The Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO)

The Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO) is a three coronagraph package which has been jointly developed for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission by the Naval Research Laboratory (USA), the Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale (France), the Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie (Germany), and the University of Birmingham (UK). LASCO comprises three coronagraphs, C1, C2, and C3, that together image the solar corona from 1.1 to 30 R (C1: 1.1 – 3 R, C2: 1.5 – 6 R, and C3: 3.7 – 30 R). The C1 coronagraph is a newly developed mirror version of the classic internally-occulted Lyot coronagraph, while the C2 and C3 coronagraphs are externally occulted instruments. High-resolution imaging spectroscopy of the corona from 1.1 to 3 R can be performed with the Fabry-Perot interferometer in C1. High-volume memories and a high-speed microprocessor enable extensive on-board image processing. Image compression by a factor of about 10 will result in the transmission of 10 full images per hour.     

Does Climate Literacy Matter? A Case Study of U.S. Students’ Level of Concern about Anthropogenic Global Warming

Educators seeking to address global warming in their classrooms face numerous challenges, including the question of whether student opinions about anthropogenic global warming (AGW) can change in response to increased knowledge about the climate system. This article analyzes survey responses from 458 students at a primarily undergraduate institution in the U.S.’s intermountain West, finding increased levels of concern with increased levels of climate literacy, including among students whose political affiliation might indicate skepticism about AGW. However, overall levels of climate literacy were found to be quite low for many students, allowing other factors, notably political affiliation, to become dominant predictors of AGW concern.     

Askival: An altered feldspathic cumulate sample in Gale crater

Askival is a light-toned, coarsely crystalline float rock, which was identified near the base of Vera Rubin Ridge in Gale crater. We have studied Askival, principally with the ChemCam instrument but also using APXS compositional data and MAHLI images. Askival and an earlier identified sample, Bindi, represent two rare examples of feldspathic cumulate float rocks in Gale crater with >65% relict plagioclase. Bindi appears unaltered whereas Askival shows textural and compositional signatures of silicification, along with alkali remobilization and hydration. Askival likely experienced multiple stages of alteration, occurring first through acidic hydrolysis of metal cations, followed by deposition of silica and possible phyllosilicates at low T and neutral-alkaline pH. Through laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy compositional analyses and normative calculations, we suggest that an assemblage of Fe-Mg silicates including amphibole and pyroxene, Fe phases, and possibly Mg-rich phyllosilicate are present. Thermodynamic modeling of the more pristine Bindi composition predicts that amphibole and feldspar are stable within an upper crustal setting. This is consistent with the presence of amphibole in the parent igneous rocks of Askival and suggests that the paucity of amphiboles in other known Martian samples reflects the lack of representative samples of the Martian crust rather than their absence on Mars.     

The role of fire on soil mounds and surface roughness in the Mojave Desert

A fundamental question in arid land management centers on understanding the long‐term effects of fire on desert ecosystems. To assess the effects of fire on surface topography, soil roughness, and vegetation, we used terrestrial (ground‐based) LiDAR to quantify the differences between burned and unburned surfaces by creating a series of high‐resolution vegetation structure and bare‐earth surface models for six sample plots in the Grand Canyon‐Parashant National Monument, Arizona. We find that 11 years following prescribed burns, mound volumes, plant heights, and soil‐surface roughness were significantly lower on burned relative to unburned plots. Results also suggest a linkage between vegetation and soil mounds, either through accretion or erosion mechanisms such as wind and/or water erosion. The biogeomorphic implications of fire‐induced changes are significant. Reduced plant cover and altered soil surfaces from fire likely influence seed residence times, inhibit seed germination and plant establishment, and affect other ecohydrological processes. Published in 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.