The science process for selecting the landing site for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory

The process of identifying the landing site for NASA’s 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) began in 2005 by defining science objectives, related to evaluating the potential habitability of a location on Mars, and engineering parameters, such as elevation, latitude, winds, and rock abundance, to determine acceptable surface and atmospheric characteristics. Nearly 60 candidate sites were considered at a series of open workshops in the years leading up to the launch. During that period, iteration between evolving engineering constraints and the relative science potential of candidate sites led to consensus on four final sites. The final site will be selected in the Spring of 2011 by NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. This paper serves as a record of landing site selection activities related primarily to science, an inventory of the number and variety of sites proposed, and a summary of the science potential of the highest ranking sites.     

Sources for the assessment of British woodland change in the twentieth century

After a discussion of the problems of defining woodland for the purpose of survey, the paper goes on to consider the sources available to geographers and others for the study of woodland change in Britain, particularly within the 20th century. The main sources considered are Ordnance Survey maps, aerial photographs and satellite remote sensing, Forestry Commission censuses. Forestry Commission and private estate records, land utilization surveys and agricultural statistics.     

北美西部内陆海盆Niobrara组的钙质超微化石及其环境意义——Ⅰ：钙质超微化石及其分带

北美西部内陆海盆上白垩统Niobrara组中的钙质超微化石十分丰富,且多保存良好,呈现典型的晚白垩世远洋钙质超微化石组合面貌,经系统鉴定,计有60属100余种和亚种。为适应不同的环境,Kansas西部和South Dakota东部的钙质超微化石组合面貌稍有不同。经与白垩纪颗石藻化石带对比,可将Kansas西部的Niobrara组划分为6个化石带(CC13～CC18)和8个亚带,其中,根据本文研究地区的化石序列,CC15和CC16带被进一步划分。根据与同一剖面所建立的无脊椎动物化石带对比,钙质超微化石CC17带的时代被重新厘定,即该带应始于中Santonian的晚期,结束于晚Santonian的早期,并据此将Santoniatr／Campanian的界线划在CC18带之内。     

The fluid regime of high-temperature metamorphism during granitoid magma genesis

The strong negative correlation between the temperatures and melt H₂O contents of granitoid magmas implies that the crustal melting reactions that produced the magmas were strongly buffered, with T and aH₂O co-varying within a narrow band. This observation can only be explained if the partial melting reactions that created the magmas were either fluid-absent from the outset or evolved toward this condition as melting progressed. Since these melting reactions occur during upper amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphism, it is reasonable to conclude that metamorphic events responsible for the generation of granitoid magmas generally occur in the absence of excess pervasive fluid.     

On the structure of geometric positioning information in GPS measurements

The geometric information from observables of the Global Positioning System is analyzed through the eigenvectors of the normal matrix in the positioning estimation problem. The relationship among observability, bias absorption and loss of information in differencing measurements is addressed. Some general conclusions for point positioning and relative positioning problems are drawn from analytic inference and supported by numerical simulations. Received 10 August 1995; Accepted 17 July 1996     

Looking back and moving forward: Health geography in Aotearoa and beyond

Health geography in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) has had a major impact on international sub‐disciplinary debates. It is timely to celebrate our domestic health geography achievements and alert ourselves to the challenges ahead. This reflection article provides a brief overview of Aotearoa NZ's maturing health geography community and includes the reflections of a panel discussion held during the bi‐annual NZ Geographical Society conference in 2016. We argue that the eclectism of health geography in NZ and beyond is both the sub‐discipline's major strength and challenge.