ALBERT

Description: Valleys with theater-shaped heads can form due to the seepage of groundwater and as a result of knickpoint (waterfall) erosion generated by overland flow. This ambiguity in the mechanism of formation hampers the interpretation of such valleys on Mars, particularly since there is limited knowledge of material properties. Moreover, the hydrological implications of a groundwater or surface water origin are important for our understanding of the evolution of surface features on Mars, and a quantification of valley morphologies at the landscape scale may provide diagnostic insights on the formative hydrological conditions. However, flow patterns and the resulting landscapes produced by different sources of groundwater are poorly understood. We aim to improve the understanding of the formation of entire valley landscapes through seepage processes from different groundwater sources that will provide a framework of landscape metrics for the interpretation of such systems. We study groundwater seepage from a distant source of groundwater and from infiltration of local precipitation in a series of sandbox experiments and combine our results with previous experiments and observations of the Martian surface. Key results are that groundwater flow piracy acts on valleys fed by a distant groundwater source and results in a sparsely dissected landscape of many small and a few large valleys. In contrast, valleys fed by a local groundwater source, i.e., nearby infiltration, result in a densely dissected landscape. In addition, valleys fed by a distant groundwater source grow towards that source, while valleys with a local source grow in a broad range of directions and have a strong tendency to bifurcate, particularly on flatter surfaces. We consider these results with respect to two Martian cases: Louros Valles shows properties of seepage by a local source of groundwater and Nirgal Vallis shows evidence of a distant source, which we interpret as groundwater flow from Tharsis.

Description: Theater-headed valleys can form due to groundwater sapping, but these valleys could also be the result of knick-point (waterfall) erosion generated by overland flow. This morphological ambiguity hampers the interpretation of such valleys on Mars, especially due to insufficient knowledge of material properties, but the climate implications are quite different. Instead of single-valley morphology, metrics of the entire landscape may provide diagnostic insight in the formative hydrological conditions. However, flow patterns and the resulting landscapes are different for different sources of groundwater and poorly understood. We aim to increase our understanding of the formation of the entire landscapes by sapping from different sources of groundwater and to provide a framework of landscape metrics of such systems to aid interpretation of such landscapes. We study sapping from local and distal sources of groundwater in sandbox experiments and combine our results with previous experiments. Key results are that groundwater piracy acts on distally-fed valleys, which results in a sparsely dissected landscape of many small and a few large valleys while locally-fed valleys result in a densely dissected landscape. In addition, distally-fed valleys grow into the direction of the groundwater source while locally-fed channels grow in a broad range of directions and have a strong tendency to bifurcate, particularly on flat horizontal surfaces. As an example, we apply these results to two Martian cases. The valleys of Louros Valles show properties of sapping by a local source and Nirgal Vallis shows evidence of a distal source, which is likely groundwater from Tharsis.

Description: The number of private gated developments continues to grow in Britain, in apparent contradiction to the government's urban policy aims of developing balanced, sustainable, mixed communities. There has been no official recognition of the trend towards gated communities, nor any national debate about their desirability as a built or social form. Contradictory guidance is given to local authorities about the design priorities for new housing developments. A case study tracks the planning process of a gated Community in Sheffield in order to illustrate the problems of regulating this new form of housing. Interviews with key players in this development inform discussion about the supply and demand for gated communities, which are found to be influenced by globalised marketing trends for ideal housing types, and a pervasive fear of crime. The issues which are highlighted by the growth of gated communities in Britain demand more attention than can be provided by the current policy vacuum.

Description: Spaced antenna (SA) wind measurement techniques are applied to Multiple Antenna Profiler (MAPR) data to evaluate its performance in clear air conditions. MAPR is a multiple antenna 915 MHz wind profiler developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and described in Cohn et al. (1997), designed to make high resolution wind measurements. Previous reported measurements with MAPR were restricted to precipitation because of low signal to noise (SNR) and signal to ground-clutter (SCR) ratios. By using a standard pulse-coding technique and upgrading the profiler control software, increases in average power and SNR were achieved, making routine measurements in clear air possible. Comparison of winds measured by MAPR and by a sonic anemometer on a nearby 300 m tower show correlation coefficients in the range of R2 = 0.75 – 0.80, and an average absolute error of ~ 1.4 m s - 1 . This compares favorably with the agreement typically found in wind profiler comparisons. We also consider the use of the parameter ah , which is related to the value of the cross-correlation function at its zero crossing. This parameter is a data quality indicator and possibly a key component in a ground clutter removal technique.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (mesoscale meteorology; instruments and techniques) – Radio science (remote sensing)