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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

GPS and Ionosphere

The Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation of satellites is revolutionizing the science and technology of the Earth's ionosphere.

Global Positioning System (GPS) ionosphere total e↗
NASA NTRS2003

On the ionospheric impact of recent storm events on satellite-based augmentation systems in middle and low-latitude sectors

The Ionospheric correction algorithms have been characterized extensively for the mid-latitude region of the ionosphere where benign conditions usually exist. The United States Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) for civil aircraft navigation is focused primarily on the Conterminous United States (CONUS). Other Satellite-based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) include the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and the Japanese Global Navigation Satellite System (MSAS). Researchers are facing a more serious challenge in addressing the ionospheric impact on navigation using SBAS in other parts of the world such as the South American region on India. At equatorial latitudes, geophysical conditions lead to the so-called Appleton-Hartree (equatorial) anomaly phenomenon, which results in significantly larger ionospheric range delays and range delay spatial gradients than is observed in the CONUS or European sectors. In this paper, we use GPS measurements of geomagnetic storm days to perform a quantitative assessment of WAAS-type ionospheric correction algorithms in other parts of the world such as the low-latitude Brazil and mid-latitude Europe. For the study, we access a world-wide network of 400+ dual frequency GPS receivers.

validation↗
NASA NTRS2006

GNSS-Based Space Weather Systems Including COSMIC Ionospheric Measurements

The presentation outline includes University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) product comparisons, assimilating ground-based global positioning satellites (GPS) and COSMIC into JPL/University of Southern California (USC) Global Assimilative Ionospheric Model (GAIM), and JPL/USC GAIM validation. The discussion of comparisons examines Abel profiles and calibrated TEC. The JPL/USC GAIM validation uses Arecibo ISR, Jason-2 VTEC, and Abel profiles.

global assimilative ionspheric modeal↗
NASA NTRS2011

Techniques and Tools for Estimating Ionospheric Effects in Interferometric and Polarimetric SAR Data

The InSAR Scientific Computing Environment (ISCE) is a flexible, extensible software tool designed for the end-to-end processing and analysis of synthetic aperture radar data. ISCE inherits the core of the ROI_PAC interferometric tool, but contains improvements at all levels of the radar processing chain, including a modular and extensible architecture, new focusing approach, better geocoding of the data, handling of multi-polarization data, radiometric calibration, and estimation and correction of ionospheric effects. In this paper we describe the characteristics of ISCE with emphasis on the ionospheric modules. To detect ionospheric anomalies, ISCE implements the Faraday rotation method using quadpolarimetric images, and the split-spectrum technique using interferometric single-, dual- and quad-polarimetric images. The ability to generate co-registered time series of quad-polarimetric images makes ISCE also an ideal tool to be used for polarimetric-interferometric radar applications.

Ionosphere↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Electron Heat Fluxes Associated with Electron Precipitation in the Region of Diffuse Aurora

Electron heat flux that comes from the magnetosphere to the upper ionospheric altitudes controls the value of electron temperature in the core plasma, and, as a result, the total electron density content that is required for different kinds of space weather applications. Knowing the thermal electron heat flux at the upper ionospheric boundaries is the Achilles' heel of all ionospheric models. Such a thermal heat flux setting is especially difficult to justify in the region of the diffuse aurora that is connected to a large energy reservoir of electrons with energies of a few kiloelectron volts, the Earth's plasma sheet, where magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes are strongly interconnected. We use the simulated heat flux provided by SuperThermal Electron Transport (STET) code to estimate electron temperatures at the upper ionospheric altitudes and compare these results with corresponding observations from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellite during Saint Patrick's Days 2013 and 2015 Geomagnetic Storms.

George V. Khazanov↗
NASA NTRS2024

Detection of Extensive Equatorial Plasma Depletions after the 2022 Tongan Volcanic Eruption from Multiple Geodetic Satellite Ranging Systems

We present a number of unique observations of ionospheric anomalies following the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HTHH) volcanic eruption on 15 January 2022. All are based on non-dedicated geodetic satellite systems: Global Positioning System tracking of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) CubeSats, intersatellite tracking between two GRACE Follow-On satellites, satellite radar altimeters to the ocean surface, and Doppler radio beacons from ground stations to LEO geodetic satellites. Their observations revealed the development of anomalously large trough-like plasma depletions, along with plasma bubbles, in the equatorial regions of the Pacific and East Asian sectors. Trough-like plasma depletions appeared to be confined within approximately ±20° magnetic latitude, accompanied by density enhancements just outside this latitude range. These plasma depletions and enhancements were aligned with the magnetic equator and occurred across broad longitudes. They were detected in regions where atmospheric waves from the HTHH eruption passed through around the time of the sunset terminator. We interpret these phenomena in terms of the E dynamo electric fields driven by atmospheric waves from the eruption. The uplift of the ionosphere beyond satellite altitudes, followed by subsequent plasma diffusion to higher latitudes along magnetic field lines, results in the formation of trough-like plasma depletions around the magnetic equator and density enhancement at higher latitudes. The detection of plasma bubbles in the Asian sector during the non-bubble season (January) is likely associated with the uplift of the ionosphere at the sunset terminator.

Sentinel-3B↗
DOE OSTI2026

First DIII-D-West hybrid scenario similarity experiments for iter-relevant long-pulse operation

For the first time, similarity experiments between DIII-D and WEST were performed in the ITER "hybrid-like" regime during dedicated campaigns in April and May 2025. The matched parameters include elongation, triangularity, ion ∇B drift direction toward the X-point, qprofile, and core normalized physics quantities in terms of normalized pressure, normalized gyroradius, electron collisionality, ratio of ion to electron temperature, T i /T e . Core transport physics is explored with different aspect ratio (R/a) values (typically 3 at DIII-D and 5 on WEST). DIII-D explored high-beta conditions (electromagnetic effect) with low torque injection (~0 ± 0.5 N•m) using high heating power (up to 6 MW NBI and 2 MW ECRH powers), while scanning the heating mix (ion vs electron), beta, T i /T e , core radiation via controlled tungsten injection using the Laser Blow-Off system. WEST extended operation toward long-duration pulses using its actively cooled tungsten divertor, achieving dominated electron heating regimes with reduced tungsten contamination. Boron impurity injection were scanned on WEST to control edge conditions and core performance. It is found that core confinement improves-manifested by higher electron temperature, total energy content, neutron rate, and ion temperatureunder conditions of low separatrix density, consistent with previous observations [Bourdelle et al., Nucl. Fusion 63 (2023) 056021]. Conditions for Hmode access and for ion heating in electron-dominated regimes in both WEST and DIII-D will be discussed and compared. The ratio of the thermal energy confinement time (τ E ) to the volume-averaged electron-ion collisional heat exchange time (τ e-i ) is a key parameter to enhance ion heating and potentially facilitate H-mode access in electron-heated regimes. These first-of-a-kind coordinated DIII-D and WEST experiments provide a unique multi-machine dataset to validate predictive models and to optimize ITER hybrid-scenario performance under diverse core and edge conditions.

DIII-D↗
NASA NTRS1972

Ionospheric scale height from the refraction of satellite signals.

Accurate observations of the elevation angle of arrival of 20 MHz signals from the polar orbiting satellite Beacon-B for a 20 month period have provided transmission ionograms which may be reduced to give Hp the scale height at the peak of the ionosphere. Noon seasonal averages of Hp are 1.35 (in winter) to 1.55 (in summer) times greater than the scale height obtained from bottom-side ionograms. A comparison of scale height at the peak with routine measurements of total content and peak electron density indicates that the O+/H+ transition level is above 1000 km during the day but comes down to about 630 km on winter nights. A predawn peak in the overall scale height is caused by a lowering of the layer to a region of increased recombination and is magnified in winter by low O+/H+ transition levels.

Heron, M. L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electron Acceleration during Macroscale Magnetic Reconnection

Here, the first self-consistent simulations of electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a macroscale system are presented. Consistent with solar flare observations, the spectra of energetic electrons take the form of power laws that extend more than two decades in energy. The drive mechanism for these nonthermal electrons is Fermi reflection in growing and merging magnetic flux ropes. A strong guide field suppresses the production of nonthermal electrons by weakening the Fermi drive mechanism. For a weak guide field the total energy content of nonthermal electrons dominates that of the hot thermal electrons even though their number density remains small. Our results are benchmarked with the hard x-ray, radio, and extreme ultraviolet observations of the X8.2-class solar flare on September 10, 2017.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1974

Recent results from satellite beacon measurements

A review is made of the techniques for measuring ionospheric electron content, the most important parameter in the study of transionospheric propagation. Data collected since 1964 have yielded a synoptic description of the behavior of the electron content in mid-latitudes. Empirical relationships between the level of solar activity and the electron content have been developed permitting the prognostication of the electron content values. Marked discrepancies between prognostication and observation which occur during ionospheric storms are being studied to identify their causes. Electron content bite-outs during solar eclipses fall off with distance from totality more rapidly than simple theory predicts suggesting the action of eclipse induced neutral winds. Gravity waves propagating in the thermosphere leave a signature in the electron content records. Studies of such records have allowed the identification of the position of the gravity wave source, and its radiation pattern.

Da Rosa, A. V.↗
NASA NTRS2020

A Framework for Understanding and Quantifying the Loss and Acceleration of Relativistic Electrons in the Outer Radiation Belt During Geomagnetic Storms

We present detailed analysis of the global relativistic electron dynamics as measured by total radiation belt content (RBC) during coronal mass ejection (CME) and corotating interaction region (CIR)-driven geomagnetic storms. Recent work has demonstrated that the response of the outer radiation belt is consistent and repeatable during geomagnetic storms. Here we build on this work to show that radiation belt dynamics can be divided into two sequential phases, which have different solar wind dependencies and which when analyzed separately reveal that the radiation belt responds more predictably than if the overall storm response is analyzed as a whole. In terms of RBC, in every storm we analyzed, a phase dominated by loss is followed by a phase dominated by acceleration. Analysis of the RBC during each of these phases demonstrates that they both respond coherently to solar wind and magnetospheric driving. However, the response is independent of whether the storm response is associated with either a CME or CIR. Our analysis shows that during the initial phase, radiation belt loss is organized by the location of the magnetopause and the strength of Dst and ultralow frequency wave power. During the second phase, radiation belt enhancements are well organized by the amplitude of ultralow frequency waves, the auroral electroject index, and solar wind energy input. Overall, our results demonstrate that storm time dynamics of the RBC is repeatable and well characterized by solar wind and geomagnetic driving, albeit with different dependencies during the two phases of a storm.

Kyle R. Murphy↗