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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Landslide Velocity, Thickness, And Rheology From Remote Sensing; La Clapiere Landslide, France, Adam M. Booth, Michael P. Lamb, Jean-Philippe Avouac, Christophe Delacourt Aug 2013

Landslide Velocity, Thickness, And Rheology From Remote Sensing; La Clapiere Landslide, France, Adam M. Booth, Michael P. Lamb, Jean-Philippe Avouac, Christophe Delacourt

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Quantifying the velocity, volume, and rheology of deep, slow-moving landslides is essential for hazard prediction and understanding landscape evolution, but existing field-based methods are difficult or impossible to implement at remote sites. Here we present a novel and widely applicable method for constraining landslide 3-D deformation and thickness by inverting surface change data from repeat stereo imagery. Our analysis of La Clapiere, an approximately 1 km (super 2) bedrock landslide, reveals a concave-up failure surface with considerable roughness over length scales of tens of meters. Calibrating the thickness model with independent, local thickness measurements, we find a maximum thickness of …


Studying The Relationship Between Mud/Salt Flat Habitat And Shorebird Abundance At Two Wetland Areas Using Landsat, Dustin Reagan Jul 2013

Studying The Relationship Between Mud/Salt Flat Habitat And Shorebird Abundance At Two Wetland Areas Using Landsat, Dustin Reagan

Master's Theses

The objective of this project was to determine the degree and direction of association between the amount of mud/salt flat area and shorebird abundance during spring and early summer. This study used Landsat 5 to indirectly measure mudflat and salt flat areas at two wetland complexes within Kansas over a period of several years (1991-2008). These measurements were compared to shorebird surveys conducted by several individuals at both Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area. A correlation analysis showed that significant relationships exist between mud/salt flat area and the abundance of certain shorebird species. Correlation coefficients for individual …


Martian Dune Fields: Aeolian Activity, Morphology, Sediment Pathways, And Provenance, Matthew Chojnacki May 2013

Martian Dune Fields: Aeolian Activity, Morphology, Sediment Pathways, And Provenance, Matthew Chojnacki

Doctoral Dissertations

Wind has likely been the dominant geologic agent for most of Mars’ history. The wide-spread nature of sand dunes there shows that near-surface winds have commonly interacted with plentiful mobile sediments. Early studies of these dunes suggested minimal activity, dominantly unidirectional simple dune morphologies, and little variations in basaltic sand compositions. This dissertation examines martian sand dunes and aeolian systems, in terms of their activity, morphologies, thermophysical properties, sand compositions, geologic contexts, and source-lithologies using new higher-resolution orbital data. Although previous evidence for contemporary dune activity has been limited, results presented in Chapter II show substantial activity in Endeavour Crater, …


Application Of Various Remote Sensing And Aerial Photography Data Sets To Resolve Surface Structure In Areas Of Poor Exposure: Examples From Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia And Katalla Area, Alaska Usa, Sarah Natalie Heinlein Jan 2013

Application Of Various Remote Sensing And Aerial Photography Data Sets To Resolve Surface Structure In Areas Of Poor Exposure: Examples From Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia And Katalla Area, Alaska Usa, Sarah Natalie Heinlein

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For many years now remote sensing data sets and application techniques of these various data have been routinely used in geological studies. Some of these studies are as basic as using Google Earth applications for general reconnaissance to more sophisticated methods for energy exploration or development of active tectonic models for a region. This dissertation presents data from two study areas within the northern pacific region utilizing a number of remote sensing and aerial photography data: 1) Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, and 2) Katalla area of southern Alaska, USA. The Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia study evaluates surface geomorphology which includes the morphology …


Extending Airborne Electromagnetic Surveys For Regional Active Layer And Permafrost Mapping With Remote Sensing And Ancillary Data, Yukon Flats Ecoregion, Central Alaska, Neal J. Pastick, M. Torre Jorgenson, Bruce K. Wylie, Burke J. Minsley, Lei Ji, Michelle A. Walvoord, Bruce D. Smith, Jared D. Abraham, Joshua R. Rose Jan 2013

Extending Airborne Electromagnetic Surveys For Regional Active Layer And Permafrost Mapping With Remote Sensing And Ancillary Data, Yukon Flats Ecoregion, Central Alaska, Neal J. Pastick, M. Torre Jorgenson, Bruce K. Wylie, Burke J. Minsley, Lei Ji, Michelle A. Walvoord, Bruce D. Smith, Jared D. Abraham, Joshua R. Rose

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Machine-learning regression tree models were used to extrapolate airborne electromagnetic resistivity data collected along flight lines in the Yukon Flats Ecoregion, central Alaska, for regional mapping of permafrost. This method of extrapolation (r = 0.86) used subsurface resistivity, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) at-sensor reflectance, thermal, TM-derived spectral indices, digital elevation models and other relevant spatial data to estimate near-surface (0–2.6-m depth) resistivity at 30-m resolution. A piecewise regression model (r = 0.82) and a presence/absence decision tree classification (accuracy of 87%) were used to estimate active-layer thickness (ALT) (< 101 cm) and the probability of near-surface (up to 123-cm depth) permafrost occurrence from field data, modelled near-surface (0–2.6m) resistivity, and other relevant remote sensing and map data. At site scale, the predicted ALTs were similar to those previously observed for different vegetation types. At the landscape scale, the predicted ALTs tended to be thinner on higher-elevation loess deposits than on low-lying alluvial and sand sheet deposits of the Yukon Flats. The ALT and permafrost maps provide a baseline for future permafrost monitoring, serve as inputs for modelling hydrological and carbon cycles at local to regional scales, and offer insight into the ALT response to fire and thaw processes. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.