Response of monkey biorhythms to changing photoperiods
Photoperiod variation effects on ambulatory primate Cebus albifrons deep body temperature /DBT/, locomotor activity /LMA/ phase relationships and DBT waveform
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Photoperiod variation effects on ambulatory primate Cebus albifrons deep body temperature /DBT/, locomotor activity /LMA/ phase relationships and DBT waveform
The EROS Cartography Program emphasizes the relationship between topographic activities of the U. S. Geological Service and those at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. Its objectives are to apply remote sensing systems on high altitude aircraft and orbiting satellites for topographic, planimetric, and thematic mapping of the earth's surface. The goal is to produce specially processed imagery from which useful information can be derived for a varity of disciplines associated with earth resources.
The findings of the Solar Physics working group of the space shuttle payload planning activity are presented. The areas to be investigated by the solar physics experiments are: (1) the production of mechanical energy in the subphotospheric layers and its transport and dissipation in the upper layers of the atmosphere, (2) the mass flux from the subphotospheric layers into the chromosphere and corona and beyond the solar wind, (3) solar activity and its relationship to magnetic fields, and (4) the production of solar flares. The approach to be followed in conducting the experiments and the equipment required are defined.
Statistical evaluation of death rates in the U.S.A. from heart diseases or stroke did not show any correlation with measured geomagnetic pulsations and thus do not support a claimed relationship between geomagnetic activity and mortality rates to low frequency fluctuations of the earth's magnetic field.
To investigate the relationship between solar activity and cosmic-ray modulation, time series of the nucleonic flux and of solar plages, sunspots, centimeter radio noise, and the brightness of the white-light corona at 1.1 and 1.5 solar radii from the center of sun are cross-correlated. Data pertain to the years 1964-1967 during the ascending phase of the current solar cycle. The amplitudes and phases of correlation functions for filtered and unfiltered indices are discussed. The existence of a superior solar index for relating solar activity to long-term modulation is not yet demonstrated conclusively, and the time lag of modulation is too poorly determined to permit its use in estimating the radius of the modulation region.
Maximizing industrial utilization of NASA's Space Transportation System (STS) requires the identification of potential STS users, determination of user needs, and initiation of integrated technical/market development efforts. With the involvement of potential end-users, R&D must be funded to demonstrate STS capabilities in technologies which have industrial potential. An integrated user development plan for NASA is discussed, emphasizing major activities and functional relationships in a user development program. Opportunities for private industry are noted. Results presented are those developed in support of a recent NASA contract intended as an initial step in the implementation by NASA of a user development program for the STS.
In an attempt to verify the relationship between solar activity and precipitation posited by Xanthakis (1973), annual precipitation records from 2,548 stations in both hemispheres from the period 1850 to 1973 were examined. The strong negative correlation between solar activity and rainfall in the 60 to 70 deg N latitude belt found by Xanthakis appeared much less distinct in the present study. In addition, a spectral analysis indicated no significant spectral peaks having periods between 6 and 20 years, a finding which cast further doubt on the solar cycle-precipitation correlation.
ULF power spectra of geomagnetic variations at synchronous orbit are calculated for August 1974 on the basis of data from the UCLA triaxial fluxgate magnetometer on ATS 6. Emphasis is placed on the examination of the background spectrum, and therefore the diurnal differences and all relationships in magnetic activity as reflected in the Kp index. The average power spectrum at synchronous orbit is also compared with reported observations from the interplanetary medium, the magnetosheath, the region inside the magnetosphere near the magnetopause, and the ground.
Photometric and spectroscopic data have been obtained for selected T Tauri members of the Taurus-Aurigae cloud and the Orion complex. A correlation between the intensity ratio of calcium and hydrogen emission lines and the infrared excess at 3.5 microns is found for these stars, which indicates a causal relationship between 'chromospheric activity' and emission processes in the circumstellar shells. It is argued that a comparison with properties of well-studied novae could lead to a better understanding of the physical structure of T Tauri stars.
A review of the research in minor constituents in the stratosphere and mesosphere, carried out between 1975 and 1978, is presented. Much of the theoretical research was done with the aid of one-dimensional models. Different aspects of these models are discussed. Measurements of the chlorofluoromethanes, hydrochloric acid, nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, and hydrogen oxide were conducted. It is noted that the hydrogen oxides are now assuming a larger role in stratospheric photochemistry than have been postulated before. The effect of water vapor and the hydrogen oxides on the overall chemistry of the stratosphere was investigated theoretically, along with the possible relationship between solar activity and atmospheric ozone. The mesosphere study included ozone, water vapor, nitric oxide, and odd nitrogen investigations.
Two recent observations have provided the basis for study of a relationship between solar activity and the formation of small particles in the earth's atmosphere; the discovery of annual increases of condensation nuclei (CN) at 30 km and the detection of sulfuric acid molecules in large negative ion clusters in the 25-35-km altitude region. These observations have led to formulation and testing of a model wherein CN are formed in a 'polar cloud chamber' supersaturated with sulfuric acid vapor and triggered by ionization associated with solar flare cosmic radiation. It is concluded that such a model provides a potential explanation of the observations.
Convincing evidence of solar total irradiance variability and its relationships with solar activity was provided by the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor I (ACRIM I) experiment on the NASA Solar Maximum Mission (SMM). SMM/ACRIM I, the first flight experiment dedicated to the task of solar irradiance monitoring, has produced a multiyear solar total irradiance data base with + or - 0.02% or better long term precision since its launch in February, 1980. While the climatological significance of the results will not be apparent until many more years of continuous data are acquired, the discovery of variability on solar active region time scales has provided new insight into the physics of solar activity in the early years of the mission.
Thermal oxidation of thick single-crystal 3C SiC layers on silicon substrates was studied. The oxidations were conducted in a wet O2 atmosphere at temperatures from 1000 to 1250 C for times from 0.1 to 50 h. Ellipsometry was used to determine the thickness and index of refraction of the oxide films. Auger analysis showed them to be homogeneous with near stoichiometric composition. The oxide growth followed a linear parabolic relationship with time. Activation energy of the parabolic rate constant was found to be 50 kcal/mole, while the linear rate constant was 74 kcal/mole. The latter value corresponds approximately to the energy required to break a Si-C bond. Electrical measurements show an effective density of 4-6 x 10 to the 11th per sq cm for fixed oxide charges at the oxide-carbide interface, and the dielectric strength of the oxide film is aproximately 6 x 10 to the 6th V/cm.
The relationship between thunderstorm activity during the summer months along coastal regions of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the dry sea breeze circulation was investigated. Satellite composites of thunderstorm activity for synoptically undisturbed conditions have been obtained for south Florida for a series of days in the summer of 1983. These data were catalogued into different low level synoptic flow regimes. Five synoptic flow regimes were found from the data. A three-dimensional mesoscale numerical model was used for each sysnoptic flow regime to quantitatively predict the location of enhanced thunderstorm activity. This model includes a parameterization of vegetation and soil moisture feedbacks as well as a sophisticated planetary boundary layer representation. Using the results of the satellite image composites, spatial and temporal characteristics of deep convective cloud patterns and their variation with synoptic flow are described. The results from the numerical model have provided explanations for the observed patterns.
Observations about the relationship between seismic activity and astronomical phenomena are discussed. First, after investigating the seismic data (magnitude 7.0 and over) with the method of superposed epochs it is found that world seismicity evidently increased after the occurring of novae with apparent magnitude brighter than 2.2. Second, a great many earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 and over occurred in the 13th month after two of the largest ground level solar cosmic ray events (GLEs). The causes of three high level phenomena of global seismic activity in 1918-1965 can be related to these, and it is suggested that according to the information of large GLE or bright nova predictions of the times of global intense seismic activity can be made.
A net solar torsional oscillation pattern is uncovered through a new analysis of Mount Wilson Doppler data. This pattern, found from zonal fits, without subtraction of a global fit, consists of a relative polar spin-up around solar maximum, alternating with a single traveling wave that runs from mid latitude to low latitude during the rest of the cycle. It is suggested that these are separate phenomena, and thus that the previously inferred pole-to-equator traveling pattern with wavenumber 2 per hemisphere may be a mathematical artifact. The new pattern retains aspects of the original pattern's relationship to magnetic activity, and agrees better with model predictions.
Parallel experiments have been performed in order to develop a comprehensive model for stress cracking (SCC) in structural materials. The central objective is to determine the relationship between the activity and selectivity of the microstructure of structural materials to their dissolution kinetics and experimentally measured SCC kinetics. Zinc was chosen as a prototype metal system. The SCC behavior of two oriented single-crystal disks of zinc in a chromic oxide/sodium sulfate solution (Palmerton solution) were determined. It was found that: (1) the dissolution rate is strongly (hkil)-dependent and proportional to the exposure time in the aggressive environment; and (2) a specific slip system is selectively active to dissolution under applied stress and this slip line controls crack initiation and propagation. As a precursor to potential microgrvity experiments, electrophoretic mobility measurements of zinc particles were obtained in solutions of sodium sulfate (0.0033 M) with concentrations of dissolved oxygen from 2 to 8 ppm. The equilibrium distribution of exposed oriented planes as well as their correlation will determine the particle mobility.
An important problem in large-scale atmospheric dynamics is understanding the evolution of these blocking systems. Inspection of a large number of cases of 500 mb cyclonic and anticyclonic blocking vortices during recent winter seasons reveals that the occurrence of these systems is preceded by high amplitude (but not necessarily stationary) planetary waves at 500 mb and by intense synoptic-scale surface cyclone activity. A possible relationship between the cyclones and planetary waves during block evolution is thus hypothesized. Detailed diagnostic study of blocking cases during January 1977, February 1978 and November 1980 discloses that the development of 500 mb anticyclonic blocking vortices is preceded in time by the intense surface cyclogenesis between 500 mb planetary scale troughs and ridges, whereas blocking cyclonic vortices form following cyclogenesis near the axes of 500 mb troughs. A positive feedback between the cyclone and planetary waves is thus implied. The 500 mb height changes accompanying the above processes were analyzed in terms of quasi-geostrophic potential vorticity. During anticyclonic vortex development, there are spatially and temporally persistent calculated quasi-geostrophic height rises due to anticyclonic potential vorticity advections occurring near the cyclone track. Similarly, during cyclonic vortex development, there are spatially and temporally persistent calculated quasi-geostrophic height falls due to cyclonic potential vorticity advections occurring near the cyclone track.