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At least 1,243 records · Page 69

EPIC Radiance Simulator for Deep Space Climate ObserVatoRy (DSCOVR)

The Deep Space Climate ObserVatoRy (DSCOVR) is a planned space weather mission for the Sun and Earth observations from the Lagrangian L1 point. Onboard of DSCOVR is a multispectral imager EPIC designed for unique observations of the full illuminated disk of the Earth with high temporal and 10 km spatial resolution. Depending on latitude, EPIC will observe the same Earth surface area during the course of the day in a wide range of solar and view zenith angles in the backscattering view geometry with the scattering angle of 164-172 . To understand the information content of EPIC data for analysis of the Earth clouds, aerosols and surface properties, an EPIC radiance Simulator was developed covering the UV -VIS-NIR range including the oxygen A and B-bands (A=340, 388, 443, 555, 680, 779.5, 687.7, 763.3 nm). The Simulator uses ancillary data (surface pressure/height, NCEP wind speed) as well as MODIS-based geophysical fields such as spectral surface bidirectional reflectance, column water vapor, and properties of aerosols and clouds including optical depth, effective radius, phase and cloud top height. The original simulations are conducted at 1 km resolution using the look-up table approach and then are averaged to 10 km EPIC radiances. This talk will give an overview of the EPIC Simulator with analysis of results over the continental USA and northern Atlantic.

Lyapustin, Alexei↗

High resolution depth profiling using near-total-reflection hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

By adjusting the incidence angle of incoming x rays near the critical angle of x-ray total reflection, photoelectron intensity is strongly modulated due to the variation of x-ray penetration depth. Photoelectron spectroscopy combined with near-total reflection exhibits tunable surface sensitivity, providing depth-resolved information. In this Review, we first describe the experimental setup and specific data analysis process. We then review three different examples that show the broad application of this method. Furthermore, the emphasis is on its applications correlated to oxide heterostructures, especially quantitative depth analyses of compositions and electronic states. In the last part, we discuss the limitations of this technique, mostly in terms of the range of samples that can be studied.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Experiment to evaluate feasibility of utilizing Skylab-EREP remote sensing data for tectonic analysis of the Bighorn Mountains region, Wyoming-Montana

The author has identified the following significant results. Excellent imagery has been obtained from SL-3 along track 5 across the Bighorn Mountains and track 19 across the northern Black Hills. The red band is by far the best of the four black and white films of S-190A. Excellent detail is visible of topography, structure, resistant lithologies, and culture with good resolution obtainable at high magnification (30X). The infrared bands do not have as good resolution and are grainy at high magnification. They are of use as a complement to the red band particularly for relief enhancement in areas of heavy green grass and forest cover. S-190B high definition black and white is comparable to the red band (S-190A) in detail. Its main advantage is larger initial scale and slightly better resolution. High resolution color transparencies along track 19 allow detailed delineation of cultivated land and strip mining. A group of folds northwest of Billings stand out clearly. Light colored units in northwestern Black Hills and in the badlands can be mapped in great detail.

Hoppin, R. A.↗

IDE spatio-temporal impact fluxes and high time-resolution studies of multi-impact events and long-lived debris clouds

During the first 12 months of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) mission, the Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) recorded over 15,000 total impacts on six orthogonal faces with a time resolution on the order of 15 to 20 seconds. When combined with the orbital data and the stabilized configuration of the spacecraft, this permits a detailed analysis of the micro-particulate environment. The functional status of each of the 459 detectors was monitored every 2.4 hours, and post-flight analyses of these data has now permitted an evaluation of the effective active detection area as a function of time, panel by panel and separately for the two sensitivity levels. Thus, total impacts were transformed into areal fluxes, and are presented here for the first time. Also discussed are possible effects of these fluxes on previously announced results: apparent debris events, meteor stream detections, and beta meteoroids in observationally significant numbers.

Mulholland, J. Derral↗

Applications of GOES-8/9 data to hurricane analysis

GOES-8 was successfully launched in 1994, and has performed up to expeditions and in some cases has actually exceeded pre-launch specifications. A similar geostationary satellite, GOES-9, was launched in May of 1995. This new generation of NOAA's geostationary satellites carry a superior design and instrumentation package that allow for greater detection of meteorological features and parameters. The new GOES imager has a 5 band multispectral capability with high spatial resolution, while the sounder contains 18 thermal infrared (IR) bands plus a low resolution visible band. The imager carries a visible channel with 1 10-bit quantization and increased sampling frequency, a short-wave and long-wave window channel, and a water vapor band with a twofold increase in spatial resolution and a factor of 3 improvement in signal-to-noise over that obtained from previous GOES sensors. The advances in observing the earth's atmospheric system anticipated from these improvements are outlined in Menzel and Purdom (1994). The specific impact of this improved remote sensing capability on the analysis of tropical cyclones is discussed here.

Velden, Christopher S.↗

FT4 Data Analysis Summary (SSI-ARC)

Standards for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) systems are currently being developed under the auspices of the RTCA Special Committee 228 (SC-228). To support the development of these standards, a series of flight tests has been conducted at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center (NASA-AFRC). The fourth in this series of flight test activities (Flight Test 4, or simply FT4) was conducted during the Spring and Summer of 2016. FT4 supported the objectives of numerous organizations working toward UAS DAA Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) and UAS DAA Radar MOPS. The summary provided herein is limited to the objectives, analysis and conclusions of the NASA Ames Research Center (NASA-ARC) SSI team toward the refinement of UAS DAA MOPS. This document provides a high-level overview of FT4 and the SSI-ARC objectives, a summary of the data analysis methodology and recommendations for UAS DAA MOPS refinements based on the data analysis results. A total of 72 encounters were flown to support SSI-ARC objectives. Test results were generally consistent with acceptable UAS DAA system performance and will be considered in broader SC-228 requirements validation efforts. Observed alert lead times indicated acceptable UAS DAA alerting performance. Effective interoperability between the UAS DAA system and the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) was observed with one notable exception: TCAS Resolutions Advisories (RA) were observed in the absence of any DAA alert on two occasions, indicating the need for alert parameter refinement. Findings further indicated the need for continued work in the areas of DAA Well Clear Recovery logic and alert stability for Mode-C-only intruders. Finally, results demonstrated a high level of compliance with a set of evaluation criteria designed to provide anecdotal evidence of acceptable UAS DAA system performance.

UAS Test Flight↗

Bhutan Water Resources II: Comparing Phenology, Precipitation, and Temperature Data in Bhutan to Assist the Himalayan Environmental Rhythm Observation and Evaluation System (HEROES) Project

Bhutan is vulnerable to climate fluctuations that can affect vegetation phenology patterns. Changes in the climate have raised concerns from local farmers about altered growing seasons. In response, the DEVELOP team assessed annual vegetation phenology trends across Bhutan from 1981-2014 by comparing vegetation phenology-derived data and meteorological data. The project assessed phenology change using Vegetation Index and Phenology (VIP) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) products from the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. We also used Climate Hazards Center Infrared Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) precipitation data and Famine Early Warning System Network Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS) temperature data to assess climate trends in the country. The team assessed VIP phenology data for 1981-2014 to assess trends for the start of season, day of peak, and length of season. For the main growing season, the results indicated that the start of season and day of peak were delayed, while the length of season increased by 22 days. Analysis of temperature and precipitation data for the early 1980s to present indicted that Bhutan’s temperature has become warmer and precipitation has increased. Satellite-based precipitation and temperature data were compared to in situ precipitation and temperature data, yielding high correlations for both precipitation (R=0.85) and temperature (R=0.9). The project results and methods were shared with the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research (UWICER) to help assess climate change impacts in Bhutan.

DEVELOP Tech Paper↗

Regional-Scale High-Latitude Extreme Geoelectric Fields Pertaining to Geomagnetically Induced Currents

Motivated by the needs of the high-voltage power transmission industry, we use data from the high-latitude IMAGE magnetometer array to study characteristics of extreme geoelectric fields at regional scales. We use 10-s resolution data for years 1993-2013, and the fields are characterized using average horizontal geoelectric field amplitudes taken over station groups that span about 500-km distance. We show that geoelectric field structures associated with localized extremes at single stations can be greatly different from structures associated with regionally uniform geoelectric fields, which are well represented by spatial averages over single stations. Visual extrapolation and rigorous extreme value analysis of spatially averaged fields indicate that the expected range for 1-in-100-year extreme events are 3-8 V/km and 3.4-7.1 V/km, respectively. The Quebec reference ground model is used in the calculations.

polar regions↗

Use of high-dimensional spectral data to evaluate organic matter, reflectance relationships in soils

Recent breakthroughs in remote sensing technology have led to the development of a spaceborne high spectral resolution imaging sensor, HIRIS, to be launched in the mid-1990s for observation of earth surface features. The effects of organic carbon content on soil reflectance over the spectral range of HIRIS, and to examine the contributions of humic and fulvic acid fractions to soil reflectance was evaluated. Organic matter from four Indiana agricultural soils was extracted, fractionated, and purified, and six individual components of each soil were isolated and prepared for spectral analysis. The four soils, ranging in organic carbon content from 0.99 percent, represented various combinations of genetic parameters such as parent material, age, drainage, and native vegetation. An experimental procedure was developed to measure reflectance of very small soil and organic component samples in the laboratory, simulating the spectral coverage and resolution of the HIRIS sensor. Reflectance in 210 narrow (10 nm) bands was measured using the CARY 17D spectrophotometer over the 400 to 2500 nm wavelength range. Reflectance data were analyzed statistically to determine the regions of the reflective spectrum which provided useful information about soil organic matter content and composition. Wavebands providing significant information about soil organic carbon content were located in all three major regions of the reflective spectrum: visible, near infrared, and middle infrared. The purified humic acid fractions of the four soils were separable in six bands in the 1600 to 2400 nm range, suggesting that longwave middle infrared reflectance may be useful as a non-destructive laboratory technique for humic acid characterization.

Henderson, T. L.↗

Dimensionality Reduction of SDSS Spectra with Variational Autoencoders

High-resolution galaxy spectra contain much information about galactic physics, but the high dimensionality of these spectra makes it difficult to fully utilize the information they contain. We apply variational autoencoders (VAEs), a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique, to a sample of spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In contrast to principal component analysis (PCA), a widely used technique, VAEs can capture nonlinear relationships between latent parameters and the data. We find that a VAE can reconstruct the SDSS spectra well with only six latent parameters, outperforming PCA with the same number of components. Different galaxy classes are naturally separated in this latent space, without class labels having been given to the VAE. The VAE latent space is interpretable because the VAE can be used to make synthetic spectra at any point in latent space. For example, making synthetic spectra along tracks in latent space yields sequences of realistic spectra that interpolate between two different types of galaxies. Using the latent space to find outliers may yield interesting spectra: in our small sample, we immediately find unusual data artifacts and stars misclassified as galaxies. In this exploratory work, we show that VAEs create compact, interpretable latent spaces that capture nonlinear features of the data. While a VAE takes substantial time to train (≈1 day for 48,000 spectra), once trained, VAEs can enable the fast exploration of large astronomical data sets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Development of a high-resolution automatic digital (urine/electrolytes) flow volume and rate measurement system of miniature size

To aid in the quantitative analysis of man's physiological rhythms, a flowmeter to measure circadian patterns of electrolyte excretion during various environmental stresses was developed. One initial flowmeter was designed and fabricated, the sensor of which is the approximate size of a wristwatch. The detector section includes a special type of dielectric integrating type sensor which automatically controls, activates, and deactivates the flow sensor data output by determining the presence or absence of fluid flow in the system, including operation under zero-G conditions. The detector also provides qualitative data on the composition of the fluid. A compact electronic system was developed to indicate flow rate as well as total volume per release or the cumulative volume of several releases in digital/analog forms suitable for readout or telemetry. A suitable data readout instrument is also provided. Calibration and statistical analyses of the performance functions required of the flowmeter were also conducted.

Liu, F. F.↗

GEOS S2S-2_1: The GMAO High Resolution Seasonal Prediction System

A new version of the coupled modeling and analysis system used to produce near real time subseasonal to seasonal forecasts was recently released by the NASA/Goddard Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. The new version runs at higher atmospheric resolution than the previous, (approximately 1/2 degree globally), contains a substantially improved model description of the cryosphere, and includes additional interactive earth system model components (aerosol model). In addition, the Ocean data assimilation system has been replaced with a Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter, and now includes the assimilation of along-track sea surface height. Here will describe the new system, along with the plans for the future (GEOS S2S-3_0) which will include a higher resolution ocean model and more interactive earth system model components (interactive vegetation, biomass burning from fires). We will also present results from a series of retrospective seasonal forecasts. Results show significant improvements in surface temperatures over much of the northern hemisphere and a much improved prediction of sea ice extent in both hemispheres. Analysis of the ensemble spread shows improvements relative to the previous system, including generally better reliability. The precipitation forecast skill is comparable to previous S2S systems, and the only tradeoff is an increased "double ITCZ", which is expected as we go to higher atmospheric resolution.

Molod, Andrea↗

Identification of Serine-Containing Microcystins by UHPLC-MS/MS Using Thiol and Sulfoxide Derivatizations and Detection of Novel Neutral Losses

Microcystins (MCs) are hepatotoxic cyclic heptapeptides produced by cyanobacteria, and their structural diversity has led to the discovery of more than 300 congeners to date. However, with known amino acid combinations, many more MC congeners are theoretically possible, suggesting many remain unidentified. Herein, two novel serine (Ser)-containing MCs were putatively identified in a Lake Erie cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (cyanoHAB), using high-resolution UHPLC-MS as well as thiol and sulfoxide derivatization procedures. These MCs contain an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl on methyl dehydroalanine (Mdha) residue that undergoes Michael addition to produce a thiol-derivatized MC. Derivatization reactions using various thiolation reagents were followed by MS/MS, and two Python codes were used for data analysis and structural elucidation of MCs. Two novel MCs containing Ser at position 1 (i.e., next to Mdha) were putatively identified as [Ser 1 ]MC-RR and [Ser 1 ]MC-YR. Using thiol- and sulfoxide-modified [Ser 1 ]MCs, identifications were confirmed by the observation of specific neutral losses of the oxidized thiols or sulfoxides in CID-MS/MS spectra in both positive and negative electrospray ionization (ESI) modes. These novel neutral losses are unique for MCs with Mdha and an adjacent Ser residue. In conclusion, data suggest that a gas-phase reaction occurs between oxygen from adjacent Ser residue and sulfur of the Mdha-bonded thiol or sulfoxide, which leads to the formation and detection of stable cyclic MC ions in MS/MS spectra at m/z values corresponding to the loss of oxidized thiols or oxidized sulfoxides from Ser 1 -containing MCs.

Premathilaka, Sanduni H.↗

Fundamental physics with ESPRESSO: a new determination of the D/H ratio towards PKS1937-101

ABSTRACT Primordial abundances of light elements are sensitive to the physics of the early Universe and can directly constrain cosmological quantities, such as the baryon-to-photon ratio $\eta _{10}$, the baryon density, and the number of neutrino families. Deuterium is especially suited for these studies: its primordial abundance is sensitive and monotonically dependent on $\eta _{10}$, allowing an independent measurement of the cosmic baryon density that can be compared, for instance, against the Planck satellite data. The primordial deuterium abundance can be measured in high H i column density absorption systems towards distant quasars. We report here a new measurement, based on high-resolution ESPRESSO data, of the primordial D i abundance of a system at redshift $z \sim 3.572$, towards PKS1937-101. Using only ESPRESSO data, we find a D /H ratio of $2.638\pm 10^{-5}$, while including the available UVES data improves the precision, leading to a ratio of $2.608 \pm 10^{-5}$. The results of this analysis agree with those of the most precise existing measurements. We find that the relatively low column density of this system ($\log {N_{\rm H_I}/ {\rm cm}^{-2}}\sim 18$) introduces modelling uncertainties, which become the main contributor to the error budget.

Guarneri, Francesco (ORCID:0000000347409762)↗

Development of a ground signal processor for digital synthetic array radar data

A modified APQ-102 sidelooking array radar (SLAR) in a B-57 aircraft test bed is used, with other optical and infrared sensors, in remote sensing of Earth surface features for various users at NASA Johnson Space Center. The video from the radar is normally recorded on photographic film and subsequently processed photographically into high resolution radar images. Using a high speed sampling (digitizing) system, the two receiver channels of cross-and co-polarized video are recorded on wideband magnetic tape along with radar and platform parameters. These data are subsequently reformatted and processed into digital synthetic aperture radar images with the image data available on magnetic tape for subsequent analysis by investigators. The system design and results obtained are described.

Griffin, C. R.↗

Use of NOAA-N satellites for land/water discrimination and flood monitoring

A tool for monitoring the extent of major floods was developed using data collected by the NOAA-6 advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR). A basic understanding of the spectral returns in AVHRR channels 1 and 2 for water, soil, and vegetation was reached using a large number of NOAA-6 scenes from different seasons and geographic locations. A look-up table classifier was developed based on analysis of the reflective channel relationships for each surface feature. The classifier automatically separated land from water and produced classification maps which were registered for a number of acquisitions, including coverage of a major flood on the Parana River of Argentina.

Tappan, G.↗

Visualization Techniques in Space and Atmospheric Sciences

Unprecedented volumes of data will be generated by research programs that investigate the Earth as a system and the origin of the universe, which will in turn require analysis and interpretation that will lead to meaningful scientific insight. Providing a widely distributed research community with the ability to access, manipulate, analyze, and visualize these complex, multidimensional data sets depends on a wide range of computer science and technology topics. Data storage and compression, data base management, computational methods and algorithms, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and high-resolution display are just a few of the topics addressed. A unifying theme throughout the papers with regards to advanced data handling and visualization is the need for interactivity, speed, user-friendliness, and extensibility.

Szuszczewicz, E. P.↗

Kronos: A Multiwavelength Observatory for Mapping Accretion-Driven Sources

Kronos is a multiwavelength observatory proposed as a NASA Medium Explorer. Kronos is designed to make use of the natural variability of accreting sources to create microarcsecond-resolution maps of the environments of supermassive black holes in active galaxies and stella-size black holes in binary systems and to characterize accretion processes in Galactic compact binaries. Kronos will obtain broad energy range spectroscopic data with co-aligned X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical spectrometers. The high-Earth orbit of Kronos enables well-sampled, high time-resolution observations, critical for the innovative and sophisticated methods that are used to understand the accretion flows, mass outflows, jets, and other phenomena found in accreting sources. By utilizing reverberation mapping analysis techniques, Kronos produces advanced high-resolution maps of unprecedented resolution of the extreme environment in the inner cores of active galaxies. Similarly, Doppler tomography and eclipse mapping techniques characterize and map Galactic binary systems, revealing the details of the physics of accretion processes in black hole, neutron star, and white dwarf binary systems. The Kronos instrument complement, sensitivity, and orbital environment make it suitable to aggressively address time variable phenomena in a wide range of astronomical objects from nearby flare stars to distant galaxies.

Peterson, Bradley M.↗