On the optimal siting of cubic kilometre scale neutrino telescope infrastructure on the deep-sea floor

The aim of this paper is to propose an approach for optimal siting of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope on the sea floor. The method is based on Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analyses and cost assessment. GIS techniques initially aim to derive depth and slope characteristics of the sea floor, and estimate the distance from shore. Subsequently, GIS methods are used to pre-select sites meeting the KM3NeT infrastructure criteria. Finally, the candidate locations are evaluated in terms of cost estimation. A convex combination of instantaneous cost functions (ICFs) is applied and different weighting factors are allowed to account for dissimilar importance of the considered variables. The ICFs are indexed by a parameter β to assign different cost characteristics to different variables. The overall assessment is based on the comparison of costs computed for the candidate sites assuming many configurations of weights and β values. Our exercise uses a simulated numerical bathymetry to avoid a site-specific evaluation at the initial stage of the KM3NeT project. Hence, no recommendations as to the real locations of the neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea are addressed. Our approach is found to serve well in the process of comparing costs between different candidate sites.     

Mullite in Libyan Desert Glass: Evidence for high-temperature/low-pressure formation

Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) is a SiO₂-rich natural glass whose origin, formation mechanism, and target material are highly debated. We here report on the finding of a lens-shaped whitish inclusion within LDG. The object is dominantly composed of siliceous glass and separated from the surrounding LDG by numerous cristobalite grains. Within cristobalite, several regions rich in mullite often associated with ilmenite were detected. Mineral assemblage, chemical composition, and grain morphologies suggest that mullite was formed by thermal decomposition of kaolinitic clay at atmospheric pressure and T ≥ 1600 °C and also attested to high cooling rates under nonequilibrium conditions. Cristobalite contains concentric and irregular internal cracks and is intensely twinned, indicating that first crystallized β-cristobalite inverted to α-cristobalite during cooling of the SiO₂-rich melt. The accompanied volume reduction of 4% induced the high density of defects. The whitish inclusion also contains several partly molten rutile grains evidencing that at least locally the LDG melt was at T ≥ 1800 °C. Based on these observations, it is concluded that LDG was formed by high-temperature melting of kaolinitic clay-, rutile-, and ilmenite-bearing Cenozoic sandstone or sand very likely during an asteroid or comet impact onto Earth. While melting and ejection occurred at high pressures, the melt solidified quickly at atmospheric pressure.     

A reconstruction of the palaeohydrological conditions of a flood‐plain: a multi‐proxy study from the Grabia River valley mire,central Poland

This study investigated the Grabia River valley mire in central Poland to reconstruct its palaeoenvironmental conditions from the Younger Dryas to the present. We analysed sedimentological, biological and geochemical data from the palaeo‐oxbow lake and valley mire to identify the principal hydrological trends, especially episodes of high water level. During the Lateglacial and Holocene, the Grabia River had a meandering channel, and its hydraulic parameters and the channel dimensions changed in response to climatic oscillations and vegetation development. We identified phases of high flood intensity and high groundwater level that correlate with regional and supraregional climatic events. The frequency and timing of palaeohydroclimatic oscillations show strong similarities to records from other sites in Poland and the rest of Europe. We show that various analytical methods, namely, pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera, Chironomidae, sedimentological, geochemical and radiocarbon data, can be effective tools for reconstructing past hydroclimatic changes in palaeo‐oxbow lakes and investigating the effects of past climate changes on river environments. The high sensitivity of the biota, especially Cladocera, to changes in water level permits the reconstruction of palaeoecological changes, especially flood episodes that occurred in the river valley. In particular, the increase in the proportion of sediment‐associated Cladocera and pelagic taxa was closely correlated with floods. Through comparisons with the palaeobiological data, geochemical data allowed the identification of humid phases within the fen associated with a rising groundwater table, direct fluvial activity (floods) and alluvial deposition. We also discuss the limitations of palaeohydrological reconstructions based on these proxies, especially on fossil aquatic invertebrates.     

Solar Microflares Observed by SphinX and RHESSI

In 2009, the Russian Complex Orbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun (CORONAS-Photon) spacecraft was launched, carrying the Polish Solar PHotometer In X-rays (SphinX). The SphinX was most sensitive in the spectral range 1.2?–?15 keV, thus an excellent opportunity appeared for comparison with the low-energy end of Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spectra. Common spectral measurements with these instruments cover the range where most of the flare energy is accumulated. We have chosen four consecutive small solar events observed on 4 July 2009 at 13:43 UT, 13:48 UT, 13:52 UT, and 13:55 UT (RHESSI flare peak times) and used them to compare the data and results from the two instruments. Moreover, we included Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) records in our analysis. In practice, the range of comparison performed for SphinX and RHESSI is limited roughly to 3?–?6 keV. RHESSI fluxes measured with a use of one, four, and nine detectors in the 3?–?4 keV energy band agree with SphinX measurements. However, we observed that SphinX spectral irradiances are three times higher than those of RHESSI in the 4?–?6 keV energy band. This effect contributes to the difference in obtained emission measures, but the derived temperatures of plasma components are similar. RHESSI spectra were fitted using a model with two thermal components. We have found that the RHESSI hot component is in agreement with GOES, and the RHESSI hotter component fits the SphinX flaring component well. Moreover, we calculated the so-called thermodynamic measure and the total thermal energy content in the four microflares that we studied. The results obtained show that SphinX is a very sensitive complementary observatory for RHESSI and GOES.     

Identification of geologic contrasts from landscape dissection pattern: An application to the Cascade Range, Oregon, USA

This paper demonstrates the plausibility of inferring the spatial variability of geology from topographically derived landscape dissection patterns. This enables surveying large regions for spatial variability in geology, for which direct remote sensing is not feasible, by studying variability in dissection pattern, a feature extracted straight off from digital elevation model data. Dissection pattern is obtained automatically by a novel algorithm, especially designed to delineate the valleys with high accuracy in order to reflect spatial variability in dissection density. The dissection pattern is encapsulated by a continuous map of drainage density, a raster variable best suited for showing spatial variability of dissection. Such a map, constructed for the study area in the Cascade Range, Oregon, USA, shows a sharp discontinuity in the dissection pattern, indicating change in underlying geology. Possible factors controlling the dissection pattern such as climate, local and regional slopes, vegetation, and geology are examined, and geology has been found to be the dominant controlling factor. The dissection contrast coincides with the boundary between the Western and High Cascades, two geologic provinces with different rock ages and types. The older and less permeable Western Cascades are associated with denser dissection pattern, whereas the younger and more permeable High Cascades correspond to less dissected pattern. This new mapping method can be applied to locations where topography is the only readily available data, and the generated map could be used to extract previously unknown geologic or environmental information.     

For your eyes only? Evaluating a coordinated and multiple views tool with a map,a parallel coordinated plot and a table using an eye-tracking approach

Geographic visualization tools with coordinated and multiple views (CMV) typically provide sets of visualization methods. Such configuration gives users the possibility of investigating data in various visual contexts; however, it can be confusing due to the multiplicity of visual components and interactive functions. We addressed this challenge and conducted an empirical study on how a CMV tool, consisting of a map, a parallel coordinate plot (PCP), and a table, is used to acquire information. We combined a task-based approach with eye-tracking and usability metrics since these methods provide comprehensive insights into users’ behaviour. Our empirical study revealed that the freedom to choose visualization components is appreciated by users. The individuals worked with all the available visualization methods and they often used more than one visualization method when executing tasks. Different views were used in different ways by various individuals, but in a similarly effective way. Even PCP, which is claimed to be problematic, was found to be a handy way of exploring data when accompanied by interactive functions.     

Hyperspectral imaging of sedimentary bacterial pigments: a 1700-year history of meromixis from varved Lake Jaczno,northeast Poland

Hypoxia in freshwater systems is currently spreading globally and putting water quality, biodiversity and other ecosystem services at risk. Such adverse effects are of particular concern in permanently stratified meromictic lakes. Yet little is known about when and how meromixis and hypoxia became established (or vanished) prior to anthropogenic impacts, or how human activities such as deforestation, erosion and nutrient cycling affected the mixing regimes of lakes. We used calibrated hyperspectral imaging (HSI) data in the visible and near infrared range from a fresh, varved sediment core taken in Lake Jaczno, NE Poland, to map sedimentary pigments at very high resolution (sub-varve scale) over the past 1700 years. HSI-inferred bacteriopheophytin a (bphe a, produced by anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria) serves as a proxy for meromixis, whereas HSI-inferred green pigments (chlorophyll a and diagenetic products) can be used as estimators of aquatic productivity. Meromixis was established and vanished long before significant human disturbance in the catchment was observed in the late eleventh century AD. Under pre-anthropogenic conditions, however, meromixis was interrupted frequently, and the lake mixing regime flickered between dimixis and meromixis. During two periods with intense deforestation and soil erosion in the catchment, characterised by sedimentary facies rich in clay and charcoal (AD 1070–1255 and AD 1670–1710), the lake was mostly dimictic and better oxygenated than in periods with relative stability and a presumably closed forest around the lake, i.e. without human disturbances. After ca. AD 1960, meromixis became established quasi-permanently as a result of eutrophication. The persistent meromixis of the last ~60 years is unusual with respect to the record of the last 1700 years.     

A three-scale cracking criterion for drying soils

Cracking is a most unwanted development in soil structures undergoing periodic drying and wetting. Desiccation cracks arise in an apparent absence of external forces. Hence, either an internal, self-equilibrated stress pattern resulting from kinematic incompatibilities, or a stress resulting from reaction forces at the constraints appear as a cracking cause, when reaching tensile strength. At a meso-scale, tubular drying pores are considered in the vicinity of a random imperfection, inducing a stress concentration in the presence of significant pore suction. This approach allows one to use the effective stress analysis, which otherwise, away from the stress concentration, usually yields compressive effective stress and hence a physically incompatible criterion for a tensile crack. Recent experiments on idealized configurations of clusters of grains provide geometrical data suggesting that an imperfection as a result of air entry deep into the granular medium penetrates over 4 to 8 internal radii of a typical pore could yield a tensile effective stress sufficient for crack propagation.     

A thermo-plastic constitutive law for brittle-plastic behavior of rocks at high temperatures

Mechanical properties of rocks change under the influence of, temperature. Stress at the onset of yielding, ultimate strength, dilatancy, strain hardening and softening, and the confining pressure at brittle-ductile transition are all reduced by the increasing temperature. This study presents a framework of constitutive modeling of thermo-brittle-plastic behavior of rocks which encompasses these changes. The constitutive law is based on a thermo-plasticity theory first proposed for metals byPrager (1958). Two phenomenological mechanisms have been identified as central for the modeling: temperature dependence of the yield locus (thermal softening), and temperature dependence of the strain-hardening function (thermally enhanced ductility). Material parameters for two rocks, Carrara marble and Westerly granite, were determined on the basis of additional hypotheses. These parameters are used in numerical simulations of triaxial tests at different temperatures. The obtained stress-strain curves compare well to the experimental results. The changes with temperature in the stress at the onset of yielding are more accurately reproduced that the evolution of hardening or softening. Suggestions for possible improvements and future research directions are indicated.     

Web Service for extracting stream networks from DEM data

This paper describes the implementation of a morphology based algorithm for extracting stream networks from data as a Web Service within the framework of GeoBrain, an open, interoperable, distributed, standard-compliant, multi-tier web-based geospatial information services and knowledge building system. Unlike standard out-of-the-box GIS software, which uses the flow direction based algorithm and often produces streams that are spatially uniform, streams extracted with this Web Service correctly reflect spatial variability in dissection patterns. In addition, this Web Service is free and can be accessed from anywhere provided that there is an Internet connection and a standard Web browser.