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At least 415 records · Page 23

Oceanic Storm Characteristics off the Kennedy Space Center Coast

Natural cloud-to-ground lightning may behave differently depending on the characteristics of the attachment mediums, including the peak current (inferred from radiation fields) and the number of ground strike locations per flash. Existing literature has raised questions over the years on these characteristics of lightning over oceans, and the behaviors are not yet well understood. To investigate this we will obtain identical electric field observations over adjacent land and ocean regions during both clear air and thunderstorm periods. Oceanic observations will be obtained using a 3-meter NOAA buoy that has been instrumented with a Campbell Scientific electric field mill and New Mexico Techs slow antenna, to measure the electric fields aloft. We are currently obtaining measurements from this system on-shore at the Florida coast, to calibrate and better understand the behavior of the system in elevated-field environments. Sometime during winter 2013, this system will be moored 20NM off the coast of the Kennedy Space Center. Measurements from this system will be compared to the existing on-shore electric field mill suite of 31 sensors and a coastal slow antenna. Supporting observations will be provided by New Mexico Techs Lightning Mapping Array, the Eastern Range Cloud to Ground Lightning Surveillance System, and the National Lightning Detection Network. An existing network of high-speed cameras will be used to capture cloud-to-ground lightning strikes over the terrain regions to identify a valid data set for analysis. This on-going project will demonstrate the value of off-shore electric field measurements for safety-related decision making at KSC, and may improve our understanding of relative lightning risk to objects on the ground vs. ocean. This presentation will provide an overview of this new instrumentation, and a summary of our progress to date.

Ocean↗

Soot Superaggregates from Flaming Wildfires and Their Direct Radiative Forcing

Wildfires contribute significantly to global soot emissions, yet their aerosol formation mechanisms and resulting particle properties are poorly understood and parameterized in climate models. The conventional view holds that soot is formed via the cluster-dilute aggregation mechanism in wildfires and emitted as aggregates with fractal dimension D(sub f) approximately equals 1.8 mobility diameter D(sub m) (is) less than or equal to 1 micron, and aerodynamic diameter D(sub a) (is) less than or equal to 300 nm. Here we report the ubiquitous presence of soot superaggregates (SAs) in the outflow from a major wildfire in India. SAs are porous, low-density aggregates of cluster-dilute aggregates with characteristic D(sub f) approximately equals 2.6,D(sub m) (is) greater than 1 micron, and D(sub a) is less than or equal to 300 nm that form via the cluster-dense aggregation mechanism.We present additional observations of soot SAs in wildfire smoke-laden air masses over Northern California, New Mexico, and Mexico City. We estimate that SAs contribute, per unit optical depth, up to 35% less atmospheric warming than freshly-emitted (D(sub f) approximately equals 1.8) aggregates, and approximately equals 90% more warming than the volume-equivalent spherical soot particles simulated in climate models.

SAS↗

Investigations of Methane Production in Hypersaline Environments

The recent reports of methane in the atmosphere of Mars, as well as the findings of hypersaline paleo-environments on that planet, have underscored the need to evaluate the importance of biological (as opposed to geological) trace gas production and consumption. Methane in the atmosphere of Mars may be an indication of life but might also be a consequence of geologic activity and/or the thermal alteration of ancient organic matter. Hypersaline environments have now been reported to be extremely likely in several locations in our solar system, including: Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. Modern hypersaline microbial mat communities, (thought to be analogous to those present on the early Earth at a period of time when Mars was experiencing very similar environmental conditions), have been shown to produce methane. However, very little is known about the physical and/or biological controls imposed upon the rates at which methane, and other important trace gases, are produced and consumed in these environments. We describe here the results of our investigations of methane production in hypersaline environments, including field sites in Chile, Baja California Mexico, California, USA and the United Arab Emirates. We have measured high concentrations of methane in bubbles of gas produced both in the sediments underlying microbial mats, as well as in areas not colonized by microbial mats in the Guerrero Negro hypersaline ecosystem, Baja California Mexico, in Chile, and in salt ponds on the San Francisco Bay. The carbon isotopic (δ13C) composition of the methane in the bubbles exhibited an extremely wide range of values, (ca. -75 per mille ca. -25 per mille). The hydrogen isotopic composition of the methane (δ2H) ranged from -60 to -30per mille and -450 to -350per mille. These isotopic values are outside of the range of values normally considered to be biogenic, however incubations of the sediments in contact with these gas bubbles reveals that the methane is indeed being produced by these sediments. Substrate limitation of methanogenesis in these environments, and not methane oxidation, would explain the isotopic values of the methane in these environments. Incubations with both isotopically labeled and unlabeled putative substrates for methanogenesis have shown that the substrates most important for methanogenesis in these environments are the so-called non-competitive substrates, e.g., methylamines, dimethylsulfide, and methanol. Acetate and bicarbonate appear not to be important substrates for methanogens in these environments. Extraction of DNA and analysis of a gene used for methane production (mcrA) has revealed that the community composition of methanogens is consistent with organisms known to use non-competitive substrates. Our work has shown that hypersaline environments have the potential to both produce and preserve methane for analysis, e.g., by capable rovers. Our work expends the range of methane isotopic values now known to be produced by active methanogenesis

hypersaline paleo-environments↗

Nasa's Ant-Inspired Swarmie Robots

As humans push further beyond the grasp of earth, robotic missions in advance of human missions will play an increasingly important role. These robotic systems will find and retrieve valuable resources as part of an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) strategy. They will need to be highly autonomous while maintaining high task performance levels. NASA Kennedy Space Center has teamed up with the Biological Computation Lab at the University of New Mexico to create a swarm of small, low-cost, autonomous robots to be used as a ground-based research platform for ISRU missions. The behavior of the robot swarm mimics the central-place foraging strategy of ants to find and collect resources in a previously unmapped environment and return those resources to a central site. This talk will guide the audience through the Swarmie robot project from its conception by students in a New Mexico research lab to its robot trials in an outdoor parking lot at NASA. The software technologies and techniques used on the project will be discussed, as well as various challenges and solutions that were encountered by the development team along the way.

biologically inspired robots↗

The International Heat Stress Genotype Experiment for Modeling Wheat Response to Heat: Field Experiments and AgMIP-Wheat Multi-Model Simulations

The data set contains a portion of the International Heat Stress Genotype Experiment (IHSGE) data used in the AgMIP-Wheat project to analyze the uncertainty of 30 wheat crop models and quantify the impact of heat on global wheat yield productivity. It includes two spring wheat cultivars grown during two consecutive winter cropping cycles at hot, irrigated, and low latitude sites in Mexico (Ciudad Obregon and Tlaltizapan), Egypt (Aswan), India (Dharwar), the Sudan (Wad Medani), and Bangladesh (Dinajpur). Experiments in Mexico included normal (November-December) and late (January-March) sowing dates. Data include local daily weather data, soil characteristics and initial soil conditions, crop measurements (anthesis and maturity dates, anthesis and final total above ground biomass, final grain yields and yields components), and cultivar information. Simulations include both daily in-season and end-of-season results from 30 wheat models.

Wheat; Field Experimental Data; Heat Stress; Simul↗

Covariability of Climate and Streamflow in the Upper Rio Grande from Interannual to Interdecadal Timescales

Study region: The Upper Rio Grande (URG) flows from its headwaters in Colorado, U.S., and provides an important source of water to millions of people in the U.S. states of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and also Mexico. Study focus: We reassess the explanatory power of the relationship of sea surface temperatures (SST) on URG streamflow variability on interannual to interdecadal timescales. We find a significant amount of the variance of spring-summer URG streamflow cannot be fully explained by SST. New hydrological insights: We find that the interdecadal teleconnection between SST and streamflow is more clear than on interannual timescales. The highest ranked years tend to be clustered during positive phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). During the periods of decadal high flow (1900-1920, and 1979-1995), Pacific SST resembles a positive PDO pattern and the Atlantic a negative Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) pattern; an interbasin pattern shown in prior studies to be conducive to high precipitation and streamflow. To account for the part of streamflow variance not explained by SST, we analyze atmospheric Reanalysis data for the months preceding the highest spring-summer streamflow events. A variety of atmospheric configurations are found to precede the highest flow years through anomalous moisture convergence. This lack of consistency suggests that, on interannual timescales, weather and not climate can dominate the generation of high streamflow events.

AMO↗

NASA Commercial Crew Program and Medical Operational Challenges

This abstract is submitted as part of the USSPACECOM Command Surgeon’s panel demonstrating the medical capabilities and challenges involved in human space flight support operations. BACKGROUND: NASA embarked on the Commercial Crew Program to launch astronauts into low-earth orbit from US soil and dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The eventual industry providers selected were SpaceX (SpX) and Boeing. These commercial transportation systems are vital to ensure crew availability on ISS for research and discovery. OVERVIEW: NASA/SpaceX Demo-2 (DM2) mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2020 as the historic first crewed test-flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with two NASA Astronauts onboard. DM2 represented the first flight in 9-years from US soil since STS-135 in 2011. The 63-day mission ended with splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the first US water recovery in 45-years since Apollo-Soyuz. Validation of system hardware and operations allowed four-person crews to launch on subsequently missions (Crew-1, Crew-2, Crew-3, Crew-4, Crew-5 to date), which included International Partner crewmembers. DISCUSSION: A multitude of operational, training, medical, and technical issues needed to be addressed between NASA Medical Operations, the commercial provider SpaceX, and the Department of Defense. These included Flight rule development, occupant protection, pressurized suit testing, communication plans during mission phases, and emergency simulations for supporting Flight Surgeons and Biomedical Engineers. In providing crew experience with expected launch and entry G-force profile, Centrifuge training was established. Preventive health measures via the Health Stabilization Program were especially vital during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Unique aspects arise for SpX Dragon parachute splashdown and shipboard recovery operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The new Commercial Crew Program is indeed a wonderfully challenging and exciting era for human spaceflight.

Joseph Dervay↗

Sunglint-aided Methane Retrieval: Using Sentinel-2 to Quantify Offshore Oil and Gas Emissions

The extraction, production, and transportation of oil and gas via activities such as intentional venting and fugitive emissions are leading contributors to anthropogenic methane emissions. Offshore operations comprise a significant percentage of all oil and gas operations, yet emission monitoring over the ocean is insufficient. Due to low surface reflectance over the ocean, remote sensing measurements offshore are limited. Therefore offshore contributions to the overall global methane budget are unknown. Regulators such as the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) are unable to validate operator-reported methane emission estimates. The NASA DEVELOP Program partnered with BOEM, BSEE, and SkyTruth to identify potential offshore methane sources in the Gulf of Mexico. Drawing upon existing retrieval methods to detect and quantify onshore methane emissions (Varon et al., 2021), we selected sunglint scenes to detect methane plumes over the ocean in Sentinel-2 imagery. We detected two methane plumes at the Constitution complex in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Pointe-Noire, Congo. If expanded, these methods could serve a vital role in validating operator reporting and quantifying climate impacts of offshore oil and gas operations - complementing those of next generation satellites.

Katherine Howell↗

Interannual Lightning Variability within the TRMM LIS Dataset Using an ENSO Perspective

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) was used to investigate inter-annual variability of lightning from 1998-2014 within the 38° S – 38° N range. Previous studies have indicated that the El-Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is one significant contributor to inter-annual lightning variability, potentially the dominant mechanism on the global scale. This period of 16 years contained four warm- (El Niño), eight cold- (La Niña), and four neutral-phase ENSO years based on the oceanic Niño index. Large magnitude lightning anomalies were found during the warm phase of ENSO, with mean warm-phase anomalies of > 10 Fl (1000 km) −2 min −1 in north-central Africa and Argentina. This includes a +35 Fl (1000 km) −2 min −1 anomaly in Argentina during the 2009 El Niño. In general, large-scale anomalies of thermodynamic properties and upper-atmospheric vertical motion coincided with the lightning anomalies observed in both Africa and South America. The anomaly over north-central Africa, however, was characterized by a 6-week shift in the annual lightning maximum with the warm phase, a result of the more complex environmental response to ENSO over the Sahel. The most consistent ENSO anomalies with appreciable lightning were found in southeastern Africa, northwestern Brazil, central Mexico, and the southern Red Sea. Of these, all but the Mexico region had enhanced lightning with the cold phase and suppressed lightning with the warm phase.

Austin G. Clark↗

NASA Commercial Crew Program and Medical Operational Challenges

BACKGROUND: NASA embarked on the Commercial Crew Program to launch astronauts into low-earth orbit from US soil and dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The eventual industry providers selected were SpaceX (SpX) and Boeing. These commercial transportation systems are vital to ensure crew availability on ISS for research and discovery. OVERVIEW: NASA/SpaceX Demo-2 (DM2) mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2020 as the historic first crewed test-flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with two NASA Astronauts onboard. DM2 represented the first flight in 9-years from US soil since STS-135 in 2011. The 63-day mission ended with splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the first US water recovery in 45-years since Apollo-Soyuz. Validation of system hardware and operations allowed four-person crews to launch on subsequently missions (Crew-1, Crew-2, Crew-3, Crew-4, Crew-5 to date), which included International Partner crewmembers. DISCUSSION: A multitude of operational, training, medical, and technical issues needed to be addressed between NASA Medical Operations, the commercial provider SpaceX, and the Department of Defense. These included Flight rule development, occupant protection, pressurized suit testing, communication plans during mission phases, and emergency simulations for supporting Flight Surgeons and Biomedical Engineers. In providing crew experience with expected launch and entry G-force profile, Centrifuge training was established. Preventive health measures via the Health Stabilization Program were especially vital during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Unique aspects arise for SpX Dragon parachute splashdown and shipboard recovery operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The new Commercial Crew Program is indeed a wonderfully challenging and exciting era for human spaceflight.

Joseph P Dervay↗

Airborne Observations of Particle Density in High Ice Water Content (HWC) Cloud Systems

A series of airborne field campaigns has been conducted since 2014 to measure the microphysical properties of high ice-water content (HIWC) clouds in maritime mesoscale convective systems (MCS) and tropical storms. Two of these, the HIWC RADAR-2 campaign (2018) targeting cloud systems in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean, and the HIWC-2022 campaign targeting cloud systems in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean, have been analyzed to investigate graupel encounters at typical jet aircraft cruise altitudes. In-situ cloud observations from these two campaigns confirmed results from the prior studies, indicating that high concentrations of small ice particles exist in areas of HIWC. However, in the 2022 campaign, 90% of the cloud regions with ice water content (IWC) above 2.0 g/m3 also contained significant amounts of graupel and/or frozen drops. Using a mass-size parameterization that accounts for both small ice and larger high-density particles, we show that the mass distributions in cloud regions above 2.0 g/m3 are often strongly bimodal, with the small particle mode containing roughly half of the collective cloud mass, and the graupel mode containing the other half. In contrast, HIWC cloud passes in a 2018 tropical cyclone contained less relative graupel mass than the MCS cloud systems of 2018 and 2022. We present two different methods of estimating particle mass for mixed populations of small-ice and graupel particles, one using a hybrid two-class approach, and another using a single-class approach that takes both particle size and shape metrics into account. Derived IWC using these methods are compared to bulk IWC measurements collected during the campaigns. We also show the relative occurrence of graupel at various IWC levels and discuss the potential application of these results in evaluating density-aware microphysical schemes in cloud and weather models.

Aircraft Icing↗

Mychonastes desiccatus Brown sp. nova (Chlorococcales, Chlorophyta)--an intertidal alga forming achlorophyllous desiccation-resistant cysts

An intertidal Chlorella-like alga Mychonastes desiccatus Brown sp. nova, capable of forming achlorophyllous desiccation-resistant cysts, has been grown in unialgal culture. This small alga was first isolated from a dried sample of a well-studied microbial mat. The mat, located at North Pond, Laguna Figueroa, San Quintin, Baja California, Mexico, is a vertically-stratified microbial community which forms laminated sediments. Morphology, pigment composition and G+C content are within the range typical for the genus Chlorella s. 1. Unlike other chlorellae, however, upon desiccation M. desiccatus forms an achlorophyllous, lipid-filled cyst (thick-walled resting stage) in which no plastid is evident. Rewetting leads to chloroplast differentiation, excystment and recovery of the fully green alga. During desiccation, sporopollenin is deposited within a thickening cell wall. Encystment cannot be induced by growth in the dark. The formation of desiccation-induced cysts allows the alga to survive frequent and intermittent periods of dryness. These chlorellae tolerate wide ranges of acidity and temperature; they both grow and form cysts in media in which sodium ions are replaced with potassium. Although the cysts tolerate crystalline salts, the cell grow optimally in concentrations corresponding from three-quarters to full-strength seawater.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Niebla ceruchis from Laguna Figueroa: dimorphic spore morphology and secondary compounds localized in pycnidia and apothecia

During and after the floods of 1979-80 Niebla ceruchis growing epiphytically on Lycium brevipes was one of the dominant aspects of the vegetation in the coastal dunal complex bordering the microbial mats at Laguna Figueroa, Baja California Norte, Mexico. The lichen on denuded branches of Lycium was far more extensively distributed than Lycium lacking lichen. Unusual traits of this Niebla ceruchis strain, namely localization of lichen compounds in the mycobiont reproductive structures (pycnidia and apothecia) and simultaneous presence of bilocular and quadrilocular ascospores, are reported. The abundance of this coastal lichen cover at the microbial mat site has persisted through April 1988.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Competition for sulfide among colorless and purple sulfur bacteria in cyanobacterial mats

The vertical zonation of light, O2, H2S, pH, and sulfur bacteria was studied in two benthic cyanobacterial mats from hypersaline ponds at Guerrero Negro, Baja California, Mexico. The physical-chemical gradients were analyzed in the upper few mm at < or = 100 micrometers spatial resolution by microelectrodes and by a fiber optic microprobe. In mats, where oxygen produced by photosynthesis diffused far below the depth of the photic zone, colorless sulfur bacteria (Beggiatoa sp.) were the dominant sulfide oxidizing organisms. In a mat, where the O2-H2S interface was close to the photic zone, but yet received no significant visible light, purple sulfur bacteria (Chromatium sp.) were the dominant sulfide oxidizers. Analysis of the spectral light distribution here showed that the penetration of only 1% of the incident near-IR light (800-900 nm) into the sulfide zone was sufficient for the mass development of Chromatium in a narrow band of 300 micromoles thickness. The balance between O2 and light penetration down into the sulfide zone thus determined in micro-scale which type of sulfur bacteria became dominant.

NASA Center ARC↗

Association of a new type of gliding, filamentous, purple phototrophic bacterium inside bundles of Microcoleus chthonoplastes in hypersaline cyanobacterial mats

An unidentified filamentous purple bacterium, probably belonging to a new genus or even a new family, is found in close association with the filamentous, mat-forming cyanobacterium Microcoleus chthonoplastes in a hypersaline pond at Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico, and in Solar Lake, Sinai, Egypt. This organism is a gliding, segmented trichome, 0.8-0.9 micrometer wide. It contains intracytoplasmic stacked lamellae which are perpendicular and obliquely oriented to the cell wall, similar to those described for the purple sulfur bacteria Ectothiorhodospira. These bacteria are found inside the cyanobacterial bundle, enclosed by the cyanobacterial sheath. Detailed transmission electron microscopical analyses carried out in horizontal sections of the upper 1.5 mm of the cyanobacterial mat show this cyanobacterial-purple bacterial association at depths of 300-1200 micrometers, corresponding to the zone below that of maximal oxygenic photosynthesis. Sharp gradients of oxygen and sulfide are established during the day at this microzone in the two cyanobacterial mats studied. The close association, the distribution pattern of this association and preliminary physiological experiments suggest a co-metabolism of sulfur by the two-membered community. This probable new genus of purple bacteria may also grow photoheterotrophically using organic carbon excreted by the cyanobacterium. Since the chemical gradients in the entire photic zone fluctuate widely in a diurnal cycle, both types of metabolism probably take place. During the morning and afternoon, sulfide migrates up to the photic zone allowing photoautotrophic metabolism with sulfide as the electron donor. During the day the photic zone is highly oxygenated and the purple bacteria may either use oxidized species of sulfur such as elemental sulfur and thiosulfate in the photoautotrophic mode or grow photoheterotrophically using organic carbon excreted by M. chthonoplastes. The new type of filamentous purple sulfur bacteria is not available yet in pure culture, and its taxonomical position cannot be fully established. This organism is suggested to be a new type of gliding, filamentous, purple phototroph.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Analysis of lipophilic pigments from a phototrophic microbial mat community by high performance liquid chromatography

As assay for lipophilic pigments in phototrophic microbial mat communities using reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography was developed which allows the separation of 15 carotenoids and chloropigments in a single 30 min program. Lipophilic pigments in a laminated mat from a commercial salina near Laguna Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico reflected their source organisms. Myxoxanthophyll, echinenone, canthaxanthin, and zeaxanthin were derived from cyanobacteria; chlorophyll c, and fucoxanthin from diatoms; chlorophyll a from cyanobacteria and diatoms; bacteriochlorophylls a and c, bacteriophaeophytin a, and gamma-carotene from Chloroflexus spp.; and beta-carotene from a variety of phototrophs. Sensitivity of detection was 0.6-6.1 ng for carotenoids and 1.7-12 ng for most chloropigments. This assay represents a significant improvement over previous analyses of lipophilic pigments in microbial mats and promises to have a wider application to other types of phototrophic communities.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Spirosymplokos deltaeiberi nov. gen., nov. sp.: variable-diameter composite spirochete from microbial mats

Large (up to 100 micrometers long), loosely coiled, free-living spirochetes with variable diameters (from 0.4 to 3 micrometers in the same cell) were seen at least 40 times between August 1990 and January 1993. These spirochetes were observed in mud water and enrichment media from highly specific habitats in intertidal evaporite flats at three disjunct localities, one in Spain and two in Mexico. All three are sites of commercial saltworks. Associated with Microcoleus chthonoplastes the large spirochetes from Spain display phototaxis and a composite organization. Shorter and smaller-diameter spirochetes are seen inside both healthy and spent periplasm of larger ones. Small spirochetes attached to large ones have been observed live. From two to twelve spirochete protoplasmic cylinders were seen inside a single common outer membrane. A distinctive granulated cytoplasm in which the granules are of similar diameter (20-32 nanometers) to that of the flagella (26 nanometers) was present. Granule diameters were measured in thin section and in negatively-stained whole-mount preparations. Based on their ultrastructure, large size, variable diameter, number of flagella (3 to 6), and phototactic behavior these unique spirochetes are formally named Spirosymplokos deltaeiberi. Under anoxic (or low oxygen) conditions they formed blooms in mixed culture in media selective for spirochetes. Cellobiose was the major carbon source in 80% seawater, the antibiotic rifampicin was added, mat from the original field site was present and tubes were incubated in the light at from 18-31 degrees C. Within 1-2 weeks populations of the large spirochete developed at 25 degrees C but they could not be transferred to fresh medium.

Non-NASA Center↗