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NASA NTRS1981

Lean-limit extinction of propane/air mixtures in the stagnation-point flow

The extinction limits of lean propane/air mixtures in the stagnation-point flow of a flat surface were mapped as functions of the surface temperature and the mixture concentration, velocity, and temperature. The maximum flame temperatures and the flame locations were also measured. The results show that the extinction limits are extremely insensitive to the nature of the surface, which can be heated to 1000 C. On the other hand preheating the gas mixture increases the flame temperature by an almost equal amount and therefore significantly extends the extinction limits. It is also found that at extinction the maximum flame temperatures and the flame locations, which when scaled with the velocity gradient, assume almost constant values independent of the other system variables investigated.

Law, C. K.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Experiments and calculations on the extinction of starlight by iron or magnetite grains

Both iron and magnetite have previously been proposed as constituents of interstellar grains. If either type of magnetic grain exists, it would help to explain the polarization of starlight which is thought to be caused by grains aligned by the interstellar magnetic field. A description is presented of laboratory measurements and computer calculations of the optical properties of small (approximately 25 nm radius) Fe and Fe304 grains. These results are discussed in terms of the effect of such particles on the extinction observed in the interstellar medium or in circumstellar shells. It is found that Fe is probably not responsible for the 220 nm feature in the interstellar extinction curve. Calculations show that if Fe304 is responsible for the very broad structure (VBS) in the interstellar extinction curve, then it would also be a significant contributor to the extinction in the near-UV.

Hecht, J.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Peculiar ultraviolet interstellar extinction

In connection with investigations of the physical characteristics of interstellar dust, a study of objects with peculiar extinction might provide new insights about the composition, size distribution, formation, and destruction of the particulate matter. Meyer and Savage (1981) have found that the dust toward many stars exhibits peculiar UV extinction. The present investigation is concerned with International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spectrophotometric measurements for a sample of stars judged by Meyer and Savage to have highly anomalous UV extinction as inferred from the broad-band Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS) data. The reported IUE measurements provide the opportunity to determine if the ANS photometry measurements of Meyer and Savage are anomalous because of peculiar extinction.

Massa, D.↗

NASA NTRS1984

The variation of galactic interstellar extinction in the ultraviolet

It has been found that the wavelength dependence of interstellar extinction is not the same for all stars in the Galaxy. The present investigation is concerned with a further demonstration of the degree of variation of interstellar extinction in the UV, taking into account new extinction measurements toward 29 early-type stars. The stars do not represent a random sample. Approximately 15 of them were chosen because they have either an unusually large or an unusually small ratio of the strength of the diffuse interstellar band at 4430 A to the color excess E(B-V). Five stars have a ratio of these quantities near average and nine additional stars are illuminating reflection nebulae. Attention is given to the deviation from the average galactic extinction law, dense versus diffuse cloud environments, and the galactic longitude dependence.

Witt, A. N.↗

NASA NTRS1982

An experimental study on extinction and stability of stretched premixed flames

Law et al. (1981) and Ishizuka et al. (1982) have experimentally investigated the effects of flame stretch, preferential diffusion, and downstream heat loss on the extinction and stability of propane/air flames. The obtained results suggest that in the case of rich propane/air mixtures downstream heat loss, in addition to flame stretch, is needed for flame extinction. In the case of lean mixtures, flames can be extinguished by flame stretch alone. The data obtained in connection with the present study provide convincing evidence regarding the correctness of the previous results on the nature of flame extinction due to stretch. It is found that, in accordance with theoretical predictions, extinction by stretch alone is possible only when there is a deficiency regarding the less mobile reactant.

Ishizuka, S.↗

NASA NTRS1984

A comparative study of aerosol extinction measurements made by the SAM II and SAGE satellite experiments

SAM II and SAGE are two satellite experiments designed to measure stratospheric aerosol extinction using the technique of solar occultation or limb extinction. Although each sensor is mounted aboard a different satellite, there are occasions when their measurement locations are nearly coincident, thereby providing opportunities for a measurement comparison. In this paper, the aerosol extinction profiles and daily contour plots for some of these events in 1979 are reported. The comparisons shown in this paper demonstrate that SAM II and SAGE are producing similar aerosol extinction profiles within their measurement errors and that since SAM II has been previously validated, these results show the validity of the SAGE aerosol measurements.

Yue, G. K.↗

NASA NTRS1984

The Atmospheric Extinction Problem

Atmospheric extinction, which is one of the main causes of errors in photometry is investigated. The incorrect determination of the extinction coefficient, and its variability, leads to an erroneous measurement. An erroneous extinction coefficient can arise from a number of causes including: (1) instrumental instabilities; (2) too few data points; (3) temporal changes in the atmosphere; and (4) differing airmasses due to components with different scale heights. While it is true that differential measuring techniques can achieve a precision approaching 0.1 percent, at higher levels of precision all of the above causes will be significant sources of error. The conditions that must be met in order to properly determine and correct for atmospheric extinction are discussed.

Angione, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The fossil record of evolution: Data on diversification and extinction

Synoptic studies of the fossil record of complex life on Earth indicate increasingly that extinction, and especially mass extinction, were extremely important driving forces in the history of life. Analysis of a new compilation of geologic ranges for 25,000 genera of marine animals suggests that extinction events were much more frequent in occurrence and variable in magnitude than previously suspected. At least 30 well documented and potential mass extinctions were identified in the dataset. The most recent event, distributed over 260 to 0 ma. exhibit a stationary periodicity of 26.1 + or - 1 ma, implicating a cosmological forcing mechanism. Earlier events, especially in the 575 to 450 ma interval, are more frequent, possibly indicating either a breakdown of periodicity in the more distant past; and as yet undemonstrated diminution of the period length; or frequent aperiodic terrestrial perturbations of a less stable biota superimposed upon the cosmological periodicity.

Sepkoski, J. J., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Geochemical anomalies, bolide impacts and biological extinctions on the Earth

Geochemical and mineralogical techniques are used to search for evidence of extraterrestrial impacts associated with mass and lesser biological extinction peaks in the geological record. Studies of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary serve as a baseline for evaluating geochemical data from the extinction horizones. Other studies were generally concentrated on rock strata corresponding to the periodic extinction peaks noted by Raup and Sepkoski. A significant iridium anomaly in late Eocene marine sediments associated with extinctions of radiolaria in low latitudes and attributed to an extraterrestrial source is widely distributed in 8 to 9 sites around the world.

Asaro, F.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Interstellar extinction variations in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The properties of ultraviolet extinction in the LMC are reexamined using some of the existing LMC data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite and a large number of new observations obtained during the IUE Sixth Episode. The main goal is to determine if the LMC extinction properties are regionally modulated and, if so, to examine the type and range of the variations. Among the new IUE observations presented is a large grid of unreddened LMC flux standards, which will eliminate spectral mismatch effects as complications in the extinction analysis. Eight new reddened stars were observed. The properties of the program stars are summarized; the method for producing the extinction curves (including the criteria for pairing reddened and unreddened stars) is discussed; and the curves themselves are presented and discussed.

Fitzpatrick, E. L.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Effect of backscatter-to-extinction ratio on lidar inversions

One way of deriving the atmospheric extinction coefficient from lidar measurements is to start from the single scattering lidar equation. Simulations of lidar experiments and extinction coefficient calculation were conducted and the resulting errors examined. In order to make the simulation realistic, the volume backscatter coefficients and extinction coefficients used in the simulation were based on measured particle distributions, in this case on the particle size distributions measured in Meppen, Germany in the fall of 1980. In that experiment particle size distributions were measured with a balloon-borne particle spectrometer during balloon descents from about 600 meters above ground to the surface. Each particle spectrum represented a layer of at most a few meter thickness, so an altitude resolved profile of particle size spectra is measured. A Mie code was used to compute linear extinction coefficient and volume backscatter coefficient profiles from the particle size spectra for each balloon sounding.

Measure, E. M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Relationships between dust grain components responsible for observed interstellar extinction and polarization

Ultraviolet extinction properties of interstellar dust are well observed. The amount of extinction measured in the visible (E(B-V)), at the 2200 A feature (E(BUMP)), and in the far ultraviolet (E(1550-V)) are only vaguely correlated indicating that at least 3 fairly independent populations of grains contribute to the overall extinction curve. A search of literature was made for polarimetric observations of the 1415 stars included in the extinction catalog derived from the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS) data. It was found that about 900 of the stars had at least one unfiltered polarimetric observation, p (%). In addition, 150 stars had calculated values of lambda sub max (wavelength at which maximum polarization occurs). The lambda sub max and p/E(B-V) parameters are discussed.

Clayton, G. C.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Periodicity in marine extinction events

The periodicity of extinction events is examined in detail. In particular, the temporal distribution of specific, identifiable extinction events is analyzed. The nature and limitations of the data base on the global fossil record is discussed in order to establish limits of resolution in statistical analyses. Peaks in extinction intensity which appear to differ significantly from background levels are considered, and new analyses of the temporal distribution of these peaks are presented. Finally, some possible causes of periodicity and of interdependence among extinction events over the last quarter billion years of earth history are examined.

Sepkoski, J. John, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Ultraviolet interstellar extinction toward NGC 6530 and the intrinsic energy distribution of 9 Sagittarii and HD 165052

The ultraviolet interstellar extinction curve is determined toward 12 early B main-sequence stars and one O8 V star in NGC 6530. The extinction is found to be uniform across the cluster. At short wavelengths, the extinction curve of NGC 6530 falls below the average Galactic curve by a full magnitude, indicating that the population of small grains relative to larger grains is lower than normal. Longward of 2830 A the curve is almost coincident with the mean Galactic curve. The 2175 A feature is narrower than the average. The derived extinction curve is used to deredden the observed fluxes of two early O-type stars in NGC 6530:9 Sgr and HD 165052. The intrinsic continua are compared to model atmospheres in the region 1200-8200 A. The LTE, line-blanketed models of Kurucz (1979) fit the observations better than the non-LTE, unblanketed models of Mihalas (1972) suggesting that line-blanketing effects are more important than the non-LTE effects in the atmospheres of these stars. The temperatures of the models that best fit the observations are lower than the Zanstra temperatures and the temperatures estimated from the strengths of the He I and He II lines, by 10,000 to 20,000 K.

Torres, Ana V.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Polarization and the ratio of total-to-selective extinction

Relationships between extinction and polarization parameters are explored using ultraviolet (ANS and IUE), visual, and infrared data along the same lines of sight. In particular, the well-known empirical relationship between polarization and extinction, p less than or equal to 9.0E(B - V), has been reexamined using lines of sight for which R(V), the ratio of total-to-selective extinction, is known. It is found that the amount of polarization per unit extinction p/A(V) is related to R(V) such that the maximum observed value of p/A(V) is smaller for large R(V). This implies that large grains are not efficient at producing polarization, which may be atributed to a reduced axial ratio or to less efficient alignment.

Clayton, Geoffrey C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The extinction properties of forest components

The effect of each forest component on the extinction of electromagnetic waves is investigated by modeling the branches with finite cylinders, deciduous leaves with elliptic disks, and coniferous leaves with needles. The inner field is estimated by the field inside an infinitely long cylinder of similar properties for the branches, and by the Shifrin approximation for the leaves. For each forest component analytic expressions were derived for the extinction cross section via the forward scattering theorem and for ohmic and scattered losses. For branches, the variation of the extinction cross section obtained via the forward scattering theorem is illustrated numerically as a function of the branch radius and the imaginery part of its dielectric constant. It is compared with the measurements from a single branch. For the leaves, the forward scattering theorem gives value for the extinction cross section equal to the ohmic cross section.

Karam, M. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Extended period of K/T boundary mass extinction in the marine realm

The Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary mass extinction has been widely recognized as a nearly instantaneous catastrophy among marine plankton such as foraminifera. However, the suddenness of this extinction event may have been overemphasized because most pelagic K/T boundary sequences are stratigraphically incomplete and generally lack the earliest Tertiary (Zones P0 and P1a) either due to carbonate dissolution and/or non-deposition. Stratigraphically complete sections appear to be restricted to continental shelf regions with high sedimentation rates and deposition well above the CCD. Such sections have been recovered from El Kef, Tunisia (1) and Brazos River, Texas. Quantitative foraminiferal analysis of these sections indicate an extinction pattern beginning below the K/T boundary and ending above the boundary. These data imply that the mass extinction event was not geologically instantaneous, but occurred over an extended period of time. Evidence supporting this conclusion is discussed.

Keller, G.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Widespread habitat change through paludification as an interactive mechanism in mass extinction events

The study of mass extinction events has largely focused on defining an environmental factor or factors that might account for specific patterns of faunal demise. Several hypotheses elaborate on how a given environmental factor might affect fauna directly, but differentially, causing extinction in certain taxa but not others. Yet few studies have considered specific habitat changes that might result from natural vegetation processes or from perturbations of vegetation. The role of large-scale habitat change induced by natural successional change from forest to bog (paludification) is examined and how large perturbations (e.g., volcanism, bolide impacts) might favor increased rates of paludification and consequent mass extinctions is considered. This hypothesis has an advantage over other hypotheses for mass extinctions in that modern day analogs of paludification are common throughout the world, thus allowing for considerable testing.

Klinger, L. F.↗