The use of immersive real-time 3D computer graphics for visualisation of dilution of precision in virtual environments

Dilution of precision (DOP) is a fundamental concept in satellite navigation and surveying. A deeper understanding of this concept can be achieved through the means of 3D immersive visualisation. In this article, we present a method for visualising and exploring the spatial variation of DOP and discuss its presentation within an immersive virtual environment. The work demonstrates a real-time simulation of global positioning system (GPS) satellite geometry, modelled and visualised within a virtual representation of the university campus. The number of satellites visible to the receiver is modelled in real time as a user walks through the university campus. During this process, the changing satellite geometry is visualised in both 3D and aerial views. Various DOP values update to the screen against a pseudo-realistic building backdrop as the user travels. Both the aerial views and the changing volumes of the tetrahedra drawn in 3D provide an effective way of interpreting why exceptionally large or small horizontal DOP and vertical DOP values can occur in an urban context. Because the factors affecting DOPs are inherently 3D, communicating the spatial uncertainty of global positioning system coordinates within an immersive stereo environment has been viewed as a particularly powerful communication tool by both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying GI Science.     

Geochemistry of the Martian meteorite ALH 84001, revisited

Abstract– Major and trace element abundances were determined on powders prepared from four distinct chips from Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 to constrain the bulk rock composition, and to assess the trace element abundances of orthopyroxenes and phosphates. Our new determinations were used to evaluate the composition of the parental melt of this stone. An unrealistic light rare earth element (REE)‐enriched parental melt is calculated from the composition of the orthopyroxene and relevant equilibrium partition coefficients. The involvement of a small amount of trapped melt and subsolidus reequilibrations between orthopyroxene and the interstitial phases can account for this discrepancy. A parental melt that displays a trace element pattern (REE, Zr, and Hf) that closely resembles enriched shergottites such as Zagami or Los Angeles is calculated if these effects are taken into account. These results suggest that some shergottitic melts were already erupted on Mars during the Noachian.     

Electromagnetic characterization of polar ice-wedge polygons: Implications for periglacial studies on Mars and Earth

Polygonal terrain is found in a variety of polar environments on Earth and Mars. As a result, many areas of northern Canada may represent ideal terrestrial analogues for specific regions of Mars - in particular the northern plains. In the Canadian Arctic, polygon troughs are commonly underlain by wedges of massive ice, with rare examples of other wedge types. If the same is true for Mars, this raises interesting implications for the processes that concentrate H₂O at the Martian poles. This study uses an electromagnetic induction sensor to investigate the electromagnetic characteristics of terrestrial polar ice-wedge polygons. Surveys were conducted in two regions of the Canadian Arctic using a DUALEM-1S dual-geometry electromagnetic induction sensor, which measures electrical conductivity in the first 1.5-2 m of the subsurface. At locations where strong geomorphological evidence of ice was found, polygon troughs corresponded to local conductive anomalies. Trenching confirmed the presence of ice wedges at one site and allowed ground-truthing and calibration of the geophysical data. Previously unknown bodies of massive ice were also identified through the use of this geophysical technique. This study shows that an electromagnetic induction sounder is a useful instrument for detecting and mapping out the presence of subsurface ice in the Canadian Arctic. Taking together with its small size, portability and ruggedness, we suggest that this would also be a useful instrument for any future missions to Mars’ polar regions.     

Millennial-scale variations in hydrography and biogeochemistry in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific over the last 100 kyr

In this study, we use records of nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N), UK’37 temperature estimates, organic carbon and opal percentages from high-resolution sediment cores located in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) to explore the mechanisms linking millennial-scale changes in low-latitude sea surface temperature, water column denitrification and surface productivity to the timing of northern or southern polar climate during the last 100,000 yr. Our results support a hypothesis that the Southern Hemisphere, and its connection to the low latitudes via shallow subsurface ocean circulation, has a primary influence on the biogeochemistry of the EEP. In addition, our results suggest that, during the last glacial stage, denitrification rates fluctuated on millennial timescales in response to water-column ventilation rather than upstream oxidant demand in intermediate-depth waters.However, due to the poor age constraints available for Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3, the EEP sedimentary data presented here could support two conflicting mechanisms, one driven by enhanced intermediate overturning circulation in the Southern Ocean during Heinrich Events/Antarctic Warm Events, implying that subsurface flow rates control thermocline ventilation, and a second one consistent with more sluggish intermediate circulation during Antarctic Warm Events and giving a central role to the temperature control on oxygen solubility in Southern Ocean surface waters.     

On the behavior of mud floc size distribution: model calibration and model behavior

In this paper, we study a population balance equation (PBE) where flocs are distributed into classes according to their mass. Each class i contains i primary particles with mass m _p and size L _p. All differently sized flocs can aggregate, binary breakup into two equally sized flocs is used, and the floc??s fractal dimension is d ₀?=?2, independently of their size. The collision efficiency is kept constant, and the collision frequency derived by Saffman and Turner (J Fluid Mech 1:16?C30, 1956) is used. For the breakup rate, the formulation by Winterwerp (J Hydraul Eng Res 36(3):309?C326, 1998), which accounts for the porosity of flocs, is used. We show that the mean floc size computed with the PBE varies with the shear rate as the Kolmogorov microscale, as observed both in laboratory and in situ. Moreover, the equilibrium mean floc size varies linearly with a global parameter P which is proportional to the ratio between the rates of aggregation and breakup. The ratio between the parameters of aggregation and breakup can therefore be estimated analytically from the observed equilibrium floc size. The parameter for aggregation can be calibrated from the temporal evolution of the mean floc size. We calibrate the PBE model using mixing jar flocculation experiments, see Mietta et al. (J Colloid Interface Sci 336(1):134?C141, 2009a, Ocean Dyn 59:751?C763, 2009b) for details. We show that this model can reproduce the experimental data fairly accurately. The collision efficiency ?? and the ratio between parameters for aggregation and breakup ?? and E are shown to decrease linearly with increasing absolute value of the ??-potential, both for mud and kaolinite suspensions. Suspensions at high pH and different dissolved salt type and concentration have been used. We show that the temporal evolution of the floc size distribution computed with this PBE is very similar to that computed with the PBE developed by Verney et al. (Cont Shelf Res, 2010) where classes are distributed following a geometrical series and mass conservation is statistically ensured. The same terms for aggregation and breakup are used in the two PBEs. Moreover, we argue, using both PBEs, that bimodal distributions become monomodal in a closed system with homogeneous sediment, even when a variable shear rate is applied.     

Assessing the spatial and temporal variability of dissolved organic matter in Liverpool Bay using excitation–emission matrix fluorescence and parallel factor analysis

The spatial and diurnal tidal variability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM), as evaluated by high-temperature catalytic oxidation and excitation–emission matrix combined with parallel factor analysis (EEM–PARAFAC), respectively, were determined in Liverpool Bay. EEM–PARAFAC modeling resulted in six fluorescent components characterized as terrestrial humic-like (two), microbial humic-like (two), and protein-like (two). The spatial distributions of DOC and the four humic-like components were negatively correlated with salinity in the high-salinity waters observed in this study (30.41–33.75), suggesting that terrestrial DOM was conservatively distributed. The spatial patterns of protein-like components were largely different from those of DOC, humic-like components, and chlorophyll a, suggesting that these distributions were the combined result of production and degradation in the bay in addition to river inputs. These findings suggest that the DOM dynamics in Liverpool Bay are strongly controlled by river-dominated allochthonous DOM inputs with some less significant contributions of autochthonous DOM within the bay. In addition, the temporal variations of DOM associated with the diurnal tidal cycles were determined at one inshore (31.34–32.24 salinity) and one offshore (33.64–33.75 salinity) station in the bay. Negative linear relationships between salinity and DOM characteristics, i.e., DOC, humic-like, and protein-like components, were observed at the inshore station. In contrast, no relationship was observed at the offshore station, suggesting that the export of DOM through rivers and possibly tidal flats have a noticeable influence on DOM concentration and composition up to a relatively elevated salinity of around 33 in Liverpool Bay.     

Archaeal lipids record paleosalinity in hypersaline systems

We present an ecologically based biomarker method for estimating past salinity, especially in hypersaline conditions. The relative amounts of acyclic diether and tetraether membrane lipids synthesized by Archaea correlate with salinity from 0–250 practical salinity units (psu) in modern settings. We examined the preservation of this lipid biomarker–salinity relationship in ancient sedimentary organic matter using samples from two sequences of marls and diatomites deposited just prior to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Salinity estimates were consistent with expected absolute salinity, as well as the amplitude of variations leading up to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This lipid biomarker approach to salinity reconstruction complements existing paleosalinity proxies because (i) Archaea survive and thrive over a broad salinity range, well beyond that of haptophyte algae and other plankton which form the microfossil record and (ii) it provides fine salinity resolution for the wide range broadly defined as hypersaline. With the proxy, there is the potential to provide novel insights into salinity variation within desiccating basins in climatically sensitive seas (e.g. Dead Sea, Permian Delaware Basin), evolution of brines, timing of onset of hypersaline conditions and evaporite deposition.     

Fine-scale spatial temperature patterns across a UK conurbation

The public health implications of a warming urban environment mean that appropriate action by planners, designers and health workers will be necessary to minimise risk under future climate scenarios. Data at an appropriate spatial scale are required by user groups in order to identify key areas of vulnerability. Thermal mapping of a UK urban conurbation was carried out during the summers of 2007 and 2008 with the aim of providing high spatial resolution temperature data. The air temperature results showed an average daytime (night time) urban?Crural thermal contrast of 3°C (5°C) on summer days (nights) with ideal urban heat island (UHI) conditions. The intensity of the daytime surface temperature heat island was found to exceed 10°C. The measured data were used to derive an empirical model of spatial temperature patterns based upon characteristics of land use, distance from urban centre and building geometry. This model can be used to provide sub-kilometre resolution temperature data which are required by decision makers and can provide a mechanism for downscaling climate model output.     

Commercial Possibilities for Stranded Conventional Gas from Alaska’s North Slope

Stranded gas resources are defined for this study as gas resources in discrete accumulations that are not currently commercially producible, or producible at full potential, for either physical or economic reasons. Approximately 35 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of stranded gas was identified on Alaska’s North Slope. The commercialization of this resource requires facilities to transport gas to markets where sales revenue will be sufficient to offset the cost of constructing and operating a gas delivery system. With the advent of the shale gas revolution, plans for a gas pipeline to the conterminous US have been shelved (at least temporarily) and the State and resource owners are considering a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project that targets Asian markets. This paper focuses on competitive conditions for Asian gas import markets by estimating delivered costs of competing supplies from central Asia, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia in the context of a range of import gas demand projections for the period from 2020 to 2040. These suppliers’ costs are based on the cost of developing, producing, and delivering to markets tranches of the nearly 600 TCF of recoverable gas from their own conventional stranded gas fields. The results of these analyses imply that Alaska’s gas exports to Asia will likely encounter substantial competitive challenges. The sustainability of Asia’s oil-indexed LNG pricing is also discussed in light of a potentially intense level of competition.     

An illustrated guide to the fossil barnacles (Cirripedia) from the Crags (Plio-Pleistocene) of East Anglia

The Plio-Pleistocene Crag deposits of East Anglia include a wealth of shelly remains, including barnacles, preserved variously as complete shells, their disarticulated plates and trace fossils. Herein, we present a field guide to these distinctive fossils, with diagnoses of all known taxa recorded from the Crags of East Anglia, supported by both line drawings and photographs. The known stratigraphic and geographic distribution within the study area are tabulated. Recognised species include the sessile barnacles Armatobalanus bisulcatus (Darwin), A. dolossus (Darwin), Balanus balanus (Linné), B. crenatus Bruguière, B. inclusus Darwin, Concavus concavus (Bronn), Chirona hameri (Ascanius), Megabalanus tintinnabulum (Linné), Conopea calceola (Ellis), Co. spongicola (Brown), Acasta undulata Darwin, Coronula barbara Darwin, Megatrema anglicum (G.B. Sowerby) and Verruca stroemia (Müller) (=14 species); two pedunculate forms, Scalpellum magnum Darwin and Lepas delicatula Withers; and the boring Rogerella isp. The greatest diversity of species is found in the Coralline Crag and Red Crag formations, both yielding 11 species, although only four are common to both. Barnacles are poorly represented in other Crag deposits.