Measuring impact crater depth throughout the solar system

One important, almost ubiquitous, tool for understanding the surfaces of solid bodies throughout the solar system is the study of impact craters. While measuring a distribution of crater diameters and locations is an important tool for a wide variety of studies, so too is measuring a crater's “depth.” Depth can inform numerous studies including the strength of a surface and modification rates in the local environment. There is, however, no standard data set, definition, or technique to perform this data-gathering task, and the abundance of different definitions of “depth” and methods for estimating that quantity can lead to misunderstandings in and of the literature. In this review, we describe a wide variety of data sets and methods to analyze those data sets that have been, are currently, or could be used to derive different types of crater depth measurements. We also recommend certain nomenclature in doing so to help standardize practice in the field. We present a review section of all crater depths that have been published on different solar system bodies which shows how the field has evolved through time and how some common assumptions might not be wholly accurate. We conclude with several recommendations for researchers which could help different data sets to be more easily understood and compared.     

Identification of groundwater mean transit times of precipitation and riverbank infiltration by two‐component lumped parameter models

Groundwater transit time is an essential hydrologic metric for groundwater resources management. However, especially in tropical environments, studies on the transit time distribution (TTD) of groundwater infiltration and its corresponding mean transit time (mTT) have been extremely limited due to data sparsity. In this study, we primarily use stable isotopes to examine the TTDs and their mTTs of both vertical and horizontal infiltration at a riverbank infiltration area in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD), representative of the tropical climate in Asian monsoon regions. Precipitation, river water, groundwater, and local ponding surface water were sampled for 3 to 9 years and analysed for stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ²H), providing a unique data set of stable isotope records for a tropical region. We quantified the contribution that the two sources contributed to the local shallow groundwater by a novel concept of two‐component lumped parameter models (LPMs) that are solved using δ¹⁸O records. The study illustrates that two‐component LPMs, in conjunction with hydrological and isotopic measurements, are able to identify subsurface flow conditions and water mixing at riverbank infiltration systems. However, the predictive skill and the reliability of the models decrease for locations farther from the river, where recharge by precipitation dominates, and a low‐permeable aquitard layer above the highly permeable aquifer is present. This specific setting impairs the identifiability of model parameters. For river infiltration, short mTTs (<40 weeks) were determined for sites closer to the river (<200 m), whereas for the precipitation infiltration, the mTTs were longer (>80 weeks) and independent of the distance to the river. The results not only enhance the understanding of the groundwater recharge dynamics in the VMD but also suggest that the highly complex mechanisms of surface–groundwater interaction can be conceptualized by exploiting two‐component LPMs in general. The model concept could thus be a powerful tool for better understanding both the hydrological functioning of mixing processes and the movement of different water components in riverbank infiltration systems.     

A Basic Water Quality Model for the River Neckar: Part 2 – model‐based analysis of the oxygen budget and scenarios

In this paper the Basic Water Quality Model (BWQM) for the central part of River Neckar is used to analyse the oxygen budget and to assess the potentials of various measures to prevent or mitigate critical dissolved oxygen (DO) declines. It is shown that the oxygen budget is mainly governed by phytoplankton dynamics. The excessive growth of algae and the sudden break down of the resulting algal blooms may cause episodic DO depressions. Therefore, to stabilise the oxygen budget in a sustainable way, eutrophication has to be controlled within the central part of River Neckar and the upstream regions. The only feasible way to reach this goal appears to be a further drastic reduction of phosphorus emissions. In addition, it is indispensable to hold the very high standards of biochemical oxygen demand and ammonium retention at the wastewater treatment plants. A worse performance of the treatment plants would dramatically aggravate critical DO declines which may be caused by algae dynamics. As long as the oxygen budget is not completely stabilised, weir and turbine aeration can be used to mitigate DO depressions. It could be shown that the potentials of these measures suffice to keep DO at a tolerable level. However, due to the long travel times in River Neckar, it is important to start aeration up to several days before the DO minimum is reached.     

Global Martian surface structure and planetary evolution

A model is outlined shortly that explains the Martian surface asymmetry on the basis of interior processes.     

Feasibility of geoelectrical monitoring and multiphase modeling for process understanding of gaseous CO2 injection into a shallow aquifer

Potential pathways in the subsurface may allow upwardly migrating gaseous CO₂ from deep geological storage formations to be released into near surface aquifers. Consequently, the availability of adequate methods for monitoring potential CO₂ releases in both deep geological formations and the shallow subsurface is a prerequisite for the deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Geoelectrical surveys are carried out for monitoring a small-scale and temporally limited CO₂ injection experiment in a pristine shallow aquifer system. Additionally, the feasibility of multiphase modeling was tested in order to describe both complex non-linear multiphase flow processes and the electrical behavior of partially saturated heterogeneous porous media. The suitability of geoelectrical methods for monitoring injected CO₂ and geochemically altered groundwater was proven. At the test site, geoelectrical measurements reveal significant variations in electrical conductivity in the order of 15?C30?%. However, site-specific conditions (e.g., geological settings, groundwater composition) significantly influence variations in subsurface electrical conductivity and consequently, the feasibility of geoelectrical monitoring. The monitoring results provided initial information concerning gaseous CO₂ migration and accumulation processes. Geoelectrical monitoring, in combination with multiphase modeling, was identified as a useful tool for understanding gas phase migration and mass transfer processes that occur due to CO₂ intrusions in shallow aquifer systems.     

Force–displacement response of in‐plane‐loaded URM walls with a dominating flexural mode

This article presents a new mechanical model for the non‐linear force–displacement response of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls developing a flexural rocking mode including their displacement capacity. The model is based on the plane‐section hypothesis and a constitutive law for the masonry with zero tensile strength and linear elastic behaviour in compression. It is assumed that only the compressed part of the wall contributes to the stiffness of the wall and therefore the model accounts for a softening of the response due the reduction of the effective area. Stress conditions for limit states are proposed that characterise the flexural failure. The new model allows therefore linking local performance levels to global displacement capacities. The limit states criteria describe the behaviour of modern URM walls with cement mortar of normal thickness and clay bricks. The model is validated through comparison of local and global engineering demand parameters with experimental results. It provides good prediction of the effective stiffness, the force capacity and the displacement capacity of URM walls at different limit states. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Volcanos and El Niño: signal separation in Northern Hemisphere winter

The frequent coincidence of volcanic forcing with El Niño events disables the clear assignment of climate anomalies to either volcanic or El Niño forcing. In order to select the signals, a set of four different perpetual January GCM experiments was performed (control, volcano case, El Niño case and combined volcano/El Niño case) and studied with advanced statistical methods for the Northern Hemisphere winter. The results were compared with observations. The signals for the different forcings are discussed for three variables (temperature, zonal wind and geopotential height) and five levels (surface, 850 hPa, 500 hPa, 200 hPa and 50 hPa). The global El Niño signal can be selected more clearly in the troposphere than in the stratosphere. In contrast, the global volcano signal is strongest in the stratospheric temperature field. The amplitude of the perturbation for the volcano case is largest in the Atlantic region. The observed effect of local cooling due to the volcanic reduction of shortwave radiation over large land areas (like Asia) in subtropical regions, the observed advective warming over Eurasia and the advective cooling over Greenland are well simulated in the model. The radiative cooling near the surface is important for the volcano signal in the subtropics, but it is weak in high latitudes during winter. A statistically significant tropospheric signal of El Niño forcing occurs in the subtropics and in the midlatitudes of the North Pacific. The local anomalies in the El Niño forcing region in the tropics, and the warming over North America in middle and high latitudes are simulated as observed. The combined signal is different from a simple linear combination of the separate signals. It leads to a climate perturbation stronger than for forcing with El Niño or stratospheric aerosol alone and to a somewhat modified pattern.     

Thermal neutron capture effects in radioactive and stable nuclide systems

Neutron capture effects in meteorites and lunar surface samples have been successfully used in the past to study exposure histories and shielding conditions. In recent years, however, it turned out that neutron capture effects produce a nuisance for some of the short‐lived radionuclide systems. The most prominent example is the ¹⁸²Hf‐¹⁸²W system in iron meteorites, for which neutron capture effects lower the ¹⁸²W/¹⁸⁴W ratio, thereby producing too old apparent ages. Here, we present a thorough study of neutron capture effects in iron meteorites, ordinary chondrites, and carbonaceous chondrites, whereas the focus is on iron meteorites. We study in detail the effects responsible for neutron production, neutron transport, and neutron slowing down and find that neutron capture in all studied meteorite types is not, as usually expected, exclusively via thermal neutrons. In contrast, most of the neutron capture in iron meteorites is in the epithermal energy range and there is a significant contribution from epithermal neutron capture even in stony meteorites. Using sophisticated particle spectra and evaluated cross section data files for neutron capture reactions we calculate the neutron capture effects for Sm, Gd, Cd, Pd, Pt, and Os isotopes, which all can serve as neutron‐dose proxies, either in stony or in iron meteorites. In addition, we model neutron capture effects in W and Ag isotopes. For W isotopes, the GCR‐induced shifts perfectly correlate with Os and Pt isotope shifts, which therefore can be used as neutron‐dose proxies and permit a reliable correction. We also found that GCR‐induced effects for the ¹⁰⁷Pd‐¹⁰⁷Ag system can be significant and need to be corrected, a result that is in contrast to earlier studies.