Integrated Desert Terrain Forecasting for Military Operations

McDonald, Eric V.; Bacon, Steven N.; Baker, Sophie; Amit, Rivka; Antinao, José Luis; Berli, M.; Bullard, Tom; Caldwell, Todd; Crouvi, Onn; Enzel, Yehouda

doi:10.21236/ada605971

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…As fan surfaces age, physical and biological processes cause a portion of surface clasts to rotate, or ‘flip’, causing the lower rubified side of a clast to become exposed to the surface (e.g. McDonald et al, 2013), such that older surfaces have a larger abundance of flipped clasts. In addition, as a surface ages, flipped rubified clasts begin to develop a new varnish.…”

Section: Approach and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene rupture history of the Ash Hill fault, Eastern California Shear Zone, and the potential for seismogenic strain transfer between nearby faults

Regalla

Kirby

Mahan

et al. 2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Understanding how fault systems interact and transfer strain over seismogenic timescales (seconds to ka) requires temporal records of past ruptures along adjacent and intersecting fault networks. Here we document the record of Late Holocene ruptures as recorded in the geomorphology of alluvial deposits along the Ash Hill fault, in the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ). We leverage a multi-faceted approach to evaluate the relative timing of Ash Hill fault ruptures to those of nearby faults in the ECSZ. We determine the number and timing of Late Holocene earthquakes on the

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Section: Approach and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene rupture history of the Ash Hill fault, Eastern California Shear Zone, and the potential for seismogenic strain transfer between nearby faults

Regalla

Kirby

Mahan

et al. 2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…Linking landform geomorphology and soil characteristics is a continuing line of research. McDonald et al (2013) worked over a 9-year span to develop an integrated, predictive tool for forecasting desert terrain conditions with regard to several variables, including soils, dust emission potential, and trafficability or mobility hazards, to support military activities in desert environments. They developed multiple approaches using basic terrain data, including remotely sensed data and imagery, to predict detailed surfaces and subsurface terrain conditions over a wide range of scales in near real time.…”

Section: Figures and Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil strength analysis of Sonoran Desert landforms

Shoop¹,

Beal²,

Wieder³

et al. 2018

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Connecting landforms to soil strength parameters can enable the prediction of soil bearing capacity and shear strength-important information for mobility and dust emission modeling. This project aimed to relate soil strength metrics to geomorphic landforms, focusing on five alluvial and aeolian landform classes in the Sonoran Desert. To achieve this, a variety of soil strength, dust emission, and soil texture measurements were made at 47 sites in California and Arizona; and these data were compared with landform classifications. Measurements of soil bearing capacity and shear strength varied significantly between landform classes. The aeolian landforms had significantly lower bearing capacity and shear strength than the alluvial landforms. The alluvial fan landform demonstrated consistently high soil strength, whereas the alluvial plain landform had relatively high mean soil strength but extreme site variability. The aeolian landforms were dominated by sand, whereas the alluvial landforms presented variable particle size distributions extending into loam and silt-loam classes. Silt and clay content were positively correlated with soil strength across all sites, while sand content was negatively correlated. Only the near-surface soil strength measures from the pocket penetrometer, Torvane, and vane shear correlated with dust emission flux and susceptibility.

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“…Geomorphological processes form the very basis of soil formation and development; once these processes and the landforms are understood, they can provide insight into the currently unknown internal soil properties. Previous studies have attempted to link landforms with soil characteristics (Harden 1982, McDonald et al 2013, Shoop et al 2018. However, these efforts were mainly focused on desert aeolian and alluvial landforms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary assessment of landform soil strength on glaciated terrain in New Hampshire

Hodgdon¹,

Shoop²

2020

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Accurate terrain characterization is important for predicting off-road vehicle mobility. Soil strength is a significant terrain characteristic affecting vehicle mobility. Collecting soil strength measurements is laborious, making in-situ observations sparse. Research has focused on providing soil strength estimates using remote sensing techniques that can provide large spatial and temporal estimates, but the results are often inaccurate. Past attempts have quantified the soil properties of arid environments using landform assessments; yet many military operating environments occupy high latitude regions with landscapes dominated by glacial deposits. This study took preliminary strength measurements for glacial landforms deposited from the Laurentide Ice Sheet in New England. A range of common glacial landforms were sampled to assess shear strength, bearing capacity, and volumetric moisture content. Glacial outwash landforms had the highest average shear strengths, glacial deltas the lowest. There was a significant negative correlation between silt content and shear strength of the soil, a significant positive correlation between bearing capacity and clay content, and a significant negative correlation with sand content. Moisture content of soils was inversely correlated to the abundance of gravel in the deposit. This work provides initial insight to this approach on glaciated terrain, but continued sampling will provide more robust correlations. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents.

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Integrated Desert Terrain Forecasting for Military Operations

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Late Holocene rupture history of the Ash Hill fault, Eastern California Shear Zone, and the potential for seismogenic strain transfer between nearby faults

Late Holocene rupture history of the Ash Hill fault, Eastern California Shear Zone, and the potential for seismogenic strain transfer between nearby faults

Soil strength analysis of Sonoran Desert landforms

Preliminary assessment of landform soil strength on glaciated terrain in New Hampshire

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