CCRS C/X-airborne synthetic aperture radar: An Rand D tool for the ERS-1 time frame

The airborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system developed for the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) is described. It consists of two radars, at C-band and X-band. Each radar incorporates the following features: dual-channel receivers and dual-polarized antennas; a high quality, 7-look, real-time processor; a sensitivity time control for range-dependent gain control; a motion-compensation system for antenna steering in azimuth and elevation; and baseband I and Q signal phase rotation. The system also uses a high-power transmitter with a low-power back-up. The SAR maps to either side of the aircraft, at high or low resolution, at incidence angles which in high resolution span 0° to 80°. Radar operating parameters, data products, key specifications and the motion compensation scheme used are presented. Properties of the real-time imagery are discussed and examples of C-band SAR data in the three operating modes are given     

Marangoni convection in a liquid layer under the simultaneous action of a transverse magnetic field and rotation

Asymptotic stability characteristics with respect to the onset of Marangoni convection in a liquid layer under the simultaneous action of a large transverse magnetic field and a large rate of rotation are investigated. In certain parameter ranges there is a decrease in critical Marangoni number for increasing magnetic field and rotation depending on the coupling between interfacial perturbations and rotation.     

A review of long drop tubes as a supplement/alternative to space experiments

The 100 meter high drop tube at the Marshall Space Flight Center has proven to be a viable facility for studies of containerless solidification. Advantages are that experiments are inexpensive and large numbers of specimens can be processed rapidly. It would not be unusual to run ten specimens in a day. Another significant advantage is that the undercooling behavior can be followed with sufficient sensitivity to easily detect the onset of recalescence and subsequent events.Disadvantages are the restrictions on specimen sizes and types of alloys that can be run in a microgravity environment. Practical specimen sizes range between 50 mg and 500 mg depending on the type of furnace being used. Refractory alloys can be processed in a vacuum (about 10^?5 torr) and therefore at microgravity. Non-refractory alloys demand an atmosphere (about 200 torr) to obtain appreciable undercooling before impact at the bottom of the tube. Under these conditions significant g forces result.Because of the present limitations of the 100 meter drop tube, the most definitive work has been done on niobium based alloys. Large amounts of undercooling have been observed routinely and the effects of undercooling on microstructure have been characterized in detail. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy have been used to determine types of phases, amounts of phases, and compositions of phases. It is clear, as would be expected, that the results bear some resemblance to rapid solidification processing by quenching. However, there are dissimilarities due to the uniqueness of solidification by deep undercooling without quenching in long drop tubes and accompanying recalescence effects.     

IR-spectroscopy of ionosphere from stratospheric balloons

The radiation spectra of the ionosphere in the 4–5 μm region have been determined from stratospheric balloons by means of the specially elaborated method of the registration of angular and spectral distribution of the radiation. The radiation bands of 4.4 μm and 4.8 μm which have 0.1–0.2 erg cm^?2 sr^?1s^?1. brightness obtained in two flights, are identified with the vibration-rotation transitions of the ion NO⁺ (0 - 1) and the molecules N¹⁴N¹⁵ (0 - 1) and CO (0 - 1) and (3 - 2) from altitudes between 120 and 500 km.     

50–200 GV cosmic rays at various heliolatitudes

We consider regular motion of 50 – 200 GV particles in a large-scale interplanetary magnetic field model which contains a wavy neutral sheet responsible for the sector-structure. Numerical calculations based upon energy losses along various trajectories are carried out to obtain the predicted omni-directional density and anisotropy of cosmic rays at various solar latitudes. A marked difference is found between odd and even solar cycles. The post-1969 field configuration gives small radial and large latitudinal gradient: cosmic ray density increases toward the poles. The latitudinal gradient turns out smaller and of opposite sense for the pre-1969 epoch. Anisotropy changes dramatically as we move off the solar equator: corotation appears to be restricted to low latitudes.     

Vertical profiles of halocarbons in the stratosphere

Stratospheric air samples collected between 10 and 35 km altitude my means of a cryogenic sampler were analyzed by gaschromatography. Thus vertical profiles of source gases for halogen radicals were derived, such as CCl₄, CCl₃F, CCl₂F₂, CClF₃, CF₄, C₂F₃Cl₃, C₂F₄Cl₂, C₂F₅Cl, C₂F₆, CH₃Cl, CH₃CCl₃, CHF₂Cl, CH₃Br, CBrF₃, and CBrCl₂F. Systematic discrepancies between measured and modelled halocarbon profiles point to deficiencies of present one- and two-dimensional models. Measurements of fully halogenated hydrocarbons provide a tool for systematically studying these deficiencies and thus improving the models.     

The astrophysical interest of EUV observations of extra-solar objects

The feasibility of observation of EUV sources is assessed. Many stars have been detected in the EUV range ( 100–1000); line fluxes from others can be predicted. Selected astrophysical problems are reviewed that can benefit from EUV spectroscopy. Included among them are the physics and dynamics of stellar coronae, confirmation of nuclear surface burning on cataclysmic variables, evolutionary properties of white dwarfs, the helium abundance in the interstellar medium, and spectroscopic signatures of neutrino oscillations.Proceedings of the Conference Solar Physics from Space, held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), 11–14 November 1980.     

Application of remote sensing techniques in mineral resources survey — a case study pertaining to Singhbhum Shear Zone,Bihar, India

Geological analysis and evaluation of digitally processed and enhanced LANDSAT MSS data products for three test areas of Singhbhum Shear Zone, India has led to certain significant results regarding optimisation and utility of such techniques for geological studies and obtaining additional/new information regarding lithology and structure. Three band-to-band ratio images are found to give best results. Lithologic formations could be subdivided into a number of units. The Westward and southeastward extension of the shear zone could be delineated thereby indicating scope of mineralisation in these parts.     

Genetic response of bacterial spores to very heavy ions.

Using spores of two Bacillus subtilis strains differing in repair capacity, we have studied repair and mutation induction in the spores after irradiation with very heavy ions up to uranium with specific particle energies up to 18.6 MeV/u. The results indicate that repair and mutation induction after heavy ion irradiation are closely related to each other and that both phenomena strongly depend on the atomic number and specific energy of the ions. The effects are discussed in comparison with results obtained after X-irradiation.