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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Hierarchical Image Segmentation of Remotely Sensed Data using Massively Parallel GNU-LINUX Software

A hierarchical set of image segmentations is a set of several image segmentations of the same image at different levels of detail in which the segmentations at coarser levels of detail can be produced from simple merges of regions at finer levels of detail. In [1], Tilton, et a1 describes an approach for producing hierarchical segmentations (called HSEG) and gave a progress report on exploiting these hierarchical segmentations for image information mining. The HSEG algorithm is a hybrid of region growing and constrained spectral clustering that produces a hierarchical set of image segmentations based on detected convergence points. In the main, HSEG employs the hierarchical stepwise optimization (HSWO) approach to region growing, which was described as early as 1989 by Beaulieu and Goldberg. The HSWO approach seeks to produce segmentations that are more optimized than those produced by more classic approaches to region growing (e.g. Horowitz and T. Pavlidis, [3]). In addition, HSEG optionally interjects between HSWO region growing iterations, merges between spatially non-adjacent regions (i.e., spectrally based merging or clustering) constrained by a threshold derived from the previous HSWO region growing iteration. While the addition of constrained spectral clustering improves the utility of the segmentation results, especially for larger images, it also significantly increases HSEG s computational requirements. To counteract this, a computationally efficient recursive, divide-and-conquer, implementation of HSEG (RHSEG) was devised, which includes special code to avoid processing artifacts caused by RHSEG s recursive subdivision of the image data. The recursive nature of RHSEG makes for a straightforward parallel implementation. This paper describes the HSEG algorithm, its recursive formulation (referred to as RHSEG), and the implementation of RHSEG using massively parallel GNU-LINUX software. Results with Landsat TM data are included comparing RHSEG with classic region growing.

Tilton, James C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Regional Replay: A Unique Reanalysis-Based Tool for Addressing Model Error

Understanding and correcting errors in general circulation and climate models has long been part intuition and part trial and error. Efforts to diagnose the errors and provide some guidance to developers have been of some value, though such efforts, with few exceptions, have been more successful in identifying and documenting the errors in the model simulations rather than the model deficiencies that produced them. Modern atmospheric reanalyses such as MERRA-2 provide much-improved estimates of our climate system at hourly to interannual and longer time scales and have become an important tool for assessing model performance. Here we use MERRA-2 to address biases in the NASA/GMAO GEOS model by employing a "regional replay" approach developed in the GMAO. The regional replay approach constrains the model to remain close to the reanalysis over arbitrary regions and selected model variables, thus allowing us to examine how model error generated over one area is spatially translated across the globe. Several examples are given including an assessment of the global impact of errors produced over the Tibet region.

Tibet Region↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Constrained Vapor Bubble Experiment - Interfacial Flow Region

Internal heat transfer coefficient of the CVB correlated to the presence of the interfacial flow region. Competition between capillary and Marangoni flow caused Flooding and not a Dry-out region. Interfacial flow region growth is arrested at higher power inputs. 1D heat model confirms the presence of interfacial flow region. 1D heat model confirms the arresting phenomena of interfacial flow region Visual observations are essential to understanding.

microgravity↗
NASA NTRS1989

Image segmentation by iterative parallel region growing and splitting

The spatially constrained clustering (SCC) iterative parallel region-growing technique is applied to image analysis. The SCC algorithm is implemented on the massively parallel processor at NASA Goddard. Most previous region-growing approaches have the drawback that the segmentation produced depends on the order in which portions of the image are processed. The ideal solution to this problem (merging only the single most similar pair of spatially adjacent regions in the image in each iteration) becomes impractical except for very small images, even on a massively parallel computer. The SCC algorithm overcomes these problems by performing, in parallel, the best merge within each of a set of local, possibly overlapping, subimages. A region-splitting stage is also incorporated into the algorithm, but experiments show that region splitting generally does not improve segmentation results. The SCC algorithm has been tested on various imagery data, and test results for a Landsat TM image are summarized.

Tilton, James C.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of beam-recoil observables 𝐶 𝑥 and 𝐶 𝑧 for 𝐾 + ⁢Λ photoproduction

Exclusive photoproduction of 𝐾 + ⁢Λ final states off a proton target has been an important component in the search for missing nucleon resonances and our understanding of the production of final states containing strange quarks. Polarization observables have been instrumental in this effort. The current work is an extension of previously published CLAS results on the beam-recoil transferred polarization observables 𝐶 𝑥 and 𝐶 𝑧 . Here, we extend the kinematic range up to invariant mass 𝑊 = 3.33 GeV from the previous limit of 𝑊 = 2.5 GeV with significantly improved statistical precision in the region of overlap. These data will provide for tighter constraints on the reaction models used to unravel the spectrum of nucleon resonances and their properties by not only improving the statistical precision of the data within the resonance region, but also constraining 𝑡-channel processes that dominate at higher 𝑊 but extend into the resonance region.

Electrons↗
NASA NTRS2019

Seasonal and Diurnal Opportunities for XCH4, XCO2, and XCO for the Amazonian Rainforest Region Allowing Sampling and Validation

There is considerable interest in the aggregate methane emissions from the Amazon and similar moist tropical regions, and XCH4 measurements are well suited to constrain sources to the global atmosphere. Similarly, XCO2 measurements constrain CO2 in the region. XCO helps to partition CO2 patterns among burning and respiration processes. GeoCarb may allow these column measurements over the Western Hemisphere, but satellite retrieval require exacting calibration and validation by sun-focused Fourier transform spectrometers (FTS). The rarity of sufficiently large gaps in the cloud cover over the Amazon and similar rainforests restricts the validation opportunities for useful FTS observations and even more the opportunities for accurate retrievals. TropOMI observational statistics are extremely poor for the region. We have used two data sources to evaluate FTS opportunities at Manaus, Brazil, an FTS operated for 8 months near Manaus by Mavendra Dubey, and also sun-photometer measurements at several stations. The promise of using data from other satellites, e.g. GOES-16 ( (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) and CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization gaps and aerosol layering will be described. We report initial results on five questions: (1) how frequent are observing opportunities of FTS?, (2) What evidence is there that gaps in clouds are wide enough for satellite retrievals at an appropriate accuracy, (3) What is the diurnal and seasonal variability of cloud gaps?, and (4) What limitations are currently suggested for unbiased FTS measurement of XCH4 due to diurnal effects, and (5) What evidence is there for incidence of problematic high aerosol extinction at higher layers of the troposphere (800 hPa to 120 hPa) which alter the XCH4 light-paths?

Chatfield, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1987

Altimetry data and the elastic stress tensor of subduction zones

The maximum shear stress (mss) field due to mass anomalies is estimated in the Apennines, the Kermadec-Tonga Trench, and the Rio Grande Rift areas and the results for each area are compared to observed seismicity. A maximum mss of 420 bar was calculated in the Kermadec-Tonga Trench region at a depth of 28 km. Two additional zones with more than 300 bar mss were also observed in the Kermadec-Tonga Trench study. Comparison of the calculated mss field with the observed seismicity in the Kermadec-Tonga showed two zones of well correlated activity. The Rio Grande Rift results showed a maximum mss of 700 bar occurring east of the rift and at a depth of 6 km. Recorded seismicity in the region was primarily constrained to a depth of approximately 5 km, correlating well to the results of the stress calculations. Two areas of high mss are found in the Apennine region: 120 bar at a depth of 55 km, and 149 bar at the surface. Seismic events observed in the Apennine area compare favorably with the mss field calculated, exhibiting two zones of activity. The case of loading by seamounts and icecaps are also simulated. Results for this study show that the mss reaches a maximum of about 1/3 that of the applied surface stress for both cases, and is located at a depth related to the diameter of the surface mass anomaly.

Caputo, Michele↗
NASA NTRS1992

Inferences concerning the magnetospheric source region for auroral breakup

Inferences concerning the magnetospheric source region for auroral arcs obtained from particle measurements on polar orbiting satellites are presented and contrasted with other ideas. An argument that the magnetospheric source region for auroral arc breakup and substorm initiation is along Boundary Plasma Sheet (BPS) magnetic field lines is given. This source region lies beyond a distinct central plasma sheet region and sufficiently far from the Earth that energetic ion motion violates the guiding center approximation (is chaotic). The source region is not constrained to any particular range of distances from the Earth, and substorm initiation may be possible over a wide range of distances from near synchronous orbit to the distant tail. It is also argued that the layer of low energy electrons and velocity dispersed ion beams observed at low altitudes on Aureol 3 is not a different region from the region of auroral arcs. Both comprise the BPS. The two regions occasionally appear distinct at low altitudes because of the effects of arc field aligned potential drops on precipitating particles.

Lyons, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Inferences Concerning the Magnetospheric Source Region for Auroral Breakup

It is argued that the magnetospheric source region for auroral arc breakup and substorm initiation is along boundary plasma sheet (BPS) magnetic field lines. This source region lies beyond a distinct central plasma sheet (CPS) region and sufficiently far from the Earth that energetic ion motion violates the guiding center approximation (i.e., is chaotic). The source region is not constrained to any particular range of distances from the Earth, and substorm initiation may be possible over a wide range of distances from near synchronous orbit to the distant tail. It is also argued that the layer of low-energy electrons and velocity dispersed ion beams observed at low altitudes on Aureol 3 is not a different region from the region of auroral arcs. Both comprise the BPS. The two regions occasionally appear distinct at low altitudes because of the effects of arc field-aligned potential drops on precipitating particles.

Lyons, L. R.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flipped SU(5) GUT phenomenology: proton decay and $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$

We consider proton decay and $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ in flipped SU(5) GUT models. We first study scenarios in which the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are constrained to be universal at some high scale M in above the standard GUT scale where the QCD and electroweak SU(2) couplings unify. In this case the proton lifetime is typically > rsim10 36 years, too long to be detected in the foreseeable future, and the supersymmetric contribution to $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ is too small to contribute significantly to resolving the discrepancy between the experimental measurement and data-driven calculations within the Standard Model. However, we identify a region of the constrained flipped SU(5) parameter space with large couplings between the 10- and 5-dimensional GUT Higgs representations where p → e + π 0 decay may be detectable in the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment now under construction, though the contribution to $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ is still small. A substantial contribution to $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ is possible, however, if the universality constraints on the soft supersymmetry-breaking masses are relaxed. We find a ‘quadrifecta’ region where observable proton decay co-exists with a (partial) supersymmetric resolution of the $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ discrepancy and acceptable values of m h and the relic LSP density.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Charge constraints of macroscopic dark matter

Macroscopic dark matter (macros) refers to a broad class of alternative candidates to particle dark matter with still unprobed regions of parameter space. Prior work on macros has considered elastic scattering to be the dominant energy transfer mechanism in deriving constraints on the abundance of macros for some range of masses $M_x$ and (geometric) cross sections $σ_x$. However, macros with a significant amount of electric charge would, through Coulomb interactions, interact strongly enough to have produced observable signals on terrestrial, galactic and cosmological scales. In this work, we determine the expected phenomenological signals and constrain the corresponding regions of parameter space, based on the lack of these signals in observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2022

High-energy Photon Opacity in the Twisted Magnetospheres of Magnetars

Magnetars are neutron stars characterized by strong surface magnetic fields generally exceeding the quantum critical value of 44.1 TG. High-energy photons propagating in their magnetospheres can be attenuated by QED processes like photon splitting and magnetic pair creation. In this paper, we compute the opacities due to photon splitting and pair creation by photons emitted anywhere in the magnetosphere of a magnetar. Axisymmetric, twisted dipole field configurations embedded in the Schwarzschild metric are treated. The paper computes the maximum energies for photon transparency that permit propagation to infinity in curved spacetime. Special emphasis is given to cases where photons are generated along magnetic field loops and/or in polar regions; these cases directly relate to resonant inverse Compton scattering models for the hard X-ray emission from magnetars and Comptonized soft gamma-ray emission from giant flares. We find that increases in magnetospheric twists raise or lower photon opacities, depending on both the emission locale and the competition between field-line straightening and field strength enhancement. Consequently, given the implicit spectral transparency of hard X-ray bursts and persistent "tail" emission of magnetars, photon splitting considerations constrain their emission region locales and the twist angle of the magnetosphere; these constraints can be probed by future soft gamma-ray telescopes such as COSI and AMEGO. The inclusion of twists generally increases the opaque volume of pair creation by photons above its threshold, except when photons are emitted in polar regions and approximately parallel to the field.

radiation mechanisms: non-thermal↗
DOE OSTI2023

Isolating the Source Region of Infrasound Travel Time Variability Using Acoustic Sensors on High-Altitude Balloons

High-altitude balloons carrying infrasound sensor payloads can be leveraged toward monitoring efforts to provide some advantages over other sensing modalities. On 10 July 2020, three sets of controlled surface explosions generated infrasound waves detected by a high-altitude floating sensor. One of the signal arrivals, detected when the balloon was in the acoustic shadow zone, could not be predicted via propagation modeling using a model atmosphere. Considering that the balloon’s horizontal motion showed direct evidence of gravity waves, we examined their role in infrasound propagation. Implementation of gravity wave perturbations to the wind field explained the signal detection and aided in correctly predicting infrasound travel times. Our results show that the impact of gravity waves is negligible below 20 km altitude; however, their effect is important above that height. The results presented here demonstrate the utility of balloon-borne acoustic sensing toward constraining the source region of variability, as well as the relevance of complexities surrounding infrasound wave propagation at short ranges for elevated sensing platforms.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling the Enceladus dust plume based on in situ measurements performed with the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer

We analyzed data recorded by the Cosmic Dust Analyzer on board the Cassini spacecraft during Enceladus dust plume traversals. Our focus was on profiles of relative abundances of grains of different compositional types derived from mass spectra recorded with the Dust Analyzer subsystem during the Cassini flybys E5 and E17. The E5 profile, corresponding to a steep and fast traversal of the plume, has already been analyzed. In this paper, we included a second profile from the E17 flyby involving a nearly horizontal traversal of the south polar terrain at a significantly lower velocity. Additionally, we incorporated dust detection rates from the High Rate Detector subsystem during flybys E7 and E21. We derived grain size ranges in the different observational data sets and used these data to constrain parameters for a new dust plume model. This model was constructed using a mathematical description of dust ejection implemented in the software package DUDI. Further constraints included published velocities of gas ejection, positions of gas and dust jets, and the mass production rate of the plume. Our model employs two different types of sources: diffuse sources of dust ejected with a lower velocity and jets with a faster and more colimated emission. From our model, we derived dust mass production rates for different compositional grain types, amounting to at least 28 kg s –1 . Previously, salt-rich dust was believed to dominate the plume mass based on E5 data alone. The E17 profile shows a dominance of organic-enriched grains over the south polar terrain, a region not well constrained by E5 data. By including both E5 and E17 profiles, we find the salt-rich dust contribution to be at most 1% by mass. This revision also results from an improved understanding of grain masses of various compositional types that implies smaller sizes for salt-rich grains. Our new model can predict grain numbers and masses for future mission detectors during plume traversals.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

GENESPACE R Package (GENESPACE) v1.0

In short, the GENESPACE pipeline conducts analysis of orthology networks, constrained within syntenic regions. Since analyses are limited to local tests conducted within syntenic blocks, GENESPACE is agnostic to ploidy, duplicated regions, inversions or other whole-genome chromosomal complexities that are common across many evolutionary lineages. This advantage allows for evolutionary tests in polyploids (e.g. switchgrass, manuscript in review), species with ancient, but retained whole-genome duplications (e.g. pecan, manuscript in prep), high levels of tandem array proliferation (e.g. eukalypts, manuscript in review) and many other factors that can confound comparative genomic analyses. The major advances of GENESPACE are three-fold: First, this is the first R package to integrate visualization and analysis of large-scale comparative genomics. R, which offers a high-level environment for graphical and statistical exploration of data, is often speed- and memory-limited and not used for computationally intensive tasks such as comparative genomics. The highly efficient C++ scripts used in GENESPACE (via data.table) permit a much faster and computationally lightweight implementation of comparative genomics than is currently available. Second, the pipeline itself is novel. To the best of our knowledge, no other program accomplishes synteny-constrained and ploidy-agnostic comparative genomics. Since nearly all plants and many animals have a history of whole-genome duplications, this is a major and necessary advance to the field. Third, GENESPACE offers high-level and intuitive multi-genome graphical outputs. The dotplots and 'riparian' plots produced herein, which are produced entirely through original R code, are publication-ready and easily customizable.

Schmutz, Jeremy↗
NASA NTRS2005

ICESat Observations of Topographic Change in the Northern Segment of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Islands Earthquake Rupture Zone

The Andaman Islands are located 120 km east of the Sunda trench in the northern quarter of the 1300 km long rupture zone of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake inferred from the distribution of aftershocks. Initial field reports indicate that several meters of uplift and up to a meter of submergence occurred on the western and eastern shorelines of the Andaman Islands, respectively, associated with the earthquake (Bilham, 2005). Satellite images also document uplift of western shoreline coral reef platforms above sea level. Body-wave (Ji, 2005; Yamamaka, 2005) and tide-gauge (Ortiz, 2005) slip inversions only resolve coseismic slip in the southern one-third to one-half of the rupture zone. The amount of coseismic slip in the Andaman Islands region is poorly constrained by these inversions. The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), a part of the NASA Earth Observing System, is being used to document the spatial pattern of Andaman Islands vertical displacements in order to constrain models of slip distribution in the northern part of the rupture zone. ICESat carries the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) that obtains elevation measurements from 80 m diameter footprints spaced 175 m apart along profiles. For surfaces of low slope, single-footprint absolute elevation and horizontal accuracies of 10 cm and 6 m (1 sigma), respectively, referenced to the ITRF 2002 TOPEX/Poseidon ellipsoid are being obtained. Laser pulse backscatter waveforms enable separation of ground topography and overlying vegetation cover. During each 33-day observing period ICESat acquires three profiles crossing the Andaman Islands. A NNE-SSW oriented track consists of 1600 laser footprints along the western side of North, Middle, and South Andaman Islands and 240 laser footprints across the center of Great Andaman Island. Two NNW-SSE tracks consist of 440 footprints across Middle Andaman Island and 25 footprints across the west side of Sentinel Island. Cloud-free profiles were acquired in the fall of 2003 and 2004. During February-March, 2005 ICESat's precise pointing capability will be used to exactly repeat these three profiles, with a cross-track accuracy of better than 100 m, providing trench- parallel and -perpendicular observations of topographic change of the Andaman Islands that will compliment geodetic field surveys. The observed elevation changes will be compared to models of coseismic deformation associated with the mainshock and large aftershocks in the Andaman Islands region.

Harding, David↗
DOE OSTI2023

Plug & play directed evolution of proteins with gradient-based discrete MCMC

Abstract A long-standing goal of machine-learning-based protein engineering is to accelerate the discovery of novel mutations that improve the function of a known protein. We introduce a sampling framework for evolving proteins in silico that supports mixing and matching a variety of unsupervised models, such as protein language models, and supervised models that predict protein function from sequence. By composing these models, we aim to improve our ability to evaluate unseen mutations and constrain search to regions of sequence space likely to contain functional proteins. Our framework achieves this without any model fine-tuning or re-training by constructing a product of experts distribution directly in discrete protein space. Instead of resorting to brute force search or random sampling, which is typical of classic directed evolution, we introduce a fast Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler that uses gradients to propose promising mutations. We conduct in silico directed evolution experiments on wide fitness landscapes and across a range of different pre-trained unsupervised models, including a 650 M parameter protein language model. Our results demonstrate an ability to efficiently discover variants with high evolutionary likelihood as well as estimated activity multiple mutations away from a wild type protein, suggesting our sampler provides a practical and effective new paradigm for machine-learning-based protein engineering.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗