The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) produced near-global 1 and 3 DEMs. The cartographically-derived National Elevation Dataset (NED) provides a mechanism to assess SRTM quality. We compared 12 geomorphometric parameters from SRTM to NED for about 500,000 sample areas over the continental United States. For basic parameters like average elevation or relief, the two data sets correlate ve...

Accurately predicting the seismic wavefield is important for physics-based earthquake hazard studies and dependent on an accurate source model, a good model of subsurface geology, full physics wave propagation. Here, we conduct numerical experiments to investigate effect different representations Southern California Earthquake Center Harvard community velocity models waveform predictions in vic...

The long-wavelength surface deflection of Earth’s outermost rocky shell is mainly controlled by large-scale dynamic processes like isostasy or mantle flow. The largest topographic amplitudes are therefore observed at plate boundaries due to the presence of large thermal heterogeneities and strong tectonic forces. Distinct vertical surface deflections are particularly apparent at convergent plat...

The generation of internal gravity waves by oscillating bodies, a classical topic from the late 1960s and early 1970s, has been revived about a decade ago in connection with the generation of the internal tide by the oscillation of the barotropic tide over deep-ocean topography, an important topic for ocean mixing and the energy balance of the Earth–Moon system [1–3]. Most investigations of the...

The Earth’s long-wavelength geoid anomalies have long been used to constrain the dynamics and viscosity structure of the mantle in an isochemical, whole mantle convection model. However, there is strong evidence that the seismically observed large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) in the lower mantle underneath the Pacific and Africa are chemically distinct and likely denser than the ambien...

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) are a major research focus because of increasing human health and safety concerns and the potential for biological impacts on wildlife. A key component of both understanding the causes of WVCs and designing mitigation measures is the collection and analysis of environmental and roadway data at WVC sites. However, collecting these site data can be logistically ...

Barchan dunes — crescent-shaped dunes that form in areas of unidirectional winds and low sand availability — commonly display an asymmetric shape, with one limb extended downwind. Several factors have been identified as potential causes for barchan dune asymmetry on Earth and Mars: asymmetric bimodal wind regime, topography, influx asymmetry and dune collision. However, the dynamics and potenti...

Precise factors controlling the coevolution of deformation and topography in tectonically active landscapes remain poorly understood due to complex feedbacks between numerous possible variables. Here we examine the links between fault kinematics, emergent topography, and environmental factors on a global data set of active fault-driven mountain ranges (n = 41). Using simple regressions between ...

The stresses which must be maintained on faults bounding the rift topography at Tempe Fossae—the “North Tempe Rift” (NTR)— and Valles Marineris (VM) on Mars are estimated, using a simple elastic model and topographic data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). The absence of rift-flank uplift at the NTR is consistent with an elastic thickness, Te, of 20 km or greater at the time of rift ...