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At least 1,351 records · Page 75
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NASA NTRS1982

Theoretical analyses of Baroclinic flows

A stability analysis of a thin horizontal rotating fluid layer which is subjected to arbitrary horizontal and vertical temperature gradients is presented. The basic state is a nonlinear Hadley cell which contains both Ekman and thermal boundary layers; it is given in closed form. The stability analysis is based on the linearized Navier-Stokes equations, and zonally symmetric perturbations in the form of waves propagating in the meridional direction are considered. Numerical methods were used for the stability problem. It was found that the instability sets in when the Richardson number is close to unity and that the critical Richardson number is a non-monotonic function of the Prandtl number. Further, it was found that the critical Richardson number decreases with increasing Ekman number until a critical value of the Ekman number is reached beyond which the fluid is stable.

Antar, B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Simultaneous multifrequency observations of BL Lac objects and violently variable quasars

Ultraviolet spectra simultaneous with radio, infrared, optical, and X-ray measurements were obtained for three BL Lac objects and one violently variable quasar during several epochs (0735+178, BL Lac, IZw-187, and 3C446). A feature common to these objects is that the radio-mm continuum must steepen in the far-infrared region in order to connect smoothly to the IR-UV continuum. This indicates that synchrotron emission becomes optically thick in the mm or far-infrared region. The continuum of 3C446 and BL Lac steepen quite rapidly between the IR and UV spectra with slopes near unity. The X-ray emission in BL Lac, 3C446, and 0735+178 has a different origin from the IR-UV radiation, probably from the inverse Compton process. However, the synchrotron radiation is the probable source of X-ray emission in the X-ray bright BL Lac object IZw-187. In IZw-187, most of the energy emerges in the UV - X-ray region, while for the other sources, most of the energy emerges in the far infrared region.

Bregman, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Quantitative absorption and fluorescence study of CO from 1060 to 1550 A

Measurement of the photoabsorption cross section of CO in the 1060-1550 A region using synchrotron radiation is described. The oscillator strengths for the transitions from CO (Chi1Sigma+ to various excited states are obtained from these data. Fluorescence from excited CO was observed in the 1150 to 3000 A and 3000 to 8000 A regions. The quantum yields for the production of fluroescence from the Alpha(1)P and B(1)Sigma(+) states are unity because their excitation energies are below the dissociation limit. The C(1)Sigma(+) , v = O level has significant fluorescence quantum yields both in the UV and visible region, but the yields for the E(1)Pi, v = O and C(1)Sigma(+), v = 1 levels are very small. The C(1)Sigma(+), v = 1 level is presumably predissociated. The cross sections for the production of fluroescence from the a'(3)Sigma(+), d(3)Delta sub 1, e(3)Sigma(-) yields a(3)Pi, and B(1)Sigma(+), C(1)Sigma(+) yields A(1)Pi transitions upon excitation from the X(1)Sigma(+) were measured.

Lee, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Documentation of program AFTBDY to generate coordinate system for 3D after body using body fitted curvilinear coordinates, part 1

The computer program AFTBDY generates a body fitted curvilinear coordinate system for a wedge curved after body. This wedge curved after body is being used in an experimental program. The coordinate system generated by AFTBDY is used to solve 3D compressible N.S. equations. The coordinate system in the physical plane is a cartesian x,y,z system, whereas, in the transformed plane a rectangular xi, eta, zeta system is used. The coordinate system generated is such that in the transformed plane coordinate spacing in the xi, eta, zeta direction is constant and equal to unity. The physical plane coordinate lines in the different regions are clustered heavily or sparsely depending on the regions where physical quantities to be solved for by the N.S. equations have high or low gradients. The coordinate distribution in the physical plane is such that x stays constant in eta and zeta direction, whereas, z stays constant in xi and eta direction. The desired distribution in x and z is input to the program. Consequently, only the y-coordinate is solved for by the program AFTBDY.

Kumar, D.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Regionally applicable angular reflectance models

Determination of the angular variation of the reflected radiance field in order to infer the reflected component of the Earth radiation budget from medium or narrow field of view radiometer measurements is discussed. An average angular model applicable at 250 to 1000 km is presented and evaluated. The nature of the convergence of the radiance patterns to the regional means is also discussed. Radiances measured during summer Monex 1979, from Hudson Bay to Saudi Arabia, were averaged and then normalized by multiplying by pi and dividing by the scene-averaged reflected flux density. This casts the model into the inverse of the bidirectional reflectance normalization coefficient, which has the value of unity for an isotropic surface. The reflected component of the Earth's radiation budget is inferred to an accuracy of about 2.5%.

Davis, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A satellite investigation of energy flux and inferred potential drop in auroral electron energy spectra

The relationship between auroral electron energy flux and the inferred accelerating potential drop for accelerated Maxwellian distributions is investigated on the basis of Atmospheric Explorer D spectral measurements. An analytical approximation for the total downward energy flux carried by an isotropic Maxwellian electron population accelerated by a field-aligned electrostatic potential drop is derived which is valid for values of the electron energy/characteristic accelerated Maxwellian distribution energy which are less than the difference between the ratio of the magnetic field strengths at the altitude of observation and the altitude of potential drop, and unity. Data from the Low Energy Electron Experiment on board AE D obtained on both the dayside and the nightside during periods of significant inverted-V type electron precipitation shows that the 455 energy spectra considered, 160 of them, obtained between 60 and 85 deg invariant latitude, could be fit to accelerated Maxwellian distributions. The 160 Maxwellian spectra are then shown to be in agreement with the predictions of the accelerated Maxwellian model. Finally, analysis of individual spectra suggests that the altitude of the inferred potential drop is at a maximum near the center of the inverted-V structures.

Menietti, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

ISEE 1 observations of O/2+/ in the magnetosphere

Observations of O(2+) by ISEE 1 have revealed occasional O(2+)/O(+) density ratios of the order of unity within the plasmasphere. However, most plasmaspheric O(2+)/O(+) density ratios are generally below 0.3. These ratios agree generally with those seen by GEOS 1. Within the plasmasphere the O(2+) population appears to be primarily cold and isotropic (as is typical for major ions). Outside the plasmasphere, O(2+)/O(+) field-aligned flux ratios may be of the order of 0.1-0.2, though they are frequently much smaller, and the O(2+) distributions are typically field aligned. A rare observation of a unidirectional conic in O(2+) is also reported.

Horwitz, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Steady-state observations of geomagnetically trapped energetic heavy ions and their implications for theory

Data from the Heavy Ion Telescope on board Explorer 45 and the heavy ion channels on the ATS-6 spacecraft are used to describe the equatorial radial profiles of protons and He ions in the energy range of 0.1-1 MeV/nucleon. Measurements during a quiet period in June 1972 revealed that: fluxes of energetic protons and heavy ions inside L equals 4.5 are stable, with no observed decay; He ions of a given level are confined to the equatorial plane in a narrow L-range centered at Lmax; the equatorial differential flux ratio, compared on the basis of equal energy/ion, can exceed unity, indicating that He ion fluxes can be greater than equivalent energy proton fluxes; radial diffusion driven by variations of the magnetic field adequately models processes occurring in the inner magnetosphere for ion energies over 200 keV. The ATS-6 data from GEO found energetic heavy ions always present at L equals 6.6 and enhanced during magnetospheric substorms.

Fritz, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The dynamics of a rapidly escaping atmosphere - Applications to the evolution of earth and Venus

A simple model for the rapid escape of a hydrogen thermosphere is presented in order to establish the energy-limited flux of escaping particles. The model assumes that the atmosphere is tightly bound by gravity at the lower boundary, that all the EUV is absorbed in a narrow region where the optical depth is unity, and that the main source of heating is solar EUV. The flux is limited by the amount of EUV energy absorbed, which is in turn controlled by the radial extent of the thermosphere. It is found that, regardless of the amount of hydrogen in the thermosphere, the low temperatures which accompany rapid escape limit its extent and thus constrain the flux. The results are applied to the earth and Venus, showing that the escape of hydrogen from these planets would have been energy-limiting if their primordial atmospheres contained total hydrogen mixing ratios exceeding only a few percent. This conclusion places a constraint on the theory of the origin and evolution of the planets.

Watson, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Stability of zonal flows on Jupiter

Gierasch et al. (1979) have shown that the question of the stability of zonal flows on Jupiter is influenced strongly by the lower boundary condition. In the case of Jupiter, the troposphere rests above a deep layer of fluid which is probably extremely close to adiabatic. The present study extends the earlier investigations to a wider range of conditions, taking into account the nongeostrophic limit and the presence of horizontal shear. The major difference between the behavior of the model derived in the study and the behavior of a model with a rigid lower boundary, corresponding to the terrestrial conditions, is that baroclinic instability by the Eady mechanism is suppressed. The influence of beta (Charney-type instability) operates only at the top of the troposphere, not at its base. The suppression of the Eady modes seems to apply all the way down to the nongeostrophic limit where the Rossby number is order unity.

Conrath, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The H-alpha/H-beta ratio in solar flares

The present investigation involves the study of an extensive body of data accumulated of simultaneous H-alpha and H-beta cinematography of flares. The data were obtained with two telescopes simultaneously photographing flares in H-alpha and H-beta. The results of measurements in a number of flares are presented in a table. The flares were selected purely by optical quality of the data. That the measured ratios are not too different from those in stellar flares is suggested by the last two columns of the table. These columns show that a variety of possible line width ratios could give an integrated intensity ratio of less than unity.

Zirin, H.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Thermal fluctuations and the diffuse electrostatic emissions

The suggestion that the weak-banded electrostatic emissions observed in the magnetosphere at frequencies between the electron gyrofrequency and upper hybrid frequency are thermal fluctuations is quantitatively explored, by means of a hot-cold model for dayside electron distributions with density and temperature ratios much greater than unity. It is determined that, for typical dayside conditions, the observed waves are weakly damper Bernstein-Harris modes whose spectral density and polarization, perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field, can be accounted for by the theory. It is suggested that the formalism developed may be applicable to weak electron cyclotron emissions at Jupiter and Saturn, and can be extended to lower-frequency ion cyclotron fluctuations by modifying the theory to include ion contributions.

Sentman, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Ion distribution effects of turbulence on a kinetic auroral arc model

An inverted-V auroral arc structure plasma-kinetic model is extended to phenomenologically include the effects of electrostatic turbulence, with k-parallel/k-perpendicular being much less than unity. It is shown that, unless plasma sheet ions are very much more energetic than the electrons, anomalous resistivity is not a large contributor to parallel electrostatic potential drops, since the support of the observed potential drop requires a greater dissipation of energy than can be provided by the plasma sheet. Wave turbulence can, however, be present, with the ion cyclotron turbulence levels suggested by the ion resonance broadening saturation mechanism of Dum and Dupree (1970) being comparable to those observed on auroral field lines. The diffusion coefficient and net growth rate are much smaller than estimates based solely on local plasma properties.

Cornwall, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Magnesium emission variability among late-type giant stars

Profiles of the Mg II h and k emission features in the spectra of 21 late-type giant stars were obtained. Emission strengths were separately measured in the shortward (S) and longward (L) components. Variations in total emission intensity (S + L) can be interpreted as evidence for variations in the rate of mechanical energy deposition in the chromosphere. Mass loss processes in the corona/outer atmosphere may be strong enough to affect the ratio of S/L: thus, rapid mass loss causes S/L to be less than unity. Rapid mass loss is likely caused by deposition of mechanical energy by stellar wind. Variations in S/L are a measure of variations in the rate of mechanical energy deposition in the corona/outer atmosphere. The stellar sample variations were divided into four classes: (1) variations in S/L; (2) variations in the circumstellar absorption components; (3) variations in the total flux; and (4) no evidence for variations found on the time scales used.

Mullan, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Processes in relativistic plasmas

The establishment and maintenance of a Boltzmann distribution in particle kinetic energies is investigated for a plasma with theta = KTe/mc-squared much greater than unity, where m is the electron mass. It is shown that thermalization of the electron gas by binary collisions is not sufficiently effective to maintain the equilibrium distribution when other processes that perturb the equilibrium are taken into account. Electron-positron pair production in electron-electron and electron-ion collisions, and perturbations of a Boltzmann distribution by nonthermal processes are evaluated. Thermalization by means of other mechanisms, such as interaction with plasma waves is discussed, and the opacity of a relativistic plasma is computed for Compton scattering, pair production in the fields of electrons and ions, inverse bremsstrahlung, and synchrotron self-absorption.

Gould, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Coupled bending-bending-torsion flutter of a mistuned cascade with nonuniform blades

A set of aeroelastic equations describing the motion of an arbitrarily mistuned cascade with flexible, pretwisted, nonuniform blades is developed using an extended Hamilton's principle. The derivation of the equations has its basis in the geometric nonlinear theory of elasticity in which the elongations and shears are negligible compared to unity. A general expression for foreshortening of a blade is derived and is explicitly used in the formulation. The blade aerodynamic loading in the subsonic and supersonic flow regimes is obtained from two-dimensional, unsteady, cascade theories. The aerodynamic, inertial and structural coupling between the bending (in two planes) and torsional motions of the blade is included. The equations are used to investigate the aeroelastic stability and to quantify the effect of frequency mistuning on flutter in turbofans. Results indicate that a moderate amount of intentional mistuning has enough potential to alleviate flutter problems in unshrouded, high-aspect-ratio turbofans.

Kaza, K. R. V.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Symmetric baroclinic instability of a Hadley cell

A symmetric baroclinic instability is examined in terms of a Boussinesq fluid contained between two horizontal plates to determine the effects of the Ekman and thermal layers. Governing equations are written for a rotating reference frame, taking into account the Rossby, Ekman, and Prandtl numbers. Equations are defined for the perturbation functions, treated as an eigenvalue problem, and a numerical integration of the full eighth order differential system is performed by a shooting technique. An instability is found to occur in the Hadley cell containing both Ekman and thermal boundary layers when the Richardson number is close to unity. If the Prandtl number is fixed the critical Richardson number decreases with an increasing Ekman number until the Ekman number reaches a certain value, at which time the fluid is stable.

Antar, B. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Lidar clear atmosphere multiple scattering dependence on receiver range

The degree of multiple scattering encountered by nadir-directed lidar in clear atmosphere conditions was assessed by the Monte Carlo method based on a model of the vertical distribution of aerosol scattering in the atmosphere. The lowest 3 km of the atmosphere were regarded as containing 90% of the aerosol optical thickness, with the unity normalized value for the forward peak of the aerosol phase function being 4.38 at a 694.3 nm laser wavelength. Results were obtained for two lidar receiver heights for three receiver field of view (FOV) angular halfwidths. An increase in receiver height was determined to cause a significant increase in the amount of angular scattering of the lidar signal. A factor of 20 change in receiver height produced an order of magnitude change in the single to multiple scattering ratio.

Spinhirne, J. D.↗