Influence of time variable geopotential models on precise orbits of altimetry satellites,global and regional mean sea level trends

During the last decade a significant progress has been reached in the investigation of the gravity field of the Earth. Besides static, also time variable geopotential models have been recently created. In this paper we investigate the impact of the recent time variable geopotential models on altimetry satellite orbits and such altimetry products based on these orbits, as global and regional mean sea level trends. We show that the modeling of time variable gravity improves the orbit solutions, at least for the GRACE period where time variable gravity is sufficiently accurately observed by this mission. Our analysis includes six geopotential models jointly developed by GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and Space Geodesy Research Group (CNES/GRGS) Toulouse: the stationary model EIGEN-GL04S, a stationary version of EIGEN-6S (EIGEN-6S_stat), a corrected version of EIGEN-6S and three enhanced versions of EIGEN-6S called EIGEN-6S2, EIGEN-6S2A and EIGEN-6S2B. By “stationary” we mean “containing periodic parameters such as annual and semi-annual variations, but no secular (drift) terms”. We computed precise orbits for the radar altimetry satellites ERS-1, ERS-2, TOPEX/Poseidon, and Envisat over 20 years between 1991 and 2011. The orbit, single-mission and multi-mission altimetry crossover analyses show that the time variable models EIGEN-6S_corrected, EIGEN-6S2 and its two precursors EIGEN-6S2A/B perform notably better than the stationary models for the GRACE period from 2003 onwards. Thus, using EIGEN-6S2 and EIGEN-6S2A/B we have got 3.6% smaller root mean square fits of satellite laser ranging observations for Envisat, as when using EIGEN-GL04S. However, for the pre-GRACE period 1991–2003, the stationary geopotential models EIGEN-GL04S and EIGEN-6S_stat as well as EIGEN-6S2 having no drift terms for degree 3–50 at this time interval perform superior compared to EIGEN-6S_correct and EIGEN-6S2A/B which contain drifts for this period. We found, that the time variable geopotential models have a low (0.1–0.2 mm/yr) impact on our results for the global mean sea level trend. However, we found strong East/West differences up to 3 mm/yr in the regional mean sea level trends when using orbits of all four satellites based on time variable and stationary geopotential models. We show that these differences are related to the relative drifts of the centers-of-origin between the orbit solutions based on the time variable and stationary geopotential models. From the results of our detailed study, we conclude that the final version of the time variable gravity field model EIGEN-6S2 performs best for the four satellites tested. This model provides the most reliable and mission-consistent sea level estimates for the whole time period from 1992 to 2010. This model is of maximum spherical harmonic degree and order 260 and contains time series for drifts as well as annual and semiannual variations of the spherical harmonic coefficients for degree 2–50.     

Kitchin,C. R., Astrophysical Techniques

Space Science Reviews -     

The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter

The discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in March 1993 opened an extraordinary few years in the study of the history of impacts in the solar system. This review paper offers a background that attempts to set the events of 1993 and 1994 into a historical context, and describes events leading to the discovery and the mounting of a unique and unprecedented international effort to observe the comet's collision with Jupiter. A selection of the results is presented to explore how the fate of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 has affected scientific and popular understanding of impacts in the solar system.     

Omnidirectional Instantaneous Direction Finding System

A system for providing near-instantaneous determination of the azimuthal angle of arrival of a received signal has been designed and fabricated at L band. Direction is determined by phase measurement of the outputs of a multimode antenna, which has no moving parts. Effects of multipath interference are reduced to a minimum through a combination of signal processing techniques. The position of the transmitting source is presented on a PPI display.     

Navigation in outdoor environments as an embodied,social, cultural,and situated experience: An empirical study of orienteering

This study investigated novices' “lived experiences” of navigation within the sport of orienteering from an enactive and phenomenological approach. The objective was to qualitatively characterize elements of task-related situations that were meaningful for orienteers. The results showed that the participants continuously made judgments about the reliability of their estimations about whether they were on “the right route” on the course. When the participants judged that they were only approximately on the right route or were unable to locate themselves, elements of the situation other than map and terrain features became meaningful for them. These results demonstrate that, for novice orienteers, navigation activity must extend beyond navigation as a logical, computational way-finding problem to include embodied, social, cultural and situated dimensions.     

We think we know where we are,but can anyone tell us where we are going? Has the European Union lost its way?

Using the various problems and delays in the Galileo satellite navigation programme as a metaphor for European leaders' incompetence and complacency in a wide range of other important fields, this viewpoint bemoans the lack of direction in both the European project and its space policy, the result of growing state nationalism and a neoliberal approach that has left the continent at the mercy of globalisation.     

Geochemical Consequences of Widespread Clay Mineral Formation in Mars’ Ancient Crust

Clays form on Earth by near-surface weathering, precipitation in water bodies within basins, hydrothermal alteration (volcanic- or impact-induced), diagenesis, metamorphism, and magmatic precipitation. Diverse clay minerals have been detected from orbital investigation of terrains on Mars and are globally distributed, indicating geographically widespread aqueous alteration. Clay assemblages within deep stratigraphic units in the Martian crust include Fe/Mg smectites, chlorites and higher temperature hydrated silicates. Sedimentary clay mineral assemblages include Fe/Mg smectites, kaolinite, and sulfate, carbonate, and chloride salts. Stratigraphic sequences with multiple clay-bearing units have an upper unit with Al-clays and a lower unit with Fe/Mg-clays. The typical restriction of clay minerals to the oldest, Noachian terrains indicates a distinctive set of processes involving water-rock interaction that was prevalent early in Mars history and may have profoundly influenced the evolution of Martian geochemical systems. Current analyses of orbital data have led to the proposition of multiple clay-formation mechanisms, varying in space and time in their relative importance. These include near-surface weathering, formation in ice-dominated near-surface groundwaters, and formation by subsurface hydrothermal fluids. Near-surface, open system formation of clays would lead to fractionation of Mars’ crustal reservoir into an altered crustal reservoir and a sedimentary reservoir, potentially involving changes in the composition of Mars’ atmosphere. In contrast, formation of clays in the subsurface by either aqueous alteration or magmatic cooling would result in comparatively little geochemical fractionation or interaction of Mars’ atmospheric, crustal, and magmatic reservoirs, with the exception of long-term sequestration of water. Formation of clays within ice would have geochemical consequences intermediate between these endmembers. We outline the future analyses of orbital data, in situ measurements acquired within clay-bearing terrains, and analyses of Mars samples that are needed to more fully elucidate the mechanisms of martian clay formation and to determine the consequences for the geochemical evolution of the planet.     

The performance of KSC Fixation Tubes with RNALater for orbital experiments: A case study in ISS operations for molecular biology

Molecular biology experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) continue to face challenges of sample harvesting and sample return to earth for post flight analysis; however, the use of Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tubes filled with RNALater has proven to be a robust solution to many of these challenges. While it is clear that one direction of future spaceflight experimentation may be towards enhanced on-orbit analytical capabilities, the rapid progress of earth-bound analytical capacity dictates that facile return of molecular biology samples from the ISS will continue to be a mainstay of space life sciences research and flight operations. In this paper we present a case study of the successful performance of KFTs and RNALater over a broad set of operational conditions of ascent configuration, on-orbit experiment use, on-orbit storage and sample return configurations that are unique to ISS current operations and constraints. We also provide observations on performance limits and discuss deployment opportunities and scenarios that are consistent with continued successful ISS molecular biology experimentation.