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It is shown that the mass-polarization shift in the energy levels of 1sNL Rydberg states of helium contains a term of second order, in the ratio of the electron mass to that of the nucleus, that is independent of L. The derivation of this new recoil term, based on the method of Drachman (1986), is very simple. It yields a correction of significance for the calculation of absolute ionization energies.
Precise knowledge of in-orbit sensitivity change is critical for the successful monitoring of stratospheric ozone by satellite-based remote sensors. This paper evaluates those aspects of the in-flight operation that influence the long-term stability of the upper stratospheric ozone measurements made by the Nimbus-7 SBUV spectroradiometer and chronicles methods used to maintain the long-term albedo calibration of this UV sensor. It is shown that the instrument's calibration for the ozone measurement, the albedo calibration, has been maintained over the first 6 yr of operation to an accuracy of approximately + or - 2 percent. The instrument's wavelength calibration is shown to drift linearly with time. The knowledge of the SBUV wavelength assignment is maintained to a 0.02-nm precision.
Observations of the low-mass binary X-ray source Cyg X-2 taken over a five-year period using instruments on OSO 8, HEAO 1, and Einstein are presented. Irregular changes in intensity of up to 60 percent on time scales ranging from minutes to days are seen. The source appears to have long-term low-luminosity states during which dips lasting about three days occur. When these long dips occur, they always appear at the same phase in the optically determined 9.8-day orbital period. There are three distinct types of short-term dips distinguished by differing correlations between spectral hardness and intensity.
Long term observations of relativistic electrons in the earth's outer magnetosphere show a strong solar cycle dependence with a prominent intensity maximum during the approach to solar minimum. This population therefore closely corresponds to the presence of high speed solar wind streams emanating from solar coronal holes. Using a numerical code, the precipitating electron energy deposition in the earth's upper and middle atmosphere were calculated. Observed events (typically persisting several days) would have maximum effect in the 40 to 60 km altitude range with peak energy depositions greater than 110 keV/cu cm-s. It is suggested that this electron population could play an important long term role in modulating lower D region ionization and middle atmospheric ozone chemistry. Methods are described of observing middle atmospheric and lower ionospheric effects of the electrons including balloon, riometer, and space-based ozone sensor systems. A particularly promising approach may involve the monitoring of global Schumann resonance modes which are sensitive to global changes in the properties of the earth-ionosphere cavity. Present work indicates that Schumann resonance properties are moderately correlated with the flux of precipitating relativistic electrons thus offering the possibility of continuously monitoring this aspect of magnetosphere-atmosphere coupling.
LeVeque and Yee recently investigated a one-dimensional scalar conservation law with stiff source terms modeling the reacting flow problems and discovered that for the very stiff case most of the current finite difference methods developed for non-reacting flows would produce wrong solutions when there is a propagating discontinuity. A numerical scheme, essentially nonoscillatory/subcell resolution - characteristic direction (ENO/SRCD), is proposed for solving conservation laws with stiff source terms. This scheme is a modification of Harten's ENO scheme with subcell resolution, ENO/SR. The locations of the discontinuities and the characteristic directions are essential in the design. Strang's time-splitting method is used and time evolutions are done by advancing along the characteristics. Numerical experiment using this scheme shows excellent results on the model problem of LeVeque and Yee. Comparisons of the results of ENO, ENO/SR, and ENO/SRCD are also presented.
The causality of the complex permittivity for a plasma model in which both loss and restoring terms are included is shown. Discussions as to what occurs in this causality property when the loss and restoring terms vanish are presented. Results are shown to agree with earlier work.
Long-term measurements of backscattered ultraviolet radiances, now being acquired by orbiting monochromators, will provide the basis for seeking trends in atmospheric ozone. The unambiguous detection of ozone trends on decadal time scales demands a data set that is essentially free of instrument drifts. Periodic flights of an ultraviolet monochromator on the space shuttle will provide an independent means of evaluating the long-term stability of identical instruments operating on free-flying satellites. A successful calibration of the free-flying sensors using the shuttle instrument places strict demands on calibration repeatability from one flight to the next. In addition, spatial and temporal variability in cloud cover could pose further complications in carrying out these in-flight calibrations.
In the present study of the behavior of typical numerical methods in the case of a model advection equation having a parameter-dependent source term, two approaches to the incorporation of the source terms are used: MacCormack-type predictor-corrector methods with flux limiters, and splitting methods in which the fluid dynamics and chemistry are handled in separate steps. The latter are found to perform slightly better. The model scalar equation is used to show that the incorrectness of the propagation speeds of discontinuities observed in the stiff case is due to the introduction of nonequilibrium values through numerical dissipation in the advection step.
Nine years of Nimbus-7 SBUV ozone mixing ratio data (October 1978-September 1987) have been used to analyze the distributions of the long-term average annual and semiannual ozone oscillations in the lower, middle, and upper stratosphere over the region 65 deg S to 65 deg N. It is shown that the derived harmonics are consistent with the result of earlier investigations based on limited sets of data. Year-to-year changes of amplitudes of the annual and semiannual variations are generally small except in the tropical midstratosphere (due to the effect of El Chichon) and the southern subpolar upper stratosphere. Analyses are also presented to show the vertical and seasonal distribution of the zonal ozone variations. It is shown that, for the long-term averaged data, wave 1 is larger during winter than summer and in winter larger in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere. The importance of photochemical and thermal/dynamic processes in modifying the time and zonal variations is discussed.
The long-term behavior of notched graphite-fiber-reinforced composite laminates with brittle or tough matrix materials and different fiber architectures was investigated using damage measurements and stiffness change, residual strength, and life data. The fiber/matrix materials included T300/5208, AS4/3501-6, AS4/1808, AS4/PEEK, and C3000/PMR-15 matrices and unidirectional tape and woven cloth fiber architectures. Results of damage evaluation and of residual strength measurements during the fatigue damage development showed that the long-term behavior and damage tolerance are controlled by a number of interacting factors such as the matrix toughness, fiber architecture, loading levels, and damage types and distributions.
Long-term variability in the total solar irradiance has been observed in the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) solar monitor measurements. The monitors have been used to measure the irradiance from the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA-9 and NOAA-10 spacecraft platforms since October 25, 1984, January 23, 1985, and October 22, 1986, respectively. Before September 1986, the ERBS irradiance values were found to be decreasing -0.03 percent per year. This period was marked by decreasing solar magnetic activity. Between September 1986 and mid-1989, the irradiance values increased approximately 0.1 percent. The latter period was marked by increasing solar activity which was associated with the initiations of the sunspot cycle number 22 and of a new 22-year Hale solar magnetic cycle. Therefore, long-term solar-irradiance variability appears to be correlated directly with solar activity. The maximum smoothed sunspot number occurred during September 1989, according to the Sunspot Index Data Center. Therefore, the recent irradiance increasing trend should disappear during early 1990 and change into a decreasing trend if the observed irradiance variability is correlated more so with the 11-year sunspot cycle than the 22-year Hale cycle. The ERBE irradiance values are presented and compared with sunspot activity for the 1984 to 1989 period. The ERBE values are compared with those available from the Nimbus-7 and Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft experiments.
The long term interdiffusional stability of tungsten fiber reinforced niobium alloy composites is addressed. The matrix alloy that is most promising for use as a high temperature structural material for reliable long-term space power generation is Nb1Zr. As an ancillary project to this program, efforts were made to assess the nature and kinetics of interphase reaction between selected beryllide intermetallics and nickel and iron aluminides.
Using electron count rate data at geostationary orbit, daily energy spectra, extending from 30 keV to 15 MeV, have been developed for trapped relativistic electrons at 6.6 earth radii. These spectra have been used to model the flux of these electrons into the atmosphere at 120 km. Energy deposition calculations permit daily sources of HO(x) and NO(y) to be calculated at auroral and subauroral latitudes due to relativistic electron precipitation (REP) for the period June 13, 1979, through June 4, 1988. Both short-term and long-term source variations are quite large over the period considered. The results suggest that a significant contribution to the anomalously large and unexplained global O3 declines between 1979 and 1985 has been made by the catalytic destruction of O3 by odd nitrogen in the lower stratosphere at mid to high latitudes. The results also provide evidence for a clear and strong linkage between solar variability, the state of the magnetosphere, and the chemical climatological state of the middle and lower atmosphere.
Methods developed for monitoring salt-marsh biomass remotedly are considered in the framework of NASA's Biospheric Research Program. Satellite-derived estimates of the aboveground biomass is considered, and it is noted that a long-term program for long-term remote monitoring is only practical if the relationship between biomass and spectral data remains essentially constant from year to year. Emphasis is placed on ground-based sampling, satellite measurements of mean marsh live aboveground biomass, the spatial distribution of biomass within the marsh, and changes in marsh hydrography as seen from a satellite. Linking aboveground and belowground biomass is discussed, as well as the problem with obtaining cloud-free images and measuring dead biomass.
The long-term trend and variability of the total column amount of atmospheric nitric acid (HNO3) have been investigated. The study was based on time series of infrared solar absorption spectra recorded at two sites, the International Scientific Station of the Jungfraujoch (ISSJ) in the Swiss Alps (altitude 3.6 km, latitude 46.5 N, longitude 8.0 E) and the National Solar Observatory McMath solar telescope facility on Kitt Peak (altitude 2.1 km, latitude 31.9 N, longitude 111.6 W), Arizona. Measurements of HNO3 absorption features recorded at Kitt Peak between 1980 and 1990 and measurements of the same features in ISSJ solar spectra obtained in June 1951 and June 1986 to June 1990 provide quantitative estimates of the long-term trend in the HNO3 total vertical column. It is found that the trend deduced for each site is equal to zero within the measurement uncertainty. The modern ISSJ measurements show that the fitted trend is (-0.16 + or - 0.50) percent/yr, 2 sigma, which indicates that there has been no detectable change in HNO3 total column over three decades. The Kitt Peak measurements show marked variability in the HNO3 total column, but no obvious seasonal cycle is observed.
A comparative evaluation is made of three methodologies with a view to that which offers the best approximate factorization error. While two of these methods are found to lead to more efficient algorithms in cases where factors which do not contain source terms can be diagonalized, the third method used generates the lowest approximate factorization error. This method may be preferred when the norms of source terms are large, and transient solutions are of interest.
High-fidelity color pictorial displays that incorporate depth cues in the display elements are currently available. Depth cuing applied to advanced head-down flight display concepts potentially enhances the pilot's situational awareness and improves task performance. Depth cues provided by stereopsis exhibit constraints that must be fully understood so depth cuing enhancements can be adequately realized and exploited. A fundamental issue (the goal of this investigation) is whether the use of head-down stereoscopic displays in flight applications degrade the real-world depth perception of pilots using such displays. Stereoacuity tests are used in this study as the measure of interest. Eight pilots flew repeated simulated landing approaches using both nonstereo and stereo 3-D head-down pathway-in-the-sky displays. At this decision height of each approach (where the pilot changes to an out-the-window view to obtain real-world visual references) the pilots changed to a stereoacuity test that used real objects. Statistical analysis of stereoacuity measures (data for a control condition of no exposure to any electronic flight display compared with data for changes from nonstereo and from stereo displays) reveals no significant differences for any of the conditions. Therefore, changing from short-term exposure to a head-down stereo display has no more effect on real-world relative depth perception than does changing from a nonstereo display. However, depth perception effects based on sized and distance judgements and on long-term exposure remain issues to be investigated.
In 1961, Sperling linearized and regularized the differential equations of motion of the two-body problem by changing the independent variable from time to fictitious time by Sundman's transformation (r = dt/ds) and by embedding the two-body energy integral and the Laplace vector. In 1968, Burdet developed a perturbation theory which was uniformly valid for all types of orbits using a variation of parameters approach on the elements which appeared in Sperling's equations for the two-body solution. In 1973, Bond and Hanssen improved Burdet's set of differential equations by embedding the total energy (which is a constant when the potential function is explicitly dependent upon time.) The Jacobian constant was used as an element to replace the total energy in a reformulation of the differential equations of motion. In the process, another element which is proportional to a component of the angular momentum was introduced. Recently trajectories computed during numerical studies of atmospheric entry from circular orbits and low thrust beginning in near-circular orbits exhibited numerical instability when solved by the method of Bond and Gottlieb (1989) for long time intervals. It was found that this instability was due to secular terms which appear on the righthand sides of the differential equations of some of the elements. In this paper, this instability is removed by the introduction of another vector integral called the delta integral (which replaces the Laplace Vector) and another scalar integral which removes the secular terms. The introduction of these integrals requires a new derivation of the differential equations for most of the elements. For this rederivation, the Lagrange method of variation of parameters is used, making the development more concise. Numerical examples of this improvement are presented.