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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 487 records · Page 27
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NASA NTRS1987

Satellite observed seasonal and inter-annual variation of vegetation over the Kalahari, the Great Victoria Desert, and the Great Sandy Desert - 1979-1984

Time-series observations by two spaceborne sensors over three desert regions, the Kalahari (in southern Africa) and the Great Victoria Desert and the Great Sandy Desert (in western Australia), are presented. The observations are by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on board the NOAA-7 satellite from April 1982 to December 1984, and by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer on board the Nimbus-7 satellite from January 1979 to February 1985. The objective was to compare and contrast seasonal and interannual variation of vegetation over these three deserts using the normalized difference vegetation index and the 37 GHz brightness temperature. The seasonal variation from both sensors was found to be most pronounced over the Kalahari, followed by the Great Sandy Desert and the Great Victoria Desert. The normalized difference vegetation index was roughly identical over the two Australian deserts and was significantly higher for the Kalahari. There was no consistent change from both sensors over the two Australian deserts, but a consistent decrease from 1979 to 1984 over the Kalahari was found in the 37 GHz microwave data.

Choudhury, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Near-infrared stellar-occultation predictions for Uranus and Neptune - 1987-1990

Stellar-occultation predictions are presented for Uranus and Neptune covering the period 1987-1990, based on automated scans of R and I plates taken with the UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia. These scans have revealed many late-type or highly reddened stars suitable for stellar-occultation observations at 2.2 microns that were missed in previous searches of yellow-sensitive astrographic plates (Mink and Klemola, 1985). Comparisons involving several hundred stars measured by Mink and Klemola (1985) indicate that the internal random errors in the stellar positions estimated here are less than about 0.2 arcsec, comparable to the precision reached using conventional astrographic methods. In addition, JHK photometry was obtained for many of the Neptune stars, which is used to establish an empirical (I-K) vs (R-I) calibration for the remaining occultation candidates, and thus provide estimates of their K magnitudes.

Nicholson, Philip D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A Nd isotopic study of the Hamersley and Michipicoten banded iron formations - The source of REE and Fe in Archean oceans

A detailed Nd isotopic study of the large and well-dated Hamersley and Michipicoten banded iron formations (BIFs) has been conducted. The Hamersley BIFs (Lake Superior type) are located in the Pilbara craton of Western Australia and the Michipicoten BIFs (Algoma type) are located in the northeastern corner of Lake Superior in Ontario, Canada. Their initial epsilon(Nd) values are variable and in the range of 0 to +4. The Fe/Nd ratio in present-day hydrothermal waters and BIFs are both 100,000, suggesting that the source of much of the Fe in BIFs (and Archean seawater) was hydrothermal water circulating through Archean midocean ridge systems.

Jacobsen, Stein B.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Estimates of primary productivity over the Thar Desert based upon Nimbus-7 37 GHz data - 1979-1985

An empirical relationship has been determined between the difference of vertically and horizontally polarized brightness temperatures noted at the 37 GHz frequency of the Nimbus-7 SMMR and primary productivity over hot arid and semiarid regions of Africa and Australia. This empirical relationship is applied to estimate the primary productivity over the Thar Desert between 1979 and 1985, giving an average value of 0.271 kg/sq m per yr. The spatial variability of the productivity values is found to be quite significant, with a standard deviation about the mean of 0.08 kg/sq m per yr.

Choudhury, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Atmospheric neutrons at 8.5-GV cutoff in the Southern Hemisphere

Measurements of the altitude, latitude, angle, and energy distributions of 5-80-MeV neutrons at 29 deg S geomagnetic latitude and 8.5-GV cutoff, obtained with the University of California neutron double-scatter telescope on a flight from Alice Springs, Australia, on November 10, 1981, are reported. The data are presented in extensive tables and graphs and characterized in detail. The altitude distribution of upward-moving and downward moving neutrons is found to peak at 100 g/sq cm (as reported for 41 deg N geomagnetic latitude by Preszler et al., 1974), while the angular distributions exhibit dips at 60 and 130 deg and the energy distribution has a flat region at about 20 MeV. The escape current of 0.059 + or - 0.008 neutrons/sq cm sec is consistent with theoretical models for the injection of energetic protons into the earth radiation belt (Merker, 1972 and 1975).

Ait-Ouamer, Farid↗
NASA NTRS1987

A long-duration balloon payload for hard X-ray and gamma-ray observations of the sun

A balloon payload designed to study the processes of energy release, particle acceleration, and heating of the active corona in hard X-ray microflares and normal flares is described. An array of liquid nitrogen-cooled germanium detectors together with large area phoswich scintillation detectors provide the highest sensitivity (about 500 sq cm) and energy resolution (not greater than 0.7 keV) ever achieved for solar hard X-ray (about 15-600 keV) measurements. These detectors were flown in February 1987 from Australia on a long duration radiation controlled balloon flight (LDBF) which provided 12 days of observations before cutdown in Brazil. The payload includes solar cells for power, pointing, and navigation sensors, a microprocessor controlled data system with VCR tape storage, and transmitters for GOES and ARGOS spacecraft. This successful flight illustrates the potential of LDBFs for solar flare studies.

Lin, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Using TDRSS as an orbiting VLBI observatory

The procedures and results of experimental VLBI astronomical observations performed using TDRSE, the first deployed satellite of the NASA TDRSS, as one of the network telescopes are reviewed. The other two elements of the VLBI network were the high-sensitivity 64-m antennas of the NASA DSN in Australia and of ISAS in Japan, with a 25-m Japanese antenna used to check their performance. The E configuration of the Mark III recording system at White Sands was used to record seven contiguous 2-MHz channels centered at 2.27799 GHz during five 3-h periods in July-August 1986. Although satellite pointing failures and ground-station problems limited the number of useful observations to six, interferometric fringes of the sources were obtained in all of these observations, demonstrating the feasibility of the approach.

Ulvestad, James S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Collaborative VLBI experiments with Radioastron

The USSR is planning to launch a 10-m radio telescope into earth orbit for use in VLBI observations. This mission (Radioastron) will be the first opportunity for astronomically important VLBI experiments with baselines much longer than can be obtained between telescopes on the earth. This paper describes the potential scientific advantages of combining data from the orbiting telescope with data from some of the very sensitive radio telescopes in western Europe, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. The advantages of using NASA's Space Network telescopes to track the Radioastron spacecraft when it is not visible from Soviet tracking stations are considered.

Jones, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Astrometric results of 1978-1985 Deep Space Network radio interferometry - The JPL 1987-1 extragalactic source catalog

An astrometric radio reference frame has been determined from intercontinental dual-frequency radio interferometric measurements. These measurements were carried out on a regular basis during 1978-1985 between NASA's Deep Space Network stations in California, Spain, and Australia. Analysis of 6800 pairs of delay and delay-rate observations made during 51 sessions produced estimates of 1300 parameters. The most significant of these are geophysical quantities and positions of extragalactic sources. The source catalog resulting from this analysis includes 106 sources fairly uniformly distributed over the celestial sphere, north of -45 deg declination. Almost all of the resulting source positions have formal uncertainties between 0.5 and 3 milliarcseconds (mas), with rms values of 2 mas in both angular coordinates. Internal consistency checks, as well as comparisons with independently determined source catalogs of comparable quality, indicate that relative source coordinates determined by VLBI contain systematic errors at the level of 1 to 2 mas.

Sovers, O. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Varves and solar physics

The relationship between varves (visibly striated rocks deposited by glacial run-off) and solar radiation is discussed, proposing that the thickness of any given varve represents the mean annual sunspot number for the year in which the varve was laid down. The solar cycle may entail a deep torsional oscillator whose influence reaches the surface by wave propagation. Several observed features suggest a wave link between the source of solar activity and its surface manifestations. It is suggested that the cause of varve modulation is solar UV and X-ray radiation, which exerts solar cycle influence in the ozonosphere and ionosphere. The undulations and cycles of the Elatina varve bed formation in South Australia are related to solar phenomena. The varve mechanism is significant for the build-up of the protective shield of biogenic oxygen in the palaeoatmosphere.

Bracewell, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Correlation of interannual length-of-day variation with El Nino/Southern Oscillation, 1972-1986

Correlation between interannual length-of-day (LOD) changes and an index representation of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) for the period of 1972-1986 was examined in two ways: as the cross-correlation function in the time domain and as the complex coherence spectrum in the frequency domain. The ENSO representation was derived from barometric measurements from the Tahiti and Darwin, Australia, meteorological stations, as the difference of the sea-level pressure between the two locations. The cross correlation between this ENSO representation and LOD variation on the interannual time scale was found to have a maximum value of 0.68 and the LOD phase lag of 2 months, indicating that most of the interannual LOD variation is caused by ENSO, and that the transfer of ENSO's axial angular momentum to the solid earth lags behind the Tahiti-Darwin pressure variation by about 2 months. The corresponding coherence spectrum showed minimum correlation around biennial periods, indicating an influence of the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation on LOD variations.

Chao, B. Fong↗
NASA NTRS1988

Spain 31-GHz observations of sky brightness temperatures

A water vapor radiometer was deployed at DSS 63 for 3 months of sky brightness temperature measurements at 31 GHz. An exceedance plot was derived from this data showing the fraction of time that 31 GHz 30 degree elevation angle brightness temperature exceeds specified values. The 5 percent exceedance statistics occurs at 75 K, compared with 70 K in Australia.

Gary, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The meteorological measurement system on the NASA ER-2 aircraft

A Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) was designed for the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft (NASA 706). Through dedicated instrumentation installed on the aircraft and repeated calibrations, the MMS provides accurate in situ measurements of free-stream pressure, temperature, and the wind vector. The MMS has participated in two major high-altitude scientific expeditions, the Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Project (STEP) based in northern Australia and the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) based in southern Chile. Key MMS subsystems are described. The MMS consists of a dedicated inertial navigation system (INS), a randome differential pressure system, a data acquisition system, and air data instrumentation. The MMS incorporates a high-resolution INS (Litton LIN-72RH model), which is specially configured and is updated at 25 Hz. The differential pressure system, consisting of two sets of pressure ports and transducers, is installed in the ER-2 radome to provide sensitive measurements of the airflow angles (angle of attack and angle of sideslip). The data acquisition system was designed to meet aircraft requirements of compactness and light weight (2 cu ft 50 lb) and for MMS requirements to sample, control, process, and store 45 parameters (some redundant) at a sampling rate up to 10 Hz. The MMS data are stored both in a tape recorder (20 MB) and a hermatically-sealed winchester hard disc (10 MB). Special and redundant instrumentation for temperature and pressure measurements were also installed on the aircraft.

Scott, Stan G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The Frasnian-Famennian mass killing event(s), methods of identification and evaluation

The absence of an abnormally high number of earlier Devonian taxa from Famennian sediments was repeatedly documented and can hardly be questioned. Primary recognition of the event(s) was based on paleontological data, especially common macrofossils. Most paleontologists place the disappearance of these common forms at the gigas/triangularis contact and this boundary was recently proposed as the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) boundary. Not unexpectedly, alternate F-F positions were suggested caused by temporary Frasnian survivors or sudden post-event radiations of new forms. Secondary supporting evidence for mass killing event(s) is supplied by trace element and stable isotope geochemistry but not with the same success as for the K/T boundary, probably due to additional 300 ma of tectonic and diagenetic overprinting. Another tool is microfacies analysis which is surprisingly rarely used even though it can explain geochemical anomalies or paleontological overlap not detectable by conventional macrofacies analysis. The combination of microfacies analysis and geochemistry was applied at two F-F sections in western Canada and showed how interdependent the two methods are. Additional F-F sections from western Canada, western United States, France, Germany and Australia were sampled or re-sampled and await geochemical/microfacies evaluation.

Geldsetzer, H. H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Evidence for and implications of an Early Archean terrestrial impact record

Early Archean, 3.5 to 3.2 Ga, greenstone sequences in South Africa and Western Australia contain a well-preserved record of early terrestrial meteorite impacts. The main impact-produced deposits are layers, 10 cm to over 1 m thick, composed largely of sand-sized spherules, 0.1 to 4 mm in diameter. The beds studied to date show an assemblage of features indicating formation by the fall of debris from impact-generated ejecta clouds. Some presented data effectively rule out normal magmatic or sedimentary processes in the origin of these units and provide substantial support for an origin by large impacts on the early earth. The presence of at least four, remarkably thick, nearly pure spherule layers suggests that smaller-scale impact deposits may be even more abundant in these sequences. The existence of a well-preserved Archean terrestrial impact record suggests that a direct source of evidence is available regarding a number of important aspects of early earth history.

Lowe, Donald R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

New approach to the origin of the tektite in China

The tektites in China are distributed on the north part of Australia - Southeastern Asia strewfield of tektite: Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong Province and Hainan Island, and located exactly at the boundary between Zanjiang Formation and Beihai Formation. A new hypothesis is suggested: During the end of Lower Pleistocene, a comet of special components from the outer part of the Solar System approached the Earth, and then it was captured by the Earth, when it came approximately to the Roche's limet. It was crushed into countless fragments, detritus and dusts, which rotated around the Earth, probably far above the Earth's atmosphere, as a cloud ring. Under the action of crushing energy they could be in the situation of liquid-melt drop in the almost vacuum circumstances and the flow and bubble structure were formed. During their rotation the climate became anomalous and the violet Fe-Si concentration were formed on the surface of sediments. After a rather short time of rotation the unstable ring was broken and the fragments impacted on the hard ground instantaneously.

Qin-Wen, Zhang↗
NASA NTRS1988

Tectonic evolution of the Western Australian Shield

Geological and geochronological studies in the Western Australian Shield were updated. This terrane bears many similarities to the Indian Shield since they were neighboring parts of Gondwanaland. Western Australia consists of two cratons (Pilbara and Yilgarn) and four orogenic belts (Capricorn, Pingarra, Albany-Fraser, and Patterson), as well as some relatively young (1.6 to 0.75 Ga) sedimentary rocks. The two cratonic blocks are both older than about 2.5 Ga, and the orogenic belts range in age from 2.0 to 0.65 Ga.

Myers, John S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The role of boron and fluids in high temperature, shallow level metamorphism of the Chugach Metamorphic Complex, Alaska

The possible role of boron (B) involvement in granite equilibria and generation of melts during crustal metamorphism has been a focus of speculation in recent literature. Most of the evidence for such involvement derives from experimental data which implies that the addition of B will lower the temperature of the granite solidus. Also the presence of tourmaline has a minor effect on the temperature of the solidus. Further indirect evidence that B may be involved in partial melting processes is the observation that granulites are commonly depleted in B, whereas the B content of low grade metapelites can be high (up to 2000 ppm). Researchers' measurements of the whole-rock B contents of granulites from the Madras region, India are low, ranging from 0.4 to 2.6 ppm. Ahmad and Wilson suggest that B was mobilized in the fluid phase during granulite facies metamorphism of the Broken Hill Complex, Australia. Thus, it appears that during the amphibolite to granulite transition, B is systematically lost from metasediments. The B that is released will probably partition into the vapor phase and/or melt phase. Preliminary measurements imply that the boron content of rocks in the Chugach Metamorphic Complex is not sufficient to influence the processes of partial melting at low pressures.

Sisson, V. B.↗