Comparaison de catalogues de crateres lunaires

Résumé La partie systématique des différences entre les positions des cratères de plusieurs catalogues est développée en harmoniques sphériques. L'application du test en ² détermine l'ordre du développement. La méthode a été appliquée pour comparer le système de référence de Arthur avec les catalogues de Schrutka-Rechtenstamm et Gavrilov. On obtient les surfacesf (l, b) des différences systématiques de ces catalogues. La zone centrale de la face visible de la lune (± 40° en latitude et longitude) est bien déterminée, mais la zone marginale présente des différences systématiques qui peuvent atteindre le kilomètre.

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The systematic part of the differences between positions in crater catalogues is expanded into spherical harmonics. The application of the ² test determines the highest order of the expansion. The method was applied to compare the Arthur System with the Schrutka-Rechtenstamm and Gavrilov catalogues. The surfacesf (l, b) of systematic differences from these catalogues were obtained. The central zone of the near side of the Moon (± 40° in latitude and longitude) is well determined but the marginal zone presents systematic differences that can be as large as one kilometer.

     

Simulation of the interaction of galactic cosmic‐ray protons with meteoroids: On the production of radionuclides in thick gabbro and iron targets irradiated isotropically with 1.6 GeV protons

Abstract— Thick spherical targets made of gabbro (R = 25 cm) and of steel (R = 10 cm) were irradiated isotropically with 1.6 GeV protons at the Saturne synchrotron at Laboratoire National Saturne (LNS)/CEN Saclay in order to simulate the interaction in space of galactic cosmic‐ray (GCR) protons with stony and iron meteoroids. Proton fluences of 1.32 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 and 2.45 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 were received by the gabbro and iron sphere, respectively, which corresponds to cosmic‐ray exposure ages of about 1.6 and 3.0 Ma. Both artificial meteoroids contained large numbers of high‐purity target foils of up to 28 elements at different depths. In these individual target foils, elementary production rates of radionuclides and rare gas isotopes were measured by x‐ and γ‐spectrometry, by low‐level counting, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), and by conventional rare gas mass spectrometry. Also samples of the gabbro itself were analyzed. Up to now, for each of the experiments, ～500 target‐product combinations were investigated of which the results for radionuclides are presented here. The experimental production rates show a wide range of depth profiles reflecting the differences between low‐, medium‐, and high‐energy products. The influence of the stony and iron matrices on the production of secondary particles and on particle transport, in general, and consequently on the production rates is clearly exhibited by the phenomenology of the production rates as well as by a detailed theoretical analysis. Theoretical production rates were calculated in an a priori way by folding depth‐dependent spectra of primary and secondary protons and secondary neutrons calculated by Monte Carlo techniques with the excitation functions of the underlying nuclear reactions. Discrepancies of up to a factor of 2 between the experimental and a priori calculated depth profiles are attributed to the poor quality of the mostly theoretical neutron excitation functions. Improved neutron excitation functions were obtained by least‐squares deconvolution techniques from experimental thick‐target production rates of up to five thick‐target experiments in which isotropic irradiations were performed. A posteriori calculations using the adjusted neutron cross sections describe the measured depth profiles of all these simulation experiments within 9%. The thus validated model calculations provide a basis for reliable physical model calculations of the production rates of cosmogenic nuclides in stony and iron meteorites as well as in lunar samples and terrestrial materials.     

Optimal orbits for Mars atmosphere remote sensing

Most of the spacecrafts currently around Mars (or planned to reach Mars in the near future) use Sun-synchronous or near-polar orbits. Such orbits offer a very poor sampling of the diurnal cycle. Yet, sampling the diurnal cycle is of key importance to study Mars meteorology and climate. A comprehensive remote sensing data set should have been obtained by the end of the MRO mission, launched in 2005. For later windows, time-varying phenomena should be given the highest priority for remote sensing investigations. We present possible orbits for such missions which provide a rich spatial and temporal sampling with a relatively short repeat cycle (50 sols). After computation and determination of these orbits, said “optimal orbits”, we illustrate our results by tables of sampling and comparison with other orbits.     

Long-chain alkenones and U37′ variability along a south–north transect in the Western Pacific Ocean

In this paper, we present 50 surface water samples collected during the IMAGES III cruise (June–July 1997) along a transect from New Zealand to the China Sea (42°S–178°E, 21°N–120°E) covering a temperature range from 13.3 to 30.4 °C. A very worthwhile aspect of this study is a coupling of both biomarker (alkenone) and coccolithophorid counting. We show that the U₃₇^k′–temperature relationship is very similar to the Prahl et al. [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 52 (1988) 2203] culture calibration and to the global core top calibration of Müller et al. [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62 (1998) 1757]. However, in the warmest surface waters of the Western Pacific ocean (>26.4 °C) where Gephyrocapsa oceanica is likely the most widespread species, the associated U₃₇^k′ has a constant value of 1.0. The consequence is that above this temperature threshold, U₃₇^k′ cannot be used as an accurate paleothermometer.     

Monte Carlo simulation of GCR neutron capture production of cosmogenic nuclides in stony meteorites and lunar surface

Abstract— A purely physical model based on a Monte Carlo simulation of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) particle interaction with meteoroids is used to investigate neutron interactions down to thermal energies. Experimental and/or evaluated excitation functions are used to calculate neutron capture production rates as a function of the size of the meteoroid and the depth below its surface. Presented are the depth profiles of cosmogenic radionuclides ³⁶Cl, ⁴¹Ca, ⁶⁰Co, ⁵⁹Ni, and ¹²⁹I for meteoroid radii from 10 cm up to 500 cm and a 2π irradiation. Effects of bulk chemical composition on n‐capture processes are studied and discussed for various chondritic and lunar compositions. The mean GCR particle flux over the last 300 ka was determined from the comparison of simulations with measured ⁴¹Ca activities in the Apollo 15 drill core. The determined value significantly differs from that obtained using equivalent models of spallation residue production.     

Numerical simulations of granular dynamics II: Particle dynamics in a shaken granular material

Surfaces of planets and small bodies of our Solar System are often covered by a layer of granular material that can range from a fine regolith to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Therefore, the dynamics of granular materials are involved in many events occurring during planetary and small-body evolution thus contributing to their geological properties.We demonstrate that the new adaptation of the parallel N-body hard-sphere code pkdgrav has the capability to model accurately the key features of the collective motion of bidisperse granular materials in a dense regime as a result of shaking. As a stringent test of the numerical code we investigate the complex collective ordering and motion of granular material by direct comparison with laboratory experiments. We demonstrate that, as experimentally observed, the scale of the collective motion increases with increasing small-particle additive concentration.We then extend our investigations to assess how self-gravity and external gravity affect collective motion. In our reduced-gravity simulations both the gravitational conditions and the frequency of the vibrations roughly match the conditions on asteroids subjected to seismic shaking, though real regolith is likely to be much more heterogeneous and less ordered than in our idealised simulations. We also show that collective motion can occur in a granular material under a wide range of inter-particle gravity conditions and in the absence of an external gravitational field. These investigations demonstrate the great interest of being able to simulate conditions that are to relevant planetary science yet unreachable by Earth-based laboratory experiments.     

The OSIRIS‐REx target asteroid (101955) Bennu: Constraints on its physical,geological, and dynamical nature from astronomical observations

We review the results of an extensive campaign to determine the physical, geological, and dynamical properties of asteroid (101955) Bennu. This investigation provides information on the orbit, shape, mass, rotation state, radar response, photometric, spectroscopic, thermal, regolith, and environmental properties of Bennu. We combine these data with cosmochemical and dynamical models to develop a hypothetical timeline for Bennu's formation and evolution. We infer that Bennu is an ancient object that has witnessed over 4.5 Gyr of solar system history. Its chemistry and mineralogy were established within the first 10 Myr of the solar system. It likely originated as a discrete asteroid in the inner Main Belt approximately 0.7–2 Gyr ago as a fragment from the catastrophic disruption of a large (approximately 100‐km), carbonaceous asteroid. It was delivered to near‐Earth space via a combination of Yarkovsky‐induced drift and interaction with giant‐planet resonances. During its journey, YORP processes and planetary close encounters modified Bennu's spin state, potentially reshaping and resurfacing the asteroid. We also review work on Bennu's future dynamical evolution and constrain its ultimate fate. It is one of the most Potentially Hazardous Asteroids with an approximately 1‐in‐2700 chance of impacting the Earth in the late 22nd century. It will most likely end its dynamical life by falling into the Sun. The highest probability for a planetary impact is with Venus, followed by the Earth. There is a chance that Bennu will be ejected from the inner solar system after a close encounter with Jupiter. OSIRIS‐REx will return samples from the surface of this intriguing asteroid in September 2023.     

Cosmic Lithium-Beryllium-Boron Story

Light element nucleosynthesis is an important chapter of nuclear astrophysics. Specifically, the rare and fragile light nuclei Lithium, Beryllium and Boron (LiBeB) are not generated in the normal course of stellar nucleosynthesis (except ⁷Li) and are, in fact, destroyed in stellar interiors. This characteristic is reflected in the low abundance of these simple species. Up to recently, the most plausible interpretation was that Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) interact with interstellar CNO to form LiBeB. Other origins have been also identified: primordial and stellar (⁷Li) and supernova neutrino spallation (⁷Li and ¹¹B). In contrast, ⁹Be, ¹⁰B and ⁶Li are pure spallative products. This last isotope presents a special interest since the ⁶Li/⁷Li ratio has been measured recently in a few halo stars offering a new constraint on the early galactic evolution of light elements. Optical measurements of the beryllium and boron abundances in halo stars have been achieved by the 10 meter KECK telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations indicate a quasi linear correlation between Be and B vs Fe, at least at low metallicity, which, at first sight, is contradictory to a dominating GCR origin of the light elements which predicts a quadratic relationship. As a consequence, the theory of the origin and evolution of LiBeB nuclei has to be refined. Aside GCRs, which are accelerated in the general interstellar medium (ISM) and create LiBeB through the break up of CNO by fast protons and alphas, Wolf-Rayet stars (WR) and core collapse supernovae (SNII) grouped in superbubbles could produce copious amounts of light elements via the fragmentation in flight of rapid carbon and oxygen nuclei colliding with H and He in the ISM. In this case, LiBeB would be produced independently of the interstellar medium chemical composition and thus a primary origin is expected. These different processes are discussed in the framework of a galactic evolutionary model. More spectroscopic observations (specifically of O, Fe, Li, Be, B) in halo stars are required for a better understanding of the relative contribution of the various mechanisms. Future tests on the injection and acceleration of nuclei by supernovae and Wolf Rayet relying on gamma-ray line astronomy will be invoked in the perspective of the European INTEGRAL satellite. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Historical behaviour of Dome C and Talos Dome (East Antarctica) as investigated by snow accumulation and ice velocity measurements

Ice divide–dome behaviour is used for ice sheet mass balance studies and interpretation of ice core records. In order to characterize the historical behaviour (last 400 yr) of Dome C and Talos Dome (East Antarctica), ice velocities have been measured since 1996 using a GPS system, and the palaeo-spatial variability of snow accumulation has been surveyed using snow radar and firn cores. The snow accumulation distribution of both domes indicates distributions of accumulation that are non-symmetrical in relation to dome morphology. Changes in spatial distributions have been observed over the last few centuries, with a decrease in snow accumulation gradient along the wind direction at Talos Dome and a counter-clockwise rotation of accumulation distribution in the northern part of Dome C. Observations at Dome C reveal a significant increase in accumulation since the 1950s, which could correlate to altered snow accumulation patterns due to changes in snowfall trajectory. Snow accumulation mechanisms are different at the two domes: a wind-driven snow accumulation process operates at Talos Dome, whereas snowfall trajectory direction is the main factor at Dome C. Repeated GPS measurements made at Talos Dome have highlighted changes in ice velocity, with a deceleration in the NE portion, acceleration in the SW portion and migration of dome summit, which are apparently correlated with changes in accumulation distribution. The observed behaviour in accumulation and velocity indicates that even the most remote areas of East Antarctica have changed from a decadal to secular scale.