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At least 523 records · Page 29

Observations of the Infrared Solar Spectrum from Space by the ATMOS Experiment

The final flight of the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy experiment as part of the Atmospheric na Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) Space Shuttle mission in 1994 provided a new opportunity to measure broadband 625-4800/ cm, 2.1 - 16 micron infrared solar spectra at an unapodized resolution of 0.0l/ cm from space. The majority of the observations were obtained as exoatmospheric, of near Sun center, absorption spectra, which were later ratioed to grazing atmospheric measurements to compute the atmospheric transmission of the Earth's atmosphere and analyzed for vertical profiles of minor and trace gases. Relative to the SPACELAB-3 mission that produced 4800 high Sun spectra (which were averaged into four grand average spectra), the ATLAS-3 mission produced some 40,000 high Sun spectra (which have been similarly averaged) with an improvement in signal-to-noise ratio of a factor of 3-4 in the spectral region between 1000 and 4800/ cm. A brief description of the spectral calibration and spectral quality is given as well as the location of electronic archives of these spectra.

Abrams, M. C.↗

A Meso-Climatology Study of the High-Resolution Tower Network Over the Florida Spaceport

Forecasters at the US Air Force 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) use wind and temperature data from the tower network over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to evaluate Launch Commit Criteria and to issue and verify temperature and wind advisories, watches, and warnings for ground operations. The Spaceflight Meteorology Group at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX also uses these data when issuing forecasts for shuttle landings at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Systematic biases in these parameters at any of the towers could adversely affect an analysis, forecast, or verification for all of these operations. In addition, substantial geographical variations in temperature and wind speed can occur under specific wind directions. Therefore, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU), operated by ENSCO Inc., was tasked to develop a monthly and hourly climatology of temperatures and winds from the tower network, and identify the geographical variation, tower biases, and the magnitude of those biases. This paper presents a sub-set of results from a nine-year climatology of the KSC/CCAFS tower network, highlighting the geographical variations based on location, month, times of day, and specific wind direction regime. Section 2 provides a description of the tower mesonetwork and instrumentation characteristics. Section 3 presents the methodology used to construct the tower climatology including QC methods and data processing. The results of the tower climatology are presented in Section 4 and Section 5 summarizes the paper.

Case, Jonathan L.↗

The Affordance Template ROS Package for Robot Task Programming

This paper introduces the Affordance Template ROS package for quickly programming, adjusting, and executing robot applications in the ROS RViz environment. This package extends the capabilities of RViz interactive markers by allowing an operator to specify multiple end-effector waypoint locations and grasp poses in object-centric coordinate frames and to adjust these waypoints in order to meet the run-time demands of the task (specifically, object scale and location). The Affordance Template package stores task specifications in a robot-agnostic XML description format such that it is trivial to apply a template to a new robot. As such, the Affordance Template package provides a robot-generic ROS tool appropriate for building semi-autonomous, manipulation-based applications. Affordance Templates were developed by the NASA-JSC DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) team and have since successfully been deployed on multiple platforms including the NASA Valkyrie and Robonaut 2 humanoids, the University of Texas Dreamer robot and the Willow Garage PR2. In this paper, the specification and implementation of the affordance template package is introduced and demonstrated through examples for wheel (valve) turning, pick-and-place, and drill grasping, evincing its utility and flexibility for a wide variety of robot applications.

Hart, Stephen↗

Incorporating the molecular-scale into a hydrodynamic description of confined aqueous systems

Hydrodynamics provides a continuum-level description of fluid motion, but its applicability at the nanoscale becomes uncertain due to the emerging importance of molecular-level effects such as spatial heterogeneity. Hydrodynamic boundary conditions that incorporate molecular details allow us to partition the system into a near-wall region and a bulk fluid region. We identify a hydrodynamic wall located inside the fluid that determines where slip begins. By extending the hydrodynamic wall with the slip length, the position of the extrapolated wall is established. This offers a unified description of both slip and stagnant flow behaviors, with wall hydrophobicity characterized by the relative location of the extrapolated wall with respect to the physical wall. Employing this concept in analyses of equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) and non-equilibrium MD simulations of Couette and Poiseuille flows, our results demonstrate consistency between equilibrium and non-equilibrium approaches across different flow types and confinement levels. This demonstrates the robust nature of linear response theory. We then explore the effects of fluid-wall and bulk fluid interactions on the hydrodynamic properties. These findings enhance the effectiveness of molecular-based simulations for investigating complex confined systems in nanofluidics, biology, and colloidal science, offering a complementary molecular-scale perspective to traditional continuum approaches.

flow simulations↗

Data mining of plug-in electric vehicles charging behavior using supply-side data

This paper aims to better understand the charging patterns of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and identify factors that may significantly impact PEVs’ charging behavior. We collected 189,864 supply-side charging session data over 13 months from 821 charging stations in Illinois from ChargePoint. Through descriptive and regression analyses, we characterize the distributions of key charging behavior indicators, including charging location, dwell time, and battery start state of charge (SOC), and quantify the impacts of closely related factors on these charging behaviors. In this work, we find that: (1) PEVs are more likely to charge in the morning at multifamily commercial locations with a lower start SOC compared with single family residential locations; (2) Weekday and morning sessions are more likely to utilize workplace charging and have shorter dwell time compared with weekend and afternoon sessions; (3) Single family residential area and locations with Levels 1/2 chargers have a higher start SOC and longer dwell time compared with other locations and DC fast chargers (DCFCs). These findings provide policy insights to identify potential time and locations to incentivize PEVs for grid services, as well as identify critical location categories for further charging infrastructure investment to better reduce range anxiety and promote PEV adoption.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Scalable method for micro-CT analysis enables large scale quantitative characterization of brain lesions and implants

Anatomic evaluation is an important aspect of many studies in neuroscience; however, it often lacks information about the three-dimensional structure of the brain. Micro-CT imaging provides an excellent, nondestructive, method for the evaluation of brain structure, but current applications to neurophysiological or lesion studies require removal of the skull as well as hazardous chemicals, dehydration, or embedding, limiting their scalability and utility. Here we present a protocol using eosin in combination with bone decalcification to enhance contrast in the tissue and then employ monochromatic and propagation phase-contrast micro-CT imaging to enable the imaging of brain structure with the preservation of the surrounding skull. Instead of relying on descriptive, time-consuming, or subjective methods, we develop simple quantitative analyses to map the locations of recording electrodes and to characterize the presence and extent of hippocampal brain lesions.

3-D reconstruction↗

High Cooperativity Using a Confocal-Cavity–QED Microscope

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) with cooperativity far greater than unity enables high-fidelity quantum sensing and information processing. The high-cooperativity regime is often reached through the use of short single-mode resonators. More complicated multimode resonators, such as the near-confocal optical Fabry-Pérot cavity, can provide intracavity atomic imaging in addition to high cooperativity. This capability has recently proved important for exploring quantum many-body physics in the driven-dissipative setting. In this work, we show that a confocal-cavity–QED microscope can realize cooperativity in excess of 110. This cooperativity is on par with the very best single-mode cavities (which are far shorter) and 21 times greater than single-mode resonators of similar length and mirror radii. The 1.7-µm imaging resolution is naturally identical to the photon-mediated interaction range. We measure these quantities by determining the threshold of cavity superradiance when small optically tweezed BoseEinstein condensates are pumped at various intracavity locations. Transmission measurements of an ex situ cavity corroborate these results. We provide a theoretical description that shows how cooperativity enhancement arises from the dispersive coupling to the atoms of many near-degenerate modes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Non-Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Unit (CAU) Post-Closure Inspection Report, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada: For Calendar Year 2023

This report includes visual inspection results, descriptions of maintenance and repair activities, and recommendations for CY 2023 for URs at CASs located on the NNSS and on the NTTR that are accessed through the NNSS Main Gate. This document is formatted by project activity (i.e., Industrial Sites, Soils, and DTRA]; then by CAU; and then by CAS.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Documentation and environment of the Apollo 16 samples: A preliminary report

A catalog which is a working document that shows the locations from which samples were collected during the Apollo 16 mission, and that provides a descriptive geologic context for each sample is presented. It is a compilation of notes from work in progress, and supersedes an earlier report prepared by the Apollo Lunar Geology Investigation Team. The information was obtained from the Air-to-Ground transcript from the astronaut crew, from lunar surface television, from 60 mm Hasselblad camera photographs, and from available LRL mugshot photographs of the samples. The sample descriptions are based on these sources of data.

Source record↗

A vectorized code for calculating laminar and turbulent hypersonic flows about blunt axisymmetric bodies at zero and small angles of attack

A user's guide is provided for a computer code which calculates the laminar and turbulent hypersonic flows about blunt axisymmetric bodies, such as spherically blunted cones, hyperboloids, etc., at zero and small angles of attack. The code is written in STAR FORTRAN language for the CDC-STAR-100 computer. Time-dependent, viscous-shock-layer-type equations are used to describe the flow field. These equations are solved by an explicit, two-step, time asymptotic, finite-difference method. For the turbulent flow, a two-layer, eddy-viscosity model is used. The code provides complete flow-field properties including shock location, surface pressure distribution, surface heating rates, and skin-friction coefficients. This report contains descriptions of the input and output, the listing of the program, and a sample flow-field solution.

Kumar, A.↗

ER-2 lidar observations from the October 1986 fire cirrus experiment

A description of the ER-2 lidar data characteristics and available products, plus flight times and locations is presented for the FIRE cirrus experiment of October 13 through November 2, 1986. The CALS airborne lidar was flown for this experiment on the NASA ER-2 high altitude aircraft. The primary objectives of the CALS observations were to intensively measure cirrus cloud top height and structure for basic cirrus studies and for validation of satellite cloud retrievals.

Spinhirne, J. D.↗

Reference and Standard Atmosphere Models

This paper describes the development of standard and reference atmosphere models along with the history of their origin and use since the mid 19th century. The first "Standard Atmospheres" were established by international agreement in the 1920's. Later some countries, notably the United States, also developed and published "Standard Atmospheres". The term "Reference Atmospheres" is used to identify atmosphere models for specific geographical locations. Range Reference Atmosphere Models developed first during the 1960's are examples of these descriptions of the atmosphere. This paper discusses the various models, scopes, applications and limitations relative to use in aerospace industry activities.

Johnson, Dale L.↗

Documenting of Geologic Field Activities in Real-Time in Four Dimensions: Apollo 17 as a Case Study for Terrestrial Analogues and Future Exploration

During the Apollo exploration of the lunar surface, thousands of still images, 16 mm videos, TV footage, samples, and surface experiments were captured and collected. In addition, observations and descriptions of what was observed was radioed to Mission Control as part of standard communications and subsequently transcribed. The archive of this material represents perhaps the best recorded set of geologic field campaigns and will serve as the example of how to conduct field work on other planetary bodies for decades to come. However, that archive of material exists in disparate locations and formats with varying levels of completeness, making it not easily cross-referenceable. While video and audio exist for the missions, it is not time synchronized, and images taken during the missions are not time or location tagged. Sample data, while robust, is not easily available in a context of where the samples were collected, their descriptions by the astronauts are not connected to them, or the video footage of their collection (if available). A more than five year undertaking to reconstruct and reconcile the Apollo 17 mission archive, from launch through splashdown, has generated an integrated record of the entire mission, resulting in searchable, synchronized image, voice, and video data, with geologic context provided at the time each sample was collected. Through www.apollo17.org the documentation of the field investigation conducted by the Apollo 17 crew is presented in chronologic sequence, with additional context provided by high-resolution Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images and a corresponding digital terrain model (DTM) of the Taurus-Littrow Valley.

APOLLO 17↗

Public water supply infrastructure extensification and diversification in surface waters is insufficient to meet future demands in Texas

The data were developed to evaluate the capacity of existing and potential new surface water supply infrastructure to meet projected public water demands across districts in Texas under multiple future socioeconomic and climate scenarios. The database integrates hydrologic, water quality, infrastructure, energy, cost, demographic, and demand-projection information for candidate surface water supply locations. Candidate sites include stream reaches, waterbodies, reservoir surplus locations, and potential new reservoir sites. Water availability is characterized using historical and projected flow conditions, while site suitability is evaluated using five indicators: Water Availability Index (WAI), Water Quality Index (WQI), Energy Requirement Index (ERI), Water Treatment Cost (WTC), and Water Infrastructure Cost (WIC). The datasets include statewide candidate-site information, district-level demand projections under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), runoff-based allocation constraints, climate-stress metrics, and optimization outputs evaluating alternative infrastructure planning strategies. Optimization results compare Business-as-Usual (BAU) and All Surface Water (AllSW) demand-management approaches under both scaled and fixed cost-cap strategies. Associated validation datasets provide district-level feasibility assessments, infrastructure selection outcomes, cost-cap utilization, demand satisfaction metrics, and constraint diagnostics. Additional datasets quantify projected changes in storage and flow conditions as well as water availability stress for both existing and newly selected intake locations under the SSP5 scenario for mid-century and late-century climate conditions. Together, these datasets support assessment of the extent to which surface-water infrastructure expansion and diversification strategies can satisfy future public water demands while accounting for hydrologic, economic, and planning constraints across Texas. Dataset(s) Description Dataset_preoptimization.xlsx Comprehensive pre-optimization dataset containing candidate water-supply sites and associated hydrologic, water-quality, infrastructure, climate, demographic, runoff, and demand-projection variables used as inputs to the optimization analyses. Includes variable descriptions and the full statewide candidate-site database. District_level_site_selection.zip - Compressed archive containing all SSP-specific district-level optimization result files MESIO_ssp1_results.xlsx District-level site selection results for SSP1 (MESIO). Includes variable descriptions, BAU and AllSW site-selection results under scaled and fixed cost strategies, and district-level validation diagnostics. MESID_ssp2_results.xlsx District-level site selection results for SSP2 (MESID). Includes variable descriptions, BAU and AllSW site-selection results under scaled and fixed cost strategies, and district-level validation diagnostics. LCMRD_ssp3_results.xlsx District-level site selection results for SSP3 (LCMRD). Includes variable descriptions, BAU and AllSW site-selection results under scaled and fixed cost strategies, and district-level validation diagnostics. IRDev-Low_ssp4l_results.xlsx District-level site selection results for SSP4-Low (IRDev-Low). Includes variable descriptions, BAU and AllSW site-selection results under scaled and fixed cost strategies, and district-level validation diagnostics. IRDev-High_ssp4h_results.xlsx District-level site selection results for SSP4-High (IRDev-High). Includes variable descriptions, BAU and AllSW site-selection results under scaled and fixed cost strategies, and district-level validation diagnostics. RSIM_ssp5_results.xlsx District-level site selection results for SSP5 (RSIM). Includes variable descriptions, BAU and AllSW site-selection results under scaled and fixed cost strategies, and district-level validation diagnostics. tx_hydrological_stress.xlsx Hydrological stress dataset for existing and newly selected intake locations. Includes projected mid-century and late-century changes, gain/loss classifications, planning strategy information, and accompanying variable descriptions. Also includes water-stress metrics derived from historical and projected low-flow conditions.

Okoye, Perpetua I. (ORCID:0000000215545033)↗

Accurate estimation of object location in an image sequence using helicopter flight data

In autonomous navigation, it is essential to obtain a three-dimensional (3D) description of the static environment in which the vehicle is traveling. For a rotorcraft conducting low-latitude flight, this description is particularly useful for obstacle detection and avoidance. In this paper, we address the problem of 3D position estimation for static objects from a monocular sequence of images captured from a low-latitude flying helicopter. Since the environment is static, it is well known that the optical flow in the image will produce a radiating pattern from the focus of expansion. We propose a motion analysis system which utilizes the epipolar constraint to accurately estimate 3D positions of scene objects in a real world image sequence taken from a low-altitude flying helicopter. Results show that this approach gives good estimates of object positions near the rotorcraft's intended flight-path.

Tang, Yuan-Liang↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-xDC NEON Dakota Coteau Field School (DCFS)

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-xDC NEON Dakota Coteau Field School (DCFS). This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-xDC NEON Dakota Coteau Field School (DCFS) produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The Dakota Coteau Field School (DCFS) and Prairie Lake (PRLA) field sites are co-located in an agricultural area used primarily for cattle grazing, just a few miles east of the Woodworth and Prairie Pothole sites at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge. DCFS covers 7.8 km2 (3 square miles) of grazing land in Stutsman County, ND, between the tiny communities of Pingree and Woodworth. The population here is sparse, but the land has been transformed by agricultural activities over the last 150 years. The field site has been used only for grazing, but other land in the surrounding area has been converted to corn and soybean production. DCFS is located in an area known as the "Prairie Pothole Region," a band of tall and mixed prairie that stretches across parts of North and South Dakota, Minnesota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Historically, this area supported tall to mid-height prairie grasses, including blue gamma and green needlegrass. The land here is pocked by thousands of depressions left behind by glaciers 10,000 years ago, resulting in a series of small lakes and wetland areas known as prairie potholes. These potholes receive most of their water from spring snowmelt and are a primary source of groundwater recharge for the region. NEON data will help researchers monitor the effects of climate change on the Northern Plains ecosystem. Over the last 30 years, the hydrological cycle in the plains has changed dramatically, trending wetter overall and diverging from the historical ten-year cycles. Temperatures are also rising, leading to changes in plant phenology cycles and species distribution that could negatively impact migratory bird populations and other animal species.

Network), NEON (National Ecological Observatory↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-CRT Curtice Walter-Berger cropland

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CRT Curtice Walter-Berger cropland. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-CRT Curtice Walter-Berger cropland produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The conventional cropland site is rain fed and no irrigation is applied. As it is located in a part of the historic Great Black Swamp, drainage tiles are deployed around 0.5–1.0 m beneath the ground surface in order to draw down the water level. The soil is classified as silty clay and silty clay loam. The cultivation practices include minimum tillage and both insect and weed control. During the study period, the cropland was planted with soybean and winter wheat.

Chen, Jiquan↗

LANL Meteorological Program: 2020 Data Completeness/Quality Report

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) operates four mesa-top meteorology towers: Technical Area (TA) 06, TA-49, TA-53, and TA-54. An additional tower is located in Mortandad Canyon (TA-5 MDCN), and a rain gauge at North Community (NCOM). A description of the meteorology monitoring network is found in Dewart and Boggs (2014). Mesa-top towers are instrumented at 1.2 meters (m), 11.5 m, 23 m, and 46 m. In addition, TA-06 is instrumented at 92 m. The TA-5 MDCN tower is 10 m in height and is instrumented at 1.2 m and 10 m. Data are collected every 15 minutes. Range checking is done on each measurement every 15 minutes; data that are beyond normal ranges are eliminated from the data set and replaced by a code for missing data. In addition, data are reviewed weekly by meteorologists to identify bad data not identified by range checking. The data steward eliminates these data from the data set and replaces them with a code for missing data. The instrument technicians also review that data and schedule instrument replacement as required. Data completeness is determined by the number of total 15-minute records available versus the total number of possible measurements for the entire year. As a rule, the meteorologists do not attempt to estimate data that are eliminated as bad data. Original datalogger records, containing bad data, can be recalled from program archival storage.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗