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NASA NTRS2002

Architectures for High-Performance Ceramic Composites Being Improved

A major thrust of the Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology (UEET) Program at the NASA Glenn Research Center is to develop advanced hot-section engine components using SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMC's) with thermostructural capability to 2400 F (1315 C). In previous studies, UEET determined that the higher the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the as-fabricated CMC, the greater its structural performance at 2400 F. Thus efforts have been ongoing within UEET to understand and develop fiber architecture approaches that can improve the UTS of SiC/SiC CMC's. Under UEET, SiC/SiC test panels and demonstration engine components are currently produced by the multi-ply layup of two-dimensional fabric pieces. The fabric is typically formed of multifilament tows containing high-performance Sylramic (Dow Corning) SiC fiber that is woven into two-dimensional five-harness satin fabric with 20 ends per inch in the 0 degree and 90 degree directions. In some cases, fabric pieces containing woven Sylramic fiber tows are thermally treated at NASA to form Sylramic-iBN fibers that contain a very thin in-situ-grown boron nitride layer on their surfaces. The final SiC/SiC panels and components are fabricated at the CMC vendor by compressing the fabric pieces in tools and then depositing a thin BN interphase coating on the fibers by chemical vapor deposition. The last step at the vendor is to infiltrate the BN-coated fiber architecture with SiC and silicon matrix constituents to form a dense product. Because the as-produced Sylramic fiber tows are sized with a thin polymer coating to facilitate handling and weaving, the individual fibers within the tows and fabric are in close contact with each other. This contact is further increased during fabric compression. One important recent finding is that increasing Sylramic fiber tow width in a fabric increases the UTS of the final SiC/SiC CMC. This effect is presumably related to minimizing fiber/fiber contact, which can be detrimental to CMC strength because of the boron-rich chemistry and roughness of the Sylramic fiber surface. Tows can be spread by mechanically agitating the Sylramic fabric prior to CMC fabrication or by simply thermally treating the Sylramic fabric as in the formation of the Sylramic-iBN fibers. However, CMC's with the treated Sylramic-iBN fabric are even stronger than CMC's with mechanically spread Sylramic tows. The extra strength capability is presumably related to the in situ BN on the fiber surface, which adds compliance to the fiber surfaces and is more resistant to oxygen impurities introduced during the chemical vapor deposition BN process. As shown, another important finding is that the use of fabric with tows having less than the standard of 20 ends per inch provides advantages in terms of reduced ply height and increased ply and CMC strength. The reduced ply height provides more control of part thickness by allowing more plies for a given thickness and by reducing interlaminar residual stresses between plies. The increased ply strength is presumably related to a reduced number of interlaced 90 tows, which, in turn, reduces the crimp angle on the high-modulus fibers in the 0 degree tows. Also, as shown, although fabric with fewer ends per inch reduced the maximum fiber fraction in an eight-ply CMC panel; CMC UTS actually increased because of increased ply strength. Thus, using fabric with fewer ends per inch has several advantages, including providing a significantly higher strength per fiber fraction in the CMC. Consequently, ongoing UEET efforts will attempt to use architectural approaches for components that minimize fiber-fiber contacts and fiber bending within the final composite microstructure.

Yun, Hee Mann↗
NASA NTRS2012

Pulsed Lidar Measurements of Atmospheric CO2 Column Absorption in the ASCENDS 2011 Airborne Campaign

We have previously demonstrated an efficient pulsed, wavelength-resolved IPDA lidar technique for measuring the tropospheric CO2 concentrations as a candidate for NASA's ASCENDS mission. Our team participated in the 2010 ASCENDS airborne campaigns we flew airborne version of the CO2 and O2 lidar on the NASA DC-8. The CO2 lidar measures the atmospheric backscatter profiles and shape of the 1572.33 nm absorption line using 250 mW average laser power, 30 wavelength samples per scan and 300 scans per second. Most flights had 5-6 altitude steps to greater than 12 km, and clear CO2 line shapes were observed at all altitudes. Our post-flight analysis estimated the Iidar range and pulse energies at each wavelength every second. We then solved for the best-fit CO2 absorption line shape, and calculated the Differential Optical Depth (DOD) at the line peak. We compared these to CO2 DODs calculated from spectroscopy based on HITRAN 2008 and the conditions from airborne in-situ readings. Analysis of the 2010 measurements over the Pacific Ocean and Lamont OK shows the expected -linear change of the peak DOD with altitude. For measurements at altitudes greater than 6 km the random errors were approximately 0.3 ppm for 80 sec averaging times. After the 2010 flights we improved the airborne lidar's scan uniformity, calibration and receiver sensitivity. Our team participated in the seven ASCENDS science flights during late July and August 2011. These flights were made over a wide variety of surface and cloud conditions near the US, including over the central valley of California, over several mountain ranges, over both broken and solid stratus cloud deck over the Pacific Ocean, snow patches on mountain tops, over thin and broken clouds above the US Southwest and Iowa, and over forests near the WLEF tower in Wisconsin. Analyses show the retrievals of lidar range and CO2 column absorption, as wen as estimates of CO2 mixing ratio worked well when measuring over topography with rapidly changing height and reflectivity, through thin clouds and to stratus cloud tops. For regions where the CO2 concentration was relatively constant, the measured CO2 absorption profile (averaged for 50 sec) matched the predicted profile to better than 1% RMS error for all flight altitudes. For 1 & 10 second averaging, the scatter in the retrievals was limited by signal shot noise (i.e. the sigual photon count). Analysis to date shows the decrease in CO2 due to vegetation when flying easterward over the Great Plains as well as the increase in CO2 concentration in the vicinity ofthe coal-fired power plant in New Mexico. Examples of these and other results will be presented.

Abshire, James B.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Volume Averaged Height Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VAHIRR) Cost-Benefit Analysis

Lightning Launch Commit Criteria (LLCC) are designed to prevent space launch vehicles from flight through environments conducive to natural or triggered lightning and are used for all U.S. government and commercial launches at government and civilian ranges. They are maintained by a committee known as the NASA/USAF Lightning Advisory Panel (LAP). The previous LLCC for anvil cloud, meant to avoid triggered lightning, have been shown to be overly restrictive. Some of these rules have had such high safety margins that they prohibited flight under conditions that are now thought to be safe 90% of the time, leading to costly launch delays and scrubs. The LLCC for anvil clouds was upgraded in the summer of 2005 to incorporate results from the Airborne Field Mill (ABFM) experiment at the Eastern Range (ER). Numerous combinations of parameters were considered to develop the best correlation of operational weather observations to in-cloud electric fields capable of rocket triggered lightning in anvil clouds. The Volume Averaged Height Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VAHIRR) was the best metric found. Dr. Harry Koons of Aerospace Corporation conducted a risk analysis of the VAHIRR product. The results indicated that the LLCC based on the VAHIRR product would pose a negligible risk of flying through hazardous electric fields. Based on these findings, the Kennedy Space Center Weather Office is considering seeking funding for development of an automated VAHIRR algorithm for the new ER 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) RadTec 431250 weather radar and Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) radars. Before developing an automated algorithm, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) was tasked to determine the frequency with which VAHIRR would have allowed a launch to safely proceed during weather conditions otherwise deemed "red" by the Launch Weather Officer. To do this, the AMU manually calculated VAHIRR values based on candidate cases from past launches with known anvil cloud LLCC violations. An automated algorithm may be developed if the analyses from past launches show VAHIRR would have provided a significant cost benefit by allowing a launch to proceed. The 45 WS at the ER and 30th Weather Squadron (30 WS) at the Western Range provided the AMU with launch weather summaries from past launches that were impacted by LLCC. The 45 WS provided summaries from 14 launch attempts and the 30 WS fkom 5. The launch attempts occurred between December 2001 and June 2007. These summaries helped the AMU determine when the LLCC were "red" due to anvil cloud. The AMU collected WSR-88D radar reflectivity, cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, soundings and satellite imagery. The AMU used step-by-step instructions for calculating VAHIRR manually as provided by the 45 WS. These instructions were used for all of the candidate cases when anvil cloud caused an LLCC violation identified in the launch weather summaries. The AMU evaluated several software programs capable of visualizing radar data so that VAHIRR could be calculated and chose GR2Analyst from Gibson Ridge Software, LLC. Data availability and lack of detail from some launch weather summaries permitted analysis of six launch attempts from the ER and none from the WR. The AMU did not take into account whether or not other weather LCC violations were occurring at the same time as the anvil cloud LLCC since the goal of this task was to determine how often VAHIRR provided relief to the anvil cloud LLCC at any time during several previous launch attempts. Therefore, in the statistics presented in this report, it is possible that even though VAHIRR provided relief to the anvil cloud LLCC, other weather LCC could have been violated not permitting the launch to proceed. The results of this cost-benefit analysis indicated VAHIRR provided relief from the anvil cloud LLCC between about 15% and 18% of the time for varying 5-minute time periods based on summaries fkom six launch attempts and would have allowed launch to proceed that were otherwise "NO GO" due to the anvil cloud LLCC if the T-0 time occurred during the anvil cloud LLCC violations.

Bauman, William H., III↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Towards an Optimal Estimation Retrieval of Cirrus Cloud Optical and Microphysical Properties Using Hyperspectral Shortwave Instruments and A Fast Radiative Transfer Algorithm

Cirrus cloud retrieval products (here, cloud optical depth, effective particle size, and cloud top height) are important inputs into numerical weather and climate models. Uncertainties in such retrieval products, as a matter of course, propagate downstream, impacting model calculations. Improvements in high-quality global cirrus cloud optical and microphysical data products from satellite observations are needed to understand and reduce retrieval uncertainties. Hyperspectral shortwave instruments produce high-resolution and information-dense spectra, thus offering the opportunity to reduce uncertainties in retrieval products. We are in the process of developing a retrieval that uses the very fast Principal Component Radiative Transfer Model in the solar spectral region (PCRTM-Solar) in the forward model calculations. This retrieval will use measured reflectances from the NASA Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) and the forthcoming Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory Pathfinder (CLARREO-Pathfinder) instruments. In this manuscript we present progress towards a reference retrieval employing a widely used, verified, accurate, yet computationally slower radiative transfer modeling technique. The reference retrieval, while too slow for using the complete hyperspectral measurement, will allow us to study the behavior of retrieval products and help us verify results from our in-development fast retrieval. Both retrievals will use the optimal estimation retrieval framework. In this manuscript we present results from an uncertainty analysis considering three uncertainty sources for a cirrus cloud retrieval in the form of error covariance matrices: reflectance uncertainty due to water vapor, the reflectance uncertainty due to ice crystal scattering assumptions, and the instrument measurement uncertainty. Results show that the uncertainty due to habit selection is the largest, while that due to water vapor is at most 0.6% relative to channel reflectance. As a first step, the retrieval is being designed for single layer ice clouds over open ocean water.

Cirrus cloud↗
NASA NTRS1994

Comparative transduction mechanisms of hair cells in the bullfrog utriculus. II. Sensitivity and response dynamics to hair bundle displacement

1. Hair cells in whole-mount in vitro preparations of the utricular macula of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) were selected according to their macular location and hair bundle morphology. The sensitivity and response dynamics of selected hair cells to natural stimulation were examined by recording their voltage responses to step and sinusoidal hair bundle displacements applied to their longest stereocilia. 2. The voltage responses of 31 hair cells to sinusoidal hair bundle displacements were characterized by their gains and phases, taken with respect to peak hair bundle displacement. The gains of Type B and Type C cells at both 0.5 and 5.0 Hz were markedly lower than those of Type F and Type E cells. Phases, with the exception of Type C cells, lagged hair bundle displacement at 0.5 Hz. Type C cells had phase leads of 25-40 degrees. At 5.0 Hz, response phases in all cells were phase lagged with respect to those at 0.5 Hz. Type C cells had larger gains and smaller phase leads at 5.0 Hz than at 0.5 Hz, suggesting the presence of low-frequency adaptation. 3. Displacement-response curves, derived from the voltage responses to 5.0-Hz sinusoids, were sigmoidal in shape and asymmetrical, with the depolarizing response having a greater magnitude and saturating less abruptly than the hyperpolarizing response. When normalized to their largest displacement the linear ranges of these curves varied from < 0.5 to 1.25 microns and were largest in Type B and smallest in Type F and Type E cells. Sensitivity, defined as the slope of the normalized displacement-response curve, was inversely correlated with linear range. 4. The contribution of geometric factors associated with the hair bundle to linear range and sensitivity were predicted from realistic models of utricular hair bundles created using morphological data obtained from light and electron microscopy. Three factors, including 1) the inverse ratio of the lengths of the kinocilium and longest stereocilia, representing the lever arm between kinociliary and stereociliary displacement; 2) tip link extension/linear displacement, largely a function of stereociliary height and separation; and 3) stereociliary number, an estimate of the number of transduction channels, were considered in this analysis. The first of these factors was quantitatively more important than the latter two factors and their total contribution was largest in Type B and Type C cells. Theoretical models were also used to calculate the relation between rotary and linear displacement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS).

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2018

Towards an Enhanced Droplet Activation Scheme for Multi-Moment Bulk Microphysics Schemes

Initial droplet spectra produced upon activation impact the ensuing chain of microphysical processes andtherefore play a crucial role in cloud evolution. This work re-examines dependencies of newly formed clouddroplet size distribution (CDSD) characteristics on environmental and aerosol properties via parcel model simulationsthat serve as the basis for a multi-moment bulk microphysics droplet activation scheme suitable for acloud-resolving model (CRM). It is found that applying a fixed size threshold to define activated droplets versusemploying physical considerations can lead to erroneous activation and overly broad CDSDs for high aerosolconcentration and weak updraft conditions. Aerosol distributions characterized by larger median sizes and/orincreased solubility can result in greater activated droplet numbers, whereas impacts of these parameters onCDSD spectral width depend on both aerosol number concentration and updraft velocity. An expansion of theactivation scheme to include CDSD spectral width is proposed to aid efforts to extend high-order momentprediction to cloud droplet categories in CRMs as well as better represent variability in the activation process onthe cloud scale.simulations to investigate the regime dependence of the relative dispersion(d)1 of newly activated CDSDs, where d is the ratio of dropletradius standard deviation (σ) to the mean radius (r ). C16 demonstratedthat increasing Na resulted in increasing (decreasing) d values via reducedcondensational narrowing (spectral broadening) rates within theAL (UL) regime, with d values peaking in the TR regime. Their findingssuggest a similar regime dependence for d as R09 noted for Nc and helpexplain reportedly conflicting relationships between Na and CDSDspectral characteristics (cf. Hudson and Noble, 2014; Liu et al., 2014),although the applicability of these results within bulk microphysicalschemes was not addressed.Simulating aerosol-cloud interactions with CRMs employing bulkmicrophysics requires that the scheme minimally predict two CDSDparameters, namely mass and number concentrations, and represent thedroplet activation process. Various activation schemes aim to determineNc from aerosol and environmental properties and include analyticalexpressions (e.g., Abdul-Razzak et al., 1998; Morrison et al., 2005) aswell as lookup tables (LUTs) based on detailed parcel model calculations(e.g., Saleeby and Cotton, 2004, hereafter SC04; Segal and Khain,2006; Thompson and Eidhammer, 2014). Expressions to diagnose CDSDspectral width from Nc (Grabowski, 1998; Liu et al., 2006; Morrison andGrabowski, 2007) or cloud water content (Geoffroy et al., 2010) havealso been developed, although more robust methods to obtain CDSDspectral width upon activation are presently lacking. This latter point isrelevant for triple-moment (3 M) bulk microphysics that aim to predictdistribution spectral width alongside number and mass concentrations(e.g., Loftus et al., 2014; Milbrandt and Yau, 2005).The current work extends the findings of C16 to the current LUTbasedaerosol activation scheme used in the Regional AtmosphericModeling System (RAMS) (Cotton et al., 2003; SC04; Saleeby and vanden Heever, 2013, hereafter SvdH13) and additionally examinesaerosol size and solubility impacts on newly activated CDSD properties.Because early cloud development processes such as condensationalgrowth, evaporation, and droplet self-collection depend on and impactCDSD spectral width (Hudson and Yum, 1997; Seifert and Beheng 2001;Lu and Seinfeld, 2006; Igel and van den Heever, 2017), an expansion ofthe activation LUTs to include CDSD spectral width is proposed as apreliminary step for extending 3M prediction to CDSDs in CRMs forimproved simulations of aerosol-cloud interactions.2. MethodologyThe current RAMS two-moment microphysics module determinesthe fractional number of aerosol particles that activate to cloud dropletsfrom five-dimensional LUTs based on model predicted air temperature(T), w, Na, and the geometric median radius (rg) and soluble fraction (ε)of the aerosol size distribution (SvdH13). These LUTs are created offlineusing a one-dimensional Lagrangian adiabatic parcel model (Feingoldand Heymsfield, 1992; Heymsfield and Sabin, 1989; SC04) to simulateexplicit droplet activation and initial CDSD growth for a range of ambientatmospheric conditions [T, w] and binned lognormal aerosol sizedistributions given by= ⎡⎣ ⎢− ⎤⎦ ⎥N r Nr π σr rσ( )2 lnexp[ln( / )]2(ln )aggg22 (1)where r is the dry aerosol particle bin radius and σg is the geometricstandard deviation of the distribution. As the parcel model simulationsfocus on the activation process, other processes such as coalescence,sedimentation, and mixing are not considered. Details of the parcelmodel can be found in SC04 and SvdH13, and only a brief description isprovided here. At the onset of parcel model calculations, the initiallydry aerosol particles in all bins first deliquesce and reach theirequilibrium diameters in a sub-saturated environment based on theKöhler equation for solution droplets. The parcel is then lifted at a fixedupward velocity w, and particle growth by vapor diffusion, along withconcurrent changes in the ambient environment, are iteratively computedusing the Variable-coefficient Ordinary Differential Equation(VODE) solver (Brown et al., 1989). The time resolution of these calculationsis determined within the VODE solver, and the frequency atwhich the solver is called is controlled by a longer model time stepbased on fixed upward parcel displacement increments (Δz) at thespecified w (Δt=Δz/w). Model calculations proceed until the parcelreaches a height 50m beyond the level of maximum saturation ratio(Smax) or total parcel displacement exceeds 2 km. Upon model termination,Smax and the fractional number of aerosols (factv) resulting innewly formed cloud droplets, defined as particles having diameters of atleast 2 μm, are cataloged in the LUTs according to the specified T, w, Na,rg, and ε parameter values.A critical point regarding the creation of these LUTs is the use of afixed minimum diameter (Dmin) to define cloud droplets in the parcelmodel, which can produce erroneous CDSD characteristics, particularlywithin the UL regime. For aerosol distributions with large rg valuesunder low SS conditions, for example, deliquesced aerosols within thelarge tail of the distribution can exceed 2 μm in diameter yet remainunactivated as ‘haze’ particles (Levin and Cotton, 2009; McFigganset al., 2006). For this study, aerosol particles activate to cloud dropletsbased on the critical diameter Dcrit as a function of parcel supersaturationratio (Sr) as in R09:D = σ MS RTρ83 ln( ) critsol wr w (2)where σsol is the surface tension of a solution droplet, Mw and ρw are themolar mass and density of liquid water, respectively, and R is theuniversal gas constant. Additionally, at relatively large w values withinthe AL regime, Nc stabilizes shortly after reaching supersaturation.However, parcel ascent and condensational growth continue beyondthe level of Smax, potentially causing additional narrowing of the CDSD.In the current work, model calculations terminate upon reaching Smaxas changes in Nc are negligible with continued ascent (Peng et al., 2007;R09).Parcel model simulations are performed to examine the sensitivitiesof CDSD characteristics to w, Na, rg, and ε, with the ranges for theseparameters listed in Table 1. Aerosols are assumed to be a mix of solubleand insoluble material of equal density, specified by ε, where fullysoluble aerosols correspond to ammonium sulfate with hygroscopicityparameter κ=0.61 (Petters and Kreidenweis, 2007). FollowingSvdH13, aerosol geometric standard deviation is fixed at σg=1.8, andaerosol distributions (Eq. 1) are partitioned into 100 logarithmicallyspacedbins spanning a size range specific to each rg value. For all simulations,Δz=1 m, and initial values of relative humidity, air temperatureand pressure are set to RH=0.99, T=10 °C and p=900 hPa,respectively.

Loftus, Adrian M.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Transitional Disks Associated with Intermediate-Mass Stars: Results of the SEEDS YSO Survey

Protoplanetary disks are where planets form, grow, and migrate to produce the diversity of exoplanet systems we observe in mature systems. Disks where this process has advanced to the stage of gap opening, and in some cases central cavity formation, have been termed pre-transitional and transitional disks in the hope that they represent intermediate steps toward planetary system formation. Recent reviews have focussed on disks where the star is of solar or sub-solar mass. In contrast to the sub-millimeter where cleared central cavities predominate, at H-band some T Tauri star transitional disks resemble primordial disks in having no indication of clearing, some show a break in the radial surface brightness profile at the inner edge of the outer disk, while others have partially to fully cleared gaps or central cavities. Recently, the Meeus Group I Herbig stars, intermediate-mass PMS stars with IR spectral energy distributions often interpreted as flared disks, have been proposed to have transitional and pre-transitional disks similar to those associated with solar-mass PMS stars, based on thermal-IR imaging, and sub-millimeter interferometry. We have investigated their appearance in scattered light as part of the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS), obtaining H-band polarimetric imagery of 10 intermediate-mass stars with Meeus Group I disks. Augmented by other disks with imagery in the literature, the sample is now sufficiently large to explore how these disks are similar to and differ from T Tauri star disks. The disk morphologies seen in the Tauri disks are also found for the intermediate-mass star disks, but additional phenomena are found; a hallmark of these disks is remarkable individuality and diversity which does not simply correlate with disk mass or stellar properties, including age, including spiral arms in remnant envelopes, arms in the disk, asymmetrically and potentially variably shadowed outer disks, gaps, and one disk where only half of the disk is seen in scattered light at H. We will discuss our survey results in terms of spiral arm theory, dust trapping vortices, and systematic differences in the relative scale height of these disks compared to those around Solar-mass stars. For the disks with spiral arms we discuss the planet-hosting potential, and limits on where giant planets can be located. We also discuss the implications for imaging with extreme adaptive optics instruments. Grady is supported under NSF AST 1008440 and through the NASA Origins of Solar Systems program on NNG13PB64P. JPW is supported NSF AST 100314. 0) in marked contrast to protoplanetary disks, transitional disks exhibit wide range of structural features1) arm visibility correlated with relative scale height in disk2) asymmetric and possibly variable shadowing of outer portions some transitional disks3) confirm pre-transitional disk nature of Oph IRS 48, MWC 758, HD 169142, etc.

Protoplanetary disks↗
NASA NTRS2021

Ecosystem age-class dynamics and distribution in the LPJ-wsl v2.0 global ecosystem model

Forest ecosystem processes follow classic responses with age, peaking production around canopy closure and declining thereafter. Although age dynamics might be more dominant in certain regions over others, demographic effects on net primary production (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) are bound to exist. Yet, explicit representation of ecosystem demography is notably absent in many global ecosystem models. This is concerning because the global community relies on these models to regularly update our collective understanding of the global carbon cycle. This paper aims to present the technical developments of a computationally efficient approach for representing age-class dynamics within a global ecosystem model, the Lund–Potsdam–Jena – Wald, Schnee, Landschaft version 2.0 (LPJ-wsl v2.0) dynamic global vegetation model and to determine if explicit representation of demography influenced ecosystem stocks and fluxes at global scales or at the level of a grid cell. The modeled age classes are initially created by simulated fire and prescribed wood harvesting or abandonment of managed land, otherwise aging naturally until an additional disturbance is simulated or prescribed. In this paper, we show that the age module can capture classic demographic patterns in stem density and tree height compared to inventory data, and that simulated patterns of ecosystem function follow classic responses with age. We also present two scientific applications of the model to assess the modeled age-class distribution over time and to determine the demographic effect on ecosystem fluxes relative to climate. Simulations show that, between 1860 and 2016, zonal age distribution on Earth was driven predominately by fire, causing a 45- to 60-year difference in ages between older boreal (50–90° N) and younger tropical (23° S–23° N) ecosystems. Between simulation years 1860 and 2016, land-use change and land management were responsible for a decrease in zonal age by −6 years in boreal and by −21 years in both temperate (23–50° N) and tropical latitudes, with the anthropogenic effect on zonal age distribution increasing over time. A statistical model helped to reduce LPJ-wsl v2.0 complexity by predicting per-grid-cell annual NPP and Rh fluxes by three terms: precipitation, temperature, and age class; at global scales, R2 was between 0.95 and 0.98. As determined by the statistical model, the demographic effect on ecosystem function was often less than 0.10 kg C/sq. myr but as high as 0.60 kg C/sq. myr where the effect was greatest. In the eastern forests of North America, the simulated demographic effect was of similar magnitude, or greater than, the effects of climate; simulated demographic effects were similarly important in large regions of every vegetated continent. Simulated spatial datasets are provided for global ecosystem ages and the estimated coefficients for effects of precipitation, temperature and demography on ecosystem function. The discussion focuses on our finding of an increasing role of demography in the global carbon cycle, the effect of demography on relaxation times (resilience) following a disturbance event and its implications at global scales, and a finding of a 40 Pg C increase in biomass turnover when including age dynamics at global scales. Whereas time is the only mechanism that increases ecosystem age, any additional disturbance not explicitly modeled will decrease age. The LPJ-wsl v2.0 age module represents another step forward towards understanding the role of demography in global ecosystems.

LPJ-wsl↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Effect of Vacuum on Force Response of an Ultrasonic Penetrator

Introduction: The Apollo astronauts encountered higher than expected resistances when interacting with the lunar soil via the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD) and the trenching tool. Reducing the force required to move tools or other mechanical components through regolith will impact many steps of the resource extraction process. Force reduction has been achieved in soil materials by imparting vibration to tooling interfaces such as a vibratory farming cultivator, a percussive scoop, and ultrasonically resonant penetrators. Vibration-assisted tools in granular media reduce interaction forces by fluidizing a volume around the tool, allowing the tool to progress through a dynamic (fluid) medium instead of a static (solid) medium. This work seeks to quantify ultrasonic vibration’s effect on the force response of a penetrator in lunar soil simulant in vacuum sufficient to be within the molecular flow regime of any disturbed gases. Methods: A custom vacuum chamber setup, CUBEvac, was designed and built to facilitate penetration testing in a high vacuum environment, for comparison to penetration behavior in ambient terrestrial environment. A two-stage pumping system (Agilent Triscroll 600 roughing pump, Agilent VHS-6 oil diffusion pump) reached chamber pressures of about 5x10-6 Torr with regolith simulant in place. Figure 1 is a schematic of the heart of the assembly (note the penetration drive mechanisms above the chamber feedthrough and the regolith simulant sample in the bottom are not shown). The penetration actuation stack was comprised of a stepper motor driving a lead screw to move the ultra-sonic probe vertically inside the chamber. Motion was coordinated with an Arduino Uno. GRC-3 lunar simulant was used for this set of experiments. Samples were prepared in a four-liter stain-less steel, cylindrical pot with an internal diameter of approximately 15.56 cm (6.125 in) and a depth of 19.37 cm (7 5/8 in) for testing. The soil was baked out prior to compaction preparation as a measure to reduce soil moisture which interfered with pump down capacity. The soil was not baked again if it was removed from the vacuum chamber, prepped, and immediately returned to the vacuum chamber for pump down. The soil was compacted using a 60 Hz vibration table with a surcharge of 34 kg place on top of the soil in the container. Prepared soil samples weighed approximately 6.5 kg (bulk density 1.895-1.934 g/cm3). Two probe end effectors were tested: A cone penetrometer (static only) with a nominal diameter of 12.7 mm (0.5 in) and a nominal height of 28.6 mm (1.125 in); and a vibrating cylindrical probe measuring 12.7 mm in diameter and 50.8 mm in effective length from the tip (Figure 2). The cylindrical probe vibrated resonantly at 20 kHz with an amplitude 23 μm. The cone penetration tests were conducted to assess potential soil behavior differences in vacuum. The cylinder probe tests were conducted as the primary subject of this investigation to assess force response in vacuum. For each test, a regolith simulant sample was load-ed and compacted in the chamber, which was then evacuated for roughly 18 hours to reach the lowest possible pressure (approximately 5x10-6 Torr for most tests). The probe was then moved to about 10 mm above the soil surface before being pushed to a depth of 50 mm for the cylinder probe tests and to a depth of 100 mm for the cone penetrometer tests, both at a speed of 2 mm/s. The simulant samples were prepared the same for all tests. Ideally, they would respond consistently to probe penetration under ambient and vacuum conditions. This was evaluated by measuring the resistance of representative prepared simulant beds with a standard cone penetrometer in both environments. Results and Discussion: The resistance of the simulant samples in the vacuum tests was consistently lower than in the ambient tests as determined by the cone penetration tests. Thus, the ambient and vacuum results cannot be compared directly; work is underway to de-confound and better correlate the data. Still, figures 3-6 show that probe penetration forces are lower overall in the vacuum environment. In both environments, resonant vibration of the probe provides two useful effects: It reduces the probe penetration force and smooths the force-depth curve, significantly reducing local maxima. These effects have implications for various potential applications, such as astronaut hand-tools, where benefits (reducing astronaut effort) outweigh the cost of the additional energy re-quired to generate vibration. These results demonstrate that resonantly vibrating tools can meaningfully reduce the penetration force required for excavation, probing, and drilling tools in simulated lunar regolith deposits under vacuum levels approaching those that will be experience on the Moon’s surface. Lunar-gravity, ambient environment tests are scheduled soon. The effects of realistic temperatures and temperature gradients and deeper vacuum remain to be tested.

E Rezich↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Solar-Stellar Connection (NAG5-6124: SOHO Guest Investigator Program)

The following is a final report from the SOHO Guest Investigator program to use the SUMER far-UV spectrometer to obtain imaging spectroscopy in support of the goals of the so-called "solar-stellar connection." In particular, a major emphasis was utilization of the long-slit time-resolved maps of the solar surface in bright far-UV emission lines to deduce how particular aspects of the temporally and spatially averaged line profiles trace back to individual structural features of the magnetically disturbed outer atmosphere; to help interpret the unresolved line profiles from high quality stellar observations (say, with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph). The researchers served two tours of duty in the SOHO Operations Center as SUMER planners, during which time we conducted an extensive series of observing programs. These can be divided into three general categories: surface mapping, translimb spectroscopy, and active region diagnostics. We have analyzed some of the large volumes of data to the point where we have presented them in poster papers, and in invited papers at national and international meetings. Listed below are the titles of the preliminary publications we have written, including brief abstracts to indicate the main results. (1) Chromospheric structure and Dynamics-- Observations -- The chromosphere is a highly structured dynamic 'layer' of the solar outer atmosphere. Here, not only are the effects of mechanical heating first evident (moving upward in altitude from the deep photosphere), but also the amount of nonradiative energy deposited is far greater than in the albeit much hotter overlying transition region and corona. Further, the chromosphere is by far the thickest zone of the solar atmosphere with respect to the pressure scale height. A major goal of stellar astrophysics is to understand how the chromosphere is heated and why it adopts its peculiar structure. A cursory examination of solar filtergrams and high-resolution movies demonstrates that much of the chromospheric "action" must be occurring on fine spatial scales and short times; particularly in the cell interior transient brightenings, but also in the longer-lived network fragments. That regime of investigation is far removed from what one usually associates with "synoptic" measurements. Nevertheless, synoptic observations of chromospheric indices, filtergrams, and globally-averaged profile parameters not only can provide important insight concerning the crucial role of the cycle-variable part of the solar magnetic field; but they also can forge a key link with analogous measurements of the stars, where often the phenomena can be significantly exaggerated from the solar case, but high spatial resolution reconnaissance is not even a remote possibility. In addition to discussing the synoptic aspects of chromospheric structure and dynamics, I summarized new insights into the general problem of the solar chromosphere that have been obtained recently with the SUMER far-ultraviolet spectrometer on SOHO. (2) CO and the Temperature Structure of the Solar Atmosphere -- The surface layers of the Sun provide a crucial boundary condition for many of the processes that occur in the deep interior. The stratification of the outer solar atmosphere once was thought to be well understood. However, studies of thermally sensitive molecular absorptions in the infrared revealed puzzling anomalies. Strong lines of the CO fundamental vibration-rotation bands near 5 microns showed very cool temperatures at the extreme limb, and remarkable off-limb emissions extending well into the supposedly hot chromosphere. The conflicting pictures of the photosphere/chromosphere interface, from the widely separated wavelength regimes, has raised suspicions that those "layers" of the atmosphere are much more inhomogeneous than previously suspected. One proposal is that the low chromosphere is dominated by cool gas, the "COmosphere," which is threaded by a network of persistent small-scale hot magnetic filaments and occasionally disrupted by localized acoustic disturbances. The COmosphere is capped by the merged fields of the network elements in the chromospheric "canopy." (3) Translimb Spectroscopy with SOHO/SUMER -- We have used SUMER to obtain deep exposures of the 1300-1400 A spectrum, at the extreme limb and off-limb. Previous "translimb" studies in the thermal infrared had revealed remarkable extensions of cold material (T is approximately equal to 3000 K)-traced by carbon monoxide emission lines-into the heart of the hot chromosphere. A main objective of our program was to search for corresponding far-UV signatures of the "thermally-bifurcated" low chromosphere; for example, radiatively fluoresced emissions of the CO A-X 4th-positive system (collisional excitation would be negligible in cold gas). We conducted two separate observing programs with SUMER. Both made use of the 1 inch-diameter circular aperture, translated across the limb in the minimum motor step increments of 0."375, along the central meridian in the Northern polar coronal hole. The first program executed for nine hours beginning 19UT 25 Oct 1996. The full wavelength range was 1340-1400 A. It was recorded in two overlapping segments, placing key regions of the spectrum alternately on the KBr and bare parts of the detector, to help isolate 2nd-order features. Each segment was integrated for 500 s, and 32 pairs were obtained to span a 12" swath centered on the optical limb. The second program was conducted 00-09UT 01 Dec 1996. It consisted of a single wavelength setting (1300-1340 A) with exposure time 500 s, but twice the spatial coverage of the earlier series: 64 steps, for a total displacement of 24". The strong chromospheric resonance lines of atomic oxygen (1302-1305 A) and ionized carbon (1334-1335 A) were observed on the bare part of the MCP camera.

Ayres, Thomas R.↗