Ionospheric delay gradient model for GBAS in the Asia-Pacific region

GPS Solutions - We investigated characteristics of anomalous spatial gradients in ionospheric delay on GNSS signals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) low-magnetic latitude region in the context of the...     

Field and laboratory measurements of mean overtopping discharges and spatial distributions at vertical seawalls

Within the CLASH project, wave overtopping at the vertical seawall at Samphire Hoe was measured by HR Wallingford (HRW), and compared laboratory tests in 2 & 3 dimensions carried out at the University of Edinburgh and HRW. At Samphire Hoe, overtopping volumes were captured in three volumetric tanks capable of measuring wave-by-wave and total overtopping volumes. The three tanks were placed progressively farther back from the seawall edge so that the spatial distribution of the overtopping discharges could be determined. The field measurement equipment was successfully deployed on three occasions, and measured overtopping discharges ranged from that barely considered to be hazardous to the public to over q = 3.0 l/s/m. The 2d testing at Edinburgh was modelled at a scale of 1:40, and the 3d model at HRW was modelled at 1:20. For both sets of laboratory tests, a range of conditions, representative of the storm wave conditions and water levels, was reproduced in addition to a set of parametric conditions. The storm conditions allowed a direct comparison between the field and laboratory measurements, and the parametric conditions were used to test the generic overtopping behaviour of the structure. For both sets of laboratory tests, mean overtopping discharges and the spatial distribution were measured separately. Analysis of the distribution data relates the proportion of the discharge that has landed as a function of (x / L_o); where x is the distance behind the crest, and L_o is the offshore wavelength. Analysis of the field, 2d & 3d laboratory data, and empirical prediction methods have not identified any scale effects for overtopping discharges at vertical and near-vertical seawalls.     

Ionospheric threat simulation for GNSS using the Spirent hardware signal simulator

Ionospheric disturbances present a considerable hazard to single-frequency satellite navigation systems for airborne users. We discuss our implementation of three ionospheric threat models in the DLR “multi-output advanced signal test environment for receivers” global navigation satellite system simulator, which is based on Spirent GSS 7780/7790 signal generator. These threat models include the standard front-based threat model developed for the integrity assessment of ground-based augmentation systems (GBAS), a simplified plasma bubble model, and ionospheric scintillation, which can be combined with either of the two previously mentioned models. These effects can now straightforwardly be simulated at the German Aerospace Center’s research facilities. As an example, we simulate a GBAS ground facility with code–carrier divergence monitoring, affected by an ionospheric front, and we show the results of a simulation with coincidental occurrence of a plasma bubble and scintillation with an S ₄ index of 0.4.     

Three-dimensional model of the feeder conduit of the 1983 eruption of Mt. Etna volcano,from ground deformation measurements

A levelling network and a horizontal distance measuring network down Mt. Etna's south flank were measured before, during and after the 1983 eruption. We analyse the large movements recorded, using theoretical models of surface displacement, to determine the shape and position of the feeder conduit that supplied magma to the eruption. The results indicate that a dyke, the top surface extending nearly horizontally, connects the eruption site to a point near the Southeast Crater. The top of the dyke lies at an altitude of 2400 m to 2500 m, and dips between 75° and 90° to the west.More tentative evidence indicates that the top of the active dyke dropped by about 150 m between the 25th and the 95th day of the eruption, and that a small branching dyke 1 km long was emplaced to the east of the main dyke, but did not attain the surface. The implications of these observation are discussed.     

Gangdese retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin deposits in the Damxung area, southern Tibet

Geologic mapping and U–Pb detrital zircon geochronologic studies of (meta)sedimentary rocks in the Damxung area (90 km north of Lhasa) of the southern Lhasa terrane in Tibet provide new insights into the history of deformation and clastic sedimentation prior to late Cenozoic extension. Cretaceous nonmarine clastic rocks 10 km southeast of Damxung are exposed as structural windows in the footwall of a thrust fault (the Damxung thrust) that carries Paleozoic strata in the hanging wall. To the north of Damxung in the southern part of the northern Nyainqentanglha Range (NNQTL), metaclastic rocks of previously inferred Paleozoic age are shown to range in depositional age from Late Cretaceous to Eocene. The metaclastic rocks regionally dip southward and are interpreted to have been structurally buried in the footwall of the Damxung thrust prior to being tectonized during late Cenozoic transtension. Along the northern flank of the NNQTL, Lower Eocene syncontractional redbeds were deposited in a triangle zone structural setting. All detrital zircon samples of Cretaceous–Eocene strata in the Damxung area include Early Cretaceous grains that were likely sourced from the Gangdese arc to the south. We suggest that the that newly recognized Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene (meta)clastic deposits and thrust faults represent the frontal and youngest part of a northward directed and propagating Gangdese retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin system that led to significant crustal thickening and elevation gain in southern Tibet prior to India-Asian collision.     

Marine spatial planning in the high seas

Although high seas resources are being exploited, reciprocal legal obligations to protect its environment have not been met. Marine spatial planning (MSP) is clearly a practical way forward, particularly for the high seas, where non-spatial monitoring is difficult, and where data gaps obstruct conventional management approaches. To ensure the effective application of MSP in the high seas, however, some institutional reforms are necessary. This paper outlines the main hurdles, summarizes existing high seas spatial protections, presents an example of a high seas marine protected area that resulted through MSP, identifies three institutional priorities, and suggests three immediate steps.     

Ground-based FTIR Measurements of Stratospheric Trace Species from Aberdeen During Winter and Spring 1993/94 and 1994/95 and Comparison with a 3D Model

Vertical column abundances of HCl, ClONO2, HF and HNO3 have been obtained from infrared solar absorption measurements made at Aberdeen, UK (57°N, 2°W) during the periods January 13 1994 - May 8 1994 and November 23 1994 - April 19 1995. The measurements reveal the partitioning of inorganic chlorine (Cly) inside and outside the polar vortex during these two winter and spring periods. Stratospheric temperatures within the northern polar vortex during 1993/94 were not cold throughout January and most of February. The measurements reported here suggest that following a brief period of chlorine activation in late February and early March, the active chlorine within the vortex recovered rapidly to form ClONO2 resulting in in-vortex ClONO2 columns of 7 × 1015 molecules cm-2. In contrast, measurements during January 1995 suggest extensive invortex activation with in-vortex HCl + ClONO2 as low as 3.6×1015 molecules cm-2. High day-to-day variability in the ClONO2 columns observed during February is evidence for the transport of ClONO2 rich air from high to mid latitudes during the late winter. The implications for mid latitude O3 loss are discussed. A preliminary comparison of the HCl, ClONO2, and HNO3 column data from winter 94/95 with a three-dimensional chemical transport model shows that the model generally reproduces well the day-to-day variability and absolute magnitude of the observed columns, especially for HNO3 outside of the vortex.