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NASA NTRS1989

Observations of ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions from the Dynamics Explorer satellites

The Dynamics Explorer program was a dual spacecraft mission designed to study the interactions between the upper atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere. The global auroral images acquired from the high altitude spacecraft have provided a revolutionary new time-dependent frame of reference for the interpretation of data acquired in situ. Using data especially from the low altitude spacecraft, interrelationships are developed between the various electrodynamic parameters measured. Ionospheric irregularities are found to be especially intense in regions of electric field convection shears, which are closely related to the dusk hemisphere field-aligned currents. These region 1 currents are spatially connected to the boundary plasma sheet electron precipitation. At all local times, there appears to be a universal relationship between regions where div E is less than 0 and electron precipitation structures. Depending upon the characteristics of the electrons bombarding the atmosphere, the atmosphere will radiate various spectral optical emissions, which can be imaged from high above the polar caps, with temporal resolution sufficient to follow the time-dependent evolution of a substorm. It is concluded that with further detailed analyses of the electrodynamic parameters obtained from in situ measurements, analyses of auroral images will yield specific information on many of the important ionospheric parameters over an entire auroral oval and polar cap, including regions of intense ionospheric irregularities.

Hoffman, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Horizon-glow and the motion of lunar dust

Surveyor-7 photographed a bright glow along the western lunar horizon one hour after local sunset. This horizon-glow (HG) must result from the forward scattering of sunlight by electrically charged dust grains which are electrostatically levitated 3 to 30 cm above rocks or surface irregularities located in the lunar terminator zone. Column densities the order of 50 grains/sq cm are produced. The mechanism by which the electrostatic field is generated is described, and the amount of surface material annually churned by this process is estimated.

Criswell, D. R.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Equatorial Dynamics Observed by Rocket, Radar, and Satellite During the CADRE/MALTED Campaign: Programmatics and small-scale fluctuations - 1

In August 1994, the Mesospheric and Lower Thermospheric Equatorial Dynamics (MALTED) Program was conducted from the Alcantara rocket site in northeastern Brazil as part of the International Guard Rocket Campaign to study equatorial dynamics, irregularities, and instabilities in the ionosphere. This site was selected because of its proximity to the geographic (2.3 deg S) and magnetic (approx. 0.5 deg S) equators. MALTED was concerned with planetary wave modulation of the diurnal tidal amplitude, which exhibits considerable amplitude variability at equatorial and subtropical latitudes. Our goals were to study this global modulation of the tidal motions where tidal influences on the thermal structure are maximum, to study the interaction of these tidal structures with gravity waves and turbulence at mesopause altitudes, and to gain a better understanding of dynamic influences and variability on the equatorial middle atmosphere. Four (two daytime and two nighttime) identical Nike-Orion payloads designed to investigate small-scale turbulence and irregularities were coordinated with 20 meteorological falling-sphere rockets designed to measure temperature and wind fields during a 10-day period. These in situ measurements were coordinated with observations of global-scale mesospheric motions that were provided by various ground based radars and the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) through the Coupling and Dynamics of Regions Equatorial (CADRE) campaign. The ground-based observatories included the Jicamarca radar observatory near Lima, Peru, and medium frequency (MF) radars in Hawaii, Christmas Island, and Adelaide. Since all four Nike-Orion flights penetrated and overflew the electrojet with apogees near 125 km, these flights provided additional information about the electrodynamics and irregularities in the equatorial ionospheric E region and may provide information on wave coupling between the mesosphere and the electrojet. Simultaneous with these flights, the CUPRI 50-MHz radar (Cornell University) provided local sounding of the electrojet region. A description of the campaign logistics and the measurements performed with the Nike-Orion instrumentation and their implications for turbulence due to gravity waves and tidal instability in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) are presented here. From a study of electron density fluctuations measured by rocket probes, we have found evidence for equatorial mesospheric neutral-atmospheric turbulence between 85 and 90 km. Furthermore, falling-sphere data imply that gravity wave breaking was a source for this turbulence. Mean motions and the various planetary, tidal, and gravity wave structures and their coherence and variability are the subjects of a companion paper.

Goldberg, Richard A.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Cluster Observations of Non-Time Continuous Magnetosonic Waves

Equatorial magnetosonic waves are normally observed as temporally continuous sets of emissions lasting from minutes to hours. Recent observations, however, have shown that this is not always the case. Using Cluster data, this study identifies two distinct forms of these non temporally continuous use missions. The first, referred to as rising tone emissions, are characterized by the systematic onset of wave activity at increasing proton gyroharmonic frequencies. Sets of harmonic emissions (emission elements)are observed to occur periodically in the region +/- 10 off the geomagnetic equator. The sweep rate of these emissions maximizes at the geomagnetic equator. In addition, the ellipticity and propagation direction also change systematically as Cluster crosses the geomagnetic equator. It is shown that the observed frequency sweep rate is unlikely to result from the sideband instability related to nonlinear trapping of suprathermal protons in the wave field. The second form of emissions is characterized by the simultaneous onset of activity across a range of harmonic frequencies. These waves are observed at irregular intervals. Their occurrence correlates with changes in the spacecraft potential, a measurement that is used as a proxy for electron density. Thus, these waves appear to be trapped within regions of localized enhancement of the electron density.

Walker, Simon N.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Density Irregularities Inside the Plasmasphere: Cluster Observations

The electron density profiles derived from the EFW and WHISPER instruments onboard the four Cluster spacecraft reveal small-scale density irregularities inside the plasmasphere and at its outer boundary, the plasmapause. We review statistics of the plasmapause position and thickness, as well as statistics of these density structures. We focus on a particular plasmasphere crossing on 11 April 2002, with several density irregularities, as well as two plasma tails, observed by Cluster on the legs of the inbound and outbound passes. We derive the density gradient vectors from simultaneous density measurements by the four spacecraft. We determine also the normal velocity of the surface of these irregularities, assuming they are planar boundaries, from the time delays between density structures in the four individual density profiles. These new observations yield novel insights about (1) the dimensions of plasma irregularities across and parallel to magnetic field lines, (2) the dynamics of these small-scale structures, (3) their bulk velocities, and (4) their position and distribution as a function of the magnetic local time (MLT) and the geomagnetic conditions (as determined by Kp).

Darrouzet, F.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Growth defects in thick ion-plated coatings

Industrial ion plating conditions were selected to deposit metallic coatings such as copper, gold, and chromium 2 micrometer thick on metal and glass substrates. The surface finishes of 304 stainless steel, copper, and brass were utilized with mechanically and electrolytically polished surfaces. Nodular growth occurred in these coatings during ion plating as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Surface irregularities such as scratches, steps, ledges, and so forth are responsible for outward growth, the typical cone type, whereas surface contaminants and loosely settled foreign particles are responsible for lateral growth; namely, the extreme localized surface outgrowths. These defect crystallographic features create porosity in the coatings when subjected to stresses and strains.

Spalvins, T.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Krylov methods preconditioned with incompletely factored matrices on the CM-2

The performance is measured of the components of the key interative kernel of a preconditioned Krylov space interative linear system solver. In some sense, these numbers can be regarded as best case timings for these kernels. Sweeps were timed over meshes, sparse triangular solves, and inner products on a large 3-D model problem over a cube shaped domain discretized with a seven point template. The performance of the CM-2 is highly dependent on the use of very specialized programs. These programs mapped a regular problem domain onto the processor topology in a careful manner and used the optimized local NEWS communications network. The rather dramatic deterioration in performance was documented when these ideal conditions no longer apply. A synthetic workload generator was developed to produce and solve a parameterized family of increasingly irregular problems.

Berryman, Harry↗

NASA NTRS1984

A climatically-derived global soil moisture data set for use in the GLAS atmospheric circulation model seasonal cycle experiment

Algorithms for point interpolation and contouring on the surface of the sphere and in Cartesian two-space are developed from Shepard's (1968) well-known, local search method. These mapping procedures then are used to investigate the errors which appear on small-scale climate maps as a result of the all-too-common practice of of interpolating, from irregularly spaced data points to the nodes of a regular lattice, and contouring Cartesian two-space. Using mean annual air temperatures field over the western half of the northern hemisphere is estimated both on the sphere, assumed to be correct, and in Cartesian two-space. When the spherically- and Cartesian-approximted air temperature fields are mapped and compared, the magnitudes (as large as 5 C to 10 C) and distribution of the errors associated with the latter approach become apparent.

Willmott, C. J.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Furrow microtubules and localized exocytosis in cleaving Xenopus laevis embryos

In dividing Xenopus eggs, furrowing is accompanied by expansion of a new domain of plasma membrane in the cleavage plane. The source of the new membrane is known to include a store of oogenetically produced exocytotic vesicles, but the site where their exocytosis occurs has not been described. Previous work revealed a V-shaped array of microtubule bundles at the base of advancing furrows. Cold shock or exposure to nocodazole halted expansion of the new membrane domain, which suggests that these microtubules are involved in the localized exocytosis. In the present report, scanning electron microscopy revealed collections of pits or craters, up to approximately 1.5 micro m in diameter. These pits are evidently fusion pores at sites of recent exocytosis, clustered in the immediate vicinity of the deepening furrow base and therefore near the furrow microtubules. Confocal microscopy near the furrow base of live embryos labeled with the membrane dye FM1-43 captured time-lapse sequences of individual exocytotic events in which irregular patches of approximately 20 micro m(2) of unlabeled membrane abruptly displaced pre-existing FM1-43-labeled surface. In some cases, stable fusion pores, approximately 2 micro m in diameter, were seen at the surface for up to several minutes before suddenly delivering patches of unlabeled membrane. To test whether the presence of furrow microtubule bundles near the surface plays a role in directing or concentrating this localized exocytosis, membrane expansion was examined in embryos exposed to D(2)O to induce formation of microtubule monasters randomly under the surface. D(2)O treatment resulted in a rapid, uniform expansion of the egg surface via random, ectopic exocytosis of vesicles. This D(2)O-induced membrane expansion was completely blocked with nocodazole, indicating that the ectopic exocytosis was microtubule-dependent. Results indicate that exocytotic vesicles are present throughout the egg subcortex, and that the presence of microtubules near the surface is sufficient to mobilize them for exocytosis at the end of the cell cycle.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1977

The photometric functions of Phobos and Deimos. III - Surface photometry of Phobos

Mariner 9 television pictures of Phobos are used to study the uniformity of a certain photometric scattering parameter over the surface of the satellite, assuming that the scattering law for Phobos can be represented by the Hapke-Irvine equation. Ways of avoiding topographically irregular areas are discussed, phase functions for Phobos are obtained from scans along the photometric equator, and the photometric behavior of selected areas not along this equator is examined. Searches are conducted for anomalously bright areas and evidence of solid rock on the surface. The results indicate that: (1) at least three large regions on the surface of Phobos are covered by a dark material of complex texture which scatters light according to the Hapke-Irvine law; (2) the average intrinsic phase coefficient of this material is 0.020 mag/deg over the phase-angle range from 20 to 80 deg; (3) even the topographically irregular areas have photometric properties similar to those of the three smooth regions; (4) the surface of Phobos is rougher than that of Deimos on the largest scale; and (5) apparent bright patches are most likely caused by local tilts of the surface.

Noland, M.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Multiresolution With Super-Compact Wavelets

The solution data computed from large scale simulations are sometimes too big for main memory, for local disks, and possibly even for a remote storage disk, creating tremendous processing time as well as technical difficulties in analyzing the data. The excessive storage demands a corresponding huge penalty in I/O time, rendering time and transmission time between different computer systems. In this paper, a multiresolution scheme is proposed to compress field simulation or experimental data without much loss of important information in the representation. Originally, the wavelet based multiresolution scheme was introduced in image processing, for the purposes of data compression and feature extraction. Unlike photographic image data which has rather simple settings, computational field simulation data needs more careful treatment in applying the multiresolution technique. While the image data sits on a regular spaced grid, the simulation data usually resides on a structured curvilinear grid or unstructured grid. In addition to the irregularity in grid spacing, the other difficulty is that the solutions consist of vectors instead of scalar values. The data characteristics demand more restrictive conditions. In general, the photographic images have very little inherent smoothness with discontinuities almost everywhere. On the other hand, the numerical solutions have smoothness almost everywhere and discontinuities in local areas (shock, vortices, and shear layers). The wavelet bases should be amenable to the solution of the problem at hand and applicable to constraints such as numerical accuracy and boundary conditions. In choosing a suitable wavelet basis for simulation data among a variety of wavelet families, the supercompact wavelets designed by Beam and Warming provide one of the most effective multiresolution schemes. Supercompact multi-wavelets retain the compactness of Haar wavelets, are piecewise polynomial and orthogonal, and can have arbitrary order of approximation. The advantages of the multiresolution algorithm are that no special treatment is required at the boundaries of the interval, and that the application to functions which are only piecewise continuous (internal boundaries) can be efficiently implemented. In this presentation, Beam's supercompact wavelets are generalized to higher dimensions using multidimensional scaling and wavelet functions rather than alternating the directions as in the 1D version. As a demonstration of actual 3D data compression, supercompact wavelet transforms are applied to a 3D data set for wing tip vortex flow solutions (2.5 million grid points). It is shown that high data compression ratio can be achieved (around 50:1 ratio) in both vector and scalar data set.

Lee, Dohyung↗

NASA NTRS1976

The occultation of Kappa Geminorum by Eros

The paper discusses predictions and observations of the occultation of Kappa Gem by (433) Eros on January 24, 1975. Several positive and negative observations made in western New England are described. Local circumstances for the occultation are reconstructed, and the size and shape of Eros are determined analytically as well as graphically. The calculations yield two extremes for the cross section: a circle 23 km in diameter or a somewhat irregular figure 20 km by 6 or 7 km. Arguments based on the expected albedo of the asteroid suggest that the circle should be warped into an ellipse 21 by 13 km or that the irregular figure might be one component of a dumbbell-like profile.

Oleary, B.↗

NASA NTRS1983

The apparent spectral broadening of VLF transmitter signals during transionospheric propagation

ISIS 1 and 2 and ISEE 1 VLF/ELF electric field wave data indicate the existence of a novel phenomenon, in which initially narrow band upgoing signals from ground-based VLF transmitters undergo a significant spectral broadening as they propagate through the ionosphere and protonosphere, up to altitudes in the 600-3800 km range. For transmitter signals in the 10-20 kHz range, the spectral broadening can be as high as 10 percent of the input signal's nominal frequency. In many cases, the bandwidth of the spectrally broadened signals is a strong function of the electric dipole antenna orientation with respect to the local direction of the earth's magnetic field. The unusual dispersion in the components of the spectrally broadened pulses suggests that the spectral broadening may be due to a Doppler shift effect in which the initial signals scatter from irregularities in the F region and couple into quasi-electrostatic modes of short wave length.

Bell, T. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Diurnal tides in the Arctic Ocean

A 2D numerical model with a space grid of about 14 km is applied to calculate diurnal tidal constituents K(1) and O(1) in the Arctic Ocean. Calculated corange and cotidal charts show that along the continental slope, local regions of increased sea level amplitude, highly variable phase and enhanced currents occur. It is shown that in these local regions, shelf waves (topographic waves) of tidal origin are generated. In the Arctic Ocean and Northern Atlantic Ocean more than 30 regions of enhanced currents are identified. To prove the near-resonant interaction of the diurnal tides with the local bottom topography, the natural periods of oscillations for all regions have been calculated. The flux of energy averaged over the tidal period depicts the gyres of semitrapped energy, suggesting that the shelf waves are partially trapped over the irregularities of the bottom topography. It is shown that the occurrence of near-resonance phenomenon changes the energy flow in the tidal waves. First, the flux of energy from the astronomical sources is amplified in the shelf wave regions, and afterwards the tidal energy is strongly dissipated in the same regions.

Kowalik, Z.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Elevated levels of N-lauroylethanolamine, an endogenous constituent of desiccated seeds, disrupt normal root development in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings

N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are prevalent in desiccated seeds of various plant species, and their levels decline substantially during seed imbibition and germination. Here, seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. were germinated in, and seedlings maintained on, micromolar concentrations of N-lauroylethanolamine (NAE 12:0). NAE 12:0 inhibited root elongation, increased radial swelling of root tips, and reduced root hair numbers in a highly selective and concentration-dependent manner. These effects were reversible when seedlings were transferred to NAE-free medium. Older seedlings (14 days old) acclimated to exogenous NAE by increased formation of lateral roots, and generally, these lateral roots did not exhibit the severe symptoms observed in primary roots. Cells of NAE-treated primary roots were swollen and irregular in shape, and in many cases showed evidence, at the light- and electron-microscope levels, of improper cell wall formation. Microtubule arrangement was disrupted in severely distorted cells close to the root tip, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized green fluorescent protein (mGFP5-ER) was more abundant, aggregated and distributed differently in NAE-treated root cells, suggesting disruption of proper cell division, endomembrane organization and vesicle trafficking. These results suggest that NAE 12:0 likely influences normal cell expansion in roots by interfering with intracellular membrane trafficking to and/or from the cell surface. The rapid metabolism of NAEs during seed imbibition/germination may be a mechanism to remove this endogenous class of lipid mediators to allow for synchronized membrane reorganization associated with cell expansion.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1995

Analysis of the progressive failure of brittle matrix composites

This report investigates two of the most common modes of localized failures, namely, periodic fiber-bridged matrix cracks and transverse matrix cracks. A modification of Daniels' bundle theory is combined with Weibull's weakest link theory to model the statistical distribution of the periodic matrix cracking strength for an individual layer. Results of the model predictions are compared with experimental data from the open literature. Extensions to the model are made to account for possible imperfections within the layer (i.e., nonuniform fiber lengths, irregular crack spacing, and degraded in-situ fiber properties), and the results of these studies are presented. A generalized shear-lag analysis is derived which is capable of modeling the development of transverse matrix cracks in material systems having a general multilayer configuration and under states of full in-plane load. A method for computing the effective elastic properties for the damaged layer at the global level is detailed based upon the solution for the effects of the damage at the local level. This methodology is general in nature and is therefore also applicable to (0(sub m)/90(sub n))(sub s) systems. The characteristic stress-strain response for more general cases is shown to be qualitatively correct (experimental data is not available for a quantitative evaluation), and the damage evolution is recorded in terms of the matrix crack density as a function of the applied strain. Probabilistic effects are introduced to account for the statistical nature of the material strengths, thus allowing cumulative distribution curves for the probability of failure to be generated for each of the example laminates. Additionally, Oh and Finney's classic work on fracture location in brittle materials is extended and combined with the shear-lag analysis. The result is an analytical form for predicting the probability density function for the location of the next transverse crack occurrence within a crack bounded region. The results of this study verified qualitatively the validity of assuming a uniform crack spacing (as was done in the shear-lag model).

Thomas, David J.↗

NASA NTRS2011

C/NOFS Satellite Electric Field and Plasma Density Observations of Plasma Instabilities Below the Equatorial F-Peak -- Evidence for Approximately 500 km-Scale Spread-F "Precursor" Waves Driven by Zonal Shear Flow and km-Scale, Narrow-Banded Irregularities

As solar activity has increased, the ionosphere F-peak has been elevated on numerous occasions above the C/NOFS satellite perigee of 400km. In particular, during the month of April, 2011, the satellite consistently journeyed below the F-peak whenever the orbit was in the region of the South Atlantic anomaly after sunset. During these passes, data from the electric field and plasma density probes on the satellite have revealed two types of instabilities which had not previously been observed in the C/NOFS data set (to our knowledge): The first is evidence for 400-500km-scale bottomside "undulations" that appear in the density and electric field data. In one case, these large scale waves are associated with a strong shear in the zonal E x B flow, as evidenced by variations in the meridional (outward) electric fields observed above and below the F-peak. These undulations are devoid of smaller scale structures in the early evening, yet appear at later local times along the same orbit associated with fully-developed spread-F with smaller scale structures. This suggests that they may be precursor waves for spread-F, driven by a collisional shear instability, following ideas advanced previously by researchers using data from the Jicamarca radar. A second new result (for C/NOFS) is the appearance of km-scale irregularities that are a common feature in the electric field and plasma density data that also appear when the satellite is below the F -peak at night. The vector electric field instrument on C/NOFS clearly shows that the electric field component of these waves is strongest in the zonal direction. These waves are strongly correlated with simultaneous observations of plasma density oscillations and appear both with, and without, evidence of larger-scale spread-F depletions. These km-scale, quasi-coherent waves strongly resemble the bottomside, sinusoidal irregularities reported in the Atmosphere Explorer satellite data set by Valladares et al. [JGR, 88, 8025, 1983]. We interpret these new observations in terms of fundamental plasma instabilities associated with the unstable, nighttime equatorial ionosphere.

Pfaff, R.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Source mechanism for terrestrial kilometric radiation

The intense electromagnetic radiation of near earth origin, observed by the OGO, IMP, and Hawkeye satellites, can be explained in terms of plasma oscillations near the upper hybrid frequency which are stimulated in the high latitude regions at distances within 5 earth radii. The wave energy is converted from the longitudinal electrostatic mode to the transverse electromagnetic mode as it travels in the slightly inhomogeneous magnetosphere, and it is reflected at the point where the wave frequency equals the local electron plasma frequency. Peak emission region occurs near 2 earth radii. The original plasma oscillations are generated in the turbulent plasma produced by precipitating electrons associated with discrete auroral arcs. The mechanism has possible applications to studies of the irregular structure of the magnetospheric thermal plasma and to models for the decametric radiation from Jupiter.

Benson, R. F.↗