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At least 343 records · Page 19

Energy Exascale Earth System Model v2.0

First release of version 2 of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model. The atmosphere component remains EAM. Major changes since version 1 include: all column-physics parameterizations are computed on a separate grid that has approximately half the number of points of the dynamics grid, a new nonhydrostatic dynamical core (running in hydrostatic mode) with semi-Lagrangian tracer transport, CLUBB updated from v1 to v2, a new convective trigger (dCAPE/ULL) based on the dynamic Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) (dCAPE) and the Unrestricted Launch Level (ULL) concepts is used in ZM. minimum cloud droplet number changed, gravity wave drag energy conservation fixed and new tunings used, dust emission size distribution changed to emit more coarse dust particles The land component is still ELM. Major changes since version 1 include: using SNICAR-AD for radiation in snow to match the sea-ice model and fixing bugs in snow compaction and water state calculation. The ocean component remains MPAS-ocean. Major change since version 1 include: Redi isopycnal mixing has been updated, tested, and tuned in combination with the Gent-McWilliams parameterization, a sign error was fixed in the 3rd-order flux routines, the mesh used in low-resolution coupled cases was modified and the time steps adjusted, new regionally refined meshes were created, one focused on North America and another on the Southern Ocean, including ice shelf cavities. The sea-ice component remains MPAS-seaice. Major changes since version 1 include: A new heat- and freshwater-conserving coupling of frazil ice, turning off of SSH filtering, addition of SNICAR-AD and snow grain aging. The land-ice component remains MPAS-Albany-landIce (MALI) and is a static ice sheet. There is more out-of-the-box support for cryosphere configurations including the new regionally refined configuration around Antarctica with ice shelf cavities. The river model is MOSART. The half-degree river mesh was redone so it no longer treats Black and Caspian seas as ocean. The coupler remains cpl7/MCT. Major changes since version 1 include handling of ice shelf melt fluxes (heat / freshwater exchange with the ocean), and data icebergs. All components allow regional refinement of their meshes and two separate example of refinement, one in and around North America and one around Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, are provided.

E3SM Project, DOE↗

A modular apparatus for use in high-precision measurements of parity violation in polarized eV neutron transmission

We describe a modular apparatus for use in parity-violation measurements in epithermal neutron–nucleus resonances with high instantaneous neutron fluxes at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This apparatus is designed to conduct high-precision measurements of the parity-odd transmission asymmetry of longitudinally polarized neutrons through targets containing nuclei with p-wave neutron–nucleus resonances in the 0.1–10 eV energy regime and to accommodate a future search for time reversal violation in polarized neutron transmission through polarized nuclear targets. The apparatus consists of an adjustable neutron and gamma collimation system, a 3 He- 4 He ion chamber neutron flux monitor, two identical cryostats for target cooling, an adiabatic eV-neutron spin flipper, a near-unit efficiency 6 Li- 7 Li scintillation detector operated in current mode, a flexible CAEN data acquisition system, and a neutron spin filter based on spin-exchange optical pumping of 3 He gas. We describe the features of the apparatus design devoted to the suppression of systematic errors in parity-odd asymmetry measurements. We describe the configuration of the apparatus used to conduct a precision measurement of parity violation at the 0.7 eV p-wave resonance in 139 La which employs two identical 139 La targets, one to polarize the beam on the p-wave resonance using the weak interaction and one to analyze the polarization.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

AutoSourceID-Classifier: Star-galaxy classification using a convolutional neural network with spatial information

Aims.Traditional star-galaxy classification techniques often rely on feature estimation from catalogs, a process susceptible to introducing inaccuracies, thereby potentially jeopardizing the classification’s reliability. Certain galaxies, especially those not manifesting as extended sources, can be misclassified when their shape parameters and flux solely drive the inference. We aim to create a robust and accurate classification network for identifying stars and galaxies directly from astronomical images. Methods.The AutoSourceID-Classifier (ASID-C) algorithm developed for this work uses 32x32 pixel single filter band source cutouts generated by the previously developed AutoSourceID-Light (ASID-L) code. By leveraging convolutional neural networks (CNN) and additional information about the source position within the full-field image, ASID-C aims to accurately classify all stars and galaxies within a survey. Subsequently, we employed a modified Platt scaling calibration for the output of the CNN, ensuring that the derived probabilities were effectively calibrated, delivering precise and reliable results. Results.We show that ASID-C, trained on MeerLICHT telescope images and using the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS) morphological classification, is a robust classifier and outperforms similar codes such as SourceExtractor. To facilitate a rigorous comparison, we also trained an eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model on tabular features extracted by SourceExtractor. While this XGBoost model approaches ASID-C in performance metrics, it does not offer the computational efficiency and reduced error propagation inherent in ASID-C’s direct image-based classification approach. ASID-C excels in low signal-to-noise ratio and crowded scenarios, potentially aiding in transient host identification and advancing deep-sky astronomy.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Numerical and Experimental Examination of Turbulent Mixing of a Heated Jet in Crossflow

The injection of fully-developed turbulent heated air from a tube into a cooler turbulent duct flow is examined, as an analogy to film cooled turbine blades. A LES numerical model is developed and applied in which tube and duct turbulence inflow effects are emulated using a divergence-free synthetic eddy method (SEM). For direct comparison, a hot-wire experiment is conducted within the ERB test cell SW-6 at NASA Glenn Research Center. Results related to velocity, temperature, and heat flux are obtained numerically and experimentally for a blowing ratio of 1.2, involving a 36 K temperature difference. The relative effect on the solutions of tube and duct inflow turbulence is systematically evaluated. The impact of inherent low-pass filtering of temperature measurements and probe wire offset on the experimental results are addressed.

Large Eddy Simulation↗

NASA Tech Briefs, August 2009

Topics covered include: Aligning a Receiving Antenna Array to Reduce Interference; Collecting Ground Samples for Balloon-Borne Instruments; Tethered Pyrotechnic Apparatus for Acquiring a Ground Sample; Enhanced Video-Oculography System; Joint Carrier-Phase Synchronization and LDPC Decoding; Dual-Polarization, Sideband-Separating, Balanced Receiver for 1.5 THz Modular Battery Charge Controller; Efficient Multiplexer FPGA Block Structures Based on G4FETs; VLSI Microsystem for Rapid Bioinformatic Pattern Recognition; Low-Noise Amplifier for 100 to 180 GHz; Improved Fabrication of Ceramic Matrix Composite/Foam Core Integrated Structures; Inert Welding/Brazing Gas Filters and Dryers; Fabricating Copper Nanotubes by Electrodeposition; Reducing Aerodynamic Drag on Empty Open Cargo Vehicles; Rotary Percussive Auto-Gopher for Deep Drilling and Sampling; More About Reconfigurable Exploratory Robotic Vehicles; Thermostatic Valves Containing Silicone-Oil Actuators; Improving Heat Flux Performance of Flat Surface in Spray-Cooling Systems; Treating Fibrous Insulation to Reduce Thermal Conductivity; Silica-Aerogel Composites Opacified with La(sub0.7)Sr(sub0.3)MnO3; Cyclic Oxidation Behavior of CuCrAl Cold-Sprayed Coatings for Reusable Launch Vehicles; Ceramic Fiber Structures for Cryogenic Load-Bearing Applications; Elastomer Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes; Biologically Inspired Purification and Dispersion of SWCNTs; A Technique for Adjusting Eigenfrequencies of WGM Resonators; Low-Pressure, Field-Ionizing Mass Spectrometer; Modifying Operating Cycles to Increase Stability in a LITS; Chamber for Simulating Martian and Terrestrial Environments; Algorithm for Detecting a Bright Spot in an Image; Extreme Programming: Maestro Style; Adaptive Behavior for Mobile Robots; Protocol for Communication Networking for Formation Flying; Planning Complex Sequences Using Compressed Representations; and Self-Supervised Learning of Terrain Traversability from Proprioceptive Sensors.

Source record↗

Testing of Synthetic Biological Membranes for Forward Osmosis Applications

Commercially available forward osmosis membranes have been extensively tested for human space flight wastewater treatment. Despite the improvements achieved in the last decades, there is still a challenge to produce reliable membranes with anti-fouling properties, chemical resistance, and high flux and selectivity. Synthetic biological membranes that mimic the ones present in nature, which underwent millions of years of evolution, represent a potential solution for further development and progress in membrane technology. Biomimetic forward osmosis membranes based on a polymeric support filter and coated with surfactant multilayers have been engineered to investigate how different manufacturing processes impact the performance and structure of the membrane. However, initial results of the first generation prototype membranes tests reveal a high scatter in the data, due to the current testing apparatus set up. The testing apparatus has been upgraded to improve data collection, reduce errors, and to allow higher control of the testing process.

Forward osmosis↗

Time Series of Magnetic Field Parameters Extracted from Merged Space-Weather MDI/HMI Active Region Patches as Potential Tool for Solar Flare Forecasting

Space-Weather MDI Active Region Patches (SMARPs) and Space-Weather HMI Active Region Patches (SHARPs) are two recently developed data products, which have been used for solar flare prediction studies. The present work is an effort to expand the application of SMARP and SHARP summary heliomagnetic parameters to the forecasting of solar flares. A new data product was derived by filtering, rescaling, and merging the SMARP and SHARP summary parameter data series, which were further converted into two-dimensional arrays by selecting time slices corresponding to R-value maxima, where R-value is a measure of the unsigned magnetic flux near polarity inversion lines. The resulting combined MDI-HMI time series currently span the period between April 4, 1996 and December 13, 2022, and can be extended to a more recent date, providing an opportunity to correlate and compare them with other solar activity parameters, such as the daily solar flare index, which is computed as a sum of the product of GOES X-ray flare magnitude and flare duration, for all M- and X-class flares during a day. Preliminary results demonstrate a significant overall correlation, with Pearson coefficients between 0.339 and 0.627. In addition, an oscillating pattern is seen in the daily-averaged sliding-window correlation coefficient. Time-lagged cross-correlation indicates that a leader-follower dynamic exists in some parameters, especially R-value, where they lead the flare index by at least several days, which may have potential for further application in space weather forecasting.

Heliophysics↗

Penetrating power in radiography of high-Z materials as a function of bremsstrahlung spectrum endpoint energy

A modified radiographer’s equation is derived and fitted to simulation data so as to describe the increase in radiographic signal that comes with increasing bremsstrahlung spectrum endpoint energy. The dose contained in the incident spectrum follows an E28 power law, as often cited. However, the direct flux penetrating through a heavy, high-Z material, obeys a weaker scaling due to hardening of the radiation. The resultant expression depends on the thickness of the scene being radiographed, the composition of high-Z materials in the scene, and any filtering by other low-Z materials, such as Al or Be. The expression exhibits two asymptotic limits: a ‘thick’ limit at which radiation is extremely hardened and only a weak benefit to increasing endpoint energy is observed (also the most attenuating limit and therefore of dubious physical significance), and a ‘thin’ limit at which a minimum of high-Z material is present and the penetrating dose exhibits the 2.8 power scaling inherent in the incident spectrum. Behavior for intermediate thicknesses of W and Al are obtained by modeling incident and attenuated dose using the DOSECALC code and the Bayes’ Inference Engine (BIE). These data guide the optimization of MeV radiography over a wide range of energies where pair production plays a significant role in photon scattering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Compact solar radiation simulator for the 400 to 1800 nm spectral region

A solar radiation simulator operating over the extended spectral range from 400 to 1800 nm is described. A source of Lambertian radiation over an extended spectral range similar to the extraterrestrial solar spectrum was required to test and calibrate the solar flux radiometer flown on the Pioneer-Venus mission. Available units did not feature the Lambertian target nor the extended spectral range. A source was designed and built using a tungsten-halogen lamp and a xenon arc, along with interference and absorption filters, and a BaSO4-coated integrating sphere. Readily available parts were used wherever possible. The spectral radiance of the test area and the calibration method are presented. The source can also be used with a quasi-collimated output beam of moderate uniformity.

Palmer, J. M.↗

Cosmic Ray Induced Degradation in X-Ray Detectors On Board the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Spacecraft

The Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission is the first in NASA's new Discovery Program to explore the solar system. Launched in February 1996, the NEAR spacecraft will take a long cruise flight arriving at the asteroid 433 Eros in January 1999 for a one year orbiting survey operation. This long exposure to the space environment has already proven to be an additional complication for the x-ray spectrometer. The asteroid pointing detectors for the x-ray spectrometer are three gas-filled proportional counters with resolving power in the range of 1 keV. Therefore, to resolve the important but closely spaced magnesium, aluminum and silicon k alpha lines( 1.255, 1.487, 1.739 keV respectively), magnesium and aluminum balanced filters are used on two of the detectors. The x-ray florescence from the surface of Eros is stimulated by solar x-rays. A proportional counter and a silicon PIN detector are used to monitor the solar incident x-ray flux. The proportional counters are single wire gas filled beryllium lined steel tubes operating at about 1100 volt. The 25 cm(exp 2) optical window is one mil. thick beryllium. To define the detector's active region, two boron nitride disks were incorporated in the tube just outside window area. It appears from the space flight data that the space environment is creating a charge on these boron nitride disks which ultimately distorts the tube gain and resolution. This broadening of the photo peak makes it more difficult to identify weak peaks and so degrades the statistical accuracy for some very important elements such as sulfur, calcium and iron (2.307, 3.690, 6.403 keV respectively). If the broadening is severe enough in the low energy region, counts will be lost as the photo peak spreads below the lower level discriminator (0.7 keV).

Floyd, S. R.↗

Morphological responses of wheat to blue light

Blue light significantly increased tillering in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants grown at the same photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). Plants were grown under two levels of blue light (400-500 nm) in a controlled environment with continuous irradiation. Plants received either 50 micromoles m-2 s-1 of blue light or 2 micromoles m-2 s-1 blue light from filtered metal halide lamps at a total irradiance of 200 micromoles m-2 s-1 PPF (400-700 nm). Plants tillered an average of 25% more under the higher level of blue light. Blue light also caused a small, but consistent, increase in main culm development, measured as Haun stage. Leaf length was reduced by higher levels of blue light, while plant dry-mass was not significantly affected by blue light. Applying the principle of equivalent light action, the results suggest that tillering and leaf elongation are mediated by the blue-UV light receptor(s) because phytochrome photoequilibrium for each treatment were nearly identical.

NASA Program CELSS↗

Thermal Emission from the Earth-sized Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b using JWST

The TRAPPIST-1 system is remarkable for its seven planets that are similar in size, mass, density, and stellar heating to the rocky planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in our own Solar System [1]. All TRAPPIST-1 planets have been observed with the transmission spectroscopy technique using the Hubble or Spitzer Space Telescopes, but no atmospheric features have been detected or strongly constrained [2–5]. TRAPPIST-1 b is the closest planet to the system’s M dwarf star, and it receives 4 times as much irradiation as Earth receives from the Sun. This relatively large amount of stellar heating suggests that its thermal emission may be measurable. Here we present photometric secondary eclipse observations of the Earth-sized TRAPPIST1 b exoplanet using the F1500W filter of the MIRI instrument on JWST. We detect the secondary eclipse in each of five separate observations with 8.7-sigma confidence when all data are combined. These measurements are most consistent with re-radiation of the TRAPPIST-1 star’s incident flux from only the dayside hemisphere of the planet. The most straightforward interpretation is that there is little or no planetary atmosphere redistributing radiation from the host star and also no detectable atmospheric absorption from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) or other species.

Thermal Emission↗

Design and application of electromechanical actuators for deep space missions

This progress report documents research and development efforts performed from August 16, 1993 through February 15, 1994 on NASA Grant NAG8-240, 'Design and Application of Electromechanical Actuators for Deep Space Missions.' Following the executive summary are four report sections: Motor Selection, Tests Stand Development, Health Monitoring and Fault Management, and Experiment Planning. Three specific motor types have been considered as prime movers for TVC EMA applications: the brushless dc motor, the permanent magnet synchronous motor, and the induction motor. The fundamental finding was that, in general, the primary performance issues were energy efficiency and thermal dissipation (rotor heating). In terms of all other issues, the three motor types were found to compare quite equally. Among the design changes made to the test stand since the last progress report is the addition of more mounting holes in the side beams. These additional holes allow the movable end beam to be attached in a greater number of positions than previously. With this change the movable end beam can move from full forward to full back in three inch increments. Specific mathematical details on the approach that have been employed for health monitoring and fault management (HMFM) have been reported previously. This approach is based on and adaptive Kalman filter strategy. In general, a bank of filters can be implemented for each primary fault type. Presently under consideration for the brushless dc machine are the following faults: armature winding open-circuits, armature winding short-circuits (phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground), bearing degradation, and rotor flux weakening. The mechanically oriented experiments include transient loading experiments, transverse loading experiment, friction experiment, motor performance experiment, and HMFM experiment.

Haskew, Tim A.↗

Properties of QBO and SAO Generated by Gravity Waves

We present an extension for the 2D (zonal mean) version of our Numerical Spectral Mode (NSM) that incorporates Hines' Doppler spread parameterization (DSP) for small scale gravity waves (GW). This model is applied to describe the seasonal variations and the semi-annual and quasi-biennial oscillations (SAO and QBO). Our earlier model reproduced the salient features of the mean zonal circulation in the middle atmosphere, including the QBO extension into the upper mesosphere inferred from UARS measurements. In the present model we incorporate also tropospheric heating to reproduce the upwelling at equatorial latitudes associated with the Brewer-Dobson circulation that affects significantly the dynamics of the stratosphere as Dunkerton had pointed out. Upward vertical winds increase the period of the QBO observed from the ground. To compensate for that, one needs to increase the eddy diffusivity and the GW momentum flux, bringing the latter closer to values recommended in the DSP. The QBO period in the model is 30 months (mo), which is conducive to synchronize this oscillation with the seasonal cycle of solar forcing. Multi-year interannual oscillations are generated through wave filtering by the solar driven annual oscillation in the zonal circulation. Quadratic non-linearities generate interseasonal variations to produce a complicated pattern of variability associated with the QBO. The computed temperature amplitudes for the SAO and QBO are in substantial agreement with observations at equatorial and extratropical latitudes. At high latitudes, however, the observed QBO amplitudes are significantly larger, which may be a signature of propagating planetary waves not included in the present model. The assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium not being imposed, we find that the effects from the vertical Coriolis force associated with the equatorial oscillations are large for the vertical winds and significant for the temperature variations even outside the tropics but are relatively small for the zonal winds.

Mayr, H. G.↗

Improving the SMAP Level-4 Soil Moisture Product

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission generates, among other data sets, the Level 4 Soil Moisture (L4 SM) product. The L4 SM algorithm is based on the assimilation of SMAP radiometer brightness temperature observations into the NASA Catchment land surface model using a spatially distributed ensemble Kalman filter. The L4 SM data are published with a mean latency of approx. 2.5 days from the time of observation and provide global, three-hourly, 9 km resolution estimates of surface and root-zone soil moisture and related land surface states and fluxes. In 2018, the product was upgraded from Version 3 to Version 4. Underlying the new version is a revised modeling system that includes improved input parameter datasets for land cover, topography, and vegetation height that are based on recent, high quality space-borne remote sensing observations. Land cover inputs were updated to the GlobCover2009 product, which is based on satellite observations from the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. Topographic statistics now rely on observations from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Finally, vegetation height inputs are derived from space-borne Lidar measurements. Additionally, SMAP Level-2 soil moisture retrievals and in situ soil moisture measurements were used to calibrate a particular Catchment model parameter that governs the recharge of soil moisture from the models root-zone excess reservoir into the surface excess reservoir. Specifically, the replenishment of soil moisture near the surface from below under non-equilibrium conditions was substantially reduced, which brings the models surface soil moisture more in line with the SMAP Level 2 and in situ soil moisture. Finally, the calibration of the assimilated SMAP brightness temperatures changed substantially from Version 3 to Version 4. Considerable effort went into the version upgrade, creating an expectation that the new version is improved over the old version. Indeed, some aspects of the new version are clearly better. However, other aspects are not, and on balance, the overall improvement is modest at best. In this presentation we summarize the skill of the new and old versions vs. independent in situ measurements and in terms of data assimilation diagnostics, including, for example, the statistics of the (soil moisture) analysis increments and the observation minus forecast (brightness temperatures) residuals. We share our experience with trying to improve to the L4 SM product and the lessons learned from the effort.

Reichle, Rolf↗

Time-integrated Southern-sky Neutrino Source Searches with 10 yr of IceCube Starting-track Events at Energies Down to 1 TeV

In the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a signal of astrophysical neutrinos is obscured by backgrounds from atmospheric neutrinos and muons produced in cosmic-ray interactions. IceCube event selections used to isolate the astrophysical neutrino signal often focus on the morphology of the light patterns recorded by the detector. The analyses presented here use the new IceCube Enhanced Starting Track Event Selection (ESTES), which identifies events likely generated by muon–neutrino interactions within the detector geometry, focusing on neutrino energies of 1–500 TeV with a median angular resolution of 1.4°. Selecting for starting-track events filters out not only the atmospheric-muon background but also the atmospheric-neutrino background in the southern sky. This improves IceCube’s muon–neutrino sensitivity to southern-sky neutrino sources, especially for Galactic sources that are not expected to produce a substantial flux of neutrinos above 100 TeV. In this work, the ESTES sample was applied for the first time to search for astrophysical sources of neutrinos, including a search for diffuse neutrino emission from the Galactic plane. No significant excesses were identified from any of the analyses; however, constraining limits are set on the hadronic emission from TeV gamma-ray Galactic plane objects and models of the diffuse Galactic plane neutrino flux.

Abbasi, R. [Loyola University, Chicago, IL (United↗

The Retarding Potential Analyzer for Dynamics Explorer-B

The Retarding Potential Analyzer for Dynamics Explorer B measures the bulk ion velocity in the direction of the spacecraft motion, the constituent ion concentrations and the ion temperature along the satellite path. These parameters are derived from a least squares fit to the ion number flux versus energy curve obtained by sweeping or stepping the voltage applied to the internal retarding grids of the RPA. In addition, the spectral characteristics of irregularities in the total ion concentration are determined by high time resolution measurements and by use of a comb filter. These data are obtained from a separate wide aperture-sensor.

Hanson, W. B.↗

Determination of Unfiltered Radiances from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Instrument

A new method for determining unfiltered shortwave (SW), longwave (LW) and window (W) radiances from filtered radiances measured by the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite instrument is presented. The method uses theoretically derived regression coefficients between filtered and unfiltered radiances that are a function of viewing geometry, geotype and whether or not cloud is present. Relative errors in insta.ntaneous unfiltered radiances from this method are generally well below 1% for SW radiances (approx. 0.4% 1(sigma) or approx.l W/sq m equivalent flux), < 0.2% for LW radiances (approx. 0.1% 1(sigma) or approx.0.3 W/sq m equivalent flux) and < 0.2% (approx. 0.1% 1(sigma) for window channel radiances.

Loeb, N. G.↗