SCIAMACHY limb measurements of NO2, BrO and OClO. Retrieval of vertical profiles: Algorithm,first results,sensitivity and comparison studies

The Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) measures scattered sun light also in limb viewing mode (i.e. tangential to Earth’s surface and its atmosphere), which allows determining vertical profiles of atmospheric trace gases. First results on the retrieval of NO₂, BrO and OClO profiles from the SCIAMACHY Limb measurements are presented and compared to independent satellite and balloon borne observations.     

Climate studies from satellite observations: Special problems in the verification of earth radiation balance,cloud climatology,and related climate experiments

A body of techniques that have been developed and planned for use during the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP), and related climate experiments of the 1980's are reviewed. Validation and verification methods must apply for $\text{systems}$ of satellites. They include: (1) use of a normalization or intercalibration satellite, (2) special intensive observation areas located over ground-truth sites, and (3) monitoring of sun and earth by several satellites and/or several instruments at the same time. Since each climate application area has a hierarchy of user communities, validation techniques vary from very detailed methods to those that simply assure high relative accuracy in detecting space and time variations for climate studies. It is shown that climate experiments generally require more emphasis on long-term stability and internal consistency of satellite data sets than high absolute accuracy.     

Dissipation of temperature perturbations in the middle atmosphere

It is often observed that the stratospheric and mesospheric temperature structure undergoes transient disturbances from its averaged steady-state behavior. The causes may be traceable to gravity waves, planetary waves, solar proton and relativistic electron precipitation, etc. We examine the theoretical time behavior of the atmospheric temperature following the cessation of such heating phenomena as it relaxes toward its quiescent steady-state value. We also study the time-dependent response during a model stratospheric-warming/mesospheric-cooling event. In particular, we investigate the roles of eddy heat conduction, non-LTE cooling in the 15μm CO₂ band, and an ambient vertical wind, and their relative importance as they depend upon altitude and time, in modifying temperature changes in this region.     

Microwave Landing System

The National Microwave Landing Systems (MLS) program is a joint DOT/DOD/NASA effort to implement a common civil/military precision landing system to replace the current Instrument Landing System (ILS). The MLS will be capable of providing precision landing guidance down to Category III minimum while allowing for complex approach paths in both the horizontal and vertical planes. The system is based on the Time Reference Scanning Beam (TRSB) technique which was selected by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in April 1978 as the new international landing system standard. MLS is less susceptible to interference from the surrounding area and provides a greater signal coverage area than ILS.     

Short-wave infrared reflectance investigation of sites of paleobiological interest: applications for Mars exploration

Rover missions to the rocky bodies of the Solar System and especially to Mars require lightweight, portable instruments that use minimal power, require no sample preparation, and provide suitably diagnostic mineralogical information to an Earth-based exploration team. Short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopic instruments such as the Portable Infrared Mineral Analyser (PIMA, Integrated Spectronics Pty Ltd., Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia) fulfill all these requirements. We describe an investigation of a possible Mars analogue site using a PIMA instrument. A survey was carried out on the Strelley Pool Chert, an outcrop of stromatolitic, silicified Archean carbonate and clastic succession in the Pilbara Craton, interpreted as being modified by hydrothermal processes. The results of this study demonstrate the capability of SWIR techniques to add significantly to the geological interpretation of such hydrothermally altered outcrops. Minerals identified include dolomite, white micas such as illite-muscovite, and chlorite. In addition, the detection of pyrophyllite in a bleached and altered unit directly beneath the succession suggests acidic, sulfur-rich hydrothermal activity may have interacted with the silicified sediments of the Strelley Pool Chert.     

ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli Module Trajectory and Atmospheric Profiles Reconstruction

On 19^th October 2016 Schiaparelli module of the ExoMars 2016 mission flew through the Mars atmosphere. After successful entry and descent under parachute, the module failed the last part of the descent and crashed on the Mars surface. Nevertheless the data transmitted in real-time by Schiaparelli during the entry and descent, together with the entry state vector as initial condition, have been used to reconstruct both the trajectory and the profiles of atmospheric density, pressure and temperature along the traversed path.The available data-set is only a small sub-set of the whole data acquired by Schiaparelli, with a limited data rate (8 kbps) and a large gap during the entry because of the plasma blackout on the communications.This paper presents the work done by the AMELIA (Atmospheric Mars Entry and Landing Investigations and Analysis) team in the exploitation of the available inertial and radar data. First a reference trajectory is derived by direct integration of the inertial measurements and a strategy to overcome the entry data gap is proposed. First-order covariance analysis is used to estimate the uncertainties on all the derived parameters. Then a refined trajectory is computed incorporating the measurements provided by the on-board radar altimeter.The derived trajectory is consistent with the events reported in the telemetry and also with the impact point identified on the high-resolution images of the landing site.Finally, atmospheric profiles are computed tacking into account the aerodynamic properties of the module. Derived profiles result in good agreement with both atmospheric models and available remote sensing observations.     

The Delivery of Water During Terrestrial Planet Formation

The planetary building blocks that formed in the terrestrial planet region were likely very dry, yet water is comparatively abundant on Earth. Here we review the various mechanisms proposed for the origin of water on the terrestrial planets. Various in-situ mechanisms have been suggested, which allow for the incorporation of water into the local planetesimals in the terrestrial planet region or into the planets themselves from local sources, although all of those mechanisms have difficulties. Comets have also been proposed as a source, although there may be problems fitting isotopic constraints, and the delivery efficiency is very low, such that it may be difficult to deliver even a single Earth ocean of water this way. The most promising route for water delivery is the accretion of material from beyond the snow line, similar to carbonaceous chondrites, that is scattered into the terrestrial planet region as the planets are growing. Two main scenarios are discussed in detail. First is the classical scenario in which the giant planets begin roughly in their final locations and the disk of planetesimals and embryos in the terrestrial planet region extends all the way into the outer asteroid belt region. Second is the Grand Tack scenario, where early inward and outward migration of the giant planets implants material from beyond the snow line into the asteroid belt and terrestrial planet region, where it can be accreted by the growing planets. Sufficient water is delivered to the terrestrial planets in both scenarios. While the Grand Tack scenario provides a better fit to most constraints, namely the small mass of Mars, planets may form too fast in the nominal case discussed here. This discrepancy may be reduced as a wider range of initial conditions is explored. Finally, we discuss several more recent models that may have important implications for water delivery to the terrestrial planets.     

Observational Tests of the Picture of Disk Accretion

In this chapter, I present a summary of observational tests of the basic picture of disk accretion. An emphasis is placed on tests relevant to black holes, but many of the fundamental results are drawn from studies of other classes of systems. Evidence is discussed for the basic structures of accretion flows. The cases of systems with and without accretion disks are discussed, as is the evidence that disks actually form. Also discussed are the hot spots where accretion streams impact the disks, and the boundary layers in the inner parts of systems where the accretors are not black holes. The nature of slow, large amplitude variability is discussed. It is shown that some of the key predictions of the classical thermal-viscous ionization instability model for producing outbursts are in excellent agreement with observational results. It is also show that there are systems whose outbursts are extremely difficult to explain without invoking variations in the rate of mass transfer from the donor star into the outer accretion disk, or tidally induced variations in the mass transfer rates. Finally, I briefly discuss recent quasar microlensing measurements which give truly independent constraints on the inner accretion geometry around black holes.     

The Kumtag meteorite strewn field

The Kumtag meteorite strewn field was found in the Kumtag desert, 132 km south of Hami city in the Xinjiang province, China. It is an ellipse of 2.5 × 7.9 km, with a long axis extending along the northeast-southwest direction. The largest individual meteorite of the strewn field weighs about 10 kg; the smallest individual has a mass of only 27 g. In total, more than 100 individuals with a total mass of more than 180 kg were collected. The location and the distribution of the fragments suggest that the Kumtag meteoroid entered the atmosphere in the direction Northeast-Southwest. All meteorites collected in this strewn field are samples from the same unique meteorite shower. The Kumtag meteorite is an H5 ordinary chondrite with a shock stage S2, and a weathering grade W2. The cosmic ray exposure age of Kumtag is 6.7 ± 0.8 Ma, which is rather typical for H chondrites and which indicates that Kumtag was derived from the massive impact event on its parent body ~7 Ma ago. A significant amount of He has been lost during certain unknown processe(s) before the Kumtag meteorite was ejected from its parent body.     

Association of optical tracklets from a geosynchronous belt survey via the direct Bayesian admissible region approach

The direct Bayesian admissible region approach is an a priori state free measurement association and initial orbit determination technique for optical tracks. In this paper, we test a hybrid approach that appends a least squares estimator to the direct Bayesian method on measurements taken at the Zimmerwald Observatory of the Astronomical Institute at the University of Bern. Over half of the association pairs agreed with conventional geometric track correlation and least squares techniques. The remaining pairs cast light on the fundamental limits of conducting tracklet association based solely on dynamical and geometrical information.