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At least 973 records · Page 54

Mapping of the Culann-Tohil Region of Io

The Galileo spacecraft completed its observations of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io in October 2001 with the orbit I32 flyby, during which new local (13-55 m/pixel) and regional (130-400 m/pixel) resolution images and spectroscopic data were returned of the antijovian hemisphere. We have combined a I32 regional mosaic (330 m/pixel) with lower-resolution C21 color data (1.4 km/pixel, Figure 1) and produced a geomorphologic map of the Culann-Tohil area of this hemisphere. Here we present the geologic features, map units, and structures in this region, and give preliminary conclusions about geologic activity for comparison with other regions to better understand Io's geologic evolution.

Turtle, E. P.↗

The Star Formation History of Orion and its Environs

During this period of performance, we have obtained the following observations and carried out the analysis of the Orion associations itemized below. 1. Quest Optical Photometry: The photometric survey carries out with the Quest camera is finished. The strips at declinations +1 degree and -1 degree have already been processed. Photometry for a total of around 400,000 stars was obtained in these two strips with the Quest camera pipeline. Around 24,000 variables were picked out of this total by our variability software. Of these, around 2,500 stars fall above the main sequence and so were picked as candidates for spectroscopic follow-up. 2. Slit spectroscopy of bright candidates: Spectra for some 800 candidate PMS stars were obtained with the FAST spectrograph at the SAO 1.5m telescope in Mt. Hopkins. The spectra are being analyzed; 300 stars have been confirmed as young. 3. Multifiber spectroscopy: The first test of the multifiber spectrograph Hectoechelle were carried out in December 2003. One field of the Orion Nebula Cluster was observed with Hectochelle at three wavelength settings. A total of 157 spectra were obtained. Of these, 63 stars have been confirmed as Classical T Tauri stars, and 36 additional stars need further follow up. A paper is in preparation. 4. UBVRI photometry: We were granted time with the 4-shooter CCD Mosaic Camera at the SAO 1.2m telescope, to obtain UBVRI photometry of a subset of 53 newly identified T Tauri stars in the strips centered at DEC=-1 and +l. This sample is composed of strong Halpha emitting PMS stars (Classical T Tauri stars) located mostly in the Orion OB l b association, around the Orion Belt area. We have estimated mass accretion rates for 22 for these stars using the U photometry and the calibration of Gullbring et al. (1998), and found it to be similar to that of young stars in associations of similar age. 5. Near and mid-IR photometry: During the winter of 2003, we used the IR Camera on the SAO 1.2m telescope, to obtain L- band photometry of a set of the newly identified Orion OB l a and l b stars, in order to look for IR excess emission coming from the hotter inner parts of circumstellar disks. These data is being combined with the GEMINI/OSCIR 10 micron photometry obtained during 2002 and the mass accretion rates to determine the properties of disks in Ori lb. A paper is presently on preparation.

Calvet, Nuria↗

Search for Near-Earth Objects with Small Aphelion Distances

An essential component of our ability to efficiently find NEOs at small solar elongation is a focal reducer, whose construction is being separately funded by a grant from NSF. This focal reducer will increase the field of view of the 8k CCD mosaic camera from 19 arc min to about 32 arc min at the Cassegrain focus of the University of Hawaii 2.24-m telescope. As of January, all but one of the lenses for the focal reducer were in hand. The final lens had been delayed due to problems with the availability of the rather exotic material out of which the manufacturer was to fabricate the lens. Perhaps as a result of their rush to deliver that final lens, it developed a crack during the annealing process at the manufacturer, thus they had to start over. The total delay in delivery of that last lens was nearly ten months, and therefore the focal reducer was not completed on schedule and could not be used on the telescope this semester. A postdoctoral research associate was recruited to handle the day-to-day operations. The closing date for applications was 2002 December 3 1, and seven were received. One applicant was not qualified, and two were marginal. Of the four qualified candidates, Fabrizio Bernardi stood out as being best qualified. He was a student of Andrea Carusi and had worked on the CINEOS project in Italy, which includes a component of searching for NEOs at small solar elongations.

Tholen, David J.↗

The Effect of NEXRAD Image Looping and National Convective Weather Forecast Product on Pilot Decision Making in the Use of a Cockpit Weather Information Display

This experiment investigated improvements to cockpit weather displays to better support the hazardous weather avoidance decision-making of general aviation pilots. Forty-eight general aviation pilots were divided into three equal groups and presented with a simulated flight scenario involving embedded convective activity. The control group had access to conventional sources of pre-flight and in-flight weather products. The two treatment groups were provided with a weather display that presented NEXRAD mosaic images, graphic depiction of METARs, and text METARs. One treatment group used a NEXRAD image looping feature and the second group used the National Convective Weather Forecast (NCWF) product overlaid on the NEXRAD display. Both of the treatment displays provided a significant increase in situation awareness but, they provided incomplete information required to deal with hazardous convective weather conditions, and would require substantial pilot training to permit their safe and effective use.

Burgess, Malcolm A.↗

Alaskan Permafrost Analogs of Martian Small Valley Networks, Thermokarst, Terrain Softening, Terraces, and Volcanic Craters

A geomorphic landscape analog in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (Alaska) offers a model for Mars where (1) fluvial and alluvial deposition, volcanism, and other processes first produced a layered ice-rich upper crust, and then (2) severe permafrost conditions (mild by today's Martian standards) and heterogeneous heat flow and volcanism have modified this terrain to produce a geomorphic areal mosaic that is alternately dominated by (a) geothermal meltwater and sublimation (bottom-up heat flow) and (b) surface-driven meltwater and sublimation (top-down heat flow).

Kargel, Jeffrey S.↗

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Asteroids, Meteors, Comets

Reports included:Long Term Stability of Mars Trojans; Horseshoe Asteroids and Quasi-satellites in Earth-like Orbits; Effect of Roughness on Visible Reflectance Spectra of Planetary Surface; SUBARU Spectroscopy of Asteroid (832) Karin; Determining Time Scale of Space Weathering; Change of Asteroid Reflectance Spectra by Space Weathering: Pulse Laser Irradiation on Meteorite Samples; Reflectance Spectra of CM2 Chondrite Mighei Irradiated with Pulsed Laser and Implications for Low-Albedo Asteroids and Martian Moons; Meteorite Porosities and Densities: A Review of Trends in the Data; Small Craters in the Inner Solar System: Primaries or Secondaries or Both?; Generation of an Ordinary-Chondrite Regolith by Repetitive Impact; Asteroid Modal Mineralogy Using Hapke Mixing Models: Validation with HED Meteorites; Particle Size Effect in X-Ray Fluorescence at a Large Phase Angle: Importance on Elemental Analysis of Asteroid Eros (433); An Investigation into Solar Wind Depletion of Sulfur in Troilite; Photometric Behaviour Dependent on Solar Phase Angle and Physical Characteristics of Binary Near-Earth-Asteroid (65803) 1996 GT; Spectroscopic Observations of Asteroid 4 Vesta from 1.9 to 3.5 micron: Evidence of Hydrated and/or Hydroxylated Minerals; Multi-Wavelength Observations of Asteroid 2100 Ra-Shalom: Visible, Infrared, and Thermal Spectroscopy Results; New Peculiarities of Cometary Outburst Activity; Preliminary Shape Modeling for the Asteroid (25143) Itokawa, AMICA of Hayabusa Mission; Scientific Capability of MINERVA Rover in Hayabusa Asteroid Mission; Characteristics and Current Status of Near Infrared Spectrometer for Hayabusa Mission; Sampling Strategy and Curation Plan of Hayabusa Asteroid Sample Return Mission; Visible/Near-Infrared Spectral Properties of MUSES C Target Asteroid 25143 Itokawa; Calibration of the NEAR XRS Solar Monitor; Modeling Mosaic Degradation of X-Ray Measurements of 433 Eros by NEAR-Shoemaker; Scattered Light Remediation and Recalibration of near Sheomaker s NIS Global Dataaset at 433 Eros; Evaluation of Preparation and Measuring Techniques for Interplanetary Dust Particles for the MIDAS Experiment on Rosetta; Chiron: a Proposed Remote Sensing Prompt Gamma Ray Activation Analysis Instrument for a Nuclear Powered Prometheus Mission;From Present Surveying to Future Prospecting of the Asteroid Belt; Asteroid Physical Properties Probe Microgravity Testing of a Surface Sampling System for Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies;and Penetrator Coring Apparatus for Cometary Surfaces.

Source record↗

Crystal Quality, the Long and the Short of It

The term "crystal quality" is ambiguous and implies different meanings to different crystallographers. For the physical crystallographer who aims to understand long-range aspects of crystal growth mosaicity is one of the leading measures of perfection. For the structural crystallographer and those seeking to understand growth at a short-range, molecular level, the detail in the resulting structure is a key goal. Different quality measures have been developed due to different needs. Each of the measures has advantages and each has limitations. In this talk a sample of these measures will be discussed with particular emphasis applied to their application in the analysis of microgravity grown crystals. The advantages and limitations of each will be discussed. Ultimately, the choice of crystal quality measurement lies in the nature of the question asked. It is ~scfill to remember that beauty is often in the eye of the beholder.

Snell, Eddie H.↗

Structural Characterization of Crystalline Ice Nanoclusters

Water ice nanoclusters are useful analogs for studying a variety of processes that occur within icy grains in the extraterrestrial environment. The surface of ice nanoclusters prepared in the laboratory is similar to the surface of interstellar ice grains. In cold molecular clouds, the silicate cores of interstellar grains are typically approx. 100 nm in diameter and have a coating of impure amorphous water ice. Depositional, thermal and radiolytic processes leave the surface and subsurface molecules in a disordered state. In this state, structural defects become mobile and reactions of trapped gases and small molecules can occur. The large surface area of nanocluster deposits relative to their bulk allows for routine observation of such surface-mediated processes. Furthermore, the disordered surface and subsurface layers in nanocluster deposits mimic the structure of amorphous ice rinds found on interstellar dust grains. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM has been used tn characterize the crystallinity, growth mechanism, and size distribution of nanoclusters formed from a mixture of water vapor with an inert carrier gas that has been rapidly cooled to 77K. E M imaging reveals a Gaussian size distribution around a modal diameter that increases from approx. 15 to 30 nm as the percentage of water vapor within the mixture increases from 0.5 to 2.007, respectively . TEM bright and dark field imaging also reveals the crystalline nature of the clusters. h4any of the clusters show a mosaic structure in which crystalline domains originate at the center Other images show mirror planes that are separated by approx. 10 nm. Electron diffraction patterns of these clusters show that the clusters are composed of cubic ice with only a small hexagonal component. Further, the crystalline domain size is approximately the same as the modal diameter suggesting that the clusters are single crystals.

Blake, David↗

Monitoring the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor: A NASA/CCAD Cooperative Research Project

To foster scientific cooperation under a Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and the Central American countries, the research project developed regional databases to monitor forest condition and environmental change throughout the region. Of particular interest is the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), a chain of protected areas and proposed conservation areas that will link segments of natural habitats in Central America from the borders of northern Columbia to southern Mexico. The first and second year of the project focused on the development of regional satellite databases (JERS-IC, MODIS, and Landsat-TM), training of Central American cooperators and forest cover and change analysis. The three regional satellite mosaics were developed and distributed on CD-ROM to cooperators and regional outlets. Four regional remote sensing training courses were conducted in 3 countries including participants from all 7 Central American countries and Mexico. In year 3, regional forest change assessment in reference to Mesoamerican Biological Corridor was completed and land cover maps (from Landsat TM) were developed for 7 Landsat scenes and accuracy assessed. These maps are being used to support validation of MODIS forest/non forest maps and to examine forest fragmentation and forest cover change in selected study sites. A no-cost time extension (2003-2004) allowed the completion of an M.S. thesis by a Costa Rican student and preparation of manuscripts for future submission to peer-reviewed outlets. Proposals initiated at the end of the project have generated external funding from the U.S. Forest Service (to U. Maine), NASA-ESSF (Oregon State U.) and from USAID and EPA (to NASA-MSFC-GHCC) to test MODIS capabilities to detect forest change; conduct literature review on biomass estimation and carbon stocks and develop a regional remote sensing monitoring center in Central America. The success of the project has led to continued cooperation between NASA, other federal agencies, and scientists from all seven Central American Countries (see SERVIR web site for this ongoing work - servir.nsstc.nasa.gov).

Sever, Thomas↗

Thermophysical Properties of Mars' North Polar Layered Deposits and Related Materials from Mars Odyssey THEMIS

The presence of a thick sequence of horizontal layers of ice-rich material at Mars north pole, dissected by troughs and eroding at its margins, is undoubtedly telling us something about the evolution of Mars climate [1,2] we just don t know what yet. The North Polar Layered Deposits (NPLD) most likely formed as astronomically driven climate variations led to the deposition of conformable, areally extensive layers of ice and dust over the polar region. More recently, the balance seems to have fundamentally shifted to net erosion, as evidenced by the many troughs within the NPLD and the steep, arcuate scarps present near its margins, both of which expose layering. We defined a number of Regions of Interest ROI) for THEMIS to target as part of the Mars Odyssey Participating Scientist program. We use these THEMIS data in order to understand the morphology and color/thermal properties of the NPLD and related materials over relevant (i.e., m to km) spatial scales. We have assembled color mosaics of our ROIs in order to map the distribution of ices, the different layered units, dark material, and underlying basement. The color information from THEMIS is crucial for distinguishing these different units which are less distinct on Mars Orbiter Camera images. We wish to understand the nature of the marginal scarps and their relationship to the dark material. Our next, more ambitious goal is to derive the thermophysical properties of the different geologic materials using THEMIS and Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer TES) data.

Vasavada, A. R.↗

Conservation of Endo16 expression in sea urchins despite evolutionary divergence in both cis and trans-acting components of transcriptional regulation

Evolutionary changes in transcriptional regulation undoubtedly play an important role in creating morphological diversity. However, there is little information about the evolutionary dynamics of cis-regulatory sequences. This study examines the functional consequence of evolutionary changes in the Endo16 promoter of sea urchins. The Endo16 gene encodes a large extracellular protein that is expressed in the endoderm and may play a role in cell adhesion. Its promoter has been characterized in exceptional detail in the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. We have characterized the structure and function of the Endo16 promoter from a second sea urchin species, Lytechinus variegatus. The Endo16 promoter sequences have evolved in a strongly mosaic manner since these species diverged approximately 35 million years ago: the most proximal region (module A) is conserved, but the remaining modules (B-G) are unalignable. Despite extensive divergence in promoter sequences, the pattern of Endo16 transcription is largely conserved during embryonic and larval development. Transient expression assays demonstrate that 2.2 kb of upstream sequence in either species is sufficient to drive GFP reporter expression that correctly mimics this pattern of Endo16 transcription. Reciprocal cross-species transient expression assays imply that changes have also evolved in the set of transcription factors that interact with the Endo16 promoter. Taken together, these results suggest that stabilizing selection on the transcriptional output may have operated to maintain a similar pattern of Endo16 expression in S. purpuratus and L. variegatus, despite dramatic divergence in promoter sequence and mechanisms of transcriptional regulation.

NASA Discipline Evolutionary Biology↗

Increased Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and rooting efficiencies in canola (Brassica napus L.) from hypocotyl segment explants

An efficient protocol for the production of transgenic Brassica napus cv. Westar plants was developed by optimizing two important parameters: preconditioning time and co-cultivation time. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation was performed using hypocotyls as explant tissue. Two variants of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-encoding gene--mGFP5-ER and eGFP--both under the constitutive expression of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, were used for the experiments. Optimizing the preconditioning time to 72 h and co-cultivation time with Agrobacterium to 48 h provided the increase in the transformation efficiency from a baseline of 4% to 25%. With mGFP5-ER, the transformation rate was 17% and with eGFP it was 25%. Transgenic shoots were selected on 200 mg/l kanamycin. Rooting efficiency was 100% on half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium with 10 g/l sucrose and 0.5 mg/l indole butyric acid in the presence of kanamycin.

NASA Discipline Life Sciences Technologies↗

WVD2 and WDL1 modulate helical organ growth and anisotropic cell expansion in Arabidopsis

Wild-type Arabidopsis roots develop a wavy pattern of growth on tilted agar surfaces. For many Arabidopsis ecotypes, roots also grow askew on such surfaces, typically slanting to the right of the gravity vector. We identified a mutant, wvd2-1, that displays suppressed root waving and leftward root slanting under these conditions. These phenotypes arise from transcriptional activation of the novel WAVE-DAMPENED2 (WVD2) gene by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter in mutant plants. Seedlings overexpressing WVD2 exhibit constitutive right-handed helical growth in both roots and etiolated hypocotyls, whereas the petioles of WVD2-overexpressing rosette leaves exhibit left-handed twisting. Moreover, the anisotropic expansion of cells is impaired, resulting in the formation of shorter and stockier organs. In roots, the phenotype is accompanied by a change in the arrangement of cortical microtubules within peripheral cap cells and cells at the basal end of the elongation zone. WVD2 transcripts are detectable by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in multiple organs of wild-type plants. Its predicted gene product contains a conserved region named "KLEEK," which is found only in plant proteins. The Arabidopsis genome possesses seven other genes predicted to encode KLEEK-containing products. Overexpression of one of these genes, WVD2-LIKE 1, which encodes a protein with regions of similarity to WVD2 extending beyond the KLEEK domain, results in phenotypes that are highly similar to wvd2-1. Silencing of WVD2 and its paralogs results in enhanced root skewing in the wild-type direction. Our observations suggest that at least two members of this gene family may modulate both rotational polarity and anisotropic cell expansion during organ growth.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗

Probable calcified metaphytes in the latest Proterozoic Nama Group, Namibia: origin, diagenesis, and implications

Samples from the Huns Limestone Member, Urusis Formation, Nama Group, at two adjacent localities in southern Namibia contain thin foliose to arched, sheet-like carbonate crusts that are 100-500 micrometers thick and up to 5 cm in lateral dimension. Morphologic, petrographic, and geochemical evidence supports the interpretation of these delicate crusts as biogenic, most likely the remains of calcified encrusting metaphytes. The original sediments of the fossiliferous samples contained aragonitic encrusting algae, botryoidal aragonite cements, and an aragonite mud groundmass. Spherulites within the precursor mud could represent bacterially induced mineral growths or the concretions of marine rivularian cyanobacteria. Original textures were severely disrupted during the diagenetic transition of aragonite to low-magnesian calcite, but some primary structures remain discernible as ghosts in the neomorphic mosaic. Gross morphology, original aragonite mineralogy, and hypobasal calcification indicate that the crusts are similar to late Paleozoic phylloid algae and extant peyssonnelid red algae. Structures interpreted as possible conceptacles also suggest possible affinities with the Corallinaceae. Two species of Cloudina, interpreted as the remains of a shelly metazoan, are also known from limestones in the Nama Group. It is possible, therefore, that skeletalization in metaphytes and animals arose nearly simultaneously near the end of the Proterozoic Eon.

NASA Discipline Number 52-30↗

Accessing NASA Technology with the World Wide Web

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) began using the World Wide Web (WWW) in the summer of 1993, becoming the first NASA installation to provide a Center-wide home page. This coincided with a reorganization of LaRC to provide a more concentrated focus on technology transfer to both aerospace and non-aerospace industry. Use of WWW and NCSA Mosaic not only provides automated information dissemination, but also allows for the implementation, evolution and integration of many technology transfer and technology awareness applications. This paper describes several of these innovative applications, including the on-line presentation of the entire Technology OPportunities Showcase (TOPS), an industrial partnering showcase that exists on the Web long after the actual 3-day event ended. The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) provides uniform access to many logically similar, yet physically distributed NASA report servers. WWW is also the foundation of the Langley Software Server (LSS), an experimental software distribution system which will distribute LaRC-developed software. In addition to the more formal technology distribution projects, WWW has been successful in connecting people with technologies and people with other people.

Nelson, Michael L.↗

The World Wide Web and Technology Transfer at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) began using the World Wide Web (WWW) in the summer of 1993, becoming the first NASA installation to provide a Center-wide home page. This coincided with a reorganization of LaRC to provide a more concentrated focus on technology transfer to both aerospace and non-aerospace industry. Use of the WWW and NCSA Mosaic not only provides automated information dissemination, but also allows for the implementation, evolution and integration of many technology transfer applications. This paper describes several of these innovative applications, including the on-line presentation of the entire Technology Opportunities Showcase (TOPS), an industrial partnering showcase that exists on the Web long after the actual 3-day event ended. During its first year on the Web, LaRC also developed several WWW-based information repositories. The Langley Technical Report Server (LTRS), a technical paper delivery system with integrated searching and retrieval, has proved to be quite popular. The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS), an outgrowth of LTRS, provides uniform access to many logically similar, yet physically distributed NASA report servers. WWW is also the foundation of the Langley Software Server (LSS), an experimental software distribution system which will distribute LaRC-developed software with the possible phase-out of NASA's COSMIC program. In addition to the more formal technology distribution projects, WWW has been successful in connecting people with technologies and people with other people. With the completion of the LaRC reorganization, the Technology Applications Group, charged with interfacing with non-aerospace companies, opened for business with a popular home page.

Nelson, Michael L.↗

Long-range correlation properties of coding and noncoding DNA sequences: GenBank analysis

An open question in computational molecular biology is whether long-range correlations are present in both coding and noncoding DNA or only in the latter. To answer this question, we consider all 33301 coding and all 29453 noncoding eukaryotic sequences--each of length larger than 512 base pairs (bp)--in the present release of the GenBank to dtermine whether there is any statistically significant distinction in their long-range correlation properties. Standard fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis indicates that coding sequences have practically no correlations in the range from 10 bp to 100 bp (spectral exponent beta=0.00 +/- 0.04, where the uncertainty is two standard deviations). In contrast, for noncoding sequences, the average value of the spectral exponent beta is positive (0.16 +/- 0.05) which unambiguously shows the presence of long-range correlations. We also separately analyze the 874 coding and the 1157 noncoding sequences that have more than 4096 bp and find a larger region of power-law behavior. We calculate the probability that these two data sets (coding and noncoding) were drawn from the same distribution and we find that it is less than 10(-10). We obtain independent confirmation of these findings using the method of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), which is designed to treat sequences with statistical heterogeneity, such as DNA's known mosaic structure ("patchiness") arising from the nonstationarity of nucleotide concentration. The near-perfect agreement between the two independent analysis methods, FFT and DFA, increases the confidence in the reliability of our conclusion.

Non-NASA Center↗

Crystal growth and crystallography

Selected topics that may be of interest for both crystal-structure and crystal-growth communities are overviewed. The growth of protein crystals, along with that of some other compounds, is one of the topics, and recent insights into related phenomena are considered as examples of applications of general principles. The relationship between crystal growth shape and structure is reviewed and an attempt to introduce semiquantitative characterization of binding for proteins is made. The concept of kinks for complex structures is briefly discussed. Even at sufficiently low supersaturations, the fluctuation of steps may not be sufficient to implement the Gibbs-Thomson law if the kink density is low enough. Subsurface ordering of liquids and growth of rough interfaces from melts is discussed. Crystals growing in microgravity from solution should be more perfect if they preferentially trap stress-inducing impurities, thus creating an impurity-depleted zone around themselves. Evidently, such a zone is developed only around the crystals growing in the absence of convection. Under terrestrial conditions, the self-purified depleted zone is destroyed by convection, the crystal traps more impurity and grows stressed. The stress relief causes mosaicity. In systems containing stress-inducing but poorly trapped impurities, the crystals grown in the absence of convection should be worse than those of their terrestrial counterparts.

Review, Tutorial↗