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NASA NTRS1985

General consequences of the violated Feynman scaling

The problem of scaling of the hadronic production cross sections represents an outstanding question in high energy physics especially for interpretation of cosmic ray data. A comprehensive analysis of the accelerator data leads to the conclusion of the existence of breaked Feynman scaling. It was proposed that the Lorentz invariant inclusive cross sections for secondaries of a given type approaches constant in respect to a breaked scaling variable x sub s. Thus, the differential cross sections measured in accelerator energy can be extrapolated to higher cosmic ray energies. This assumption leads to some important consequences. The distribution of secondary multiplicity that follows from the violated Feynman scaling using a similar method of Koba et al is discussed.

Kamberov, G.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Landslides in West Coast Metropolitan Areas: The Role of Extreme Weather Events

Rainfall-induced landslides represent a pervasive issue in areas where extreme rainfall intersects complex terrain. A farsighted management of landslide risk requires assessing how landslide hazard will change in coming decades and thus requires, inter alia, that we understand what rainfall events are most likely to trigger landslides and how global warming will affect the frequency of such weather events. We take advantage of 9 years of landslide occurrence data compiled by collating Google news reports and of a high-resolution satellite-based daily rainfall data to investigate what weather triggers landslide along the West Coast US. We show that, while this landslide compilation cannot provide consistent and widespread monitoring everywhere, it captures enough of the events in the major urban areas that it can be used to identify the relevant relationships between landslides and rainfall events in Puget Sound, the Bay Area, and greater Los Angeles. In all these regions, days that recorded landslides have rainfall distributions that are skewed away from dry and low-rainfall accumulations and towards heavy intensities. However, large daily accumulation is the main driver of enhanced hazard of landslides only in Puget Sound. There, landslide are often clustered in space and time and major events are primarily driven by synoptic scale variability, namely "atmospheric rivers" of high humidity air hitting anywhere along the West Coast, and the interaction of frontal system with the coastal orography. The relationship between landslide occurrences and daily rainfall is less robust in California, where antecedent precipitation (in the case of the Bay area) and the peak intensity of localized downpours at sub-daily time scales (in the case of Los Angeles) are key factors not captured by the same-day accumulations. Accordingly, we suggest that the assessment of future changes in landslide hazard for the entire the West Coast requires consideration of future changes in the occurrence and intensity of atmospheric rivers, in their duration and clustering, and in the occurrence of short-duration (sub-daily) extreme rainfall as well. Major regional landslide events, in which multiple occurrences are recorded in the catalog for the same day, are too rare to allow a statistical characterization of their triggering events, but a case study analysis indicates that a variety of synoptic-scale events can be involved, including not only atmospheric rivers but also broader cold- and warm-front precipitation. That a news-based catalog of landslides is accurate enough to allow the identification of different landslide/ rainfall relationships in the major urban areas along the US West Coast suggests that this technology can potentially be used for other English-language cities and could become an even more powerful tool if expanded to other languages and non-traditional news sources, such as social media.

landslides↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sub-Seasonal Variability of the Asian Summer Monsoon Transport of CO and Aerosols to the UTLS and Implications for Global Atmospheric Composition

The upper troposphere/ lower stratosphere (UTLS) is a climate sensitive region. The Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is a major component in the climate system. It transports aerosols and trace gases from the most polluted regions in Asia to UTLS where they spread out to the global atmosphere. Although ASM is a seasonal phenomenon with strongest global influences usually seen in summer, it is highly dynamic and connected to other weather and climate systems, with significant spatial and temporal variability ranging from sub-seasonal weather scale to multi-year climate scale. The interplay of multi-scale dynamics inevitably determines the variability of the transport pathways and atmospheric composition in the UTLS.

sub-seasonal variability↗
NASA NTRS2018

Prediction Skill of U.S. Flash Droughts in Subseasonal Experiment (SubX) Model Hindcasts

Droughts that establish themselves over a short period of time (weeks to a few months), referred to as flash droughts, can have devastating impacts on agriculture, water resources, and ecosystems. The ability to predict such droughts in advance would greatly enhance our preparation for them and potentially reduce their impacts. The sub-seasonal time scale at which flash droughts occur emphasizes the importance of producing forecasts at weekly or finer intervals that extend beyond the numerical weather prediction time frame. Here we assess the ability of eight global forecast systems, each participating in the Sub-seasonal Experiment project (SubX), to predict key features associated with rapidly developing droughts over the United States during the last two decades. MERRA2 reanalysis is used as observations. Prediction skill for temperature and precipitation anomalies during these events is limited to the first 1-2 weeks after initialization for most hindcasts. However, there are some hindcasts in which large anomalies are well predicted 3-4 weeks or more in advance. The physical mechanisms that are key to the development of surface anomalies, including quasi-stationary atmospheric waves, were also evaluated. Most hindcasts were unable to capture the development or progression of such drought-inducing circulation features more than 1-2 weeks in advance.

Deangelis, Anthony M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Anisotropic Piezocomposite Actuator Incorporating Machined PMN-PT Single Crystal Fibers

The design, fabrication, and testing of a flexible, planar, anisotropic piezoelectric composite actuator utilizing machined PMN-32%PT single crystal fibers is presented. The device consists of a layer of rectangular single crystal piezoelectric fibers in an epoxy matrix, packaged between interdigitated electrode polyimide films. Quasistatic free-strain measurements of the single crystal device are compared with measurements from geometrically identical specimens incorporating polycrystalline PZT-5A and PZT-5H piezoceramic fibers. Free-strain actuation of the single crystal actuator at low bipolar electric fields (+/- 250 V/mm) is approximately 400% greater than that of the baseline PZT-5A piezoceramic device, and 200% greater than that of the PZT-5H device. Free-strain actuation under high unipolar electric fields (0-4kV/mm) is approximately 200% of the PZT-5A baseline device, and 150% of the PZT-5H alternate piezoceramic device. Performance increases at low field are qualitatively consistent with predicted increases based on scaling the low-field d(sub 33) piezoelectric constants of the respective piezoelectric materials. High-field increases are much less than scaled d(sub 33) estimates, but appear consistent with high-field freestrain measurements reported for similar bulk single-crystal and piezoceramic compositions. Measurements of single crystal actuator capacitance and coupling coefficient are also provided. These properties were poorly predicted using scaled bulk material dielectric and coupling coefficient data. Rules-of-mixtures calculations of the effective elastic properties of the single crystal device and estimated actuation work energy densities are also presented. Results indicate longitudinal stiffnesses significantly lower (50% less) than either piezoceramic device. This suggests that single-crystal piezocomposite actuators will be best suited to low induced-stress, high strain and deflection applications.

Wilkie, W. Keats↗
NASA NTRS1995

Coronal heating by the resonant absorption of Alfven waves: Wavenumber scaling laws.

The importance of global modes in coronal loop heating is well established. In the present work the scaling of the global-mode resonant heating rate with the perturbation wavenumbers is studied with the numerical solution of the linearized time-dependent MHD equations for a full compressible, low-beta, resistive plasma using an implicit integration scheme. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the dissipation on inhomogeneties in the background Alfven speed occurs in narrow resonant layer with the highest heating rate at the global-mode frequency. The global-mode heating rate H (sub r) was found to scale as H (Sub r) approximately k (sub y) (exp 1.03) when k (sub z) = 0.1, and as H (sub r) approximately k (sub y) (exp -1.93) when k (sub z) = 0.75, where k (sub y) and k (sub z) are the wavenumbers in the perpendicular and parallel to the magnetic field directions, respectively, while the dependence of H (sub r) on k (sub z) is more complex. The quality factor Q of the MHD resonance cavity scales as Q approximately k (sub y) (exp -1.8) for k (sub z) = 0.75 and as Q approximately k (sub y) (exp -1.46) for k (sub z) = 0.1. The numerically determined heating rate scaling, the global-mode fequency, and the quality factor are in good agreement with the analytical linear theory. The magnitude of the perturbed velocities was found to decrease with k (sub y). Assuming typical coronal loop parameters (B (sub 0) = 100-200 G, upsilon (sub A) = 2000-4000 km/s), the Alfven waves can supply the required heating to a low-Q loops.

Ofman, L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Large-scale variability of ozone and aerosols in the summertime Arctic and sub-Arctic troposphere

The results of mesoscale and large-scale studies of the distribution of aerosols and O3 using primarily an airborne DIAL system are reported. The tropospheric composition at high latitudes is found to be strongly influenced by stratospheric intrusions. Regions of low-aerosol scattering and enhanced O3 mixing ratios are correlated with descending air from the lower stratosphere. Over 37 percent of the troposphere along the flight track at latitudes higher than 57 deg N had significantly enhanced O3 levels due to stratospheric intrusions, and in the 4-6 km latitude range the tropospheric extent of the enhanced O3 exceeded 56 percent. Ozone mixing ratios of 80 ppbv at 6 km are common, with vertical O3 gradients of over 11 ppbv/km observed across the base of strong intrusions. In the mixed layer over the tundra, O3 was in the 25-35 ppbv range with a gradient of 5.5 ppbv/km, while in the continental polar air masses, the average gradient in the lower troposphere is 7.4 ppbv/km, indicating more downward transport of O3 at higher latitudes.

Browell, E. V.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Coronal gas in the Galactic halo: ORFEUS observations of NGC 346 #1

We present high resolution (lambda/delta lambda = 3000) observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) star NGC 346 #1 near the O VI resonance doublet (1031.9, 1037.6 A). The data were collected with the Berkeley extreme/far ultraviolet (EUV/FUV) spectrometer in the ORFEUS telescope aboard the space platform Astro-SPAS during the missiom of space shuttle Discovery flown in September 1993. The O VI features shows broad absorption centered near nu(sub LSR) is approximately equal to +140 km/sec. This is almost certainly associated with the OB cluster NGC 346 itself, which also shows deep absorption at Si IV and C IV at comparable velocities. An absorption feature corresponding to O VI near nu(sub LSR) = -230 km/sec is present in our data, but this feature is caused by contamination from a second star, probably an early B-type main sequence star at lower standard of rest (LSR) velocity, which is also present in the 20 min circular aperture. Between these velocity extrema lies one broad feature (b is approximately equal 70 km/sec) or multiple narrower features, with a combined column density of about 1.4 x 10(exp 14)/sq cm. Assuming an exponential distribution of O VI with the in-plane density of Jenkins, we infer a scale height, H(sub 0), of no more than approximately equal 1.2 kpc toward NGC 346 #1. Our O VI column density is about a factor of 4 below the predictions of cooling fountain models, but our low scale height is consistent with more recent predictions.

Hurwitz, M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The ACCP Inclined Orbit Project: Enabling New and Synergistic Aerosol Remote Sensing Inversions

Atmospheric aerosols have high spatiotemporal variations due to their diverse sources including windblown dust, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic emissions. These aerosols also have strong diurnal emission characteristics that influence long-range transport, air quality, Earth’s radiation budget, biogeochemical cycles, and weather forecasting. While current sensors can measure the steady-state of global 3D cloud and aerosol properties, we lack the observational datasets to discover the diurnal variability of aerosols, even at seasonal and regional scales, because these missions utilize sun synchronous orbits. An Aerosols and Clouds, Convection and Precipitation (ACCP) observing system has been established as part of NASA’s new Earth System Observatory (ESO) to fulfill the science needs presented in the 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey. The selected ACCP architecture encompasses sensors in two orbit planes, one of which utilizes an inclined orbit (nominally ~55 degrees at a 407 km altitude) to advance our understanding of aerosol and cloud properties and target the dynamics of the cloud and aerosol processes on sub-daily time scales. The anticipated instrumentation suite for the ACCP Inclined Orbit Project is a Stereo Camera System, Polarimeter, Microwave Radiometer, Two-Frequency Radar, and Backscatter Lidar. The polarimeter is expected to have multiple wavelength bands and viewing angles to enable accurate retrievals of aerosol microphysical and optical properties. The backscatter lidar will provide vertical profiles of attenuated backscatter and depolarization ratio at two wavelengths, with better daytime signal-to-noise ratio than previous space-based lidar systems to improve aerosol detection/typing and estimates of aerosol optical properties. The stereo camera system, while designed primarily for clouds, will also provide aerosol plume heights and air motions at the plume heights. This invited presentation will provide (1) an overview of the ACCP Inclined Orbit Project, (2) a description of the new sensor capabilities and orbital characteristics, and (3) a preview of the potential for new synergistic aerosol inversion techniques.

John E Yorks↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hot proton anisotropies and cool proton temperatures in the outer magnetosphere

The hot protons of the outer magnetosphere typically exhibit a temperature anistropy such that T(sub perp)/T(sub parallel) greater than 1, where perpendicular and parallel symbols denote directions relative to the background magnetic field. If this anisotrpy is sufficiently large, the electomagneitc proton cyclotron anistropy instability may be excited. This instability is studied using linear Vlasov theory and one-dimensional hybrid simulations for a homogeneous plasma model representative of conditions in the outer magnetosphere with a hot anisotropic proton component (denoted by subscript h) and a cool, initially isotropic proton component (subscript c). Linear theory yields an instability threshold condition on the hot proton temperature anistropy where as the simulations imply an upper bound on T(sub perp h)/T(sub parallel h); both the threshold and the upper bound have similar scaling with the maximum growth rate gamma (sub m), the parallel beta of the hot component, beta(sub parallel h), and the relative density of the hot component n(sub h)/n(sub e). An anlysis of plasma observations from the Los Alamos magnetospheric plasma analyzer (MPA) in geosynchronous orbits finds that the maximum value of the hot proton temperature anisotropy approximately satisfies the predicted scaling with beta(sub parallel h) and nu(sub h)/n(sub e) and yields the proportionality factor that quantifies this upper bound. The simulations are also used to examine the heating of the cool proton cyclotron instability. The simulations yield a scaling for the dimensionless late-time cool proton average temperature T(sub c)/T(sub parallel h) as (n(sub h)/n(sub e))/beta(sub parallel h exp 0.5). Analysis of MPA data shows that the observed values of T(sub c)/T(sub parallel h) have similar scaling and again yield the proportionality factor which quantifies this relationship.

Gary, S. Peter↗
NASA NTRS2011

Drought Predictability and Prediction in a Changing Climate: Assessing Current Predictive Knowledge and Capabilities, User Requirements and Research Priorities

Drought is fundamentally the result of an extended period of reduced precipitation lasting anywhere from a few weeks to decades and even longer. As such, addressing drought predictability and prediction in a changing climate requires foremost that we make progress on the ability to predict precipitation anomalies on subseasonal and longer time scales. From the perspective of the users of drought forecasts and information, drought is however most directly viewed through its impacts (e.g., on soil moisture, streamflow, crop yields). As such, the question of the predictability of drought must extend to those quantities as well. In order to make progress on these issues, the WCRP drought information group (DIG), with the support of WCRP, the Catalan Institute of Climate Sciences, the La Caixa Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation, has organized a workshop to focus on: 1. User requirements for drought prediction information on sub-seasonal to centennial time scales 2. Current understanding of the mechanisms and predictability of drought on sub-seasonal to centennial time scales 3. Current drought prediction/projection capabilities on sub-seasonal to centennial time scales 4. Advancing regional drought prediction capabilities for variables and scales most relevant to user needs on sub-seasonal to centennial time scales. This introductory talk provides an overview of these goals, and outlines the occurrence and mechanisms of drought world-wide.

Schubert, Siegfried↗
NASA NTRS1981

Fourier Transform Spectrometer observations of solar carbon monoxide. I - The fundamental and first overtone bands in the quiet sun

Measurements of the 2200/cm fundamental and 4300/cm first overtone vibration-rotation band systems of solar carbon monoxide, were obtained with the Fourier Transform Spectrometer of the McMath telescope at Kitt Peak. The overtone measurements were taken at the east, north, and west heliocentric limbs, and at disk center. Observations of the strong fundamental bands were obtained at disk center and near the north limb. The low core brightness temperatures of the strongest fundamental carbon monoxide lines near the limb, reported previously by Noyes (1972) and Hall (1974), are confirmed. The possibility that thermal inhomogeneities might be responsible for the unusual behavior of the fundamental carbon dioxide lines have been examined. The somewhat discordant behavior of the fundamental lines at disk center compared with the north limb seems to favor a limb shadowing effect. The first overtone limb equivalent widths and the best-fit thermal and microvelocity models indicate a solar carbon abundance of 0.004 (on the scale with A sub H = 1) for an oxygen-to-carbon abundance ratio of 2.

Ayres, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

One-photon pair annihilation in magnetized relativistic plasmas

In supersonic magnetic fields, electron-positron pairs may annihilate into single photons producing spectral features above 1 MeV. The paper calculates the exact one-photon annihilation rate in the general case where pairs may annihilate from excited Landau states, extending the previous studies which were restricted to pairs in the ground state. Asymptotic expressions for annihilation spectra and rates in the limit of large pair quantum numbers are also derived. It is found that the rate of annihilation from excited states can exceed the rate from the ground state by orders of magnitude in fields less than about 2 x 10 to the 12th G. This allows one-photon annihilation to be competitive with the two-photon process at typical neutron star field strengths. Annihilation spectra from a Maxwellian pair plasma at transrelativistic temperatures show fine structure near threshold on a scale (h/2pi)omega sub B as the result of contributions from individual pair states, which blend into a smooth continuum at higher energies.

Harding, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Oceanic tide maps and spherical harmonic coefficients from Geosat altimetry

Maps and tables for the global ocean tides, 69 degree N to 68 degree S, derived from two years of Geosat altimetry are presented. Global maps of local and Greenwich admittance of the (altimetric) ocean tide, and maps of amplitude and Greenwich phase lag of the ocean tide are shown for M(sub 2), S(sub 2), N(sub 2), O(sub 1), and K(sub 1). Larger scale maps of amplitude and phases are also shown for regional areas of special interest. Spherical harmonic coefficients of the ocean tide through degree and order 8 are tabulated for the six major constituents.

Cartwright, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Tests of two convection theories for red giant and red supergiant envelopes

Two theories of stellar envelope convection are considered here in the context of red giants and red supergiants of intermediate to high mass: Boehm-Vitense's standard mixing-length theory (MLT) and Canuto & Mazzitelli's new theory incorporating the full spectrum of turbulence (FST). Both theories assume incompressible convection. Two formulations of the convective mixing length are also evaluated: l proportional to the local pressure scale height (H(sub P)) and l proportional to the distance from the upper boundary of the convection zone (z). Applications to test both theories are made by calculating stellar evolutionary sequences into the red zone (z). Applications to test both theories are made by calculating stellar evolutionary sequences into the red phase of core helium burning. Since the theoretically predicted effective temperatures for cool stars are known to be sensitive to the assigned value of the mixing length, this quantity has been individually calibrated for each evolutionary sequence. The calibration is done in a composite Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for the red giant and red supergiant members of well-observed Galactic open clusters. The MLT model requires the constant of proportionality for the convective mixing length to vary by a small but statistically significant amount with stellar mass, whereas the FST model succeeds in all cases with the mixing lenghth simply set equal to z. The structure of the deep stellar interior, however, remains very nearly unaffected by the choices of convection theory and mixing lenghth. Inside the convective envelope itself, a density inversion always occurs, but is somewhat smaller for the convectively more efficient MLT model. On physical grounds the FST model is preferable, and seems to alleviate the problem of finding the proper mixing length.

Stothers, Richard B.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Characterizing the Small Scale Structure in Clusters of Galaxies

We have applied a wavelet transform analysis to quantify the small-scale (less than a few arcminutes) X-ray structure of clusters of galaxies to several clusters. Three of these clusters show interesting structure. In addition to the small scale structure in surface brightness, we have searched for temperature structure using Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) observations. For A754, we find a filamentary structure, similar to that previously detected in A85. For A119, we find small scale structure associated with both cool and hot regions with a hot filament extending to the northeast. For A1750, one of the first clusters to show substructure from Einstein, we have a rederived the substructure from the ROSAT observations. The ASCA observations show a hot region between the two small scale features - sub-clusters. The hot region shows that the two subclusters are merging and producing a shock wave at the leading edge of the interaction. This analysis had been applied to a sample of 17 clusters to determine the radial distribution of substructure in a sample. The number of detected substructures was rather small and it was decided to select a different cluster sample at larger redshift. This provided a larger radial range over which substructure could be detected. This new cluster sample also includes about 20 clusters and is being analyzed. Finally, we are considering how to compare the substructure parameters of nearby clusters with a more distant sample to see if one can extract cosmological information. Since substructure frequency should depend on the cosmological density parameter, it may be possible to derive new constraints by comparing nearby and distant clusters.

Forman, William R.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Observing the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation: A Unique Window on the Early Universe

The cosmic microwave background radiation is the remnant heat from the Big Bang. It provides us with a unique probe of conditions in the early universe, long before any organized structures had yet formed. The anisotropy in the radiation's brightness yields important clues about primordial structure and additionally provides a wealth of information about the physics,of the early universe. Within the framework of inflationary dark matter models observations of the anisotropy on sub-degree angular scales will reveal the signatures of acoustic oscillations of the photon-baryon fluid at a redshift of approx. 1100. The validity of inflationary models will be tested and, if agreement is found, accurate values for most of the key cosmological parameters will result. If disagreement is found, we will need to rethink our basic ideas about the physics of the early universe. I will present an overview of the physical processes at work in forming the anisotropy and discuss what we have already learned from current observations. I will conclude with a brief overview of the recently launched Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission which will observe the anisotropy over the full sky with 0.21 degree angular resolution. At the time of this meeting, MAP will have just arrived at the L2 Lagrange point, marking the start of its observing campaign. The MAP hardware is being produced by Goddard in partnership with Princeton University.

Hinshaw, Gary↗