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Evidence for mechanical and chemical alteration of iron-nickel meteorites on Mars: Process insights for Meridiani Planum Evidence for mechanical and chemical alteration of iron-nickel meteorites on Mars: Process insights for Meridiani Planum

The weathering of meteorites found on Mars involves chemical and physical processes that can provide clues to climate conditions at the location of their discovery. Beginning on sol 1961, the Opportunity rover encountered three large iron meteorites within a few hundred meters of each other. In order of discovery, these rocks have been assigned the unofficial names Block Island, Shelter...
Authors
James W. Ashley, M.P. Golombek, P. R. Christensen, S. W. Squyres, T.J. McCoy, C. Schroder, I. Fleischer, J. R. Johnson, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, T. J. Parker

Seasonal erosion and restoration of Mars' northern polar dunes Seasonal erosion and restoration of Mars' northern polar dunes

Despite radically different environmental conditions, terrestrial and martian dunes bear a strong resemblance, indicating that the basic processes of saltation and grainfall (sand avalanching down the dune slipface) operate on both worlds. Here, we show that martian dunes are subject to an additional modification process not found on Earth: springtime sublimation of Mars' CO 2 seasonal...
Authors
C.J. Hansen, M. Bourke, Nathan T. Bridges, Shane Byrne, C. Colon, S. Diniega, Colin M. Dundas, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, A. McEwen, M. Mellon, Ganna Portyankina, N. Thomas

Structure of the San Fernando Valley region, California: implications for seismic hazard and tectonic history Structure of the San Fernando Valley region, California: implications for seismic hazard and tectonic history

Industry seismic reflection data, oil test well data, interpretation of gravity and magnetic data, and seismic refraction deep-crustal profiles provide new perspectives on the subsurface geology of San Fernando Valley, home of two of the most recent damaging earthquakes in southern California. Seismic reflection data provide depths to Miocene–Quaternary horizons; beneath the base of the...
Authors
V.E. Langenheim, T. L. Wright, D. A. Okaya, R.S. Yeats, G. S. Fuis, K. Thygesen, H. Thybo

The indication of Martian gully formation processes by slope-area analysis The indication of Martian gully formation processes by slope-area analysis

The formation process of recent gullies on Mars is currently under debate. This study aims to discriminate between the proposed formation processes - pure water flow, debris flow and dry mass wasting - through the application of geomorphological indices commonly used in terrestrial geomorphology. High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of Earth and Mars were used to evaluate the...
Authors
Susan J. Conway, Matthew R. Balme, John B. Murray, Martin C. Towner, Chris Okubo, Peter M. Grindrod

Pore-fluid migration and the timing of the 2005 M8.7 Nias earthquake Pore-fluid migration and the timing of the 2005 M8.7 Nias earthquake

Two great earthquakes have occurred recently along the Sunda Trench, the 2004 M9.2 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the 2005 M8.7 Nias earthquake. These earthquakes ruptured over 1600 km of adjacent crust within 3 mo of each other. We quantitatively present poroelastic deformation analyses suggesting that postseismic fluid flow and recovery induced by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
Authors
K.L.H. Hughes, Timothy Masterlark, Walter D. Mooney

Spatiotemporal earthquake clusters along the North Anatolian fault zone offshore Istanbul Spatiotemporal earthquake clusters along the North Anatolian fault zone offshore Istanbul

We investigate earthquakes with similar waveforms in order to characterize spatiotemporal microseismicity clusters within the North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) in northwest Turkey along the transition between the 1999 İzmit rupture zone and the Marmara Sea seismic gap. Earthquakes within distinct activity clusters are relocated with cross-correlation derived relative travel times using...
Authors
Fatih Bulut, William L. Ellsworth, Marco Bohnhoff, Mustafa Aktar, Georg Dresen

Evaluation of TRIGRS (transient rainfall infiltration and grid-based regional slope-stability analysis)'s predictive skill for hurricane-triggered landslides: A case study in Macon County, North Carolina Evaluation of TRIGRS (transient rainfall infiltration and grid-based regional slope-stability analysis)'s predictive skill for hurricane-triggered landslides: A case study in Macon County, North Carolina

The key to advancing the predictability of rainfall-triggered landslides is to use physically based slope-stability models that simulate the transient dynamical response of the subsurface moisture to spatiotemporal variability of rainfall in complex terrains. TRIGRS (transient rainfall infiltration and grid-based regional slope-stability analysis) is a USGS landslide prediction model...
Authors
Z. Liao, Y. Hong, D. Kirschbaum, R.F. Adler, J.J. Gourley, R. Wooten

Epistemic uncertainty in the location and magnitude of earthquakes in Italy from Macroseismic data Epistemic uncertainty in the location and magnitude of earthquakes in Italy from Macroseismic data

Three independent techniques (Bakun and Wentworth, 1997; Boxer from Gasperini et al., 1999; and Macroseismic Estimation of Earthquake Parameters [MEEP; see Data and Resources section, deliverable D3] from R.M.W. Musson and M.J. Jimenez) have been proposed for estimating an earthquake location and magnitude from intensity data alone. The locations and magnitudes obtained for a given set...
Authors
W. H. Bakun, Capera A. Gomez, M. Stucchi

Specifying initial stress for dynamic heterogeneous earthquake source models Specifying initial stress for dynamic heterogeneous earthquake source models

Dynamic rupture calculations using heterogeneous stress drop that is random and self-similar with a power-law spatial spectrum have great promise of producing realistic ground-motion predictions. We present procedures to specify initial stress for random events with a target rupture length and target magnitude. The stress function is modified in the depth dimension to account for the...
Authors
D.J. Andrews, M. Barall

Extreme volcanism on Io: Latest insights at the end of Galileo era Extreme volcanism on Io: Latest insights at the end of Galileo era

Galileo has now completed 7 years exploring Jupiter. The spacecraft obtained breathtaking views of the four major satellites, and studied Jupiter's clouds and atmospheric composition, rings, small satellites, and magnetic field. It had five successful close flybys and many distant observations of Io. Scientists already knew from Voyager and Earth‐based astronomy that Io is by far the...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Kargel, Robert R. Carlson, Ashley G. Davies, Bruce Fegley, Alan R. Gillespie, Ronald Greeley, Robert G. Howells, Kandis Lea Jessup, Lucas Kamp, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Rosaly Lopes, Timothy MacIntyre, Franck Marchis, Alfred McEwen, Moses P. Milazzo, Jason Perry, Jani Radebaugh, Laura Schaefer, Nicholas Schmerr, William Smythe, John M. Spencer, David A. Williams, Ju Zhang, Mikhail Zolotov

Opportunity Mars Rover mission: Overview and selected results from Purgatory ripple to traverses to Endeavour crater Opportunity Mars Rover mission: Overview and selected results from Purgatory ripple to traverses to Endeavour crater

Opportunity has been traversing the Meridiani plains since 25 January 2004 (sol 1), acquiring numerous observations of the atmosphere, soils, and rocks. This paper provides an overview of key discoveries between sols 511 and 2300, complementing earlier papers covering results from the initial phases of the mission. Key new results include (1) atmospheric argon measurements that...
Authors
R. E. Arvidson, James W. Ashley, J.F. Bell, M. Chojnacki, J. Cohen, T.E. Economou, W. H. Farrand, Robin L. Fergason, I. Fleischer, Paul E. Geissler, Ralf Gellert, M.P. Golombek, J.P. Grotzinger, E.A. Guinness, R.M. Haberle, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J.A. Herman, K.D. Iagnemma, B.L. Jolliff, J. R. Johnson, G. Klingelhofer, A.H. Knoll, A.T. Knudson, R. Li, S. M. McLennan, D. W. Mittlefehldt, R.V. Morris, T. J. Parker, M.S. Rice, C. Schroder, Laurence A. Soderblom, S. W. Squyres, R.J. Sullivan, M.J. Wolff

Palaeotsunamis in the Pacific Islands Palaeotsunamis in the Pacific Islands

The recent 29 September 2009 South Pacific and 27 February 2010 Chilean events are a graphic reminder that the tsunami hazard and risk for the Pacific Ocean region should not be forgotten. Pacific Islands Countries (PICs) generally have short (
Authors
J. Goff, C. Chague-Goff, D. Dominey-Howes, B. McAdoo, S. Cronin, Michael M. Bonte-Grapetin, S. Nichol, M. Horrocks, M. Cisternas, G. Lamarche, B. Pelletier, Bruce E. Jaffe, W. Dudley
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