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At least 901 records · Page 50

A review of satellite altimeter measurement of sea surface wind speed - With a proposed new algorithm

The scheduled February 1985 launch of a radar altimeter aboard the U.S. Navy satellite Geosat has motivated an in-depth investigation of wind speed retrieval from satellite altimeters. The accuracy of sea surface wind speed estimated by the Seasat altimeter is examined by comparison with wind speed estimated by the Seasat scatterometer. The intercomparison is based on globally distributed spatial and temporal averages of the estimated wind speed. It is shown that there are systematic differences between altimeter and scatterometer wind speed estimates. These differences are traced to errors in the Seasat altimeter geophysical data record wind speed algorithm. A new algorithm is proposed which yields consistent estimates from the two satellite sensors. Using this new algorithm, the rms difference between spatial and temporal averages of the two wind speed estimates is less than 1 m/s, and their correlation is greater than 0.9.

Chelton, D. B.↗

Distribution function of continuously created newborn and pickup ions in outer cometary exospheres

The time evolution of the distribution function of newborn ions in the solar wind is investigated using a quasi-linear-type diffusion equation. The initial distribution is taken to be a ring beam, which is approximated by delta function in pitch angle and velocity, and it is assumed that the ions are created at a constant rate with a similar distribution. A long-time asymptotic form of ion distribution is obtained, which is a mixture of newborn ions and ions generated throughout the entire process. It is shown that the time asymptotic distribution function exists even in the presence of a continuous ionization process. The stability of the long-time asymptotic distribution was examined for the case of parallel propagation, and the results show that the distribution function can be unstable to low-frequency hydromagnetic waves. The results of the analysis were found to agree with recent satellite observations.

Gaffey, J. D., Jr.↗

Fragmentation Increases Impact of Wind Disturbance on Forest Structure and Carbon Stocks in a Western Amazonian Landscape

Tropical second-growth forests could help mitigate climate change, but the degree to which their carbon potential is achieved will depend on exposure to disturbance. Wind disturbance is common in tropical forests, shaping structure, composition, and function, and influencing successional trajectories. However, little is known about the impacts of extreme winds in fragmented landscapes, though second-growth forests are often located in mosaics of forest, pasture, cropland, and other land cover types. Though indirect evidence suggests that fragmentation increases risk of wind damage, few studies have found such impacts following severe storms. In this study, we ask whether fragmentation and forest type (old vs. second growth) were associated with variation in wind damage after a severe convective storm in a fragmented production landscape in western Amazonia. We applied linear spectral unmixing to Landsat 8 imagery from before and after the storm, and combined it with field observations of damage to map wind effects on forest structure and biomass (Figure 4, 5). We also used Landsat 8 imagery to map land cover with the goals of identifying old- and second-growth forest and characterizing fragmentation. We used these data to assess variation in wind disturbance across 95,596 hectares of forest, distributed over 6,110 patches. We find that fragmentation is significantly associated with wind damage, with damage severity higher at forest edges and in edgier, more isolated patches (Figure 7). Damage was more severe in old-growth than in second-growth forests, but this effect was weaker than that of fragmentation (Figure 8). These results illustrate the importance of considering spatial configuration and landscape context in planning tropical forest restoration and predicting carbon sequestration in second-growth forests. Future research should address the mechanisms behind these results, to minimize wind damage risk in second-growth forests so their carbon potential can be maximally achieved.

Schwartz, Naomi B.↗

Effects of axisymmetric and normal air jet plumes and solid plume on cylindrical afterbody pressure distributions at Mach numbers from 1.65 to 2.50

A wind tunnel investigation of the interference effects of axisymmetric nozzle air plumes, a solid plume, and normal air jet plumes on the afterbody pressure distributions and base pressures of a cylindrical afterbody model was conducted at Mach numbers from 1.65 to 2.50. The axisymmetric nozzles, which varied in exit lip Mach number from 1.7 to 2.7, and the normal air jet nozzle were tested at jet pressure ratios from 1 (jet off) to 615. The tests were conducted at an angle of attack of 0 deg and a Reynolds number per meter of 6.56 million. The results of the investigation show that the solid plume induces greater interference effects than those induced by the axisymmetric nozzle plumes at the selected underexpanded design conditions. A thrust coefficient parameter based on nozzle lip conditons was found to correlate the afterbody disturbance distance and the base pressure between the different axisymmetric nozzles. The normal air jet plume and the solid plume induce afterbody disturbance distances similar to those induced by the axisymmetric air plumes when base pressure is held constant.

Covell, P. F.↗

Quantum Gravity in the Lab. I. Teleportation by Size and Traversable Wormholes

With the long-term goal of studying models of quantum gravity in the lab, we propose holographic teleportation protocols that can be readily executed in table-top experiments. These protocols exhibit similar behavior to that seen in the recent traversable-wormhole constructions of Gao et al. [J. High Energy Phys., 2017, 151 (2017)] and Maldacena et al. [Fortschr. Phys., 65, 1700034 (2017)]: information that is scrambled into one half of an entangled system will, following a weak coupling between the two halves, unscramble into the other half. We introduce the concept of teleportation by size to capture how the physics of operator-size growth naturally leads to information transmission. The transmission of a signal through a semiclassical holographic wormhole corresponds to a rather special property of the operator-size distribution that we call size winding. For more general systems (which may not have a clean emergent geometry), we argue that imperfect size winding is a generalization of the traversablewormhole phenomenon. In addition, a form of signaling continues to function at high temperature and at large times for generic chaotic systems, even though it does not correspond to a signal going through a geometrical wormhole but, rather, to an interference effect involving macroscopically different emergent geometries. Finally, we outline implementations that are feasible with current technology in two experimental platforms: Rydberg-atom arrays and trapped ions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Local Power: Comparing County-Level Renewable Energy Potential to Consumption Using the SLOPE Platform

Wide-scale deployment of renewable energy technologies has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Many communities have ambitious clean energy goals with targets for locally generated renewable energy. To inform state and local clean energy planning, analysts from the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) used data from NREL's State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) platform to compare annual technical generation potential of renewable energy technologies to modeled electricity consumption in every county of the contiguous United States. Annual costs were calculated to produce a 20% share of electricity consumed annually from each technology to examine localized cost effectiveness of a diversified mix of generation sources. For example, combining distributed and utility-scale wind and solar generation can offset the need for storage and nonintermittent fossil resources to achieve high deployment of renewables. This county-level analysis provides insight into where localized renewable energy generation could cost-effectively match annual electricity consumption.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Aerophysics

Measuring sonic boom pressure distribution on models in supersonic wind tunnels

Source record↗

Interplanetary gas. XVIII - Models and the mean free path of protons at 1 astronomical unit.

Velocity distribution functions of solar-wind protons obtained by the Vela 3 satellites have been analyzed to obtain a microscopic determination of the momentum flux along magnetic field lines with respect to a reference frame moving at the bulk speed. The determination from macroscopic parameters allows the calculation of an effective mean free path for protons at 1 AU which averages 0.06 AU and is relatively independent of solar-wind velocity w. For quiet times when w is from 300 to 400 km/sec, the experimental mean free path is 2 to 3 times smaller than the value from plasma theory. For w greater than 400 km/sec, the experimental value is 10 to 100 times smaller than the theoretical value.

Brandt, J. C.↗

The 727/JT8D refan side nacelle airloads

Airloads on the 727/JT8D refan side engine nacelle are presented. These consist of surface static pressure distributions from two low speed wind tunnel tests. External nacelle surface pressures are from testing of a flow-through, body mounted nacelle model, and internal inlet surface pressures are from performance testing of a forced air inlet model. The method for obtaining critical airloads on nacelle components and a representative example are discussed.

Bailey, R. W.↗

Comparison of several methods for predicting separation in a compressible turbulent boundary layer

Several methods for predicting the separation point for a compressible turbulent boundary layer were applied to the flow over a bump on a wind-tunnel wall. Measured pressure distributions were used as input. Two integral boundary-layer methods, three finite-difference boundary-layer methods, and three simple methods were applied at five free-stream Mach numbers ranging from 0.354 to 0.7325. Each of the boundary-layer methods failed to explicitly predict separation. However, by relaxing the theoretical separation criteria, several boundary-layer methods were made to yield reasonable separation predictions, but none of the methods accurately predicted the important boundary-layer parameters at separation. Only one of the simple methods consistently predicted separation with reasonable accuracy in a manner consistent with the theory. The other methods either indicated several possible separation locations or only sometimes predicted separation.

Gerhart, P. M.↗

Results of a Pressure Loads Investigation on a 0.030-scale Model (47-OTS) of the Integrated Space Shuttle Vehicle Configuration 5 in the NASA Ames Research Center 11 by 11 Foot Leg of the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (IA81A), Volume 1

Results of wind tunnel tests on a 0.030-scale model of the integrated space shuttle vehicle configuration 5 are presented. Testing was conducted in the NASA Ames Research Center 11 x 11 foot leg of the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel to investigate pressure distributions for airloads analyses at Mach numbers from 0.9 through 1.4. Angles of attack and sideslip were varied from -6 to +6 degrees.

Chee, E.↗

NASA general aviation stall/spin flight testing

A comprehensive program incorporating spin tunnel, static and rotary balance wind tunnel, full scale wind tunnel, free flight radio control model, flight simulation, and full scale flight testing was undertaken. Work includes aerodynamic definition of various configurations at high angles of attack, testing of stall and spin prevention concepts, definition of spin and spin recovery characteristics, and development of test techniques and emergency spin recovery systems. Some of the more interesting results to date are presented for the first airplane in the program in the areas of tail design, wind leading edge design, mass distribution, center of gravity location, and small airframe changes, with associated pilot observations. Design philosophy of the spin recovery parachute system is discussed, in addition to test techniques.

Patton, J. M., Jr.↗

The behavior of the O/+/-H/+/ transition level at solar maximum

An examination of the transition level at which the ionospheric ions O(+) and H(+) are equal in concentration has been carried out by using the retarding potential analyzer data from the OGO 6 satellite. Between dip latitudes of 0 and 50 deg the transition level shows a much more pronounced latitude dependence during solar maximum than during solar minimum. The longitude dependence of the transition level features indicates the roles that zonal and meridional F region winds might play in the distribution of O(+) and H(+) in the low- and mid-latitude ionosphere.

Kutiev, I.↗

Pressure distributions on three different cruciform aft-tail control surfaces of a wingless missile at Mach 1.60, 2.36, and 3.70. Volume 1: Trapezoidal tail

The results of pressure distribution tests conducted in a wind tunnel are presented without analysis. The data were obtained for trapezoidal aft tail control surfaces on a wingless missile model at Mach numbers of 1.60, 2.36, and 3.70 for angles of attack from -4 to 20 deg model roll angles from 0 to 90 deg and tail deflections of 0 and -15 deg. The test Reynolds number used was 6.6 million per meter.

Lamb, M.↗

Line-profile and continuum variations of the contact binary SV Centauri

A total of five high and ten low dispersion UV spectra of the interacting contact binary SV Centauri obtained between 1979 and 1982 are analyzed. The low resolution observations cover the whole phase range, while a few selected phases were observed in high dispersion. The UV data were complemented with optical photometric and spectroscopic observations, in order to determine the tructure and absolute dimensions of the system. The profiles of prominent UV resonance and metastable lines undergo drastic changes with phase angle and time. Their overall appearance indicates relatively strong mass loss from the system, exhibiting pronounced variations of the stellar wind. The far UV continuum distribution suggests the presence of a luminous hot radiation source with maximum emission in the soft X-ray range, which is most apparently seen during the first quadrature phase, while it is weakest close to primary minimum. The case exchange and mass loss process as well as the evolutionary stage of SV Centauri are discussed.

Rahe, J.↗

Atmospheric angular momentum and the length of day - A common fluctuation with a period near 50 days

Four astronomical measures of changes in the length of day obtained in 1979 have been shown to exhibit the same, approximately 50-day fluctuation. To find whether this fluctuation was persistent, and of meteorological origin, lunar laser ranging observations and wind data deduced from sources distributed over the globe were analyzed. A high degree of correlation was found between the two sets of data. It is implied that the 50-day period fluctuations in length of day are real and related to meteorological effects. Observed changes in length of day can provide a constraint for models for atmospheric flow, and a partial check for global analyses of such motions.

Langley, R. B.↗