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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Crustal evolution inferred from Apollo magnetic measurements

Magnetic field and solar wind plasma density measurements were analyzed to determine the scale size characteristics of remanent fields at the Apollo 12, 15, and 16 landing sites. Theoretical model calculations of the field-plasma interaction, involving diffusion of the remanent field into the solar plasma, were compared to the data. The information provided by all these experiments shows that remanent fields over most of the lunar surface are characterized by spatial variations as small as a few kilometers. Large regions (50 to 100 km) of the lunar crust were probably uniformly magnetized during early crustal evolution. Bombardment and subsequent gardening of the upper layers of these magnetized regions left randomly oriented, smaller scale (5 to 10 km) magnetic sources close to the surface. The larger scale size fields of magnitude approximately 0.1 gammas are measured by the orbiting subsatellite experiments and the small scale sized remanent fields of magnitude approximately 100 gammas are measured by the surface experiments.

Dyal, P.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Properties of aerosols in the Martian atmosphere, as inferred from Viking Lander imaging data

Three types of aerosol were detected from observations of the Martian sky, Phobos, and the sun with the Viking imaging cameras. Atmospheric optical depths were derived from observations of the objects' brightness. Data on the absorption coefficient, mean size, and shape of aerosols were obtained from studies of the sky brightness, using a multiple-scattering computer code. The aerosol types were water ice ground fog, a higher-level ice cloud (polar hood), and soil particles suspended at heights up to 30 km. The properties of each type of aerosol are discussed. The data are subjected to thorough analysis, and the results are summarized.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1978

A 'chondritic' eucrite parent body - Inference from trace elements

Thirty-three elements were analyzed by radiochemical and instrumented neutron activation in four eucrites - Juvinas (brecciated), Ibitira (vesicular, unbrecciated) and Moore County and Serra de Mage (both cumulate, unbrecciated). Nebular and planetary effects are distinguished in the C1-normalized abundance patterns arranged in the order of volatility. Lithophile, chalcophile, and siderophile patterns are discussed; the stepped lithophile pattern reveals the dominance of nebular processes while the siderophile pattern retains little sign of nebular processes and instead reflects planetary metal-silicate partition. Volatiles were apparently accreted as a fractionated C3-like component, and consistent but subtle C1-normalized abundance differences between eucrites result from crystal/liquid differentiation.

Morgan, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Central swath mapping by a future satellite-borne fan-beam microwave scatterometer for inferring global ocean wind fields

The Seasat-A satellite scatterometer is a microwave sensor designed to provide a capability for mapping the global ocean surface wind speed and direction. Four fan beams whose major axes are oriented at + or - 45 deg and + or - 135 deg to the flight vector cover a swath width of 1900 km, but a central region remains that is inadequately mapped. In this paper, two additional fan beams for a future scatterometer are suggested which provide more complete coverage of the central region.

Tomiyasu, K.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Detection and interpretation of ocean roughness variations across the Gulf Stream inferred from radar cross section observations

Radar cross section data shows that the Gulf Stream has a higher cross section per unit area (interpreted here as a greater roughness) than the water on the continental shelf. A steep gradient in cross section was often seen at the expected location of the western boundary. There were also longer-scale (10-20 km) gradual fluctuations within the stream of significant magnitude. These roughness variations are correlated with the surface shear stress that the local wind imposes on the sea. Using the available surface-truth information concerning the wind speed and direction, an assumed Gulf Stream velocity profile, and high-resolution ocean-surface temperature data obtained by the VHRR onboard a NOAA-NESS polar-orbiting satellite, the present study demonstrates that the computed surface stress variation bears a striking resemblance to the measured radar cross-section variations.

Weissman, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The thermal structure of Saturn: Inferences from ground-based and airborne infrared observations

Spectroscopic and photometric infrared observations of Saturn are reviewed and compared to the expected flux from thermal structure models. Large uncertainties exist in the far-infrared measurements, but the available data indicate that the effective temperature of the disk of Saturn is 90 + or - 5 K. The thermal structure models proposed by Tokunaga and Cess and by Gautier et al. (model 'N') agree best with the observations. North-South limb scans of Saturn at 10 and 20 micrometers show that the temperature inversion is much stronger at the South polar region than at the equator.

Tokunaga, A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Sensible and latent heating of the atmosphere as inferred from DST-6 data

The average distribution of convective latent heating, boundary layer sensible heat flux, and vertical velocity are determined for the winter 1976 DST period from GLAS model diagnostics. Key features are the regions of intense latent heating over Brazil, Central Africa, and Indonesia; and the regions of strong sensible heating due to air mass modification over the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans.

Herman, G. F.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The tectonic and volcanic history of Mercury as inferred from studies of scarps, ridges, troughs, and other lineaments

Tectonic and volcanic modification of the Mercurian surface is discussed, and nine landform classes are defined. An evolutionary chronology, based on reported interpretations of scarp, ridge, trough, and other lineament features, is presented, and the roles (in chronological order) of accretion and differentiation, tidal spindown, plains volcanism, heavy bombardment, cooling/contraction, Caloris impact, intense surface modification, basin subsidence, local plains volcanism, isostatic basin uplift, and light cratering are considered. The observational data were obtained by Mariner 10.

Dzurisin, D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Evolution of early life inferred from protein and ribonucleic acid sequences

The chemical structures of ferredoxin, 5S ribosomal RNA, and c-type cytochrome sequences have been employed to construct a phylogenetic tree which connects all major photosynthesizing organisms: the three types of bacteria, blue-green algae, and chloroplasts. Anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, eukaryotic cytoplasmic components and mitochondria are also included in the phylogenetic tree. Anaerobic nonphotosynthesizing bacteria similar to Clostridium were the earliest organisms, arising more than 3.2 billion years ago. Bacterial photosynthesis evolved nearly 3.0 billion years ago, while oxygen-evolving photosynthesis, originating in the blue-green algal line, came into being about 2.0 billion years ago. The phylogenetic tree supports the symbiotic theory of the origin of eukaryotes.

Dayhoff, M. O.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Crustal evolution inferred from Apollo magnetic measurements

The topology of lunar remanent fields is investigated by analyzing simultaneous magnetometer and solar wind spectrometer data. The diffusion model proposed by Vanyan (1977) to describe the field-plasma interaction at the lunar surface is extended to describe the interaction with fields characterized by two scale lengths, and the extended model is compared with data from three Apollo landing sites (Apollo 12, 15 and 16) with crustal fields of differing intensity and topology. Local remanent field properties from this analysis are compared with high spatial resolution magnetic maps obtained from the electron reflection experiment. It is concluded that remanent fields over most of the lunar surface are characterized by spatial variations as small as a few kilometers. Large regions (50 to 100 km) of the lunar crust were probably uniformly magnetized early in the evolution of the crust. Smaller scale (5 to 10 km) magnetic sources close to the surface were left by bombardment and subsequent gardening of the upper layers of these magnetized regions. The small scale sized remanent fields of about 100 gammas are measured by surface experiments, whereas the larger scale sized fields of about 0.1 gammas are measured by the orbiting subsatellite experiments.

Dyal, P.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Origin and history of the adcumulate eucrite, Moama as inferred from REE abundances, Sm-Nd and U-Pb systematics

The abundances of Sm-Nd and U-Pb isotopes and of rare earth elements (REE) in Moama cumulate eucrite were investigated. The Sm-Nd data plotted on a Nd-143/Nd-144 vs Sm-147/Nd-144 evolution diagram define a line with a slope corresponding to an age of 4.58 plus or minus 0.05 billion years and an initial Nd-143/Nd-144 ratio of about 0.50684. Moama was found to contain the lowest overall trivalent REE abundances, the most light REE-depleted abundance pattern, and largest positive Eu anomaly of any eucrite yet studied. The REE data indicate that Moama could have been derived by about 1 to 5% fractional crystallization from a liquid with REE contents similar to Juvinas, or about 20 to 30% fractional crystallization from a Sioux County-like liquid. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the Moama, Serra de Mage, and Moore county cumulate meteorites could have been derived from the same parent liquid. Results of the U-Th-Pb study indicate that the majority of the Pb in Moama is of terrestrial origin, and suggest that the meteorite has undergone a minor thermal event causing re-equilibration of the U-Pb system.

Hamet, J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Nature of the ultraviolet absorber in the Venus clouds - Inferences based on Pioneer Venus data

Several photometric measurements of Venus made from the Pioneer Venus orbiter and probes indicate that solar near-ultraviolet radiation is being absorbed throughout much of the main cloud region, but little above the clouds or within the first one or two optical depths. Radiative transfer calculations were carried out to simulate both Pioneer Venus and ground-based data for a number of proposed cloud compositions. This comparison rules out models invoking nitrogen dioxide, meteoritic material, and volatile metals as the source of the ultraviolet absorption. Models involving either small (approximately 1 micrometer) or large (approximately 10 micrometers) sulfur particles have same serious difficulties, while ones invoking sulfur dioxide gas appear to be promising.

Pollack, J. B.↗