Policy for robust space-based earth science,technology and applications

Satellite remote sensing technology has contributed to the transformation of multiple earth science domains, putting space observations at the forefront of innovation in earth science. With new satellite missions being launched every year, new types of earth science data are being incorporated into science models and decision-making systems in a broad array of organizations. Policy guidance can influence the degree to which user needs influence mission design and when, and ensure that satellite missions serve both the scientific and user communities without becoming unfocused and overly expensive. By considering the needs of the user community early on in the mission-design process, agencies can ensure that satellites meet the needs of multiple constituencies. This paper describes the mission development process in NASA and ESA and compares and contrasts the successes and challenges faced by these agencies as they try to balance science and applications within their missions.     

Preliminary analysis of shuttle multispectral radiometer data for Southern Egypt

The Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) is a spectroradiometer covering the region from 0.5 to 2.5 μm in 10 channels that acquired data from spots 100 m in diameter along the subspacecraft ground track. It was flown aboard the second flight of the space shuttle Columbia, November 12–14, 1981. Data collected during orbit 16 over southern Egypt show that carbonate rocks, kaolinite, and possibly montmorillonite can be identified by their SMIRR spectral signatures and limited knowledge of the lithologic units present. Detailed analysis of SMIRR data for this area indicates that calcite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite rocks give rise to absorption features that result in characteristic 10 channel spectra.     

Wake vortex encounter severity for rotorcraft in final approach

The Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) predicts that European air traffic may nearly triple by 2020. The growth in air traffic is already an increasing problem with capacity at some airports becoming limited due to congestion. This could be alleviated by providing additional passenger capacity at hubs through the introduction of rotorcraft using new IFR procedures and operating simultaneously but independently of the fixed-wing traffic. These Simultaneous Non-Interfering Operations (SNIOps) will be enabled by a ‘reconfiguration’ of the airspace, taking advantage of new navigational and air traffic management systems. SNIOp's raise critical safety questions for rotorcraft wake vortex encounters (WVE's) and will require consideration of the longitudinal and lateral aircraft separation and the locations of the rotorcraft FATO's (Final Approach and Take-Off areas). This paper presents analysis from work carried out as part of the Framework 6 project ‘OPTIMAL’ including the development of predictive methodology and analysis for rotorcraft WVE's, using a severity rating scale. In particular, scenarios are considered where the rotorcraft is following precision glideslopes of up to 12° in both good and degraded visual conditions. Handling qualities criteria have already been found to be well suited to investigating severity of an encounter. Within this framework, draft boundaries are proposed for assessing the severity of an encounter. Furthermore, the results have shown a pilot may be able to recover from an encounter, but the question of whether the required navigational precision would be compromised and a go-around required is also addressed.     

Remote sounding of atmospheric gravity waves with satellite limb and nadir techniques

Recent advances in satellite techniques hold great potential for mapping global gravity wave (GW) processes at various altitudes. Poor understanding of small-scale GWs has been a major limitation to numerical climate and weather models for making reliable forecasts. Observations of short-scale features have important implication for validating and improving future high-resolution numerical models. This paper summarizes recent GW observations and sensitivities from several satellite instruments, including MLS, AMSU-A, AIRS, GPS, and CLAES. It is shown in an example that mountain waves with horizontal wavelengths as short as 30 km now can be observed by AIRS, reflecting the superior horizontal resolution in these modern satellite instruments. Our studies show that MLS, AMSU-A and AIRS observations reveal similar GW characteristics, with the observed variances correlated well with background winds. As a complementary technique, limb sounding instruments like CRISTA, CLAES, and GPS can detect GWs with better vertical but poorer horizontal resolutions. To resolve different parts of the broad GW spectrum, both satellite limb and nadir observing techniques are needed, and a better understanding of GW complexities requires joint analyses of these data and dedicated high-resolution model simulations.     

Heavy ion contributions to organ dose equivalent for the 1977 galactic cosmic ray spectrum

Estimates of organ dose equivalents for the skin, eye lens, blood forming organs, central nervous system, and heart of female astronauts from exposures to the 1977 solar minimum galactic cosmic radiation spectrum for various shielding geometries involving simple spheres and locations within the Space Transportation System (space shuttle) and the International Space Station (ISS) are made using the HZETRN 2010 space radiation transport code. The dose equivalent contributions are broken down by charge groups in order to better understand the sources of the exposures to these organs. For thin shields, contributions from ions heavier than alpha particles comprise at least half of the organ dose equivalent. For thick shields, such as the ISS locations, heavy ions contribute less than 30% and in some cases less than 10% of the organ dose equivalent. Secondary neutron production contributions in thick shields also tend to be as large, or larger, than the heavy ion contributions to the organ dose equivalents.     

The First Magnetic Fields

We review current ideas on the origin of galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. We begin by summarizing observations of magnetic fields at cosmological redshifts and on cosmological scales. These observations translate into constraints on the strength and scale magnetic fields must have during the early stages of galaxy formation in order to seed the galactic dynamo. We examine mechanisms for the generation of magnetic fields that operate prior during inflation and during subsequent phase transitions such as electroweak symmetry breaking and the quark–hadron phase transition. The implications of strong primordial magnetic fields for the reionization epoch as well as the first generation of stars are discussed in detail. The exotic, early-Universe mechanisms are contrasted with astrophysical processes that generate fields after recombination. For example, a?Biermann-type battery can operate in a proto-galaxy during the early stages of structure formation. Moreover, magnetic fields in either an early generation of stars or active galactic nuclei can be dispersed into the intergalactic medium.     

Compression Creep Behavior of High Volume Fraction of SiC Particles Reinforced Al Composite Fabricated by Pressureless Infiltration

The compression creep deformation of the high volume fraction of SiC particles reinforced Al-Mg-Si composite fabricated by pressure-less infiltration was investigated. The experimental results show that the creep stress exponents are very high at temperatures of 673 K, 723 K and 773 K, and if taking the threshold stress into account, the true stress exponent of minimum creep strain rate is still approximately 5, although the volume fraction of reinforcements is very high. The creep strain rate in the high volume fraction rein- forced aluminum alloy matrix composites is controlled by matrix lattice diffusion. It is found that the creep-strengthening effect of high volume fraction of silicon carbide particles is significant, although the particles do not form effective obstacles to dislocation motion.     

Numerical simulation of the solar granulation

The solar granulation has been simulated by numerical solution of the multidimensional, time-dependent, nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations applied to the solar atmosphere. Granules may be explained as buoyantly rising bubbles created at the level where T = 8000 K, and which have collapsed into vortex rings. The calculation is in quantitative agreement with observations and has a number of implications for solar physics and convection theory.