InSAR time-series (InSAR-TS) analysis enables us to obtain the displacement time-series by using a number of SAR images repeatedly acquired on the area. Among the factors affecting the accuracy of the InSAR-TS analysis, this study focuses on three factors that may severely affect the signal detection limit: 1) the selection of the reference point (determining the offset in each interferogram), 2) ramp-type artifact that originate from inaccuracy in the orbit data or ionospheric disturbance, and 3) altitude-correlated tropospheric noise. Fukushima et al. (2019, Earth, Planets and Space) proposed an InSAR-TS analysis method to simultaneously solve for the displacement time-series and the error terms mentioned above as well as the error in the digital elevation model. In the proposed method, the unwrapped phase in interferograms is assumed to be composed of a linear combination of the LOS displacement, offset, planar ramp, altitude-correlated phase, and error in the used digital elevation model. A set of unwrapped small-baseline interferograms is then inverted to simultaneously obtain the displacement time-series and the parameters describing the error terms under the minimum norm condition on the displacement time-series. In this study, I applied the above-mentioned method after some updates such as introduction of the temporal constraint adopted by the NSBAS algorithm (Doin et al., 2011) and data masking, on the ALOS-2 data acquired around the Arima-Takatsuki fault zone in western Honshu, Japan. Data of four different Paths (20 and 21 from descending orbit, 127 and 128 from ascending orbit) obtained between August 2014 and March 2021 were analyzed. Some of the original interferograms contained severe noise such as a phase ramp equivalent to approximately 25 cm of LOS displacements. The average velocity field obtained by applying the method captured a relative range decrease of a few mm/year on the southern side of the fault, consistent with the results obtained from Sentinel-1 data analysis. Given the fact that the Sentinel-1 dataset had much favorable conditions (much larger number of data and much smaller ionospheric noise), the consistency in the average velocity field suggests the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Atmospheric isotopologues of water vapor (e.g., HDO) are important tracers for understanding Earth’s hydrological cycles. Most remote sensing measurements of these isotopologues, however, are column averaged values and sparse in space and time. Measurements targeting the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are much rarer. In this study, we retrieved HDO and H from CLARS-FTS observations (2011-2019). The isotopological abundance δD, which represents the relative difference of the HDO/H2O ratio to a standard abundance ratio, is also calculated. The averaged δD retrievals are (−156.1±60.0)‰ with an uncertainty of (6.1±10.2)‰ for LA Basin Survey m and (−344.7±95.0)‰ with an uncertainty of (42.4±31.6)‰ for Spectralon Viewing Observation mode. In LA, the δD shows a seasonal cycle that is primarily driven by the change of atmospheric humidity. The temporal variabilities in δD data between CLARS-FTS and a collocated Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) observatory are highly correlated. The difference between CLARS and TCCON δD retrievals can primarily be attributed to the difference in their observation geometries. We conclude that the HDO and δD measurements from CLARS-FTS provide high spatial and temporal resolution datasets for further study of hydrological processes in the LA megacity.

The heat flow and physical properties package (HP$^3$) of the InSight Mars mission is an instrument package designed to determine the martian planetary heat flow. To this end, the package was designed to emplace sensors into the martian subsurface and measure the thermal conductivity as well as the geothermal gradient in the 0-5 m depth range. After emplacing the probe to a tip depth of 0.37 m, a first reliable measurement of the average soil thermal conductivity in the 0.03 to 0.37 m depth range was performed. Using the HP$^3$ mole as a modified line heat source, we determined a soil thermal conductivity of 0.039 $\pm$ 0.002 W m$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$, consistent with the results of orbital and in-situ thermal inertia measurements. This low thermal conductivity implies that 85 to 95\% of all particles are smaller than 104-173 $\mu$m and suggests that any cement contributing to soil cohesion cannot significantly increase grain-to-grain contact areas by forming cementing necks, but could be distributed in the form of grain coatings instead. Soil densities compatible with the measurements are 1211$_{-113}^{+149}$ kg m$^{-3}$, indicating soil porosities of 61 \%.

Increasing agricultural demand for fresh water resources in the face of a changing climate requires improved irrigation management solutions to maximize resource efficiency while maintaining crop yield and quality. Soil water deficits can significantly reduce plant growth and development, dictating the quantity and quality of the crop. While plant-based measures of water deficits are considered to be the best measures of water stress, current methods for achieving precise stress measurements are time-consuming and inefficient. Dendrometers are one plant-based tool that have shown potential to improve irrigation management in high-value woody perennial crops. High-precision dendrometers continuously measure small fluctuations (± 1 micron) in stem diameter throughout the day, which directly correlates to water stress. However, currently available dendrometers are expensive, have mechanical hysteresis, and are subject to mechanical and environmental issues such as material expansion; weather and animal disruptions; and bulky, invasive design. The dendrometer created at the OPEnS Lab - tailored for grapevines - alleviates these key failure points through the use of zero-thermal expansion carbon fiber, spring tension, and a linear magnetic encoder. The design is also significantly less expensive than that of the competition, costing around $200 as opposed to $1000. Mass deployment of these automated dendrometers has the potential to provide a continuous picture of vineyard water stress at the whole-block level, thus providing valuable decision support for vineyard irrigation management. Follow the project at open-sensing.org/projects.

Two distinct rainfall stages over the Central Highlands (CH) of Vietnam during the rainy season have been objectively defined using the high-resolution Vietnam Gridded Precipitation dataset for 1983–2010 (28 years): a second rainy season (SRS) embedded in the conventional rainy season. Surprisingly, the pronounced interannual variation in the SRS onset date has led to three apparent regimes: an early (late) SRS with a 1 month longer (shorter) rainfall period occurring in early July (until mid-August) and a normal SRS starting in late July. Almost all the early SRS years occur during El Niño developing phases, particularly during the Niño3.4 sea surface temperature (SST) increase from January through December. Water vapor budget analyses reveal that the interannual variation in the divergent water vapor flux is in response to the warmer July tropical Pacific SST anomalies, resulting in rainfall enhancement over the CH and eventually inducing early SRS onset.

Main hydrological disasters that occur in the Republic of Moldova are floods. In the last 70 years (1947-2015) floods caused losses of 583 mil. US$. Thereby, a proportion of 55% of the damage was determined by flash floods and 40% - by fluvial floods. Increasing human impact on environment is considered to be the main factor for modifications of flood runoff regimes. Moldova features intense economic activity resulting in the fact that over 60% of the territory is used for agriculture and almost all rivers’ morphology is heavily modified. Therefore, the evaluation of anthropogenic impact on floods generation and propagation processes is of particular interest. Environmental change scenario modelling was performed to analyze the modification of flood wave hydrograph features with the help of the JAMS/J2000 hydrological model. 11 pilot basins have been utilized for this analysis, which represent different parts of the country. Assessment of land cover changes impact over the past 3 decades on flood runoff was performed by consecutive change of land cover layer for 1982 and 2013 for each flood event. The results showed that land cover changes caused a slight decrease of flood runoff in the northern part of the country (-4-10%) due to processes of basins naturalization in areas that were left fallow with undergoing natural succession. In the central and southern rivers basins an increase of flood features could be identified (+2-35%) because of intensified agricultural and urbanization processes. Assessment of reservoir impact on floods was performed on example of the Byc River, which is subject to change due to the Ghidighici reservoir. Thus, first, hydrological model was calibrated and validated for the Byc River natural runoff period and later applied for runoff simulation for the reservoir operation period. Differences of real and naturalized modeled runoff showed that Ghidighici reservoir causes a significant decrease of flood runoff which is from 3 up to 20 times lower than in the case of natural runoff modeling. Resulted hydrological models are well suited for land planning, hydraulic engineering and flood control. They can serve as support for authorities in decision making in flood protection and water resources management.

Ground-level ozone(O3) and atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution are the major challenges for continually improving air quality in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China (Lu et al., 2020; Wei et al., 2020). Understanding regional transport pattern of PM2.5 and O3 pollution is essential for the development of regional cooperative prevention and control strategies. This study shows annual concentration of PM2.5 in the YRD decreased by 18.5% from 2015 to 2018, while average of daily maximum 8-h average(MDA8) O3 concentration during March to October increased by 16.3%. A complex network method is developed to investigate regional transport of PM2.5 and O3 in different grid cells (nodes). Source apportionment technology in regional transport model is applied for comparing with the results from the complex network method. Interregional and intraregional transportation play an important role in both PM2.5 and O3 over the YRD. The northern part of the YRD contributes much more than other areas for PM2.5 in winter, which accounts for about 60%,while the central part of the YRD, especially the northern part of Zhejiang, is the largest contributor of O3 in the YRD in summer,which accounts for about 70%. Intraregional transport played major role in PM2.5 than O3. The study focusing on heavily pollution episodes not only show results between source apportionment technology and complex network method are comparable, and also reveals both two methods pose great potential in understanding transport pattern and air pollution relationship, which is the foundation for emission mitigation in the YRD region.

Understanding the origin of stress avalanche of fault gouges may offer deeper insights into many geophysical processes such as earthquakes. Microslips of sheared granular gouges were found to be precursors of large slip events, but the documented relation between local and global avalanches remains largely qualitative. We examine the stick-slip behavior of a slowly sheared granular system using discete element method simulations. The microslips, i.e., local avalanche events, are found to demonstrate significantly different statistical and spatial characteristics between the stick and slip states. We further investigate the correlation between the global stress fluctuations and the features extracted from microslips based on the machine learning (ML) approach. The data-driven model that incorporates the information of the spatial distribution of microslips can robustly predict the magnitude of stress fluctuation. A further feature importance analysis confirms that the spatial patterns of microslips manifest key information governing the global stress fluctuations.

This study aims to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the Global Ensemble Forecast System’s (GEFS) precipitation forecasts over the Indian subcontinent using two post-processing techniques, namely the Analog method (AN) and Logistic Regression method (LR). The post-processing techniques and GEFS Numerical Weather Prediction Model (NWP) outputs were evaluated against the observed dataset using probabilistic and deterministic evaluation metrics. Results found that both the methods considerably improves short range to medium range (1-15 day) precipitation forecasts over India. Overall results showed that both the methods perform poorly during the monsoon seasons compared to other seasons. Basin analysis showed that both the methods underperform in the Western Ghats, while the performance is comparable and decent in other parts of India. Analysis of precipitation at different terciles showed that both the AN and LR methods underperforms at higher terciles compared to the lower ones. This is because the GEFS model itself was performing poorly in detecting the heavy precipitation events. The comparison of logistic regression and analog methods shows that the LR method outperforms the AN method in almost all the locations and lead times.

Energetic charged particles ~>40 keV can affect the plasma temperature and pressure and as a consequence the whole dynamics of the magnetosphere. How do particles get to such energies is a fundamental science question. Energetic particles are also potentially hazardous for the space observations. It is, therefore, necessary to study the origin of energetic plasma, its acceleration, distribution and consequences on the magnetospheric dynamics. In this work we review the related results based on observations from the Cluster/RAPID energetic charged particle detector. These results represent new insights in plasma acceleration, unexpected features in its distributions, effects on substorm and geomagnetic storm dynamics and remediated observations in the radiation belts during approximately 1.5 solar cycles.

The choice of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) estimation methods and general circulation model (GCM) are crucial for projecting water deficit under a changing climate. Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) derived from water deficit also varies with the choice of GCM and ETo estimation methods. In this study a variance-based global sensitivity analysis was used to estimate relative sensitivity of projected changes in future water deficit (P-ETo) and SPEI to the choice of GCM and ETo estimation methods over parts of the Indian subcontinent. For evaluating the change in water deficit and droughts, 7 GCMs and 11 ETo methods were analyzed for two distinct periods i.e. 2030-2060 and 2070-2100 compared to the baseline (1951-1980). The 11 ETo methods were grouped into 4 major categories namely based on temperature, radiation, mass transfer and combination methods. Moreover, based on the ETo categories, a non-parametric Mann-Whitney was performed to quantify robust changes under a warming climate. Results show that changes in future water deficit and droughts varies with regions and seasons. Overall, changes in water deficit droughts are more inclined to the choice of ETo method, while the GCM-ETo interaction effects are more prominent in some regions. Results also showed that within an individual ETo category, individual ETo methods do not necessarily agree on the magnitude/direction of change in projecting water deficit and SPEI for future conditions. This has important implications towards selection of appropriate ETo estimation for drought analysis in data scarce regions under a changing climate. Results of this study indicate, the role of proper ensemble formation of GCMs and ETo estimation methods based on seasons and regions, to develop a robust range of future conditions for water resources planning.

Ganga river basin is the lifeline of the most of the North Indian population. Upper Ganga river basin is the source of Ganga river where Ganga river originates form Gangotri glacier. Many articles, researches are claiming that most of the Himalayan glaciers are receding due to rising temperature caused by climate change. In this study it is tried to find the changes in average temperature in the month of December. High resolution gridded monthly temperature data provided by Climate Research Unit (CRU) for 116 years, i.e., from year 1901 to 2016 is used. Least square linear trend shows upward trend in most of the regions. Significance of these trends is checked using non-parametric Mann-Kendal (MK test) at 5% significance level and found significance for most of the Southern regions of basin. Assessment of time of change detection is one of the important tasks for any climate change study. Here, time of change is found out using Non-parametric Cumulative -Deviation test at 5% significance level. It is found that most of the regions of Gangetic plains show change in the year 1988. No change in detected in the upper reaches of Ganga river. So, the plains of Upper Ganga river basin are found to be highly affected by climate change and winter temperature is rising significantly.

Mount Padang archeological site has been known since late nineteen century as a megalithic complex that sits on top. Our studies proves that the structure does not cover just the top but also wrap around the slopes covering about 15 ha area at least. Comprehensive geophysical surveys combining ground penetration radar (GPR) and multi-channel resistivity methods, seismic tomography augmented by bore-holes coring data and archeological excavations, show further that the structures are not only superficial but rooted into greater depth. The structures are not built at once but consisting several layers from consecutive periods. The uppermost layer on the surface consists of horizontal piles of basaltic columnar rocks forming step-structure terraces and decorated by exotic arrangements of stand-up rock columns forming walls, paths and spaces. The second layer, which had been previously misinterpreted as natural rock formation, buried 1-3 meters beneath the ground surface, is a several-meter thick fills consisting of more compact and advance arrangement of similar columnar rocks in fine-grain matrix. The third layer is also artificial arrangement of rock fragments with various kinds that extent down to about 15 meter deep. The third layer sits on fractured, massive basaltic lava tongue. The survey also reveals evidences of large underground cavities or chambers. Results of preliminary radiocarbon dating indicates that the first layer was built around Cal BP 3,000. The second layer was built around about Cal BP 7,000. The third layer was built prior to Cal.BP. 9,500, and could be as old as Cal.BP.13,000 to 28,000 years old.

College students in STEM fields generally receive rigorous training in problem-solving, but often that training focuses primarily on the technical aspects of problems, ignoring or minimizing the human context in which those problems arise and the impacts on people who will be affected by the solutions. Terrascope, a sustainability-oriented learning community for first-year undergraduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) works to engage students in a more holistic process of identifying and addressing problems. Here we describe one component of the Terrascope program: Terrascope Radio, a class in which science and engineering students change gears from technical problem-solving to focus on producing audio stories. In the process, they acquire a richer and broader understanding of the context and implications of their own more technical work. Student outcomes include: Increased focus on understanding and addressing the needs and priorities of the people affected by sustainability-related problems. Engagement in seeking out multiple perspectives on complex sustainability-related issues. Improved skills in communicating scientific and technical information. Enhanced respect for the role of communication in technical and scientific practice. Enhanced ability to collaborate with a diverse group on creative projects; enhanced general teamwork skills. Experience adapting on the fly to changing conditions and priorities within a project. Increased ability and willingness to reach out to expert sources of information. Increased competence in conducting interviews and in being interviewed, both inside and outside the audio-production context.

Sediment cores recently collected from the Chilean Margin during D/V JOIDES Resolution Expedition 379T (JR100) document high- and low-frequency variability in shipboard-generated records of the spectral Green/Blue (G/B) ratio. These changes show a strong coherence with foraminiferal isotope composition, Antarctic ice core records, and sediment lithology (e.g., higher diatom abundances in greener sediment intervals), suggesting a climate-related control on the G/B ratio. Here, we test the utility of G/B as a proxy for diatom productivity at Sites J1002 and J1007 by calibrating G/B to measured biogenic opal. Strong exponential correlations between measured opal content and the G/B ratio were found at both sites. We use the empirical regressions to generate continuous records of opal contents (opal%) on the Chilean Margin. Redox-sensitive sedimentary U/Th generally co-varies with the reconstructed opal% at both sites, supporting the association between sediment color, sedimentary U/Th, and productivity. Lastly, we calculated opal mass accumulation rate (MAR) at Site J1007 over the last ~150,000 years. The G/B-derived opal MAR record from Site J1007 largely tracks existing records derived from traditional wet-alkaline digestion from the south and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, with a common opal flux peak at ~ 50 ka suggesting that this increased diatom productivity in the eastern equatorial Pacific was likely driven by enhance nutrient supply from the Southern Ocean rather than dust inputs as previously suggested. Collectively, our results identify the G/B ratio as a useful tool with the potential to generate reliable, high-resolution paleoceanographic records that circumvent the traditionally laborious methodology.

Abstract: Siloe Patera, like other collapsed volcanic features at Arabia Terra, Mars has been identified as a set of nested deep depressions [1]. We interpreted surficial geology, including possible geologic history, of Siloe Patera by combining analysis of spectral analysis from TIR data of THEMIS, mineralogic phases (e.g. olivine, phyllosilicate, and hydrated silicates) from NIR data of CRISM, and local morphology from HiRISE and CTX. We identified four spectral units: the purple, fuchsia/magenta, yellow/amber, and pale-brown or green (typical terrain) unit. Purple unit, which occurs on eastern and north-eastern scarps, has weighted absorption center (WAC) [2] in longer wavelengths (consistent to lower silica content), and has higher thermal inertia (indicating bedrock materials) and the presence of olivine. Like the purple unit, the fuchsia unit confirms the presence of rich olivine phase. Yellow unit, near the central peak, home to elevated silica content, includes a transverse dune field on the edge of the peak, and is composed of coarse-grained dune sands, and weak phyllosilicate abundance. Typical terrain (pale brown or green) unit is the most dispersed unit and has elevated silica content; it consists of fine grain dust showing positive abortion to the phyllosilicate index, and in some areas shows hydrated phyllosilicate phase spatially adjacent to the network of channels and gullies. We suggest that the presence of faulting consistent with collapsed features and related lava-flow features confirm that Siloe Patera is a collapsed caldera of Late Noachian to Early Hesperian [1], which was modified by subsequent water-related processes. References: [1] Michalski, J.R., Bleacher, J.E., 2013. Supervolcanoes within an ancient volcanic province in Arabia Terra, Mars. Nature 502, 47–52. [2] Amador, E.S., Bandfield, J.L., 2016. Elevated bulk-silica exposures and evidence for multiple aqueous alteration episodes in Nili Fossae, Mars. Icarus 276, 39–51.

The isotopic composition of organic sulfur (δ34Sorg) is a potential recorder of past biogeochemical conditions that has, thus far, received relatively little attention in comparison to the pyrite sulfur isotope record (δ34Spyr). This study presents continuous organic and pyrite δ34S records from three basins of the organic-rich Miocene Monterey Formation, deposited over a similar time interval of c.14.5-6 Ma but under varying depositional conditions. In the San Joaquin basin, δ34Sorg and δ34Spyr average 0‰ and -4‰ respectively and maintain a relatively constant pyrite-organic sulfur isotopic offset of c. 5‰. The Santa Maria Basin exhibits δ34Sorg values that are >10‰ higher than in coeval San Joaquin basin intervals, with average δ34Sorg of c. 24‰ in the upper siliceous member the highest yet reported for marine organic sulfur and roughly 2-3‰ higher than Miocene seawater sulfate. δ34Spyr is consistently c. 12‰ depleted in comparison to organic sulfur in the lower phosphatic member of the Santa Maria Basin, but an abrupt enrichment in both δ34Spyr and δ34Sorg coincident with a sharp lithostratigraphic transition at c. 11 Ma reduces this offset to <4‰ for much of the upper siliceous shales. The Santa Barbara Basin shows a sulfur isotope record intermediate between the San Joaquin and Santa Maria Basins, with average δ34Spyr and δ34Sorg of 3‰ and 12‰ respectively, and relatively consistent c. 10‰ pyrite-organic isotope offset. Records for all three basins demonstrate a close correlation between coeval δ34Spyr and δ34Sorg values which we attribute to derivation from an equivalent, or at least similar, source of sedimentary or water column sulfide. However, marked offset in the isotopic composition of coexisting pyrite and organic sulfur, of variable magnitude within and between basins, implies some contrast in the diagenetic processes underlying sulfur incorporation into the two phases. We argue that the prominent δ34Spyr and δ34Sorg isotopic differences between broadly coeval basin sections are largely the result of differences in sedimentation regime and the associated balance of iron and sulfide supply during diagenesis. A likely factor of additional importance to this iron-sulfide balance is basin-specific sedimentary and water column redox. These findings illustrate the importance of determining independent constraints on the nature of a sedimentary system before conclusions are made relating the sulfur isotope composition of sedimentary species to paleoenvironmental conditions. Additionally, we suggest that records of δ34Spyr have a strong dependence on interaction with organic sulfur during formation, and thus that existing δ34Spyr records are more effectively interpreted in combination with δ34Sorg records.

Venus is the most Earth-like of the terrestrial planets, though very little is known about its surface composition. Thanks to recent advances in laboratory spectroscopy and spectral analysis techniques, this is about to change. Although the atmosphere prohibits observations of the surface with traditional imaging techniques over much of the EM spectral range, five transparent windows between ~0.86 µm and ~1.18 µm occur in the atmosphere’s CO2 spectrum. New high temperature laboratory spectra from the Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory at DLR show that spectra in these windows are highly diagnostic for surface mineralogy [1]. The Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) [2] builds on these recent advances VEM is the first flight instrument specially designed to focus solely on mapping Venus’ surface using the windows around 1 µm. Operating in situ from Venus orbit, VEM will provide a global map of composition as well as redox state of the surface, enabling a comprehensive picture of surface-atmosphere interaction on Venus. VEM will return a complex data set containing surface, atmospheric, cloud, and scattering information. Total planned data volume for a typical mission scenario exceeds 1TB. Classical analysis techniques have been successfully used for VIRTIS on Venus Express [3-5] and could be employed with the VEM data. However, application of machine learning approaches to this rich dataset is vastly more efficient, as has already been confirmed with laboratory data. Binary classifiers [6] demonstrate that at current best estimate errors, basalt spectra are confidently discriminated from basaltic andesites, andesites, and rhyolite/granite. Applying the approach of self-organizing maps to the increasingly large set of laboratory measurements allows searching for additional mineralogical indicators, especially including their temperature dependence. [1] Dyar M. D. et al. 2017 LPS XLVIII, #1512. [2] Helbert, J. et al. 2016. San Diego, CA, SPIE. [3] Smrekar, S.E., et al. Science, 2010 328(5978), 605-8. [4] Helbert, J., et al., GRL, 2008 35(11). [5] Mueller, N., et al., JGR, 2008 113. [6] Dyar M. D. et al. 2017 LPS XLVIII, #3014.