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At least 1,459 records · Page 81

Cloud fraction and cloud size distributions derived using Landsat Multispectral Scanner data

Initial results are presented on the spatial structure of cumulus cloud fields derived using Landsat digital data. Techniques to determine clear, overcast, and cloud edge pixels are discussed and used to analyze four Landsat scenes. Cloud number densities, cloud cover, cloud aspect ratio, and the ratio of interior to cloud edge pixels are obtained for the four scenes and are discussed. This new application of Landsat digital data should prove useful in developing and testing models of the radiative and dynamical properties of cumulus cloud fields on GCM spatial scales.

Wielicki, B. A.↗

Crystal/liquid partitioning of REE in basaltic systems Extreme fractionation of REE in olivine

The calculation of partial coefficients for Nd, Sm, Gd, and Yb between olivine and synthetic basaltic melts using the percent level doping technique and microprobe analytical techniques is examined. The experimental and analytical procedures are described. The relationship between rare earth elements (REEs) concentrations and crystal margins caused by Rees X-rays from surrounding glass is discussed. Average olivine/liquid distribution coefficients for Nd, Sm, Gd, and Yb for mare and highlands basaltic melts are presented. The data reveal that the distribution coefficients for light REEs are lower than those obtained in previous studies, and the slope of the olivine/liquid distribution coefficient pattern is steeper; potential sources of error in the previous and present studies which could explain the differences in distribution coefficients and slope are investigated.

Mckay, G. A.↗

Rare gas analysis of size fractions from the Fayetteville meteorite

Eight size separates of grains from the Fayetteville meteorite ranging from less than 20 microns to greater than 1 millimeter are being analyzed for their rare gas elemental and isotopic composition. Measurements on five samples were performed. All five reveal a mixture of solar, planetary, cosmic ray produced and radiogenic gases. The solar component is of particular interest since it suggest that the meteorite may represent a fragment of an ancient protoplanetary regolith which was exposed to the solar wind. Solar wind elements are implanted in the outer few hundred Angstroms of exposed grains and are therefore expected to be surface correlated. At present the data do not suggest that such a correlation exists, but the final conclusion must await further analyses and data reduction.

Jordan, Jim L.↗

A vaporization model for iron/silicate fractionation in the Mercury protoplanet

A study has been carried out on the vaporization of a totally molten silicate magma of chondritic composition heated into the range 2500-3500 K. The motivation for this was to determine the changes in the composition of the mantle that would occur in the Mercury protoplanet should that body have been subjected to the high-temperature phase in the evolution of the primitive solar nebula, but the results are of more general interest. An empirical model based on ideal mixing of complex components was used to describe the nonideal magma. It is found that vaporization of about 70-80 percent of the original amount of silicate from a chondritic planet is required to produce an iron-rich body with a mean uncompressed density equal to that deduced for Mercury. At this point the silicate is depleted in the alkalis, FeO, and SiO2, and enriched in CaO, MgO, Al2O3, and TiO2 relative to chondritic material.

Fegley, Bruce, Jr.↗

A method for remote sensing the emissivity, fractional cloud cover and cloud top temperature of high-level, thin clouds

A methodology for retrieving the emissivity, cloud cover and cloud top temperature of high-level, thin clouds is developed and described. In the thermal infrared windows, the outgoing radiances from the earth's atmosphere contain information about cloud emissivity and cloud top temperature. This information is clearly demonstrated in the brightness temperature difference curves of two window channels. For the purpose of illustration, two window channels centered at 810 and 930 cm are chosen to construct the brightness temperature difference curves for a range of cloud top temperatures. These curves vary for different cloud top temperatures, and along each of these curves the emissivity changes. The brightness temperature difference method is used in a simulation study to demonstrate the feasibility of retrieving the cloud top temperature and emissivity by the utilization of measurements in two window channels. As expected, a perfect retrieval is found if perfect measurements and ideal atmospheric conditions are assumed. If a random error, which has a normal distribution with a mean of zero and standard deviation of + or - 0.5 C, is imposed to the measurements, a reasonable retrieval is found for emissivity greater than 0.3. The algorithm has been applied to a limited amount of HIRS2 data, which has 3.7, 3.98 and 11 micron channels. The cloud top temperature, emissivity and cloud cover are determined by using these channels.

Wu, Man-Li C.↗

Recycling isotachophoresis - A novel approach to preparative protein fractionation

The concept of automated recycling isotachophoresis (RITP) as a purification methodology is discussed, in addition to a description of the apparatus. In the present automated RITP, the computer system follows the achievement of steady state using arrays of universal and specific sensors, monitors the position of the front edge of the zone structure, activates the counterflow if the leading boundary passes a specified position along the separation axis, or changes the applied current, accordingly. The system demonstrates high resolution, in addition to higher processing rates than are possible in zone electrophoresis or isoelectric focusing.

Sloan, Jeffrey E.↗

Cholesterol in serum lipoprotein fractions after spaceflight

Results are reported from blood-lipid measurements obtained from 125 Space Shuttle crew members before and after space flight. The data are presented in tables and discussed in detail. The main differences noted between preflight and postflight values are a 12.8-percent decrease in high-density lipoproteins on postflight day 1 and significant decreases in total cholesterol and both high- and low-density lipoproteins later in the 23-day postflight period.

Leach, Carolyn S.↗

Photochemical fractionation of O-16 in the space medium modeled by resonance excitation of CO by H-Lyman alpha

Analyses of meteorite matter, the present structure of the solar system, and the evolution of matter in stellar systems are used to provide inferences concerning the formation of primordial matter in the solar system. Results indicate that molecular excitation processes similar to those observed today in circumstellar regions and dark interstellar clouds were operating in the early solar nebula. It is suggested that resonance excitation of broad isotopic bands by strong UV line sources may have resulted in the anomalous isotopic compositions noted in meteorites.

Arrhenius, G.↗

ALH85085 - A unique volatile-poor carbonaceous chondrite with possible implications for nebular fractionation processes

The characteristics and possible origin of the chondrite ALH85085 are discussed. It is found that the metal silicate, and sulfide compositions of ALH85085 are similar to those in CM-CO and Al Rais-Renazzo chondrites. High siderophile abundances and volatile depletion are observed. It is found that ALH85085 agglomerated when temperatures in the nebula were near 1000 K, in the same region where Renazzo, Al Rais, and the CI chondrites formed. It is suggested that ALH85085 was annealed and lightly shocked after agglomeration. C1 and other clasts were subsequently incorporated during late-stage brecciation.

Grossman, Jeffrey N.↗

Utilization of the water soluable fraction of wheat straw as a plant nutrient source

Recovery of water soluble, inorganic nutrients from the inedible portion of wheat was found to be an effective means of recycling nutrients within hydroponic systems. Through aqueous extraction (leaching), 60 percent of the total inorganic nutrient weight was removed from wheat straw and roots, although the recovery of individual nutrients varied. Leaching also removed about 20 percent of the total organic carbon from the biomass. In terms of dry weight, the leachate was comprised of approximately 60 percent organic and 40 percent inorganic compounds. Direct use of wheat straw leachate in static hydroponic systems had an inhibitory effect on wheat growth, both in the presence and absence of microorganisms. Biological treatment of leachate either with a mixed microbial community or the oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus L., prior to use in hydroponic solutions, significantly reduced both the organic content and the inhibitory effects of the leachate. The inhibitory effects of unprocessed leachate appear to be a result of rapidly acting phytotoxic compounds that are detoxified by microbial activity. Leaching holds considerable promise as a method for nutrient recycling in a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS).

Mackowiak, C. L.↗

Measurement of Allan variance and phase noise at fractions of a millihertz

Although the measurement of Allan variance of oscillators is well documented, there is a need for a simplified system for finding the degradation of phase noise and Allan variance step-by-step through a system. This article describes an instrumentation system for simultaneous measurement of additive phase noise and degradation in Allan variance through a transmitter system. Also included are measurements of a 20-kW X-band transmitter showing the effect of adding a pass tube regulator.

Conroy, Bruce L.↗

Evidence for extreme mantle fractionation in early Archaean ultramafic rocks from northern Labrador

Samarium-neodymium isotope data for tectonically interleaved fragments of lithospheric mantle and meta-komatiite from the North Atlantic craton provide the first direct record of mantle differentiation before 3,800 Myr ago. The results confirm the magnitude of light-rare-earth-element depletion in the early mantle, and also its depleted neodymium isotope composition. The mantle fragments were able to retain these ancient geochemical signatures by virtue of having been tectonically incorporated in buoyant felsic crust, thus escaping recycling and homogenization by mantle convection.

Collerson, Kenneth D.↗

Oxygen isotope fractionation in stratospheric CO2

A new cryogenic collection system has been flown on board a balloon gondola to obtain separate samples of ozone and carbon dioxide without entrapping major atmospheric gases. Precision laboratory isotopic analysis of CO2 samples collected between 26 and 35.5 km show a mass-independent enrichment in both O-17 and O-18 of about 11 per mil above tropospheric values. Ozone enrichment in its heavy isotopes was 9 to 16 percent in O3-50 and 8 to 11 percent in O3-49, respectively (Schueler et al., 1990). A mechanism to explain the isotope enrichment in CO2 has been recently proposed by Yung et al. (1991). The model is based on the isotope exchange between CO2 and O3 via O(1D), resulting in a transfer of the ozone isotope enrichment to carbon dioxide. Predicted enrichment and measured values agree well.

Thiemens, M. H.↗