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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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60 records · Page 4

Magellan radar to reveal secrets of enshrouded Venus

Imaging Venus with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with 70 percent global coverage at 1-km optical line-pair resolution to provide a detailed global characterization of the volcanic land-forms on Venus by an integration of image data with altimetry is discussed. The Magellan radar system uses navigation predictions to preset the radar data collection parameters. The data are collected in such a way as to preserve the Doppler signature of surface elements and later they are transmitted to the earth for processing into high-resolution radar images. To maintain high accuracy, a complex on-board filter algorithm allows the altitude control logic to respond only to a narrow range of expected photon intensity levels and only to signals that occur within a small predicted interval of time. Each mapping pass images a swath of the planet that varies in width from 20 to 25 km. Since the orbital plane of the spacecraft remains fixed in the inertial space, the slow rotation of Venus continually brings new areas into view of the spacecraft.

Saunders, R. Stephen↗

A preliminary study of the variability and magnitude of the flux of biogenic sulfur gases from a New Hampshire salt marsh

Salt marshes have highly variable spatial and temporal fluxes of hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, methane thiol, dimethyl sulfide, and carbon disulfide (H2S, COS, MeSH, DMS, and CS2, respectively). This variability was tested at nine emission sites in a New Hampshire, USA salt marsh: three replicates in each of three vegetation zones, Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, and a transition zone. Three sites were sampled simultaneously, either within or across vegetation zones, using a dynamic flux chamber technique. Difficulties with calibration and field equipment resulted in fluxes with maximum absolute uncertainties of greater than plus or minus 200 percent. However, the relative uncertainty between subsequent samples was closer to plus or minus 20 percent. Chambers are expected to affect the natural flux of gases by altering the humidity, temperature, and composition of the gas inside the chamber. Summertime fluxes are highest for all gases except COS which demonstrated evidence of a springtime peak. A summertime background flux of 5 to 100 x 10(exp -9) g S/m(sup -2) min was observed for all gases, while S alternifora fluxes of MeSH and DMS were approximately 8 fold and approximately 100 fold higher than S. patens, respectively. DMS and MeSH fluxes were higher during the day than at night. Evidence of COS uptake by plants was observed. CS2 appeared to be the quantitatively least important sulfur gas emitted. Improved laboratory and sample collection techniques and further data collection in the field will yield information on the details of salt marsh variability, will improve estimates of the error associated with single flux measurements, and will allow a more accurate estimation of sulfur fluxes from salt marshes based on vegetation and area coverage data. Inability to control the temperature and humidity inside of the chamber remain significant problems with the chamber design.

Morrison, Michael Cope↗

Lunar Simulant Deposition Technique for Dust Tolerance Studies

A renewed interest in lunar exploration has spawned an array of development efforts for lunar surface assets. These systems depend on the reliable operation of mechanisms and components that may be susceptible to performance degradations or failure due to dust. The Uniform Dust Deposition System was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to provide repeatable, uniform, and automated deposition of simulants on surfaces of interest for dust mitigation testing. The system is capable of depositing simulants on test articles up to 60 cm in diameter and 15 cm high in a dry air environment with less than 1 percent relative humidity while keeping users safe from aerosolized dust. The automation of the system allows for high testing throughput while not sacrificing test quality and allows the user to reduce data in parallel. The additional development of a simulant preparation technique complements the repeatability of the deposition physics during testing. The system includes an imaging subsystem that leverages the power of machine learning to count simulant particles and measure their size, thereby allowing for accurate predictions of surface deposition densities (coefficient of determination R^(2) = 0.93) from images alone. The coverage of dust on a surface was shown to be uniform (coefficient of variation CV < 0.11), allowing developers to accurately evaluate the performance of their technology with a prescribed amount of lunar simulant, information that can be used to develop and refine models. The accuracy of the system is currently less than desired for a single deposition run, with a standard deviation (SD) ranging from 18 to 24 mg, or 0.839 to 1.184 mg/sq. cm , for a 5-cm-diameter area. However, the accuracy can be improved by performing multiple deposition runs to build dust to a desired level. Testing has shown that a SD of 0.2 to 0.6 mg, or 0.076 to 0.227 mg/sq. cm, can be achieved for a 5-cm-diameter area using this technique.

Stephen Gerdts↗

Geologic Characterization of the South Georgia Rift Basin for Source Proximal CO2 Storage

The project Geologic Characterization of the South Georgia Rift Basin for Source Proximal CO2 Storage is one of 9 site characterization projects that were implemented as part of ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). Data from this project was used to improve resolution of data in NATCARB in the area of study. Data related to this study has already been incorporated in NATCARB Atlas. The South Carolina Research Foundation and partners evaluated the feasibility of CCS in the Jurassic/ Triassic (J / TR) saline formations of the buried Mesozoic South Georgia Rift (SGR) Basin that extends from South Carolina into Georgia. The J / TR sequence, based on preliminary assessment of limited geologic and geophysical data, appears to have both the appropriate areal extent and multiple horizons to permanently and safely store CO2 The presence of several igneous rock layers within the sequence may potentially provide adequate seals to prevent upward CO2 migration into the Coastal Plain aquifer systems. Approximately 81 kilometers of 2-D seismic reflection data were collected by Bay Geophysical, Inc. to explore a portion of the SGR located in southern Georgia. The 81 kilometers were divided into two lines approximately 40.5 kilometers each, with Line 1 intersecting Georgia well GGS 3457. Line 2 intersects Line 1 at the southern portion of Line 1 to maximize the extent of coverage away from GGS-3457 (a deep well drilled in the 1980s for oil and gas exploration). This well had a set of usable logs, including gamma and neutron logs that provided promising results related to CO2 storage. Results showed sandstone with porosity values greater than 10 percent and a thickness of 120 meters. The design of the seismic shot was to extrapolate information away from the well and to better define the extent of the SGR and the necessary reservoir and caprock for a successful CO2 injection. A numerical simulation model of CO2 Injection and migration was developed based on the geology log for the GGS-3457 well. The simulation model was used to investigate the feasibility of injecting 30 million metric tons of CO2 into SGR J / TA sediments and integrity of the diabase layers as seals to prevent CO2 migration.

2-D seismic↗

NASA gateway requirements analysis

NASA devotes approximately 40 percent of its budget to R&D. Twelve NASA Research Centers and their contractors conduct this R&D, which ranges across many disciplines and is fueled by information about previous endeavors. Locating the right information is crucial. While NASA researchers use peer contacts as their primary source of scientific and technical information (STI), on-line bibliographic data bases - both Government-owned and commercial - are also frequently consulted. Once identified, the STI must be delivered in a usable format. This report assesses the appropriateness of developing an intelligent gateway interface for the NASA R&D community as a means of obtaining improved access to relevant STI resources outside of NASA's Remote Console (RECON) on-line bibliographic database. A study was conducted to determine (1) the information requirements of the R&D community, (2) the information sources to meet those requirements, and (3) ways of facilitating access to those information sources. Findings indicate that NASA researchers need more comprehensive STI coverage of disciplines not now represented in the RECON database. This augmented subject coverage should preferably be provided by both domestic and foreign STI sources. It was also found that NASA researchers frequently request rapid delivery of STI, in its original format. Finally, it was found that researchers need a better system for alerting them to recent developments in their areas of interest. A gateway that provides access to domestic and international information sources can also solve several shortcomings in the present STI delivery system. NASA should further test the practicality of a gateway as a mechanism for improved STI access.

Duncan, Denise R.↗

Global Magellan-image map of Venus at full resolution

During its first 243-day mapping cycle, the Magellan spacecraft succeeded in imaging 84 percent of the surface of Venus at resolutions on the order of 100 meters; subsequent cycles have increased the total coverage to over 97 percent and provided redundant coverage of much of the planet with differing viewing geometries. Unfortunately, this full-resolution global dataset is in the form of thousands of individual orbit tracks (F-BIDR's) whose length-to-width ratio of nearly 1000:1 makes them minimally useful unless mosaicked. The Magellan project produced full-resolution mosaics (F-MIDR's) only for selected regions on the planet, whereas a global set of mosaics was made only at threefold degraded resolution (C1-MIDR's). Furthermore, although the F-MIDR's, which are approximately equidimensional, are much better suited for scientific interpretation than the F-BIDR's, they are still an unwieldy dataset: over 1500 quadrangles, each showing a region only about 600 km on a side, would be required to cover the entire planet. The USGS has therefore undertaken to produce and distribute a global, full resolution set of mosaics of the Magellan image data in a format that will be efficient for both hardcopy and digital use. The initial motivation was that it would provide an efficient means of verifying the integrity of the F-BIDR's to be archived on computer-compatible tape at the USGS Flagstaff facility. However, the resulting product, known as the FMAP, should also serve as an important resource for future scientific interpretation. It will offer several advantages beyond global coverage at full resolution. The first, alluded to above, is its division of the planet's surface to minimize the number of quadrangles and maximize their area, subject to the limits on the number of pixels imposed by state-of-the-art digital recording media and hardcopy output devices. The second, the use of improved 'cosmetic' processing techniques, will greatly reduce tonal discontinuities between component F-BIDR's in the FMAP compared to the standard Magellan mosaic products. Finally, wherever possible, the FMAP will incorporate data that were unavailable (e.g., because of processing delays) when the standard MIDR products were created, as well as data that were reprocessed to improve their radiometric or geometric quality.

Kirk, R. L.↗