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At least 1,549 records · Page 86

Microwave and hard X-ray imaging of a solar flare on 1980 November 5

VLA and SMM hard X ray data on the solar flares of November 5, 1980 are analyzed and compared with data from other sources. The VLA provided measurements at 15 GHz at 10 sec intervals, using left and right circular polarizations with a 0.6 arcsec resolution. The hard X ray imaging spectrometer on the SMM obtained data in six bands from 3.5-30 keV, with 8 x 8 arcsec resolution and 1.5 sec separation. The data were examined for a possible nonthermal source for the microwave component of the emissions detected, the origin of 16-30 keV excess fluxes, the relation between the X ray and microwave sources, the magnetic connection between observed loops, and the physical characteristics of the radiating loop. The data were consistent with a model that assumes fast electrons are accelerated to a single power-law energy distribution and freely stream along the magnetic field. The data also agreed with a thick-target model for solar flare X ray emission.

Hoyng, P.↗

Searching Across the International Space Station Databases

Data access in the enterprise generally requires us to combine data from different sources and different formats. It is advantageous thus to focus on the intersection of the knowledge across sources and domains; keeping irrelevant knowledge around only serves to make the integration more unwieldy and more complicated than necessary. A context search over multiple domain is proposed in this paper to use context sensitive queries to support disciplined manipulation of domain knowledge resources. The objective of a context search is to provide the capability for interrogating many domain knowledge resources, which are largely semantically disjoint. The search supports formally the tasks of selecting, combining, extending, specializing, and modifying components from a diverse set of domains. This paper demonstrates a new paradigm in composition of information for enterprise applications. In particular, it discusses an approach to achieving data integration across multiple sources, in a manner that does not require heavy investment in database and middleware maintenance. This lean approach to integration leads to cost-effectiveness and scalability of data integration with an underlying schemaless object-relational database management system. This highly scalable, information on demand system framework, called NX-Search, which is an implementation of an information system built on NETMARK. NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput open database integration framework for managing, storing, and searching unstructured or semi-structured arbitrary XML and HTML used widely at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) and industry.

Maluf, David A.↗

GRM crustal magnetic anomalies: Separating the Lord Howe Rise and Norfolk Ridge submarine structures

Multiple source bodies often lie within the resolution element of the MAGSAT and POGO data. Small weak sources lying near larger stronger sources will tend to be missed, although they do contribute to the total observed anomaly. Lower elevation magnetic anomaly surveys such as GRM alleviate this problem through the combined effects of significantly greater resolution and stronger signal amplitude. This permits the detection of smaller source bodies, and analysis of their structure and nature. The improvement a GRM will provide is demonstrated in the Lord Howe Rise/Norfolk Ridge area east of Australia, between the Tasman Sea and south Fiji Basin. The submarine features origin have important plate tectonic implications. The Lord Howe Rise (LHR) is a continental fragment broken off from Australia by the opening of the Tasman Sea. It is a wide, shallow structure lying between 160 and 165 deg longitude at 23 to 37 deg S latitude. Seismic refraction data show the LHR crust extending to depths in excess of 20 km.

Frey, H.↗

Soft X-ray observation experiment MA-048

The Apollo Soyuz Test Project Soft X-ray Experiment was designed to observe celestial X-ray sources in the energy range from 0.1 to 10 kiloelectronvolts. The instrument that was used in the experiment obtained energy and fast timing data to characterize both the spectrum and the variability of known X-ray sources. Data were obtained on approximately 12 sources. During the mission, the instrument developed an intermittent high voltage discharge problem that resulted in the loss of approximately 75 percent of the anticipated data, including the scans intended for mapping of the low energy diffuse X-ray background.

Shulman, S.↗

GSE, data management system programmers/User' manual

The GSE data management system is a computerized program which provides for a central storage source for key data associated with the mechanical ground support equipment (MGSE). Eight major sort modes can be requested by the user. Attributes that are printed automatically with each sort include the GSE end item number, description, class code, functional code, fluid media, use location, design responsibility, weight, cost, quantity, dimensions, and applicable documents. Multiple subsorts are available for the class code, functional code, fluid media, use location, design responsibility, and applicable document categories. These sorts and how to use them are described. The program and GSE data bank may be easily updated and expanded.

Schlagheck, R. A.↗

A thermochemical data bank for cycle analysis

The use of a computer program PAC-2 to produce a thermodynamic data bank for various materials used in water splitting cycles is described. The sources of raw data and a listing of 439 materials for which data are available are presented. The use of the data bank in conjunction with two other programs, CEC-72 and HYDRGN, is also discussed. The integration of these three programs implement an evaluation procedure for thermochemical water splitting cycles. CEC-72 is a program used to predict the equilibrium composition of the various chemical reactions in the cycle. HYDRGN is a program which is used to calculate changes in thermodynamic properties, work of separation, amount of recycle, internal heat regeneration, total thermal energy, and process thermal efficiency for a thermochemical cycle.

Carty, R. H.↗

Development and testing of LANDSAT-assisted procedures for cost-effective forest management

The capability of LANDSAT data to make certain forest management activities on the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho more efficient and/or more effective was examined. One task was designed to evaluate the utility of single-date categorized LANDSAT data as a source of land cover information for use in assessing elk habitat quality. LANDSAT data was used to categorize conifer forest on the basis of the percentage crown closure. This information was used to evaluate elk habitat quality on the basis of the ratio of cover to forage. A preliminary conclusion is that categorized LANDSAT data can be helpful for assessing current elk habitat quality if the relationships between crown closure and hiding cover can be adequately defined. Another task was designed to evaluate the utility of merged two-date LANDSAT data for updating the existing (1972) Clearwater Forest land cover information. LANDSAT data from 1972 and 1981 were merged, and change images were created. These products indicated where major changes were taking place. These areas could then be examined on aerial photography or in the field to further characterize the nature and magnitude of the change. The 1972 land cover information could be subsequently altered in these changed areas, whereas areas with no change would not have to be re-examined.

Colwell, J. E.↗

Visible and infrared spin scanning radiometer /VISSR/ atmospheric sounder /VAS/ ground data system

The interactive system developed at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center to receive data from the infrared radiometer on GOES-4 in near real time and to perform interactive display and analysis of the 12-channel infrared imagery is described. The system is minicomputer based and uses a menu approach in guiding the analyst through spacecraft instrument programming, area and band selection, image acquisition, enhancement, analysis, and presentation of results. The system is linked by dual port disks to Goddard's Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System for comparing the sounding results with parameters derived from conventional data and from time lapse analysis of visible and IR imagery from other geostationary satellites. It is pointed out that the system hardware and software are being expanded to add capabilities for the integration and assimilation of VAS data with data from other sources, the comparison of severe storm observations from space with special ground network data, and the development of diagnostic models.

Dalton, J. T.↗

Experimental study of unsteady hydrodynamic force matrices on whirling centrifugal pump impellers

An experimental facility was constructed and instrumented. A set of centrifugal flow pumps whose impellers were made to follow a controlled circular whirl motion were studied. The aim was to characterize the steady and unsteady fluid forces measured on the impeller under various pump operating conditions. The postulation was that the unsteady lateral forces result from interactions between the impeller and the surrounding diffuser and/or volute (via the working fluid), and that under certain flow regimes these forces can drive unstable lateral motions of the pump rotor. The lateral hydrodynamic forces were decomposed into their steady and unsteady parts, the latter being further expressed in terms of a generalized fluid stiffness matrix. Conclusions regarding the effect of impeller geometry could not be reached given the similarity of the tested designs. However, other results on phenomena such as skin friction and leakage flow are presented. Some of the findings are compared to experimental and theoretical data from other sources. Finally, the rotordynamic consequences of the results are discussed as the present data were applied to the case of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump (HPOTP).

Belgacem, Jery↗

IRAS results on outer galaxy star formation

An infrared defined (60 micron) sample of IRAS sources were systematically studied in order to investigate star formation in the outer Galaxy. Five percent of the sample are point sources with IRAS spectra that suggest the emission is from a dust shell surrounding a mature star. Ninety five percent have spectra where flux density strictly rises with wavelength. The sources are extended, and it is shown that Point Source Catalog fluxes seriously underestimate total fluxes. CO kinematic distances were reliably assigned to two thirds of the sources. Most of the infrared luminosities correspond to B spectral types. Six cm continuum emission were detected from all sources inferred to have spectral type B1 or earlier. The combined IRAS/CO/6 cm data show these sources are young, moderately massive stars that are embedded in interstellar clouds. The young embedded sources define a distinct band in an IRAS color-colar diagram. Normal IRAS galaxies fall in the same band, consistent with the interpretation that their infrared emission is due to star formation.

Terebey, Susan↗

Surface Energy Heat Fluxes Using Remotely Sensed Parameters

Realistic estimates of surface energy heat fluxes are needed for the study of water and energy interactions between the land and atmosphere. The primary objective of this work is to study the estimation of surface heat energy fluxes using remote sensing derived parameters under different spatial and temporal conditions. Surface energy fluxes and remote sensing derived data from two sources were analyzed. First, we used surface heat flux, remote sensing, and ancillary data from the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP), mapped at a 1 deg. x 1 deg. grid. Second, we used NOAA AVHRR (1 km), weather station, and ancillary data to derive estimates of surface latent and sensible heat energy fluxes over a 100 sq kilometers area for three test sites: 1) First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE) grassland site, Konza Prairie, Kansas; 2) Howland, Maine Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Site; and 3) Walnut Gulch, scrubland site, surrounding Tombstone, Arizona. Satellite derived estimates of land surface temperature, surface albedo, and spectral vegetation index are used in selected models to provide estimates of surface heat fluxes. Analysis of results from the 1 deg. x 1 deg. grid for North America indicated there were similar, overall correlations between sensible and latent heat energy fluxes versus remotely sensed vegetation index and ground temperature during dry and wet year conditions. However, there were significant differences in correlations between years when stratified by land cover class. Analysis of 100 km x 100 km data (1 km resolution) indicated partitioning the areas in to primary versus secondary cover, with the secondary cover comprising less than 5% of the area, significantly improved surface heat energy flux estimates.

Toll, David L.↗

Investigation of Error Patterns in Geographical Databases

The objective of the research conducted in this project is to develop a methodology to investigate the accuracy of Airport Safety Modeling Data (ASMD) using statistical, visualization, and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques. Such a methodology can contribute to answering the following research questions: Over a representative sampling of ASMD databases, can statistical error analysis techniques be accurately learned and replicated by ANN modeling techniques? This representative ASMD sample should include numerous airports and a variety of terrain characterizations. Is it possible to identify and automate the recognition of patterns of error related to geographical features? Do such patterns of error relate to specific geographical features, such as elevation or terrain slope? Is it possible to combine the errors in small regions into an error prediction for a larger region? What are the data density reduction implications of this work? ASMD may be used as the source of terrain data for a synthetic visual system to be used in the cockpit of aircraft when visual reference to ground features is not possible during conditions of marginal weather or reduced visibility. In this research, United States Geologic Survey (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM) data has been selected as the benchmark. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNS) have been used and tested as alternate methods in place of the statistical methods in similar problems. They often perform better in pattern recognition, prediction and classification and categorization problems. Many studies show that when the data is complex and noisy, the accuracy of ANN models is generally higher than those of comparable traditional methods.

Dryer, David↗

Bias Reduction in Short Records of Satellite Soil Moisture

Although surface soil moisture data from different sources (satellite retrievals, ground measurements, and land model integrations of observed meteorological forcing data) have been shown to contain consistent and useful information in their seasonal cycle and anomaly signals, they typically exhibit very different mean values and variability. These biases pose a severe obstacle to exploiting the useful information contained in satellite retrievals through data assimilation. A simple method of bias removal is to match the cumulative distribution functions (cdf) of the satellite and model data. However, accurate cdf estimation typically requires a long record of satellite data. We demonstrate here that by wing spatial sampling with a 2 degree moving window we can obtain local statistics based on a one-year satellite record that are a good approximation to those that would be derived from a much longer time series. This result should increase the usefulness of relatively short satellite data records.

Reichle, Rolf H.↗

Level-2A Unified Resolution Radiometric Product Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document

This Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) describes the theoretical background of the TROPICS Level-2A Unified Resolution Radiometric product (L2A-URRP). It also includes TROPICS payload characteristics and the algorithm’s ancillary data (i.e., data coming from sources other than the TROPICS Space Vehicle). Details of the L2A-URRP data product format can be found in the TROPICS Data User’s Guide. This ATBD will also contain the pre-launch testing completed to verify the algorithm. The TROPICS Data User’s Guide will contain the post-launch validation.

TROPICS↗

NASA Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program

The objective of the CSDA Program is to identify, evaluate and acquire data from commercial sources that support NASA’s Earth science research and application activities. Commercially acquired data may provide a cost-effective means to augment and/or complement the suite of Earth Observations acquired by NASA and other US government agencies and those acquired by international partners and agencies. The CEOS Strategic Implementation Team has requested NASA to provide a short presentation to report on its respective new space (commercial vendors) activities and ambitions - to help inform the discussion on the nature and substance of a strategy for CEOS SIT to take forward.

Commercial remote sensing↗

TROPICS -Atmospheric Vertical Temperature and Moisture Profiles: Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document

This Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) describes the theoretical background of the TROPICS Atmospheric Vertical Temperature and Moisture Profile (AVTP/AVMP) retrieval algorithms. It also includes TROPICS payload characteristics and the algorithm’s ancillary data (i.e., data coming from sources other than the TROPICS Space Vehicle). Details of the AVTP and AVMP, data product format can be found in the TROPICS Data User’s Guide. This ATBD will also contain the pre-launch testing completed to verify the algorithm. The TROPICS Data User’s Guide will contain the post-launch validation.

TROPICS↗

The Gaia Catalogue Second Data Release and Its Implications to Optical Observations of Man-Made Earth Orbiting Objects

The Gaia catalogue second data release and its implications to optical observations of man-made Earth orbiting objects. Abstract and not the Final Paper is attached. The Gaia spacecraft was launched in December 2013 by the European Space Agency to produce a three-dimensional, dynamic map of objects within the Milky Way. Gaia's first year of data was released in September 2016. Common sources from the first data release have been combined with the Tycho-2 catalogue to provide a 5 parameter astrometric solution for approximately 2 million stars. The second Gaia data release is scheduled to come out in April 2018 and is expected to provide astrometry and photometry for more than 1 billion stars, a subset of which with a the full 6 parameter astrometric solution (adding radial velocity) and positional accuracy better than 0.002 arcsec (2 mas). In addition to precise astrometry, a unique opportunity exists with the Gaia catalogue in its production of accurate, broadband photometry using the Gaia G filter. In the past, clear filters have been used by various groups to maximize likelihood of detection of dim man-made objects but these data were very difficult to calibrate. With the second release of the Gaia catalogue, a ground based system utilizing the G band filter will have access to 1.5 billion all-sky calibration sources down to an accuracy of 0.02 magnitudes or better. In this talk, we will discuss the advantages and practicalities of implementing the Gaia filters and catalogue into data pipelines designed for optical observations of man-made objects.

Frith, James M.↗

Prototype architecture for a VLSI level zero processing system

The prototype architecture and implementation of a high-speed level zero processing (LZP) system are discussed. Due to the new processing algorithm and VLSI technology, the prototype LZP system features compact size, low cost, high processing throughput, and easy maintainability and increased reliability. Though extensive control functions have been done by hardware, the programmability of processing tasks makes it possible to adapt the system to different data formats and processing requirements. It is noted that the LZP system can handle up to 8 virtual channels and 24 sources with combined data volume of 15 Gbytes per orbit. For greater demands, multiple LZP systems can be configured in parallel, each called a processing channel and assigned a subset of virtual channels. The telemetry data stream will be steered into different processing channels in accordance with their virtual channel IDs. This super system can cope with a virtually unlimited number of virtual channels and sources. In the near future, it is expected that new disk farms with data rate exceeding 150 Mbps will be available from commercial vendors due to the advance in disk drive technology.

Shi, Jianfei↗