Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Planetary Sciences
Numerical simulation of meteorite impact on basaltic lavas at Lonar Crater, India
Published: 2023-01-28
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Astrophysics and Astronomy, Planetary Sciences
Lonar lake is a hypervelocity impact crater formed in a basaltic terrain of Deccan Traps in the state of Maharashtra, India. The crater has an approximate radius of 915 m and an average depth of about 137 m. Here we report the results of our numerical investigations aimed to elucidate the physical characteristics of incoming asteroid. For realistic simulation, we not only consider [...]
Trends in Planetary Science research in the Puna and Atacama desert regions: under-representation of local scientific institutions?
Published: 2022-12-19
Subjects: Planetary Sciences
In 2019 while launching a multidisciplinary research project aimed at developing the Puna de Atacama region as a natural laboratory, investigators within the University of Atacama (Chile) conducted a bibliographic search identifying previously studied geographical points of the region and of potential interest for planetary science and astrobiology research. This preliminary work highlighted a [...]
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 & [...]
Geosphere and Biosphere coevolution: the role of trace metals availability in the evolution of biogeochemistry
Published: 2022-11-21
Subjects: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology, Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Microbiology, Planetary Sciences
Earth’s geosphere and biosphere have coevolved over time, influencing each other’s stability and keeping our planet habitable for most of its 4.543 billion years of history. Biogeochemical cycles play a key role in controlling this interaction, connecting long-term geological cycles and the much faster evolution of the Earth’s outer biologically dominated envelopes. A small set of [...]
Efficient Estimation of Climate State and Its Uncertainty Using Kalman Filtering with Application to Policy Thresholds and Volcanism
Published: 2022-10-18
Subjects: Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series, Non-linear Dynamics, Planetary Sciences, Statistical Models
We present the Energy Balance Model – Kalman Filter (EBM-KF), a hybrid model of the global mean surface temperature (GMST) and ocean heat content anomaly (OHCA). It combines an annual energy balance model (difference equations) with 17 parameters drawn from the literature and a statistical Extended Kalman Filter assimilating GMST and OHCA, either observed timeseries or simulated by earth [...]
U-Net-based Semantic Classification for Flood Extent Extraction using SAR Imagery and GEE Platform: A Case Study for 2019 Central US Flooding
Published: 2022-09-15
Subjects: Planetary Sciences
Data-driven models for water body extraction have experienced accelerated growth in recent years, thanks to advances in processing techniques and computational resources, as well as improved data availability. In this study, we modified the standard U-Net, a convolutional neural network (CNN) method, to extract water bodies from scenes captured from Sentinel-1 satellites of selected areas during [...]
A minimally cemented shallow crust beneath InSight
Published: 2022-04-21
Subjects: Planetary Geology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Hydrology, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology
Ice and other mineral cements in Mars’ shallow subsurface affect the mechanical properties of the shallow crust, the geologic processes that shape the planet’s surface, and the search for past or extant Martian life. Cements increase seismic velocities. We use rock physics models to infer cement properties from seismic velocities. Model results confirm that the upper 300 m of Mars beneath InSight [...]
Internal Planetary Feedbacks, Mantle Dynamics, and Plate Tectonics
Published: 2022-03-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Sciences, Tectonics and Structure
Isolating planetary feedbacks, and feedback analysis, are prevalent aspects of climate and Earth surface process science. An under appreciation of internal planet feedbacks, and feedback analysis for plate tectonics research, motivate this chapter. We review feedbacks that influence the Earth's thermal evolution and expand them to include magmatic history and planetary water budgets. The [...]
The open collection of geoscience graphics
Published: 2022-02-15
Subjects: Databases and Information Systems, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces, Instructional Media Design, Planetary Sciences
A standard internet image search on a geoscientific topic is common practice, and offers a plethora of images. However, the suggested images provide neither a guarantee in the accuracy of the science content being portrayed, nor in their visual accessibility or clarity. Being curated by both scientists and artists, the online s-ink collection (https://s-ink.org) is a sharing platform for high [...]
Deep-water cycling and the Magmatic History of the Earth
Published: 2022-01-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Planetary Sciences
Earth is a magmatically active planet. Magmatism connects Earth's interior to its atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere through cycling of volatiles, greenhouse gasses, and nutrients. Earth's magmatic history is intertwined with its thermal and tectonic evolution. How magmatism has evolved and been maintained in the face of planetary cooling remains an open question. We address this question [...]
Thermal evolution of rocky exoplanets with a graphite outer shell
Published: 2022-01-18
Subjects: Astrophysics and Astronomy, Planetary Sciences
The presence of rocky exoplanets with a large refractory carbon inventory is predicted by chemical evolution models of protoplanetary disks of stars with photospheric C/O >0.65, and by models studying the radial transport of refractory carbon. High-pressure high-temperature laboratory experiments show that most of the carbon in these exoplanets differentiates into a graphite outer shell. Our aim [...]
Coupled dynamics and evolution of primordial and recycled heterogeneity in Earth’s lower mantle
Published: 2021-12-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Planetary Sciences
The nature of compositional heterogeneity in Earth’s lower mantle remains a long-standing puzzle that can inform about the long-term thermochemical evolution and dynamics of our planet. Here, we use global-scale 2D models of thermo- chemical mantle convection to investigate the coupled evolution and mixing of (intrinsically-dense) recycled and (intrinsically- strong) primordial heterogeneity in [...]
Corona structures driven by plume-lithosphere interactions and evidence for ongoing plume activity on Venus
Published: 2021-12-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Sciences
In the absence of global plate tectonics, mantle convection and plume-lithosphere interaction are the main drivers of surface deformation on Venus. Among documented tectonic structures, circular volcano-tectonic features known as coronae may be the clearest surface manifestations of mantle plumes and hold clues to the global Venusian tectonic regime. Yet, the exact processes underlying coronae [...]
Constraints on the ice composition of carbonaceous chondrites from their magnetic mineralogy
Published: 2021-10-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Sciences
Carbonaceous chondrites experienced varying degrees of aqueous alteration on their parent asteroids, which influenced their mineralogies, textures, and bulk chemical and isotopic compositions. Although this alteration was a crucial event in the history of these meteorites, their various alteration pathways are not well understood. One phase that formed during this alteration was magnetite, and [...]
Scum of the Earth: a hypothesis for prebiotic multi-compartmentalised environments}
Published: 2021-09-14
Subjects: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology, Earth Sciences, Planetary Sciences
Compartmentalisation by bioenergetic membranes is a universal feature of life. The eventual compartmentalisation of prebiotic systems is therefore often argued to comprise a key step during the origin of life. Compartments may have been active participants in prebiotic chemistry, concentrating and spatially organising key reactants. However, most prebiotically plausible compartments are leaky or [...]