dust differs from that seen in other Galactic sources (where   f _pol= 2−7  per cent) or that a highly efficient grain alignment process must operate in the environment of a supernova remnant.     

The fresnel interferometric imager

The Fresnel Interferometric Imager has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision plan as a class L mission. This mission addresses several themes of the CV Plan: Exoplanet study, Matter in extreme conditions, and The Universe taking shape. This paper is an abridged version of the original ESA proposal. We have removed most of the technical and financial issues, to concentrate on the instrumental design and astrophysical missions. The instrument proposed is an ultra-lightweight telescope, featuring a novel optical concept based on diffraction focussing. It yields high dynamic range images, while releasing constraints on positioning and manufacturing of the main optical elements. This concept should open the way to very large apertures in space. In this two spacecraft formation-flying instrument, one spacecraft holds the focussing element: the Fresnel interferometric array; the other spacecraft holds the field optics, focal instrumentation, and detectors. The Fresnel array proposed here is a 3.6 ×3.6 m square opaque foil punched with 10⁵ to 10⁶ void “subapertures”. Focusing is achieved with no other optical element: the shape and positioning of the subapertures (holes in the foil) is responsible for beam combining by diffraction, and 5% to 10% of the total incident light ends up into a sharp focus. The consequence of this high number of subapertures is high dynamic range images. In addition, as it uses only a combination of vacuum and opaque material, this focussing method is potentially efficient over a very broad wavelength domain. The focal length of such diffractive focussing devices is wavelength dependent. However, this can be corrected. We have tested optically the efficiency of the chromatism correction on artificial sources (500 < λ < 750 nm): the images are diffraction limited, and the dynamic range measured on an artificial double source reaches 6.2 10^− 6. We have also validated numerical simulation algorithms for larger Fresnel interferometric arrays. These simulations yield a dynamic range (rejection factor) close to 10^− 8 for arrays such as the 3.6 m one we propose. A dynamic range of 10^− 8 allows detection of objects at contrasts as high as than 10^− 9 in most of the field. The astrophysical applications cover many objects in the IR, visible an UV domains. Examples are presented, taking advantage of the high angular resolution and dynamic range capabilities of this concept.     

The February 11, 2004 Dead Sea earthquake ML = 5.2 in Jordan and its tectonic implication

A moderate-sized (M_w  5.3) earthquake occurred in the Dead Sea basin on February 11, 2004. A rigorous seismological analysis of the main shock and numerous aftershocks suggests that seismogenic structure was a secondary, antithetic fault within the Dead Sea fault system. The main shock is well located using all available regional seismic stations, and 43 aftershocks were precisely located relative to the main shock using a double difference algorithm. The first motion, focal mechanism for this earthquake demonstrates NNW–SSE and ENE–WSW striking nodal planes, and the aftershocks distribution is consistent with the latter — indicating a right-lateral sense of displacement. This orientation and sense of shear are consistent with similarly oriented geological faults around the Dead Sea basin — these structures are likely antithetic faults within the transform system. Although moderate in size, earthquakes that occur very close to the large Dead Sea fault system warrant consideration in the earthquake hazard assessment of the region: For example, owing to the proximity to the main fault, moderate earthquakes such as this may produce static changes in Coulomb stress along the main fault.     

Nutrient dynamics in an alpine headwater stream: use of continuous water quality sensors to examine responses to wildfire and precipitation events

Stream water quality can change substantively during diurnal cycles, discrete flow events, and seasonal time scales. In this study, we assessed event responses in surface water nutrient concentrations and biogeochemical parameters through the deployment of continuous water quality sensors from March to October 2011 in the East Fork Jemez River, located in northern New Mexico, USA. Events included two pre‐fire non‐monsoonal precipitation events in April, four post‐fire precipitation events in August and September (associated with monsoonal thunderstorms), and two post‐fire non‐monsoonal precipitation events in October. The six post‐fire events occurred after the Las Conchas wildfire burned a significant portion of the contributing watershed (36%) beginning in June 2011. Surface water nitrate (NO₃? N) concentrations increased by an average of 50% after pre‐fire and post‐fire non‐monsoonal precipitation events and were associated with small increases in turbidity (up to 15 NTU). Beginning 1 month after the start of the large regional wildfire, monsoonal precipitation events resulted in large multi‐day increases in dissolved NO₃? N (6 × background levels), dissolved phosphate (100 × background levels), specific conductance (5 × background levels), and turbidity (>100 × background levels). These periods also corresponded with substantial sags in dissolved oxygen (<4 mg l^?1) and pH (<6.5). The short duration and rapid rates of change during many of these flow events, particularly following wildfire, highlight the importance of continuous water quality monitoring to quantify the timing and magnitude of event responses in streams and to examine large water quality excursions linked to catchment disturbance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cave levels and cave development in the mitchell plain following base-level lowering

Multiple levels evolved in Buddha–Christian's Cave and in Donaldson's–Bronson's–Twin Cave in a subtly different manner to that normally associated with the development of multilevel caves adjacent to entrenched river valleys. It is often assumed that lower cave levels are generated by successive phases of valley entrenchment; however, multiple levels may also be induced by progressive adjustments in groundwater flow paths. Such adjustments occur as the effects of a change in base level propagate up-basin. In the Mitchell Plain much of the late Pleistocene drop in the elevation of the principal drainage (the East Fork of the White River) was accommodated by entrenchment along the lower reaches of tributary valleys. Caves initially developed in the mid-sections of tributary basins at relatively shallow depths. In the vicinity of the cave exit, the piezometric surface gradually steepened and was eventually lowered through a combination of valley headwall retreat and the incremental concentration of flow through master conduits. Upper-level passages were abandoned once the original high-level flow paths were replaced by lower-level routes.     

Multi-decadal changes in the relationships between rainfall characteristics and debris-flow occurrences in response to gully evolution after the 1990–1995 Mount Unzen eruptions

Explosive volcanic eruptions can cause long-term landscape change, leading to increased sediment discharge that continues after the cessation of the eruptions. During the period 1990–1995, eruptions of Mount Unzen, Japan, generated large amounts of pyroclastic material, resulting in 57 debris-flow events during 1991–2018. To investigate changes in the relationships between rainfall characteristics and debris-flow occurrence, we conducted the following: geometric analysis of two gullies (i.e., debris-flow initiation zones) using LiDAR (light detection and ranging)-generated 1 m DEMs (digital elevation models); rainfall analysis, based on the relationship between rainfall duration and mean intensity (i.e., considering the intensity–duration, or ID, threshold); and debris-flow monitoring during 2016–2018. Since 1991, rainfall runoff has caused erosion of the supplied pyroclastic material, generating a channel network consisting of incised gullies. With sufficient rainfall, debris flows formed, accompanied by further gully erosion; this resulted in both vertical and lateral adjustments of the cross-sectional geometry. In the two decades since the eruptions ceased, readily mobilized pyroclastic material has become scarce as the gullies have adjusted to local hydrographic conditions. At the same time, the infiltration capacity of the volcanic flank has increased, reducing the capacity for overland flow. As a result, since 2000, rainfall events with intensities above the ID threshold have occurred; however, the lack of sediment supplied by the gullies appears to have hindered the occurrence and development of debris flows. This suggests that debris flows in volcanically perturbed landscapes may occur at lower rainfall thresholds as long as the corresponding upland channels are evolving as a result of intense overland flow. However, as such channels evolve towards equilibrium geometries, the frequency of debris flows decreases in response to the reduction in sediment availability.