Kinetics of the chrysotile and brucite dehydroxylation reaction: a combined non-isothermal/isothermal thermogravimetric analysis and high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction study

The dehydroxylation reactions of chrysotile Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄ and brucite Mg(OH)₂ were studied under inert nitrogen atmosphere using isothermal and non-isothermal approaches. The brucite decomposition was additionally studied under CO₂ in order to check the influence of a competing dehydroxylation/carbonation/decarbonisation reaction on the reaction kinetics. Isothermal experiments were conducted using in situ high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction, whereas non-isothermal experiments were performed by thermogravimetric analyses. All data were treated by model-free, isoconversional approaches (‘time to a given fraction’ and Friedman method) to avoid the influence of kinetic misinterpretation caused by model-fitting techniques. All examined reactions are characterised by a dynamic, non-constant reaction-progress-resolved (‘α’-resolved) course of the apparent activation energy E _a and indicate, therefore, multi-step reaction scenarios in case of the three studied reactions. The dehydroxylation kinetics of chrysotile can be subdivided into three different stages characterised by a steadily increasing E _a (α ≤ 15 %, 240–300 kJ/mol), before coming down and forming a plateau (15 % ≤ α ≤ 60 %, 300–260 kJ/mol). The reaction ends with an increasing E _a (α ≥ 60 %, 260–290 kJ/mol). The dehydroxylation of brucite under nitrogen shows a less dynamic, but generally decreasing trend in E _a versus α (160–110 kJ/mol). In contrast to that, the decomposition of brucite under CO₂ delivers a dynamic course with a much higher apparent E _a characterised by an initial stage of around 290 kJ/mol. Afterwards, the apparent E _a comes down to around 250 kJ/mol at α ~ 65 % before rising up to around 400 kJ/mol. The delivered kinetic data have been investigated by the z(α) master plot and generalised time master plot methods in order to discriminate the reaction mechanism. Resulting data verify the multi-step reaction scenarios (reactions governed by more than one rate-determining step) already visible in E _a versus α plots.     

The origin of the Martian moons revisited

The origin of the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, is still an open issue: either they are asteroids captured by Mars or they formed in situ from a circum-Mars debris disk. The capture scenario mainly relies on the remote-sensing observations of their surfaces, which suggest that the moon material is similar to outer-belt asteroid material. This scenario, however, requires high tidal dissipation rates inside the moons to account for their current orbits around Mars. Although the in situ formation scenarios have not been studied in great details, no observational constraints argue against them. Little attention has been paid to the internal structure of the moons, yet it is pertinent for explaining their origin. The low density of the moons indicates that their interior contains significant amounts of porous material and/or water ice. The porous content is estimated to be in the range of 30?C60% of the volume for both moons. This high porosity enhances the tidal dissipation rate but not sufficiently to meet the requirement of the capture scenario. On the other hand, a large porosity is a natural consequence of re-accretion of debris at Mars?? orbit, thus providing support to the in situ formation scenarios. The low density also allows for abundant water ice inside the moons, which might significantly increase the tidal dissipation rate in their interiors, possibly to a sufficient level for the capture scenario. Precise measurements of the rotation and gravity field of the moons are needed to tightly constrain their internal structure in order to help answering the question of the origin.     

Survey on Solar X-ray Flares and Associated Coherent Radio Emissions

The radio emission during 201 selected X-ray solar flares was surveyed from 100 MHz to 4 GHz with the Phoenix-2 spectrometer of ETH Zürich. The selection includes all RHESSI flares larger than C5.0 jointly observed from launch until June 30, 2003. Detailed association rates of radio emission during X-ray flares are reported. In the decimeter wavelength range, type III bursts and the genuinely decimetric emissions (pulsations, continua, and narrowband spikes) were found equally frequently. Both occur predominantly in the peak phase of hard X-ray (HXR) emission, but are less in tune with HXRs than the high-frequency continuum exceeding 4 GHz, attributed to gyrosynchrotron radiation. In 10% of the HXR flares, an intense radiation of the above genuine decimetric types followed in the decay phase or later. Classic meter-wave type III bursts are associated in 33% of all HXR flares, but only in 4% are they the exclusive radio emission. Noise storms were the only radio emission in 5% of the HXR flares, some of them with extended duration. Despite the spatial association (same active region), the noise storm variations are found to be only loosely correlated in time with the X-ray flux. In a surprising 17% of the HXR flares, no coherent radio emission was found in the extremely broad band surveyed. The association but loose correlation between HXR and coherent radio emission is interpreted by multiple reconnection sites connected by common field lines.     

The 2010 European Venus Explorer (EVE) mission proposal

The European Venus Explorer (EVE) mission described in this paper was proposed in December 2010 to ESA as an ‘M-class’ mission under the Cosmic Vision programme. It consists of a single balloon platform floating in the middle of the main convective cloud layer of Venus at an altitude of 55?km, where temperatures and pressures are benign (～25°C and ～0.5 bar). The balloon float lifetime would be at least 10 Earth days, long enough to guarantee at least one full circumnavigation of the planet. This offers an ideal platform for the two main science goals of the mission: study of the current climate through detailed characterization of cloud-level atmosphere, and investigation of the formation and evolution of Venus, through careful measurement of noble gas isotopic abundances. These investigations would provide key data for comparative planetology of terrestrial planets in our solar system and beyond.     

Troposphere delays from space geodetic techniques, water vapor radiometers, and numerical weather models over a series of continuous VLBI campaigns

Continuous, very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) campaigns over 2 weeks have been carried out repeatedly, i.e., CONT02 in October 2002, CONT05 in September 2005, CONT08 in August 2008, and CONT11 in September 2011, to demonstrate the highest accuracy the current VLBI was capable at that time. In this study, we have compared zenith total delays (ZTD) and troposphere gradients as consistently estimated from the observations of VLBI, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) at VLBI sites participating in the CONT campaigns. We analyzed the CONT campaigns using the state-of-the-art software following common processing strategies as closely as possible. In parallel, ZTD and gradients were derived from numerical weather models, i.e., from the global European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis fields, the High Resolution Limited Area Model (European sites), the Japan Meteorological Agency-Operational Meso-Analysis Field (MANAL, over Japan), and the Cloud Resolving Storm Simulator (Tsukuba, Japan). Finally, zenith wet delays were estimated from the observations of water vapor radiometers (WVR) at sites where the WVR observables are available during the CONT sessions. The best ZTD agreement, interpreted as the smallest standard deviation, was found between GNSS and VLBI techniques to be about 5–6 mm at most of the co-located sites and CONT campaigns. We did not detect any significant improvement in the ZTD agreement between various techniques over time, except for DORIS and MANAL. On the other hand, the agreement and thus the accuracy of the troposphere parameters mainly depend on the amount of humidity in the atmosphere.     

Monitoring the evolution of irrigated areas with Landsat images using backward and forward change detection analysis in the Kou watershed,Burkina Faso

The Kou watershed is characterized by important water resources used for drinking, agriculture (especially in the irrigated areas), industry and the preservation of aquatic fauna and flora. For several decades, there has been increasing pressure on the Kou's water resources, partly because of the expansion of the irrigated agricultural areas. This study was conducted to examine this issue, focusing on one specific irrigated area. In order to monitor the expansion of irrigated areas in developing countries, a low-cost remote sensing method based on Landsat images and aerial photographs was developed. The method is based on maximum-likelihood classification, followed by backward and forward change detection analysis requiring agronomic expertise. Using pixel trajectory analysis, the method connects all pixels to their consecutive states in order to correct their current states. The study showed that the irrigated area has expanded by almost 70% over 20 years, with most of this expansion occurring in the past 10 years. The method, if validated, could be used to obtain better information on past occupation in the rural irrigated areas for which there is currently no archived data, making temporal analyses impossible.