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The Laschamp Excursion and a further geomagnetic excursion shortly after were characterised by the intermittent dominance of non-axial dipolar-fields, according to high-resolution paleomagnetic measurements on precisely dated sediments from Lake Suigetsu, Japan

Abstract Terrestrial records of the last geomagnetic reversal often have few age constraints. Chronostratigraphy using suborbital-scale paleoceanic events during marine isotope stage 19 may contribute to solving this problem. We applied the method to an 8 m long, high-resolution paleomagnetic record from a loess sequence in China and revealed millennial-to-sub-centennial scale features of the Matuyama–Brunhes (MB) transition. All samples were subjected to progressive thermal demagnetization with 14–15 steps up to 650–680 °C. As a result, 96% of the samples yielded a high-quality remanent magnetization. The MB transition terminated with a 75 cm thick zone with nine polarity flips. The polarity flip zone, dated at about 779–777 ka, began between the warm events “I” and “J” and terminated at the end of the cooling event coincident with the lowest axial-dipole strength interval. Most polarity flips occurred within 70 years. The virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) in the upper polarity flip zone clustered in the SW Pacific region, where the MB transitional VGPs from lavas of the Hawaiian and Canary Islands and lacustrine deposits of Java also clustered. These sites were probably dominated by dipolar fields. The absence of transitional fields across polarity flips implies a short time span for averaging fields due to a thin loess-magnetization lock-in zone. The reverse-to-normal polarity reversal dated at about 778 ka in Lingtai occurred at the end of the SW Pacific VGP zone, an important key bed for MB transition stratigraphy. The reversal is a good candidate for the main MB boundary. We found an excursion at about 766 ka spanning about 1 ka.

The timing and intensity of deformation of the Tanggula Range and Tuotuohe Basin are in debatable but strengthening the research on them is necessary for better understanding the geodynamic models of the Tibet and the tectonic-climate connections during the Cenozoic. Here we present the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) records from the foreland Tuotuohe Basin to understand the tectonic uplift history of the Tanggula Range for the interval of ∼37–19.7 Ma. Rock magnetic analyses indicate that the main magnetic carrier is paramagnetic and the minor is hematite. Thus, the AMS in the Tuotuohe Section (TS) can be used to track the tectonic strain related to tectonic processes. The distribution direction of the maximum principle susceptibility (Kmax) is approximately NW–SE, which intersects at about 10°with the strike of the strata and is nearly parallel to the Tanggula thrust fault system, whereas the minimum principle susceptibility (Kmin) is oriented in the NE–SW direction with a girdle distribution. This is consistent with the sedimentary fabric imprinted by the NE–SW shortening direction, representing the earliest deformation stage. AMS data in the TS can be divided into two phases at 30 Ma. From ∼37 to 30 Ma, the AMS parameters indicate an active tectonic strain and the Tanggula Range uplift induced by the India–Asia convergence, whereas between 30 and 19.7 Ma, the strain is weak compared with the earlier phase. Finally, the weak strain environment between 30 and 19.7 Ma indicated by the AMS indexes of the TS and the paleoelevation evidence from the Tuotuohe Basin all together suggest that an additional 1000–2000 m of surface uplift of the basin may have begun after 19.7 Ma.

In this article, desertification and dune progression over vegetation was quantified using remote sensing data. However, vegetation buried under sand blowout could not be counted using this method. Therefore, to estimate the extent of buried vegetation, a GPR campaign was conducted over the coastal sand-dune of Tottori Prefecture (Japan) in combination with a high-resolution topographic UAV-based survey of the topography. The results show that buried vegetation exists underneath sand-blowout, especially near the dune ridges, and can extend from 20 to 30 meters further than the estimate based on airborne remote sensing. Furthermore, the presence of palaeo-vegetation in palaeodune layers also provides the information on the long-term evolution of sand dunes, which can be used to reconstruct Quaternary coastal environments.

The South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin is the oldest and largest visible impact structure on the Moon, making it a high priority science site for exploration missions. The 492 km diameter Apollo peak-ring basin is one of the youngest and largest basins within the SPA basin. We selected three regions of interest (ROIs) in the Apollo basin for which the landing and operational hazards are minimized and evaluated their science and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) potential. We examined topography, slope, crater density, rock abundance, geologic mapping, mineralogy, and inferred subsurface stratigraphy within each ROI. The results show that the terrain is safe for landing without precision landing (within a few hundred meters). The mare materials have high ISRU potential with relatively high FeO (∼16–20 wt%) and TiO _2 (∼3–10 wt%) contents. Two robotic exploration mission architectures were examined for their scientific potential: (1) lander and rover with a dedicated payload suite and (2) the same architecture with sample return capability. In situ observations can address six of seven National Research Council concepts (1–3, 5–7) and Campaigns 1 and 5 of the European Space Agency’s Strategy for Science at the Moon.

Landslide dams are less frequent than other landslides, and their very existence is often very-much short-lived, because the temporary dam tends to collapse rapidly. Because of the resulting lack of evidences, there has been less research done on this topic, although the potential catastrophe they can be at the origin of needs assessment. For this purpose, the present contribution aims at differentiating landslides that trigger dams against those that do not inside a group of valleys of the Kii peninsula in Japan, where landslides occurred after the typhoon Talas in 2011. Using topographic map before the event and LiDAR data in its aftermath, the authors have calculated the factor of safety (FS) of different landslides in the same valleys, comparing the data of landslides that created dams against those that did not. The results show that landslides that triggered dams seemed to have a higher FS than those that did not. The authors suggest that it is because larger landslides are needed and thus appear more stable, but also because at the location where the slopes are stable, the riverbed can incise further instead of growing horizontally, and thus the sediments damming the channel have more chances to block it (as it is narrow) and stop the river from flowing.

Increasing attention has been paid to multi-hazards in environmental disaster studies produced during the last decade. Multi-hazard studies focus on the occurrence, interaction and effect of several natural hazards in the same region. Despite the increasing number of multi-hazard studies, few investigations have focused on global-scale multi-hazard events. With the aim of closing this gap, our study focuses on the identification of periods during the last 1.5 million years of the Pleistocene epoch, with the quasi-parallel appearance of natural hazards (e.g., asteroid impacts and large volcanic eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8 and 7) amplifying their individual effects and thus causing long-term, global-scale changes. Of the seven identified potential multi-hazard events, three were considered as possible global-scale events with a longer term environmental (paleoclimatic) impact; dated to c.a., 1.4 Ma (marine isotope stage – MIS45), 1.0 Ma (MIS 27), and 100 ka (MIS 5c), respectively. Two additional periods (around 50 and 20 ka) were identified as being associated with more restricted scale multi-hazard events, which might cause a “Little Ice Age-like” climatic episode in the history of the Pleistocene Period. In addition, we present a hypothesis about the complex climatic response to a global-scale multi-hazard event consisting of a series of asteroid impacts and volcanic eruption linked to a geomagnetic polarity change, namely the Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary, which might be accompanied by global cooling and result in the final step of the Early Middle Pleistocene Transition.

In this work, we examined characteristics of the currently confirmed exoplanet population in order to characterize some of the crucial parameters for ocean formation. Two correlation heatmaps were created: one for the exoplanets in general, and one for exoplanets that can be found in the habitable zone according to calculations. Based on these, we found possible associations between planetary radius/mass, stellar metallicity, and multiple characteristics. We propose plans for further studies of possible proxies for exoplanetary ocean exploration.

Spatial approaches, based on the deformation measurement of volcanic domes and crater rims, is key in evaluating the activity of a volcano, such as Merapi Volcano, where associated disaster risk regularly takes lives. Within this framework, this study aims to detect localized topographic change in the summit area that has occurred concomitantly with the dome growth and explosion reported. The methodology was focused on two sets of data, one LiDAR-based dataset from 2012 and one UAV dataset from 2014. The results show that during the period 2012–2014, the crater walls were 100–120 m above the crater floor at its maximum (from the north to the east–southeast sector), while the west and north sectors present a topographic range of 40–80 m. During the period 2012–2014, the evolution of the crater rim around the dome was generally stable (no large collapse). The opening of a new vent on the surface of the dome has displaced an equivalent volume of 2.04 × 104 m3, corresponding to a maximum −9 m (+/−0.9 m) vertically. The exploded material has partly fallen within the crater, increasing the accumulated loose material while leaving “hollows” where the vents are located, although the potential presence of debris inside these vents made it difficult to determine the exact size of these openings. Despite a measure of the error from the two DEMs, adding a previously published dataset shows further discrepancies, suggesting that there is also a technical need to develop point-cloud technologies for active volcanic craters.

In the aftermath of pyroclastic density current-dominated eruptions, lahars are the main geomorphic agent, but at the decadal scale, different sets of processes take place in the volcanic sediment cascade. At Unzen volcano, in the Gokurakudani gully, we investigated the geomorphologic evolution and how the topographic change and the sediment change over time is controlling this transition. For this purpose, a combination of LiDAR data, aerial photography and photogrammetry, ground penetrating radar and sediment grain size analysis was done. The results show choking zones and zones of enlargement of the gully, partly controlled by pre-eruption topography, but also by the overlapping patterns of the pyroclastic flow deposits of 1990–1995. The ground penetrating radar revealed that on top of the typical lahar structure at the bottom of the gully, side wall collapses were trapping finer sandy sediments formed in a relatively low-energy deposition environment. This shows that secondary processes are taking place in the sediment transport process, on top of lahar activity, but also that these temporary dams may be a source of sudden sediment and water release, leading to lahars. Finally, the sediments from the gully walls are being preferentially oozed out of the pyroclastic flow deposit, meaning that over longer period of time, there may be a lack of fines, increasing permeability and reducing internal pore pressure needed for lahar triggering. It also poses the important question of how much of a past event one can understand from outcrops in coarse heterometric material, as the deposit structure can remain, even after losing part of its fine material.

A theory about a young, evolving “stealth ocean” under the ancient-looking surface of Mimas, the moon of Saturn, triggered us to revisit the icy satellite and develop a revised geological map based on Cassini images. The re-mapping of Mimas’s surface aimed to fill the decades-long gap that grew since the publication of the first Voyager image-based pioneering map, and it provided an up-to-date synthetic interpretation of revised and newly discovered features. Despite the map being in its early stage of introduction, it already showed some key features that may play significant roles in the reconstruction of Mimas’s (surface) evolution. The Herschel crater, formed by a global-scale impact, undoubtedly left additional marks, including fault scarps, stair-step faults, and post-impact surface transformation, through mass movements around the crater wall and the peak. Smaller craters left various scars on the surface, including asymmetric craters, whose morphology and allocation we used to reconstruct the regional topographic changes on the surface of Mimas. In addition to the impact-related features, which dominated the surface of the icy satellite, groups of weak, quasi-parallel running linear features, such as undifferentiated lineaments, grooves/through, and ridges, were also observed. The appearance and pattern of those lineaments overlapped with the allocation of various modeled global nonlinear tidal dissipations, supporting the existence of theoretical subsurface stealth oceans.

The Wispy Terrain is the region of chasmata characterized by quasi-parallel fault systems, formed by extensional and shear stresses of the icy crust of Dione, a moon of Saturn. Besides the basic, satellite-scale geological mapping and very general definition of the phenomenon, only a few studies focus on the Wispy Terrain and its chasmata from the angle of detailed tectonic reconstruction, with others mainly targeting, e.g., the timing of its formation. This study provides a detailed geological and cryotectonic analysis in the surroundings of the Eurotas and Palatine Chasmata and proposes additional, until now, unidentified tectonic processes and a formation model. The relationship between fragmentary impact craters and tectonic features indicates other newly suspected tectonic movements, namely thrust, and splay and décollement fault systems. In contrast to the commonly expected and identified dilatational processes, such fault types show compression and are characteristic of subduction in a terrestrial environment. Theoretically, the appearance of such tectonic processes means that the already-known rift and the newly discovered subsumption (subduction-like) processes may appear together in the Wispy Terrain. The appearance of both features may suggest the presence of some of the components (phases) of a Wilson cycle analog cryotectonic cycle (or possibly cycles) in icy planetary bodies like Dione.

The study introduces a theory about an Evander-size impact on the surface of Dione. Our study suspects a relatively low-velocity (≤5 km/s) collision between a ca. 50–80 km diameter object and Dione, which might have resulted in the resurfacing of one of the satellite’s intermediate cratered terrains in various ways, such as surface planing by “plowing” by ricocheting ejectiles, ejecta blanket covering, partial melting, and impact-triggered diapir formation associated with cryotectonism and effusive cryo-slurry outflows. Modeling the parameters of an impact of such a size and mapping the potential secondary crater distribution in the target location may function as the first test of plausibility to reveal the location of such a collision, which may be hidden by younger impact marks formed during, e.g., the Antenor, Dido, Romulus, and Remus collision events. The source of the impactor might have been Saturn-specific planetocentric debris, a unique impactor population suspected in the Saturnian system. Other possible candidates are asteroid(s) appearing during the outer Solar System’s heavy bombardment period, or a collision, which might have happened during the “giant impact phase” in the early Saturnian system.

Wispy Terrain, with its chasmata, is one of the enigmatic regions of Dione. It consists of quasi-parallel graben, and troughs, in parts with horsts, indicating extensional and shear stresses. This study introduces some observations of compression-related features and proposes a new regional formation model. The study of the relationship between impact craters and tectonic features revealed certain “lost” parts of some crosscut craters, indicating additional cryotectonic features, the appearance of accretionary prism-like phenomena, and, theoretically, subsumption-like processes. This study provides new information about the surface renewal processes at one of the youngest and probably still active regions of Dione.

The study introduces a theory about a giant impact on the surface of Dione. Our study suspects a relatively low-velocity (≤5 km/s) collision between a c.a. 50–80 km diameter object and Dione, which might have resulted in the resurfacing of its intermediate cratered terrain. The source of the impactor might have been a unique satellite-centric debris, a unique impactor population, suspected in the Saturnian system. Other possible candidates are asteroid(s) appearing during the outer Solar System heavy bombardment period, or a collision, which might have happened during the “giant impact phase” in the early Saturnian system (coinciding with the Late Heavy Bombardment, or not).

Internal temperature variations of pyroclastic flows and their deposits are arguably the most challenging data to acquire. As a preliminary study of the temperature variation inside pyroclastic flows, the remains of Onokoba Elementary School (Shimabara, Japan) were investigated. The elementary school is located in the close vicinity of Unzen volcano and was hit by one of the largest pyroclastic flows during the latest active period of the volcano on 15th of September 1991. This present preliminary study aims to determine the temperature exposure of various portion of the school building using field-forensic and urban geology. Natural hazard methods applied to the damaged materials exposed to high temperature have generated a temperature fingerprint the maximum temperature distribution. Charred wooden parts and plastic gutters installed on the schoolyard-side faced of the building turns out to be the most useful temperature indicators. The various deformation and alterations of the studied materials show significant differences in the temperature exposed to. Such differences on the second-floor section (between 75-110°C and 120-150°C) and on the first-floor section (above 435-557°C) of the building do not simply imply significant temperature heterogeneity in short distance (some ten to ≤100 m) inside the pyroclastic flow, but also points toward the possible effects of the building architecture on some key dynamic parameter of the pyroclastic flow. Such information may be important for planning future hazard mitigation actions.