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At least 253 records · Page 14

Exploration of OMI Products for Air Quality Applications Through Comparisons with Models and Observations

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board NASA s Aura satellite was launched in July 2004, and is now providing daily global observations of total column ozone, NO2, and SO2, as well as aerosol information. Algorithms have also been developed to produce daily tropospheric ozone and NO2 products. The tropospheric ozone product reported here is a tropospheric residual computed through use of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) ozone profile data to quantify stratospheric ozone. We are investigating the applicability of OMI products for use in air quality modeling, forecasting, and analysis. These investigations include comparison of the OMI tropospheric O3 and NO2 products with global and regional models and with lower tropospheric aircraft observations. Large-scale transport of pollution seen in the OM1 tropospheric O3 data is compared with output from NASA's Global Modeling Initiative global chemistry and transport model. On the regional scale we compare the OMI tropospheric O3 and NO2 with fields from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Environmental Protection Agency (NOAA/EPA) operational Eta/CMAQ air quality forecasting model over the eastern United States. This 12-km horizontal resolution model output is roughly of equivalent resolution to the OMI pixel data. Correlation analysis between lower tropospheric aircraft O3 profile data taken by the University of Maryland over the Mid-Atlantic States and OMI tropospheric column mean volume mixing ratio for O3 will be presented. These aircraft data are representative of the lowest 3 kilometers of the atmosphere, the region in which much of the locally-generated and regionally-transported ozone exists.

Pickering, K. E.↗

Evidence for collisionless conduction fronts in impulsive solar flares

The present paper is concerned with an analysis of new observations of impulsive hard X-ray and microwave bursts. The results are compared with predictions of a thermal flare model. A description is presented of the thermal model with conduction-front confinement, taking into account the development and previous applications of the model, the high-energy limit of confinement and its implications for microwave emission, the formation of a test based on the revised predictions of the model, and derived parameters. The observations and the test of the model are discussed, giving attention to instrumentation, event selection, selection of a homogeneous sample of impulsive rises,. observed and derived parameters for each rise, a correlation analysis of observed and predicted rise times, uncertainties in the measurements, consistency checks, and a comparison with results of Crannell et al. (1978).

Batchelor, D. A.↗

Imperfection Insensitivity Analyses of Advanced Composite Tow-Steered Shells

Two advanced composite tow-steered shells, one with tow overlaps and another without overlaps, were previously designed, fabricated and tested in end compression, both without cutouts, and with small and large cutouts. In each case, good agreement was observed between experimental buckling loads and supporting linear bifurcation buckling analyses. However, previous buckling tests and analyses have shown historically poor correlation, perhaps due to the presence of geometric imperfections that serve as failure initiators. For the tow-steered shells, their circumferential variation in axial stiffness may have suppressed this sensitivity to imperfections, leading to the agreement noted between tests and analyses. To investigate this further, a numerical investigation was performed in this study using geometric imperfections measured from both shells. Finite element models of both shells were analyzed first without, and then, with measured imperfections that were then, superposed in different orientations around the shell longitudinal axis. Small variations in both the axial prebuckling stiffness and global buckling load were observed for the range of imperfections studied here, which suggests that the tow steering, and resulting circumferentially varying axial stiffness, may result in the test-analysis correlation observed for these shells.

Wu, K. Chauncey↗

Primitive Xe in the atmospheres of Earth and mars

Published data on Xe isotope compositions in primitive carbonaceous meteorites are examined using multidimensional correlation analysis. Distribution of the Xe data in multidimensional data space, except for (129)Xe, can be characterized by a single component, whose isotope composition is identical to 'H plus L minus Xe'. Additional small contributions to the data variations, less than 1 percent of total variations, can be attributed to 'S minus Xe' as well as atmospheric contamination. Isotopic composition of primitive Xe common to the Earth's atmosphere and carbonaceous meteorites are determined with the same assumption as adopted by Pepin and Phinney: primitive Xe is precisely related to fission-free Xe in the Earth's atmosphere by mass fractionation. The determined isotopic composition of primitive Xe is closer to Solar-type Xe, rather than U-Xe (and the primitive Xe estimated from chondrite-achondrite correlation. Hence, the present published data on Xe isotope compositions in meteorites do not seem to require any special component for the primitive Xe common to the Earth's atmosphere and carbonaceous meteorites. Thus Earth's accreting planetesimals would have trapped Xe from the surrounding nebula gases where Xe isotope composition is identical to Solar-type Xe. The trapped Xe was subsequently subject to isotopic fractionation due to gravitational separation as planetesimals grew. Finally fissiogenic Xe from (244)Pu was added to form the present Xe isotope composition of the Earth's atmosphere. The amount of fissiogenic (136)Xe is estimated to be 2.6 percent of the total amount of (136)Xe in the atmosphere, which is about a half of that estimated by Pepin and Phinney (4.65 percent).

Igarashi, G.↗

Study of noise sources in a subsonic fan using measured blade pressures and acoustic theory

Sources of noise in a 1.4 m (4.6 ft) diameter subsonic tip speed propulsive fan running statically outdoors are studied using a combination of techniques. Signals measured with pressure transducers on a rotor blade are plotted in a format showing the space-time history of inlet distortion. Study of these plots visually and with statistical correlation analysis confirms that the inlet flow contains long, thin eddies of turbulence. Turbulence generated in the boundary layer of the shroud upstream of the rotor tips was not found to be an important noise source. Fan noise is diagnosed by computing narrowband spectra of rotor and stator sound power and comparing these with measured sound power spectra. Rotor noise is computed from spectra of the measured blade pressures and stator noise is computed using the author's stator noise theory. It is concluded that the rotor and stator sources contribute about equally at frequencies in the vicinity of the first three harmonics of blade passing frequency. At higher frequencies, the stator contribution diminishes rapidly and the rotor/inlet turbulence mechanism dominates. Two parametric studies are performed by using the rotor noise calculation procedure which was correlated with test. In the first study, the effects on noise spectrum and directivity are calculated for changes in turbulence properties, rotational Mach number, number of blades, and stagger angle. In the second study the influences of design tip speed and blade number on noise are evaluated.

Hanson, D. B.↗

Crash Simulation of a Vertical Drop Test of a Commuter-Class Aircraft

A finite element model of an ATR42-300 commuter-class aircraft was developed and a crash simulation was executed. Analytical predictions were correlated with data obtained from a 30-ft/s (9.14-m/s) vertical drop test of the aircraft. The purpose of the test was to evaluate the structural response of the aircraft when subjected to a severe, but survivable, impact. The aircraft was configured with seats, dummies, luggage, and other ballast. The wings were filled with 8,700 lb. (3,946 kg) of water to represent the fuel. The finite element model, which consisted of 57,643 nodes and 62,979 elements, was developed from direct measurements of the airframe geometry. The seats, dummies, luggage, fuel, and other ballast were represented using concentrated masses. The model was executed in LS-DYNA, a commercial code for performing explicit transient dynamic simulations. Predictions of structural deformation and selected time-history responses were generated. The simulation was successfully validated through extensive test-analysis correlation.

Jackson, Karen E.↗

Age and thermochronology of K-feldspars from the Manson Impact Structure

As a contribution to the effort to obtain a precise age for the Manson Impact Structure, we are approaching the problem from a thermo chronological perspective, with the goal of extracting an age from Ar-40/Ar-39 age-spectrum analysis of partially overprinted K-feldspars taken from granitoid clasts. We find that shocked feldspars from Manson generally show a strong overprint in their age spectra, with more than 50 percent of each spectrum being reset. The reset portions of the age spectra correspond to gas lost from very small diffusion domains, and a characteristic of the Manson samples is the very large range in apparent diffusion dimensions that they display, with the smallest domains being some 400 times smaller than the largest domains. It is also noteworthy that the small domains comprise a substantial portion of the volume of the feldspars (50 percent or more). These observations are consistent with the extreme shock experienced by these samples. In detail, the spectra we have measured to date are saddle-shaped and show minimum ages of between 67 and 72 Ma, which we interpret to be maximum estimates for the age of the impact. In the case of one sample (M1-678.3; K-feldspar from a large syenite block located well below the apparent melt-matrix breccia in the M1 borehole), isotope correlation analysis suggests the presence of a non-atmospheric trapped Ar component (Ar-40/Ar-36 of 660 plus or minus 40), and an age of about 65.3 plus or minus 0.5 Ma (2 sigma). Our interpretation of our results is that the shock of impact greatly reduced the diffusion-domain sizes of our samples, making them susceptible to significant Ar loss during heating associated with impact. It appears that while our feldspars were partially open to Ar loss, they equilibrated with a non-atmospheric Ar component, probably related to impact-related degassing of old basement around the impact site.

Zeitler, P. K.↗

Relationship Between Satellite-Derived Snow Cover and Snowmelt-Runoff Timing and Stream Power in the Wind River Range, Wyoming

Earlier onset of springtime weather including earlier snowmelt has been documented in the western United States over at least the last 50 years. Because the majority (>70%) of the water supply in the western U.S. comes from snowmelt, analysis of the declining spring snowpack (and shrinking glaciers) has important implications for streamflow management. The amount of water in a snowpack influences stream discharge which can also influence erosion and sediment transport by changing stream power, or the rate at which a stream can do work such as move sediment and erode the stream bed. The focus of this work is the Wind River Range (WRR) in west-central Wyoming. Ten years of Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow-cover, cloud- gap-filled (CGF) map products and 30 years of discharge and meteorological station a are studied. Streamflow data from six streams in the WRR drainage basins show lower annual discharge and earlier snowmelt in the decade of the 2000s than in the previous three decades, though no trend of either lower streamflow or earlier snowmelt was observed using MODIS snow-cover maps within the decade of the 2000s. Results show a statistically-significant trend at the 95% confidence level (or higher) of increasing weekly maximum air temperature (for three out of the five meteorological stations studied) in the decade of the 1970s, and also for the 40-year study period. MODIS- derived snow cover (percent of basin covered) measured on 30 April explains over 89% of the variance in discharge for maximum monthly streamflow in the decade of the 2000s using Spearman rank correlation analysis. We also investigated stream power for Bull Lake Creek Above Bull Lake from 1970 to 2009; a statistically-significant trend toward reduced stream power was found (significant at the 90% confidence level). Observed changes in streamflow and stream power may be related to increasing weekly maximum air temperature measured during the 40-year study period. The strong relationship between percent of basin covered and streamflow indicates that MODIS data is useful for predicting streamflow, leading to improved reservoir management.

Hall, Dorothy K.↗

Relationship Between Satellite-Derived Snow Cover and Snowmelt-Runoff Timing and Stream Power in the Wind River Range, Wyoming

Earlier onset of springtime weather including earlier snowmelt has been documented in the western United States over at least the last 50 years. Because the majority (>70%) of the water supply in the western U.S. comes from snowmelt, analysis of the declining spring snowpack (and shrinking glaciers) has important implications for streamflow management. The amount of water in a snowpack influences stream discharge which can also influence erosion and sediment transport by changing stream power, or the rate at which a stream can do work such as move sediment and erode the stream bed. The focus of this work is the Wind River Range (WRR) in west-central Wyoming. Ten years of Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow-cover, cloud- gap-filled (CGF) map products and 30 years of discharge and meteorological station data are studied. Streamflow data from six streams in the WRR drainage basins show lower annual discharge and earlier snowmelt in the decade of the 2000s than in the previous three decades, though no trend of either lower streamflow or earlier snowmelt was observed using MODIS snow-cover maps within the decade of the 2000s. Results show a statistically-significant trend at the 95% confidence level (or higher) of increasing weekly maximum air temperature (for three out of the five meteorological stations studied) in the decade of the 1970s, and also for the 40-year study period. MODIS-derived snow cover (percent of basin covered) measured on 30 April explains over 89% of the variance in discharge for maximum monthly streamflow in the decade of the 2000s using Spearman rank correlation analysis. We also investigated stream power for Bull Lake Creek Above Bull Lake from 1970 to 2009; a statistically-significant end toward reduced stream power was found (significant at the 90% confidence level). Observed changes in streamflow and stream power may be related to increasing weekly maximum air temperature measured during the 40-year study period. The strong relationship between percent of basin covered and streamflow indicates that MODIS data is useful for predicting streamflow, leading to improved reservoir management

Hall, Dorothy K.↗

Development of high temperature nickel-base alloys for jet engine turbine bucket applications

A program has been initiated to develop a material with superior properties at elevated temperatures for utilization in turbine blade applications. A nickel-base superalloy can provide the necessary high temperature strength by using the maximum capability of the three available strengthening mechanisms - intermetallic gamma prime precipitation (Ni3Al), solid solution strengthening with refractory and precious metals, and stable carbide formations through the addition of strong carbide forming elements. A stress rupture test at 2000 deg F and 15,000 psi was formulated to approximate the desired properties. By adding varying amounts of refractory metals (Mo, W and Ta) it was possible to statistically analyze the effects of each in a basic superalloy composition containing fixed amounts of Co, Cr, C, B, Sr, and Ni at three separate levels of AL and Ta. Metallographic analysis correlated with the mechanical properties of the alloys; those with few strengthening phases were weak and ductile and those with excessive amounts of intermetallic phases present in undesirable morphologies were brittle.

SUPERALLOY↗

The shape of the F-region irregularities which produce satellite scintillations Evidence for axial asymmetry.

Correlation analysis of three-station observations of satellite amplitude scintillations, recorded at London, Canada during the summer of 1968, have been interpreted to give information on the height, size and shape of the ionospheric irregularities. The irregularities had a mean height of 390 km, and when interpreted in terms of the usual axially-symmetric, field-aligned model, had a mean axial ratio of 6.5, and a mean dimension transverse to the magnetic field of 0.7 km. None of these parameters showed any systematic trend with geomagnetic latitude. The data for one of the passes analyzed were inconsistent with axial symmetry, and when examined in terms of a more general model, 3 of 9 passes showed evidence of irregularities which were elongated both along and transverse to the earth's magnetic field, the elongation transverse to the field tending to lie in a north-south direction.

Moorcroft, D. R.↗

Automated cloud tracking using precisely aligned digital ATS pictures.

Discussion of the interactive man-computer system (WIMDCO) for measuring cloud motion from ATS pictures. The multipicture model of ATS navigation is used for consecutive ATS digital picture alignment to provide the required precision in cloud motion measurements by automated tracking techniques. Cloud motion is measured by tracking clouds between two digital pictures with the aid of two-dimensional cross correlation analysis. The fast Fourier transform method and other programming techniques are used for time and cost minimization. Cloud motion vectors were computed over three time intervals in July, 1969. The EW and NS components were reproducible within roughly 2 knots.

Smith, E. A.↗

The lunar conductivity profile and the nonuniqueness of electromagnetic data inversion.

A review of the theory for the electromagnetic functional used to date to determine the lunar conductivity profile from spectral analyses of lunar magnetometer data. The 'hard' boundary condition used by Sonett et al. (1971) and others appears to be a good approximation for the sunlit lunar hemisphere. The use of the spectral data in conjunction with the functional to find a least squares conductivity profile is examined from the point of view of the nonuniqueness of nonlinear estimation. An unsuccessful search was carried out to find models that were both geophysically reasonable and consistent with the data. It is asserted that the failure to find these models is due to the inadequacy of the functional. Of the models generated, those that best fit the data all have a conductivity peak at a depth of 240 km similar to that of the model discussed by Sonett et al. However, all of these models are quite distinct elsewhere in the profile. It is shown how such models are dependent on both the nature of the functional as well as the initial guess in the least squares procedure. A correlation analysis shows that the only resolvable features from this type of model are a low conductivity crust, a high conductivity peak of limited radial extent, and a low conductivity zone beneath the peak.

Phillips, R. J.↗

Study to determine cloud motion from meteorological satellite data

Processing techniques were tested for deducing cloud motion vectors from overlapped portions of pairs of pictures made from meteorological satellites. This was accomplished by programming and testing techniques for estimating pattern motion by means of cross correlation analysis with emphasis placed upon identifying and reducing errors resulting from various factors. Techniques were then selected and incorporated into a cloud motion determination program which included a routine which would select and prepare sample array pairs from the preprocessed test data. The program was then subjected to limited testing with data samples selected from the Nimbus 4 THIR data provided by the 11.5 micron channel.

Clark, B. B.↗