Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Jacobs, S. S..
A brief review is presented of recent observations of surface accumulation on Antarctica. It is concluded that it is as yet too early to say with confidence whether the ice sheet has recently been growing or shrinking, given the variability in accumulation pattern and the larger uncertainties in melting and calving.
The spatial and temporal variability of Antarctic sea ice concentrations on the Ross Sea continental shelf have been investigated in relation to oceanic and atmospheric forcing. Sea ice data were derived from Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) brightness temperatures from 1979-1986. Ice cover over the shelf was persistently lower than above the adjacent deep ocean, averaging 86 percent during winter with little month-to-month of interannual variability. The large spring Ross Sea polynya on the western shelf results in a longer period of summer insolation, greater surface layer heat storage, and later ice formation in that region the following autumn.
Synthesis of a metal-stabilized halophosphazene compound with a density of 3 gm/cc at 137 degrees F serves as an improved stabilizer fluid for floated gyros. Gyro sensitivity can be increased with a fluid of higher density which could support a heavier float.