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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
DOE OSTI2022

Overview of the COMPASS results *

COMPASS addressed several physical processes that may explain the behaviour of important phenomena. This paper presents results related to the main fields of COMPASS research obtained in the recent two years, including studies of turbulence, L–H transition, plasma material interaction, runaway electron, and disruption physics: Tomographic reconstruction of the edge/SOL turbulence observed by a fast visible camera allowed to visualize turbulent structures without perturbing the plasma. Dependence of the power threshold on the X-point height was studied and related role of radial electric field in the edge/SOL plasma was identified. The effect of high-field-side error fields on the L–H transition was investigated in order to assess the influence of the central solenoid misalignment and the possibility to compensate these error fields by low-field-side coils. Results of fast measurements of electron temperature during ELMs show the ELM peak values at the divertor are around 80% of the initial temperature at the pedestal. Liquid metals were used for the first time as plasma facing material in ELMy H-mode in the tokamak divertor. Good power handling capability was observed for heat fluxes up to 12 MW m –2 and no direct droplet ejection was observed. Partial detachment regime was achieved by impurity seeding in the divertor. The evolution of the heat flux footprint at the outer target was studied. Runaway electrons were studied using new unique systems—impact calorimetry, carbon pellet injection technique, wide variety of magnetic perturbations. Radial feedback control was imposed on the beam. Forces during plasma disruptions were monitored by a number of new diagnostics for vacuum vessel (VV) motion in order to contribute to the scaling laws of sideways disruption forces for ITER. Current flows towards the divertor tiles, incl. possible short-circuiting through PFCs, were investigated during the VDE experiments. The results support ATEC model and improve understanding of disruption loads.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Wall heating by subcritical energetic electrons generated by the runaway electron avalanche source *

Abstract Subcritical energetic electrons (SEEs) produced by the runaway electron (RE) avalanche source at energies below the runaway threshold are found to be the primary contributor to surface heating of plasma-facing components (PFCs) during final loss events. This finding is supported by theoretical analysis, computational modeling with the Kinetic Orbit Runaway electrons Code (KORC), and qualitative agreement with DIII-D experimental observations. The avalanche source generates significantly more secondary electrons below the runaway threshold, which thermalize rapidly when well-confined. However, during a final loss event, the RE beam impacts the first wall, and SEEs are deconfined before they can thermalize. Additionally, because the energy deposition length decreases faster than energy, the deposited energy density, and thus the maximum PFC surface temperature change, is larger for SEEs than REs. KORC simulations employ an analytic first wall to model particle deconfinement onto a non-axisymmetric wall composed of individual tiles. PFC surface heating is calculated using a 1D model extended to include an energy-dependent deposition length scale. Simulations of DIII-D qualitatively agree with infrared (IR) imaging only when SEEs from the avalanche source are included. These results demonstrate that SEEs are the dominant contributor to PFC surface heating and indicate that the avalanche source plays a critical role in the PFC damage caused during final loss events. The prominence of SEEs also has important implications for interpreting IR imaging, one of the primary diagnostics for RE-wall interaction diagnosis, despite REs dominating the energy and current density. This result improves predictions of wall damage due to post-disruption REs to estimate material lifetime and design RE mitigation systems for ITER and future reactors.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Motif magnetism and quantum many-body scars

In this work, we generally expect quantum systems to thermalize and satisfy the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), which states that finite-energy-density eigenstates are thermal. However, some systems, such as many-body localized systems and systems with quantum many-body scars, violate ETH and have high-energy athermal eigenstates. In systems with scars, most eigenstates thermalize, but a few atypical scar states do not. Scar states can give rise to a periodic revival when time-evolving particular initial product states, which can be detected experimentally. Recently, a family of spin Hamiltonians was found with magnetically ordered three-colored eigenstates that are quantum many-body scars [Lee et al., Phys. Rev. B 101, 241111(R) (2020)]. These models can be realized in any lattice that can be tiled by triangles, such as the triangular or kagome lattices, and have been shown to have close connections to the physics of quantum spin liquids in the Heisenberg kagome antiferromagnet. In this paper, we introduce a generalized family of n-colored Hamiltonians with “spiral colored” eigenstates made from n-spin motifs such as polygons or polyhedra. We show how these models can be realized in many different lattice geometries and provide numerical evidence that they can exhibit quantum many-body scars with periodic revivals that can be observed by time-evolving simple product states. The simple structure of these Hamiltonians makes them promising candidates for future experimental studies of quantum many-body scars.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1980

A study of poultry processing plant noise characteristics and potential noise control techniques

The noise environment in a typical poultry processing plant was characterized by developing noise contours for two representative plants: Central Soya of Athens, Inc., Athens, Georgia, and Tip Top Poultry, Inc., Marietta, Georgia. Contour information was restricted to the evisceration are of both plants because nearly 60 percent of all process employees are stationed in this area during a normal work shift. Both plant evisceration areas were composed of tile walls, sheet metal ceilings, and concrete floors. Processing was performed in an assembly-line fashion in which the birds travel through the area on overhead shackles while personnel remain at fixed stations. Processing machinery was present throughout the area. In general, the poultry processing noise problem is the result of loud sources and reflective surfaces. Within the evisceration area, it can be concluded that only a few major sources (lung guns, a chiller component, and hock cutters) are responsible for essentially all direct and reverberant sound pressure levels currently observed during normal operations. Consequently, any effort to reduce the noise problem must first address the sound power output of these sources and/or the absorptive qualitities of the room.

Wyvill, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Does Warming a Lysozyme Solution Cook Ones Data?

Chicken egg white lysozyme has a well characterized thermally driven phase transition. Between pH 4.0 and 5.2, the transition temperature, as defined by the point where the tetragonal and orthorhombic solubility are equal, is a function of the pH, salt (precipitant) type and concentration, and most likely of the buffer concentration as well. This phase transition can be carried out with protein solution alone, prior to the initiation of the crystallization process. We have now measured the kinetics of this process and investigated its reversibility. An aliquot of a stock protein solution is held at a given temperature, and at periodic intervals used to set up batch crystallization experiments. The batch solutions were incubated at 20 C until macroscopic crystals were obtained, at which point the number of crystals in each well were counted. The transition effects increased with temperature, slowly falling off at 30 C with a half time (time to approx. 1/2 the t = 0 number of crystals) of approx. 5 hours, and an estimated half time of approx. 0.5 hours at 43 C. Further, the process was not reversible by simple cooling. After holding a lysozyme solution at 37 C (prior to addition of precipitant) for 16 hours, then cooling and holding it at 4 C, no return to the pre-warmed nucleation kinetics are observed after at least 4 weeks. Thus every thermal excursion above the phase transition point results in a further decrease in the nucleation rate of that solution, the extent being a function of the time and temperature. Orthorhombic lysozyme crystals apparently do not undergo the flow-induced growth cessation of tetragonal lysozyme crystals. We have previously shown that putting the protein in the orthorhombic form does not affect the averaged face growth kinetics, only nucleation, for tetragonal crystals. We may be able to use this differential behavior to elucidate how flow affects tile lysozyme crystal growth process.

Pusey, Marc↗
NASA NTRS2002

Temperature Variations from HST Imagery and Spectroscopy of NGC 7009

We present new HST/WFPC2 imagery and STIS long-slit spectroscopy of the planetary nebula NGC 7009. The primary goal was to obtain high spatial resolution of the intrinsic line ratio [O III] 4364/5008 and thereby evaluate the electron temperature (Te) and the mean-square Te variation (t(sup 2, sub A)) across the nebula. The observations here do not address Te fluctuation along the line of sight. The WFPC2 Te map is rather uniform; almost all values are between 9000 - 11,000 K, with the higher Te's closely coinciding with the inner He(++)-zone. The results indicate very small values - certainly less than 0.01 - for t(sup 2, sub A) throughout. Our STIS data allow an even more direct determination of Te and t(sup 2, sub A), albeit for a much smaller area than with WFPC2. We present results from binning the data along the slit into tiles that are 0.5 in square (matching the slit width). The average [O III] temperature using 45 tiles (excluding the central star and STIS fiducial bars) is 10,146 K; t(sup 2, sub A) is 0.0036. Although we have measured t(sup 2, sub A) in only 2-dimensions, we conclude that temperature fluctuations alone are unlikely to explain for NGC 7009 the large discrepancy between heavy element abundances inferred from emission lines that are collisionally excited compared with those that are due to recombination lines.

Rubin, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS2021

A Comparison of Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction and MOD09 Daily Surface Reflectance Products from MODIS

This study presents the first systematic comparison of MAIAC Collection 6 MCD19A1 daily surface reflectance (SR) product with standard MODIS SR (MOD/MYD09). The study was limited to four tiles located in mid-Atlantic United States (H11V05), Canada (H12V03),central Amazon (H11V09), and North-Eastern China (H27V05) and used over 5000 MODIS granules in 2018. Overall, there is a remarkable agreement between the best quality pixels of the two products, in particular in the Red and NIR bands. Over selected tiles, the evaluation found that MAIAC provides from 4 to 25% more high-quality retrievals thanMOD09 annually, with the largest difference in tropical regions, confirming results of the previous studies. The comparison of spectral characteristics showed a systematic MAIAC-MOD09 difference increasing from NIR to Blue, typical of biases of a Lambertian assumption in MOD09 algorithm. Over the North-Eastern China, MCD19A1 SR is found more stable at wide range of aerosol optical depth (AOD) variations, whereasMOD09 SR shows a consistent positive bias increasing with AOD and at shorter wavelengths. The observed SR differences can be attributed to differences in cloud detection, aerosol retrieval and in atmospheric correction which is performed using an accurate BRDF-coupled radiative transfer model in MAIAC and a Lambertian surface model in MOD09. While this study is not representative of the global performance because of its limited geographical coverage, it should help the land community to better understand the differences between the two products.

MAIAC↗
NASA NTRS2011

180-GHz Interferometric Imager

A 180-GHz interferometric imager uses compact receiver modules, combined high- and low-gain antennas, and ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) correlator technology, enabling continuous, all-weather observations of water vapor with 25-km resolution and 0.3-K noise in 15 minutes of observation for numerical weather forecasting and tropical storm prediction. The GeoSTAR-II prototype instrument is broken down into four major subsystems: the compact, low-noise receivers; sub-array modules; IF signal distribution; and the digitizer/correlator. Instead of the single row of antennas adopted in GeoSTAR, this version has four rows of antennas on a coarser grid. This dramatically improves the sensitivity in the desired field of view. The GeoSTAR-II instrument is a 48-element, synthetic, thinned aperture radiometer operating at 165-183 GHz. The instrument has compact receivers integrated into tiles of 16 elements in a 4x4 arrangement. These tiles become the building block of larger arrays. The tiles contain signal distribution for bias controls, IF signal, and local oscillator signals. The IF signals are digitized and correlated using an ASIC correlator to minimize power consumption. Previous synthetic aperture imagers have used comparatively large multichip modules, whereas this approach uses chip-scale modules mounted on circuit boards, which are in turn mounted on the distribution manifolds. This minimizes the number of connectors and reduces system mass. The use of ASIC technology in the digitizers and correlators leads to a power reduction close to an order of magnitude.

Kangaslahti, Pekka P.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Creating Data-Driven Vector Visualizations of Satellite Orbit Tracks Using NASA GIBS and Worldview

NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) currently operates dozens of remote sensing satellites, many of which can be viewed directly in NASA’s open-source Worldview application. Much of this satellite imagery can be viewed in near-real time as it is processed and served by NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Service (GIBS). To better educate users on the time and location of imagery, GIBS serves orbit track specific layers for each satellite. Worldview has historically served these layers as raster images but recent updates have enabled the application to now serve these layers using vector tiles. With the release of Worldview v3.0, orbit track layers can be displayed using mapbox vector tiles (MVT). This visualization format allows users to not only view and change the color of orbit track layers, as they could do previously with rasters, but also inspect individual vector points and filter layers by specific parameters such as time. The data contained within a MVT is further enhanced in Worldview with the combination of a JSON description file served from GIBS used to describe the MVT data. This presentation will provide an overview of the process of consuming orbit track vector tiles and data files from GIBS using a pipeline to configure, build and ultimately display the orbit tracks in Worldview. Furthermore, the presentation aims to describe how others can leverage our open-source code to display and enhance vector layers in their own applications.

Rice, Zachary↗
NASA NTRS1991

Gravity, Calcium, and Bone: Update, 1989

Some of the results of recent short-term flights and ground-based experiments that have contributed new insights into skeletal adaptation, calcium metabolism, and growth processes in 0 g, are highlighted. After 6 months in space, bone demineralization, invariably involving the os calcis, was found not to extend to the lumbar spine in 4 exercising cosmonauts. A flight experiment in the Space Shuttle crew has documented the early events in the calcium endocrine system during spaceflight. On the ground, brief and long-term bed rest studies of healthy volunteers in the head-down tile (HDT) model of weightlessness were completed. The skeleton of the adult male responds more rapidly to unloading than previously recognized. Regional changes in bone density can be quantified in only 30 days, are highly individual, and follow the direction of gravitational forces in the HDT model during inactivity. Bone biopsy results in healthy volunteers after bed rest differ from results in paraplegics from the same sampling site. Flight experiments in growing rats reveal changes in the composition of bone mineral and matrix in the femur postflight that were found to be highly regional and suggestive of an effect of gravity on mineral distribution. These observations may be relevant to the results from an earlier Cosmos flight where artificial gravity in space was found to maintain bone strength, but not to correct the radial growth deficit.

Arnaud, Sara B.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Cast Glance Near Infrared Imaging Observations of the Space Shuttle During Hypersonic Re-Entry

High resolution calibrated infrared imagery of the Space Shuttle was obtained during hypervelocity atmospheric entries of the STS-119, STS-125 and STS128 missions and has provided information on the distribution of surface temperature and the state of the airflow over the windward surface of the Orbiter during descent. This data collect was initiated by NASA s Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements (HYTHIRM) team and incorporated the use of air- and land-based optical assets to image the Shuttle during atmospheric re-entry. The HYTHIRM objective is to develop and implement a set of mission planning tools designed to establish confidence in the ability of an existing optical asset to reliably acquire, track and return global quantitative surface temperatures of the Shuttle during entry. On Space Shuttle Discovery s STS-119 mission, NASA flew a specially modified thermal protection system tile and instrumentation package to monitor heating effects from boundary layer transition during re-entry. On STS-119, the windward airflow on the port wing was deliberately disrupted by a four-inch wide and quarter-inch tall protuberance built into the modified tile. In coordination with this flight experiment, a US Navy NP-3D Orion aircraft was flown 28 nautical miles below Discovery and remotely monitored surface temperature of the Orbiter at Mach 8.4 using a long-range infrared optical package referred to as Cast Glance. Approximately two months later, the same Navy Cast Glance aircraft successfully monitored the surface temperatures of the Orbiter Atlantis traveling at approximately Mach 14.3 during its return from the successful Hubble repair mission. In contrast to Discovery, Atlantis was not part of the Boundary Layer Transition (BLT) flight experiment, thus the vehicle was not configured with a protuberance on the port wing. In September 2009, Cast Glance was again successful in capturing infrared imagery and monitoring the surface temperatures on Discovery s next flight, STS-128. Again, NASA flew a specially modified thermal protection system tile and instrumentation package to monitor heating effects from boundary layer transition during re-entry. During this mission, Cast Glance was able to image laminar and turbulent flow phenomenology optimizing data collection for Mach 14.7. The purpose of this paper is to describe key elements associated with STS-119/125/128 mission planning and execution from the perspective of the Cast Glance flight crew that obtained the imagery. The paper will emphasize a human element of experience, expertise and adaptability seamlessly coupled with Cast Glance system and sensor technology required to manually collect the required imagery. Specific topics will include a near infrared (NIR) camera upgrade that was implemented just prior to the missions, how pre-flight radiance modeling was utilized to optimize the IR sensor configuration, communications, the development of aircraft test support positions based upon Shuttle trajectory information, support to contingencies such as Shuttle one orbit wave-offs/west coast diversions and then the Cast Glance perspective during an actual Shuttle imaging mission.

Tack, Steve↗
NASA NTRS2024

Explore Astronaut Photography with the New GIS Data Portal

The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth (GAPE, eol.jsc.nasa.gov) contains the complete collection of all Earth observing photography captured as part of the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) project on the International Space Station. Astronaut photography is a valuable remote sensing data set that can provide images ranging from high resolution (~4m/pixel) nadir views to oblique views through the atmosphere. Nighttime imagery collected as part of CEO constitutes the highest resolution publicly available nighttime visible light data. This data support dozens of research projects looking at urbanization, land use/change, disaster response, and many others. Our team has deployed a new interactive map tool that greatly expands the functionality of the GAPE data set, enabling researchers to easily search our collection of fully georeferenced daytime and nighttime imagery around the world. Users can download the georeferenced tiles directly through the portal or through an API interface. The data hosted on this new tool is growing every day as more images are processed through our auto-georeferencing process.

Kenton R Fisher↗
NASA NTRS1961

A Study of the Free Oscillations of the Earth

Published observations on the toroidal oscillations of the earth are critically reviewed. A supplementary analysis of the record obtained by the Lamont strain seismometer is presented. Eleven toroidal modes are identified, and it is concluded that the periods are known to within 1 per cent. A perturbation scheme involving the ratio of the angular velocity of the earth to the resonant frequency is used in calculating the effects due to the rotation of the earth on the resonant frequency. The free oscillations are viewed as a superposition of traveling waves. In a nonrotating system two traveling waves combine to produce a stationary standing wave. In a rotating system, the rotation distinguishes between waves that travel in the direction of rotation and those that travel in the opposite direction. Rotation removes a degeneracy and results in a splitting of a spectral peak of order l into 2 times l plus 1 peaks. The fractional displacement in frequency for the lowest-order toroidal oscillations is 1/206 and of the same order as the Q of the peak, so that splitting will probably not be observed in the toroidal oscillations. Viewed locally, rotation causes a particle to precess about a direction parallel to the axis of rotation. This precession will cause a variation of amplitude with time if the motion is recorded by an instrument with an anisotropic response function. Care is therefore needed in studying the time decay of a given spectral peak. Rotation also couples the normal coordinates so that a motion that is initially purely horizontal will develop a vertical component. It is expected that vertical seismometers should record particle motion with the toroidal frequencies. The perturbations of the toroidal oscillations due to core-mantle interaction are treated in detail. An exact expression is obtained for the rate of energy dissipated by a finitely conducting plate oscillating across a magnetic field. The energy dissipated at the core-mantle boundary due to viscous and hydromagnetic coupling is shown to be insignificant as compared with the energy dissipated within the mantle. The toroidal magnetic field leaking into the lower mantle combines with the dipole field, resulting in a stress on the mantle, tending to stiffen the lower boundary. The stress is of sufficient magnitude to produce a displacement toward higher frequency in the lower-order toroidal oscillations. Observations on the (sub 0) T (sub 2) oscillations lead to an estimate of the toroidal magnetic field in the lower mantle. A calculation of elastic energy in the low-order oscillations suggests a value of 10 (sup 18) ergs per cycles per hour for the energy density at low frequencies in the Chilean earthquake. Each mode of oscillation has a characteristic radial distribution of elastic energy associated with it. This distribution determines which parts of the earth contribute most heavily in determining a particular resonant frequency. The distribution of energy for the lower 17 modes for a homogeneous and a Gutenberg model earth is calculated. The resonant frequencies for models of the earth based on the Gutenberg and Lehmann distribution of elastic properties are presented. It is shown that the Gutenberg model earth fits the observations more closely than the Lehmann model and that a slight alteration of the Gutenberg model gives a significantly better fit to the observations. The alteration involves a lower shear-wave velocity in the lower mantle while the Gutenberg velocity distribution is maintained in the upper mantle. Various studies of the earth's oscillations coupled with surface-wave investigations substantiate Gutenberg's hypothesis of a layer of low velocity in the upper mantle. The physical conditions required for the formation of a region of low velocity are examined in detail. The results confirm Birch's earlier statement that a temperature gradient in excess of 6 degrees to 7 degrees per kilometer is needed to produce a decrease in velocity. The low-velocity layer does not require that the temperature approach or exceed the melting temperature. If tile upper mantle is homogeneous, the region of lower velocity should commence at the base of the crust and extend to 150 kilometers under the oceans and about 100 kilometers under continental regions. The distribution of thermal conductivity and radioactivity consistent with the low-velocity layer is also considered.

MacDonald, Gordon J. F.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Entropic formation of a thermodynamically stable colloidal quasicrystal with negligible phason strain

Quasicrystals have been discovered in a variety of materials ranging from metals to polymers. Yet, why and how they form is incompletely understood. In situ transmission electron microscopy of alloy quasicrystal formation in metals suggests an error-and-repair mechanism, whereby quasiperiodic crystals grow imperfectly with phason strain present, and only perfect themselves later into a high-quality quasicrystal with negligible phason strain. The growth mechanism has not been investigated for other types of quasicrystals, such as dendrimeric, polymeric, or colloidal quasicrystals. Soft-matter quasicrystals typically result from entropic, rather than energetic, interactions, and are not usually grown (either in laboratories or in silico) into large-volume quasicrystals. Consequently, it is unknown whether soft-matter quasicrystals form with the high degree of structural quality found in metal alloy quasicrystals. Here, we investigate the entropically driven growth of colloidal dodecagonal quasicrystals (DQCs) via computer simulation of systems of hard tetrahedra, which are simple models for anisotropic colloidal particles that form a quasicrystal. Using a pattern recognition algorithm applied to particle trajectories during DQC growth, we analyze phason strain to follow the evolution of quasiperiodic order. As in alloys, we observe high structural quality; DQCs with low phason strain crystallize directly from the melt and only require minimal further reduction of phason strain. Finally, we also observe transformation from a denser approximant to the DQC via continuous phason strain relaxation. Our results demonstrate that soft-matter quasicrystals dominated by entropy can be thermodynamically stable and grown with high structural quality––just like their alloy quasicrystal counterparts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2005

Computational Aerothermodynamic Assessment of Space Shuttle Orbiter Tile Damage: Open Cavities

Computational aerothermodynamic simulations of Orbiter windside tile damage in flight were performed in support of the Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight effort. The simulations were performed for both hypervelocity flight and low-enthalpy wind tunnel conditions and contributed to the Return-to-Flight program by providing information to support a variety of damage scenario analyses. Computations at flight conditions were performed at or very near the peak heating trajectory point for multiple damage scenarios involving damage windside acreage reaction cured glass (RCG) coated silica tile(s). The cavities formed by the missing tile examined in this study were relatively short leading to flow features which indicated open cavity behavior. Results of the computations indicated elevated heating bump factor levels predicted for flight over the predictions for wind tunnel conditions. The peak heating bump factors, defined as the local heating to a reference value upstream of the cavity, on the cavity floor for flight simulation were 67% larger than the peak wind tunnel simulation value. On the downstream face of the cavity the flight simulation values were 60% larger than the wind tunnel simulation values. On the outer mold line (OML) downstream of the cavity, the flight values are about 20% larger than the wind tunnel simulation values. The higher heating bump factors observed in the flight simulations were due to the larger driving potential in terms of energy entering the cavity for the flight simulations. This is evidenced by the larger rate of increase in the total enthalpy through the boundary layer prior to the cavity for the flight simulation.

Pulsonetti, Maria↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) LiDAR and DEM data from two NGEE Arctic Sites, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, Winter 2022

From April 3 through April 6 of 2022, airborne remote sensing data was collected by the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) in collaboration with NGEE Arctic scientists. Snow-on data was collected around two NGEE Arctic study sites on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska: Teller mm 27 and Kougarok mm 64. A Robinson R44 II helicopter with a RIEGL VQ-580 II airborne laser scanner was used to collect the LiDAR point cloud data for each study site. This survey was conducted during expected peak snow cover at the end of the winter on the Seward Peninsula, and can be paired with data collected in 2021 during the snow-off campaign "National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) LiDAR, Imagery, and DEM data from five NGEE Arctic Sites, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, August 2021" (Singhania et al., 2023) (NGA270). This data package contains LiDAR point clouds (.las), Digital Elevation Models (.tif), and shapefiles of the .las tiling system (.shp). A project report detailing data collection details, GNSS stations and GNSS corrections, and processing steps is also included. The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2011

Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment Overview

In support of the Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment (BLT FE) Project, a manufactured protuberance tile was installed on the port wing of Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery for STS-119, STS-128, STS-131 and STS-133 as well as Space Shuttle Endeavour for STS-134. Additional instrumentation was installed in order to obtain more spatially resolved measurements downstream of the protuberance. This paper provides an overview of the BLT FE Project with emphasis on the STS-131 and STS-133 results. A high-level overview of the in-situ flight data is presented, along with a summary of the comparisons between pre- and post-flight analysis predictions and flight data. Comparisons show that empirically correlated predictions for boundary layer transition onset time closely match the flight data, while predicted surface temperatures were significantly higher than observed flight temperatures. A thermocouple anomaly observed on a number of the missions is discussed as are a number of the mitigation actions that will be taken on the final flight, STS-134, including potential alterations of the flight trajectory and changes to the flight instrumentation.

Berger, Karen T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

STS 8 Orbiter mission window pitting and the possible association with the El Chichon eruption of March and April 1982

The possibility that the pitting that occurred in the STS-8 Orbiter windows was caused by dust from the El Chichon volcano eruption in March-April 1982 is considered. The pit density was more than 30/sq cm, most being 2.5-5 microns deep, and showed no evidence of impact melting. An 'alley' of higher incidence of pits in one window coincided with the line of a seam between TPS tiles. The particles causing the sandblasting were concluded to have arrived in parallel and could not be attributed to the ET, SRBs or a dust storm. The sulfuric gas-rich El Chichon plume injected sufficient material into the atmosphere so that the globe was soon encircled. Most of the resulting particulates (480-8400 tons) stayed in the Northern Hemisphere, and H2SO4 and ash concentrations were high during the STS-8 mission. The Orbiter cut through the debris layer at 19.8 km altitude at a 10 deg angle of attack, which matches the particle crater impact angle in the Orbiter windows. Since the passage was at night, larger H2SO4 droplets may have coalesced and formed larger particles on available solid nuclei, thus producing the 20-40 microns cratering observed in the windows.

Cour-Palais, B. G.↗