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- Stephan, K., et al.
(författare)
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Regions of interest on Ganymede's and Callisto's surfaces as potential targets for ESA's JUICE mission
- 2021
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Ingår i: Planetary and Space Science. - : Elsevier. - 0032-0633 .- 1873-5088. ; 208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The JUpiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE) will investigate Ganymede's and Callisto's surfaces and subsurfaces from orbit to explore the geologic processes that have shaped and altered their surfaces by impact, tectonics, possible cryovolcanism, space weathering due to micrometeorites, radiation and charged particles as well as explore the structure and properties of the icy crust and liquid shell (Grasset et al., 2013). The best possible synergy of the JUICE instruments is required to answer the major science objective of this mission and to fully exploit the po-tential of the JUICE mission. Therefore, the JUICE team is aiming to define high priority targets on both Gany-mede's and Callisto's surfaces to support the coordination of the planning activities by the individual instrument teams. Based on the science objectives of the JUICE mission and the most recent knowledge of Ganymede's and Callisto's geologic evolution we propose a collection of Regions of Interest (RoIs), which characterize surface features and terrain types representing important traces of geologic processes, from past and/or present cryovolcanic and tectonic activity to space weathering processes, which are crucial to understand the geologic evolution of Ganymede and Callisto. The proposed evaluation of RoIs is based on their scientific importance as well as on the opportunities and conditions to observe them during the currently discussed mission profile.
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- Choudhury, Maidul I., et al.
(författare)
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Enhancing wetland nitrogen removal through macrophyte harvest and installation of woodchips-based floating beds
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Constructed wetlands (CWs) remove nitrogen (N) more efficiently as wetlands age and vegetation establishes. However, when CWs become heavily overgrown and filled with plant litter and root mats, channels form and N removal declines. Here, management may maintain high N removal. We tested two CW management options 1) restoration through macrophyte harvesting including root mat removal, and 2) subsequent installation of woodchips-based floating beds (WFBs) to compensate macrophyte loss. In a field experiment, using 16 heavily overgrown experimental CWs, we applied four treatments: i) macrophyte harvesting, ii) macrophyte harvesting and 5% of the wetland surface covered with WFBs, iii) macrophyte harvesting and 20% WFB cover, and iv) a control treatment (heavily overgrown). WFBs were planted with Glyceria maxima and Filipendula ulmaria before installation. N removal efficiency, removal rate and removal rate coefficient ka were estimated on nine occasions. After the experiment, WFBs were removed and plant biomass accrual, N assimilation, and denitrification gene (nirS, nirK, nosZI and nosZII) abundance on plant roots and woodchips were studied.Macrophyte harvesting significantly improved N removal of heavily overgrown CWs, whereas WFBs installation only improved N removal in harvested treatments on some occasions. Both G. maxima and F. ulmaria grew well on WFBs. Relative biomass production, root length and root surface area were higher for G. maxima than for F. ulmaria whereas biomass N assimilation was higher for F. ulmaria. Denitrification gene abundance was higher on plant roots than on woodchips while G. maxima hosted higher root denitrification gene abundance than F. ulmaria. We conclude that macrophyte harvesting improves N removal in heavily overgrown CWs. Further long-term field studies are needed to precisely evaluate the contribution of WFBs to N removal in CWs.
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- Cuthill, Innes C., et al.
(författare)
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The biology of color
- 2017
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 357:6350
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coloration mediates the relationship between an organism and its environment in important ways, including social signaling, antipredator defenses, parasitic exploitation, thermoregulation, and protection from ultraviolet light, microbes, and abrasion. Methodological breakthroughs are accelerating knowledge of the processes underlying both the production of animal coloration and its perception, experiments are advancing understanding of mechanism and function, and measurements of color collected noninvasively and at a global scale are opening windows to evolutionary dynamics more generally. Here we provide a roadmap of these advances and identify hitherto unrecognized challenges for this multi- and interdisciplinary field.
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5. |
- Feng, Shaohong, et al.
(författare)
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Dense sampling of bird diversity increases power of comparative genomics
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 587:7833
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whole-genome sequencing projects are increasingly populating the tree of life and characterizing biodiversity(1-4). Sparse taxon sampling has previously been proposed to confound phylogenetic inference(5), and captures only a fraction of the genomic diversity. Here we report a substantial step towards the dense representation of avian phylogenetic and molecular diversity, by analysing 363 genomes from 92.4% of bird families-including 267 newly sequenced genomes produced for phase II of the Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K) Project. We use this comparative genome dataset in combination with a pipeline that leverages a reference-free whole-genome alignment to identify orthologous regions in greater numbers than has previously been possible and to recognize genomic novelties in particular bird lineages. The densely sampled alignment provides a single-base-pair map of selection, has more than doubled the fraction of bases that are confidently predicted to be under conservation and reveals extensive patterns of weak selection in predominantly non-coding DNA. Our results demonstrate that increasing the diversity of genomes used in comparative studies can reveal more shared and lineage-specific variation, and improve the investigation of genomic characteristics. We anticipate that this genomic resource will offer new perspectives on evolutionary processes in cross-species comparative analyses and assist in efforts to conserve species. A dataset of the genomes of 363 species from the Bird 10,000 Genomes Project shows increased power to detect shared and lineage-specific variation, demonstrating the importance of phylogenetically diverse taxon sampling in whole-genome sequencing.
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6. |
- Bernhardt, H., et al.
(författare)
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Debris flow recurrence periods and multi-temporal observations of colluvial fan evolution in central Spitsbergen (Svalbard)
- 2017
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Ingår i: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X. ; 296, s. 132-141
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fan-shaped accumulations of debris flow deposits are common landforms in polar regions such as Svalbard. Although depositional processes in these environments are of high interest to climate as well as Mars-analog research, several parameters, e.g., debris flow recurrence periods, remain poorly constrained. Here, we present an investigation based on remote sensing as well as in situ data of a similar to 0.4 km(2) large colluvial fan in Hanaskogdalen, central Spitsbergen. We analyzed high resolution satellite and aerial images covering five decades from 1961 to 2014 and correlated them with lichenometric dating as well as meteorological data. Image analyses and lichenometry deliver consistent results and show that the recurrence period of large debris flows (>= 400 m(3)) is about 5 to 10 years, with smaller flows averaging at two per year in the period from 2008 to 2013. While this is up to two orders of magnitude shorter than previous estimates for Svalbard (80 to 500 years), we found the average volume of -220 m(3) per individual flow to be similar to previous estimates for the region. Image data also reveal that an avulsion took place between 1961 and 1976, when the active part of the fan moved from its eastern to its western portion. A case study of the effects of a light rain event (similar to 5 mm/day) in the rainy summer of 2013, which triggered a large debris flow, further shows that even light precipitation can trigger major flows. This is made possible by multiple light rain events or gradual snow melt pre-saturating the permafrost ground and has to be taken into account when predicting the likelihood of potentially hazardous mass wasting in polar regions. Furthermore, our findings imply a current net deposition rate on the colluvial fan of similar to 480 m(3)/year, which is slightly less than the integrated net deposition rate of 576 to 720 m(3)/year resulting from the current fan volume divided by the 12,500 to 10,000 years since the onset of fan build-up after the area's deglaciation. However, the actual deposition rate, which should increase in a warmer climate including more rain, cannot be constrained due to effects like ongoing toe-cutting of the debris fan and some flows only causing internal redistributions.
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- Dinets, Vladimir, et al.
(författare)
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Striking difference in response to expanding brood parasites by birds in western and eastern Beringia
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of field ornithology. - : WILEY. - 0273-8570 .- 1557-9263. ; 89:2, s. 117-125
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two species of obligate brood-parasitic Cuculus cuckoos are expanding their ranges in Beringia. Both now breed on the Asian side, close to the Bering Strait, and are found in Alaska during the breeding season. From May to July 2017, we used painted 3D-printed model eggs of two cuckoo host-races breeding in northeastern Siberia to test behavioral responses of native songbirds on both sides of the Bering Strait, with particular attention to species that are known cuckoo hosts in their Siberian range. Each host nest was tested after the second egg was laid and, if possible, again 4 days later with a model of a different type. Although our Siberian study site was also outside the known breeding ranges of the cuckoos, we found that Siberian birds had strong anti-parasite responses, with 14 of 22 models rejected. In contrast, birds in Alaska had virtually no detectable anti-parasite behaviors, with only one of 96 models rejected; the rejecters were Red-throated Pipits (Anthus cervinus). Such differences suggest that the cuckoos might successfully parasitize naive hosts and become established in North America whether or not their historic host species are widely available.
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8. |
- Holm-Alwmark, S., et al.
(författare)
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Stratigraphic Relationships in Jezero Crater, Mars : Constraints on the Timing of Fluvial-Lacustrine Activity From Orbital Observations
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. - 2169-9097. ; 126:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On February 18, 2021 NASA's Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, located at the northwestern edge of the Isidis basin on Mars. The uppermost surface of the present-day crater floor is dominated by a distinct geologic assemblage previously referred to as the dark-toned floor. It consists of a smooth, dark-toned unit overlying and variably covering light-toned, roughly eroded deposits showing evidence of discrete layers. In this study, we investigated the stratigraphic relations between materials that comprise this assemblage, the main western delta deposit, as well as isolated mesas located east of the main delta body that potentially represent delta remnants. A more detailed classification and differentiation of crater floor units in Jezero and determination of their relative ages is vital for the understanding of the geologic evolution of the crater system, and determination of the potential timeline and environments of habitability. We have investigated unit contacts using topographic profiles and DEMs as well as the distribution of small craters and fractures on the youngest portions of the crater floor. Our results indicate that at least some of the deltaic deposition in Jezero postdates emplacement of the uppermost surface of the crater floor assemblage. The inferred age of the floor assemblage can therefore help to constrain the timing of the Jezero fluviolacustrine system, wherein at least some lake activity postdates the age of the uppermost crater floor. We present hypotheses that can be tested by Perseverance and can be used to advance our knowledge of the geologic evolution of the area.
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9. |
- Oberst, J., et al.
(författare)
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Planetary polar explorer – the case for a next-generation remote sensing mission to low Mars orbit
- 2022
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 54, s. 695-711
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We propose the exploration of polar areas on Mars by a next-generation orbiter mission. In particular, we aim at studying the seasonal and regional variations in snow-deposits, which – in combination with measurements of temporal variations in rotation and gravity field – will improve models of the global planetary CO2 cycle. A monitoring of polar scarps for rock falls and avalanche events may provide insights into the dynamics of ice sheets. The mapping of the complex layering of polar deposits, believed to contain an important record of climate history, may help us understand the early climate collapse on the planet. Hence, we propose an innovative next-generation exploration mission in polar circular Low Mars Orbit, which will be of interest to scientists and challenging to engineers alike. Schemes will be developed to overcome atmosphere drag forces acting upon the spacecraft by an electric propulsion system. Based on the experience of missions of similar type in Earth orbit we believe that a two-year mission in circular orbit is possible at altitudes as low as 150 km. Such a mission opens new opportunities for novel remote sensing approaches, not requiring excessive telescope equipment or power. We anticipate precision altimetry, powerful radars, high-resolution imaging, and magnetic field mapping. © 2022, The Author(s).
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- Ramsdale, J. D., et al.
(författare)
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Grid-based mapping: A method for rapidly determining the spatial distributions of small features over very large areas
- 2017
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Ingår i: Planetary and Space Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-0633. ; 140, s. 49-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increased volume, spatial resolution, and areal coverage of high-resolution images of Mars over the past 15 years have led to an increased quantity and variety of small-scale landform identifications. Though many such landforms are too small to represent individually on regional-scale maps, determining their presence or absence across large areas helps form the observational basis for developing hypotheses on the geological nature and environmental history of a study area. The combination of improved spatial resolution and near-continuous coverage significantly increases the time required to analyse the data. This becomes problematic when attempting regional or global-scale studies of metre and decametre-scale landforms. Here, we describe an approach for mapping small features (from decimetre to kilometre scale) across large areas, formulated for a project to study the northern plains of Mars, and provide context on how this method was developed and how it can be implemented. Rather than. "mapping" with points and polygons, grid-based mapping uses a "tick box" approach to efficiently record the locations of specific landforms (we use an example suite of glacial landforms; including viscous flow features, the latitude dependant mantle and polygonised ground). A grid of squares (e.g. 20 km by 20 km) is created over the mapping area. Then the basemap data are systematically examined, grid-square by grid-square at full resolution, in order to identify the landforms while recording the presence or absence of selected landforms in each grid-square to determine spatial distributions. The result is a series of grids recording the distribution of all the mapped landforms across the study area. In some ways, these are equivalent to raster images, as they show a continuous distribution-field of the various landforms across a defined (rectangular, in most cases) area. When overlain on context maps, these form a coarse, digital landform map. We find that grid-based mapping provides an efficient solution to the problems of mapping small landforms over large areas, by providing a consistent and standardised approach to spatial data collection. The simplicity of the grid-based mapping approach makes it extremely scalable and workable for group efforts, requiring minimal user experience and producing consistent and repeatable results. The discrete nature of the datasets, simplicity of approach, and divisibility of tasks, open up the possibility for citizen science in which crowdsourcing large grid based mapping areas could be applied.
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