Special issue introduction: Approaching spatial uncertainty visualization to support reasoning and decision making

While research on uncertainty and decision-making has a long history across several disciplines, recent technological developments compel researchers to rethink how to best address and advance the understanding of how humans reason and make decisions under spatial uncertainty. This introduction presents a visual summary graphic to provide an overview of each article in this special issue. Upon viewing these visual summaries, the reader will find that each of these articles covers different topics in the uncertainty visualization domain, offering complementary research in this field. Extending this body of research and finding new ways to explore how these visualizations may help or hinder the analytical and reasoning process of humans continues to be a necessary step towards designing more effective uncertainty visualizations to support reasoning and decision-making.     

Thermionic/AMTEC cascade converter concept for high-efficiencyspace power

This paper presents trade studies that address the use of the thermionic/AMTEC cell-a cascaded, high efficiency, static power conversion concept that appears well-suited to space power applications. Both the thermionic and AMTEC power conversion approaches have been shown to be promising candidates for space power. Thermionics offers system compactness via modest efficiency at high heat rejection temperatures, and AMTEC offers high efficiency at modest heat rejection temperature. From a thermal viewpoint, the two are ideally suited for cascaded power conversion: thermionic heat rejection and AMTEC heat source temperatures are essentially the same. In addition to realizing conversion efficiencies potentially as high as 35-40% such a cascade offers the following perceived benefits: Survivability-capable of operation in the Van Allen belts; Simplicity-static conversion, no moving parts; Long lifetime-no inherent life-limiting mechanisms identified; Technology readiness-Large thermionic database; AMTEC efficiencies of 18% currently being demonstrated, with more growth potential available; and Technology growth-applicable to both solar thermal and reactor-based nuclear space power systems. Mechanical approaches and thermal/electric matching criteria for integrating thermionics and AMTEC into a single conversion device are described. Focusing primarily on solar thermal space power applications, parametric trends are presented to show the performance and cost potential that should be achievable with present-day technology in cascaded thermionic/AMTEC systems     

Ground-based ELF/VLF observations at high latitudes during passes of GEOS-1 and ISEE-1 and -2

Recordings of ELF/VLF radio signals were made, as a contribution to the International Magnetospheric Study, in Iceland (17 August to 5 September 1977) and Norway (21 October to 15 December 1977; and 11 January to 27 February 1978) by the Space Radio Physics group. The equipment used at each of three sites was a goniometer (direction finding) receiver. As an example of the results obtained, recordings of risers, occurring at a rate up to 10 min^-1 and with frequencies (1.0 to 1.5 kHz) just greater than those of simultaneous hissy chorus signals, made between 10:20 and 11:00 UT on 31 August 1977, are discussed. These risers (downcoming whistler mode signals) are shown to have well defined exit points from the ionosphere which are located, to within an uncertainty of typically ±40 km, by triangulation. The observations are broadly consistent with there being a single exit point which, on this occasion, happens to be almost on the flux tube through the geomagnetic observatory at Leirvogur. Simultaneous ground-based magnetometer observations, and also wave and energetic charged particle observations made aboard GEOS-1, have been studied. The electron spectra and pitch angle distributions are as required for the operation of the electron cyclotron instability in which whistler mode signals are amplified.     

Buying Russian technology — pros and cons for the US programme

A marriage between Russian space technology and US space ambitions was unthinkable only a short time ago, but that potential union is now the talk of the town. With the dizzying pace of changes in US-Russian relationships, what is written here in July 1992 may well have changed by the time this article is published. Nevertheless, a glance at what the Russians are selling, what the USA may want to buy and the major policy issues involved is worth a look. Traditional cooperative ventures remain an important part of US-Russian space relations, but are not the focus of this article.     

Vertical mass and moisture structure from TIROS-N

During the First Global GARP Experiment (FGGE), global determinations of mass and moisture were made from TIROS-N (and NOAA-6) infrared and microwave sounding radiance measurements. At NESS in Washington, the meteorological data were produced operationally with a horizontal resolution of 250 km for inclusion in the FGGE level II-b data sets intended for application to large scale numerical analysis and prediction models. High horizontal resolution (50 km) sounding data sets are being produced by NESS and the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin and at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center for special case studies of the “Special Observing Periods” of FGGE.Results are presented to display the characteristics of the sounding data at different resolutions. For the low horizontal resolution data, an evaluation is shown by comparisons of global analyses made only from satellite soundings over land and sea, and those made operationally by the National Meteorological Center, which excluded satellite sounding data over continental areas, but included all conventional data sources. For the high horizontal resolution sounding data, results are presented to demonstrate the delineation of small scale temperature and moisture features which are consistent with the meteorological processes involved.     

The effect of Stellar structure on supernova remnant evolution

One-dimensional hydrodynamic calculations have been done of 1E51 erg explosions in 15M stars. We have appended a steep external density gradient to the pre-supernova model of Weaver et al and find: (1) the outer shock wave decelerates throughout the pre-Sedov phase, (2) the expanding stellar envelope and the shocked interstellar material are Rayleigh-Taylor stable until the Sedov phase, and (3) steep internal density gradients are R-T unstable during the early expansion and may be the source of high velocity knots seen in Cas A.     

Dynamic and non-dynamic ERS-1 radial orbit improvement from ERS-1/TOPEX dual-satellite altimetry

Dual-satellite altimeter crossover differences between ERS-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon have been included as supplementary tracking data in ERS-1 orbit computations from SLR and single-satellite crossover differences. It was found that including the dual-satellite crossover differences slightly improves the ERS-1 radial orbit accuracy of about 12 cm for orbits computed with the JGM-2 gravity field and also leads to a better ‘centering’ of the ERS-1 orbit in the terrestrial reference frame defined for TOPEX/Poseidon. In addition to this dynamic orbit improvement technique, a non-dynamic technique has been investigated that removes the larger part of the ERS-1 radial orbit error from the dual-satellite crossover difference residuals. For ERS-1 orbits computed with the GEM-T2 gravity field, it was found that the non-dynamic technique could improve the radial orbit accuracy from 140 cm to the same level of accuracy as the ERS-1 JGM-2 orbits.     

The San Andreas fault experiment

Two NASA laser satellite tracking systems on opposite sides of the San Andreas fault will be used in an experiment to measure the gross relative motion of the tectonic plates of North America and the Pacific during the next several years. Initial sites at San Diego on the Pacific Plate and Quincy, California, on the North American Plate, nearly 900 km apart, have already been selected and occupied, and other sites further south are proposed. Each site is occupied for two or three months per year and simultaneous precision laser distance measurements to the Beacon Explorer-C satellite from these sites will be used to determine the relative position of one site with respect to the other. Results of a simulation of this experiment in which a pair of sites are reoccupied annually for about eight years indicate an eventual accuracy of about 0.5 cm/yr in the average plate motion. The results of a preliminary three-month observing period in 1972 indicate a precision of about 15 cm in the chord distance between the San Diego and Quincy sites.     

Homologous flares and the evolution of NOAA active region 2372

A detailed record of the evolution of NOAA Active Region 2372 has been compiled by the FBS Homology Study Group. It was one of the most prolific flare-producing regions observed by SMM. The flares occurred in distinct stages which corresponded to particular evolutionary phases in the development of the active region magnetic field. By comparison with a similar but less productive active region, we find that the activity seems to be related to the magnetic complexity of the region and the amount of shear in the field. Further, the soft X-ray emission in the quiescent active region is related to its flare rate. Within the broader definition of homology adopted, there was a degree of homology between the events within each stage of evolution of AR2372.     

Correlation Function for a 1/f Spectrum

The performance of ground surveillance radars depends on the spatial correlation, or spectrum, of the radar returns. Many radar terrain images are suspected to have a I/f spatial spectrum. This spectrum is thought to be difficult to handle mathematically in modeling and analysis because of its singularity at zero frequency and its infinite energy. A two-dimensional, band-limited I/f spectrum has neither of these problems: this is convenient for modeling and analysis in any practical system because the sensor measuring of an image always introduces band limiting, even if the natural phenomena are not band limited. Also shows the presence of terrain with a 1/f spectrum will not be readily apparent from the correlation function of the terrain image because the shape of the correlation function is largely determined by the sensor band limit and not by the underlying spectrum.