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At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Understanding Arctic Surface Temperature Differences in Reanalyses

Reanalyses in the Arctic are widely used for model evaluation and for understanding contemporary climate change. Nevertheless, differences among reanalyses in fundamental meteorological variables including surface air temperature are large. For example, the 1980-2009 mean surface air temperature for the north polar cap (70ÂdegN-90ÂdegN) among global reanalyses span a range of 2.4 K, which approximates the average warming trend from these reanalyses over the 30-year period of 2.1 K. Understanding these differences requires evaluation over the three principal surface domains of the Arctic: glaciated land, the unglaciated terrestrial surface, and sea ice/ocean. An examination is conducted of contemporary global reanalyses of the ECMWF Interim project, NASA MERRA, MERRA-2, JRA-55, and NOAA CFSR using available in situ data and assessments of the surface energy budget. Overly-simplistic representations of the Greenland Ice Sheet surface are found to be associated with local warm air temperature biases in winter. A review of progress made in the development of the MERRA-2 land-ice representation is presented. Large uncertainty is also found in temperatures over the Arctic tundra and boreal forest zone. But a key focus of temperature differences for northern high latitudes is the Arctic Ocean. Near-surface air temperature differences over the Arctic Ocean are found to be related to discrepancies in sea ice and sea surface temperature boundary data, which are severely compromised in current reanalyses. Issues with the modeled representation of sea ice cover are an additional factor in reanalysis temperature trends. Differences in the representation of the surface energy budget among the various reanalyses are also reviewed.

Surface Temperatur↗
NASA NTRS2023

Accounting for Herbaceous Communities in Process-Based Models Will Advance Our Understanding of “Grassy” Ecosystems

Grassland and other herbaceous communities cover significant portions of Earth's terrestrial surface and provide many critical services, such as carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and food production. Forecasts of global change impacts on these services will require predictive tools, such as process-based dynamic vegetation models. Yet, model representation of herbaceous communities and ecosystems lags substantially behind that of tree communities and forests. The limited representation of herbaceous communities within models arises from two important knowledge gaps: first, our empirical understanding of the principles governing herbaceous vegetation dynamics is either incomplete or does not provide mechanistic information necessary to drive herbaceous community processes with models; second, current model structure and parameterization of grass and other herbaceous plant functional types limits the ability of models to predict outcomes of competition and growth for herbaceous vegetation. In this review, we provide direction for addressing these gaps by: (1) presenting a brief history of how vegetation dynamics have been developed and incorporated into earth system models, (2) reporting on a model simulation activity to evaluate current model capability to represent herbaceous vegetation dynamics and ecosystem function, and (3) detailing several ecological properties and phenomena that should be a focus for both empiricists and modelers to improve representation of herbaceous vegetation in models. Together, empiricists and modelers can improve representation of herbaceous ecosystem processes within models. In so doing, we will greatly enhance our ability to forecast future states of the earth system, which is of high importance given the rapid rate of environmental change on our planet.

biogeochemistry↗
NASA NTRS1973

Unsteady compressible potential flow around lifting bodies - General theory.

The general theory of potential aerodynamic flow around a lifting body having arbitrary shape and motion is presented. By using the Green's function method, an integral representation for the velocity potential is obtained for both supersonic and subsonic flow. This representation reduces properly to the lifting surface theories as well as to other classical mathematical formulas. Under small perturbation assumption, the potential at any point P in the field depends only upon the values of the potential and its normal derivative on the surface of the body. Hence, if the point P approaches the surface of the body, the representation reduces to an integrodifferential equation relating the potential and its normal derivative on the surface of the body.

Morino, L.↗
NASA NTRS1974

An ultrahigh-accuracy body pointing system for the Large Space Telescope

The Large Space Telescope (LST) program is aimed at placing a three-meter diffraction-limited telescope in a 270-nm orbit to perform astronomical observations that are not possible with earth-based telescopes. A complex simulation model is described which was developed to determine whether the stringent pointing stability requirements could be met. The model (programmed on a hybrid computer) included detailed dynamic representation of control moment gyros (CMGs) and reaction wheels (RWs), including their noise characteristics; dynamic sensor representation (including noise); shockmounts for the CMG actuators; detailed representation of an image motion compensation system; and a detailed flexible body vehicle model. Stability and performance studies based on the simulation model showed that the body pointing system will meet LST requirements in the presence of CMG vibrational disturbances and sensor noise. The recommended system consists of three orthogonally mounted RWs for primary short-term control, and a cluster of CMG actuators for continuous RW desaturation and vehicle maneuvering.

Rybak, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Nondeterministic data base for computerized visual perception

A description is given of the knowledge representation data base in the perception subsystem of the Mars robot vehicle prototype. Two types of information are stored. The first is generic information that represents general rules that are conformed to by structures in the expected environments. The second kind of information is a specific description of a structure, i.e., the properties and relations of objects in the specific case being analyzed. The generic knowledge is represented so that it can be applied to extract and infer the description of specific structures. The generic model of the rules is substantially a Bayesian representation of the statistics of the environment, which means it is geared to representation of nondeterministic rules relating properties of, and relations between, objects. The description of a specific structure is also nondeterministic in the sense that all properties and relations may take a range of values with an associated probability distribution.

Yakimovsky, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Ultrahigh-accuracy body-pointing system for the Large Space Telescope

The Large Space Telescope (LST) is a 3-m diffraction-limited telescope. Pointing stability requirements necessary to assure diffraction-limited images are plus or minus 0.005 arc-sec, over possible experiment observation times of several hours. In order to determine whether these stringent pointing requirements could be met, a complex simulation model was defined which consisted of detailed dynamic representations of control moment gyros (CMGs) and reaction wheels (RWs), including their noise characteristics, dynamic sensor representations with sensor noise, shock mounts for the CMG actuators, a detailed representation of an image motion compensation (IMC) system, and a detailed flexible body structural model with all significant vehicle and solar panel bending modes. On the basis of both stability and performance studies utilizing this model, it was determined that a body-pointing system will meet LST requirements in the presence of CMG vibrational disturbances and sensor noise. The recommended system consists of three orthogonally mounted RWs for primary short-term control, and a cluster of CMG actuators for continuous RW desaturation and vehicle maneuvering.

Rybak, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Remarks on boundary-fitted coordinate system generation

The essential part of numerical solutions of partial differential equations is the representation of gradients and integrals by, respectively, differences between points and summations over points. In order for such numerical representations to be accurate, it is necessary that these points be more closely spaced in regions of large gradients. The need for accurate representation is particularly acute near body surfaces, since the boundary conditions are generally the most influential part of a partial differential equation solution. This is especially true of viscous solutions at high Reynolds number, where very large gradients occur in the boundary layer.

Thompson, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Influence of boundary approximations and conditions on finite difference solutions

Numerical representations of boundary approximations and conditions for three problems are investigated to determine the resulting global accuracy of the steady state solution. Numerical accuracy with various boundary approximations is determined for quasi-one-dimensional inviscid flow in a duct with the interior grid points evaluated using the MacCormack scheme. When an extrapolation approximation with first order local truncation error is used, the global second order accuracy of the difference scheme can be destroyed. For one dimensional flow in a porous medium, an implicit midpoint difference scheme which is consistent with the boundary conditions is developed without the need of boundary approximations. A dissipative model problem is solved with the boundary conditions discretized with first and second order accuracy. The overall second order accuracy of the difference scheme is destroyed if first order numerical representation of one of the boundary conditions is used. With a boundary approximation, the second order global accuracy of the model problem is retained if either second order extrapolation or first order representation of the governing equation is used.

Blottner, F. G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Identification of aerodynamic indicial functions using flight data

It is pointed out that the use of indicial function representation provides a model superior to the aerodynamic derivative model. Specific derivatives can be approximated from the indicial models. The model can also be used to compute equivalent stability and control parameters not usually available from flight data. It is shown that derivatives regarding the angle-of-attack and the side slip angle can be derived directly from the indicial functions without any identifiability problem. Attention is given to the pitch moment coefficient, linear indicial function representation, the identification problem for the pitch moment equation, the identifiability of linear systems, parametric representations of the indicial functions, an identification technique, angle-of-attack and pitch rate dynamics in the pitch plane, multivariate linear models, nonlinear aerodynamic indicial functions, measurement system accuracy, and poststall and spin-entry data from a scaled research vehicle.

Gupta, N. K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Analytical design of multispectral sensors

An optimal design based on the criterion of minimum mean square representation error using the Karhunen-Loeve expansion was developed to represent the spectral response functions from a stratum based upon a stochastic process scene model. From the overall pattern recognition system perspective, the effect of the representation accuracy on a typical performance criterion (the probability of correct classification) is investigated. The optimum sensor design provides a standard against which practical (suboptimum) operational sensors can be compared. An example design is provided and its performance is illustrated. Although developed primarily for the purpose of sensor design, the procedure has potential for making important contributions to scene understanding. Spectral channels which have narrow bandwidths relative to current sensor systems may be necessary to provide adequate spectral representation and improved classification performance.

Wiersma, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Utilization of Historic Information in an Optimisation Task

One of the basic components of a discrete model of motor behavior and decision making, which describes tracking and supervisory control in unitary terms, is assumed to be a filtering mechanism which is tied to the representational principles of human memory for time-series information. In a series of experiments subjects used the time-series information with certain significant limitations: there is a range-effect; asymmetric distributions seem to be recognized, but it does not seem to be possible to optimize performance based on skewed distributions. Thus there is a transformation of the displayed data between the perceptual system and representation in memory involving a loss of information. This rules out a number of representational principles for time-series information in memory and fits very well into the framework of a comprehensive discrete model for control of complex systems, modelling continuous control (tracking), discrete responses, supervisory behavior and learning.

Boesser, T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A theory for the core of a three-dimensional leading-edge vortex

A theory is presented for the flow in the core of a separation-induced leading-edge vortex. The theory is based on matching inner and outer representations of the vortex. The inner representation models continuously distributed vorticity and includes an asymptotic viscous subcore. The outer representation models concentrated spiral sheets of vorticity and is fully three dimensional. A parameter is identified which closely tracks the vortex breakdown stability boundary for delta, arrow, and diamond wings.

Luckring, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A knowledge based software engineering environment testbed

The Carnegie Group Incorporated and Boeing Computer Services Company are developing a testbed which will provide a framework for integrating conventional software engineering tools with Artifical Intelligence (AI) tools to promote automation and productivity. The emphasis is on the transfer of AI technology to the software development process. Experiments relate to AI issues such as scaling up, inference, and knowledge representation. In its first year, the project has created a model of software development by representing software activities; developed a module representation formalism to specify the behavior and structure of software objects; integrated the model with the formalism to identify shared representation and inheritance mechanisms; demonstrated object programming by writing procedures and applying them to software objects; used data-directed and goal-directed reasoning to, respectively, infer the cause of bugs and evaluate the appropriateness of a configuration; and demonstrated knowledge-based graphics. Future plans include introduction of knowledge-based systems for rapid prototyping or rescheduling; natural language interfaces; blackboard architecture; and distributed processing

Gill, C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Judgments of natural and anomalous trajectories in the presence and absence of motion

Three experiments using McCloskey's curved tube problem, in which people are asked to predict the path that a ball takes when it is shot through a tube curved in a 'C' or spiral, are reported. The first experiment compared the perceptual and representational competencies of observers in recognizing the natural trajectory of the ball, and the second examined the competencies of children on this problem. The third experiment attempted to enhance the representational competence of observers by encouraging them to use a mental imagery approach to the problem. The subjects were presented with both on-going events and with static representations of the event. Men performed better than women under both these conditions, a result not attributable to formal instruction in physics. Children showed no gender effect. The use of mental imagery did not enhance performance on the static test.

Kaiser, M. K.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Optical linear algebra processors - Architectures and algorithms

Attention is given to the component design and optical configuration features of a generic optical linear algebra processor (OLAP) architecture, as well as the large number of OLAP architectures, number representations, algorithms and applications encountered in current literature. Number-representation issues associated with bipolar and complex-valued data representations, high-accuracy (including floating point) performance, and the base or radix to be employed, are discussed, together with case studies on a space-integrating frequency-multiplexed architecture and a hybrid space-integrating and time-integrating multichannel architecture.

Casasent, David↗
NASA NTRS1987

The role of convective parameterization in the simulation of a Gulf Coast precipitation system

Three simulations were performed with the Limited Area Mesoscale Prediction System (LAMPS) model in order to examine the role of convective parameterization in the simulation of the Gulf Coast precipitation system of March 6-7, 1982. The first simulation neglected moist processes, the second used the representation for moist physics of Orlanksi and Ross (1984) and Rosenthal (1978, 1979), and the third simulation incorporated the LAMPS sequential plume cumulus cloud model as convective parameterization for the model. The effects of various representations of moist physics on the evolution of the model's precipitation, kinematic and diabatic heating, and mass and wind fields are investigated. It is determined that the representation of moist thermodynamics in the meso-alpha-scale model influences the manner in which the model describes the mesoscale structures.

Kalb, Michael W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A theory for the core flow of leading-edge vortices

Separation-induced leading-edge vortices can dominate the flow about slender wings at moderate to high angles of attack, often with favorable aerodynamic effects. However, at the high angles of attack which are desirable for takeoff and landing as well as subsonic-transonic maneuver the vortices can breakdown or burst in the vicinity of the aircraft causing many adverse effects; these include lift loss, pitchup, and buffet. The flow in the core of leading-edge vortices is generally affiliated with the vortex breakdown phenomenon. A theory is presented for the flow in the core of separation-induced, leading-edge vortices at practical Reynolds numbers. The theory is based on matching inner and outer representations of the vortex. The inner representation models continuously distributed vorticity and includes an asymptotic viscous subcore. The outer representation models concentrated spiral sheets of vorticity and is fully three dimensional. A parameter is identified which closely tracks the vortex breakdown stability boundary for delta, arrow, and diamond wings.

Luckring, James M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Qualitative and temporal reasoning in engine behavior analysis

Numerical simulation models, engine experts, and experimental data are used to generate qualitative and temporal representations of abnormal engine behavior. Engine parameters monitored during operation are used to generate qualitative and temporal representations of actual engine behavior. Similarities between the representations of failure scenarios and the actual engine behavior are used to diagnose fault conditions which have already occurred, or are about to occur; to increase the surveillance by the monitoring system of relevant engine parameters; and to predict likely future engine behavior.

Dietz, W. E.↗