On the temperature distribution in the solar corona

An improved value of coronal temperature is obtained by the degree of ionization method taking various processes into consideration. Comparison with some of the existing results has also been made.     

Sea‐level and ocean‐current control on carbonate‐platform growth,Maldives, Indian Ocean

Multichannel high‐resolution seismic and multibeam data were acquired from the Maldives‐isolated carbonate platform in the Indian Ocean for a detailed characterization of the Neogene bank architecture of this edifice. The goal of the research is to decipher the controlling factors of platform evolution, with a special emphasis on sea‐level changes and changes of the oceanic currents. The stacking pattern of Lower to Middle Miocene depositional sequences, with an evolution of a ramp geometry to a flat‐topped platform, reflects variations of accommodation, which here are proposed to be primarily governed by fluctuations of relative sea level. Easterly currents during this stage of bank growth controlled an asymmetric east‐directed progradation of the bank edge. During the late middle Miocene, this system was replaced by a twofold configuration of bank development. Bank growth continued synchronously with partial bank demise and associated sediment‐drift deposition. This turnover is attributed to the onset and/or intensification of the Indian monsoon and related upwelling and occurrence of currents, locally changing environmental conditions and impinging upon the carbonate system. Mega spill over lobes, shaped by reversing currents, formed as large‐scale prograding complexes, which have previously been interpreted as deposits formed during a forced regression. On a regional scale, a complex carbonate‐platform growth can occur, with a coexistence of bank‐margin progradation and aggradation, as well as partial drowning. It is further shown that a downward shift of clinoforms and offlapping geometries in carbonate platforms are not necessarily indicative for a sea‐level driven forced regression. Findings are expected to be applicable to other examples of Cenozoic platforms in the Indo‐Pacific region.     

Automated mapping of rock slope geometry,kinematics and stability with RSS-GIS

A GIS-implemented, deterministic approach for the automated spatial evaluation of geometrical and kinematical properties of rock slope terrains is presented. Based on spatially distributed directional information on planar geological fabrics and DEM-derived topographic attribute data, the internal geometry of rock slopes can be characterized on a grid cell basis. For such computations, different approaches for the analysis and regionalization of available structural directional information applicable in specific tectonic settings are demonstrated and implemented in a GIS environment. Simple kinematical testing procedures based on feasibility criteria can be conducted on a pixel basis to determine which failure mechanisms are likely to occur at particular terrain locations. In combination with hydraulic and strength data on geological discontinuities, scenario-based rock slope stability evaluations can be performed. For conceptual investigations on rock slope failure processes, a GIS-based specification tool for a 2-D distinct element code (UDEC) was designed to operate with the GIS-encoded spatially distributed rock slope data. The concepts of the proposed methodology for rock slope hazard assessments are demonstrated at three different test sites in Germany.     

Airborne gravimetry used in precise geoid computations by ring integration

Two detailed geoids have been computed in the region of North Jutland. The first computation used marine data in the offshore areas. For the second computation the marine data set was replaced by the sparser airborne gravity data resulting from the AGMASCO campaign of September 1996. The results of comparisons of the geoid heights at on-shore geometric control showed that the geoid heights computed from the airborne gravity data matched in precision those computed using the marine data, supporting the view that airborne techniques have enormous potential for mapping those unsurveyed areas between the land-based data and the off-shore marine or altimetrically derived data. Received: 7 July 1997 / Accepted: 22 April 1998     

Evaluating the impact of data quantity, distribution and algorithm selection on the accuracy of 3D subsurface models using synthetic grid models of varying complexity

Testing the accuracy of 3D modelling algorithms used for geological applications is extremely difficult as model results cannot be easily validated. This paper presents a new approach to evaluate the effectiveness of common interpolation algorithms used in 3D subsurface modelling, utilizing four synthetic grids to represent subsurface environments of varying geological complexity. The four grids are modelled with Inverse Distance Weighting and Ordinary Kriging, using data extracted from the synthetic grids in different spatial distribution patterns (regular, random, clustered and sparse), and with different numbers of data points (100, 256, 676 and 1,600). Utilizing synthetic grids for this evaluation allows quantitative statistical assessment of the accuracy of both interpolation algorithms in a variety of sampling conditions. Data distribution proved to be an important factor; as in many geological situations, relatively small numbers of randomly distributed data points can generate more accurate 3D models than larger amounts of clustered data. This study provides insight for optimizing the quantity and distribution of data required to accurately and cost-effectively interpolate subsurface units of varying complexity.     

Cascaded image analysis for dynamic crack detection in material testing

Concrete probes in civil engineering material testing often show fissures or hairline-cracks. These cracks develop dynamically. Starting at a width of a few microns, they usually cannot be detected visually or in an image of a camera imaging the whole probe. Conventional image analysis techniques will detect fissures only if they show a width in the order of one pixel. To be able to detect and measure fissures with a width of a fraction of a pixel at an early stage of their development, a cascaded image analysis approach has been developed, implemented and tested. The basic idea of the approach is to detect discontinuities in dense surface deformation vector fields. These deformation vector fields between consecutive stereo image pairs, which are generated by cross correlation or least squares matching, show a precision in the order of 1/50 pixel. Hairline-cracks can be detected and measured by applying edge detection techniques such as a Sobel operator to the results of the image matching process. Cracks will show up as linear discontinuities in the deformation vector field and can be vectorized by edge chaining. In practical tests of the method, cracks with a width of 1/20 pixel could be detected, and their width could be determined at a precision of 1/50 pixel.     

The determination of potential difference by the joint application of measured and synthetical gravity data: a case study in Hungary

In an elementary approach every geometrical height difference between the staff points of a levelling line should have a corresponding average g value for the determination of potential difference in the Earth’s gravity field. In practice this condition requires as many gravity data as the number of staff points if linear variation of g is assumed between them. Because of the expensive fieldwork, the necessary data should be supplied from different sources. This study proposes an alternative solution, which is proved at a test bed located in the Mecsek Mountains, Southwest Hungary, where a detailed gravity survey, as dense as the staff point density (~1 point/34 m), is available along a 4.3-km-long levelling line. In the first part of the paper the effect of point density of gravity data on the accuracy of potential difference is investigated. The average g value is simply derived from two neighbouring g measurements along the levelling line, which are incrementally decimated in the consecutive turns of processing. The results show that the error of the potential difference between the endpoints of the line exceeds 0.1 mm in terms of length unit if the sampling distance is greater than 2 km. Thereafter, a suitable method for the densification of the decimated g measurements is provided. It is based on forward gravity modelling utilising a high-resolution digital terrain model, the normal gravity and the complete Bouguer anomalies. The test shows that the error is only in the order of 10⁻³mm even if the sampling distance of g measurements is 4 km. As a component of the error sources of levelling, the ambiguity of the levelled height difference which is the Euclidean distance between the inclined equipotential surfaces is also investigated. Although its effect accumulated along the test line is almost zero, it reaches 0.15 mm in a 1-km-long intermediate section of the line.     

Using gravity and topography-implied anomalies to assess data requirements for precise geoid computation

Many regions around the world require improved gravimetric data bases to support very accurate geoid modeling for the modernization of height systems using GPS. We present a simple yet effective method to assess gravity data requirements, particularly the necessary resolution, for a desired precision in geoid computation. The approach is based on simulating high-resolution gravimetry using a topography-correlated model that is adjusted to be consistent with an existing network of gravity data. Analysis of these adjusted, simulated data through Stokes’s integral indicates where existing gravity data must be supplemented by new surveys in order to achieve an acceptable level of omission error in the geoid undulation. The simulated model can equally be used to analyze commission error, as well as model error and data inconsistencies to a limited extent. The proposed method is applied to South Korea and shows clearly where existing gravity data are too scarce for precise geoid computation.