arXiv subjects

Eriita G. Jones

Publications and source records attributed to Eriita G. Jones.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Producing High-Resolution Martian Surface Temperature Maps Using VIR-TIR Relationships

Thermal infrared data (TIR; 8 - 15 $μm$) has a wide range of applications in Earth and planetary remote sensing. On Mars, this includes deriving thermal inertia (TI), which describes surface physical characteristics (e.g. particle size, degree of cementation) and is key for understanding geologic processes, assessing in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) environments, and assisting mission planning. However, TI data from the THEMIS instrument is limited to 100 m/pixel resolution. Hyperspectral visible and near-infrared data (VIR; 0.5 - 5 $μm$) compliments TIR data by providing information on surface composition and is provided by the CRISM instrument at 12 m/pixel. In this work, we generate a machine learning regressor-based model to constrain relationships between THEMIS TI and CRISM VIR images at THEMIS resolution, and predict TI values from CRISM spectra with high accuracy (R2 $\sim$ 0.90, RMSE $\sim$ 23.6 TIU). We use the model to produce a downscaled TI map at a spatial resolution of 12 m/pixel, an order of magnitude finer than currently available, revealing decametre-scale features previously unresolved in THEMIS data.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2019

Gender Balance and Inclusion Within The Australian Space Community: An Overview Of Delegates At The 2018 Australian Space Research Conference

A significant gender disparity is widely known to occur within the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Women are both under-represented in their participation in Australian STEM education (compared to their fraction within the population at large), and face a much higher attrition rate from STEM subjects throughout secondary and tertiary education. Even within STEM careers the proportion of women frequently generally decreases with increasing position of seniority. In 2015 organisers and members of the Australian Space Research Community began to analyse the data from participants of the Australian Space Research Conference, in order to derive statistics relating to the gender balance of the conference. In this paper, the data from the most recent conference (held on the Gold Coast, in September 2018) is analysed, considering the gender demographics of delegates, presenters (within numerous categories), and awards. This year, we also present the dimensions of career type and academic level of conference attendees. The resulting trends are compared to those of other national space research conferences - the Scientific Meeting of the Astronomical Society of Australia. The results show that the representation of females dropped to the lowest levels since formal data collection began in 2015, with females comprising 23% of conference attendees, and 21% of all session presentations (posters and talks combined). Gender parity was achieved however amongst the invited Plenary presentations. Recommendations for removing some of the barriers to female participation in the conference and encouraging greater gender balance and diversity in future are discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2008

Identifying the Potential Biosphere of Mars

Our current knowledge of life on Earth indicates a basic requirement for liquid water. The locations of present liquid water are therefore the logical sites to search for current life on Mars. We develop a picture of where on Mars the regions with the highest potential near-surface liquid water abundance can be found through a study of gullies. We also use rampart craters to sound the depth of water ice on Mars and where the highest concentrations of water ice occur. We estimate that low latitude gullies and rampart craters with depths greater than 100 m at 30 degrees (absolute) latitude, greater than 1.3 km at 35 degrees and greater than 2.6 km at 40 degrees latitude will give access to current liquid water environments capable of supporting microbial life. Our data is most consistent with the formation of these gullies through shallow aquifer discharge. These features should therefore be high priority targets for further study and high-resolution imaging with HiRISE.

astro-ph↗