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At least 73 records · Page 4

The polar layered deposits on Mars: Inference from thermal inertia modeling and geologic studies

It is widely believed that the Martian polar layered deposits record climate variations over at least the last 10 to 100 m.y., but the details of the processes involved and their relative roles in layer formation and evolution remain obscure. Weathering of the Martian layered deposits by sublimation of water ice can account for the thermal inertias, water vapor abundances, and geologic relationships observed in the Martian polar regions. The nonvolatile components of the layered deposits appears to consist mainly of bright red dust, with small amounts of dark dust. Dark dust, perhaps similar to the magnetic material found at the Viking Lander sites, may preferentially form filamentary residue particles upon weathering of the deposits. Once eroded, these particles may saltate to form the dark dunes found in both polar regions. This scenario for the origin and evolution of the dark material within the polar layered deposits is consistent with the available imaging and thermal data. Further experimental measurements of the thermophysical properties of magnetite and maghemite under Martian conditions are needed to better test this hypothesis.

Herkenhoff, K. E.↗

A simulation model of temperature transitory on rocks having different thermal inertia. Analysis of the theoretical capacity of rock discrimination by remote sensing data

The possibility of identifying ground surface material by measuring the surface temperature at two different and significant times of the day was investigated for the case of hypothetical island whose rocky surface contained no vegetation and consisted of dolomite, clay, and granite. The thermal dynamics of the soil surface during a day in which atmospheric conditions were average for a latitude of about 40 deg to 50 deg were numerically simulated. The line of separation between zones of different materials was delineated by the range of temperature variation. Results show that the difference between maximum and minimum value of the temperature of ground surface during the day is linked to the thermal inertia value of the material of which the rock is formed.

Cassinis, R.↗

Improving operational flexibility of integrated energy system with uncertain renewable generations considering thermal inertia of buildings

Insufficient flexibility in system operation caused by traditional "heat-set" operating modes of combined heat and power (CHP) units in winter heating periods is a key issue that limits renewable energy consumption. In order to reduce the curtailment of renewable energy resources through improving the operational flexibility, a novel optimal scheduling model based on chance-constrained programming (CCP), aiming at minimizing the lowest generation cost, is proposed for a small-scale integrated energy system (IES) with CHP units, thermal power units, renewable generations and representative auxiliary equipments. In this model, due to the uncertainties of renewable generations including wind turbines and photovoltaic units, the probabilistic spinning reserves are supplied in the form of chance-constrained; from the perspective of user experience, a heating load model is built with consideration of heat comfort and inertia in buildings. To solve the model, a solution approach based on sequence operation theory (SOT) is developed, where the original CCP-based scheduling model is tackled into a solvable mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation by converting a chance constraint into its deterministic equivalence class, and thereby is solved via the CPLEX solver. We report the simulation results on the modified IEEE 30-bus system demonstrate that the presented method manages to improve operational flexibility of the IES with uncertain renewable generations by comprehensively leveraging thermal inertia of buildings and different kinds of auxiliary equipments, which provides a fundamental way for promoting renewable energy consumption.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

The diameter and thermal inertia of 433 Eros

Radiometry of Eros at 10 and 20 micrometers demonstrates that the thermal conductivity of the upper centimeter of the surface is approximately as low as that of the moon, suggesting that the asteroid has a regolith of highly porous rocky material. When combined with photoelectric photometry, these infrared measurements yield an effective diameter of Eros at maximum light of 22 plus or minus 2 km and a geometric albedo of 0.18 plus or minus 0.03.

Morrison, D.↗

The influence of thermal inertia on Mars' seasonal pressure variation and the effect of the weather component

Using a Leighton-Murray type diurnal and seasonal Mars thermal model, we found that it is possible to reproduce the seasonal variation in daily-averaged pressures (approximately 680-890 Pa) measured by Viking Lander 1 (VL1), during years without global dust storms, with a standard deviation of less than 5 Pa. In this simple model, surface CO2, frost condensation, and sublimation rates at each latitude are determined by the net effects of radiation, latent heat, and heat conduction in subsurface soil layers. An inherent assumption of our model is that the seasonal pressure variation is due entirely to the exchange of mass between the atmosphere and polar caps. However, the results of recent Mars GCM modeling have made it clear that there is a significant dynamical contribution to the seasonal pressure variation. This 'weather' component is primarily due to large-scale changes in atmospheric circulation, and its magnitude depends somewhat on the dust content of the atmosphere. The overall form of the theoretical weather component at the location of VL1, as calculated by the AMES GCM, remains the same over the typical range of Mars dust opacities.

Wood, S. E.↗

Use of Satellite Data Assimilation to Infer Land Surface Thermal Inertia

There are two important but observationally uncertain parameters in the grid averaged surface energy budgets of mesoscale models - surface moisture availability and thermal heat capacity. A technique has been successfully developed for assimilating Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) skin temperature tendencies during the mid-morning time frame to improve specification of surface moisture. In a new application of the technique, the use of satellite skin temperature tendencies in early evening is explored to improve specification of the surface thermal heat capacity. Together, these two satellite assimilation constraints have been shown to significantly improve the characterization of the surface energy budget of a mesoscale model on fine spatial scales. The GOES assimilation without the adjusted heat capacity was run operationally during the International H2O Project on a 12-km grid. This paper presents the results obtained when using both the moisture availability and heat capacity retrievals in concert. Preliminary results indicate that retrieved moisture availability alone improved the verification statistics of 2-meter temperature and dew point forecasts. Results from the 1.5 month long study period using the bulk heat capacity will be presented at the meeting.

Lapenta, William↗

Thermal inertia and radar reflectivity of the Martian north polar ERG: Low-density aggregates

The north polar layered deposits on Mars appear to be the source of the dark material that comprises the north polar erg. The physical properties and chemical composition of the erg material therefore have important implications for the origin and evolution of the Martian layered deposits. Viking bistatic radar and infrared thermal mapping (IRTM) data indicate that the bulk density of the erg material is lower than that of the average Martian surface. These data are consistent with hypotheses involving formation of filamentary sublimation residue (FSR) particles from erosion of the layered deposits. The color and albedo of the erg and of the layered deposits, and the presence of magnetic material on Mars, suggest that the dark material is composed of low-density aggregates of magnetic dust grains, perhaps similar to FSR particles created in laboratory experiments.

Herkenhoff, K. E.↗

Geologic application of thermal-inertia mapping from satellite

The author has identified the following significant results. Approximately 400 miles of low altitude scanner data of good quality was acquired over the Powder River Basin between 13-16 Oct. 1978. Radiometric and meteorological data from three ground stations were also acquired in support of low altitude U.S.G.S. overflights.

Offield, T. W.↗

Geologic application of thermal inertia imaging using HCMM data

The author has identified the following significant results. The day infrared and visible HCMM satellite data for Death Valley taken on 31 May 1978 were compared with aircraft data of the same area taken in March of the same year. In the visible image, it is possible to note the drying of the valley floor during the two month period between acquisition of the two data sets. On the IR image however, the valley floor remains cool, probably indicating that while the standing water has disappeared, the floor is still moist.

Paley, H. N.↗

Geologic applications of thermal inertia image using HCMM data

The author has identified the following significant results. Comparison of a simulated HCMM image of the Pisgah Crater, California test site obtained from aircraft data with an image generated from the preliminary satellite data tape of the area indicates that the HCMM satellite data appears much as predicted by the simulation.

Kahle, A. B.↗