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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Radio continuum observations of the quasar-galaxy pair 3C 232-NGC 3067

The quasar-galaxy pair 3C 232-NGC 3067 is well known to show absorption by gas associated with the foreground galaxy against the background quasar (see Stocke et al. this volume). Observations by Carilli, van Gorkom, and Stocke (Nature 338, 134, 1989) found that the absorbing gas is located in a long tail of gas which extends from the galaxy toward the quasar and beyond (in projection). Though the HI observations of NGC 3067 indicate that the galaxy has been severely disturbed, there is no obvious candidate in the field which could cause such a disturbance, leading to the conclusion that the system has undergone a recent merger. The radio continuum observations of this system were designed to study the nature of this highly disturbed galaxy. New continuum observations confirm the notion that NGC 3067 is a highly disturbed system, and, in particular, the notion that the western half of the galaxy extends only 1/2 as far in radius as the eastern half. This disturbance must have occurred recently, since the galactic rotation would smooth out the observed asymmetry in about 10(exp 8) years. Researchers are left with the problem that there are no obvious candidates which could have caused such a disturbance.

Haxthausen, Eric↗
NASA NTRS2019

A Neural Network Correction to the Scalar Approximation in Radiative Transfer

The next generation of advanced high-resolution sensors in geostationary orbit will gather detailed information for studying the Earth system. There is an increasing desire to perform observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) for new sensors during the development phase of the mission in order to better leverage information content from the new and existing sensors. Forward radiative transfer calculations that simulate the observing characteristics of a new instrument are the first step to an OSSE, and they are computationally intensive. The scalar approximation to the radiative transfer equation, a simplification of the vector representation, can save considerable computational cost, but produces errors in top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiance as large as 10% due to neglecting polarization effects. This article presents an artificial neural network technique to correct scalar TOA radiance over both land and ocean surfaces to within 1% of vector-calculated radiance. A neural network was trained on a database of scalar-vector TOA radiance differences at a large range of solar and viewing angles for several thousand realistic atmospheric vertical profiles that were sampled from a high resolution (7 km) global atmospheric transport model. The profiles include Rayleigh scattering and aerosol scattering and absorption. Training and validation of the neural network was demonstrated for two wavelengths in the ultraviolet-visible (US-Vis) spectral range (354 nm and 670 nm). The significant computational savings accrued from using a scalar approximation plus neural network correction approach to simulating TOA radiance will make feasible hyperspectral forward simulations of high-resolution sensors on geostationary satellites, such as TEMPO, GOES-R, GEMS, and SENTINEL-4.

TOA↗
NASA NTRS2019

New Observing Strategy (NOS) for Future Earth Science Missions

One of the new thrusts of the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program is the New Observing Strategy (NOS) thrust. Its goal is to provide a framework for identifying technology advances needed to exploit newly available observational capabilities, particularly to enable the development of the information technologies needed to support planning, evaluating, implementing, and operating dynamic, multi-element sets of observing assets. In this paper, we will introduce relevant NOS terminology and some key concepts before describing the objectives, driving factors and technology goals of this new thrust.

Advanced Information Systems↗
NASA NTRS1980

A Fundamental System based on observations of minor planets

Astronomers adopt a single system of star positions and motions for reduction of other observations. Relative observations of faint minor planets may make a significant contribution to the evaluation of systematic errors in this Fundamental System, and provide means of deriving a position system in ecliptic coordinates. New techniques, such as observations with the Space Telescope, must be evaluated for possible incorporation into a revision of the Fundamental System. A historical summary of the application of minor planet observations to the formation of astronomical coordinate systems is given. Then a project to investigate the systematic accuracy of the Fundamental System is outlined. Of the four observation types considered, 'crossing point' observations provide a unique stabilizing influence on any coordinate system incorporating them. Finally, some sources of systematic error and some methods of their treatment are discussed.

Hemenway, P.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Correlated States of Two-dimensional Electron Systems in AlAs Quantum Wells

Two-dimensional (2D) carrier systems confined to modulation-doped semiconductor hetero-structures provide a nearly ideal testing ground for exploring new physical phenomena. At low temperatures and in the presence of a strong magnetic field, these systems exhibit fascinating, often unexpected, many-body states, arising from the strong electron-electron interaction. In our work, we studied various many-body states of different 2D systems. These included 2D electron and hole systems confined to GaAs and also to AlAs quantum wells, including wide quantum wells where the charge distribution is bilayer like. We observed and reported new phenomena in these systems, including new (even-denominator) fractional quantum Hall states, Wigner crystal solid phases, and composite fermion compressible states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Establishment of terrestrial reference frames by new observational techniques

It is anticipated that terrestrial reference systems for geodynamics studies which include adopted plate motion models will be introduced for the analysis of both LAGEOS satellite and very long baseline interferometry ranging data. One of the possible approaches involves adjustment of ground station coordinates in conjunction with solutions for Universal Time 1 (UT1) and polar motions as functions of time. Another method uses principal value decomposition to reduce the number of degrees of freedom being solved for by three. In a third alternative, the values of UT1 and polar motion derived from the available data by means of the initial set of coordinates are kept fixed, and an appropriate block of data is reanalyzed using the previously determined values of UT1 and polar motion so that a new set of station coordinates can be derived.

Bender, P. L.↗
DOE OSTI2024

FY24 Report on Water NSTF Testing: Lower Tank Inlet Piping Configuration

The following report serves as a summary of the accomplishments and testing results by the Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF) experimental program over the past 12-month period. A major activity included reconfiguration of the chimney piping geometry which altered the discharge position into the tank from the original 50% tank height to a new lower position at a 10.9% tank height. This modification increases the volume of available coolant thus extending long-term operating capacity, however also results in a decreased liquid driving head which has the potential to reduce the natural circulation efficiency and decrease overall performance. Examination of the tradeoffs for these two configurations is an area of interest for RCCS designers and drove planned test activities this year. Ten matrix tests were performed in FY24, totaling 195 hours of heated operations and 12.9 MWh of electrical heating throughout the year, with eight classified as Accepted per NQA-1 and two classified as Trending. Testing prior to the facility reconfiguration examined the facility response to throttling at the tank inlet, demonstrating increased sensitivity of flow instabilities to throttling within the two-phase region when compared to throttling at the lower sensitivity single-phase inlet region. Testing after the chimney reconfiguration began with a baseline test at conditions of 80% inventory fill and prototypic thermal power input of 2.1 MW t . In addition to establishing a reference for nominal system behavior and performance, repeat testing with multiple subsequent runs demonstrated strong repeatability between tests performed at the same conditions in this new configuration. These tests also examined if influences would occur to system behavior with installation of new higher-resolution instrumentation within the upper chimney. In this critical region where boiling and flashing phenomena dominate, the test results provided confidence that the new instrumentation does not uncharacteristically influence the observed behaviors. An inventory parametric series was then initiated to examine system behavior with the new chimney configuration at six varying initial inventory levels, ranging from high 80% to low 20% fill. Two-phase oscillations with similar peak and mean flow rates were observed when comparing to the previous mid tank configuration. Generally, similar system response trends with inventory were also observed, such as two phase oscillations suppressing as inventories were lowered. However, in one absolute inventory comparison at the highest fill of 80%, flow oscillations saw a gradual growth over the 4 hours of two-phase operation in the new lower tank inlet configuration, opposite of the gradual dampening observed in the mid tank inlet configuration. This can be attributed to, in part, a greater hydrostatic head pressure above the two-phase discharge region where the boiling front is developed. Furthermore, the change resulted in greater sensitivity to liquid degassing phenomena during single-phase heating, causing loop instabilities to form which trigged moderate flow degradation during the period approaching saturation and boiling conditions. This behavior had been observed previously under some conditions but was a common occurrence in recent testing with the newer lower tank inlet configuration. Initial observations from these first data sets suggest an overall larger window of stability for the mid tank inlet configuration compared to the lower tank inlet. Lastly, the lowest inventory fill test was repeated over an extended testing window to examine depletion behavior. Natural circulation flow and effective heat removal performance were observed during most of the testing period; only after the tank became fully drained (0% fill) did flow stagnate and violent geysering events occur. This early observation confirms one relative advantage over the mid tank inlet configuration, which stagnated under comparable conditions at ~20% inventory remaining in the tank.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Searching for multimessenger transients and lensed supernovae with the dark energy survey

Advances in data collection technology for optical astronomy, such as the Dark Energy Camera, have facilitated the collection of some of the largest astronomical datasets in terms of sky area, depth, number of objects, number of observations, and frequency of observations. Consequentially, physical systems that have been historically rare become represented in small, but discoverable, numbers. I have developed techniques to identify rare physical systems (counterparts to high-energy neutrinos, counterparts to gravitational waves, and gravitationally lensed supernovae) that can shed new light on the physical processes that govern the Universe. For each system of interest, I collect new or search archival observations with the Dark Energy Camera, develop selection methodologies to find the system of interest in the observations, and quantify the efficiency of the search using simulations. Each of the three analyses has its own scientific implications: I constrain the observing program required to determine the contribution of supernovae to the diffuse high-energy neutrino flux; I set constraints on the physical properties of an optical counterpart to a compact object merger; and I identify candidate lensed supernovae using a novel machine learning technique. Looking forward, the work presented in this dissertation informs future rare object searches and facilitates measurements of the underlying properties of the Universe during the next era of optical survey astronomy.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Geostationary Instrument Simulator for Aerosol Observing System Simulation Experiments

In the near future, there will be several new instruments measuring atmospheric composition from geostationary orbit over North America, East Asia, and Europe. This constellation of satellites will provide high resolution, time resolved measurements of trace gases and aerosols for monitoring air quality and tracking pollution sources. This paper describes a detailed, fast, and accurate (less than 1.0% uncertainty) method for calculating synthetic top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiances from a global simulation with a mesoscale free running model, the GEOS-5 Nature Run, for remote sensing instruments in geostationary orbit that measure in the ultraviolet-visible spectral range (UV-Vis). Generating these synthetic observations is the first step of an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE), a framework for evaluating the impact of a new observation or algorithm. This paper provides details of the model sampling, aerosol and cloud optical properties, surface reflectance modeling, Rayleigh scattering calculations, and a discussion of the uncertainties of the simulated TOA radiance. An application for the simulated TOA radiance observations is demonstrated in the manuscript. Simulated TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) and GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) observations were used to show how observations from the two instruments could be combined to facilitate aerosol type discrimination. The results demonstrate the viability of a detailed instrument simulator for radiance measurements in the UV-Vis that is capable of accurately simulating high resolution, time-resolved measurements with reasonable computational efficiency.

Castellanos, Patricia↗
NASA NTRS2008

NASA's Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA): Early Results and Future Directions

This talk will review the status and progress of the NASA/Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) atmospheric global reanalysis project called the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). An overview of NASA's emerging capabilities for assimilating a variety of other Earth Science observations of the land, ocean, and atmospheric constituents will also be presented. MERRA supports NASA Earth science by synthesizing the current suite of research satellite observations in a climate data context (covering the period 1979-present), and by providing the science and applications communities with of a broad range of weather and climate data with an emphasis on improved estimates of the hydrological cycle. MERRA is based on a major new version of the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS-5), that includes the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF)-based GEOS-5 atmospheric general circulation model and the new NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) unified grid-point statistical interpolation (GST) analysis scheme developed as a collaborative effort between NCEP and the GMAO. In addition to MERRA, the GMAO is developing new capabilities in aerosol and constituent assimilation, ocean, ocean biology, and land surface assimilation. This includes the development of an assimilation capability for tropospheric air quality monitoring and prediction, the development of a carbon-cycle modeling and assimilation system, and an ocean data assimilation system for use in coupled short-term climate forecasting.

Schubert, Siegfried↗
NASA NTRS2008

Dissemination and Use of NPOESS Data in AWIPS II

Real-time satellite information provides one of many data sources used by NWS forecast offices to diagnose current weather conditions and to assist in short-term forecast preparation. While GOES satellite data provides relatively coarse spatial resolution coverage of the continental U.S. on a 10-15 minute repeat cycle, polar orbiting data has the potential to provide snapshots of weather conditions at high-resolution in many spectral channels. The multispectral polar orbiting satellite capabilities allow for the derivation of image and sounding products not available from geostationary orbit. The utility of these polar orbiting measurements to forecasters has been demonstrated with NASA EOS observations as part of the Short-term Prediction and Research Transition (SPORT) program at Marshall Space Flight Center. SPORT scientists have been providing real-time MODIS data to NWS forecasters on an experimental basis to address a variety of short-term weather forecasting problems since 2003. The launch of the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite in 2009 will extend the continuity of high-resolution data provided by the NASA EOS satellites into future operational weather systems. The NPP data will be available in a timeframe consistent with the early installation of the next generation Advanced Weather Information Processing System (AWIPS) under development by Raytheon for the NWS. The AWIPS II system will be a JAVA-based decision support system which preserves the functionality of the existing systems and offers unique development opportunities for new data sources and applications in the Service Orientated Architecture (SOA) environment. The poster will highlight some of the advanced observing and display- capabilities of these new systems such as plug-ins for NASA and NPP datasets, and the development of local applications which are not well handled in the current AWIPS (e.g., 3D displays of LMA data, generation and display of 3-channel color composites, etc.).

Jedlovec, Gary↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium

This grant is associated to a 5-year LTSA grant, on "Studying the Largest Reservoir of Baryons in the Universe: The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium". The first year of work within this program has been very rich, and has already produced several important results, as detailed in this paper. Table 2 of our original proposal justification, listed the planned year-by-year program, divided into two sub-fields: (A) the study of the z=0 (or Local Group WHIM) system, and (B) the study of the z greater than 0 (i.e- intervening WHIM) systems. For each of the two sub-fields we had planned to analyze, in the first year, a number of archival (Chandra, XMM and FUSE) and new (if observed) sightlines. Moreover, the plan for the z=0 system included the search for new interesting sightlines. We have accomplished all these tasks.

Hayes, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2017

An Introduction to Observing System Simulation Experiments

Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) are used to estimate the potential impact of proposed new instruments and data on numerical weather prediction. OSSEs can also be used to help design new observing platforms and to investigate the behavior of data assimilation systems. A basic overview of how to design and perform an OSSE will be given, as well as best practices and pitfalls. Some examples using the OSSE framework developed at the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office will be shown.

OSSE↗
NASA NTRS2001

Cloud Spatial Structure and 3D Radiative Transfer

Cloud radiative properties are sensitive to drop size and other parameters of cloud micro-structure, but also to cloud shape, spacing, and other parameters of cloud macro-structure, including internal fractal structure. New information on cloud structure is being derived from a variety of cloud radars and lidars. Ongoing field programs such as DoE/ARM are improving the measurement and modelling of physical and radiative properties of clouds. A parallel effort is underway to improve cloud remote sensing, especially from the new suite of EOS (Earth Observing System) instruments which are beginning to provide higher spectral, spatial resolution, and/or angular resolution. Key parameters for improving pixel-scale retrievals are cloud thickness and photon mean-free-path, which together determine the scale of "radiative smoothing" of cloud fluxes and radiances. This scale has been observed as a change in the spatial spectrum of Landsat cloud radiances, and was also recently found with the Goddard micropulse lidar, by searching for returns from directions nonparallel to the incident beam. "Offbeam" Lidar returns are now being used to estimate the cloud "radiative Green's function", (G). G depends on cloud thickness and may be used to retrieve that important quantity. G is also being applied to improving simple estimates of cloud radiative properties that are based on the "Independent Pixel Approximation" or IPA. This and other measurements of 3D transfer in clouds, coupled with Monte Carlo and other 3D transfer methods, are beginning to provide a better understanding of the dependence of radiation on cloud inhomogeneity, and to suggest new retrieval and parameterization algorithms which take account of cloud inhomogeneity. An international "Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes" or I3RC, program is underway to coordinate and evaluate the variety of 3D radiative transfer methods now available, and to make them more widely available. Information is on the Web at: http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/I3RC. Input consists of selected cloud fields derived from data sources such as radar, microwave and satellite, and from models involved in the GEWEX Cloud Systems Studies. Output is selected radiative quantities that characterize the large-scale properties of the fields of radiative fluxes and heating. Several example cloud fields will be used to illustrate the effects of cloud inhomogeneity and 3D radiation.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Cloud Spatial Structure and 3D Radiative Transfer

Cloud radiative properties are sensitive to drop size and other parameters of cloud micro-structure, but also to cloud shape, spacing, and other parameters of cloud macro-structure, including internal fractal structure. New information on cloud structure is being derived from a variety of cloud radars and lidars. Ongoing field programs such as DoE/ARM (atmospheric radiation measurement) are improving the measurement and modelling of physical and radiative properties of clouds. A parallel effort is underway to improve cloud remote sensing, especially from the new suite of EOS (Earth observing system) instruments which are beginning to provide higher spectral, spatial resolution, and/or angular resolution. Key parameters for improving pixel-scale retrievals are cloud thickness and photon mean-free-path, which together determine the scale of 'radiative smoothing' of cloud fluxes and radiances. This scale has been observed as a change in the spatial spectrum of Landsat cloud radiances, and was also recently found with the Goddard micropulse lidar, by searching for returns from directions nonparallel to the incident beam. 'Offbeam' Lidar returns are now being used to estimate the cloud 'radiative Green's function' (G). G depends on cloud thickness and may be used to retrieve that important quantity. G is also being applied to improving simple estimates of cloud radiative properties that are based on the 'Independent Pixel Approximation' or IPA. This and other measurements of 3D (three dimensional) transfer in clouds, coupled with Monte Carlo and other 3D transfer methods, are beginning to provide a better understanding of the dependence of radiation on cloud inhomogeneity, and to suggest new retrieval and parameterization algorithms which take account of cloud inhomogeneity. An international 'Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes' (I3RC) program is underway to coordinate and evaluate the variety of 3D radiative transfer methods now available, and to make them more widely available. Information is on the Web at: http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/I3RC. Input consists of selected cloud fields derived from data sources such as radar, microwave and satellite, and from models involved in the GEWEX Cloud Systems Studies. Output is selected radiative quantities that characterize the large-scale properties of the fields of radiative fluxes and heating. Several example cloud fields will be used to illustrate the effects of cloud inhomogeneity and 3D radiation.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A new observational and numerical study of tidal interactions in M81-M82-NGC3077 system

A nearby system of interacting galaxies M81-M82-NGC3077 triplet (D = 3.3 Mpc; Freeman & Madore 1988) has been studied using multi-wavelength observations and numerical simulations to obtain a comprehensive understanding on the dynamics and the consequences of tidal interactions in a group environment. The VLA 12-field Mosaic H I observations of 2 x 1.5 deg. region have revealed a vast array of H I filaments which suggests that the severity and extent of tidal disruptions far exceed the previous estimates. A tidal remnant of the former H I disk of M82 extending up to 30 kpc (in projection) is identified for the first time, and the pervasive effects of the tidal disruption are traced into the inner disk by optical and CO observations, including a kinematic trace of a large scale bar potential (Yun, Ho, & Lo 1992). The H I disk of M81 is traced out to 40 kpc in radius, and a large scale (l approx. 20 kpc) velocity anomaly ('High Velocity Trough'), which may be a remnant of a gaseous collision, is found within the disk of M81. The large H I bridge between M81 and NGC 3077 (van der Hulst 1979) is also found to extend approx. greater than 50 kpc further, bending around NGC 3077, toward M82. The total H I detected in this experiment, 5.6 x 10(exp 9) solar mass, represents the majority of the single-dish flux (Appleton, Davies, & Stephenson 1981) and suggests that the bulk of H I found in the region belongs to the three galaxies and the tidal filaments. The impact and details of the tidal interactions have been further examined through the use of numerical techniques. The 'restricted 3-body' approach was used to simulate the observed distribution of tidal H I streamers connecting the three galaxies, and the success of the simulation is further strengthened by the accurate predictions on the gas kinematics.

Yun, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Multiscale Cloud System Modeling

The central theme of this paper is to describe how cloud system resolving models (CRMs) of grid spacing approximately 1 km have been applied to various important problems in atmospheric science across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and how these applications relate to other modeling approaches. A long-standing problem concerns the representation of organized precipitating convective cloud systems in weather and climate models. Since CRMs resolve the mesoscale to large scales of motion (i.e., 10 km to global) they explicitly address the cloud system problem. By explicitly representing organized convection, CRMs bypass restrictive assumptions associated with convective parameterization such as the scale gap between cumulus and large-scale motion. Dynamical models provide insight into the physical mechanisms involved with scale interaction and convective organization. Multiscale CRMs simulate convective cloud systems in computational domains up to global and have been applied in place of contemporary convective parameterizations in global models. Multiscale CRMs pose a new challenge for model validation, which is met in an integrated approach involving CRMs, operational prediction systems, observational measurements, and dynamical models in a new international project: the Year of Tropical Convection, which has an emphasis on organized tropical convection and its global effects.

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗