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A group of suggested experiments is described, which are to be conducted with ERTS-A and high altitude aircraft imagery during the 1972 period. Methods of analysis and observation of land use, urban change, transportation, and possible pollution, using small scale, low resolution data, are discussed.
Between 6 March and 13 March 1972, NASA conducted a series of remote sensing experiments over the Imperial Valley, California and Phoenix, Arizona. NASA personnel employed the use of a Convair 990 fitted with microwave radiometers and photographic equipment in several overflights of the area. Ground-based operations, which included the coordination of sampling teams, placement of flight line markers, soil sample collection, soil moisture analysis, field observations, photography and data handling, are discussed.
Analysis of VLF emissions that have been observed near 3/2, 5/2, and 7/2 f sub H by Ogo 5 in the magnetosphere (f sub H is the electron cyclotron frequency) in the light of the mechanism used for the diffuse plasma resonance f sub Dn observed by Alouette 2 and Isis 1. The VLF emission is considered to be generated by nonlinear coupling mechanisms in certain portions of the observation as the f sub Dn is enhanced by its association with nonlinear wave-particle interaction of the electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic wave, including the instability due to the nonlinear inverse Landau damping mechanism in the turbulence. The difference between the two observations is in the excitation mechanism of the turbulence; the turbulence in the plasma trough detected by Ogo 5 is due to natural origins, whereas the ionospheric topside sounder makes the plasma wave turbulence artificially by submitting strong stimulation pulses. Electron density values in the plasma trough are deduced by applying the f sub Dn-f sub N/f sub H relationship obtained from the Alouette 2 experiment as well as by applying the condition for the wave-particle nonlinear interactions. The electron density values reveal good agreement with the ion density values observed simultaneously by the highly sensitive ion mass spectrometer.
A study has been performed to define the orbital characteristics of a satellite dedicated to monitoring the coastal zones of the United States. The primary area of coverage is the east coast with secondary coverage of the west coast. Since no one orbital inclination fits both coasts, the inclination was determined by the east coast to be 63 deg. This inclination was found to give better coverage of the east coast than either its retrograde counterpart or a sun synchronous orbit. The two coasts require quite different orbits to maximize the coverage. The use of a small propulsive maneuver could be used to compromise the coverage between the two coastlines and change from one type orbit to the other.
Effluent concentration distributions from the waste water discharge of the Kraft Division Mill, Consolidated Paper Company, into the Wisconsin River at Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, is investigated. Effluent concentrations were determined from measurements of the temperature distribution, using temperature as a tracer. Measurements of the velocity distribution in the vicinity of the outfall were also made. Due to limitations in the extent of the field observations, the analysis and comparison of the measurements is limited to the region within about 300 feet from the outfall. Effects of outfall submergence, of buoyancy and momentum of the effluent and of the pattern and magnitude of river currents on these characteristics are considered.
The arc-driven Langley 6-inch shock tube has been used to produce shock waves in CO2 in the speed range between 9 and 13 km/sec at ambient pressures between 0.1 and 5 torr. These pressures correspond approximately to equivalent Venus altitudes between 100 and 80 km. Radiation intensity profiles behind the shock waves have been observed for several wavelengths at which the important species emit. Observation and analysis of the luminosity profiles in the zone of chemical nonequilibrium have been given particular emphasis. The results of the measurements are employed in the prediction of nonequilibrium radiative heating to a typical blunt-body probe entering the Venus atmosphere on a ballistic trajectory.
Analysis of observations made at infrared wavelengths of a large number of H II regions. Several types of IR sources are found associated with H II regions, and a single region can contain a number of varied IR emitting objects. The main sources of IR emission are ionized hydrogen concentrations, heated dust particles, and OH/H2O masers. Flux density maps for both radio and IR emission suggest that there is a physical association between the IR and radio-emitting regions. The properties of several H II regions indicate that they may be protostellar objects at various stages of evolution.
Information developed to characterize flight and ground based samples from the Exothermic Brazing Experiment is detailed. Included is information developed from metallographic observation, chemical analysis, and measurements of component dimensions. Comparisons of the flight and ground based specimens showed that good quality brazes were obtained. Effects of the zero gravity processing were noted on liquid metal flow and braze alloy-base metal reactions. Unusual metallurgical structures exhibited in the nickel brazes made in Skylab were the result of composition variations apparently related to the time-temperature cycle characteristic of this braze.
The author has identified the following significant results. Results of the analysis of data collected during the summer of 1974 demonstrate that the ERTS Data Collection Platform (DCP) is quite responsive to changing water parameters and that this information can be successfully transmitted under all weather conditions. The monitoring of on-site probe outputs reveals a rapid response to changing water temperature, salinity, and turbidity conditions on incoming tides as the tidal salt wedge passes the probe location. The changes in water properties were corroborated by simultaneously sampling the water for subsequent laboratory analysis. Fluctuations observed in the values of salinity, conductivity, temperature and water depth over short time intervals were extremely small. Due to the nature of the probe, 10% to 20% fluctuations were observed in the turbidity values. The use of the average of the values observed during an overpass provided acceptable results. Good quality data was obtained from the satellite on each overpass regardless of weather conditions. Continued use of the DCP will help provide an indication of the accuracy of the probes and transmission system during long term use.
The large-scale albedo features of Mars, as observed with Earth-based telescopes, undergo secular changes, cyclic seasonal changes, seemingly random day-to-day changes, and cyclic diurnal changes. The suspension or redistribution of dust may be involved in all four. Some of the recent findings, based on extensive new Earth-based data, are at variance with classical ideas. Current methods of observation and analysis need to be pursued until all Martian seasons have been equally sampled.
Analysis of observations of substorm-associated enhancements of proton and electron fluxes: (1) makes a strong case for the existence of a boundary limiting the regional particle injection associated with substorms, (2) supports the hypothesis that the injection process is almost instantaneous (less than approximately 5 min), and (3) indicates that the injection takes place within a large region extending at least several earth radii tailward of the injection boundary. The injection boundary model is superior to others in that it simultaneously explains: (1) the drift and energy dispersion of substorm-injected protons between 1 and 30 keV, (2) the relative behavior of protons with 81 deg and 27 deg pitch angles, (3) the absence of observed electrons below 30 keV, and (4) the time dispersion of impulsively injected electrons seen outside the plasmapause.
A preliminary summary is presented for the types of data obtained on possible interactions between Comet Kohoutek and the solar wind. The data include Pioneer 8 solar wind density measurements along a line of sight through or near the comet's position; Pioneer 6 plasma measurements near the projected position of the ion tail 100 million km from the nucleus; Lyman-alpha observations of the cometary hydrogen cloud from Skylab and Mariner 10; and ground-based radio, spectroscopic, and photographic observations. Preliminary analysis of some data is provided.
A comparison of limb brightening measurements with theoretical limb brightening curves calculated for simple atmospheric models indicates that a significant fraction of the EUV emission from lines formed in the transition layer comes from spicules. We find that spicules contribute about 20% of the total quiet sun intensity for lines of the C II, C III, N III, and O VI ions. The uncertainty in the magnitude of the percentage is about a factor of 2. The EUV-emission scale heights above the limb are consistent with the assumption that the variation with height of the number of EUV-emitting spicules is the same as for H-alpha-emitting spicules. Optical depths derived for the C II 1335 A and C III 977 A lines yield estimates for the pressure in the transition layer that are in good agreement with pressures derived under the assumption that the transition layer is in pressure equilibrium with the chromosphere and corona.
An analysis of observations of the occultation of Epsilon Gem by Mars on April 8, 1976, is presented. The data were obtained by three neighboring telescopes at McDonald Observatory. Intensity fluctuations on time scales of the order of 100 ms were observed simultaneously at the three telescopes. As the observations compare well with predictions of turbulent scintillation theory, it is concluded that such fluctuations were probably largely the effect of stellar scintillations in the Martian atmosphere. The stellar diameter is included as a parameter in the theory but in a way which differs from previously published interpretations of occultations of extended sources by planetary atmospheres. Scintillations govern the experimental uncertainty in the deduction of the scale height of the high Martian atmosphere. A density scale height of 9.9 + or - 2.5 km is obtained at an altitude of 74 + or - 8 km above the mean surface. For CO 2 gas, this result corresponds to a temperature of 190 + or - 50 K.
A joint U.S.S.R. and United States program to develop methods for remote sounding of soils and vegetation is reported. The program is being conducted on similar sections of land in the USSR and the United States. Details of the data obtained and the type of sensing equipments employed are provided in the appendices.
Observations and analyses of the 1B/M3 flare of 15 June, 1973 in active region NOAA 131 (McMath 12379) are presented. The X-ray observations, consisting of broadband photographs and proportional counter data from the Skylab/ATM NASA-MSFC/Aerospace S-056 experiment, are used to infer temperatures, emission measures, and densities for the flaring plasma. The peak temperature from the spatially resolved photographs is 25,000,000 K, while the temperature from the full-disk proportional counter data is approximately 15,000,000 K. The density is 3 times 10 to the 10th/cu cm. The X-ray flare emission appears to come primarily from two low-lying curvilinear features lying perpendicular to and centered on the line where the photospheric longitudinal magnetic field is zero. Similarities in the preflare and postflare X-ray emission patterns indicate that no large-scale relaxation of the coronal magnetic configuration was observed. Also discussed are H-alpha and magnetic field observations of the flare and the active region. Finally, results of numerical calculations, including thermal conduction, radiative loss, and chromospheric evaporation, are in qualitative agreement with the decay phase observations.
A simple analytical model, based on the concept that the constraining plies surrounding cracks through the thickness of a given ply or plies control the spacing of those cracks by controlling the surrounding stress state, appears to agree well with experimental data. Such a model can be used to evaluate critically various constraint situations including the prediction of the ability of a given constraint layer to arrest flaw development. The analytical model, which uses an equilibrium element approach in the present case, is sensitive to lamina and laminate elastic properties, flaw size, stacking sequence, and an interlaminar stress transfer distance which is estimated from experimental observations. The analysis is easily extended to study flaw growth and plastic region formation.
Material from the Galilean satellites of Jupiter ejected by energetic particles in the Jovian magnetosphere may provide large sources of oxygen to the parent planet. Formation of a CO molecule is the ultimate fate of an oxygen atom in the upper Jovian atmosphere. This high-altitude source of CO supports Beer and Taylor's (1978) observations and analysis, provided that the globally averaged O atom input flux is about 10 million per sq cm/sec and the eddy diffusion coefficient at the tropopause is around 1000 sq cm/sec. Implications for the possible presence of other atoms and molecules derived from the satellites are discussed.