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NASA NTRS2001

Global Bathymetric Prediction For Ocean Modeling and Marine Geophysics

We proposed to construct a complete bathymetric map of the oceans at a 3-10 km resolution by combining all of the available depth soundings collected over the past 30 years with high resolution marine gravity information provided by the Geosat, ERS-1/2, and Topex/Poseidon altimeters. Detailed bathymetry is essential for understanding physical oceanography and marine geophysics. Currents and tides are controlled by the overall shapes of the ocean basins as well as the smaller sharp ocean ridges and seamounts. Because erosion rates are low in the deep oceans, detailed bathymetry reveals the mantle convection patterns, the plate boundaries, the cooling/subsidence of the oceanic lithosphere, the oceanic plateaus, and the distribution of off-ridge volcanoes. We proposed to: (1) Accumulate all available depth soundings collected over the past 30 years; (2) Use the short wavelength (< 160 km) satellite gravity information to interpolate between sparse ship soundings; (3) Improve the resolution of the marine gravity field using enhanced estimates along repeat altimeter profiles together with the dense altimeter measurements; (4) Refine/improve bathymetric predictions using the improved resolution gravity field and also by investigating computer-intensive methods for bathymetric prediction such as inverse theory; and (5) Produce a 'Globe of the Earth' similar to the globe of Venus prepared by the NASA Magellan investigation. This will also include the best available digital land data.

Sandwell, David T.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Hybrid Simulation of the Shock Wave Trailing the Moon

A standing shock wave behind the Moon was predicted by Michel (1967) but never observed nor simulated. We use 1D hybrid code in order to simulate the collapse of the plasma-free cavity behind the Moon and for the first time to model the formation of this shock. Starting immediately downstream of the obstacle we consider the evolution of plasma expansion into the cavity in the frame of reference moving along with the solar wind. Well-known effects as electric charging of the cavity affecting the plasma flow and counterstreaming ion beams in the wake are reproduced. Near the apex of the inner Mach cone where the plasma flows from the opposite sides of the obstacle meet, a shock wave arises. We expect the shock to be produced at periods of high electron temperature solar wind streams (T(sub i) much less than T(sub e) approximately 100 eV). The shock is produced by the interaction of oppositely directed proton beams in the plane containing solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field vectors. In the direction across the magnetic field and the solar wind velocity, the shock results from the interaction of the plasma flow with the region of the enhanced magnetic field inside the cavity that plays the role of the magnetic barrier. The appearance of the standing shock wave is expected at the distance of approximately 7R(sub M) downstream of the Moon.

Moon↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Observations of Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling and Its Impact on Equatorial Ionospheric Electrodynamics During the March and April 2023 Geomagnetic Storms

The low-latitude ionosphere is effectively shielded from the high latitude convection electric field during geomagnetic quiet times because region-2 field-aligned currents associated with the partial ring current act to oppose the convection electric field associated with region-1 field-aligned currents. However, the low-latitude ionosphere can be directly coupled to the enhanced magnetospheric electric field through prompt penetration of convection electric field during periods of strong solar wind-magnetosphere interaction. The mechanisms that lead to the generation of prompt penetration electric field during enhanced solar wind-magnetosphereionosphere coupling are complex and not fully understood. We study the evolution of field-aligned currents and the equatorial electrojet during the March and April 2023 geomagnetic storm to understand the processes involving solar wind disturbances interacting with the magnetosphere and coupling into the polar ionosphere, and how the low-latitude ionosphere responded to the enhanced magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. We will present the observations in the solar windmagnetosphere-ionosphere system, in particular, field-aligned currents at high latitude ionosphere by Swarm and the equatorial electrojet by Swarm and ground-based magnetometers.

Guan Le↗

NASA NTRS2003

Analytic Solution to the Problem of Aircraft Electric Field Mill Calibration

It is by no means a simple task to retrieve storm electric fields from an aircraft instrumented with electric field mill sensors. The presence of the aircraft distorts the ambient field in a complicated way. Before retrievals of the storm field can be made, the field mill measurement system must be "calibrated". In other words, a relationship between impressed (i.e., ambient) electric field and mill output must be established. If this relationship can be determined, it is mathematically inverted so that ambient field can be inferred from the mill outputs. Previous studies have primarily focused on linear theories where the relationship between ambient field and mill output is described by a "calibration matrix" M. Each element of the matrix describes how a particular component of the ambient field is enhanced by the aircraft. For example the product M(sub ix), E(sub x), is the contribution of the E(sub x) field to the i(th) mill output. Similarly, net aircraft charge (described by a "charge field component" E(sub q)) contributes an amount M(sub iq)E(sub q) to the output of the i(th) sensor. The central difficulty in obtaining M stems from the fact that the impressed field (E(sub x), E(sub y), E(sub z), E(sub q) is not known but is instead estimated. Typically, the aircraft is flown through a series of roll and pitch maneuvers in fair weather, and the values of the fair weather field and aircraft charge are estimated at each point along the aircraft trajectory. These initial estimates are often highly inadequate, but several investigators have improved the estimates by implementing various (ad hoc) iterative methods. Unfortunately, none of the iterative methods guarantee absolute convergence to correct values (i.e., absolute convergence to correct values has not been rigorously proven). In this work, the mathematical problem is solved directly by analytic means. For m mills installed on an arbitrary aircraft, it is shown that it is possible to solve for a single 2m-vector that provides all other needed variables (i.e., the unknown fair weather field, the unknown aircraft charge, and the unknown matrix M). Numerical tests of the solution, effects of measurement errors, and studies of solution non-uniqueness are ongoing as of this writing.

Koshak, William↗

NASA NTRS2022

NASA System-Wide Safety Wildland Firefighting Operations Workshop Report

On March 9-11, 2022, NASA’s System-Wide Safety Wildland Firefighting Operations Workshop engaged the broader wildland firefighting management ecosystem in a safety-oriented discussion via a virtual platform. This enabled a better understanding of how NASA and community expertise can be leveraged in the safe development of current and future firefighting systems and operations. The goals of the workshop were to: (1) identify and prioritize the top safety-oriented risks, gaps in capabilities, and emerging technologies to enhance wildland firefighting for both near-term and far-term concepts, with a specific focus on aviation operations and (2) engage the stakeholder community in defining emergent safety-oriented scope, roles, responsibilities, and procedures for agents undergoing increasingly complex wildland firefighting operations in information-rich, but uncertain environments. Workshop participants were solicited from wildland firefighting stakeholders across government, industry, and academia. All levels of government were engaged, as NASA sought attendees from federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies. Industry participants from traditional wildland firefighting domains such as data visualization and equipment manufacturers were invited, and corporate attendees from novel application domains such as aerial robotics and autonomous systems were present as well. The top three findings were as follows: (1) Enhancing situation awareness is a safety priority, especially in the use of aerial assets; (2) Timely access to information along with data fusion and integrated displays will enhance safety-critical decision-making both inside and outside aviation contexts; and (3) Tailorable standards and common operating pictures in the field will enhance inter-agency cooperation in the wildland firefighting lifecycle and enable the optimal use of limited resources such as aerial assets. The workshop helped inform NASA of the relevant safety-related wildland firefighting concerns and aided the broader ecosystem in understanding the potential safety-oriented role NASA might play in this community. Increased engagement with crucial governmental stakeholders (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, etc.) along with industry partners in cutting- edge information -centric domains is a fundamental next step. Additionally, the workshop findings will help define the first of a series of operationally challenging demonstrations, held in concert with strategic ecosystem partners, known as the Safety Demonstrator Series for NASA’s System-Wide Safety project. The first demonstration is set in the wildland firefighting application domain and will: (1) examine high risk operational scenarios to reduce their overall risk via services, functions or capabilities that act as risk mitigators (or transfer that risk to automated systems better able to tolerate it) and (2) explore novel tools and technologies that will enhance safety margins by enabling non-traditional or neoteric operational paradigms.

wildland firefighting↗

NASA NTRS2022

The Extended Field-Aligned Suprathermal Proton Beam and Long-Lasting Trapped Energetic Particle Population Observed Upstream of a Transient Interplanetary Shock

The properties of the suprathermal particle distributions observed upstream of interplanetary shocks depend not only on the properties of the shocks but also on the transport conditions encountered by the particles as they propagate away from the shocks. The confinement of particles in close proximity to the shocks, as well as particle scattering processes during propagation to the spacecraft, lead to the common observation of upstream diffuse particle distributions. We present observations of a rare extended anisotropic low-energy(≤30 keV)proton beam together with a trapped ≥500 keV proton population observed in association with the arrival of an oblique interplanetary shock at the Advanced Composition Explorer, the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-8, and the Wind spacecraft on 2001 January 31. Continuous injection of particles by the traveling shock into a smooth radial magnetic field region formed in the tail of a modest high-speed solar wind stream produced an extended foreshock region of energetic particles. The absence of enhanced magnetic field fluctuations upstream of the shock results in the observation of a prolonged anisotropic field-aligned beam of ≤30 keV protons as well as a population of higher-energy(≥500 keV)protons with small pitch-angle cosine(μ∼0)extending far from the shock.

D. Lario↗

NASA NTRS1981

Development of a Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility /SIRTF/ fine guidance sensor

Fine guidance technology development for the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) centers upon the use of a single multiple-star-tracking sensor to provide the position information necessary to produce three-axis attitude control signals for precision payload pointing. The effort described in this paper is concerned with the development of a fine guidance sensor that employs a high-density charge-coupled imaging device for producing position information signals by using star fields. Multiple star position information produces three-axis position error signals that are used to update inertial reference gyros. The sensor employs advanced position interpolation algorithms to enhance field-of-view resolution and to correct for optical aberrations inherent in spatially chopped star images resulting from the telescope's movable secondary mirror. Operation of the sensor is under the control of a high-performance microcomputer that provides both autonomy and flexibility in a guidance application.

Salomon, P. M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Interplanetary magnetic holes - Theory

Magnetic holes in the interplanetary medium are explained as stationary nonpropagating equilibrium structures in which there are field-aligned enhancements of the plasma density and/or temperature. Magnetic antiholes are considered to be associated with depressions in the plasma pressure. In this model the observed changes in the magnetic field intensity and direction are due to diamagnetic currents that are carried by ions which drift in a sheath as the result of gradients in the magnetic field and in the plasma pressure within the sheath. The thickness of the sheaths that we consider is approximately a few ion Larmor radii. An electric field is normal to the magnetic field in the sheath. Solutions of Vlasov's equation and Maxwell's equations are presented which account for several types of magnetic holes, including 'null sheets,' that have been observed.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Interplanetary magnetic holes: Theory

Magnetic holes in the interplanetary medium are explained as stationary, non-propagating, equilibrium structures in which there are field-aligned enhancements of the plasma density and/or temperature. Magnetic anti-holes are considered to be associated with depressions in the plasma pressure. In this model, the observed changes in the magnetic field intensity and direction are due to diamagnetic currents that are carried by ions which drift in a sheath as the result of gradients in the magnetic field and in the plasma pressure within the sheath. The thickness of the sheaths considered is approximately a few ion Larmor radii. An electric field is normal to the magnetic field in the sheath. Solutions of Vlasov's equation and Maxwell's equations are presented which account for several types of magnetic holes, including null-sheets, that were observed.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Magnetic field properties of the intermediate transition of the Venus ionosheath

Results of a statistical analysis of the magnetic properties of the intermediate transition of the Venus ionosheath based on the magnetic field data of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter are reported. It is found that the transition is often characterized by a substantial decrease in magnetic field intensity and an accompanying rotation to a direction that is more closely aligned with the sun-Venus axis. In other cases, the 30 kHz bursts occur outside a region of enhanced magnetic field reminiscent of the magnetic barrier external to the Venus dayside ionopause. The rotation of the magnetic field toward the sun-Venus line associated with the 30 kHz bursts is also evident here, but generally the conditions change more gradually. Possible mechanisms of these variations and ionospheric plasma expansion are examined.

Perez-De-tejada, H.↗

NASA NTRS2007

The Cusp: Open Questions

The northern and southern cusps play an important role in the overall solar wind-magnetosphere- ionosphere interaction. Optical, radar, and ground magnetometer observations of transient events in the dayside auroral oval provide strong evidence for bursty reconnection on the dayside magnetopause occurring along extended reconnection lines during periods of southward and/or ecliptic IMF orientation. During periods of northward IMF orientation, the same ground-based observations provide evidence for reconnection on the magnetopause poleward of the cusps. Cluster observations in the cusp have confirmed the transition in reconnection locations from the dayside to the high-latitude magnetopause as a function of IMF orientation, while in situ observations of the dayside magnetopause indicate that bursty reconnection frequently generates transient events marked by symmetric bipolar magnetic field signatures normal to the nominal magnetopause and magnetic field strength enhancements. In this talk we review recent and invoke new results from analytical, two-dimensional hybrid, and three-dimensional MHD codes to describe the motion and fate of the newly-reconnected magnetic field lines within FTEs, with a view to predicting (I) the locations where events form, (2) the mechanism(s) by which they are generated, (3) their signatures on the dayside and flank magnetopause, (4) their antisunward motion, (5) their interaction with the cusps, and (6) their signatures in the dayside auroral oval, including their occurrence patterns as a function of season. We compare these predictions with observations, in particular the results of a statistical study of Interball-1 FTEs and new multipoint THEMIS observations of FTEs.

Sibeck, D. G.↗

NASA NTRS1979

A new concept for the daytime magnetosphere of Venus

A different type of interaction between the solar wind and the ionosphere of a non-magnetized planet suggested by the Pioneer Venus magnetic field measurements is presented. They found that the magnetic field of the shocked solar wind does not penetrate the ionosphere, and it appears that the latter acts approximately as a superconductor, excluding any substantial penetration of interplanetary magnetic field. Just beyond the ionopause is a magnetized region with little plasma whose magnetic pressure is approximately equal to the impact pressure of the solar wind. This suggests an interaction where the current system associated with the enhanced magnetic field region flows along the ionopause and is closed by currents in the shocked solar wind plasma, where the J times B forces slow down the plasma approaching the stagnation region and accelerate the plasma flowing away from it. Thus, the lack of magnetic constraint in the ionosphere would allow ionospheric plasma to flow freely from the day to the night side, and this flow could probably maintain the nighttime ionosphere.

Johnson, F. S.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Magnetic field observations near Mercury - Preliminary results from Mariner 10

Results are presented from a preliminary analysis of data obtained near Mercury on Mar. 29, 1974 by the NASA-GSFC magnetic field experiment on Mariner 10. Rather unexpectedly, a very well-developed, detached bow shock wave, which develops as the super-Alfvenic solar wind interacts with the planet, has been observed. In addition, a magnetosphere-like region, with maximum field strength of 98 gammas at closest approach (704 kilometers altitude), has been observed, contained within boundaries similar to the terrestrial magnetopause. The obstacle deflecting the solar wind flow is global in size, but the origin of the enhanced magnetic field has not yet been uniquely established. The field may be intrinsic to the planet and distorted by interaction with the solar wind.

Ness, N. F.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Magnetic field observations near Mercury: Preliminary results from Mariner 10

Results are presented from a preliminary analysis of data obtained near Mercury by the NASA/GSFC Magnetic Field Experiment on Mariner 10. A very well developed, detached bow shock wave, which developed as the super-Alfvenic solar wind interacted with the planet Mercury was observed. A magnetosphere-like region, with maximum field strength of 98 gamma at closest approach (704 km altitude) was also observed, and was contained within boundaries similar to the terrestrial magnetopause. The obstacle deflecting the solar wind flow was global in size, but the origin of the enhanced magnetic field was not established. The most plausible explanation, considering the complete body of data, favored the conclusion that Mercury has an intrinsic magnetic field.

Ness, N. F.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A zonal method for modeling 3-D aircraft flow fields with jet plume effects

A coupled zonal method has been developed for modeling flows about aircraft with highly integrated advanced nozzle installations in which the exhaust plume interacts with the aircraft flow field to enhance performance. A cost effective flow analysis is achieved by dividing the flow domain into zones and coupling the zonal solutions. PAN AIR is used to model the flow in the inviscid zone which surrounds the aircraft. The plume zone flow field is solved with a PNS code. The flow in the optional internal nozzle zone is modeled using a full Navier-Stokes code. An automated iterative procedure couples the inviscid and plume zones by passing updated boundary conditions between the zones. The coupled analysis provides converged solutions for the overall flow field. The method is demonstrated for a highly integrated nonaxisymmetric vectored nozzle installed on a swept-wing aircraft.

Roberts, D. W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The origin of morphological asymmetries in bipolar active regions

A series of 3D numerical simulations was carried out to examine the dynamical evolution of emerging flux loops in the solar convective envelope. The innermost portions of the loops are anchored beneath the base of the convective zone by the subadiabatic temperature gradient of the underlying overshoot region. It is found that, as the emerging loops approach the photosphere, the magnetic field strength of the leading side of each rising loop is about twice as large as that of the following side at the same depth. The evacuation of plasma out of the leading side of the rising loop results in an enhanced magnetic field strength there compared with the following side. It is argued that this result provides a natural explanation for the fact that the preceding (leading) polarity tends to have a less organized and more fragmented appearance, and that the preceding spots tend to be larger in area and fewer in number, and have a longer lifetime than the following spots.

Fan, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Enhancement of acidic gases in biomass burning impacted air masses over Canada

Biomass-burning impacted air masses sampled over central and eastern Canada during the summer of 1990 as part of ABLE 3B contained enhanced mixing ratios of gaseous HNO3, HCOOH, CH3COOH, and what appears to be (COOH)2. These aircraft-based samples were collected from a variety of fresh burning plumes and more aged haze layers from different source regions. Values of the enhancement factor, delta X/delta CO, where X represents an acidic gas, for combustion-impacted air masses sampled both near and farther away from the fires, were relatively uniform. However, comparison of carboxylic acid emission ratios measured in laboratory fires to field plume enhancement factors indicates significant in-plume production of HCOOH. Biomass-burning appears to be an important source of HNO3, HCOOH, and CH3COOH to the troposphere over subarctic Canada.

Lefer, B. L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

A numerical study of mixing enhancement in supersonic reacting flow fields

NASA Langley has intensively investigated the components of ramjet and scramjet systems for endoatmospheric, airbreathing hypersonic propulsion; attention is presently given to the optimization of scramjet combustor fuel-air mixing and reaction characteristics. A supersonic, spatially developing and reacting mixing layer has been found to serve as an excellent physical model for the mixing and reaction process. Attention is presently given to techniques that have been applied to the enhancement of the mixing processes and the overall combustion efficiency of the mixing layer. A fuel injector configuration has been computationally designed which significantly increases mixing and reaction rates.

Drummond, J. Philip↗