22,490 research outputs found
Eskers in a complete, wet-based glacial system in the Phlegra Montes region, Mars
Although glacial landsystems produced under warm/wet based conditions are very common on Earth, even here, observations of subglacial landforms such as eskers emerging from extant glaciers are rare. This paper describes a system of sinuous ridges emerging from the in situ but now degraded piedmont terminus of a Late Amazonian-aged (âŒ150 Ma) glacier-like form in the southern Phlegra Montes region of Mars. We believe this to be the first identification of martian eskers that can be directly linked to their parent glacier. Together with their contextual landform assemblage, the eskers are indicative of significant glacial meltwater production and subglacial routing. However, although the eskers are evidence of a wet-based regime, the confinement of the glacial system to a well-defined, regionally significant graben, and the absence of eskers elsewhere in the region, is interpreted as evidence of sub-glacial melting as a response to locally enhanced geothermal heat flux rather than climate-induced warming. These observations offer important new insights to the forcing of glacial dynamic and melting behaviour on Mars by factors other than climate
Quantifying flow and stress in ice mĂ©lange, the worldâs largest granular material.
Tidewater glacier fjords are often filled with a collection of calved icebergs, brash ice, and sea ice. For glaciers with high calving rates, this âm Ìelangeâ of ice can be jam-packed, so that the flow of ice fragments is mostly determined by granular interactions. In the jammed state, ice m Ìelange has been hypothesized to influence iceberg calving and capsize, dispersion and attenuation of ocean waves, injection of freshwater into fjords, and fjord circulation. However, detailed measurements of ice m Ìelange are lacking due to difficulties in instrumenting remote, ice-choked fjords. Here we characterize the flow and associated stress in icem Ìelange, using a combination of terrestrial radar data, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations. We find that, during periods of terminus quiescence, ice m Ìelange experiences laminar flow over timescales of hours to days. The uniform flow fields are bounded by shear margins along fjord walls where force chains between granular icebergs terminate. In addition, the average force per unit width that is transmitted to the glacier terminus, which can exceed 107N/m, increases exponentially with them Ìelange length-to-width ratio. These âbuttressingâ forces are sufficiently high to inhibit the initiation of large-scale calving events, supporting the notion that ice m Ìelange can be viewed as a weak granular ice shelf that transmits stresses from fjord walls back to glacier termini.Ye
Cellular-Automata model for dense-snow avalanches
This paper introduces a three-dimensional model for simulating dense-snow avalanches, based on the numerical method of cellular automata. This method allows one to study the complex behavior of the avalanche by dividing it into small elements, whose interaction is described by simple laws, obtaining a reduction of the computational power needed to perform a three-dimensional simulation. Similar models by several authors have been used to model rock avalanches, mud and lava flows, and debris avalanches. A peculiar aspect of avalanche dynamics, i.e., the mechanisms of erosion of the snowpack and deposition of material from the avalanche is taken into account in the model. The capability of the proposed approach has been illustrated by modeling three documented avalanches that occurred in Susa Valley (Western Italian Alps). Despite the qualitative observations used for calibration, the proposed method is able to reproduce the correct three-dimensional avalanche path, using a digital terrain model, and the order of magnitude of the avalanche deposit volume
Seismic Tremor Reveals Spatial Organization and Temporal Changes of Subglacial Water System
©2019. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.Subglacial water ïŹow impacts glacier dynamics and shapes the subglacial environment. However, due to the challenges of observing glacier beds, the spatial organization of subglacial water systems and the time scales of conduit evolution and migration are largely unknown. To address these questions, we analyze 1.5â to 10âHz seismic tremor that we associate with subglacial water ïŹow,
that is, glaciohydraulic tremor, at Taku Glacier, Alaska, throughout the 2016 melt season. We use frequencyâdependent polarization analysis to estimate glaciohydraulic tremor propagation direction (related to the subglacial conduit location) and a degree day melt model to monitor variations in meltâwater
input. We suggest that conduit formation requires sustained water input and that multiconduit ïŹow paths can be distinguished from singleâconduit ïŹow paths. Theoretical analysis supports our seismic interpretations that subglacial discharge likely ïŹows through a singleâconduit in regions of steep hydraulic potential gradients but may be distributed among multiple conduits in regions with shallower potential gradients. Seismic tremor in regions with multiple conduits evolves through abrupt jumps between stable conïŹgurations that last 3â7 days, while tremor produced by singleâconduit ïŹow remains more stationary.
We also ïŹnd that polarized glaciohydraulic tremor wave types are potentially linked to the distance from source to station and that multiple peak frequencies propagate from a similar direction. Tremor appears undetectable at distances beyond 2â6 km from the source. This new understanding of the spatial organization and temporal development of subglacial conduits informs our understanding of dynamism within the subglacial hydrologic system.Raw seismic data described in this paper are available through the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center (http://ds.iris.edu/mda/ZQ? timewindow=2015â2016; Amundson et al., 2015). The raw weather data used in this paper can be found through the Arctic Data Center (https://doi.org/ 10.18739/A2H98ZC7V; Bartholomaus & Walter, 2018). Python code developed to carry out the analyses presented here is available at https://github.com/ voremargot/SeismicâTremorâRevealsâ SpatialâOrganizationâandâTemporalâ Changesâof SubglacialâWaterâSystem and https://github.com/ tbartholomaus/med_spec. This study was made possible with support from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and the University of Idaho. We thank Ginny Catania for the loan of weather stations. J. P. W.'s and J. M. A.'s contributions to this work were supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (OPPâ1337548 and OPPâ 1303895). T. C. B. thanks Dylan Mikesell for an early conversation, which inspired the analysis presented here.Ye
Stretching of proteins in a uniform flow
Stretching of a protein by a fluid flow is compared to that in a force-clamp
apparatus. The comparison is made within a simple topology-based dynamical
model of a protein in which the effects of the flow are implemented using
Langevin dynamics. We demonstrate that unfolding induced by a uniform flow
shows a richer behavior than that in the force clamp. The dynamics of unfolding
is found to depend strongly on the selection of the amino acid, usually one of
the termini, which is anchored. These features offer potentially wider
diagnostic tools to investigate structure of proteins compared to experiments
based on the atomic force microscopy.Comment: J. Chem. Phys. (in press
Seismic Tremor Reveals Spatial Organization and Temporal Changes of Subglacial Water System
©2019. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.Subglacial water ïŹow impacts glacier dynamics and shapes the subglacial environment. However, due to the challenges of observing glacier beds, the spatial organization of subglacial water systems and the time scales of conduit evolution and migration are largely unknown. To address these questions, we analyze 1.5â to 10âHz seismic tremor that we associate with subglacial water ïŹow,
that is, glaciohydraulic tremor, at Taku Glacier, Alaska, throughout the 2016 melt season. We use frequencyâdependent polarization analysis to estimate glaciohydraulic tremor propagation direction (related to the subglacial conduit location) and a degree day melt model to monitor variations in meltâwater
input. We suggest that conduit formation requires sustained water input and that multiconduit ïŹow paths can be distinguished from singleâconduit ïŹow paths. Theoretical analysis supports our seismic interpretations that subglacial discharge likely ïŹows through a singleâconduit in regions of steep hydraulic potential gradients but may be distributed among multiple conduits in regions with shallower potential gradients. Seismic tremor in regions with multiple conduits evolves through abrupt jumps between stable conïŹgurations that last 3â7 days, while tremor produced by singleâconduit ïŹow remains more stationary.
We also ïŹnd that polarized glaciohydraulic tremor wave types are potentially linked to the distance from source to station and that multiple peak frequencies propagate from a similar direction. Tremor appears undetectable at distances beyond 2â6 km from the source. This new understanding of the spatial organization and temporal development of subglacial conduits informs our understanding of dynamism within the subglacial hydrologic system.Raw seismic data described in this paper are available through the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center (http://ds.iris.edu/mda/ZQ? timewindow=2015â2016; Amundson et al., 2015). The raw weather data used in this paper can be found through the Arctic Data Center (https://doi.org/ 10.18739/A2H98ZC7V; Bartholomaus & Walter, 2018). Python code developed to carry out the analyses presented here is available at https://github.com/ voremargot/SeismicâTremorâRevealsâ SpatialâOrganizationâandâTemporalâ Changesâof SubglacialâWaterâSystem and https://github.com/ tbartholomaus/med_spec. This study was made possible with support from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and the University of Idaho. We thank Ginny Catania for the loan of weather stations. J. P. W.'s and J. M. A.'s contributions to this work were supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (OPPâ1337548 and OPPâ 1303895). T. C. B. thanks Dylan Mikesell for an early conversation, which inspired the analysis presented here.Ye
Influence of Hydrodynamic Interactions on Mechanical Unfolding of Proteins
We incorporate hydrodynamic interactions in a structure-based model of
ubiquitin and demonstrate that the hydrodynamic coupling may reduce the peak
force when stretching the protein at constant speed, especially at larger
speeds. Hydrodynamic interactions are also shown to facilitate unfolding at
constant force and inhibit stretching by fluid flows.Comment: to be published in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte
Age discrimination among basalt flows using digitally enhanced LANDSAT imagery
Digitally enhanced LANDSAT MSS data were used to discriminate among basalt flows of historical to Tertiary age, at a test site in Northwestern Saudi Arabia. Spectral signatures compared favorably with a field-defined classification that permits discrimination among five groups of basalt flows on the basis of geomorphic criteria. Characteristics that contributed to age definition include: surface texture, weathering, color, drainage evolution, and khabrah development. The inherent gradation in the evolution of geomorphic parameters, however, makes visual extrapolation between areas subjective. Therefore, incorporation of spectrally-derived volcanic units into the mapping process should produce more quantitatively consistent age groupings
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