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NASA NTRS1982

Electric fields measured by ISEE-1 within and near the neutral sheet during quiet and active times

An understanding of the physical processes occurring in the magnetotail and plasmasheet during different interplanetary magnetic field orientations and differing levels of ground magnetic activity is crucial for the development of a theory of energy transfer from the solar wind to the particles which produce auroral arcs. In the present investigation, the first observations of electric fields during neutral sheet crossings are presented, taking into account the statistical correlations of the interplanetary magnetic field direction and ground activity with the character of the electric field. The electric field data used in the study were obtained from a double probe experiment on the ISEE-1 satellite. The observations suggest that turbulent electric and magnetic fields are intimately related to plasma acceleration in the neutral sheet and to the processes which create auroral particles.

Cattell, C. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Magnetic field rotation through the magnetopause - ISEE 1 and 2 observations

ISEE 1 and 2 magnetic field data obtained during dayside magnetopause crossings are analyzed using a minimum variance technique in order to determine the characteristics of the rotation of the magnetic field across the magnetopause. Only a small fraction of the magnetopause crossings examined present a sufficiently coherent structure that they can be compared with theoretical predictions and only a few of the hodograms of the magnetic field at the crossings display the ideal rotation expected for a rotational discontinuity structure. It is found that the observed senses of rotation are not consistent with the predictions of the electron whistler polarization theory. Rotations exceeding 180 deg are very seldom observed; they usually occur across multiple crossings, either as 360 deg rotation about the minimum variance direction or, occasionally, in more complicated patterns associated with S-shaped hodograms. These observations are seen as indicating that the sense of the magnetic field rotation through the magnetopause is controlled by the relative orientation of the magnetosheath and the magnetospheric field and that the angular rotation is minimized when the magnetic field changes from one orientation to the other.

Berchem, J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Pressure anisotropy and radial stress balance in the Jovian neutral sheet

By examining particle and magnetic field data from the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, signatures were found indicating that the (greater than about 28 keV) particle pressure parallel to the magnetic field is greater than the pressure perpendicular to the field within the nightside neutral sheet (three nightside neutral sheet crossings, with favorable experimental conditions, were used). By incorporating the pressure anisotropy into the calculation of radial forces within the hightside neutral sheet, it is found that (1) force balance is approximately achieved and (2) the anisotropy force term provides the largest contribution of the other particle forces considered (pressure gradients and the corotation centrifugal force). With regard to the problem of understanding the balance of radial forces within the dayside neutral sheet (McNutt, 1984; Mauk and Krimigis, 1987), the nightside pressure anisotropy force is larger than the dayside pressure gradient forces at equivalent radial distances; however, a full accounting of the dayside regions remains to be achieved.

Paranicas, C. P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Large-amplitude auroral electric fields measured with DE 1

A large fraction of the available electric field data from the plasma wave instrument (PWI) on the Dynamics Explorer (DE) 1 satellite has recently been searched for events with large-amplitude electric fields. The magnitude and distribution of these peak events as functions of altitude have been determined. The largest amplitudes were found between 1.4 and 2.5 RE and the probability of finding large electric fields was greatest in the range of 1.5 to 1.7 RE. However, when the measured electric field values are 'mapped' to the Earth's surface in order to account for the geometry of the geomagnetic field lines, then the mapped values always increase with increasing altitude. This radial dependence is considered to be evidence for magnetic field-aligned electric fields. The largest electric field that was detected with the DE 1 instrument had a magnitude exceeding 840 mV/m and was found at 1.45 R(E). This field appears to be associated with a low-frequency wave. At subauroral latitudes the average mapped electric field is nearly constant with altitude, as it should be where there are no magnetic field-aligned potential drops. Within auroral latitudes the average value of the mapped electric field increases as altitude increases. The largest gradients are found between 1.3 and 2 R(E).

Weimer, D. R.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Two-way satellite time transfer: Overview and recent developments

The experiment using small earth stations for transatlantic two-way satellite time transfer between the USA and Germany has had its 10th anniversary this year. Pseudo-random noise coded time signals were phase modulated and demodulated at each station using a modem. Recently, during the last two weeks of Aug. 1993, six European time laboratories have used the INTELSAT 307E satellite for line-up tests and preliminary time transfer sessions using the same type of MITREX modem. The need for a uniform format for the exchange of data was felt heavily after these sessions. This problem was foreseen and addressed in international working parties. During Apr. 1993, in Task Group 7/2 of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector, a very intense discussion has taken place about what procedure should be recommended for TWSTFT and what items the header and data lines of the resulting data fields should contain. A difficulty is that two different methods of calibration of the earth station delays exist which result in different sets of delay data to be exchanged. Further study and discussions are necessary. Also, a meeting of the CCDS Working Group on TWSTFT addressed this in Oct. 1993. The outcome of the discussions and the prospect for future developments are presented.

Dejong, Gerrit↗

NASA NTRS1995

The response of ionospheric convection in the polar cap to substorm activity

We report multi-instrument observations during an isolated substorm on 17 October 1989. The European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar operated in the SP-UK-POLI mode measuring ionospheric convection at latitudes 71 deg Lambda - 78 deg Lambda. Sub-Auroral Magnetometer Network (SAMNET) and the EISCAT Magnetometer Cross provide information on the timing of substorm expansion phase onset and subsequent intensifications, as well as the location of the field aligned and ionospheric currents associated with the substorm current wedge. Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-8 (IMP-8) magnetic field data are also included. Evidence of a substorm growth phase is provided by the equatorward motion of a flow reversal boundary across the EISCAT radar field of view at 2130 MLT, following a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We infer that the polar cap expanded as a result of the addition of open magnetic flux in the tail lobes during this interval. The flow reversal boundary, which is a lower limit to the polar cap boundary, reached an invariant latitude equatorward of 71 deg Lambda by the time of the expansion phase onset. We conclude that the substorm onset region in the ionosphere, defined by the westward electrojet, mapped to a part of the tail radially earthward of the boundary between open and closed magnetic flux, the distant neutral line. Thus the substorm was not initiated at the distant neutral line, although there is evidence that it remained active during the expansion phase.

Lester, M.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Observations and Non-Force Free Modeling of a Flux Transfer Event Immersed in a Super-Alfvenic Flow

We analyze plasma, magnetic field, and electric field data for a flux transfer event (FTE) to highlight improvements in our understanding of these transient reconnection signatures resulting from high-resolution data. The approximate 20 s long, reverse FTE, which occurred south of the geomagnetic equator near dusk, was immersed in super-Alfvnic flow. The field line twist is illustrated by the behavior of flows parallel perpendicular to the magnetic field. Four-spacecraft timing and energetic particle pitch angle anisotropies indicate a flux rope (FR) connected to the Northern Hemisphere and moving southeast. The flow forces evidently overcame the magnetic tension. The high-speed flows inside the FR were different from those outside. The external flows were perpendicular to the field as expected for draping of the external field around the FR. Modeling the FR analytically, we adopt a non-force free approach since the current perpendicular to the field is nonzero. It reproduces many features of the observations.

Farrugia, C. J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Utilization of LANDSAT multispectral data in geobotanical investigations: The location of ironstone gravel in the Sam Houston National Forest

Practical techniques were developed and evaluated for deriving geobotanical information from LANDSAT MSS data acquired for a test site in the Sam Houston National Forest near Cleveland, Texas where gravel deposits exist in sufficient quantity that economical extraction would be feasible. A correlation was shown between a single spectral class and the presence of ironstone gravel. Field data indicates that this class relates to upland pine which was probably under stress as the result of a prolonged drought which was in progress at the time of data acquisition. It is suggested that the subsurface gravel produces a soil which has less field capacity for water retention, causing early appearance of water stress in the surface vegetation over these soils. In all areas within the QMC formation where this class occurred, gravel was located when borings were made.

Cibula, W. G.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Consistency Study of Enhanced Shortwave Cloud Absorption Using GEBA Data

Under the support of this project, we have obtained the following results:(1) Shortwave radiative fluxes in current atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) cannot simultaneously match Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) at the surface. This inconsistency of model results with observation is a result of insufficient absorption of solar radiation in the model atmosphere; (2) Current state-of-the art global datasets describing the energy balance of the atmosphere cannot close the atmospheric energy budget if algorithm-derived surface shortwave radiative fluxes are used. The deficient amount of 20 W/sq m is similar to the recently reported enhanced absorption of solar radiation in the atmosphere; (3) We have clarified several sampling problems in the analysis of the collocated monthly GEBA/ERBE data sets which are germane to the interpretation of the clear-sky absorption of shortwave radiation in the atmosphere. As a result, the collocated monthly ERBE/GEBA data can be effectively used to infer enhanced absorption of atmospheric radiation in measurements relative to models, but it cannot be unambiguously used to answer whether the enhanced absorption is in clouds or in clear sky. Other field data are needed to resolve this issue; and (4) Analysis of aircraft measurements during Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Enhanced Shortwave Experiment (ARESE) field campaign supports the enhanced absorption of solar radiation in clouds.

Zhang, Ming-Hua↗

NASA NTRS1975

Variational optimization analysis of temperature and moisture advection in a severe storm environment

Horizontal wind components, potential temperature, and mixing ratio fields associated with a severe storm environment in the south central U.S. were analyzed from synoptic upper air observations with a nonhomogeneous, anisotropic weighting function. Each data field was filtered with variational optimization analysis techniques. Variational optimization analysis was also performed on the vertical motion field and was used to produce advective forecasts of the potential temperature and mixing ratio fields. Results show that the dry intrusion is characterized by warm air, the advection of which produces a well-defined upward motion pattern. A corresponding downward motion pattern comprising a deep vertical circulation in the warm air sector of the low pressure system was detected. The axes alignment of maximum dry and warm advection with the axis of the tornado-producing squall line also resulted.

Mcfarland, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Aircraft attitude measurement using a vector magnetometer

The feasibility of a vector magnetometer system was investigated by developing a technique to determine attitude given magnetic field components. Sample calculations are then made using the earth's magnetic field data acquired during actual flight conditions. Results of these calculations are compared graphically with measured attitude data acquired simultaneously with the magnetic data. The role and possible implementation of various reference angles are discussed along with other pertinent considerations. Finally, it is concluded that the earth's magnetic field as measured by modern vector magnetometers can play a significant role in attitude control systems.

Peitila, R.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Biogeochemical Response to Mesoscale Physical Forcing in the California Current System

In the first part of the project, we investigated the local response of the coastal ocean ecosystems (changes in chlorophyll, concentration and chlorophyll, fluorescence quantum yield) to physical forcing by developing and deploying Autonomous Drifting Ocean Stations (ADOS) within several mesoscale features along the U.S. west coast. Also, we compared the temporal and spatial variability registered by sensors mounted in the drifters to that registered by the sensors mounted in the satellites in order to assess the scales of variability that are not resolved by the ocean color satellite. The second part of the project used the existing WOCE SVP Surface Lagrangian drifters to track individual water parcels through time. The individual drifter tracks were used to generate multivariate time series by interpolating/extracting the biological and physical data fields retrieved by remote sensors (ocean color, SST, wind speed and direction, wind stress curl, and sea level topography). The individual time series of the physical data (AVHRR, TOPEX, NCEP) were analyzed against the ocean color (SeaWiFS) time-series to determine the time scale of biological response to the physical forcing. The results from this part of the research is being used to compare the decorrelation scales of chlorophyll from a Lagrangian and Eulerian framework. The results from both parts of this research augmented the necessary time series data needed to investigate the interactions between the ocean mesoscale features, wind, and the biogeochemical processes. Using the historical Lagrangian data sets, we have completed a comparison of the decorrelation scales in both the Eulerian and Lagrangian reference frame for the SeaWiFS data set. We are continuing to investigate how these results might be used in objective mapping efforts.

Niiler, Pearn P.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Status of the NASA GMAO Observing System Simulation Experiment

An Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) is a pure modeling study used when actual observations are too expensive or difficult to obtain. OSSEs are valuable tools for determining the potential impact of new observing systems on numerical weather forecasts and for evaluation of data assimilation systems (DAS). An OSSE has been developed at the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO, Errico et al 2013). The GMAO OSSE uses a 13-month integration of the European Centre for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts 2005 operational model at T511/L91 resolution for the Nature Run (NR). Synthetic observations have been updated so that they are based on real observations during the summer of 2013. The emulated observation types include AMSU-A, MHS, IASI, AIRS, and HIRS4 radiance data, GPS-RO, and conventional types including aircraft, rawinsonde, profiler, surface, and satellite winds. The synthetic satellite wind observations are colocated with the NR cloud fields, and the rawinsondes are advected during ascent using the NR wind fields. Data counts for the synthetic observations are matched as closely as possible to real data counts, as shown in Figure 2. Errors are added to the synthetic observations to emulate representativeness and instrument errors. The synthetic errors are calibrated so that the statistics of observation innovation and analysis increments in the OSSE are similar to the same statistics for assimilation of real observations, in an iterative method described by Errico et al (2013). The standard deviations of observation minus forecast (xo-H(xb)) are compared for the OSSE and real data in Figure 3. The synthetic errors include both random, uncorrelated errors, and an additional correlated error component for some observational types. Vertically correlated errors are included for conventional sounding data and GPS-RO, and channel correlated errors are introduced to AIRS and IASI (Figure 4). HIRS, AMSU-A, and MHS have a component of horizontally correlated error. The forecast model used by the GMAO OSSE is the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) with Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) DAS. The model version has been updated to v. 5.13.3, corresponding to the current operational model. Forecasts are run on a cube-sphere grid with 180 points along each edge of the cube (approximately 0.5 degree horizontal resolution) with 72 vertical levels. The DAS is cycled at 6-hour intervals, with 240 hour forecasts launched daily at 0000 UTC. Evaluation of the forecasting skill for July and August is currently underway. Prior versions of the GMAO OSSE have been found to have greater forecasting skill than real world forecasts. It is anticipated that similar forecast skill will be found in the updated OSSE.

OSSE↗

NASA NTRS1973

Steepening of nonlinear waves in the solar wind.

Two shock-like structures (i.e., abrupt step-like increases in number density, bulk speed, and proton temperature) were found in the data from Mariner 5 at 0.98 AU on June 26 and at 0.85 AU on Aug. 29, 1967. The thickness of these 'structures' determined from the magnetic field data was more than 1000 proton Larmor radii. They were also observed by Explorer 33, 34, and 35 at 1 AU, where the thicknesses were much smaller than in the Mariner 5 data. It is suggested that these two structures were nonlinear magnetoacoustic waves that were in the processes of steepening. It is further suggested that shocks would be formed just beyond 1 AU. These structures were not associated with corotating streams, but they could be associated with impressive solar events in which a flare was followed by type 2 and type 4 radio emission and a rare chromospheric wave.

Chao, J. K.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Evaluation of Jupiter longitudes in System III/1965/

Commission 40 of the International Astronomical Union has adopted a new longitude system for Jupiter, labelled System III(1965), to replace the provisional System III(1957.0). The specification of the prime meridian and epoch for the new system differs slightly from that recently published. Its rotation rate implies a period of 9 hr 55 min 29.711 (plus or minus 0.04) sec, consistent with recent determinations from decimetric and decametric data. For both the new and older systems, equations are provided which are useful in the evaluation of longitudes for the analysis of Jupiter radio, particle, and field data from earth and spacecraft observations.

Seidelmann, P. K.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Test of charge injection device, phase 1

A computer-controlled automatic facility containing two interactive microprocessors, peripherals, and an optical bench was used to obtain device characteristics for use in evaluating CID's as the sensor element in a prospective star tracker application. Each of the ST-256 chips tested contains a 256 x 256 pixel element array with 65536 picture elements. Two ST-256 devices were tested at 20 C under light levels of 10%, 0.1%, and 0.01% saturation, and in darkness. The saturation level was established at 0.95 microwatts sq cm as measured by the radiometeric sensor. Two test runs under each condition were performed for each chip. Two complete sets of data for each of the devices were thus obtained. A separate data field was used to store the results of each test condition. Repetitive runs of a test condition were stored sequentially in the same file. Examination of the data using print-outs is shown in examples.

Gradinger, A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The NASA Lewis large wind turbine program

The program is directed toward development of the technology for safe, reliable, environmentally acceptable large wind turbines that have the potential to generate a significant amount of electricity at costs competitive with conventional electric generation systems. In addition, these large wind turbines must be fully compatible with electric utility operations and interface requirements. Advances are made by gaining a better understanding of the system design drivers, improvements in the analytical design tools, verification of design methods with operating field data, and the incorporation of new technology and innovative designs. An overview of the program activities is presented and includes results from the first and second generation field machines (Mod-OA, -1, and -2), the design phase of the third generation wind turbine (Mod-5) and the advanced technology projects. Also included is the status of the Department of Interior WTS-4 machine.

Thomas, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Schedule-Report-Generator Computer Program

Schedule Report Generator provides simple method for generating periodic schedule reports. Enables engineering manager to monitor tasks assigned to staff members on weekly basis. Sorts three types of reports by use of one or more data fields as sorting keys. Schedule Organizer (SO) (COSMIC program MSC-21525), Schedule Tracker (ST) (COSMIC program MSC-21526), and Schedule Report Generator (SRG) computer programs manipulating data-base files in ways advantageous in scheduling. Written in PL/1 and DEC Command Language (DCL).

Collazo, Fernando F.↗