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At least 163 records · Page 9

Analysis of tethered balloon data from San Nicolas Island on 8 July 1987

Analysis of the 8 July 1987 (Julian Day 189) tethered balloon flight from San Nicolas Island is summarized. The flight commenced at about 14:30 UTC (7:30 Pacific Daylight Time) and lasted six and one-half hours. The position of the Colorado State University (CSU) instrument package as a function of time is shown. For the purpose of presentation of results, researchers divided the flight into 13 legs. These legs consist of 20 minute constant level runs, with the exception of leg 1, which is a sounding from the surface to just above 930 mb. The laser ceilometer record of cloud base is also shown. The cloud base averaged around 970 mb during much of the flight but was more variable near the end. Before the tethered balloon flight commenced, a Communications Link Analysis and Simulation System (CLASS) sounding was released at 12:11 UTC (5:11 PDT). Temperature and moisture data below 927 mb for this sounding is shown. The sounding indicates a cloud top around 955 mb at this time.

Cox, Stephen K.↗

Horizontal variability of the marine boundary layer structure upwind of San Nicolas Island during FIRE, 1987

During the months of June and July 1987, the Marine Stratocumulus Intensive Field Observation Experiment of First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) was conducted in the Southern California offshore area in the vicinity of San Nicolas Island (SNI). The Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC) airborne platform was utilized during FIRE to investigate the upwind low level horizontal variability of the marine boundary layer structure to determine the representativeness of SNI-based measurements to upwind open ocean conditions. The NOSC airborne meteorological platform made three flights during FIRE, two during clear sky conditions (19 and 23 July), and one during two stratus conditions (15 July). The boundary layer structure variations associated with the stratus clouds of 15 July 1987 are discussed. Profiles of air temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) taken 'at' and 'upwind' of SNI do show differences between the so-called open ocean conditions and those taken near the island. However, the observed difference cannot be uniquely identified to island effects, especially since the upwind fluctuations of AT and RH bound the SNI measurements. Total optical depths measures at SNI do not appear to be greatly affected by any surface based aerosol effects created by the island and could therefore realistically represent open ocean conditions. However, if one were to use the SNI aerosol measurements to predict ship to ship EO propagation conditions, significant errors could be introduced due to the increased number of surface aerosols observed near SNI which may not be, and were not, characteristic of open ocean conditions. Sea surface temperature measurements taken at the island will not, in general, represent those upwind open ocean conditions. Also, since CTT's varied appreciably along the upwind radials, measurements of CTT over the island may not be representative of actual open ocean CTT's.

Jensen, Douglas R.↗

Winds and turbulence above San Nicolas Island during FIRE

Winds and turbulence above San Nicolas Island (SNI) were continuously monitored during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) with a Doppler sodar (1600 Hz) and an ultrahigh frequencies (UHF) (400 MHz) wind profiler. Individual profiles were logged from 1 through 19 July 1987 at 30 sec to 2 min intervals; preliminary processing of hourly averaged winds from 100 to 2300 m is complete. These wind profiles have been combined with intermittent radiosonde profiles to construct time-height sections of parameters such as the Richardson Number. Analysis now in progress includes interpretation of the sodar (C 2/T) and profiler (C 2/N, C 2/q) reflectivity profiles. These profiles are being combined with radiometric and ceilometer data for investigations of vertical transport and cloud base/top entrainment processes. Finally, by using the SNI data in conjunction with soundings made from the research vessel Pt. Sur, the relationship between changes in the SNI winds and mesoscale and synoptic-scale weather features is being investigated.

White, Allen B.↗

San Nicolas Island surface radiation-meteorology data

A summary of the surface data collected by Colorado State University (CSU) on San Nicolas Island during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) from 30 June (Julian Day 181) through 19 July (Julian Day 200) is given. The data are available in two formats: hard copy graphs, and processed data on floppy disk.

Johnson-Pasqua, Christopher M.↗

Evidence for chaotic fault interactions in the seismicity of the San Andreas fault and Nankai trough

The dynamical behavior introduced by fault interactions is examined here using a simple spring-loaded, slider-block model with velocity-weakening friction. The model consists of two slider blocks coupled to each other and to a constant-velocity driver by elastic springs. For an asymmetric system in which the frictional forces on the two blocks are not equal, the solutions exhibit chaotic behavior. The system's behavior over a range of parameter values seems to be generally analogous to that of weakly coupled segments of an active fault. Similarities between the model simulations and observed patterns of seismicity on the south central San Andreas fault in California and in the Nankai trough along the coast of southwestern Japan.

Huang, Jie↗

Diurnal variation of marine stratocumulus over San Nicolas Island during July 1987

A study is presented of surface measurements made at San Nicolas Island during the intensive field observation marine stratocumulus phase of the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program Regional Experiment, July 1987, to retrieve the average diurnal variation of marine stratocumulus and associated surface variables. The diurnal behavior of the cloud base appears to be consistent with model-predicted uncoupling of the cloud layer and the subcloud layer as the turbulent flux of moisture is limited by solar heating close to the cloud base. Also, variation in surface air temperature is consistent with the limitation of the turbulent flux of heat between the two layers, screening the surface from the effect of longwave cooling from the cloud top.

Blaskovic, Miriam↗

A rheologically layered three-dimensional model of the San Andreas fault in central and southern California

The effects of rheological parameters and the fault slip distribution on the horizontal and vertical deformation in the vicinity of the fault are investigated using 3D kinematic finite element models of the San Andreas fault in central and southern California. It is shown that fault models with different rheological stratification schemes and slip distributions predict characteristic deformation patterns. Models that do not include aseismic slip below the fault locking depth predict deformation patterns that are strongly dependent on time since the last earthquake, while models that incorporate the aseismic slip below the locking depth depend on time to a significantly lesser degree.

Williams, Charles A.↗

Crustal deformation along the San Andreas, California

The goal is to achieve a better understanding of the regional and local deformation and crustal straining processes in western North America, particularly the effects of the San Andreas and nearby faults on the spatial and temporal crustal deformation behavior. Construction of theoretical models based on the mechanics of coupled elastic plate, viscoelastic foundation and large scale crack mechanics provide a rational basis for the interpretation of seismic and aseismic anomalies and expedite efforts in forecasting the stability of plate boundary deformation. Special focus is placed on the three dimensional time dependent surface deformation due to localized slippage in a elastic layer coupled to a visco-elastic substrate. The numerical analysis is based on a 3-D boundary element technique. Extension to visco-elastic coupling demands the derivation of 3-D time dependent Green's function. This method was applied to analyze the viscoelastic surface displacements due to a dislocated embedded patch. Surface uplift as a function of time and position are obtained. Comparisons between surface uplift for long and short dislocated patches are made.

Li, Victor C.↗

Solar EUV/UV and equatorial airglow measurements from San Marco-5

Preliminary results of the solar flux measurements performed by the Airglow-Solar Spectrometer Instrument (ASSI) aboard the San Marco-5 satellite in March-December 1988 are presented. Emphasis is placed on the in-flight performance of the ASSI, its in-flight calibration, and the planned scheme of the airglow modelling.

Schimdtke, G.↗

Solar EUV irradiance from the San Marco ASSI - A reference spectrum

The only satellite measurement of the solar EUV irradiance during solar cycle 22 has been obtained with the Airglow Solar Spectrometer Instrument (ASSI) aboard the San Marco 5 satellite flown in 1988. The ASSI in-flight calibration parameters are established by using the internal capabilities of ASSI and by comparing ASSI results to the results from other space-based experiments on the ASSI calibration rocket and the Solar Mesospheric Explorer (SME). A solar EUV irradiance spectrum derived from ASSI observations on November 10, 1988 is presented as a reference spectrum for moderate solar activity for the aeronomy community. This ASSI spectrum should be considered as a refinement and extension of the solar EUV spectrum published for the same day by Woods and Rottman (1990).

Schmidtke, Gerhard↗

Mission San Marco

The videotape shows a satellite launch from San Marco, Africa.

Source record↗

Analysis of regional deformation and strain accumulation data adjacent to the San Andreas fault

A new approach to the understanding of crustal deformation was developed under this grant. This approach combined aspects of fractals, chaos, and self-organized criticality to provide a comprehensive theory for deformation on distributed faults. It is hypothesized that crustal deformation is an example of comminution: Deformation takes place on a fractal distribution of faults resulting in a fractal distribution of seismicity. Our primary effort under this grant was devoted to developing an understanding of distributed deformation in the continental crust. An initial effort was carried out on the fractal clustering of earthquakes in time. It was shown that earthquakes do not obey random Poisson statistics, but can be approximated in many cases by coupled, scale-invariant fractal statistics. We applied our approach to the statistics of earthquakes in the New Hebrides region of the southwest Pacific because of the very high level of seismicity there. This work was written up and published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. This approach was also applied to the statistics of the seismicity on the San Andreas fault system.

Turcotte, Donald L.↗

Earthquake recurrence on the southern San Andreas modulated by fault-normal stress

Earthquake recurrence data from the Pallett Creek and Wrightwood paleoseismic sites on the San Andreas fault appear to show temporal variations in repeat interval. We investigate the interaction between strike-slip faults and auxiliary reverse and normal faults as a physical mechanism capable of producing such variations. Under the assumption that fault strength is a function of fault-normal stress (e.g. Byerlee's Law), failure of an auxiliary fault modifies the strength of the strike-slip fault, thereby modulating the recurrence interval for earthquakes. In our finite element model, auxiliary faults are driven by stress accumulation near restraining and releasing bends of a strike-slip fault. Earthquakes occur when fault strength is exceeded and are incorporated as a stress drop which is dependent on fault-normal stress. The model is driven by a velocity boundary condition over many earthquake cycles. Resulting synthetic strike-slip earthquake recurrence data display temporal variations similar to observed paleoseismic data within time windows surrounding auxiliary fault failures. Our simple model supports the idea that interaction between a strike-slip fault and auxiliary reverse or normal faults can modulate the recurrence interval of events on the strike-slip fault, possibly producing short term variations in earthquake recurrence interval.

Palmer, Randy↗

Detection of aseismic creep along the San Andreas fault near Parkfield, California with ERS-1 radar interferometry

The differential interferometric analysis of ERS data from Parkfield (CA) observations revealed the wide area distribution of creep along the moving fault segment of the San Andreas fault over a 15 month interval. The removal of the interferometric phase related to the surface topography was carried out. The fault was clearly visible in the differential interferogram. The magnitude of the tropospheric water vapor phase distortions is greater than the signal and hinders quantitative analysis beyond order of magnitude calculations.

Werner, Charles L.↗

SANs and Large Scale Data Migration at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences

Evolution and migration are a way of life for provisioners of high-performance mass storage systems that serve high-end computers used by climate and Earth and space science researchers: the compute engines come and go, but the data remains. At the NASA Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), disk and tape SANs are deployed to provide high-speed I/O for the compute engines and the hierarchical storage management systems. Along with gigabit Ethernet, they also enable the NCCS's latest significant migration: the transparent transfer of 300 Til3 of legacy HSM data into the new Sun SAM-QFS cluster.

Salmon, Ellen M.↗

Staurojoenina and other symbionts in Neotermes from San Salvador Island, Bahamas

Staurojoenina, a conspicuous hypermastigote protist (undocumented in any Neotermes) and other hindgut symbionts are reported for the first time in Neotermes nr. jouteli, a dry-wood-eating termite (Kalotermitidae), from the red mangroves at the northeast corner of San Salvador Island. Other distinctive protists (Macrotrichomonas, Metadevescovina, two morphotypes of small trichomonads) and bacteria (Arthromitus-type filamentous spore-formers) symbionts were also found in this termite. This Staurojoenina sp. replete with epibiotic bacterial symbionts is not distinguished from previously described species of Staurojoenina.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Education Outreach Associated with Technology Transfer in a Colonia of South Texas: Green Valley Farms Science and Space Club for Middle School Aged Children in Green Valley Farms, San Benito, Texas

Texas colonias are unincorporated subdivisions characterized by inadequate water and wastewater infrastructure, inadequate drainage and road infrastructure, substandard housing, and poverty. Since 1989 the Texas Legislature has implemented policies to halt further development of colonias and to address water and wastewater infrastructure needs in existing and new colonias along the border with Mexico. Government programs and non-government and private organization projects aim to address these infrastructure needs. Texas Tech University's Water Resources Center demonstrated the use of alternative on-site wastewater treatment in the Green Valley Farms colonia, San Benito, Texas. The work in Green Valley Farms was a component of a NASA-funded project entitled Evaluation of NASA's Advanced Life Support Integrated Water Recovery System for Non-Optimal Conditions and Terrestrial Applications. Two households within the colonia are demonstration sites for constructed wetlands. A colonia resident and activist identified educational opportunities for colonia children as a primary goal for many colonia residents. Colonia parents view education as the door to opportunity and escape from poverty for their children. The educational outreach component of the project in Green Valley Farms was a Science and Space Club for middle-school age students. Involved parents, schoolteachers, and school administrators enthusiastically supported the monthly club meetings and activities. Each month, students participated in interactive learning experiences about water use and reuse in space and on earth. Activities increased knowledge and interest in water resource issues and in science and engineering fields. The Institute for the Development and Enrichment of Advanced Learners (IDEAL) at Texas Tech University provided full scholarships for five students from Green Valley Farms to attend the Shake Hands With Your Future camp at Texas Tech University in June 2003. The educational outreach component was evaluated in February 2004 using survey instruments for students and parents, and interviews with science teachers and counselors.

Potess, Marla D.↗

The Use of ATLAS Data to Quantify Surface Radiative Budget Alteration Through Urbanization for San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The additional heating of the air over the city is the result of the replacement of naturally vegetated surfaces with those composed of asphalt, concrete, rooftops and other manmade materials. The temperatures of these artificial surfaces can be 20 to 40 0 C higher than vegetated surfaces. Materials such as asphalt store much of the sun s energy and remains hot long after sunset. This produces a dome of elevated air temperatures 5 to 8 C greater over the city, compared to the air temperatures over adjacent rural areas. This effect is called the "urban heat island". Urban landscapes are a complex mixture of vegetated and nonvegetated surfaces. It is difficult to take enough temperature measurements over a large city area to characterize the complexity of urban radiant surface temperature variability. However, the use of remotely sensed thermal data from airborne scanners are ideal for the task. The NASA Airborne Thermal and Land Applications Sensor (ATLAS) operates in the visual and IR bands was used in February 2004 to collect data from San Juan, Puerto Rico with the main objective of investigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in tropical cities. In this presentation we will examine the techniques of analyzing remotely sensed data for measuring the effect of various urban surfaces on their contribution to the urban heat island effect. Results from data collected from other US cities of Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Baton Rouge will be used to compare the "urban fabric" among the cities.

Luvall, Jeffrey C.↗