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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Mass Transport in Global Geophysical Fluids

Mass transports occurring in the atmosphere-hydrosphere-solid Earth-core system (the "global geophysical fluids") are important geophysical phenomena. They occur on all temporal and spatial scales. Examples include air mass and ocean circulations, tides, hydrological water redistribution, mantle processes such as post-glacial rebound, earthquakes and tectonic motions, and core geodynamo activities. With only a few exceptions on the Earth surface, the temporal history and spatial pattern of such mass transport are often not amenable to direct observations. Space geodesy techniques, however, have the capability of monitoring certain direct consequences of the mass transport, including Earth's rotation variations, gravitational field variations, and the geocenter motion. These techniques include the very-long-baseline interferometry, satellite laser ranging and Doppler tracking, and the Global Positioning System, all entail global observational networks. While considerable advances have been made in observing and understanding of the dynamics of Earth's rotation, only the lowest-degree gravitational variations have been observed and limited knowledge of geocenter motion obtained. New space missions, projects and initiatives promise to further improve the measurements and hence our knowledge about the global mass transports. The latter contributes to our understanding and modeling capability of the geophysical processes that produce and regulate the mass transports, as well as the solid Earth's response to such changes in constraining the modeling of Earth's mechanical properties.

Chao, B. F.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Space Geodesy Monitoring Mass Transport in Global Geophysical Fluids

Mass transports occurring in the atmosphere-hydrosphere-cryosphere-solid Earth-core system (the 'global geophysical fluids') are important geophysical phenomena. They occur on all temporal and spatial scales. Examples include air mass and ocean circulations, oceanic and solid tides, hydrological water and idsnow redistribution, mantle processes such as post-glacial rebound, earthquakes and tectonic motions, and core geodynamo activities. The temporal history and spatial pattern of such mass transport are often not amenable to direct observations. Space geodesy techniques, however, have proven to be an effective tool in monitorihg certain direct consequences of the mass transport, including Earth's rotation variations, gravitational field variations, and the geocenter motion. Considerable advances have been made in recent years in observing and understanding of these geodynamic effects. This paper will use several prominent examples to illustrate the triumphs in research over the past years under a 'Moore's law' in space geodesy. New space missions and projects promise to further advance our knowledge about the global mass transports. The latter contributes to our understanding of the geophysical processes that produce and regulate the mass transports, as well as of the solid Earth's response to such changes in terms of Earth's mechanical properties.

Chao, Benjamin F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A high temperature thermal diffusivity determination procedure for solids and liquids

A new method for measuring the thermal diffusivity of materials at high temperatures is presented. The method is applicable to solids on Earth, and to liquids in the reduced gravity environment of space. It is especially suited to levitated liquid metals at elevated temperatures where thermal diffusivity data is not available. The method is applied in two parts, such that lumped analysis is valid in the first part, and Fourier's law of conduction is valid in the second. In both parts, the spherical specimen is assumed to have been heated to a desired temperature and cooled. An inverse conduction problem is then formulated and solved using Laplace transformation techniques. Using this solution, sample sizes, and experimentally obtained surface temperature history, the thermal diffusivity is determined by minimizing a function that satisifies the heat balance at the surface. Minimization is performed using a modified quasilinearization algorithm. Accuracy is very sensitive to error in the temperature data and increases with better curve fits to the temperature data. An error analysis is also performed, and the effect of errors in the various parameters on the evaluated thermal diffusivity is determined. An experimental study for solids on Earth is suggested, before development for implementation in space.

Bayazitoglu, Yildiz↗
NASA NTRS1974

Temperatures inside Mars - Is the core liquid or solid

If internal heating in the mantle of Mars is similar to that in the earth, solid-state convection is the mechanism preventing large scale melting of the Martian mantle. Convection is efficient enough in transporting heat to preclude the existence of a liquid core and hence a dynamo-driven intrinsic magnetic field, if the viscosity of mantle material is lower than 10 to the 22nd to 10 to the 23rd sq cm/sec at temperatures in excess of about 1500 C. The Martian lithosphere is probably several hundred kilometers thick, intermediate in size between that of the earth and Moon.

Young, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures Studied on the Space Shuttle

Ostwald ripening, or coarsening, is a process in which large particles in a two-phase mixture grow at the expense of small particles. It is a ubiquitous natural phenomena occurring in the late stages of virtually all phase separation processes. In addition, a large number of commercially important alloys undergo coarsening because they are composed of particles embedded in a matrix. Many of them, such as high-temperature superalloys used for turbine blade materials and low-temperature aluminum alloys, coarsen in the solid state. In addition, many alloys, such as the tungsten-heavy metal systems, coarsen in the solid-liquid state during liquid phase sintering. Numerous theories have been proposed that predict the rate at which the coarsening process occurs and the shape of the particle size distribution. Unfortunately, these theories have never been tested using a system that satisfies all the assumptions of the theory. In an effort to test these theories, NASA studied the coarsening process in a solid-liquid mixture composed of solid tin particles in a liquid lead-tin matrix. On Earth, the solid tin particles float to the surface of the sample, like ice in water. In contrast, in a microgravity environment this does not occur. The microstructures in the ground- and space-processed samples (see the photos) show clearly the effects of gravity on the coarsening process. The STS-83-processed sample (right image) shows nearly spherical uniformly dispersed solid tin particles. In contrast, the identically processed, ground-based sample (left image) shows significant density-driven, nonspherical particles, and because of the higher effective solid volume fraction, a larger particle size after the same coarsening time. The "Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures" (CSLM) experiment was conducted in the Middeck Glovebox facility (MGBX) flown aboard the shuttle in the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1/1R) on STS-83/94. The primary objective of CSLM is to measure the temporal evolution of the solid particles during coarsening.

Caruso, John J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Evolution of the lunar orbit with temperature- and frequency-dependent dissipation

The importance of the thermal evolution of the earth and the moon for the dynamical history of the earth-moon system is investigated using a model of coupled thermal-dynamical evolution of this system, in which the sun's gravity is ignored and only the gravitational interaction of the earth-moon system is included, along with oceanic dissipation. Results suggest that most of the lunar angular momentum was received from the earth via solid tides within the first few 100 million years after the formation of the earth and the moon, indicating that oceanic dissipation plays a minor role. It is suggested that solid tides, rather than ocean tides, might be most important to the lunar-orbit evolution.

Ross, M. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Solid state instrumentation concepts for earth resource observation

Late in 1980, specifications were prepared for detail design definition of a six band solid state multispectral instrument having three visible (VIS), one near infrared (NIR), and two short wave infrared (SWIR) bands. This instrument concept, known as the Multispectral Linear Array (MLA), also offered increased spatial resolution, on board gain and offset correction, and additional operational modes which would allow for cross track and stereoscopic viewing as well as a multialtitude operational capability. A description is presented of a summary of some of the salient features of four different MLA design concepts, as developed by four American companies. The designs ranged from the use of multiple refractive telescopes utilizing three groups of focal plane detectors electronic correlation processing for achieving spatial registration, and incorporating palladium silicide (PdSi) SWIR detectors, to a four-mirror all-reflective telecentric system utilizing a beam splitter for spatial registration.

Richard, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Solid Metal-Liquid Metal Partitioning of Pt, Re, and Os: The Effect of Carbon

If the measured Os isotopic ratios are a signature from the Earth's outer core, understanding them is a unique opportunity to understand more about the Earth's core. The distribution of elements between the Earth's solid inner core and the liquid outer core will depend on their solid metal-liquid metal partition coefficients (D). Solid metal-liquid metal partitioning data are loosely consistent with the needed fractionations between Re-Os and Pt-Os to account for the Os isotopic signature; D(Os) is greater than both D(Re) and D(Pt), and the magnitude of the partition coefficients are similar to those needed [e.g. 7, 8]. The pressure in the core, the composition of the core, and the crystal structure of the solid Fe alloy in the inner core may influence the specific values of the partition coefficients. It may thus be possible to use these sensitivities of the partition coefficients to gain insight into the conditions within the Earth's core. In this abstract, we focus on the compositional influence of C, a potential component of the light element in the Earth's core [9], on the partitioning behaviors of Pt, Re, and Os.

Chabot, N. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Effects of dynamic long-period ocean tides on changes in earth's rotation rate

As a generalization of the zonal response coefficient first introduced by Agnew and Farrell (1978), the zonal response function kappa of the solid earth-ocean system is defined as the ratio, in the frequency domain, of the tidal change in earth's rotation rate to the tide-generating potential. Amplitudes and phases of kappa for the monthly, fortnightly, and nine-day lunar tides are estimated from 2 1/2 years of VLBI UT1 observations, corrected for atmospheric angular momentum effects using NMC wind and pressure series. Using the dynamic ocean tide model of Dickman (1988, 1989), amplitudes and phases of kappa for an elastic earth-ocean system are predicted. The predictions confirm earlier results which found that dynamic effects of the longer-period ocean tides reduce the amplitude of kappa by about 1 percent.

Nam, Young↗
NASA NTRS1981

Basic investigation into the production of oxygen in a solid electrolyte process

Mission analyses indicated that by extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, which consists primarily of carbon dioxide, the launch mass of a spacecraft can be reduced by such an amount that samples from the planet can be returned to earth. The solid electrolyte process for producing O2 from CO2 was investigated. A model of the thermodynamic and electrochemical processes in the electrolyte cell was postulated, thereby establishing the parameters influencing the effectiveness and efficiency of an in situ O2 production system. The major operating parameters were investigated over a wide range of temperature and pressure. Operating limits imposed by the solid electrolyte material, 8% yttria stabilized zirconia, were determined as a function of the operating temperature.

Richter, R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Enabling Multiple Small Satellite Near-Earth Asteroid Flyby Missions Using Small Solid Rocket Kick Stages with Rideshare Opportunities

The large number of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA’s) provide almost daily launch opportunities to send small rideshare spacecraft to explore our nearest neighbors. Most asteroid missions require large spacecraft with a dedicated launch service. The large delta-V required for an interplanetary trajectory would typically preclude a NEA flyby rideshare unless it was going to the same target body as the primary mission. In this paper, a low-cost, compact, high energy kick stage with 3-axissteeringis proposed that would enable this mission type. This kick stage is compatible with an ESPA ring so that multiple NEA missions can be deployed as rideshares on a single launch.

William W Benson↗
NASA NTRS1994

Measuring temporal gravitational variations using SLR data

Redistribution of mass within the Earth system changes its gravitational field, and thus changes the orbits of Earth satellites. While these variations are small, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) to precise geodetic satellites such as Lageos-1, Lageos-2, Starlette, Ajisai, and Stella can detect these changes at their broadest spatial scales (currently greater than 10,000 km). The satellites sense only the combined variation in the solid Earth-ocean-atmosphere system; however, modeling of these different components has led to detection of long-wavelength variations in the distribution of atmospheric mass, changes in the amplitudes of atmospheric and oceanic tides, and secular variations caused by the post-glacial adjustment of the Earth's crust. The unambiguous detection of ocean mass redistribution by SLR has not been verified due largely to inadequacies in current ocean models. Great progress has been made in recent years in the determination of luni-solar tides and the braking they induce in the Earth-Moon-Sun system (leading to secular changes in the length-to-day and lengthening of the lunar orbit period) using a wide variety of techniques including ocean tide gauges, satellite altimetry, Lunar Laser Ranging, and near-Earth satellite orbit modeling. Recent investigations of the more complex and less predictable non-tidal temporal variations in the gravity field have generally proceeded along two fronts: 1) the determination of long-wavelength variations in the gravity field through the changing perturbations seen in the orbits of near-Earth satellites, and 2) the prediction of temporal variations in gravity using geophysical, atmospheric, and oceanic models. A convergence of these efforts is sought to better understand the source of observed changes in the Earth's gravitational field.

Nerem, Robert S.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Evolution of the NISAR Feed Antenna Design due to Environmental Requirements

NISAR (NASA ISRO SAR, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Indian Space Research Organization, Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an Earth science project currently in its final development phases at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and at ISRO. Due for launch in 2023 it will assess how our planet changes over time by measuring differences in the Earth’s solid surface due to factors like climate change, movement and melting of glaciers, earthquakes, land-slides, deforestation, agriculture and others. The enabling instrument for this mission is a dual band radar (L-Band and S-Band) that feeds a 12m deployable mesh reflector. Given the extreme accuracy needed to perform these measurements from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) some of the most stringent requirements were pushed onto the antenna subsystem to control phase and gain stability over time. In this paper we describe how environmental requirements affected the antenna design and what techniques were used to meet these requirements.

Vacchione, Joseph D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The effects of the solid inner core and nonhydrostatic structure on the earth's forced nutations and earth tides

This paper computes the effects of the solid inner core (IC) on the forced nutations and earth tides, and on certain of the earth's rotational normal modes. The theoretical results are extended to include the effects of a solid IC and of nonhydrostatic structure. The presence of the IC is responsible for a new, almost diurnal, prograde normal mode which involves a relative rotation between the IC and fluid outer core about an equatorial axis. It is shown that the small size of the IC's effects on both nutations and tides is a consequence of the fact that the IC's moments of inertia are less than 1/1000 of the entire earth's.

De Vries, Dan↗
NASA NTRS2006

Applying Parallel Adaptive Methods with GeoFEST/PYRAMID to Simulate Earth Surface Crustal Dynamics

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) in simulating the Crustal Dynamics of Earth's Surface. AMR simultaneously improves solution quality, time to solution, and computer memory requirements when compared to generating/running on a globally fine mesh. The use of AMR in simulating the dynamics of the Earth's Surface is spurred by future proposed NASA missions, such as InSAR for Earth surface deformation and other measurements. These missions will require support for large-scale adaptive numerical methods using AMR to model observations. AMR was chosen because it has been successful in computation fluid dynamics for predictive simulation of complex flows around complex structures.

GeoFEST↗
NASA NTRS1987

Analysis of quasi-hybrid solid rocket booster concepts for advanced earth-to-orbit vehicles

A study was conducted to assess the feasibility of quasi-hybrid solid rocket boosters for advanced Earth-to-orbit vehicles. Thermochemical calculations were conducted to determine the effect of liquid hydrogen addition, solids composition change plus liquid hydrogen addition, and the addition of an aluminum/liquid hydrogen slurry on the theoretical performance of a PBAN solid propellant rocket. The space shuttle solid rocket booster was used as a reference point. All three quasi-hybrid systems theoretically offer higher specific impulse when compared with the space shuttle solid rocket boosters. However, based on operational and safety considerations, the quasi-hybrid rocket is not a practical choice for near-term Earth-to-orbit booster applications. Safety and technology issues pertinent to quasi-hybrid rocket systems are discussed.

Zurawski, Robert L.↗