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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Geomorphic evidence for ancient seas in west Deuteronilus Mensae, Mars-1: Regional geomorphology

The fretted terrain in west Deuteronilus Mensae consists of extensive cratered upland penninsulas or isolated plateaus cut by long, finger-like canyons typically 10 to 20 km wide and upwards of 300 km long. The longest of these canyons trend roughly north-south to north-northeast, which may reflect some local structural and/or topographic control. At least three geomorphic zones roughly parallel to the lowland/upland boundary, suggestive of increasing modification northward, can be recognized on the fretted region of the region. The southern-most zone (zone A) consists of sharply defined fretted terrain. The middle zone (zone B) consists of well defined fretted terrain in which the plateau surfaces appear smoother, with a somewhat darker and much less varied albedo surface than those of zone A. The northern-most zone (zone C) consists of rounded or softened fretted terrain. The zones were interpreted as surface exposures of successively lower stratigraphic units.

Parker, Timothy J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Cosmic-ray positrons from 10 to 20 GeV - A balloon-borne measurement using the geomagnetic east-west asymmetry

Results are reported for cosmic-ray positrons obtained in a balloon flight of the University of Chicago electron telescope in Hawaii in April 1984. Making use of the east-west asymmetry in the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity, cosmic-ray positrons and negatrons were separated over the range 10-20 GeV. The resulting positron to electron ratio is 12-22 percent, significantly higher than the ratio measured in the 1-10 Gev range by other experiments. This increase appears to suggest that either a primary component of positrons becomes significant above 10 GeV or that the spectrum of primary negatrons decreases above 10 GeV more sharply than that of secondary positrons.

Mueller, Dietrich↗
NASA NTRS1986

Biogeochemical cycling in the ocean. Part 1: Introduction to the effects of upwelling along the west coast of North America

Coastal upwelling is examined as it relates to the cycling of chemical species in coastal waters along the west coast of North America. The temporal and spatial features of upwelling phenomena in the Eastern boundary regions of the North Pacific Ocean are presented and discussed in terms of upwelling episodes. Climate conditions affecting upwelling include: thermal effects, wind-induced shear stress which moves surface layers, and the curl of the wind stress vector which is thought to affect the extent and nature of upwelling and the formation of offshore convergent downwelling fronts. These effects and the interaction of sunlight and upwelled nutrients which result in a biological bloom in surface waters is modeled analytically. The roles of biological and chemical species, including the effects of predation, are discussed in that context, and relevant remote sensing and in situ observations are presented. Climatological, oceanographic, biological, physical, chemical events, and processes that pertain to biogeochemical cycling are presented and described by a set of partial differential equations. Simple preliminary results are obtained and are compared with data. Thus a fairly general framework has been laid where the many facets of biogeochemical cycling in coastal upwelled waters can be examined in their relationship to one another, and to the whole, to whatever level of detail or approximation is warranted or desired.

Howe, John T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Crustal evolution and the eclogite to granulite phase transition in xenoliths from the West African Craton

A suite of eclogite and granulite facies xenoliths from kimberlite pipes in the Archean Man Shield of West Africa is described. The xenoliths include lithologies ranging in composition from komatiite to anorthosite and appear to be geochemically, petrologically, and geophysically related. The suite may represent fractionation of felsic material separated from ancient mantle and added to early Archean crust. The samples can be used to define a xenolith geotherm, which may represent an ancient episode of high heat flow. The samples also imply that the crust-mantle boundary is a gradational and possibly interlayered geochemical, mineralogical, and seismic transition. It is speculated that the depleted subcontinental mantle required by diamond bearing coalescence of smaller depletion cells formed by extraction of ancient crustal components. These depleted zones are surrounded by fertile asthenospheric mantle, which may have given rise to later flood basalts such as the Karroo and Parana Provinces.

Haggerty, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The early archaean crustal history of West Greenland as recorded by detrital zircons

The isotope systematics of some of the oldest samples on Earth from both Greenland and Australia was discussed. The antiquity was confirmed of the 4.1 to 4.2 Ga zircons from Western Australia; the model Lu-Hf age of these zircons, as measured with the ANU ion probe is 4.14 + or - 0.24 Ga, although the oldest preserved rock units there are anorthosites with a Lu-Hf model age of about 3.73 Ga. U-Pb ion probe ages of detrital zircons ranging between 2.87 and 3.89 Ga from an Akilia association quartzite was reported, whose age of deposition is probably around 3.8 Ga. It was argued that the younger age in this range are discordant because of late Pb-loss, probably associated with a high grade metamorphic event at about 3.6 Ga. It was also argued that the earliest crust in West Greenland and elsewhere is about 3.9 Ga, but in some places, such as Western Australia, crustal evolution took place much earlier, perhaps starting as far back as 4.3 Ga. This would account for the presence in that terrane of abundant K rich granitoid, the paucity of tonalitic and trondhjemitic materials, and the existence of Eu anomalies in early Archean sediments.

Kinny, P. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

An integrtated approach to the use of Landsat TM data for gold exploration in west central Nevada

This paper represents an integration of several Landsat TM image processing techniques with other data to discriminate the lithologies and associated areas of hydrothermal alteration in the vicinity of the Paradise Peak gold mine in west central Nevada. A microprocessor-based image processing system and an IDIMS system were used to analyze data from a 512 X 512 window of a Landsat-5 TM scene collected on June 30, 1984. Image processing techniques included simple band composites, band ratio composites, principal components composites, and baseline-based composites. These techniques were chosen based on their ability to discriminate the spectral characteristics of the products of hydrothermal alteration as well as of the associated regional lithologies. The simple band composite, ratio composite, two principal components composites, and the baseline-based composites separately can define the principal areas of alteration. Combined, they provide a very powerful exploration tool.

Mouat, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Petrochemical and petrophysical characterization of the lower crust and the Moho beneath the West African Craton, based on Xenoliths from Kimberlites

Additional evidence to the composition of the lower crust and uppermost mantle was presented in the form of xenolith data. Xenoliths from the 2.7-Ga West African Craton indicate that the Moho beneath this shield is a chemically and physically gradational boundary, with intercalations of garnet granulite and garnet eclogite. Inclusions in diamonds indicate a depleted upper mantle source, and zenolith barometry and thermometry data suggest a high mantle geotherm with a kink near the Moho. Metallic iron in the xenoliths indicates that the uppermost mantle has a significant magnetization, and that the depth to the Curie isotherm, which is usually considered to be at or above the Moho, may be deeper than the Moho.

Haggerty, Stephen E.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Sm-Nd age of the Fiskenaesset Anorthosite Complex, West Greenland

A Sm-Nd isotopic study on samples from the Fiskenaesset Anorthosite Complex in West Greenland was conducted to estimate the age of crystallization of the complex. A five-point isochron, including data for whole-rock samples of anorthosite, metagabbro, metaperidotite, and separates of calcic plagioclase and mafic matrix from a coarse megacrystic leucogabbro, corresponds to an age of 2.86 + or - 0.05 Ga, with initial sigma(Nd) of +2.9 + or - 0.4. This implies a relatively short time interval, on the order of 70 Ma, during which anorthosite formation, tonalite emplacement, and high-grade metamorphism took place.

Ashwal, Lewis D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Mapping of Landsat satellite and gravity lineaments in west Tennessee

The analysis of earthquake fault lineament patterns within the alluvial valley of west Tennessee, which is often made difficult by the presence of unconsolidated sediments, is presently undertaken through a synergistic use of Landsat satellite images in conjunction with gravity anomaly data, which were quantitatively analyzed and compared by means of two-dimensional histograms and rose diagrams. The northeastern trend revealed for the lineaments corresponds to faults and is in keeping with reactivation of the Reelfoot rift near the Mississippi River; this suggests that deeper features, perhaps at earthquake focal depth, may extend to the land surface as Landsat-detectable lineaments.

Argialas, Demetre P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Multisensor monitoring of deforestation in the Guinea Highlands of West Africa

Multiple remote sensing systems were used to assess deforestation in the Guinea Highlands (Fouta Djallon) of West Africa. Sensor systems included: (1) historical (1953) and current (1989) aerial mapping photography; (2) current large-scale, small format (35mm) aerial photography; (3) current aerial video imagery; and (4) historical (1973) and recent (1985) LANDSAT MSS. Photographic and video data were manually interpreted and incorporated in a vector-based geographic information system (GIS). LANDSAT data were digitally classified. General results showed an increase in permanent and shifting agriculture over the past 35 years. This finding is consistent with hypothesized strategies to increase agricultural production through a shortening of the fallow period in areas of shifting cultivation. However, results also show that the total area of both permanent and shifting agriculture had expanded at the expense of natural vegetation and an increase in erosion. Although sequential LANDSAT MSS cannot be used in this region to accurately map land over, the location, direction and magnitude of changes can be detected in relative terms. Historical and current aerial photography can be used to map agricultural land use changes with some accuracy. Video imagery is useful as ancillary data for mapping vegetation. The most prudent approach to mapping deforestation would incorporate a multistage approach based on these sensors.

Gilruth, Peter T.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Transitional morphology in west Deuteronilus Mensae, Mars - Implications for modification of the lowland/upland boundary

The present examination of the west Deuteronilus Mensae region of Mars notes the changes in fretted terrain across the gradational boundary from uplands to lowlands to include a reduction of canyon wall slopes and depths, so that the fretted terrain north of the gradational boundary appears matted, but not obscured. The two process-classes that may account for the lateral overlap are the erosion of stratified upland terrain, and the deposition of plains materials onto the sloping upland margin and fretted terrain. A variety of plains-emplacement mechanisms is considered.

Parker, Timothy J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Interannual variability in phytoplankton pigment distribution during the spring transition along the west coast of North America

A 5-year time series of coastal zone color scanner imagery (1980-1983, 1986) is used to examine changes in the large-scale pattern of chlorophyll pigment concentration coincident with the spring transition in winds and currents along the west coast of North America. The data show strong interannual variability in the timing and spatial patterns of pigment concentration at the time of the transition event. Interannual variability in the response of pigment concentration to the spring transition appears to be a function of spatial and temporal variability in vertical nutrient flux induced by wind mixing and/or the upwelling initiated at the time of the transition. Interannual differences in the mixing regime are illustrated with a one-dimensional mixing model.

Thomas, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative. Volume 1: Science and Implementation Plan

The Science and Implementation Plan of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative (WAIS) is described. The goal of this initiative is the prediction of the future behavior of this ice sheet and an assessment of its potential to collapse, rapidly raising global sea level. The multidisciplinary nature of WAIS reflects the complexity of the polar ice sheet environment. The project builds upon past and current polar studies in many fields and meshes with future programs of both the U.S. and other countries. Important tasks in each discipline are described and a coordinated schedule by which the majority of these tasks can be accomplished in 5 years is presented. The companion report (Volume 2) contains seven discipline review papers on the state of knowledge of Antarctica and opinions on how that knowledge must be increased to attain the WAIS goal.

Bindschadler, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

PEM-West trajectory climatology and photochemical model sensitivity study prepared using retrospective meteorological data

Trajectory and photochemical model calculations based on retrospective meteorological data for the operations areas of the NASA Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM)-West mission are summarized. The trajectory climatology discussed here is intended to provide guidance for flight planning and initial data interpretation during the field phase of the expedition by indicating the most probable path air parcels are likely to take to reach various points in the area. The photochemical model calculations which are discussed indicate the sensitivity of the chemical environment to various initial chemical concentrations and to conditions along the trajectory. In the post-expedition analysis these calculations will be used to provide a climatological context for the meteorological conditions which are encountered in the field.

Merrill, John T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Improving regional health care in West Africa using current space systems and technology

This paper discusses the issues involved with establishing an integrated satellite health network in West Africa based on currently available technology. The system proposed makes use of a central national facility capable of transmitting and receiving voice/data and video signals from the entire country. Regional, field and local facilities provides timely epidemiologic information, sharing of medical expertise through telemedical consultations, enhances optimized resource distribution and builds a framework for telecommunications for the entire country.

Jemison, Mae C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The First Annual West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Science Workshop

A compilation of abstracts presented at the workshop are presented. The goal was to answer the question, what is the future behavior and potential for rapid collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)? The workshop was organized into four sessions corresponding to the four objectives identified as necessary to reach the WAIS workshop goal: history, current behavior, internal dynamics, and environmental interactions. Presentations were organized by their relevance to each objective, rather than by discipline.

Bindschadler, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Macrofossil records of West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat during the Holocene

Marine macrofossils in emerged beaches around Antarctica represent a geochemical framework for interpreting meltwater signatures associated with variations in the adjacent ice sheet margins during the last 10,000 years. In particular, mollusc species provide ideal experimental templates for assessing hydrochemical variations in Antarctic coastal marine environments because of their excellent preservation, high abundances, circumpolar distributions, and carbonate shells, which incorporate trace elements and stable isotopes. Modern samples of the bivalve Adamussium colbecki, which were collected across a depth gradient in the vicinity of a glacial meltwater stream in West McMurdo Sound, revealed shell trace element concentrations that were significantly higher above 10 meters because of their exposure to meltwater runoff. This meltwater signature also was reflected by the shell oxygen isotopic composition, which was in equilibrium with the ambient seawater, as demonstrated by the overlap between the predicted and actual O-(delta-18)sub w values. These modern samples provide analogs for interpreting the geochemical records in their fossils, which were based solely on molluscan fossils, complement the above geochemical data by suggesting that the rate of beach emergence fluctuated around Antarctica during the mid-Holocene. Paleoenvironmental analysis of macrofossils from emerged beaches represents a new direction in Antarctic research that can be used to assess changes in the margins of the ice sheets since the Last Glacial Maximum. The resolution of these analyses will be enhanced by collaborations that are developing with scientists who are conducting comparable studies in other coastal regions around the continent.

Berkman, Paul Arthur↗
NASA NTRS1993

Irregular oscillations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Model simulations of the West Antarctic ice sheet suggest that sporadic, perhaps chaotic, collapse (complete mobilization) of the ice sheet occurred throughout the past one million years. The irregular behavior is due to the slow equilibration time of the distribution of basal till, which lubricates ice-sheet motion. This nonlinear response means that predictions of future collapse of the ice sheet in response to global warming must take into account its past history, and in particular, whether the present basal till distribution predisposes the ice sheet towards rapid change.

Macayeal, Douglas R.↗