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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Dynamic interpretation of geoid anomalies

The NASA Geodynamics program has as two of its missions precise determination of spatial variations in earth's geopotential (or geoid) and highly accurate monitoring of polar motion, including changes in the length of day (LOD). For the past several years, data sets provided by NASA, along with data and models from other areas of geophysic were used to place fundamental contraints on the large scale dynamics of earth and her sister planet Venus. The main approach was using fluid mechanical models of mantle flow to predict the long-wavelength variations in the geoid.

Hager, Bradford H.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Somali Basin, Chain Ridge, and origin of the Northern Somali Basin gravity and geoid low

Geophysical data are used to investigate the origin of the Northern Somali Basin and its relationship to surrounding tectonic elements. The results show the Northern Somali Basin to be the third of a series of oceanic basins separated by long transform faults created during movement between East and West Gondwanaland. The flexure resulting from differential subsidence across Chain Ridge along with the difference in lithospheric thermal structure on either side of it can account for the amplitude and shape of the observed geoid step and gravity anomalies across Chain Rige. It is suggested that the geoid and gravity low over the Northern Somali Basin may result from the superposition of a continental edge effect anomaly and the fracture zone edge effect anomaly.

Cochran, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The geoid in Kenya

The definition of geoidal undulations is given and after summarizing the methods of determination of the geoid, computed geoidal undulations by some of the methods for several points in Kenya are compared to the results obtained by the satellite gravimetric solutions. Results from astrogeodetic levelling and satellite altimetry show some reasonable agreement with the satellite gravimetric geoids while results by Doppler satellite positioning indicate that good agreement can be obtained if the orthometric heights for the points are adjusted to a uniform system.

Lwangasi, Alphonse S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Lateral variation in upper mantle temperature and composition beneath mid-ocean ridges inferred from shear-wave propagation, geoid, and bathymetry

Resolution of both the extent and mechanism of lateral heterogeneity in the upper mantle constraints the nature and scales of mantle convection. Oceanic regions are of particular interest as they are likely to provide the closest glimpse at the patterns of temperature anomalies and convective flow in the upper mantle because of their young age and simple crustal structure relative to continental regions. Lateral variations were determined in the seismic velocity and attenuation structure of the lithosphere and astenosphere beneath the oceans, and these seismological observations were combined with the data and theory of geoid and bathymetry anomalies in order to test and improve current models for seafloor spreading and mantle convection. Variations were determined in mantle properties on a scale of about 1000 km, comparable to the thickness of the upper mantle. Seismic velocity, geoid, and bathymetry anomalies are all sensitive to variations in upper mantle density, and inversions were formulated to combine quantitatively these different data and to search for a common origin. Variations in mantle density can be either of thermal or compositional origin and are related to mantle convection or differentiation.

Sheehan, Anne Francis↗
NASA NTRS1990

Dynamical effects from equation of state on topographies and geoid anomalies due to internal loading

Using a Cartesian compressible model, the effects of compressibility on geoid anomalies and of deformations on the topographic signatures caused by internal loading in the mantle are quantitatively investigated by examining different types of the equation of state. Also considered are different types of density laws with variations of thermodynamical parameters taken into play. It is shown that surface topographies are not changed much by the effects of mantle compressibility and that the deformation of bottom boundary is not significantly influenced except for long wavelengths and large viscosity contrasts between the upper and lower mantles. On the other hand, mantle compressibility can greatly affect geoid signals with horizontal wavelengths exceeding 10,000 km.

Hong, Hanjing↗
NASA NTRS1990

Geoid anomalies over two South Atlantic fracture zones

Seasat altimetry profiles across the Falkland-Agulhas and Ascension fracture zones were examined for evidence of step-like geoid offsets predicted from thermal modeling of the lithosphere. Neither the plate nor the half-space model of lithospheric thermal evolution succeeds in predicting the variations in step height with age across the fracture zone branches considered. For ages less than about 30 Ma, the step offsets decrease in a manner suggesting a plate with a thickness of 50-75 km. At greater ages, the offsets show complex behavior that may be due to bathymetric features adjacent to the fracture zones. Similar geoid patterns on opposite branches of the Falkland-Agulhas fracture zone are indicative of processes that act symmetrically on both sides of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is consistent both with small-scale convection occurring beneath the lithosphere and with bathymetric features originally produced along the ridge crest and now located symmetrically on opposite sides of the ridge. The west flank of the Ascension fracture zone displays a regrowth in step height at about 40 Ma consistent with small-scale convection and in agreement with other studies of Pacific and South Atlantic fracture zones.

Freedman, Adam P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The mean sea surface height and geoid along the Geosat subtrack from Bermuda to Cape Cod

The mean sea-surface height and the gravitational geoid are presently estimated via near-surface velocity changes and concurrent sea-level changes along an ascending Geosat subtrack. The velocity measurements were made on three traverses, within ten days, of a Geosat subtrack, by means of an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The mean sea-surface height was estimated as the difference between the instantaneous sea-surface height from ADCP and the Geosat residual sea level. In order to minimize mesoscale errors in the estimate, the along-track geoid estimate was computed as the difference between mean sea-level height from the Geosat Exact Repeat Mission and an estimate of the mean sea-surface height.

Kelly, Kathryn A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Tomography, the geoid and plate motions

The dynamics of the earth's mantle and its relationship to mantle structure as revealed by seismic tomography, the geoid, and plate motions are discussed in a critical review of U.S. research from the period 1987-1990. Sections are devoted to plates and mantle convection; seismic anomalies, flow, and the geoid; subducted slabs and the 670-km discontinuity; the physical properties of the mantle; plumes; and computational and experimental modeling efforts. Also included is a comprehensive bibliography for the period.

Gable, Carl W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

An inversion of geoid and topography for mantle and crustal structure on Mars

Mars has the largest amplitude geoid anomalies and surface topography known on the terrestrial planets. A number of prior studies have analyzed Martian gravity anomalies and topography in terms of isostasy and flexure of the crust and lithosphere. Other studies have emphasized the role of mantle convection in producing gravity anomalies and topography in some regions of Mars. Geoid and topography observations for simultaneous estimates of density anomalies in the crust and mantle of Mars are inverted. In performing this study, a recent degree 50 spherical harmonic expansion of the Martian gravity field (GMM-l) and a corresponding resolution expansion of the USGS Mars topography model are used. However, our analysis is restricted to harmonic degrees up to L equals 25, which are better determined than the higher harmonics. This provides a half-wavelength horizontal resolution of 425 km.

Kiefer, Walter↗
NASA NTRS2000

Geoid Recovery using Geophysical Inverse Theory Applied to Satellite to Satellite Tracking Data

This report describes a new method for determination of the geopotential. The analysis is aimed at the GRACE mission. This Satellite-to-Satellite Tracking (SST) mission is viewed as a mapping mission The result will be maps of the geoid. The elements of potential theory, celestial mechanics, and Geophysical Inverse Theory are integrated into a computation architecture, and the results of several simulations presented Centimeter accuracy geoids with 50 to 100 km resolution can be recovered with a 30 to 60 day mission.

Gaposchkin, E. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Determination of the geoid from satellite altimeter data

The characteristics of the geoid surface are quantitatively described. A procedure for calculating the satellite altitude is developed. Error sources are described quantitatively, mathematically modeled, and evaluated in computer simulation. Procedures for maximum likelihood processing of altimeter data for recovery of orbit and geopotential information are presented for several geopotential models.

Brown, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Refinement of the geoid from GEOS-C data

A refinement was made of ocean geoid and global gravity fields from GEOS-C altimeter data. Various mathematical procedures for calculating these phenomena are given.

Chovitz, B. H.↗