Implications of broad dose distributions obtained with the single-aliquot regenerative-dose method on quartz fine-grains from loess

Six samples were collected from a section of Peoria Loess in Eustis, North America, for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz, and all except one (LV90) produced narrow dose distributions. A comparative study was conducted on this sample and on a ‘well-behaved’ sample (LV91), involving other dating methods and examination of the quartz OSL. These investigations revealed differences in the quartz OSL growth with dose, OSL response to thermal treatments and the range of components within the OSL signals. An ultra-fast component was found in LV90 that displayed a higher rate of sensitivity change than the fast component and this had a malign influence on the determination of the equivalent dose. The distinctive luminescence characteristics of LV90 imply either a change in wind dynamics and/or the source area for the silt.     

Evaluating OSL-SAR protocols for dating quartz grains from the loess in Ili Basin,Central Asia

Late Pleistocene records of loess deposition are a critical archive for understanding terrestrial paleoenvironment changes in Central Asia. The age of loess is not well known for the deserts regions and surrounding high plateaus in Central Asia. Previous studies have shown that there remains a disparity between ages for loess deposition by luminescence and ¹⁴C dating. This study evaluates the potential of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to date a loess sequence resting on fluvial sands in the east Ili Basin, Central Asia. The single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol on coarse grain quartz was employed for equivalent dose determinations. The basal fluvial sand returned a secure OSL age, with low overdispersion value in equivalent doses (19 ± 2%) of ca. 36 ka and provides a close, but maximum age estimate (within 5 ka) on the initiation of loess deposition. However, the loess yielded high overdispersion values for equivalent doses and age reversals, coincident with diffuse paleosols; indicating that pedoturbation with loess deposition may be a dominant process. OSL ages between ca. 45 and 14 ka calculated using a maximum age model and OSL ages from other sites in the Basin suggests that the latest major period of loess deposition was between 70 and 10 ka ago. A future hypothesis to test based on these analyses is that there may be three periods of heightened loess deposition at ca. 45, 35 to 19 and 14 ka, when desert source areas to the west were particularly dry.     

Ground deformation of Nisyros Volcano (Greece) for the period 1995–2002: Results from DInSAR and DGPS observations

Differential GPS (DGPS) and Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) analyses were applied to the Kos-Yali-Nisyros Volcanic Field (SE Hellenic Volcanic Arc) to quantify the ground deformation of Nisyros Volcano. After intense seismic activity in 1996, a GPS network was installed in June 1997 and re-occupied annually up to 2002. A general uplift ranging from 14 to 140 mm was determined at all stations of the network. The corresponding horizontal displacements ranged from 13 to 53 mm. The displacement vectors indicate that the island is undergoing extension towards the East, West and South. A two-source “Mogi” model combined with assumed motion along the Mandraki Fault was constructed to fit the observed deformation. The best-fit model assumes sources at a depth of 5500 m NW of the centre of the island and at 6500 m offshore ESE of Yali Island. DInSAR analysis using four pairs of images taken between May 1995 and September 2000 suggests that deformation was occurring during 1995 before the start of the seismic crisis. An amplitude of at least 56 mm along the slant range appeared for the period 1996 through 1999. This deformation is consistent with the two-source model invoked in DGPS modelling. Surface evidence of ground deformation is expressed in the contemporaneous reactivation of the Mandraki Fault. In addition, a 600 m long N-S trending irregular rupture in the caldera floor was formed between 2001 and 2002. This rupture is interpreted as the release of surface stress in the consolidated epiclastic and hydrothermal sediments of the caldera floor.     

On natural and laboratory generated dose response curves for quartz of different grain sizes from Romanian loess

One of the most important foundations of luminescence dating is the assumption that the growth of the luminescence signal in nature can be reproduced under laboratory conditions by performing irradiations with a calibrated beta or gamma source. When optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of quartz with a dominant fast component is measured using the single aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol, laboratory dose response curves that display continuing growth at high doses are increasingly reported in literature. In this study we investigate fine (4–11 μm) and coarse (63–90 μm) quartz extracted from 25 samples taken from L1, S1 and L2 units from the loess-palaeosol section at Costineşti in Romania. Our results indicate that the growth of the OSL signal in nature does not correspond to the laboratory generated laboratory dose response curve. The growth of the signal in nature is consistent with a single saturating exponential function, with the signal of coarse grains starting to saturate at 100–200 Gy, and for fine grains at 200–300 Gy, respectively. Laboratory dose response curves continue to grow for high doses (>300 Gy) for both quartz fractions. The differences observed between the natural and the laboratory dose response for the two quartz fractions are believed to be a cause for the different chronologies previously reported using the two grain sizes of quartz on Romanian loess. In addition, we have applied the single aliquot regeneration and added dose (SARA) procedure to both fine and coarse grains from the youngest sample. Our findings question the reliability of obtaining high equivalent doses for quartz samples displaying laboratory dose response curves obtained by the SAR protocol for which a single saturating exponential model does not describe the data.     

L和C波段雷达干涉数据矿区地面沉降监测能力分析

雷达成像的波长、入射角、地面分辨率等参数严重影响着SAR差分干涉测量地面沉降的监测能力和精度,论文通过理论推导和矿区实际沉降差分干涉相位模拟,从监测到的最大沉降梯度和沉降量、保相能力、对微小沉降的敏感程度等方面对L和 C波段雷达干涉数据的矿区地面沉降监测能力进行分析;精化双轨D-InSAR数据处理的流程、方法和相应参数,使用ALOS PALSAR和ENVISAT ASAR数据获取济宁某矿区2009年12月到2010年02月期间更为精确的矿区地面沉降结果,并对沉降结果进行详细比较和系统分析.理论推导、相位模拟和真实数据实验都表明,相对于C波段的雷达干涉数据而言,L波段雷达干涉数据具有较强的保相能力,能够更好地降低失相干和相位不连续性的影响,更容易监测到沉降梯度和沉降量较大的矿区地面沉降,但对微小矿区地面沉降的敏感程度较低.     

On the SAR derived alert in the detection of oil spills according to the analysis of the EGEMP

Satellite services that deliver information about possible oil spills at sea currently use different labels of “confidence” to describe the detections based on radar image processing. A common approach is to use a classification differentiating between low, medium and high levels of confidence. There is an ongoing discussion on the suitability of the existing classification systems of possible oil spills detected by radar satellite images with regard to the relevant significance and correspondence to user requirements. This paper contains a basic analysis of user requirements, current technical possibilities of satellite services as well as proposals for a redesign of the classification system as an evolution towards a more structured alert system. This research work offers a first review of implemented methodologies for the categorisation of detected oil spills, together with the proposal of explorative ideas evaluated by the European Group of Experts on satellite Monitoring of sea-based oil Pollution (EGEMP).     

结合变差纹理特征的极化SAR建筑物震害信息提取

快速评估建筑物地震灾害信息对地震应急救援工作有着指导意义,而极化SAR具有全天候、全天时的特点,因此利用极化SAR图像提取震害信息已逐渐成为研究热点。虽然极化SAR具有丰富的极化信息,但其纹理信息不可忽略,尤其是完好的人工建筑物在图像上呈现规则的纹理特征,而倒塌建筑区域纹理分布杂乱,因此结合纹理信息也可以很好地提取建筑物信息。以2010年玉树地区的全极化SAR数据为研究对象,首先,利用Yamaguchi分解的体散射分量PV提取了SAR图像中的建筑物区域以及道路、水系等非建筑物信息,在此基础上,对相干散射矩阵T11分量中倒塌建筑物、完好建筑区域进行变差计算,根据变差曲线确定变程a后,再对建筑物区域采取窗口m*m(m=3*a)进行变差计算得到变差纹理信息,最后利用FCM算法对变差纹理信息分别提取完好建筑物和倒塌建筑物区域,为了对比分析,文章利用Yamaguchi分解的二次散射分量PD提取完好建筑物区域,与震后光学遥感图像对应样本点进行人工验证,得到完好建筑物的提取精度为80.18%,倒塌建筑物的提取精度为84.54%,道路水系的提取精度为77.58%。     

Estimation of snow density using full-polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data

In this paper, a new snow density estimation methodology is proposed for full-polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. The generalized four component polarimetric decomposition with unitary transformation (G4U) based generalized volume parameter is utilized to invert snowpack dielectric constant using the Fresnel transmission coefficients. The snow density is then estimated using an empirical relationship. Six Radarsat-2 fine resolution full-polarimetric C-band datasets were acquired over Himachal Pradesh, India. The near-real time in-situ measurements were collected with the satellite pass to validate the proposed method. The mean absolute error (MAE) of the proposed method is 0.027 g cm⁻³ and the root mean square error (RMSE) is 0.032 g cm⁻³. The snow density variation within a season were also analyzed using multi-temporal Radarsat-2 data.     

海潮负荷对沿海地区宽幅InSAR形变监测的影响

海岸带地区是全球自然生态环境最为复杂和脆弱的地域之一,合成孔径雷达干涉测量（InSAR）技术可以为全球人类活动、气候变暖和俯冲带剧烈构造运动等背景下的大范围海岸带地理环境变化研究提供重要观测资料.海洋潮汐导致固体地球长周期形变,波长尺度为10²~10³ km的海潮负荷引入mm级至cm级的形变梯度,此类非构造信号对海岸带InSAR精密形变分析（如：大范围、微小、缓慢且非稳态构造过程等）造成显著影响.本文以宽幅模式SAR数据为例,基于多种海潮模型研究了全球典型海岸带地区（福建、智利和阿拉斯加湾）海潮负荷效应对宽幅InSAR形变监测的影响,给出了宽幅InSAR海潮负荷三维分量估计与差分相位提取方法,并进一步讨论了基于不同海潮模型估计海潮负荷位移的差异.海潮负荷影响不仅与研究范围大小有关,其形变梯度变化与研究区域地形特征存在强相关,对于长波长形变分析而言,传统平面或者曲面拟合方法难以有效分离海潮负荷位移.

     

Modeling coseismic displacements resulting from SAR interferometry and GPS measurements during the 1997 Umbria-Marche seismic sequence

In this study we analyse coseismic GPS displacements and DInSAR data to constrain a dislocation model for the three largest earthquakes of the 1997 Umbria-Marche seismic sequence. The first two events, which occurred on September 26 at 00:33 GMT (Mw 5.7) and 09:40 GMT (Mw 6.0) respectively, are investigated using both GPS displacements and DInSAR interferograms. We discuss and compare the results of previous studies which separately modeled a smaller subset of geodetic data. We provide a dislocation model for these two earthquakes which fits well both GPS and DInSAR data and agrees with the results of seismological and geological investigations. The first event consists of a unilateral rupture towards the southeast with a uniform dislocation. The strike, rake and dip angles are those resulting from the CMT solution. The second event consists of an unilateral rupture towards the northwest and a variable slip distribution on the fault plane. The strike and the rake are consistent with the CMT solution, but the dip angle has been slightly modified to improve the simultaneous fit of GPS and DInSAR data. While the second rupture (09:40 GMT) arrived very close to the surface, the fit to geodetic data shows that the first rupture (00:33 GMT) is deeper (2 km), despite the more evident surface geological effects. The analysis of new SAR interferograms allows the identification of a 5–6 cm additional displacement caused by the October 3 (Mw 5.2) and 6 (Mw 5.4) seismic events.We use data from a new DInSAR interferogram to model the displacement field of the Sellano earthquake of October 14, 1997. For this event significant GPS measurements were not available. We tested two different fault plane geometries: a blind, planar fault (top depth = 2.4 km), and a curved (listric) fault reaching the surface. The two models provide a generally similar fit to the data, and show that most of the slip was released at depths greater than 2.4 km along a gently dipping (40^°–45^°) fault surface. They also show that a unilateral rupture does not allow fitting the interferometric fringes since there is evident surface deformation to the northwest of the hypocenter. Moreover, we suggest that the concentration of high residuals in the southern part of our uniform slip model may in fact indicate a certain slip variability in this area.We conclude that, despite the moderate magnitudes and the lack of significant surface faulting, the space geodetic data allowed to constrain dislocation models giving new insights in the rupture process of the three largest events of the sequence.