Derivation of planetary topography using multi-image shape-from-shading

In many cases, the derivation of high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) from planetary surfaces using conventional digital image matching is a problem. The matching methods need at least one stereo pair of images with sufficient texture. However, many space missions provide only a few stereo images and planetary surfaces often possess insufficient texture.This paper describes a method for the generation of high-resolution DTMs from planetary surfaces, which has the potential to overcome the described problem. The suggested method, developed by our group, is based on shape-from-shading using an arbitrary number of digital optical images, and is termed “multi-image shape-from-shading” (MI-SFS). The paper contains an explanation of the theory of MI-SFS, followed by a presentation of current results, which were obtained using images from NASA's lunar mission Clementine, and constitute the first practical application with our method using extraterrestrial imagery. The lunar surface is reconstructed under the assumption of different kinds of reflectance models (e.g. Lommel-Seeliger and Lambert). The represented results show that the derivation of a high-resolution DTM of real digital planetary images by means of MI-SFS is feasible.     

Establishing the link between the Chesapeake Bay impact structure and the North American tektite strewn field: The Sr‐Nd isotopic evidence

Abstract— The Chesapeake Bay impact structure, which is about 35 Ma old, has previously been proposed as the possible source crater of the North American tektites (NAT). Here we report major and trace element data as well as the first Sr‐Nd isotope data for drill core and outcrop samples of target lithologies, crater fill breccias, and post‐impact sediments of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. The unconsolidated sediments, Cretaceous to middle Eocene in age, have ?_Sr^{t = 35.7 Ma} of +54 to +272, and ?_Nd^{t = 35.7 Ma} ranging from ?6.5 to ?10.8; one sample from the granitic basement with a T^Nd_CHUR model age of 1.36 Ga yielded an ?_Sr^{t = 35.7 Ma} of +188 and an ?_Nd^{t = 35.7 Ma} of ?5.7. The Exmore breccia (crater fill) can be explained as a mix of the measured target sediments and the granite, plus an as‐yet undetermined component. The post‐impact sediments of the Chickahominy formation have slightly higher T^Nd_CHUR model ages of about 1.55 Ga, indicating a contribution of some older materials. Newly analyzed bediasites have the following isotope parameters: +104 to +119 (?_Sr^{t = 35.7 Ma}), ?5.7 (?_Nd^{t = 35.7 Ma}), 0.47 Ga (T^Sr_UR), and 1.15 Ga (T^Nd_CHUR), which is in excellent agreement with previously published data for samples of the NAT strewn field. Target rocks with highly radiogenic Sr isotopic composition, as required for explaining the isotopic characteristics of Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) site 612 tektites, were not among the analyzed sample suite. Based on the new isotope data, we exclude any relation between the NA tektites and the Popigai impact crater, although they have identical ages within 2s? errors. The Chesapeake Bay structure, however, is now clearly constrained as the source crater for the North American tektites, although the present data set obviously does not include all target lithologies that have contributed to the composition of the tektites.     

Asteroid impact effects on Snowball Earth

Several Snowball Earth periods, in which the Earth has been (almost) totally glaciated, are known from Earth history. Neither the trigger for the initiation, nor the reason for the ending of such phases, are well understood. Here we discuss some mechanical effects of the impact of asteroids 5–10 km in diameter on the Snowball Earth environment. An impact of this scale is the largest impact that is statistically predictable for 10–60 Myr time periods. The impact cratering itself (shock waves, impact crater formation) is not powerful enough to change the natural climate evolution path on Earth. However, the products of impact (mainly—water vapor) can be quickly distributed over a substantial part of the globe, influencing the global circulation (e.g., facilitating cloud formation). It is a question for future studies to confirm if such an event (which is possible statistically during this interval) may or may not have influenced the global climate of the Snowball Earth, and/or contributed to deglaciation.     

10Be content in clasts from fallout suevitic breccia in drill cores from the Bosumtwi impact crater,Ghana: Clues to preimpact target distribution

Rocks from drill cores LB‐07A (crater fill) and LB‐08A (central uplift) into the Bosumtwi impact crater, Ghana, were analyzed for the presence of the cosmogenic radionuclide ¹⁰Be. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which target rocks of various depths were mixed during the formation of the crater‐filling breccia, and also to detect meteoric water infiltration within the impactite layer. ¹⁰Be abundances above background were found in two (out of 24) samples from the LB‐07A core, and in none of five samples from the LB‐08A core. After excluding other possible explanations for an elevated ¹⁰Be signal, we conclude that it is most probably due to a preimpact origin of those clasts from target rocks close to the surface. Our results suggest that in‐crater breccias were well mixed during the impact cratering process. In addition, the lack of a ¹⁰Be signal within the rocks located very close to the lake sediment–impactite boundary suggests that infiltration of meteoric water below the postimpact crater floor was limited. This may suggest that the infiltration of the meteoric water within the crater takes place not through the aerial pore‐space, but rather through a localized system of fractures.     

Heating rate profiles in galaxy clusters

In recent years, evidence has accumulated suggesting that the gas in galaxy clusters is heated by non-gravitational processes. Here, we calculate the heating rates required to maintain a physically motivated mass flow rate, in a sample of seven galaxy clusters. We employ the spectroscopic mass deposition rates as an observational input along with temperature and density data for each cluster. On energetic grounds, we find that thermal conduction could provide the necessary heating for A2199, Perseus, A1795 and A478. However, the suppression factor of the classical Spitzer value is a different function of radius for each cluster. Based on the observations of plasma bubbles, we also calculate the duty cycles for each active galactic nucleus (AGN), in the absence of thermal conduction, which can provide the required energy input. With the exception of Hydra-A, it appears that each of the other AGNs in our sample requires duty cycles of roughly 10⁶–10⁷ yr to provide their steady-state heating requirements. If these duty cycles are unrealistic, this may imply that many galaxy clusters must be heated by very powerful Hydra-A type events interspersed between more frequent smaller scale outbursts. The suppression factors for the thermal conductivity required for combined heating by AGN and thermal conduction are generally acceptable. However, these suppression factors still require 'fine-tuning' of the thermal conductivity as a function of radius. As a consequence of this work, we present the AGN duty cycle as a cooling flow diagnostic.     

MHD simulations of the long-term evolution of a dipolar magnetosphere surrounded by an accretion disk

The evolution of a stellar, initially dipole type magnetosphere interacting with an accretion disk is investigated using numerical ideal MHD simulations. The simulations follow several 1000 Keplerian periods of the inner disk (for animated movies see http://www.aip.de～cfendt).Our model prescribes a Keplerian disk around a rotating star as a fixed boundary condition. The initial magnetic field distribution remains frozen into the star and the disk. The mass flow rate into the corona is fixed for both components. The initial dipole type magnetic field develops into a spherically radial outflow pattern with two main components – a disk wind and a stellar wind – both evolving into a quasi-stationary final state. A neutral field line divides both components, along which small plasmoids are ejected in irregular time intervals. The half opening angle of the stellar wind cone varies from 30° to55° depending on the ratio of the mass flow rates of disk wind and stellar wind. The maximum speed of the outflow is about the Keplerian speed at the inner disk radius. An axial jet forms during the first decades of rotations. However, this feature does not survive on the very long time scale and a pressure driven low velocity flow along the axis evolves. Within a cone of 15° along the axis the formation of knots may be observed if the stellar wind is weak. With the chosen mass flow rates and field strength we see almost no indication for a flow self-collimation. This is due to the weak net poloidal electric current in the magnetosphere which is in difference to typical jet models.     

Proton Irradiation of Centaur,Kuiper Belt,and Oort Cloud Objects at Plasma to Cosmic Ray Energy

Times for accumulation of chemically significant dosages on icy surfaces of Centaur, Kuiper Belt, and Oort Cloud objects from plasma and energetic ions depend on irradiation position within or outside the heliosphere. Principal irradiation components include solar wind plasma ions, pickup ions from solar UV ionization of interstellar neutral gas, energetic ions accelerated by solar and interplanetary shocks, including the putative solar wind termination shock, and galactic cosmic ray ions from the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM). We present model flux spectra derived from spacecraft data and models for eV to GeV protons at 40 AU, a termination shock position at 85 AU, and in the LISM. Times in years to accumulate dosages ～100 eV per molecule are computed from the spectra as functions of sensible surface depth less than one centimeter at unit density.The collisional resurfacing model of Luu and Jewitt is reconsidered in thecontext of depth-dependent dosage rates from plasma, suprathermal,and higher energy protons, and global exposure, by micrometeoroiddust grain impacts, of moderately irradiated red material below athin crust of heavily irradiated neutral material. This material should be more visible on dynamically `cold’ objects in the ～40 AU region.     

Woodleigh impact structure,Australia: Shock petrography and geochemical studies

Abstract— The large, complex Woodleigh structure in the Carnarvon basin of Western Australia has recently been added to the terrestrial impact crater record. Many aspects of this structure are, however, still uncertain. This work provides a detailed petrographic assessment of a suite of representative drill core samples from the borehole Woodleigh 1 that penetrated uplifted basement rocks of the central part of this structure. Fundamental rock and mineral deformation data and high‐precision chemical data, including results of PGE and oxygen isotopic analysis, are presented. The sampled interval displays likely impact‐produced macrodeformation in the form of fracturing and breccia veining at the microscopic scale. Contrary to earlier reports that these breccias represent pseudotachylite (friction melt) or even shock/shear‐produced pseudotachylitic melt breccia cannot be confirmed due to pervasive post‐impact alteration. Abundant planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz, in addition to diaplectic glass and partial isotropization, are the main shock deformation effects observed, confirming that Woodleigh is of impact origin. Over the investigated depth interval, the statistics of quartz grains with a variable number of sets of PDFs does not change significantly, and the patterns of crystallographic orientations of PDFs in randomly selected quartz grains does not indicate a change in absolute shock pressure with depth either. The value of oxygen isotopes for the recognition of meteoritic contamination, as proposed by earlier Woodleigh workers, is critically assessed. Neither INA nor PGE analyses of our samples support the presence of a meteoritic component within this basement section, as had been claimed in earlier work.     

Iron oxidation state in the Fe‐rich layer and silica matrix of Libyan Desert Glass: A high‐resolution XANES study

Abstract— Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) is an enigmatic type of glass that occurs in western Egypt in the Libyan Desert. Fairly convincing evidence exists to show that it formed by impact, although the source crater is currently unknown. Some rare samples present dark‐colored streaks with variable amounts of Fe, and they are supposed to contain a meteoritic component. We have studied the iron local environment in an LDG sample by means of Fe K‐edge highresolution X‐ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to obtain quantitative data on the Fe oxidation state and coordination number in both the Fe‐poor matrix and Fe‐rich layers. The pre‐edge peak of the high‐resolution XANES spectra of the sample studied displays small but reproducible variations between Fe‐poor matrix and Fe‐rich layers, which is indicative of significant changes in the Fe oxidation state and coordination number. Comparison with previously obtained data for a very low‐Fe sample shows that, while iron is virtually all trivalent and in tetrahedral coordination (^[4]Fe³⁺) in the low‐Fe sample, the sample containing the Fe‐rich layers display a mixture of tetra‐coordinated trivalent iron (^[4]Fe³⁺) and penta‐coordinated divalent iron (^[5]Fe²⁺), with the Fe in the Fe‐rich layer being more reduced than the matrix. From these data, we conclude the following: a) the significant differences in the Fe oxidation state between LDG and tektites, together with the wide intra‐sample variations in the Fe‐oxidation state, confirm that LDG is an impact glass and not a tektite‐like glass; b) the higher Fe content, coupled with the more reduced state of the Fe, in the Fe‐rich layers suggests that some or most of the Fe in these layers may be directly derived from the meteoritic projectile and that it is not of terrestrial origin.