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At least 667 records · Page 37

First results from analysis of coordinated AVIRIS, TIMS, and ISM (French) data for the Ronda (Spain) and Beni Bousera (Morocco) peridotites

Ultramafic rocks are relatively rare at the Earth's surface but constitute the vast majority of the Earth by volume. Exposures of ultramafic bodies are therefore crucial for deducing many important processes that occur in the Earth's mantle. An important science question regarding the spatial distribution, abundance, and composition of mafic minerals in ultramafic bodies that can be examined with advanced sensor data is the melting process. When a lherzolite melts, clinopyroxene (cpx) melts first and therefore variations in the modal amount of cpx remaining in the mantle are a reflection of the amount of fractional melting that has occurred. Fe goes preferentially into the melt during melting but a 20 percent batch melting (i.e. closed system) acquires less Fe relative to 20 percent fractional melting (i.e. open system). Since the strength and wavelength of diagnostic absorptions is a strong function of Fe content, it is possible to make maps of the variation in Fe:Mg ratios which can be related to the general melting process. Accurate ground-truth information about local mineralogy provides internal calibration and consistency checks. Investigations using imaging spectrometer are very complementary to field studies because advanced sensor data can provide a synoptic view of modal mineralogy and chemical composition whereas field studies focus on detailed characterization of local areas. Two excellent exposures of ultramafic lithologies are being investigated with visible to mid-infrared imaging spectrometer data: the Ronda peridotite near Ronda, Spain and the Beni Bousera ophiolitic fragment in northern Morocco. Although separated by the Alboran Sea, these bodies are thought to be related and represent fertile sub-continental mantle. The Ronda peridotite is predominantly spinel lherzolite but grades into harzburgite and shows considerable variation in major and trace element compositions. Mafic layering and dykes (i.e. olivine gabbro) are also observed. This indicates some sections of the peridotite have experienced greater degrees of partial melting. The Beni Bousera peridotite also contains mafic layers and dykes and grades into harzburgite representing similar fundamental shifts in the bulk chemistry of this ultramafic body probably related to an episode of partial melting. The specific mode of emplacement of these bodies is controversial and important for understanding the tectonic evolution of this region. Our investigations are not necessarily designed to help resolve this controversy. Rather, these exposures provide excellent and unusual examples of fertile mantle which have undergone variable degrees of partial melting.

Mustard, J. F.↗

Telecommunications end-to-end systems monitoring on TOPEX/Poseidon: Tools and techniques

The TOPEX/Poseidon Project Satellite Performance Analysis Team's (SPAT) roles and responsibilities have grown to include functions that are typically performed by other teams on JPL Flight Projects. In particular, SPAT Telecommunication's role has expanded beyond the nominal function of monitoring, assessing, characterizing, and trending the spacecraft (S/C) RF/Telecom subsystem to one of End-to-End Information Systems (EEIS) monitoring. This has been accomplished by taking advantage of the spacecraft and ground data system structures and protocols. By processing both the received spacecraft telemetry minor frame ground generated CRC flags and NASCOM block poly error flags, bit error rates (BER) for each link segment can be determined. This provides the capability to characterize the separate link segments, determine science data recovery, and perform fault/anomaly detection and isolation. By monitoring and managing the links, TOPEX has successfully recovered approximately 99.9 percent of the science data with an integrity (BER) of better than 1 x 10(exp 8). This paper presents the algorithms used to process the above flags and the techniques used for EEIS monitoring.

Calanche, Bruno J.↗

Using XML Configuration-Driven Development to Create a Customizable Ground Data System

The Mission data Processing and Control Subsystem (MPCS) is being developed as a multi-mission Ground Data System with the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) as the first fully supported mission. MPCS is a fully featured, Java-based Ground Data System (GDS) for telecommand and telemetry processing based on Configuration-Driven Development (CDD). The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is the ideal language for CDD because it is easily readable and editable by all levels of users and is also backed by a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard and numerous powerful processing tools that make it uniquely flexible. The CDD approach adopted by MPCS minimizes changes to compiled code by using XML to create a series of configuration files that provide both coarse and fine grained control over all aspects of GDS operation.

Nash, Brent↗

Investigation of cloud properties and atmospheric stability with MODIS

In the past six months several milestones were accomplished. The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) was flown in a 50 channel configuration for the first time in January 1995 and the data were calibrated and validated; in the same field campaign the approach for validating MODIS radiances using the MAS and High resolution Interferometer Sounder (HIS) instruments was successfully tested on GOES-8. Cloud masks for two scenes (one winter and the other summer) of AVHRR local area coverage from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada were processed and forwarded to the SDST for MODIS Science Team investigation; a variety of surface and cloud scenes were evident. Beta software preparations continued with incorporation of the EOS SDP Toolkit. SCAR-C data was processed and presented at the biomass burning conference. Preparations for SCAR-B accelerated with generation of a home page for access to real time satellite data related to biomass burning; this will be available to the scientists in Brazil via internet on the World Wide Web. The CO2 cloud algorithm was compared to other algorithms that differ in their construction of clear radiance fields. The HIRS global cloud climatology was completed for six years. The MODIS science team meeting was attended by five of the UW scientists.

Menzel, Paul↗

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is a NASA Small Explorer mission that will carry the first focusing hard X-ray (5 - 80 keV) telescope to orbit. NuSTAR will offer a factor 50 - 100 sensitivity improvement compared to previous collimated or coded mask imagers that have operated in this energy band. In addition, NuSTAR provides sub-arcminute imaging with good spectral resolution over a 12-arcminute field of view. After launch, NuSTAR will carry out a two-year primary science mission that focuses on four key programs: studying the evolution of massive black holes through surveys carried out in fields with excellent multiwavelength coverage, understanding the population of compact objects and the nature of the massive black hole in the center of the Milky Way, constraining explosion dynamics and nucleosynthesis in supernovae, and probing the nature of particle acceleration in relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei. A number of additional observations will be included in the primary mission, and a. guest observer program will be proposed for an extended mission to expand the range of scientific targets. The payload consists of two co-aligned depth-graded multilayer coated grazing incidence optics focused onto solid state CdZnTe pixel detectors. To be launched in early 2012 on a Pegasus rocket into a low-inclination Earth orbit. NuSTAR largely avoids SAA passages, and will therefore have low and stable detector backgrounds. The telescope achieves a 10.15-meter focal length through on-orbit deployment of all mast. An aspect and alignment metrology system enable reconstruction of the absolute aspect and variations in the telescope alignment resulting from mast flexure during ground data processing. Data will be publicly available at GSFC's High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) following validation at the science operations center located at Caltech.

Harrison, Fiona A.↗

Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is currently under development and is on schedule to launch the 8th satellite in the Landsat series in December of 2012. LDCM is a joint project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). NASA is responsible for developing and launching the flight hardware and on-orbit commissioning and USGS is responsible for developing the ground system and operating the system onorbit after commissioning. Key components of the flight hardware are the Operational Land Imager (OLI), nearing completion by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp in Boulder, CO, the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), being built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the spacecraft, undergoing integration at Orbital Sciences Corp in Gilbert, Arizona. The launch vehicle will be an Atlas-5 with launch services provided by NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Key ground systems elements are the Mission Operations Element, being developed by the Hammers Corporation, and the Collection Activity Planning Element, Ground Network Element, and Data Processing and Archive System, being developed internally by the USGS Earth Resources Observations and Science (EROS) Center. The primary measurement goal of LDCM is to continue the global coverage of moderate spatial resolution imagery providing continuity with the existing Landsat record. The science goal for this imagery is to monitor land use and land cover, particularly as it relates to global climate change. Together the OLI and TIRS instruments on LDCM replace the ETM+ instrument on Landsat-7 with significant enhancements. The OLI is a pushbroom design instrument where the scanning mechanism of the ETM+ is effectively replaced by a long line of detectors. The OLI has 9 spectral bands with similar spatial resolution to ETM+: 7 of them similar to the reflective spectral bands on ETM+ and two new bands. The two new bands cover (1) the shorter wavelength blue part of the spectrum to help with coastal studies and aerosol analyses/atmospheric correction and (2) an atmospheric water absorption band, where the Earth surface is generally not visible, but Cirrus clouds are, to aid in cloud detection and screening. The radiometry of OLI benefits from improved SNR, dynamic range and quantization. OLI is undergoing system testing with a delivery scheduled for Spring 2011. The TIRS is also a pushbroom design and used QWIPS detectors that require cooling to 43K using a cryocooler. It.has two spectral bands, effectively splitting the ETM+ band 6 in half, that can be used as a split window to aid in atmospheric correction. It has nominally 100 m spatial resolution as opposed to the 60 m of Landsat-7 ETM+: TIRS has commenced integration and test, with a delivery to the spacecraft vendor scheduled for Winter 2011-2012. The Orbital spacecraft currently being integrated for LDCM will have improved capabilities for pointing over previous missions. These capabilities will allow the OLI and TIRS instruments to point off-nadir the equivalent of one WRS-2 path to increase the chances of coverage for high priority targets, particularly in the event of natural disasters. Also, the pointing capability will allow the calibration of the OLI using the sun (roughly weekly), the moon (monthly), stars (during commissioning) and the Earth (at 90 deg from normal orientation, a.k.a., side slither) quarterly. The solar calibration will be used for OLI absolute and relative calibration, the moon for trending the stability of the OLI response, the stars will be used for Line of Sight determination and the side slither will be an alternate OLI and relative gain determination methodology. The spacecraft is scheduled to begin integration with the OLI instrument in Summer 2011. The LDCM data processing and archive system (DPAS), located at USGS EROS, generates the products for distribution to users. Like Landsat-7 this includes an image assessment system for characrizing instrument performance and updating calibration parameters. Products will be generated that include the spectral bands from both instruments, terrain corrected and registered to the geoid. Also, like Landsat-7, data products will be distributed at no charge to the user. The current status and plans of the space and ground segments of the LDCM project will be presented along with performance predictions as available. More detailed information on the two instruments is intended to be presented in separate papers.

Markham, Brian↗

A Robust, Low-Cost Virtual Archive for Science Data

Despite their expense tape silos are still often the only affordable option for petabytescale science data archives, particularly when other factors such as data reliability, floor space, power and cooling load are accounted for. However, the complexity, management software, hardware reliability and access latency of tape silos make online data storage ever more attractive. Drastic reductions in low-cost mass-market PC disk drivers help to make this more affordable (approx. 1$/GB), but are challenging to scale to the petabyte range and of questionable reliability for archival use, On the other hand, if much of the science archive could be "virtualized", i.e., produced on demand when requested by users, we would need store only a fraction of the data online, perhaps bringing an online-only system into in affordable range. Radiance data from the satellite-borne Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument provides a good opportunity for such a virtual archive: the raw data amount to 140 GB/day, but these are small relative to the 550 GB/day making up the radiance products. These data are routinely processed as inputs for geophysical parameter products and then archived on tape at the Goddard Earth Sciences Distributed Active Archive (GES DAAC) for distributing to users. Virtualizing them would be an immediate and signifcant reduction in the amount of data being stored in the tape archives and provide more customizable products. A prototype of such a virtual archive is being developed to prove the concept and develop ways of incorporating the robustness that a science data archive requires.

Lynnes, Christopher↗

Mission Simulation of Space Lidar Measurements for Seasonal and Regional CO2 Variations

Results of mission simulation studies are presented for a laser-based atmospheric [82 sounder. The simulations are based on real-time carbon cycle process modeling and data analysis. The mission concept corresponds to the Active Sensing of [82 over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) recommended by the US National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey of Earth Science and Applications from Space. One prerequisite for meaningful quantitative sensor evaluation is realistic CO2 process modeling across a wide range of scales, i.e., does the model have representative spatial and temporal gradients? Examples of model comparison with data will be shown. Another requirement is a relatively complete description of the atmospheric and surface state, which we have obtained from meteorological data assimilation and satellite measurements from MODIS and [ALIPS0. We use radiative transfer model calculations, an instrument model with representative errors ' and a simple retrieval approach to complete the cycle from "nature" run to "pseudo-data" CO2, Several mission and instrument configuration options are examined/ and the sensitivity to key design variables is shown. We use the simulation framework to demonstrate that within reasonable technological assumptions for the system performance, relatively high measurement precision can be obtained, but errors depend strongly on environmental conditions as well as instrument specifications. Examples are also shown of how the resulting pseudo - measurements might be used to address key carbon cycle science questions.

Kawa, Stephan↗

Advances in the photon avalanche luminescence of inorganic lanthanide-doped nanomaterials

Photon avalanche (PA)—where the absorption of a single photon initiates a ‘chain reaction’ of additional absorption and energy transfer events within a material—is a highly nonlinear optical process that results in upconverted light emission with an exceptionally steep dependence on the illumination intensity. Over 40 years following the first demonstration of photon avalanche emission in lanthanide-doped bulk crystals, PA emission has been achieved in nanometer-scale colloidal particles. The scaling of PA to nanomaterials has resulted in significant and rapid advances, such as luminescence imaging beyond the diffraction limit of light, optical thermometry and force sensing with (sub)micron spatial resolution, and all-optical data storage and processing. In this review, we discuss the fundamental principles underpinning PA and survey the studies leading to the development of nanoscale PA. Finally, we offer a perspective on how this knowledge can be used for the development of next-generation PA nanomaterials optimized for a broad range of applications, including mid-IR imaging, luminescence thermometry, (bio)sensing, optical data processing and nanophotonics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center: A Collaborative Model for Accelerating Research into Operations

The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center in Huntsville, Alabama was created to accelerate the infusion of NASA earth science observations, data assimilation and modeling research into NWS forecast operations and decision-making. The principal focus of experimental products is on the regional scale with an emphasis on forecast improvements on a time scale of 0-24 hours. The SPoRT Center research is aligned with the regional prediction objectives of the US Weather Research Program dealing with 0-1 day forecast issues ranging from convective initiation to 24-hr quantitative precipitation forecasting. The SPoRT Center, together with its other interagency partners, universities, and the NASA/NOAA Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation, provides a means and a process to effectively transition NASA Earth Science Enterprise observations and technology to National Weather Service operations and decision makers at both the global/national and regional scales. This paper describes the process for the transition of experimental products into forecast operations, current products undergoing assessment by forecasters, and plans for the future.

Goodman, S. J.↗

BNF Radar b1 Data Processing Report: Spring 2025

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility supports atmospheric science through an integrated network of fixed and mobile observatories. These facilities collect continuous and campaign-based observations of atmospheric properties, with the goal of improving the representation of clouds, aerosols, precipitation, and radiation in Earth system models. The Bankhead National Forest (BNF) site, established as an ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) on 1 October 2024, is situated in a forested region of northern Alabama. Its strategic location in a southeastern U.S. environment characterized by complex terrain, diverse land cover, and frequent convective storms provides a valuable opportunity to examine coupled land-atmosphere processes under natural variability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

LCLS Big Data Handling – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Data Deluge

Advanced data and computing systems are vital to Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) operations, data interpretation and overall scientific productivity. The transition to MHz-era operation marks a fundamental change in scale that requires new infrastructure and architectures to link LCLS to the required scale of computing needed for scientific interpretation. The LCLS-II Data System meets big data challenges by implementing configurable data reduction that can adapt to multiple science areas, real-time analysis frameworks to provide visualization and fast feedback, and the ability to transfer data to local and remote computational facilities for near real time analysis at the appropriate scale. Feature extracted information generated in the data analysis pipeline - at the edge, local compute, or remote High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources - can be used to steer experiments and inform user decisions during beam time. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) techniques present new opportunities to rapidly analyse large datasets and direct experiments, but create new challenges in scaling, adaptability, complexity, and trustworthiness. We describe how the LCLS-II Data System architecture addresses its data-driven challenges in the areas of data acquisition, data processing, data management, and workflow orchestration to decrease the overall time-to-science and provide a vision for future developments.

artificial intelligence↗

Quantum-centric supercomputing for materials science: A perspective on challenges and future directions

Computational models are an essential tool for the design, characterization, and discovery of novel materials. Computationally hard tasks in materials science stretch the limits of existing high-performance supercomputing centers, consuming much of their resources for simulation, analysis, and data processing. Quantum computing, on the other hand, is an emerging technology with the potential to accelerate many of the computational tasks needed for materials science. In order to do that, the quantum technology must interact with conventional high-performance computing in several ways: approximate results validation, identification of hard problems, and synergies in quantum-centric supercomputing. Here in this paper, we provide a perspective on how quantum-centric supercomputing can help address critical computational problems in materials science, the challenges to face in order to solve representative use cases, and new suggested directions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Reliable Transport over SpaceWire for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) Network

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) faces difficult technical and budgetary challenges to overcome before it is scheduled launch in 2010. The Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), shares these challenges. The major challenge addressed in this paper is the data network used to collect, process, compresses and store Infrared data. A total of 114 Mbps of raw information must be collected from 19 sources and delivered to the two redundant data processing units across a twenty meter deployed thermally restricted interface. Further data must be transferred to the solid-state recorder and the spacecraft. The JWST detectors are kept at cryogenic temperatures to obtain the sensitivity necessary to measure faint energy sources. The Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) that sample the detector, generate packets from the samples, and transmit these packets to the processing electronics must dissipate little power in order to help keep the detectors at these cold temperatures. Separating the low powered front-end electronics from the higher-powered processing electronics, and using a simple high-speed protocol to transmit the detector data minimize the power dissipation near the detectors. Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) drivers were considered an obvious choice for physical layer because of their high speed and low power. The mechanical restriction on the number cables across the thermal interface force the Image packets to be concentrated upon two high-speed links. These links connect the many image packet sources, Focal Plane Electronics (FPE), located near the cryogenic detectors to the processing electronics on the spacecraft structure. From 12 to 10,000 seconds of raw data are processed to make up an image, various algorithms integrate the pixel data Loss of commands to configure the detectors as well as the loss of science data itself may cause inefficiency in the use of the telescope that are unacceptable given the high cost of the observatory. This combination of requirements necessitates a redundant, fault tolerant, high- speed, low mass, low power network with a low Bit error Rate(1E-9- 1E-12). The ISIM systems team performed many studies of the various network architectures that meeting these requirements. The architecture selected uses the Spacewire protocol, with the addition of a new transport and network layer added to implement end-to-end reliable transport. The network and reliable transport mechanism must be implemented in hardware because of the high average information rate and the restriction on the ability of the detectors to buffer data due to power and size restrictions. This network and transport mechanism was designed to be compatible with existing Spacewire links and routers so that existing equipment and designs may be leveraged upon. The transport layer specification is being coordinated with European Space Agency (ESA), Spacewire Working Group and the Consultative Committee for Space Data System (CCSDS) PlK Standard Onboard Interface (SOIF) panel, with the intent of developing a standard for reliable transport for Spacewire. Changes to the protocol presented are likely since negotiations are ongoing with these groups. A block of RTL VHDL that implements a multi-port Spacewire router with an external user interface will be developed and integrated with an existing Spacewire Link design. The external user interface will be the local interface that sources and sinks packets onto and off of the network (Figure 3). The external user interface implements the network and transport layer and handles acknowledgements and re-tries of packets for reliable transport over the network. Because the design is written in RTL, it may be ported to any technology but will initially be targeted to the new Actel Accelerator series (AX) part. Each link will run at 160 Mbps and the power will be about 0.165 Watt per link worst case in the Actel AX.

Rakow, Glenn↗

Flight Computer Design for the Space Technology 5 (ST-5) Mission

As part of NASA's New Millennium Program, the Space Technology 5 mission will validate a variety of technologies for nano-satellite and constellation mission applications. Included are: a miniaturized and low power X-band transponder, a constellation communication and navigation transceiver, a cold gas micro-thruster, two different variable emittance (thermal) controllers, flex cables for solar array power collection, autonomous groundbased constellation management tools, and a new CMOS ultra low-power, radiation-tolerant, +0.5 volt logic technology. The ST-5 focus is on small and low-power. A single-processor, multi-function flight computer will implement direct digital and analog interfaces to all of the other spacecraft subsystems and components. There will not be a distributed data system that uses a standardized serial bus such as MIL-STD-1553 or MIL-STD-1773. The flight software running on the single processor will be responsible for all real-time processing associated with: guidance, navigation and control, command and data handling (C&DH) including uplink/downlink, power switching and battery charge management, science data analysis and storage, intra-constellation communications, and housekeeping data collection and logging. As a nanosatellite trail-blazer for future constellations of up to 100 separate space vehicles, ST-5 will demonstrate a compact (single board), low power (5.5 watts) solution to the data acquisition, control, communications, processing and storage requirements that have traditionally required an entire network of separate circuit boards and/or avionics boxes. In addition to the New Millennium technologies, other major spacecraft subsystems include the power system electronics, a lithium-ion battery, triple-junction solar cell arrays, a science-grade magnetometer, a miniature spinning sun sensor, and a propulsion system.

Speer, David↗

Addressing Limitations of the Endpoint Slippage Analysis

Some rate of oxidation and reduction side-reactions will inevitably coexist in most rechargeable batteries. While parasitic reduction traps electrons, parasitic oxidation donates electrons to the cell’s inventory and may cause temporary capacity gain. Consequently, capacity measurements can provide unreliable information about the total extent of side-reactions occurring in the cell. The most widely used method to determine the rate of both these parasitic processes involves analyzing the slippage of endpoints, which consists in tracking the termination of cell charge and discharge when data is represented along a cumulative capacity axis. Here, we argue that this approach could lead to inaccuracies when applied to certain systems, which includes Si electrodes in Li-ion batteries and hard carbon in Na-ion batteries. This inaccuracy originates from the smooth nature of the voltage profiles of these materials at low and high alkali-ion content, causing the termination of charge and discharge to be dictated by voltage changes at both the positive and negative electrodes. We analyze this issue in quantitative terms and propose equations that can provide true rates of parasitic processes from experimental endpoint slippage data. This work shows that, in battery science, well-established analytical approaches may not be directly transferrable to new electrode systems.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

A graphical summary of solar wind electron content observations by Pioneer 6, 8, and 9

Between 1965 and 1972, solar wind density measurements were obtained by Mariner 5 and Pioneer 6, 7, 8, and 9 using a radio science method called the 'dual-frequency experiment'. The measurements and data processing are now terminated. A graphical summary is presented of the best of the resulting data, showing the average electron number density of the solar wind across radio paths that vary in length up to 1.8 AU and that lie broadside to the flow direction. These graphs summarize 3.4 years of observations with a time resolution of 1 hour; the measurements provided 1-min resolution and spanned 7 years. Because the orientation and length of the paths change continually and have a major influence on the interpretation of these data, a spacecraft trajectory chart and a plot of the corotation interval are provided.

Croft, T. A.↗