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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 919 records · Page 51
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

A Global Repository for Planet-Sized Experiments and Observations

Working across U.S. federal agencies, international agencies, and multiple worldwide data centers, and spanning seven international network organizations, the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) allows users to access, analyze, and visualize data using a globally federated collection of networks, computers, and software. Its architecture employs a system of geographically distributed peer nodes that are independently administered yet united by common federation protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs). The full ESGF infrastructure has now been adopted by multiple Earth science projects and allows access to petabytes of geophysical data, including the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) output used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports. Data served by ESGF not only include model output (i.e., CMIP simulation runs) but also include observational data from satellites and instruments, reanalyses, and generated images. Metadata summarize basic information about the data for fast and easy data discovery.

Earth Systems Grid Federation (ESGFC)↗
NASA NTRS1973

Four-body trajectory optimization

A collection of typical three-body trajectories from the L1 libration point on the sun-earth line to the earth is presented. These trajectories in the sun-earth system are grouped into four distinct families which differ in transfer time and delta V requirements. Curves showing the variations of delta V with respect to transfer time, and typical two and three-impulse primer vector histories, are included. The development of a four-body trajectory optimization program to compute fuel optimal trajectories between the earth and a point in the sun-earth-moon system are also discussed. Methods for generating fuel optimal two-impulse trajectories which originate at the earth or a point in space, and fuel optimal three-impulse trajectories between two points in space, are presented. A brief qualitative comparison of these methods is given. An example of a four-body two-impulse transfer from the Li libration point to the earth is included.

Pu, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Space-Based Observations for Understanding Changes in the Arctic-Boreal Zone

Observations taken over the last few decades indicate that dramatic changes are occurring in the ArcticBoreal Zone (ABZ), which are having significant impacts on ABZ inhabitants, infrastructure, flora and fauna, and economies. While suitable for detecting overall change, the current capability is inadequate for systematic monitoring and for improving processbased and largescale understanding of the integrated components of the ABZ, which includes the cryosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Such knowledge will lead to improvements in Earth system models, enabling more accurate prediction of future changes and development of informed adaptation and mitigation strategies. In Duncan et al. (2020), we review the strengths and limitations of current spacebased observational capabilities for several important ABZ components and make recommendations for improving upon these current capabilities. We recommend an interdisciplinary and stepwise approach to develop a comprehensive ABZ Observing Network (ABZON), beginning with an initial focus on observing networks designed to gain processbased understanding for individual ABZ components and systems that can then serve as the building blocks for a comprehensive ABZON.

Artic-Boreal↗
NASA NTRS1974

Earth Observatory Satellite system definition study. Report 5: System design and specifications. Volume 2: EOS-A system specification

The objectives of the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) program are defined. The system specifications for the satellite payload are examined. The broad objectives of the EOS-A program are as follows: (1) to develop space-borne sensors for the measurement of land resources, (2) to evolve spacecraft systems and subsystems which will permit earth observation with greater accuracy, coverage, spatial resolution, and continuity than existing systems, (3) to develop improved information processing, extraction, display, and distribution systems, and (4) to use space transportation systems for resupply and retrieval of the EOS.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1989

Technology for the Mission to Planet Earth

Mission to Planet Earth is a concept referring to the endeavor of making long term, space based global observations for the purpose of understanding earth system processes. The Ad Hoc Review Team on Space Technology was formed to determine what technologies must be developed in the near term to support this endeavor. The review team's central finding is that the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology has identified all the correct technologies to pursue, but that the mission and system architecture has not been developed sufficiently to permit determination of meaningful priorities. Some of the specific recommendations of the review team are as follows: (1) long term, space based investigation of global changes and the earth's systems; (2) studies should begin that include the performance of relative cost-benefit trade-off analyses and development of operations concepts; (3) funding should be increased, especially in research and development; (4) pursue new technology in information processing; (5) improve interagency integration and coordination; and (6) after architecture studies are complete, another team should meet to consider questions of technology priorities, development schedules, and funding allocation.

Graham, Amy↗
NASA NTRS1973

High modulus high temperature glass fibers

The search for a new high-modulus, high-temperature glass fiber involved the preparation of 500 glass compositions lying in 12 glass fields. These systems consisted primarily of low atomic number oxides and rare-earth oxides. Direct optical measurements of the kinetics of crystallization of the cordierite-rare earth system, for example, showed that the addition of rare-earth oxides decreased the rate of formation of cordierite crystals. Glass samples prepared from these systems proved that the rare-earth oxides made large specific contributions to the Young's modulus of the glasses. The best glasses have moduli greater than 21 million psi, the best glass fibers have moduli greater than 18 million psi, and the best glass fiber-epoxy resin composites have tensile strengths of 298,000 psi, compressive strengths of at least 220,000 psi, flexural strengths of 290,000 psi, and short-beam shear strengths of almost 17,000 psi.

Bacon, J. F.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

AIST Technology Perspectives for ESO Mission Processing and Open-sourced Science

NASA is formulating the Earth System Observatory (ESO), a set of Earth-focused missions to provide key information to guide efforts related to monitoring climate change, mitigating disasters, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes. Within that framework, this presentation will introduce the Advanced Collaborative Frameworks (ACF) concepts that have been developed as part of the Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program, demonstrating the capability for facilitating open-sourced science and with a strong transition/infusion potential.

Jacqueline Le Moigne↗
NASA NTRS1991

Advanced technology needs for a global change science program: Perspective of the Langley Research Center

The focus of the NASA program in remote sensing is primarily the Earth system science and the monitoring of the Earth global changes. One of NASA's roles is the identification and development of advanced sensing techniques, operational spacecraft, and the many supporting technologies necessary to meet the stringent science requirements. Langley Research Center has identified the elements of its current and proposed advanced technology development program that are relevant to global change science according to three categories: sensors, spacecraft, and information system technologies. These technology proposals are presented as one-page synopses covering scope, objective, approach, readiness timeline, deliverables, and estimated funding. In addition, the global change science requirements and their measurement histories are briefly discussed.

Rowell, Lawrence F.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Composition and Climate Impacts of Increasing Launches to Low Earth Orbit

We present simulations of an Earth system model in which launch vehicles inject gaseous and particulate combustion products into the stratosphere. We considered two plausible scenarios representative for the year 2050, one with 1000 launches per year and another with 10 times more, all of which assuming heavy lift (80 tons to low Earth orbit; LEO) launches using methane as a proxy for liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel. An industry-standard plume flowfield model was used to predict emission of gaseous species including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and water vapor. Black carbon was introduced assuming vacuum emission equal 25% of equivalent kerosene engine. The gas emissions showed marginal or insignificant changes in atmospheric composition, while the black carbon emission was found to be the most influential component. Feedbacks involve tropopause and stratospheric warming, followed by a moistening of the stratosphere via tropospheric water vapor intrusions, together with a reduction in global albedo. The fact that LNG-fueled rockets could be a concern from aerosol emissions in our simulations, despite burning more efficiently than conventional fuels, underscores the need to better understand actual black carbon emissions from rocket engines in order to accurately predict the global impacts of launch vehicles on future climate.

Earth system model↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Effects of an Improved Dynamic Vegetation Phenology Representation in a Global Land Surface Model

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a major driver of the interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere through its component mechanisms, including plant transpiration (T) and soil evaporation. To accurately capture land-atmosphere interactions in global Earth System Models, it is thus critical that the underlying land surface models accurately model both the land hydrology as well as the dynamic response of vegetation to environmental drivers. In an effort to introduce a more realistic vegetation representation, the NASA Catchment land surface model, which is part of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), has previously been merged with the carbon and nitrogen physics modules of the Community Land Model version 4, resulting in the new Catchment-CN model. Catchment-CN has inherited the advanced treatment of land surface hydrology of Catchment, but is additionally able to dynamically model the response of vegetation to environmental drivers, in contrast to the fixed vegetation climatology that was prescribed in Catchment. Recently, the parameterization of Catchment-CN vegetation has been augmented to better account for variability of vegetation responses to external forcings within existing plant functional types, and vegetation parameters have been calibrated against Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer observations of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically radiation. These efforts have led to a significant reduction in the RMSE of modeled photosynthetic activity with respect to observations.This presentation investigates the effect of the improved vegetation representation on the partitioning of ET within Catchment-CN. Specifically, we compare global maps of the T:ET ratio across different temporal scales in (1) the original Catchment model, (2) the original Catchment-CN model, and (3) the augmented and calibrated Catchment-CN model. The modeled T and ET estimates are compared against a comprehensive set of ground observations from various field studies, as well as independent global T:ET estimates from different ET algorithms provided in the context of the Water Cycle Observation Multi-mission Strategy ? Evapotranspiration (WACMOS-ET) initiative.

Kolassa, J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Spacebased Ocean Surface Exchange Data Analysis System

Emerging technologies have provided unprecedented opportunities to transform information into knowledge and disseminate them in a much faster, cheaper, and userfriendly mode. We have set up a system to produce and disseminate high level (gridded) ocean surface wind data from the NASA Scatterometer and European Remote Sensing missions. The data system is being expanded to produce real-time gridded ocean surface winds from an improved sensor SeaWinds on the Quikscat Mission. The wind field will be combined with hydrologic parameters from the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission to monitor evolving weather systems and natural hazard in real time. It will form the basis for spacebased Ocean Surface Exchange Data Analysis System (SOSEDAS) which will include the production of ocean surface momentum, heat, and water fluxes needed for interdisciplinary studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction. Various commercial or non-commercial software tools have been compared and selected in terms of their ability in database management, remote data accessing, graphical interface, data quality, storage needs and transfer speed, etc. Issues regarding system security and user authentication, distributed data archiving and accessing, strategy to compress large-volume geophysical and satellite data/image. and increasing transferring speed are being addressed. A simple and easy way to access information and derive knowledge from spacebased data of multiple missions is being provided. The evolving 'knowledge system' will provide relevant infrastructure to address Earth System Science, make inroads in educating an informed populace, and illuminate decision and policy making.

Tang, Wenqing↗
NASA NTRS1971

Project: Apollo 15

The 12-day Apollo 15 mission, scheduled for launch on July 26 to carry out the fourth United States manned exploration of the Moon, will: Double the time and extend tenfold the range of lunar surface exploration as compared with earlier missions; Deploy the third in a network of automatic scientific stations; Conduct a new group of experiments in lunar orbit; and Return to Earth a variety of lunar rock and soil samples. Scientists expect the results will greatly increase man's knowledge both of the Moon's history and composition and of the evolution and dynamic interaction of the Sun-Earth system. This is so because the dry, airless, lifeless Moon still bears records of solar radiation and the early years of solar system history that have been erased from Earth. Observations of current lunar events also may increase understanding of similar processes on Earth, such as earthquakes. The Apollo 15 Lunar module will make its descent over the Apennine peaks, one of the highest mountain ranges on the Moon, to land near the rim of the canyon-like Hadley Rille. From this Hadley-Apennine lunar base, between the mountain range and the rille, Commander David R. Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin will explore several kilometers from the lunar module, driving an electric-powered lunar roving vehicle for the first time on the Moon. Scott and Irwin will leave the lunar module for three exploration periods to emplace scientific experiments on the lunar surface and to make detailed geologic investigations of formations in the Apennine foothills, along the Hadley Rille rim, and to other geologic structures. The three previous manned landings were made by Apollo 11 at Tranquillity Base, Apollo 12 in the Ocean of Storms and Apollo 14 at Fra Mauro.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

Impacts of Groundwater Pumping on Regional and Global Water Resources

Except frozen water in ice and glaciers (68%), groundwater is the world's largest distributed store of freshwater (30%), and has strategic importance to global food and water security. In this chapter, the most recent advances assessing human impact on regional and global groundwater resources are reviewed. This chapter critically evaluates the recently advanced modeling approaches quantifying the effect of groundwater pumping in regional and global groundwater resources and the evidence of feedback to the Earth system including sea‐level rise associated with groundwater use. At last, critical challenges and opportunities are identified in the use of groundwater to adapt to growing food demand and uncertain climate.

groundwater↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

How Discipline-Oriented DAACs Collaborate to Support Interdisciplinary Earth Science

The Earth system is made of multiple complex subsystems. While scientists tend to specialize in single subsystems or even portions of a subsystem, to fully understand the physical, chemical and biological processes occurring on the Earth, we must understand how these systems interact. Thus, scientists need to be able to expand beyond their chosen field and collaborate across disciplines. The NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is focusing on new capabilities to make interdisciplinary science easier. The EOSDIS DAACS are responsible for archiving and distributing NASA’s rapidly growing collection of satellite, airborne and field data. Like the scientists they serve, the DAACs are discipline oriented. This has many advantages. Scientists are able to interact with experts on data in their domain and receive data appropriate for their research. However, discipline-oriented services may be confusing to cross-disciplinary users who may not know how to get started. Fortunately, collaboration across scientific communities is a specialty of the DAACs who support interdisciplinary users with a collaborative culture and technology that empowers the open sharing of data, information, and knowledge within the scientific community and the wider public to accelerate scientific research and understanding. This presentation will discuss the capabilities of a discipline-oriented approach to support future Earth science goals including those of Open Science and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Sara Lubkin↗
NASA NTRS2022

An Evaluation of Biomass Burning Aerosol Mass, Extinction, and Size Distribution in Geos Using Observations From Camp2EX

Biomass burning aerosol impacts aspects of the atmosphere and Earth system through radiative forcing, serving as cloud condensation nuclei, and air quality. Despite its importance, the representation of biomass burning aerosol is not always accurate in numerical weather prediction and climate models or reanalysis products. Using observations collected as part of the Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) in August through October of 2019, aerosol concentration and optical properties are evaluated within the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) and its underlying aerosol module, GOCART. In the operational configuration, GEOS assimilates aerosol optical depth observations at 550 nm to constrain aerosol fields. Particularly for biomass burning aerosol, without the assimilation of aerosol optical depth, aerosol extinction is underestimated compared to observations collected in the Philippines region during the CAMP2Ex campaign. The assimilation process adds excessive amounts of carbon to account for the underestimated extinction, resulting in positive biases in the mass of black and organic carbon, especially within the boundary layer, relative to in situ observations from the Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment. Counteracting this, GEOS is deficient in sulphate and nitrate aerosol just above the boundary layer. Aside from aerosol mass, extinction within GEOS is a function of ambient relative humidity and an assumed particle size distribution. The relationship between dry and ambient extinction in GEOS reveals that hygroscopic growth is too aggressive within the model for biomass burning aerosol. An additional concern lies in the assumed particle size distribution for GEOS, which has a mode radius that is too small for organic carbon. Variability in the observed particle size distribution for biomass burning aerosol within a single flight also illuminates the fact that a single assumed particle size distribution is not sufficient and that for a proper representation, a more advanced aerosol module with GEOS may be necessary.

Aerosol Mass↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of GEOS Aerosols Using CAMP2Ex Observations

Biomass burning aerosol impacts aspects of the atmosphere and Earth system through direct and semi-direct effects, as well as influencing air quality. Despite its importance, the representation of biomass burning aerosol is not always accurate in numerical weather prediction and climate models or reanalysis products. Using observations collected as part of the Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) in August through October of 2019, aerosol concentration and optical properties are evaluated within the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) and its underlying aerosol module, GOCART. In the operational configuration, GEOS assimilates aerosol optical depth observations at 550 nm from AERONET and MODIS to constrain aerosol fields. Particularly for biomass burning aerosol, without the assimilation of aerosol optical depth, aerosol extinction is underestimated compared to observations collected in the Philippines region during the CAMP2Ex campaign. The assimilation process adds excessive amounts of carbon to account for the underestimated extinction, resulting in positive biases in the mass of black and organic carbon, especially within the boundary layer, relative to in situ observations from the Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment. Counteracting this, GEOS is deficient in sulfate and nitrate aerosol just above the boundary layer. Aerosol extinction within GEOS is a function of the mass of different aerosol species, the ambient relative humidity, the assumed spectral optical properties, and particle size distribution per species. The relationship between dry and ambient extinction in GEOS reveals that hygroscopic growth is too high within the model for biomass burning aerosol. An additional concern lies in the assumed particle size distribution for GEOS, which has a single mode radius that is too small for organic carbon. Variability in the observed particle size distribution for biomass burning aerosol within a single flight also illuminates the fact that a single assumed particle size distribution is not sufficient and that for a proper representation, a more advanced aerosol module within GEOS may be necessary.

Allison Collow↗