Road Reduction Filtering for GPS-GIS Navigation

A novel method of map matching using the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been developed for civilian use, which uses digital mapping data to infer the systematic position errors of less than 100m which result largely from 'selective availability' (S/A) imposed by the US military. Selective availability was switched off on the 2nd of May 2000, and is to be replaced with 'regional denial capabilities in lieu of global degradation'. The system tracks a vehicle on all possible roads (road centre-lines) in a computed error region, then uses a method of rapidly detecting inappropriate road centre-lines from the set of all those possible. This is called the Road Reduction Filter (RRF) algorithm. Point positioning is computed using C/A code pseudorange measurements direct from a GPS receiver. The least squares estimation is performed in the software developed for the experiment described in this paper. Virtual differential GPS (VDGPS) corrections are computed and used from a vehicle's previous positions, thus providing an autonomous alternative to DGPS for in-car navigation and fleet management. Height aiding is used to augment the solution and reduce the number of satellites required for a position solution. Ordnance Survey (OS) digital map data was used for the experiment, i.e. OSCAR 1 m resolution road centre-line geometry and Land Form PANORAMA 1:50,000, 50 m-grid digital terrain model (DTM). Testing of the algorithm is reported and results are analysed. Vehicle positions provided by RRF are compared with the 'true' position determined using high precision (cm) GPS carrier phase techniques. It is shown that height aiding using a DTM and the RRF significantly improve the accuracy of position provided by inexpensive single frequency GPS receivers.     

Regional retrograde metamorphism of a high grade terrain: the Willyama Complex,Broken Hill,Australia

Retrograde metamorphism has been a major influence in the development of the presently observed lithologies of the Willyama Complex, Broken Hill. Two broad types of retrogression are distinguished: pseudomorphous and kinematic retrogression. The former type of retrogression involves replacement of prograde phases without complete loss of the high grade fabric; hence the prograde assemblage can frequently be inferred. Kinematic retrogression involves the development of a new schistose fabric and, like pseudomorphous retrogression, is commonly related to F₃ deformation. Retrogression was initiated during the waning stage of prograde metamorphism and was accompanied by an influx of aqueous fluid at similar pressure, but lower temperature conditions than prograde metamorphism. The source of the water is believed to be the crystallization of cooling partial melts. The regional nature of this ‘Willyama-style’ of retrogression is attributed to the metasediment-rich nature of the sequence, the high geothermal gradient and the considerable amount of in situ partial melting.     

Development of an Airborne Positioning System

A joint research project between the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and City University is developing a prototype system for using kinematic GPS techniques to derive the exterior orientation of an oblique sensor without the use of co-ordinated ground control. This paper presents an overview of the techniques employed in deriving GPS antenna co-ordinates and their subsequent use in finding the required orientations. The latest results and future plans are presented and discussed.     

Emplacement age and thermal footprint of the diamondiferous Ellendale E9 lamproite pipe, Western Australia

The diamondiferous Ellendale 9 (E9) pipe is a funnel-shaped maar-diatreme volcano consisting of inward-dipping tuff sequences intruded by lamproite plugs and dykes. The host rocks for the E9 pipe are Permian sandstones. The multiple lithological contacts exposed within the mined maar volcano provide a natural laboratory in which to study the effect of volcanic processes on U–Th–Pb–He systematics. Zircon from the regional sandstone and E9 lamproite display a bimodal distribution of ages on (U–Th)/He–U/Pb plots. The zircon U/Pb ages for the E9 pipe (n?=?52) range from 440 to 2,725 Ma, while the cluster of (U–Th)/He ages for the lamproite dyke zircon indicate that dyke emplacement occurred at 20.6?±?2.8 Ma, concordant with a maximum emplacement age of about ≤22 Ma from phlogopite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar. These ages indicate a xenocrystic origin for the zircon entrained in the E9 dyke. The U/Pb ages of detrital zircon from the regional sandstone host (373–3,248 Ma; n?=?41) are indistinguishable from those of the lamproite zircon xenocrysts, whereas the detrital zircon in the host sandstone yield (U–Th)/He ages from 260 to 1,500 Ma. A thermochronology traverse across the E9 lamproite dyke reveals that the zircon (U–Th)/He ages in the host sandstone have not been significantly thermally reset during dyke emplacement, even at the contact. The capability of the zircon (U–Th)/He method to distinguish deep, mantle source lithologies from upper crustal source lithologies could be used in geochemical exploration for diamonds. Pre-screening of detrital samples using etching and helium assay methods will improve the efficiency and decrease the cost of greenfields exploration.     

Paired bedrock and boulder 10Be concentrations resulting from early Holocene ice retreat near Jakobshavn Isfjord,western Greenland

We measured in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in 16 bedrock and 14 boulder samples collected along a 40-km transect outside of and normal to the modern ice margin near Sikuijuitsoq Fjord in central-west Greenland (69°N). We use these data to understand better the efficiency of glacial erosion and to infer the timing, pattern, and rate of ice loss after the last glaciation. In general, the ages of paired bedrock and boulder samples are in close agreement (r² = 0.72). Eleven of the fourteen paired bedrock and boulder samples are indistinguishable at 1σ; this concordance indicates that subglacial erosion rates are sufficient to remove most or all ¹⁰Be accumulated during previous periods of exposure, and that few, if any, nuclides are inherited from pre-Holocene interglaciations. The new data agree well with previously-published landscape chronologies from this area, and suggest that two chronologically-distinct land surfaces exist: one outside the Fjord Stade moraine complex (～10.3 ± 0.4 ka; n = 7) and another inside (～8.0 ± 0.7 ka; n = 21). Six ¹⁰Be ages from directly outside the historic (Little Ice Age) moraine show that the ice margin first reached its present-day position ～7.6 ± 0.4 ka. Early Holocene ice margin retreat rates after the deposition of the Fjord Stade moraine complex were ～100–110 m yr^?1. Sikuijuitsoq Fjord is a tributary to the much larger Jakobshavn Isfjord and the deglaciation chronologies of these two fjords are similar. This synchronicity suggests that the ice stream in Jakobshavn Isfjord set the timing and pace of early Holocene deglaciation of the surrounding ice margin.     

Spatial and temporal variation in seagrass coverage in Southwest Florida: assessing the relative effects of anthropogenic nutrient load reductions and rainfall in four contiguous estuaries

The estuaries of Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Lemon Bay, and Upper Charlotte Harbor are contiguous waterbodies located within the subtropical environment of Southwest Florida. Based on an examination of rainfall data over the period of record (1916-2001) within the watersheds of these estuaries, there is no evidence for spatial differences (at the watershed level) or monotonic trends in annual rainfall. During the 1980s, nitrogen loads into Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay (generated primarily by domestic wastewater treatment facilities) were reduced by 57% and 46%, respectively. In response, both Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay have lower phytoplankton concentrations, greater water clarity and more extensive seagrass coverage in 2002 than in the early 1980s. As there is no evidence of a concurrent trend in rainfall during the period of 1982-2001, it is unlikely that variation in rainfall can account for the observed increase in seagrass coverage in these two bays. In contrast, seagrass coverage has remained relatively constant since the mid 1980s in Lemon Bay and Charlotte Harbor. Domestic wastewater treatment facilities are minor sources of nitrogen to Lemon Bay, and water clarity in Charlotte Harbor varies mostly as a function of dissolved organic matter and non-chlorophyll associated turbidity, not phytoplankton levels. Even in estuaries that share boundaries and are within 100 km of each other, varied responses to anthropogenic changes and natural phenomena were observed in water quality and associated seagrass extent. Resource management strategies must take into account system-specific factors-not all strategies will result in similar results in different systems.     

Sources of Terrestrial Organic Carbon in the Mississippi Plume Region: Evidence for the Importance of Coastal Marsh Inputs

High sedimentation rates along river-dominated margins make these systems important repositories for organic carbon derived from both allochthonous and autochthonous sources. Using elemental carbon/nitrogen ratios, molecular biomarker (lignin phenol), and stable carbon isotopic (bulk and compound-specific) analyses, this study examined the sources of organic carbon to the Louisiana shelf within one of the primary dispersive pathways of the Mississippi River. Surface sediment samples were collected from stations across the inner, mid, and outer Louisiana shelf, within the Mississippi River plume region, during two cruises in the spring and fall of 2000. Lignin biomarker data showed spatial patterns in terrestrial source plant materials within the river plume, such that sediments near the mouth of the Mississippi River were comparatively less degraded and richer in C₄ plant carbon than those found at mid-depth regions of the shelf. A molecular and stable isotope-based mixing model defining riverine, marsh, and marine organic carbon suggested that the highest organic carbon inputs to the shelf in spring were from marine sources (55?C61% marine organic carbon), while riverine organic carbon was the highest (63%) in fall, likely due to lower inputs of marine organic carbon at this time compared with the spring season. This model also indicated that marsh inputs, ranging from 19 to 34% and 3?C15% of the organic carbon in spring and fall, respectively, were significantly more important sources of organic carbon on the inner Louisiana shelf than previously suggested. Finally, we propose that the decomposition of terrestrial-derived organic carbon (from the river and local wetlands sources) in mobile muds may serve as a largely unexplored additional source of oxygen-consuming organic carbon in hypoxic bottom waters of the Louisiana shelf.