GIS investigation of scarps on Slide Mountain, Western Whatcom County, Washington

Scarps can form from active faulting and landsliding. Such scarps can be difficult to differentiate in mountainous regions before expensive field work is done. Remote techniques to differentiate between scarps can help focus research time and money on active tectonic scarps. This study utilizes high resolution topographic data derived from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and a geographic information system (GIS) to analyze geomorphometric differences between landslide headscarps and active tectonic scarps in western Washington. The study is separated into two distinct phases, a GIS mapping phase and a GIS geomorphic analysis phase. The GIS mapping phase focused on mapping scarps and landslides on LiDAR derived topographic data with GIS and field work on Slide Mountain, in northwestern Washington. A comparison of landslides mapped photogrammetrically by Cashman and Brunengo (2006) and with LiDAR derived topographic data (this study) was also done in this phase. Derivatives of the LiDAR-derived digital elevation model, such as elevation profiles, topographic contours, hill-shaded relief maps, and slope maps, were the primary sources for geomorphometric data. The GIS geomorphic analysis phase used scatter plots and statistical analysis to compare geomorphometric parameters of known active tectonic scarps and landslide headscarps mapped by previous workers in western Washington (Wegmann, 2006; McKenna et al., 2008). Scarps were found to be best differentiated by comparing three morphometric parameters: scarp length, sinuosity, and mean slope within a 30-m buffer. Methods used to analyze known scarps in western Washington were then used for comparison with the features mapped on Slide Mountain. In this study I mapped a total of 41 landslides, spanning 6.7 km2 on LiDAR derived topographic data, compared to 168 landslides and an overall area of 12.5 km2 from photogrammetric mapping (Cashman and Brunengo, 2006). A total of 839 scarps were mapped on Slide Mountain: 468 bedding scarps, 43 joint scarps, 105 landslide scarps, 51 landslide headscarps and 172 of unknown origin. The GIS geomorphic analysis phase of the study shows that landslide headwall scarps and active tectonic scarps plot differently in scatter plots when comparing scarp length, sinuosity, and mean slope within a 30-m buffer. This statistical analysis shows that active fault scarps are longer, straighter, and occur in less steep terrain than landslide headscarps assessed in this study

Surface Geomorphological Features of Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations : A Look to the Role of Lithostructure (N Apennines, Italy)

The attention to deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) has steadily increased in the last few decades, because such features are ubiquitous in mountain areas. Their geomorphological surface expression, especially when related to the effects of lithostructural control in sedimentary stratified bedrocks, is well characterized in theory, but sometimes not as well documented in field cases. In this contribution the investigation of several DSGSDs in the area of the Northern Apennines of Italy is reported. A survey of the area was conducted using fast and lowcost satellite imaging techniques, in order to describe the surface features of selected DSGSDs and verify how their occurrence is linked to the effect of lithostructural constrains such as bedding and folding. Surface features developed in parallel to the strike of the slope are mostly related to the main gravitative strain acting on the deformation. Features along slope dip are instead formed by the release of tension caused by compressive forces at the landslide foot or by the presence of preexisting weak lines. One example of a DSGSD, formed on the hinge of a vertical fold, shows a corrugated appearance due to the release of vertical fractures that mask most other features usually associated with DSGSDs. This potentially impairs the detection of these landforms during field and remote surveys

Plate Margin Deformation and Active Tectonics Along the Northern Edge of the Yakutat Terrane in the Saint Elias Orogen, Alaska and Yukon, Canada

The northwest directed motion of the Pacific plate is accompanied by migration and collision of the Yakutat terrane into the cusp of southern Alaska. The nature and magnitude of accretion and translation on upper crustal faults and folds is poorly constrained, however, due to pervasive glaciation. In this study we used high-resolution topography, geodetic imaging, seismic, and geologic data to advance understanding of the transition from strike-slip motion on the Fairweather fault to plate margin deformation on the Bagley fault, which cuts through the upper plate of the collisional suture above the subduction megathrust. The Fairweather fault terminates by oblique-extensional splay faulting within a structural syntaxis, allowing rapid tectonic upwelling of rocks driven by thrust faulting and crustal contraction. Plate motion is partly transferred from the Fairweather to the Bagley fault, which extends 125 km farther west as a dextral shear zone that is partly reactivated by reverse faulting. The Bagley fault dips steeply through the upper plate to intersect the subduction megathrust at depth, forming a narrow fault-bounded crustal sliver in the obliquely convergent plate margin. Since . 20 Ma the Bagley fault has accommodated more than 50 km of dextral shearing and several kilometers of reverse motion along its southern flank during terrane accretion. The fault is considered capable of generating earthquakes because it is linked to faults that generated large historic earthquakes, suitably oriented for reactivation in the contemporary stress field, and locally marked by seismicity. The fault may generate earthquakes of Mw <= 7.5

Spatial variability of aircraft-measured surface energy fluxes in permafrost landscapes

Arctic ecosystems are undergoing a very rapid change due to global warming and their response to climate change has important implications for the global energy budget. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how energy fluxes in the Arctic will respond to any changes in climate related parameters. However, attribution of these responses is challenging because measured fluxes are the sum of multiple processes that respond differently to environmental factors. Here, we present the potential of environmental response functions for quantitatively linking energy flux observations over high latitude permafrost wetlands to environmental drivers in the flux footprints. We used the research aircraft POLAR 5 equipped with a turbulence probe and fast temperature and humidity sensors to measure turbulent energy fluxes along flight tracks across the Alaskan North Slope with the aim to extrapolate the airborne eddy covariance flux measurements from their specific footprint to the entire North Slope. After thorough data pre-processing, wavelet transforms are used to improve spatial discretization of flux observations in order to relate them to biophysically relevant surface properties in the flux footprint. Boosted regression trees are then employed to extract and quantify the functional relationships between the energy fluxes and environmental drivers. Finally, the resulting environmental response functions are used to extrapolate the sensible heat and water vapor exchange over spatio-temporally explicit grids of the Alaskan North Slope. Additionally, simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model were used to explore the dynamics of the atmospheric boundary layer and to examine results of our extrapolation

Geomorphometry 2020. Conference Proceedings

Geomorphometry is the science of quantitative land surface analysis. It gathers various mathematical, statistical and image processing techniques to quantify morphological, hydrological, ecological and other aspects of a land surface. Common synonyms for geomorphometry are geomorphological analysis, terrain morphometry or terrain analysis and land surface analysis. The typical input to geomorphometric analysis is a square-grid representation of the land surface: a digital elevation (or land surface) model. The first Geomorphometry conference dates back to 2009 and it took place in Zürich, Switzerland. Subsequent events were in Redlands (California), Nánjīng (China), Poznan (Poland) and Boulder (Colorado), at about two years intervals. The International Society for Geomorphometry (ISG) and the Organizing Committee scheduled the sixth Geomorphometry conference in Perugia, Italy, June 2020. Worldwide safety measures dictated the event could not be held in presence, and we excluded the possibility to hold the conference remotely. Thus, we postponed the event by one year - it will be organized in June 2021, in Perugia, hosted by the Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection of the Italian National Research Council (CNR IRPI) and the Department of Physics and Geology of the University of Perugia. One of the reasons why we postponed the conference, instead of canceling, was the encouraging number of submitted abstracts. Abstracts are actually short papers consisting of four pages, including figures and references, and they were peer-reviewed by the Scientific Committee of the conference. This book is a collection of the contributions revised by the authors after peer review. We grouped them in seven classes, as follows: • Data and methods (13 abstracts) • Geoheritage (6 abstracts) • Glacial processes (4 abstracts) • LIDAR and high resolution data (8 abstracts) • Morphotectonics (8 abstracts) • Natural hazards (12 abstracts) • Soil erosion and fluvial processes (16 abstracts) The 67 abstracts represent 80% of the initial contributions. The remaining ones were either not accepted after peer review or withdrawn by their Authors. Most of the contributions contain original material, and an extended version of a subset of them will be included in a special issue of a regular journal publication

The Sixth International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration : September 5-9, 2016, Reykjavik, Iceland

The conference is designed to pull together the current state of Mars polar research from many fields, including geology, atmospheric, and climate sciences.European Geophysical Union Icelandic Meteorological Office International Association of Cryospheric Sciences Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) NASA Mars Program Office Planetary Science Institute Southwest Research Institute Université de Nantes University of Iceland in ReykjavikConference Organizing Committee, Isaac Smith, Convener, Southwest Research Institute [and 7 others] ; Science Organizing Committee, Wendy Calvin, University of Nevada [and 13 others

Landslides

Landslides - Investigation and Monitoring offers a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of mass movements and landslide hazards. Chapter authors use in situ measurements, modeling, and remotely sensed data and methods to study landslides. This book provides a thorough overview of the latest efforts by international researchers on landslides and opens new possible research directions for further novel developments

Novel Approaches in Landslide Monitoring and Data Analysis

Significant progress has been made in the last few years that has expanded the knowledge of landslide processes. It is, therefore, necessary to summarize, share and disseminate the latest knowledge and expertise. This Special Issue brings together novel research focused on landslide monitoring, modelling and data analysis

Examination of volcanism and impact cratering on terrestrial bodies

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2023Exploring and expanding our understanding of the planets (i.e., planetary science) encompasses a vast array of topics and disciplines. This dissertation concentrates on the surficial processes of and examination of terrestrial planets, primarily via the study of volcanism and impact cratering. The first project starts with an exploration of NIR remote sensing techniques as applied to Venus. This work found that NIR remote sensing at the clement conditions just beneath the cloud deck provide vastly improved imaging capability. This improved visibility is most notable for the tesserae, regions of Venus of great interest to the scientific community. Radar imagery and derived data products were then used to survey 21 mid-sized volcanoes on the surface of Venus. Similar to volcanoes at larger diameters, the midsized volcanoes of Venus are significantly flatter than those on other terrestrial bodies. Several of these volcanoes also show deformation that requires a negligibly thin lithosphere some time after the emplacement of the construct. The third project then evaluates the hazards involved with safely placing a lander on the Venusian tesserae and examines potential methods by which to detect and then avoid these hazards. Safely placing a suite of scientific instruments on tesserae is necessary to answer long-standing questions about Venus. Current technologies put relevant hazards at the edge of detection (i.e., zero fault tolerance) and can execute divert maneuvers of only a few tens of meters. Investment in hazard detection and avoidance technologies is necessary to bring safety margins to acceptable levels; data from future missions - while helpful - will be insufficient to select safe landing zones prior to launch. Oblique impact cratering is a ubiquitous event (approximately half of all impacts are at 45 or less). Our poor understanding of this process leaves a significant amount of information buried and waiting to be uncovered. Low-velocity oblique impact experiments were conducted at John's Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory Planetary Impact Lab to better understand the oblique impact process and prepare for high velocity experiments at similar impact angles. These experiments also sought to understand the effect of target tilt, which is currently necessary at existing experimental facilities in order to simulate changes in impact angle smaller than 15°. These experiments show that target tilt significantly amplifies oblique characteristics (e.g., aspect ratio, butterfly ejecta). The time-delayed and spatially offset transference of energy from the impactor to the target is important in determining the excavation process and final crater morphology and ejecta distribution