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At least 19 records

Improving Aquatic Plant Management in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Management of aquatic weeds in complex watersheds and river systems present many challenges to assessment, planning and implementation of management practices for floating and submerged aquatic invasive plants. The Delta Region Areawide Aquatic Weed Project (DRAAWP), a USDA sponsored area-wide project, is working to enhance planning, decision-making and operational efficiency in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Satellite and airborne remote sensing are used map (area coverage and biomass), direct operations, and assess management impacts on plant communities. Archived satellite records going are used to review results from previous climate and management events and aide in developing long-term strategies. Modeling at local and watershed scales provides insight into land-use effects on water quality. Plant growth models informed by remote sensing are being applied spatially across the Delta to balance location and type of aquatic plant, growth response to altered environments, phenology, environmental regulations, and economics in selection of management practices. Initial utilization of remote sensing tools developed for mapping of aquatic invasive weeds improved operational efficiency by focusing limited chemical use to strategic areas with high plant-control impact and incorporating mechanical harvesting when chemical use is restricted. These assessment methods provide a comprehensive and quantitative view of aquatic invasive plants communities in the California Delta, both spatial and temporal, informed by ecological understanding with the objective of improving management and assessment effectiveness.

Aquatic↗

Growth Response of Water Hyacinth to Environmental Ranges in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Management of aquatic weeds in complex watersheds and river systems present many challenges to assessment, planning, and implementation of management for aquatic invasive plants. The Delta Region Areawide Aquatic Weed Project (DRAAWP), a USDA sponsored area-wide project including NASA Ames Research Center and State of California Department of Boating and Waterways, is working to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency of invasive plant management in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Expansion of invasive aquatic plants has been detrimental to water management and the ecosystem complex in the San Francisco Bay/California Delta. The portion of DRAAWP reported here focuses on parametrizing the environmental response inputs for the Delta models for prominent invasive aquatic plants. Changing climate, long-term drought, shifts in land use, and variation in water flow and quality from input watersheds lead to wide and unique variation in environmental conditions. Environmental variability occurs across a range of time scales from long-term climate and seasonal trends to short-term water flow mediated variations. Response of invasive aquatic plants are examined using controlled environment growth facilities at time scales of weeks, day, and hours using a combination of study duration and growth assessment techniques to assess water quality, temperature, nutrient, and light effects. These provide response parameters for plant growth models in response to the variation and interact with management and economic models associated with aquatic weed management. Plant growth models are informed by remote sensing and applied spatially across the Delta to balance location and type of aquatic plant, growth response to altered environments and phenology.

Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.v↗

SAGA: A project to automate the management of software production systems

The current work in progress for the SAGA project are described. The highlights of this research are: a parser independent SAGA editor, design for the screen editing facilities of the editor, delivery to NASA of release 1 of Olorin, the SAGA parser generator, personal workstation environment research, release 1 of the SAGA symbol table manager, delta generation in SAGA, requirements for a proof management system, documentation for and testing of the cyber pascal make prototype, a prototype cyber-based slicing facility, a June 1984 demonstration plan, SAGA utility programs, summary of UNIX software engineering support, and theorem prover review.

Campbell, R. H.↗

Resources Management System

Delta Data Systems, Inc. was originally formed by NASA and industry engineers to produce a line of products that evolved from ELAS, a NASA-developed computer program. The company has built on that experience, using ELAS as the basis for other remote sensing products. One of these is AGIS, a computer package for geographic and land information systems. AGIS simultaneously processes remotely sensed and map data. The software is designed to operate on a low cost microcomputer, putting resource management tools within reach of small operators.

Source record↗

The Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 Mission

The Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory will be situated in a Sun-Earth L1 Lissajous orbit with the goal of providing continuous measurements of the space environment and observations of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, and contributing to accurate forecasts of space weather disturbances. Unique to the SWFO-L1 mission are challenges of a rideshare launch, immoderate momentum management delta-V residuals, and spacecraft maneuver design considerations, resulting in specialized operational approach, management, and support.

cislunar↗

The Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 Mission

The Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory will be situated in a Sun-Earth L1 Lissajous orbit with the goal of providing continuous measurements of the space environment and observations of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, and contributing to accurate forecasts of space weather disturbances. Unique to the SWFO-L1 mission are challenges of a rideshare launch, immoderate momentum management delta-V residuals, and spacecraft maneuver design considerations, resulting in specialized operational approach, management, and support.

Dynamical Systems↗

Project management lessons learned on SDIO's Delta Star and Single Stage Rocket Technology programs

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: a Delta Star (Delta 183) Program Overview, lessons learned, and rapid prototyping and the Single Stage Rocket Technology (SSRT) Program. The basic objective of the Strategic Defense Initiative Programs are to quickly reduce key uncertainties to a manageable range of parameters and solutions, and to yield results applicable to focusing subsequent research dollars on high payoff areas.

Klevatt, Paul L.↗

DELTA/WIND Pre-Launch Press Conference

Live footage shows the participants in the Pre Launch Press Conference disclosing the status of the Delta/Wind flight. The panelists consists of Jim Womack NASA Launch Manager from KSC (Kennedy Space Center), Dan Miller NASA Delta Launch Vehicle Manager from GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center), Bill Huddleston NASA Wind Program Manager from NASA HQ (Headquarter), and Joel Tumbiolo Launch Weather Officer from USAF (United States Air Force). Panelists' discuss launch vehicle specification - the first Russian instrument in an American Spacecraft, the total cost of the mission, and the weather condition. The panelists also answer questions from the audience and NASA HQ about the Delta/Wind launch.

Source record↗

NASA to launch third NATO communications satellite

Launching of the third NATO communications satellite is discussed. The Delta launch vehicle is briefly described along with launch operations. Management of the Delta program is considered.

Source record↗

Delta II/Geotail Pre-Launch Press Conference

This video presents a live coverage of a pre-launch press conference on the Delta II/Geotail Mission. George Diller, NASA Public Affairs, presents the panel. The panel consists of James Womack, NASA Launch Manager, Kennedy Space Center; Mario Acuna, Project Scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center; Atsuiro Nishida, Project Manager, ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) Tokyo; Michael Calabrese, Program Manager, NASA Headquarters; Kenneth Sizemore, Project Manager, GSFC; Tono Uesugi, Project Manager, ISAS; John Beckham, Delta Launch Manager, GSFC; and Joel Tumbiolo, Launch Weather Officer, CCAFS (Cape Canaveral Air Force Station). Atsuiro Nishida presents the objectives of the Geotail Mission which are: 1) To determine the characteristics of the Geomagnetic Tail; 2) To understand the internal instability that leads to sudden energy releases; 3) To clarify the source of plasma in the tail; and 4) To study the structure of important interfaces such as the Magnetopause. Mario Acuna gives illustrations of the Magnetosphere. James Womack discusses the countdown and status of the mission. Tono Uesugi discusses spacecraft readiness for the July 24, 1992 launch, and Joel Tumbiolo gives the weather forecast for the launch. The press conference concludes with a question and answer period. See NONP-NASA-VT-200078605 for additional questions and footage.

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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Thruster Control Mode Design and Flight Experience

National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD, designed, built, tested, and launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 18, 2009. The LRO spacecraft is the first operational spacecraft designed to support NASA s return to the Moon, as part of the Vision for Space Exploration. LRO was launched aboard an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle into a direct insertion trajectory to the Moon. Twenty-four hours after separation the propulsion system was used to perform a mid-course correction maneuver. Four days after the mid-course correction a series of propulsion maneuvers were executed to insert LRO into its commissioning orbit. The commission period lasted eighty days and this followed by a second set of thruster maneuvers that inserted LRO into its mission orbit. To date, the spacecraft has been gathering invaluable data in support of human s future return to the moon. The LRO Attitude Control Systems (ACS) contains two thruster based control modes: Delta-H and Delta-V. The design of the two controllers are similar in that they are both used for 3-axis control of the spacecraft with the Delta-H controller used for momentum management and the Delta-V controller used for orbit adjust and maintenance maneuvers. In addition to the nominal purpose of the thruster modes, the Delta-H controller also has the added capability of performing a large angle slew maneuver. A suite of ACS components are used by the thruster based control modes, for both initialization and control. For initialization purposes, a star tracker or the Kalman Filter solution is used for providing attitude knowledge and upon entrance into the thruster based control modes attitude knowledge is provided via rate propagation using a inertial reference unit (IRU). Rate information for the controller is also supplied by the IRU. Three-axis control of the spacecraft in the thruster modes is provided by eight 5-lbf class attitude control thrusters configured in two sets of four thrusters for redundancy purposes. Four additional 20-lbf class thrusters configured in two sets of two thrusters are used for Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuvers. The propulsion system is one the few systems on-board the LRO spacecraft that has built in redundancy. The Delta-H controller consists of a Proportional-Derivative (PD) controller with a structural filter on the thrusters and a Proportional controller on the reaction wheels. The PD control that employs the thrusters is used for attitude and rate control. The Proportional controller on the reaction wheels is used for commanding the wheels to a new momentum state. The ground commands used for the Delta-H controller are the system momentum vector, reaction wheel momentum, maximum expected command time, and which set of attitude control thrusters to use. The ability to command both the system momentum vector and reaction wheel momentum in the Delta-H controller provides both a capability and an additional source of operator error. Large angle slews via the Delta-H controller is achievable via this commands because these commands are used for the exit mode criteria. Setting these commands to non-consistent values prevents the mode from exiting nominally.

Hsu, Oscar C.↗

Adaptive Management Methods to Protect the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Water Resource

The California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the hub for California's water supply, conveying water from Northern to Southern California agriculture and communities while supporting important ecosystem services, agriculture, and communities in the Delta. Changes in climate, long-term drought, water quality changes, and expansion of invasive aquatic plants threatens ecosystems, impedes ecosystem restoration, and is economically, environmentally, and sociologically detrimental to the San Francisco Bay/California Delta complex. NASA Ames Research Center and the USDA-ARS partnered with the State of California and local governments to develop science-based, adaptive-management strategies for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The project combines science, operations, and economics related to integrated management scenarios for aquatic weeds to help land and waterway managers make science-informed decisions regarding management and outcomes. The team provides a comprehensive understanding of agricultural and urban land use in the Delta and the major water sheds (San Joaquin/Sacramento) supplying the Delta and interaction with drought and climate impacts on the environment, water quality, and weed growth. The team recommends conservation and modified land-use practices and aids local Delta stakeholders in developing management strategies. New remote sensing tools have been developed to enhance ability to assess conditions, inform decision support tools, and monitor management practices. Science gaps in understanding how native and invasive plants respond to altered environmental conditions are being filled and provide critical biological response parameters for Delta-SWAT simulation modeling. Operational agencies such as the California Department of Boating and Waterways provide testing and act as initial adopter of decision support tools. Methods developed by the project can become routine land and water management tools in complex river delta systems.

Agriculture↗

Analysis of Satellite and Airborne Imagery for Detection of Water Hyacinth and Other Invasive Floating Macrophytes and Tracking of Aquatic Weed Control Efficacy

Waterways of the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta have recently become infested with invasive aquatic weeds such as floating water hyacinth (Eichhoria crassipes) and water primrose (Ludwigia peploides). These invasive plants cause many negative impacts, including, but not limited to: the blocking of waterways for commercial shipping and boating; clogging of irrigation screens, pumps and canals; and degradation of biological habitat through shading. Zhang et al. (1997, Ecological Applications, 7(3), 1039-1053) used NASA Landsat satellite imagery together with field calibration measurements to map physical and biological processes within marshlands of the San Francisco Bay. Live green biomass (LGB) and related variables were correlated with a simple vegetation index ratio of red and near infra-red bands from Landsat images. More recently, the percent (water area) cover of water hyacinth plotted against estimated LGB of emergent aquatic vegetation in the Delta from September 2014 Landsat imagery showed an 80 percent overall accuracy. For the past two years, we have partnered with the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California at Davis to conduct new validation surveys of water hyacinth and water primrose coverage and LGB in Delta waterways. A plan is underway to transfer decision support tools developed at NASA's Ames Research Center based on Landsat satellite images to improve Delta-wide integrated management of floating aquatic weeds, while reducing chemical control costs. The main end-user for this application project will be the Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, who has the responsibility for chemical control of water hyacinth in the Delta.

Agriculture↗

Using Satellite Remote Sensing to Map Changes in Aquatic Invasive Plant Cover in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta of California

Waterways of the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta have recently become infested with invasive aquatic weeds such as floating water hyacinth (Eichhoria crassipes) and water primrose (Ludwigia peploides). These invasive plants cause many negative impacts, including, but not limited to: the blocking of waterways for commercial shipping and boating; clogging of irrigation screens, pumps and canals; and degradation of biological habitat through shading. Zhang et al. (1997, Ecological Applications, 7(3), 1039-1053) used NASA Landsat satellite imagery together with field calibration measurements to map physical and biological processes within marshlands of the San Francisco Bay. Live green biomass (LGB) and related variables were correlated with a simple vegetation index ratio of red and near infra-red bands from Landsat images. More recently, the percent (water area) cover of water hyacinth plotted against estimated LGB of emergent aquatic vegetation in the Delta from September 2014 Landsat imagery showed a 80% overall accuracy. For the past two years, we have partnered with the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California at Davis to conduct new validation surveys of water hyacinth and water primrose coverage and LGB in Delta waterways. A plan is underway to transfer decision support tools developed at NASA's Ames Research Center based on Landsat satellite images to improve Delta-wide integrated management of floating aquatic weeds, while reducing chemical control costs. The main end-user for this application project will be the Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, who has the responsibility for chemical control of water hyacinth in the Delta.

Map Changes↗

Remote Sensing and Modeling for Improving Operational Aquatic Plant Management

The California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the hub for California’s water supply, conveying water from Northern to Southern California agriculture and communities while supporting important ecosystem services, agriculture, and communities in the Delta. Changes in climate, long-term drought, water quality changes, and expansion of invasive aquatic plants threatens ecosystems, impedes ecosystem restoration, and is economically, environmentally, and sociologically detrimental to the San Francisco Bay/California Delta complex. NASA Ames Research Center and the USDA-ARS partnered with the State of California and local governments to develop science-based, adaptive-management strategies for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The project combines science, operations, and economics related to integrated management scenarios for aquatic weeds to help land and waterway managers make science-informed decisions regarding management and outcomes. The team provides a comprehensive understanding of agricultural and urban land use in the Delta and the major water sheds (San Joaquin/Sacramento) supplying the Delta and interaction with drought and climate impacts on the environment, water quality, and weed growth. The team recommends conservation and modified land-use practices and aids local Delta stakeholders in developing management strategies. New remote sensing tools have been developed to enhance ability to assess conditions, inform decision support tools, and monitor management practices. Science gaps in understanding how native and invasive plants respond to altered environmental conditions are being filled and provide critical biological response parameters for Delta-SWAT simulation modeling. Operational agencies such as the California Department of Boating and Waterways provide testing and act as initial adopter of decision support tools. Methods developed by the project can become routine land and water management tools in complex river delta systems.

Agriculture↗

SDO Delta H Mode Design and Analysis

While on orbit, disturbance torques on a three axis stabilized spacecraft tend to increase the system momentum, which is stored in the reaction wheels. Upon reaching the predefined momentum capacity (or maximum wheel speed) of the reaction wheel, an external torque must be used to unload the momentum. The purpose of the Delta H mode is to manage the system momentum. This is accomplished by driving the reaction wheels to a target momentum state while the attitude thrusters, which provide an external torque, are used to maintain the attitude. The Delta H mode is designed to meet the mission requirements and implement the momentum management plan. Changes in the requirements or the momentum management plan can lead to design changes in the mode. The momentum management plan defines the expected momentum buildup trend, the desired momentum state and how often the system is driven to the desired momentum state (unloaded). The desired momentum state is chosen based on wheel capacity, wheel configuration, thruster layout and thruster sizing. For the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, the predefined wheel momentum capacity is a function of the jitter requirements, power, and maximum momentum capacity. Changes in jitter requirements or power limits can lead to changes in the desired momentum state. These changes propagate into the changes in the momentum management plan and therefore the Delta H mode design. This paper presents the analysis and design performed for the Solar Dynamics Observatory Delta H mode. In particular, the mode logic and processing needed to meet requirements is described along with the momentum distribution formulation. The Delta H mode design is validated using the Solar Dynamics Observatory High Fidelity simulator. Finally, a summary of the design is provided along with concluding remarks.

Mason, Paul A.↗

Watershed-Scale Modeling of Land-Use and Altered Environment Impacts on Aquatic Weed Growth in the Delta

The California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the hub for California's water supply, conveying water from Northern to Southern California agriculture and communities while supporting important ecosystem services, agriculture, and communities in the Delta. Changes in climate, long-term drought, and water quality have all been suspected as playing role in the dramatic expansion of invasive aquatic plants and their impact on ecosystems of the San Francisco Bay / California Delta complex. NASA Ames Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, the State of California, UC Davis, and local governments have partnered under a USDA sponsored project (DRAAWP) to develop science-based, adaptive-management strategies for invasive aquatic plants in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Critical to developing management strategies is to understand how the Delta is affected by both the magnitude of fluctuations in land-use and climate / drought induced altered environments and how the plants respond to these altered environments. We utilize the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a watershed-scale model developed to quantify the impact of land management practices in large and complex watersheds on water quality, as the backbone for a customized Delta model - Delta-SWAT. The model uses land-use, soils, elevation, and hydrologic routing to characterize pesticide and nutrient transport from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers watersheds and loading into the Delta. Land-use within the Delta, as well as water extraction to supply those functions, and the resulting return of water to Delta waterways are included in Delta-SWAT. Hydrologic transport within the Delta has required significant attention to address the lack of elevation driven transport processes. Delta-SWAT water quality trend estimates are compared with water quality monitoring conducted throughout the Delta. Aquatic plant response to water quality and other environmental factors is carried out using a customized model component. Plant response to the range of water quality factors, response times, and altered temperature and light regimes of the Delta have required gap-filling studies to provide model parameters. Delta-SWAT provides a tool for evaluating temporal and spatial effects of land-use and altered environments in the Delta and contributing watersheds on aquatic weed growth. Using Delta-SWAT for simulation modeling allows evaluation of historic and current conditions as well as consideration potential climate change and management practice outcomes. Delta-SWAT adds to the scientific understanding of dynamics in the Delta and enhances development of science-informed, management strategies and practices.

Ecosystem↗

Using Science Skills to Understand Ecophysiology and Manage Resources

Presentation will be for a general audience and focus on plant science and ecosystem science in NASA. Examples from the projects involving the presenter will be used to illustrate. Specifically, the California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta project. This collaboration supports the goals of the Delta Plan in developing science-based, adaptive-management strategies. The mission is to improve reliability of water supply and restore a healthy Delta ecosystem while enhancing agriculture and recreation. NASA can contribute gap-filling science understanding of overall functions in the Delta ecosystem and assess and help develop management plans for specific issues. Airborne and satellite remote-sensing, ecosystem modeling, and biological studies provide underlying data needed by Delta stakeholders to assess and address water, ecosystem restoration, and environmental and economic impacts of potential actions in the Delta. The California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the hub for California's water supply, supports important ecosystem services for fisheries, supplies drinking water for millions, and distributes water from Northern California to agriculture and urban communities to the south; millions of people and businesses depend on Delta water. Decades of competing demands for Delta resources and year-to-year variability in precipitation has resulted in diminished overall health of the Delta. Declines in fish populations, threatened ecosystems, endangered species, invasive plants and animals, cuts in agricultural exports, and increased water conservation is the result. NASA and the USDA, building on previous collaborations, aide local Delta stakeholders in assessing and developing an invasive weed management approach. Aquatic, terrestrial, and riparian invasive weeds threaten aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem restoration efforts. Aquatic weeds are currently detrimental economically, environmentally, and sociologically in the Delta. They negatively impact the redistribution of water and disrupt the ecology of the Bay Delta food web. Filling current science gaps in the Delta Plan and improving management practices within the Delta are important to achieving the mission of improved Delta health. Methods developed can become routine land and water management tools. New high-resolution NASA sensor systems could be used to provide data packages specifically designed for water system The presenter will also speak about his personal experience and the role Delaware Valley College played in preparation for a professional career science.

Water↗