Stability of streams and lakes on Mars

Under present climatic conditions streams and lakes on Mars will freeze. Freezing is slow and would have a negligible effect in impeding flow of the large floods that are believed to have eroded the outflow channels. Valley networks are more difficult to form under current climatic conditions since they appear to have formed by slow erosion by streams of modest discharges. Freezing of small Martian streams was modeled for a variety of climatic conditions on the supposition that the Martian atmosphere may have been considerably thicker in the past when the valley networks formed. The modeling involves examination of the energy balance at the upper and lower surfaces of ice on streams to determine the rate at which the ice thickens with time. The results indicate that freezing rates are not strongly dependent on atmospheric pressure. With no wind, increasing the pressure by a factor of 10 cuts the time taken to freeze solid only by about a factor of about 2. Under windy conditions dependence on atmospheric pressure is even weaker. The distance that water could travel in a stream before flow is arrested by freezing is also calculated. The distances depend on the initial temperature of the stream and when icings develop, but in general, if a stream deeper than 2 m can be initiated and sustained, the water within it can survive long enough to cut most of the valley networks observed. The main problem with forming the valley is initiating the flow. Groundwater seepage alone appears inadequate because of the difficulty of recharging the groundwater system. Melting of ice precipitated onto the surface following injection of water into the atmosphere by large impacts is a possible source of water, but the climatic conditions under which the ice could melt and the water be collected into streams that can survive long enough to cut the valley is uncertain.     

Altered basaltic glass: A terrestrial analog to the soil of Mars

Analyses of Martian surface soil by Viking and Earth-based telescopes have been interpreted as indicating a regolith dominated by the weathering products of mafic or ultramafic rocks. Basaltic glass has previously been proposed as a more likely precursor than crystalline rock, given the low efficiency of surface weathering under present Martian conditions. On Earth large volumes of basaltic glass formed by quenching of magma by water. A similar interaction, between magma and ground ice, may have been a common occurrence on Mars. On the basis of this scenario palagonite, the alteration product of basaltic sideromelane glass, was studied as a possible analog to Martian soil. Samples from Iceland, Alaska, Antarctica, Hawaii, and the desert of New Mexico and Mexico were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, X-ray diffraction, spectrophotometry, and magnetic and thermogravimetric analysis. We suggest that palagonite is a good analog to the surface soil of Mars in chemical composition, particle size, spectral signature, and magnetic properties. Our model for the formation of fine-grained Martian surface soil begins with eruptions of basaltic magma through ground ice, forming deposits of glassy tuff. Individual glass shards are then altered by low-temperature hydrothermal systems to palagonitic material. Dehydration and aeolian abrasion strip the alteration rinds from the glass, and wind storms distribute the silt-sized palagonitic fragments in a planet-wide deposit.     

Are all maps mental maps?

The article focuses on the way in which map content reflects the cartographer's World view and system of values. Different World views are illustrated historically. Examples of topographical, land-use and vegetation maps from different parts of the World indicate the prevalence of Eurocentric perceptions in cartography. Different geological maps of Norden show how the visual image depends on the classification system adopted. All maps are mental maps in that their content is culturally determined and ethnocentric in origin.     

Spectral reflectance of highland rock types at Apollo 17: Evidence from Boulder 1, Station 2

Many of the non-mare rock types at Apollo 17 can be identified uniquely by their spectral reflectance properties. Mineralogical and textural information is present in the spectral curves of samples from Boulder 1, Station 2. It should be possible to determine the regional extent of rocks similar to the boulder using reflectance spectra from a spacecraft in lunar orbit.     

Stratospheric ozone: Impact of human activity

Current knowledge of the chemistry of the stratosphere is reviewed using measurements from the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment to test the accuracy of our treatment of processes at mid-latitudes, and results from the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) to examine our understanding of processes for the polar environment. It is shown that, except for some difficulties with N₂O₅ and possibly ClNO₃, gas phase models for nitrogen and chlorine species at 30°N in spring are in excellent agreement with the data from ATMOS. Heterogeneous processes may have an influence on the concentrations of NO₂, N₂O₅, HNO₃, and ClNO₃ for the lower stratosphere at 48°S in fall. Comparison of model and observed concentrations of O₃ indicate good agreement at 30°N, with less satisfactory results at 48°S. The discrepancy between the loss rate of O₃ observed over the course of the AAOE mission in 1987 and loss rates calculated using measured concentrations of ClO and BrO is found to be even larger than that reported by Anderson et al. (1989, J. geophys. Res. 94, 11480). There appear to be loss processes for removal of O₃ additional to the HOC1 mechanism proposed by Solomon et al. (1986, Nature 321, 755), the ClO-BrO scheme favored by McElroy et al. (1986, Nature 321, 759), and the ClO dimer mechanism introduced by Molina and Molina (1987, J. phys. Chem. 91, 433). There is little doubt that industrial halocarbons have a significant impact on stratospheric O₃. Controls on emissions more stringent than those defined by the Montreal Protocol will be required if the Antarctic Ozone Hole is not to persist as a permanent feature of the stratosphere.     

Farming and environmental degradation in Zambia: the human dimension

Farming and environmental degradation are inextricably linked through a complex of political, social, economic and physical forces. A connection is drawn between the initiation and maintenance of distinct farming systems (commercial, emergent and subsistence) by largely human influences, and the effect these farming systems have in turn on the environment. There are important implications for the environment through indirect effects on plant cover, cultivation methods and systems of bush fallowing. In many respects subsistence cultivation is probably the safest.A case study from Mkushi District, Central Province exemplifies the influence of external factors on environmental degradation in general, and soil erosion in particular. In the survey, traditional practices show fewer signs of soil erosion than commercial farming because of rational decisions taken by each group of farmers. The implication for conservation strategies is briefly reviewed.     

Inadequacies of the straits' passage regime in the LOS draft

Appraisers of recent sessions of the Law of the Sea Conference have directed their attention, sometimes at the expense of other critical issues, to the emerging regime to govern seabed mining. For one reason or another, a general Western consensus has emerged that the draft treaty's textual arrangements for traditional and innovative maritime and aerial passage are satisfactory. That complacent consensus may rest on perilously unrealistic assumptions.