Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Other Planetary Sciences
A Systems-Level Approach to Extracting Oxygen from Lunar Regolith via Molten Regolith Electrolysis
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Aerospace Engineering, Engineering, Other Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sciences
We present a top-level architecture for extracting up to 10 metric tonnes per year of oxygen from lunar regolith by means of Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) using less than 30 kW from vertical solar arrays and a regolith excavator. This System Integration Study identifies specific technology which could be engineered together in the near term into a single system and lander provided focused [...]
A New Interpretation of Ptolemy's Germania Magna: Employing Computer-Assisted Image Distortion of a Medieval Map by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus to Examine Post-Glacial Geodynamics in Europe
Published: 2025-02-02
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Nature and Society Relations, Other Astrophysics and Astronomy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Geography, Other Planetary Sciences, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure, The Sun and the Solar System
This paper revisits Claudius Ptolemy's depiction of Germania Magna through a multidisciplinary approach, integrating computer-aided distortion analysis of Donnus Nicolaus Germanus's medieval cartography with geological insights. The study proposes that the region underwent significant and complex transformations, likely influenced by tectonic activity, such as the reactivation of the Caledonian [...]
Notes on the Pens Collection of Australites in the Tate Museum, University of Adelaide
Published: 2023-06-26
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Other Planetary Sciences
The Tate Museum holds a large collection of (tektites) australites including the Pens Collection from the Florieton area in east-central South Australia. Many of these specimens are intact or near-so and have the various forms ascribed to their behaviour as they entered the Earth’s atmosphere. However, a significant number, some of which may have been initially fractured and broken by erosional [...]
Reconciling fast and slow cooling during planetary formation as recorded in the main group pallasites
Published: 2023-03-31
Subjects: Cosmochemistry, Other Planetary Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geology, Planetary Sciences
Pallasite meteorites contain evidence for vastly different cooling timescales: rapid cooling at high temperatures (K/yrs) and slow cooling at lower temperatures (K/Myrs). Pallasite olivine also shows contrasting textures ranging from well-rounded to angular and fragmental, and some samples record chemical zoning. Previous pallasite formation models have required fortuitous changes to the parent [...]
Comment on "Estimates on the Frequency of Volcanic Eruptions on Venus" by Byrne & Krishnamoorthy (2022)
Published: 2022-12-01
Subjects: Other Planetary Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Sciences
Byrne & Krishnamoorthy (2022) estimated the frequency of volcanic eruptions on Venus by scaling the eruption frequency obtained from a database containing Earth data. In reproducing their study, I found that the estimated number of new and ongoing volcanic eruptions on Venus in a given year is approximately 42, instead of the previously reported 120 eruptions. This updated estimate of Byrne & [...]
The Eighth Wonder of the World in New Zealand─ the third, Black Terrace
Published: 2022-06-28
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Other Planetary Sciences, Stratigraphy, Volcanology
The greatest tourism and geoscience attraction in the southern hemisphere, in the nineteenth century were the siliceous Pink and White Terraces, the lost Eighth Wonder of the World in New Zealand. In 1886, the Mount Tarawera eruption buried the terraces. In the absence of any government survey or evidence of their locations or destruction; debate over their survival continued until the 1940s. [...]
Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators
Published: 2021-08-19
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeochemistry, Climate, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Education, Environmental Education, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Fresh Water Studies, Geochemistry, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Higher Education, Human Geography, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Meteorology, Mineral Physics, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Nature and Society Relations, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Other Geography, Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Planetary Sciences, Outdoor Education, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Biogeochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Glaciology, Planetary Hydrology, Planetary Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology, Remote Sensing, Sedimentology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Soil Science, Spatial Science, Speleology, Stratigraphy, Sustainability, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology, Water Resource Management
Ensuring taught fieldwork is a positive, generative, collective, and valuable experience for all participants requires considerations beyond course content. To guarantee safety and belonging, participants’ identities (backgrounds and protected characteristics) must be considered as a part of fieldwork planning and implementation. Furthermore, getting fieldwork right is an important step in [...]
Meteorites that produce K-feldspar-rich ejecta blankets correspond to mass extinctions.
Published: 2021-05-24
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Atmospheric Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Planetary Sciences, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Meteorite impacts load the atmosphere with dust and cover the Earth‘s surface with debris. They have long been debated as a trigger of mass extinctions through Earth‘s history. Impact winters generally last <100 years, whereas ejecta blankets persist for 10^3-10^5 years. Here we show that only meteorite impacts that emplaced ejecta blankets rich in K-feldspar (Kfs) correlate to Earth system [...]
Coupling Mars ground and orbital views: generate viewsheds of Mastcam images from the Curiosity rover, using ArcGIS® and public datasets.
Published: 2020-04-30
Subjects: Other Planetary Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geology, Planetary Sciences
The Mastcam (Mast Camera) instrument onboard the NASA Curiosity rover provides an exclusive view of Mars: the color high-resolution Mastcam images allow users to study Gale crater’s geological terrains and landscapes along the rover path. This view from the ground complements the spatially broader view provided by spacecrafts from orbit. However, for a given Mastcam image, it can be challenging [...]